The Chain
January 20th, 2009.
Previously…
My plans to leave Orlando permanently weren’t going well. The shattered economy combined with the fact that no one was hiring anywhere meant that I was effectively trapped. So what was a guy like me in that situation going to do? I was going to multitask. Live in town and attempt to thrive and at the same time take any and all steps to make a clean getaway. The road was calling, but I was chained to the sidewalk. All that was needed was a key.
I finally up and got a Facebook account. I was already on numerous social networking sites and political sites, so what was one more. I caught up with a lot of my old mates from my time in the Army, surprisingly. And funny enough, it seemed like we all signed up at around the same time. That was certainly a welcome coincidence. Usually when I left somewhere, I would never see the people I met along the way ever again. With the internet, that was a lot less likely, especially if I put the work into it.
Barack Obama was going to be sworn in as President of the United States of America. He’s got a lot of work to do. That’s an understatement. It’s nearly impossible to wonder what’s going to happen, but things have got to get better than they were for the past eight years. The New Year brought on good things, and a lot of things that seemed like they were the same thing over and over again. I wanted the new. I wanted out of here. I wanted to fly. That’s what was on my mind.
And Now…
We were huddled in our company CEO’s office watching the Inauguration, because the internet practically cracked in half due to all of the people streaming it online all over the planet. I couldn’t believe Barack Obama was going to be sworn in finally. It was…weird. Yes, I almost got a little emotional, but it didn’t matter. He made it, and well-it’s going to be a very interesting time having a president who seems like he knows what he’s doing. An intellect in the White House, after all of this time.
I left the office early, since there wasn’t much going on and our big to-do project was finally out the door (3 months of stress)-and the powers-that-be were laying one of the team off (and I didn’t want to be around for that). Holding patterns at the office can only get you so far. And there was only so much random busy work and YouTube vids that could be watched before drowning in utter boredom. Home was quiet. Red and her mister weren’t around, so I stretched out on the couch, fired up my laptop, and watched the finally stable stream of the Inauguration while playing FIFA 09 on my PS3. Couldn’t beat a quiet afternoon like that.
Red and her mister showed up, so I ended up at the newly reopened Will’s Pub, not too far down on Mills Avenue from its former location. The same folks were there-for a spoken word poetry night. Good times. There were your typical mass of poets. Actually, typical wasn’t the word. More like expressive. It was a night of people willing to cast their art of thought and genius on paper and exclaim it out to the world. People are always listening, and tonight it was no different. There were a few that caught my attention, but the headliner (I’m going to shoot myself for forgetting his name) was absolutely brilliant. He recited a poem about the psychology of the Incredible Hulk and Betty Ross that had the entire crowd laughing and thinking. The power of words in a smoky dive bar.
I was at Independent Bar later on, basking in the glow of the whole Inauguration, watching kids dance to music their grandparents grew up dancing to. It was a funny thing to see, these kids swing dancing about like they were experts. And they looked like they were experts. I was good decade or more older than they were. That, to me, felt odd. Like I was the oldest person in the room. Maybe it was the fact that 32 was coming along in March. Maybe it was the fact that my familial arch nemesis was getting married (after the whole family predicted that I was likely to get hitched way before he ever would) in a few months. I didn’t know. Or maybe I wasn’t saying.
Being distracted and not being able to enjoy the atmosphere, I left for Pine Street, where I relaxed at the bar silently, every now and then engaging in small talk with the bartenders, who I’d gotten to know (or was it the other way around). There were all kinds of ideas floated through my head. Where to go next, when to sort out mundane errands, and how big my upcoming raise was going to be.
There was not a lot going on in my life at the moment. The weather was cold, the ideas weren’t flowing freely, and I felt like I was stuck. In my mind I looked down at my ankle. The chain was still there. And it had to go.
Next: Friday night, here we come. Will it be my first and last trip to Blue Martini, or will I be astonished? Plus, enjoying a long weekend would usually mean a roadie, but Mother Nature has other plans.
Previously…
My plans to leave Orlando permanently weren’t going well. The shattered economy combined with the fact that no one was hiring anywhere meant that I was effectively trapped. So what was a guy like me in that situation going to do? I was going to multitask. Live in town and attempt to thrive and at the same time take any and all steps to make a clean getaway. The road was calling, but I was chained to the sidewalk. All that was needed was a key.
I finally up and got a Facebook account. I was already on numerous social networking sites and political sites, so what was one more. I caught up with a lot of my old mates from my time in the Army, surprisingly. And funny enough, it seemed like we all signed up at around the same time. That was certainly a welcome coincidence. Usually when I left somewhere, I would never see the people I met along the way ever again. With the internet, that was a lot less likely, especially if I put the work into it.
Barack Obama was going to be sworn in as President of the United States of America. He’s got a lot of work to do. That’s an understatement. It’s nearly impossible to wonder what’s going to happen, but things have got to get better than they were for the past eight years. The New Year brought on good things, and a lot of things that seemed like they were the same thing over and over again. I wanted the new. I wanted out of here. I wanted to fly. That’s what was on my mind.
And Now…
We were huddled in our company CEO’s office watching the Inauguration, because the internet practically cracked in half due to all of the people streaming it online all over the planet. I couldn’t believe Barack Obama was going to be sworn in finally. It was…weird. Yes, I almost got a little emotional, but it didn’t matter. He made it, and well-it’s going to be a very interesting time having a president who seems like he knows what he’s doing. An intellect in the White House, after all of this time.
I left the office early, since there wasn’t much going on and our big to-do project was finally out the door (3 months of stress)-and the powers-that-be were laying one of the team off (and I didn’t want to be around for that). Holding patterns at the office can only get you so far. And there was only so much random busy work and YouTube vids that could be watched before drowning in utter boredom. Home was quiet. Red and her mister weren’t around, so I stretched out on the couch, fired up my laptop, and watched the finally stable stream of the Inauguration while playing FIFA 09 on my PS3. Couldn’t beat a quiet afternoon like that.
Red and her mister showed up, so I ended up at the newly reopened Will’s Pub, not too far down on Mills Avenue from its former location. The same folks were there-for a spoken word poetry night. Good times. There were your typical mass of poets. Actually, typical wasn’t the word. More like expressive. It was a night of people willing to cast their art of thought and genius on paper and exclaim it out to the world. People are always listening, and tonight it was no different. There were a few that caught my attention, but the headliner (I’m going to shoot myself for forgetting his name) was absolutely brilliant. He recited a poem about the psychology of the Incredible Hulk and Betty Ross that had the entire crowd laughing and thinking. The power of words in a smoky dive bar.
I was at Independent Bar later on, basking in the glow of the whole Inauguration, watching kids dance to music their grandparents grew up dancing to. It was a funny thing to see, these kids swing dancing about like they were experts. And they looked like they were experts. I was good decade or more older than they were. That, to me, felt odd. Like I was the oldest person in the room. Maybe it was the fact that 32 was coming along in March. Maybe it was the fact that my familial arch nemesis was getting married (after the whole family predicted that I was likely to get hitched way before he ever would) in a few months. I didn’t know. Or maybe I wasn’t saying.
Being distracted and not being able to enjoy the atmosphere, I left for Pine Street, where I relaxed at the bar silently, every now and then engaging in small talk with the bartenders, who I’d gotten to know (or was it the other way around). There were all kinds of ideas floated through my head. Where to go next, when to sort out mundane errands, and how big my upcoming raise was going to be.
There was not a lot going on in my life at the moment. The weather was cold, the ideas weren’t flowing freely, and I felt like I was stuck. In my mind I looked down at my ankle. The chain was still there. And it had to go.
Next: Friday night, here we come. Will it be my first and last trip to Blue Martini, or will I be astonished? Plus, enjoying a long weekend would usually mean a roadie, but Mother Nature has other plans.