6.21.01

Have you ever had one of those weeks; one of those weeks that you’ll always remember? A time when you were reminded just how wonderful and how terrible the world we live in can be; a reminder to live each day as though it were your last? I have been having one of those weeks.

Monday, June 18, 2001

Started as a typical Monday - I’m dead tired and don’t want to be at work. One good thing, it marked the 6 month "anniversary" of my working at my current job. This means I’ll be getting a raise and will officially be able to take vacation and sick days rather than having to work OT to make up hours that I miss. So it’s sort of a big day for me, I guess. Anyway, my boss comes to me and asks me to look something up on the internet for him, something personal, not business related. He asks me to look up airline tickets leaving Tuesday or Wednesday from St. Louis to Seattle and returning on Saturday. I run over to Travelocity and Expedia and find a few possibilities for him and ask him what they’re for.

His 21-year-old son has been having seizures for about a year now and no one could figure out why. The guy had never had epilepsy, he’d never had this problem until about a year ago, they weren’t preceded by any other problems, just all of a sudden he was having seizures. About 2 months ago they started getting really bad - instead of one or two a month he’d be getting up to six a day! Luckily his mother lives in Seattle where there’s a specialty clinic for this sort of thing and he flew out there to have a look. They found a golf ball- sized tumor in his brain and decided to do surgery to get as much as they could out.

This guy is 21 years old! He was a Freshman when I was a Senior. He’s younger than all of my friends. And only a year ago he was a perfectly normal, happy guy. Now, he might be facing death. A year ago I was unhappy in my job and wishing I could be anywhere other than where I was. A year from now maybe I’ll be in a hospital in Seattle having a brain tumor removed. God, how your life can change so dramatically in such a small space of time.

Tuesday, June 19, 2001

I used to work for a marketing firm back before I realized how much I hated working for marketing firms. Well, I still keep in touch with quite a few people there - chatting with two of them on a daily basis over AIM. Things have been rather hectic there basically since before I left 6 months ago and have only become more chaotic as they’ve had time to boil. Well, this week was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The boss decided on Monday that she was going to "take a leave of absence" and leave the VP in charge. Tuesday four people got fired - three of them good friends of mine, the fourth was a quiet guy who I might have spoken to three times during my tenure. Now these people are jobless in one of the worst job markets in recent history. I would be up a creek without a paddle if I got fired right now. Thank God I work for civic government so that’s unlikely to happen, but still. I feel for these folks and if they’re reading this, I wish you the best of luck. You’re all talented people and I’m sure you’ll find something soon.

Again, this just made me realize how quickly things can change in your life. No, this isn’t as potentially life-shattering as a brain tumor, but it’s definitely a big deal when Mr. Landlord comes a calling on the first of the month.

Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Since 1994, I have been a fan of the punk rock group, Green Day. From their first major release, Dookie, all the way to their most recent and most controversial effort, Warning, I have loved these guys. Sadly, they never made it to my old stomping grounds in central-Illinois. They would be in Chicago, they would be in Indianapolis, they would be in St. Louis, but Champaign was never to be. Finally, on this day, I saw Green Day. And I am forever changed.

I know, it’s just a concert, but seriously, this was the best concert I have ever been to - hands down, no question about it. And it’s the realization of a dream I’ve had for 7 years. I know of people who went their entire lives without ever getting to see their favorite band play live and I’m just glad to say that I was finally able to do that.

Honestly, it’s the next day and I still feel giddy with excitement. Every few minutes I just get this little pang of "I saw Green Day!" and I am forced to pump my fist or maybe even jump up and down a little. I thought seeing Metallica was cool; I thought seeing Stone Temple Pilots was great; I thought seeing The Urge was kick ass - but this transcends all of that for me. This is the most joy about a single event I’ve felt in a long, long time. I think the last time was when I finally got to see Public Enemy in concert in 1991. That’s 10 years, folks. That’s a long time to go without this kind of joy and excitement, so you can imagine how I’m feeling today.

Thursday, June 21, 2001

Well, quite frankly, nothing so far. I think I’m still just reeling from the excitement that was Green Day. But we’ll see, the day’s not over yet.

Friday, June 22, 2001

This is another big day for me - it’s the 5-year anniversary of my Mom’s death. I can’t believe it’s been five years. My life has changed so much in that time. I’ve changed so much in that time, for better or worse. I think I’ve discussed enough in previous posts how important this event has been in my life, so I won’t rehash it again. It should be obvious how much of an impact such an event has on someone, so the message here is pretty clear.

Yes, I could go on all day as to what the occurrences of this week have really meant to me. People have written books about just one of these life lessons that I’ve gotten this week. But this site is all about reflection - what would these things mean to you if you were in my shoes?

So what did I learn during this week of lessons? To sum up briefly:

Life’s short, Bub, so enjoy it while you can. Amen.

Life is full of ups and downs, but that’s all part of the ride. Amen.

Never give up on something you’ve always wanted to do - someday the fates will hand you the opportunity to experience it. Amen.

Sometimes a Thursday is just a Thursday. Amen.

And finally, it’s good to look back and take stock, but don’t stay there too long without forging ahead. Amen.

Space Monkey