Just a note to all SEVEN (woo hoo) of my tumblr followers: I’m not really using this tumblr space at the moment, so please be sure to check my other blogs out:
that day last summer…
This evening I overtly flirted with the Indian cab driver who hauled my drunk as home. In fact, he let me give him my number. I hope he calls and is able to make my taxi cab fantasy come true…
I remember his face, even if my iPhone doesn’t…
My boss just called me. It’s a Sunday afternoon! That should be against the law!
ME: How long have you been coming out here like this?
HIM: Not long, this is only like my fifth time I’ve been out here. This spot can be jumping with cops, you know.
ME: Yeah, I know. That’s why I almost didn’t let you in when you mentioned you brought up money. Entrapment, you know.
HIM: Just makin’ it clear what I need. Last week this guy picked me up, took me to his house in Lakewood, and didn’t want to pay anything. I had to walk all the way back from Lakewood.
ME: So what gave you the idea to come out here like this?
HIM: My wife. We got five kids. I don’t have a job right now. She told me they be prostituting out here on Detroit.
ME: So, are you gay, straight, bi?
HIM: I’m bi.
ME: What do you like more? Men or women? If you had to choose between one or the other, what would you choose?
HIM: Honestly, I couldn’t make that choice. I’d want both.
ME: How does your wife feel about that?
HIM: She’s cool with it. Actually, her fantasy is to have a threesome and watch two guys go at it.
ME: Would you ever let your wife come out here on the streets like this?
HIM: No way!
I like to refer to my Grindr app as GrindM…. think about it, sound it out, G-R-I-N-D-M. (that’s GRIND HIM for those of us who are phonetically challenged with social media speak). I mean that’s really what it should be called, right? Anyways, an interestingly handsome and ethnically ambiguous twenty-something popped up about 3.1 miles away from me today. His profile stats described him as 5’10”, 140lbs, and single. I didn’t know what to think of his note though. It read “Hey, everyone. I’m ONLY into husky and heavyset guys. Say hey.”
What’s that? A good looking in shape guy is only into “husky” dudes. Being that I currently find myself tipping the scales at 40 lbs overweight I guess that would apply to me, right? Could I actually get a date with this guy? Or, better yet, GRINDM? I almost chatted him up but then I thought about the depressing fact that he might only want me for my body. How could I deal with the rejection when I eventually attain my ideal body weight that I keep dreaming about?
Unfortunately, I was forced to shop at Wal-Mart yesterday (not really forced, but I was too lazy to drive an extra mile to Target). Fortunately, my perception of the typical Wal-Mart shopper changed when I spotted him.
Does anyone have experience making major life changes for the good? Leaving a job to be your own boss? Moving to a new and exciting city? Taking off to travel the world? I’m interested in hearing your stories and perhaps your advice as I seek to make positive change in my own life. You see, I’m seriously considering making a significant change in my life and it’s kind of scary. Two questions that I keep asking myself is “Will I be alright if I just up and leave my job?” and “What are the steps I need to take to take to make the life I envision myself having?” So let’s explore these questions:
1) Will I be alright if I just up and leave my job? This is the scary part of considering my life change. Leaving a job without having another lined up goes against everything we’re taught about responsibility. I have a small nest egg with my 401K, but dipping into that also goes against our societal rules of responsibility. I suppose I could make it three or four months on my nest egg, but after that I’d be totally broke and could possibly be facing some pretty strong financial penalties. On the other hand, I may be just fine in my new life and happen upon a sustainable career as a photographer/blogger by the time my initial nest egg runs out. I guess this is what is meant when people talk about taking a “risk.” It could all work out fine, or end in a bad situation.
2) What are the steps I need to take to make the life I envision having? This is a tough question because it means I have to define a clear vision in order to identify the steps necessary to make that vision a reality. My vision is to make a sustainable living as a photographer/blogger. So what does that mean? It means that I make a decent living (nothing decadent) but enough to sustain a lifestyle in which I can focus on developing my talent as a photographer, and perhaps even blog about my experiences traveling and taking pictures of people. Yes, that is my vision.
Is any of this possible? This evening I called up two friends whom I consider extremely successful in their own lives to seek their advice. Friend number one is an extreme inspiration to me because he’s always been one of those people who has not been afraid to take risk in order to achieve what he wants out of life. And every time he’s taken a risk he’s always come out on top. In fact, he now runs his own law practice, lives in a great cosmopolitan North American city, and has accumulated enough self-earned wealth that he can afford to buy a vacation home in an exotic foreign country. All this, because he woke up one morning and decided that he would up and leave a secure steady job to go to law school. His advice to me was to make change happen before I turn 40 (which is in four short years) because the longer I wait the harder it will be to change.
My other friend is a senior level executive in the corporate world and is doing extremely well. Not only does he make a great living, but his company sends him all over the world to set up offices in different countries, gives him lush vacations and bonuses, and allows him to work from home whenever he’s not traveling. This friend is a little older and a little more conservative when it comes to taking risk. He has been on this calculated career path pretty much since he entered the workforce 20 some years ago. His advice was to weigh my options and my potential financial situation should things not work out.
So what to do? Will I make my life change? Do I have the courage? More to come…