Sunday, August 17, 2008

I'm moving under a pile of leaves.

I'm in my van. I'm pseudo-cranking Modest Mouse while finishing my Steel and coming alive on my spiral noodle meal.

Steel:
This sweaty glass bottle rings up at $2.04. At 40oz, 8.1%, this is as close to a $2 sixer as I've seen. Stamped: approval.

Noodle Meal:
1/3 - 1/2 of a box of spirals + $.34 tomato sauce can and an amount of Weezy (Louisiana) hot sauce and parmesan. You're basically re-born as the Energizer bunny.

Modest Mouse:
Some kids have Modest Mouse playing exactly 10 open parking spots away. I have a nearly complete discography on my pod (iPod), and I matched tracks and increased the volume. (It was the song about the parking lot... very ironic!!) If they noticed that the same song was blaring 10 spots away, they didn't show it... maybe next time. Now my speakers are pumping out Less Than Jake at a lower and infinitely manageable volume.

What'd I do earlier? I made some resumes at the library and printed them out. I used a fantastic looking Google docs template. It looked much less impressive as it squirted out of a B&W printer on strangely gaunt and dseased paper. You can believe that the Google-born PDF was a fine work of art; its big orange circles highlighting all of my best attributes. You can believe my wording was crisp and beautiful, like a reassuring hand placed on the shoulder of a needy employer. Chris Harne will save you. (The wording was also appropriately dumbed down to explain the simple basics of how and why I am so crushingly hireable). The completed resume fell short of breathtaking. It looks gray and pixelated; printed on shiny rice paper. I punched the printouts into the faces of several potential employers. (I used my professional speaking voice, and handed in the resume with an enthusiastic smile.) So, now I have some well worded "I'm actually trying" resumes. I'm trying! (to survive in a convoluted minimalist setting).

Here's some good news. Every single business in the town of Ashland will be hiring in the next few weeks to month! Every single one is expecting to hire people soon! My application/resume is on file at numerous locations! I have marketable skills, and I am not a dirty mess blocking the street! Never before has the pungent odor of success burned so strongly in both of my nostrils!

I watched another movie. This theater kind of redeemed itself. "Up the Yangtze" is one of the better documentaries I've seen. The film focuses on the effects of the Chinese government's decision to dam the Yangtze River and flood the banks. It shows the hopelessness and frustration of the poor and the common man in China who are forced to move. It specifically shows how a few certain people and families were effected. A young girl from an incredibly humble situation goes to work on a luxury cruise ship that navigates the now-bloated river while her family is displaced because they were living in the flood zone. I didn't draw many conclusions, aside from the fact that shit is very difficult for some humans and it can pretty much break your heart. This documentary was well filmed and edited. Facial expressions were caught, and used to relay feelings more clearly than words. I doubt it's easy to summarize a situation so well. It wasn't all "boo hoo, fuck the man" - it showed different angles and situations, and painted a clear picture of the facts. I'd say it's worth going a little out of your way to see this if you like movies at all anyway.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joe, I thought he made it pretty clear JOB. Careers are overrated, like if I had a 'career' before I was ready to do what I really wanted to do or even knew what that was, I wouldn't have been able to get to it and would not be doing it now

Joe the Plumber said...

Fair enough

Joe