Oh Hai, Everyone. It's been over three years since my last post. Why post now? Why not start a new blog? Why even have a blog?
During the last three years a lot has changed. I moved from Muncie, IN to Chicago, IL. I have worked at REI , Starbucks, Laugh Out Loud Theatre, The Hancock Building (Fired), Hashbrowns (Fired) , Elly’s Pancake House, Citadel Hedge fund Mailroom (Quit twice), Lincoln Park High School Football Coach , Fairgreen Real Estate , Yardhouse, Echo Global Logistics, and Chicago Electric Boat Company.
I have 11 different paytstubs in the last 3 years. I have gone out on lots of dates, seen a few people, and been in one committed relationship. Fitness has terrorized my life. I’ve done three Triathlons, two Marathons, and am on the verge of going to Amsterdam to run a third. I have hosted a few comedy shows. Been involved in many more. Walked away from comedy, walked back again.
3 lessons in 3 years
- Keep showing up.
In 2016, I found myself connecting with a man at Park Community Church. He had a good head on his shoulders. We bonded during a bible study and eventually he plucked me out of the mailroom for a seasonal job at Chicago Electric Boat Company. I found myself enjoying the Chicago River on a daily basis. I had to deal with some shit too. From fining a basic white girl for getting to drunk and refusing to come back to the dock to an unmanned boat roaming loose in the marina.
The job was part time, we hadn’t had enough growth to bring me on to a full time roll. Over the next couple years I had to get a full time job. I’d work 8-5 and the head to the boat shop to put in some hours. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and working with the people.
A few weeks ago the GM quit and they offered me the position. It was a tough decision. I had finally found a home with Echo. Lots of cool people and I was pretty good at slinging freight. One of the only threads I had the last few years was working in the marina. I knew I liked the job because I had been doing it for a couple years. I took the job.
Chicago Electric Boats fell out of nowhere right into my lap. My foot in the door was very small. But over the years the door opened up until I began to shove half my body into the doorway.
- You can’t pick and choose.
You need to really think about your life. Is it by design or by default. I had a rough day at work the other day. I had to fine a group 750 dollars for damaging the back deck of a boat. After work I was going to see a girl. I was hauling on my Surly. I passed another cyclist on her right side. She was riding in the center of the lane. She yelled out to me, “Pass on the left. Asshole.” As I zipped past her I yelled back, “Wear and helmet, you can’t pick and choose.”
Who is this woman to tell me the rules of the road. She is just picking and choosing the ones she likes. I inconvenienced her by passing her on the right. She isn’t even taking care of her own life. Wear a helmet. Are you kidding me?
In the coming days I thought about this line. “Wear and helmet, you can’t pick and choose.” How often in my own life am I picking and choosing. I run a marathon, but eat a bunch of junk food. I go to church on sunday, then I go makeout with a total stranger. Give someone some life advice, then go do the total opposite. In the coming weeks I will attempt to trim the fat in my life. The things that are by default and not by design. We need to each take the time and reflect on each day and think how can we improve. What bad habits did we curb?
- We don’t need self help, we need to help.
“Suffering you need, Literature is baloney.” - Tim Krabbe
The best self help is not reading a blog. What is the thing you can’t stop thinking about it. It's hard. What if I’m bad at it. What if people laugh at me. What if my family disowns me. Who cares. You have but one role in this life. To be a good person and help others be good people. If the thing you are thinking about could help another person, you know what you need to do. Quit taking it easy. What challenge can you suffer through to become a better person.
In the last year, I have immersed myself in Albert Camus, Immanuel Kant, Plato,, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, CS Lewis, Soren Kierkegaard, and many others. A lot of these fellas are very intelligent. I had found myself reading one and then another and then another. I think it's more important to find these guys interesting then it is to actually read them. What I learned was how important it is to reflect. A lot of us know what we need to do. We find ourselves falling into rabbit holes while we look for alternatives or distraction. If you want to read a novel read a novel. If you want to read a self help book read a self help book. But don’t forget these are distractions. You have a life to live. You don’t want to be the goon at the end of your life who only consumed. Nobody finished their life and wishes they consumed more. They kick themselves for the things they didn’t do. Go do those things. Follow the fear.
This blog is for me. It is not meant to be enjoyed or read. I have made these reminders for myself.
I've attached this introspective piece of work from Demetri Martin. It is one fo the most underrated specials of all time. Demetri is know for his jokes, but he bears his soul during this piece. Worth a watch for sure.
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