To balance the karma of the universe's favor in ESPN2 showing the Giants @ Astros game yesterday, I must say something nice about 3 individual people. If you know me, you know that saying something nice about someone doesn't come easily to me. I usually prefer to do it passive aggressively, if at all. And what sucks is that I always said something nice about someone yesterday! But I don't want to continue with this Karma debt, so I will use the random number generator to chose someone (well, 3 someones) to speak well of...here goes...
Ok, I just gotta say Karma is a bitch. No seriously...if you think this is some idle exercise, YOU try doing it. Cuz, it is seriously fucking with me.
Heather is a friend from my old work job, the one that laid me off. I haven't really talked to her much since then and I probably haven't been a very good friend but that company was one that kinda consumed you so being cut off so brutally was somewhat psychologically scarring and I can't say I've recovered from that. That's an excuse, mind you, but it is also an explanation, at least as far as I am concerned.
Anyway, it isn't about who, it's about what's nice. In that sense, this is relatively easy. `Cuz Heather's a really nice person. She doesn't get along with everyone (who does?) but, in general, she is not tough to be around...she's funny and very genuine and doesn't really bullshit (even when the situation warrants it.) Further, she's pretty nice to look at, if you know what I'm sayin ;) She is not a person who does a lot of hating, which isn't so common in today's day and age...we all like to think we're enlightened but we aren't. None of us...but Heather is more enlightened than most and that's saying something. So, from that standpoint, this exercise is pretty easy.
Let's see who we get next...
Hmmm...Jean...jean is a friend of the Mexican. If you know me with any depth at all, you know that I have a friend who I call the Mexican. he is one of my closer friends and in most any of my wilder and crazier stories, he is usually there. Well, he lives in PA, like 300 miles from me, and in his town, he has two major friends he hangs out with...Kyle and Jean. So I've met Jean like 2 times in person. But they were wacky times... :)
So what do I know that is nice about Jean? Well, from what little I know, he seems to really love life...not in the sense of loving being alive but the kinda person who views life as an exercise and works it hard to get the joy that is there for the taking. I know he is pretty active, and is very passionate about music...he plays in a band that does local gigs, though I've never seen him play. I can safely infer that, as he hangs out with the Mexican, he isn't very uptight or stressed...people like that grind themselves to dust in the Mexican's presence...so Jean can go with the flow, which is a nice trick to have...a lot of us are just forced down a path by circumstances and expectations and so-called 'dreams' which are really just goals that we haven't thought through. I really get the impression that Jean isn't like that and that he is the kinda person who can live outside all of that. I'm kinda jealous of him, in that sense...
Yeah, this is tough. I don't like this at all. ESPN2 better show a BUNCH of games for this...
OK...one more and I'm done...
Heh. That's funny. You see, I've met Kat like once. 2 months ago. She came to the OLT Founder's Day party(ies) in Riverside. So, from talking to her at the party, I know she studies music at Potsdam state. Aside from that, and the fact that she is this tiny, pixie like girl who is as cute as a button, I don't know what I can say about her. Except for one thing...
Kat is courageous. I don't mean that in a cliche sort of way. I mean that she has a level of self-knowing character that reflects in the ability to withstand pressure and challenge in a way that is rare in today's day and age. How do I know this if I only met her once? Well, I'll have to tell the story...As I said, she came to the OLT Founder's Day party. Now, this is a drinking event...one where we get together to drink. Oh, it isn't REQUIRED to drink but everyone does. And I do, a lot. Now, I am not a small person. Nor am I particularly reserved. All of this gets multiplied when I drink. and there is no night of the year where I drink as much as Founder's Day (except maybe Wine Tasting...) So, I am this huge, larger than life caricature of a person partying at insane volume and I share that with all around me. And people join in. Not necessarily because they WANT to but because I am damn near a force of nature and they just get swept up. So, when this pressure was brought to bear on Kat, she withstood it and said no. So I redoubled my efforts. And she STILL said no. Honestly, I didn't know what to do...it happens so rarely. Being drunk and lacking judgement, I tried even HARDER. And She still said no. And I could tell that that took a lot outta her. that it was a major effort of will. and I felt bad...I mean, it's a party, it's about having fun. and I was having the opposite effect for her. So I apologized as best as I could (drunk off my ass) and endeavored to help her enjoy the party, without drinking. That would have been the end of it, except that it wasn't. Cuz, later on, the party got busted by the authorities...And it would have been a mess. I mean, I can't say that there were underage people at this event participating in alcohol use, cuz I don't have that knowledge first hand. And that isn't an accident. But the authorities came in and sent everyone away and started carding people and asking unfortunate questions. Naturally, because I was drunk, I made myself a figurehead and distracted them as much as possible while everyone else scattered. In the end, they were left with 6 people...3 people who lived at the location and three others including me. All were above 21. When they stated that they had proof of underage drinking, I challenged it...and asked them to show me proof...after all, everyone was gone (or hiding out back). So he shows me his list of ids checked and everyone on it is above age except for one person. you guessed it. Kat. Who WASN'T DRINKING! So I told him that. He looked skeptical but told me to prove it. So I went out back and I asked Kat to come help us. And I could tell she was terrified. I mean, I don't think she has been at a lot of parties that get busted up but it can be a harrowing experience...you think that you are gonna get cited or locked up or kicked out of school or god knows what. So I told her not to worry about it but...she squared her shoulders and did it. She went back inside and looked the guy in the eye and told him she wasn't drinking...which was the God's honest truth. He looked her back and saw she was being honest and that settled it...it was no longer an underage drinking event. Man, I can't tell you how ballsy that was...Could I have done that in her shoes? I dunno...I mean, I am damn near TWICE the drinking age, so it was easy for me to stand up to him...That's courage...That girls' gonna be somebody someday.
Alright, universe, that one was a gimme...So, I've balanced my karma and done my duty.
In the end, it was worth it. BTW, Giants won 5-2. Timmy pitched 7 innings and gave up no runs. It was awesome.
-gen
