An actual radio conversation between a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier (U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln) and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995. (The radio
conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on 10/10/95 authorized by the Freedom of Information Act.)*:  

 Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees the North to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, I SAY AGAIN, THAT’S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

*this is an urband legend; not true at all, but still CLASSIC.

He walked around like the king of the world. Simple and to an extent, unassuming. There was no clear sign that this club was his. But he walked like a man with the world in the palm of his hands. Next to him sat some of the sexiest women — maybe in the world — the highest paid global prostitutes money could buy…In this world, money is no option.

Bottles arrived like huge phallic symbols, blazing with flares, to alert others at the club where the big dicks could be found.

I never heard thank you. I never heard please. Statements were commands. As I cleaned glass and spills off the floor, heels danced on top of my hands. No one excused themselves - if anything - they got in the way. While on my hands and knees, I thought, “Now this is perspective.”

Life is like a house with many rooms. You’ve been in one room your whole life. You accept it. The color of the walls. The size. The furniture. You accept it. There’s nothing else.

But then someone knocks. You’ve never heard a knock before. But you answer the door and open it and walk out into the living room to see 50 more doors. Other rooms. Possibilities.

And you never knew they existed because you were so cotent and comfortable in your own room.

The question then becomes, what do you do now?

I try to hold myself to a very high standard. The key word is ‘try.’ I know I do not always come thru, I know that sometimes I fail. And sometimes I just am not holding myself accountable and not being the best that I can be.

Over the past few years, I’ve wavered in my own personal accountability. I’ve allowed myself excuses and alibis and special caveats.

But it frustrates me more though, when I see others, not even trying. I know that I am not always right, and I know that I am not always perfect. But I try. I try to be.

However, most of the world; probably 95% percent, do not do this. I see them. Are they lazy, apathetic, ignorant, or perhaps not capable?

It angers me; it kills me. How do you motivate people? Motivate people to show up on time, to do their job (well), to give a shit. How do you get an electorate out to vote? How do you stand back up when you fall down?

I think a person has to re-group and clearly see why they are doing what they are doing. What do they want? Because once they know this, everything takes on greater meaning. I think a lot of people do not know what they want. And if they do, and do not try, they are dead.

What is life without dreams? If you have no dreams, what are you living for?

We get stuck in a rut. Stuck in a rut. Stuck in a rut, in a rut, in a rut.

Wake up.

What’s worse than being a cater waiter? Is it being a cater waiter for celebrities? No, that’s fun. Being a cater waiter for douchebags associated with celebrities is what sucks. Many celebrities are chill - respectful - giving.

But I digress- this post isn’t about the people I wait on - but more so about the actual job.

A kid dropped a whole platter of half-full glasses in the stairway. It was slippery, wet, with broken glass everywhere. But no one helped him. People just walked right by him, up and down, down and up, not giving a shit. I ended up grabbing some rags and helping dry the dangerous situation.

Whatever happened to the idea of teamwork? Whatever happened to the idea of treating others the way you want to be treated….that mess could have been cleaned up in less than 5 minutes, if 5 people chipped in. But instead it took 20. And it was dangerous for anyone who walked by—-jagged glass and water are not a good combination.

But again I digress - this isn’t about the people I work with.

This post is about bumping into a high school acquaintance. So, here I am, doing a catering job on the side to make some extra dough, and here I see right in front of me, at this major music industry VIP event, a person from my past. I begin to feel embarrassed.

It has happened once before, seeing someone at one of these events that I knew - but I avoided speaking to them, let alone allowing them to see me. But this time, I rejected that. I went right up to this guy and said, “Hey Man, how are you?” We spoke briefly and I ended the conversation quickly - I was at work…literally.

But when I left him my mind raced into a bunch of different corners…..what am I doing with my life? Why am I catering? Is this what I want? Is this where I thought I’d be?

Am I a big acting star yet? Is my book published yet? Have a written a play? Directed a play? Why do I have a full-time job that pays me shit, that I have to cater on the side? Why do I have an insane amount of credit card debt?

MMM. The delicious questions of the quarterlifer.

Highlight of the night: When some guy asked me to get him three glasses of ice - he dumped a wad of dollar bills in my hand to do it -$7 exactly.

This might seem shocking to you - but that $7 made my night.

It didn’t matter- any of it - so what - so this is what I’m doing - this is part of the greater plan - and when I finally “make it,” I will have a level of humility, a bit of pride, tremendous empathy, and a whole lot of experiences to pull from in my future life.

We may not all become stars, but I know that I am so much more than “just a cater waiter.” I look forward to the day I’m the one shoving cash in some kid’s hand. But I promise, it’ll be a $20.

How to start a book? Right in media res.

Or maybe, just a statement. “I am an invisible man.”

Or perhaps we could say something more tantalizing: “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”

Or maybe I should be more concerned about the end? “This is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy.”

Should it be poetic? “We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
/ By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown.”

Maybe it’s not even the way it ends or begins. But what’s inside? The drama of the book, the life, the enjoyment of reading it, the struggle, the truth, the insights, the feelings, the emotions, the love.

It’s moving along…..

i haven’t here in about two weeks. check out two posts i have on www.quarterlives.com

i’m working on a third one to come out later this week.

if you have any suggestions for topics you want me to cover (re: current events/quarterlife) hit me up on twitter @25lifer or on FB - 25life.

alternatively you could comment here… . .  

i will be back here soon. :-)

There is some congregration in Florida…that wants to burn Korans on 9/11.

They refuse to call it off. Because, I guess, if they do call it off, the terrorists win.

I am awaiting Sarah Palin to twitter, “don’t give up, re-load that fire!” and for Pamela Geller to say, “stopping the burning is like spitting in the face of 9/11 victims.”

Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate.

This is sickening.

Remember when the world was behind us on 9/11?

Now we’re in the midst of fighting a group from putting up a religious/community center in New York City.

God Bless America.

Hi All-

The folks at www.quarterlives.com have asked me to become a regular contributor. I am very excited about this opportunity. Check out their website! And look out for my first post. :-)

Be in touch soon-

Alex

The savings rate for American households in June was 6.4%. It used to be zero. (people are actually saving money)

American average household debt is the lowest it’s been in 8 years (people are paying off debt)

The tax credit for buying a home expired. (lessens demand for buying houses)

Jobs are not being created. (the stimulus saved millions of jobs from being lost, but the private sector is not investing, for two reasons 1) they can’t get credit or 2) they’re afraid to spend it because of the “unknown future”)

Unemployment is still high, so people are scared. They are not spending as much and saving more. There is a glut of supply of housing out there, because of a “boom” that created too much. Now there is no demand, so if you know anything about the correlation between high supply and low demand = lower pricing. So if you bought your home at 400K, 3-7 years ago, it is probably worth less now. Maybe a lot less. For many folks, their house was their “bank.” And all of a sudden their bank got broken…..

On top of this, companies have done fairly well over the past year, many making more profits (often through cost-cutting measures - employees, inventory, etc). But they are not willing to spend this money because they’re scared too. So, jobs are not being created in the private sector. Why? Because there’s no demand. Why? Because consumers aren’t spending. Why? Because they’re scared.

Ultimately, the type of demand that once existed from the American consumer, will probably never come back again. Why? It was all made up. Housing values skyrocketed, credit was so easily had. Put in on plastic….I’ll pay later…living beyond one’s own means….that reality is dead.

Why doesn’t the gov’t create jobs through investing in green energy, infrastructure, etc. That would give people money to spend, then they would spend it, then the companies would hire more so they can meet the demand of the market, and more jobs would be created. Sounds like a good idea. Or, how about making access to loans easier for small companies? Then as the economy gets better, companies will spend more too. Because they’ll feel confident.

But why can’t this happen? Because the gov’t is in tremendous debt. (see George W. Bush: two wars and tax cuts for the rich - and pathetic economic output) In the short-term, it would be horrible, to take on more debt, but in the long-term it would make such a huge difference because of the domino effect.

But Congress won’t do it. They’re afraid. The gov’t is dysfunctional. No one is trying to create real solutions.

If you’ve ever read the Tipping Point - you know that small changes can have huge impacts. The gov’t needs to get tough and help people by easing access to capital and investing in infrastructure/green energy projects/education/the future. 

Let’s invest in ourselves and in our future. Let’s put on our hard hats and get to work. This is America people. Let’s build, let’s create, let’s make, let’s do this.

JOBS! Make it happen!

In the constant push for greatness, I sometimes forget how much I’ve accomplished. Adaptation is the biggest fault—the idea that our lives become ‘normal.’ This is how it is….

But with that said, it’s easy to become complacent—to accept a life that one has built without consciousness to it. Just going through the motions at this point. Not focused on the goal(s) I have inside….

a curious time for sure.