Saturday, April 22, 2006





I'm at one of those points where I risk becoming gravely tired of myself. I suspect my blog is far more interesting than I am. Then again, the suburbs are fertile soil for self-loathing; everywhere I look I see incipient decay and phenomenally stupid people. I need to get the fuck out of here as quickly as possible before I keel over from sheer indignant fury.

13 comments:

Ken said...

Then do it: go. One of my favorite activities in the Lower 48 was to hop in my '68 MGB and go get lost. First right, third left, keep going.... Towns, people, vistas I'd never before seen.

If you feel suffocated, and are becoming too introspective, withdrawn and cynical, then go out to the small towns scattered throughout the West. Get a dose of Terran reality. Understand the mindless rednecks are anything but, and The Salt of The Earth have much to teach. Sleep in the desert, the mountains, beside small streams, don't bother with the 'Net, leave your worries behind. Have no concern; they'll be there upon return. And you will be different.

If you take a positive attitude and leave the biases (which you DO have), you will be renewed. Take your time; find a nice place and stay a while, then move on. Don't talk about it, that's boring.

Just go.

Mac said...

I just might.

Paul Kimball said...

Wow. I can't wait to get to Kansas City after reading this. :-)

Paul

P.S. Hilarious cartoon.

Mac said...

Don't worry, Paul. I'll be sure to flee *after* our visit ;-)

Paul Kimball said...

Mac:

If you're going to "flee", go northeast, young man, not west! There's nothing more peaceful than spending an afternoon at Peggy's Cove, N.S. sitting on the rocks, staring out at the sea.

And then there's the lobster dinner to follow, with gingerbread and ice cream for desert, in a restaurant overlooking the ocean, with the sun setting.

I do love living here!

Paul

Mac said...

Paul--

I'm considering that an invitation! :-)

Sitting on the rocks watching the sea sounds positively heavenly to my suburb-addled brain...

Paul Kimball said...

Mac:

As you know, you're welcome anytime. You shoudl go to grad school at Acadia - the scenery at Cape Split (25 miles away) is breathtaking.

Ironically, never having spent any time in the midwest (unless Iowa is the midwest, and not counting airports), I'm looking forward to a couple of days as a "fish out of water" in KC. I'll definitely have to stop at the Truman Library / Museum.

Paul

Paul Kimball said...

http://novascotia.com/en/home/default.aspx

Ken said...

Nova Scotia. That sounds nice.

Look, Mac, if you're in some sort of emotional/psychological/intellectual hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. Judging by your later posts, I'd guess you just need a break, to go somewhere without expectation or duty.

Nova Scotia sounds nice. Why not go to school there for a year? What the hell?

The Rockies, Cascades/Sierras/ Pacific Coast are pretty good, too. Hop out of the rut and go do something different for a while.

Paul Kimball said...

Ken:

Nova Scotia is GREAT!

Alas, we don't have a professional baseball team.

On the other hand, neither does Kansas City! :-)

Go Bosox!

Paul

Paul Kimball said...

Mac et al:

I should add that we're very touchy up here in the Great White North (or, as Pat Buchanan amusingly called us, "Soviet Canuckistan") about low cost labour coming into our country from the south, especially if they jump the queue, and especially if they're from Missouri.

Or Delaware.

We hate Delaware.

Paul

Ken said...

Soviet Canuckistan. Never heard that one, it's new to me, eh? Poor Pat: bet he was born bitter. What an unhappy man he seems to be. As for Delaware, the Federal Reserve (which is NOT a Federal agency and which has NO reserves) is incorporated in the state of Delaware. That's enough to view the state with suspicion, at least. As for Missouri, it's just too hot and humid for me.

Yah, the Great White North is much preferable. There must be some good schools in Nova Scotia too, I'd imagine. Canadians seem, so far as I can tell anyway, to have a better grip on education that we Americans. A year's study in Nova Scotia seems to me as a perfect way to break out of a rut, and from all I've read NS is a really nice place with really nice folks. Also, Mac would not be flying blind, as it were. There's at least one individual to help him settle in, meet folks, etc. Man, I'd LOVE to do that! Could be really great. Good lookin' women folk in Canada, too.

Ya know, there's three ways to deal with a problem. Solve it, eliminate it, leave it. One cannot, of course, leave problems that are part and parcel of one's psyche, but geographically located problems can be left behind, and one's psychological and/or emotional difficulties can often be positively influenced by a change of venue.

As for that little animation Mac put up with his post, I find it very disturbing. Mac, you'd not have posted it did you not feel, a bit anyway, like the animation. Frankly, I feel it's not a good sign, and indicates to me at least that you REALLY need a change.

Mac said...

Ken,

If not for financial necessities -- and maybe they're not the "necessities" I think they are -- I'd probably be out of here. Then again, I don't want to be a vagrant; I need a place to come back to!

In the meantime, I'm exploring some options. I wouldn't rule out moving to Canada. If I could be assured a job there -- and it wouldn't have to be a spectacular job by any means -- I'd almost certainly go.

As for the animation: Yes, I sort of feel like that. But don't be too worried; I actually find it more funny than disturbing.