(Voltaire the Gargoyle, longtime guardian and home office compatriot, decides to get into the Mardi Gras spirit)
Yes, it is Mardi Gras! On Sunday I thanked a random number generator for choosing a Terrence Simien CD this week, which is a reference that very few people understood. See, Terrence is my favorite Zydeco performer and is just a thrill to watch and listen to. The guy just attacks the accordion and it is impossible to watch him while sitting down. You have to get up and move and smile and just enjoy life. Plus half the lyrics are in French and are incomprehensible even when translated. I’m not kidding, this is one of his verses translated into English: “The snapbeans aren’t salty / The snapbeans aren’t salty / I am not worried / The snapbeans aren’t salty.” Pure genius. So, I got to listen to that driving back and forth from work and man isn’t that a thrill.
Plus, I get into a bit of a reflective mood during this time because of Mardi Gras 2003, which while it might not be the most influential night of my life it probably ranks in the top five. Here’s the story (and those that actually played a role in it can try to keep me honest). We were finishing up our last semester of business school and after a weekend of misadventures, involving cops addressing the crowd at the Backer, my completely blowing chance #437 with the legendary SBEM (and no, I will not be providing a translation for that acronym. Those who need to know, know), Super dragging me to an Irish bar by saying, “There is Guinness and Irish women there. You can not give me a reason that will trump that.”, Super and I returning to the Backer like conquering heroes and proving the power of the Tao, my leaving the bar completely oblivious to the fact that a buddy of mine was getting into a fight a couple of hundred yards away and that was just Friday night. For crying out loud, I met Renee the next night and that isn’t a story for the blog, that’s the basis for about half of my novel. Anyway, after all of this Erik and I ended up sitting at the bar on Mardi Gras night, because we simply had to go out on Mardi Gras, and the following offer was made.
“We can rebuild you. We can make you stronger. Faster. Cooler.”
And that’s how it all began. A determined effort to reshape my persona and style and try to figure out a way to show who I really am. And gain a ton of confidence and stop being so damn negative about everything. Oh and fix the way I wore my baseball cap, this was really significant at the time. Honest, it’s in my writer’s journal. I took notes on this. And you know what? It worked, better than anyone ever expected.
So I’m sitting here tonight and even I’m looking at those days with a sense of awe. Which is not the right emotion to have since I should have surpassed who I was but I have regressed a bit. Hopefully just a bit, but definitely some steps backwards. And that just means one thing, the process starts up again. So when people ask me what I am giving up for Lent this year I am going to say the same thing I did three years ago, “Negativity.” It’s time for a reinvention, a reinvigoration, and while I won’t have the Backer and my advisory council is now spread across the globe all the way to Milwaukee I am going to go at this one full bore. Because win or lose, life is too short to spend sitting in front of a screen night after night. With that, it is off to celebrate.
Well that and figure out how to get a St. Mary’s girl to upgrade my wardrobe. That was a lot easier to accomplish three years ago…
1 comment:
Battling against negativity is tough, really tough. I think everyone in the world faces it, and only a few people ever really “win”. Some people just roll over right away and the negativity consumes them. These people are often found working on cable “news” shows. Most of us fight it and fight it until we get tired and resigned about it. If it’s not negativity, it’s at lease malaise.
The best way to battle negativity is to (a) keep moving - - stagnation is bad - - and (b) find something you can do that creates a positive impact, something like volunteer work. Nothing like a little sweat equity and being able to see that you made a difference to someone else to help you feel good about yourself.
You're just hangin' out
At a local bar
And you're wonderin'
Who the hell you are
Keep on smilin' thru the rain
Laughin' at the pain
Just flowin' with the changes
Till the sun comes out again
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