Let the future begin!

So, I quit one of my jobs today. Or rather, I gave notice over a month ago, but today was my last day.

Now, I'm 100% entrepeneur. Ready to make it with the big boys. Or at least the small ones. Whatever works.

I was at this gig for 14 months. It was odd... nobody really said goodbye. My immediate boss (who's kind of a friend of mine, too) said "I'm pretending it's not your last day, and don't take that as a reflection of how important your service has been."

So that's cool. But that was about it. Am I being egotistical?

"Thanks for the view!"

So, 11,000 of us were running the Manhattan half-marathon... and there was this guy on the side of the road, feeding his infant boy breakfast.

The boy was fascinated.

He was watching as many people as he could... his eyes pinballing from place to place to place. He was completely taken in by this wave of people, trying to process, exuding a hesitant delight.

I learned the most amazing thing today.

It's simple. REALLY simple. But it's this: I am not capable of successfully dwelling.

My wife likes enjoys turning things over in her mind. She likes the process of seeing things from all angles, savoring a decision before making it.

Not so with me.

My friend/mentor told me that someone once told him "If you think of something for longer than 45 seconds, you're spending too much time on it."

For people like me, this is true. Dwelling=obsession=useless.

Love ya!

She loves me. She loves me not.

She loves me. I know she does. But man... a four-year-old girl in a serious "Mommy only" phase can be a little tough to deal with. But you know, the post-tantrum hug, kiss, and "I love you, Daddy" make it all.. just... I don't know how to say it.

It's like this: When my daughter kisses me, it's like being injected with pure sunlight.

Can you dig it?

My time.... is done.

My oldest child is 8. My aunt says that he's almost exactly like I was. I think this is mostly true... except for the fact that he's clearly better looking and smarter than I am. And that's a good thing.

We're at a transition point now: If I'm chasing him on a straightaway... I can catch him no problem. But when it comes to cornering, I'm completely hosed. And so it begins.

He's goregeous and fast and funny and his sister drives him insane... and he's truly an amazing little man. Wowza.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I had to fire a client today. The reasons were many and the reasons were logical, but what it basically came down to is this: I refuse to work for a corporate drama queen who bases her self-worth on remaining in crisis. This type of person exists at every level of nearly every organization... but if I can avoid them, I will. Yeesh.

And that's the scoop.

Writers reading writer's writing.

I have a few friends who are authors. And I get people jobs in copywriting. So, like, my least favorite thing is posting a job for a copywriter, or writing about writers reading my writing, because it's very, very, VERY intimidating.

I need less talented people in my life. That would work. Dumb it down, and all.

That's a 180.

Man. It's amazing how can start the day thinking "Man! Fuck all you people!" And end the day thinking: "Man! Fuck all you people!"

Wait. That's not it.

Rather, it's amazing how you can start angry, worried, and spending too much energy on not-very-important crap, and end the day relatively... dare I say... serene. Thank goodness I get good advice from smart people.

A dangerous point for me is when someone is provably incorrect from an ethical and moral standpoint. What I want to do is, in my family's style, brand them as evil and figuratively knock the crap out of them. Instead, though, I took appropriate action, behaved with civility, and it turned out that the big jackass did the right thing.

Now, if only I can resist calling people "Big Jackass."

Oh. My. Goodness.

20 minutes of sleep last night. Literally. I fell asleep at midnight, woke up at 12:20, and that was it for the night. Thanks goodness I'm such a fine example of Clean Living, or I'd be a walking, talking train-wreck today.

Clean Living. You betcha.

zzzzz.

The Deacon brings it on.

The Deacon of my Church, a normally sedate man, gave what I thought was a firebrand-level homily. At least for him. The gist of it was: "We should be especially thankful for having things that are important enough to cause us suffering." I thought that was an amazing concept. After the service, I approached the Deacon and told him so.

He clapped me on the back and said "Ha ha! Okay!"

He's hard of hearing.

Cheney is not a Republican.

Cheney on the news again. Cringe, cringe.

I don't believe that the American public is stupid. I really don't.

But why any Republican in her or her right mind would vote for someone like Dick Cheney is beyond me. The man is arguably criminal, definitively foul-mouthed, clearly unsupportive of everyday people, and operates in a space that is wholly antithetical to good-hearted, intelligent, and well-meaning folks like, say, Bob Dole.

Bush is a non-issue. He doesn't really think enough on his own to be discussed, from a political standpoint. He seems nice enough. I'd have him to my house for dinner.

But Cheney... oh, lordy. this man requires people to sign an oath of allegiance before being allowed into his campaign speeches. What the hell? ICK ICK ICK!

Good luck, Captiva.

Captiva is one of my favorite places in the country. I was last there with my family in February of 2004. Our hopes and prayers are with the folks over there.

Well, here we go.

Down the hatch.