As for the connection between quitting my job and New York City, I think it is buried somewhere within the recesses of situational relevance - right here and now, in the fluid present, I’m in this situation and unhappy with it. In the past and future (if they can be separated as such) I’m in New York City and I’m happy. What’s happening here is making me think of what’s happening there, right here and now.
She asked me if I
drank scotch and sat behind a
big desk and wrote about politics and stuff
(Written in early 2005; this was the only column I ever wrote for my college newspaper.)
We, as a species, have a habit of expecting that the worst thing possible is exactly what will happen, if for no other reason than it so seldom does. This preparation in the mind – to expect abject terror, defeat, [...]