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[theinevitable]

This week:

Saw two great movies (Look Back in Anger and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner) both in a series of British "kitchen sink realism" films at the artsy theater. Both were so good that I had the overwhelming satisfied "I'm glad I'm alive in a world with art like this" feeling.
Another film series, of all cyberpunk, starts tonight and I'm gonna see some of those, too. Movies are really expensive but I guess I could be going out to clubs and buying cocktails. At least with a movie my self esteem isn't riding on the outcome (and let's be honest, there are not really positive outcomes that could occur from me going to a club alone).

There was a fire in the laundromat below my apartment. I guess it wasn't too severe because our fire alarm didn't even go off, and the laundromat was open the next day. I think lint caught on fire in a dryer and they just blasted it with a fire extinguisher. The fire engine came though, that was exciting.

I am feeling a lot of anxiety about my job. They seem to think I'm doing OK, but I waste so much time every day because of my disorganized brain. Like, maybe a job where I need to focus carefully and organize/document my process is not a good fit for me. We also got a "don't worry..." email from the head of the department, where she said that we are going to have enormous budget cuts under any possible Trump budget. We get a lot of money from the federal government, not to mention that the city does and is way more likely to cut nerds drawing maps than firefighters or cops.

And finally: I've reached my limit with online dating. I need a break. This week I was supposed to meet a woman who seemed really great and she cancelled at the last minute after I got all excited. And didn't respond to my "that's OK, I understand having to work late, when should we reschedule for?" text. But I definitely need something to put that time and energy into that isn't video games, books, or movies. I'm getting solitary and weird.

[wombat]

I guess this is cliche advice but sometimes there is a good reason something is cliche... go take a class or join a club or get a volunteer gig. Something where other people show up without you having to call them up and make a date with them. Go walk dogs in a shelter or learn to make pottery or if that's too radical a change, take a film class?

[theinevitable]

That is a good idea. For a while I was getting more involved with local political stuff but I burnt myself out by going to multiple meetings a week. I also want to get back to learning Spanish and was thinking that once I hit a certain point I'll need to find a Spanish discussion group or class. I also know that my union will pay for part of a class if it's "relevant to my job title," so if I found something like local history that would be cool.

My roommate (the one who has the fantastic dog) is very sweet. We have been playing Dungeon World (like a simpler Dungeons and Dragons) once a week for a month with her boyfriend and her old roommate. That's fun. And then the other day she suggested that we do trivia sometime.

[wombat]

Oooooh I know what you should do. You should get a volunteer gig at a historic site, like the Tenement Museum.  Or you could be a volunteer tour guide. My friend does this:
http://bigapplegreeter.org/become-a-volunteer/
and she meets all kinds of interesting people from abroad.

[theinevitable]

That is a really good idea! I will look into this.

[pmcd9]

Here's an idea. You could take a side job as an Uber driver. Then comb the worst parts of the city each night seething about the crime and injustice. Then one day, when a 13 year old prostitute jumps in your car and sets in motion a series of events that lead to a bloody confrontation with her pimp, you will be a local hero and they would never lay you off then.

[wombat]

Either that or Paul needs to write a gritty socially conscious thriller about an Uber driver.

[theinevitable]

I was actually thinking recently that there is a thing about my life that you guys don't know, since you've suggested multiple times that I become an uber driver. I am a really bad driver.

I've never been in a real accident or caused one (I rear-ended someone at very low speed due to ice once), but I get really frazzled and lost very easily. I think I would get fired from uber real fast because even my loved ones get mad about how long it takes me to get places.

Also I don't have a car anymore. Boo. Maybe I can find another way to Bickle.

[wombat]

I would never suggest that you become an Uber driver, but I would never suggest that anyone become an Uber driver so I guess that's beside the point.

[theinevitable]

Apparently I misremembered who mentioned uber the last time this came up.

[AugustWest]

Also I don't have a car anymore. Boo. Maybe I can find another way to Bickle.

Just get the haircut.

[Carlos del Vaca]

If you stay in NYC you might not even need a car. My brother hasn't owned a car for years. He'll occasionally rent one if he's going out of town to someplace Amtrak doesn't cover.

[theinevitable]

Yeah, I purposely got rid of the car and I haven't missed it a single time. Living without a car at this point in my life is fantastic. The only problem is that the lack of car is stopping me from being the Travis Bickle of Uber.

People make jokes about Brooklyn "looking like a college campus" these days, and I always want to cite the stats to them about how statistically very few people in the borough are overpaid millennials. But then I realized that when I see anyone over 40 and white in my neighborhood I assume they're someone's parents visiting.

[pmcd9]

Just get the haircut.

It worked for Vlad.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Got word last night that our lead guitarist is moving to Florida around the end of May. He and his wife have been kicking the idea around for a while (she has family there), so we knew it was a possibilty, and it has come to fruition.

First and foremost, it's a bummer because he's a good friend, and someone who likes to go to shows and out for beers and such (as noted elsewhere, those are harder to come by these days). But obviously it raises questions for the future of the band. The short-term consensus last night was "We'll look for a new guitarist." I am admittedly only an adequate guitar player; I'm not going to just start playing all his leads. But the notion of auditioning people, and trying to find someone who clicks not just musically but personally, is daunting.