>I'm trying to get out of Tennessee by this summer (not
>including a short stint I'm doing in Iowa in April) and it's
>been more time consuming than I expected. I'm pretty
>comfortable with the conclusion that my skill set is not
>highly sought-after, but I walk around town with a permanent
>"somebody farted" look because people here seem literally
>unaware of existence of the few things I'm good at. That's
>just not a good way to be, at least not daily.



Yeah, I know what that's like. When I feel similarly I take
the delusional asshole route.....of the "I'm ahead of my
time" variety. Juvenile but it builds a nice cushion around
the self esteem, which is probably the most precious thing we
have next to our health and sanity.


Strangely, my problem recently has been the opposite:


I don't actually feel very good at anything. This is
sometimes dictated by how others treat me, but often not.
Its mostly the product of self-reflection independent
of what the world thinks.


I'm not sure how to resolve the conflict of which I'd
rather be:

- Obviously talented but undervalued

- Good at nothing, but well-compensated and comfortable


I don't think I qualify as either but my current struggles
reflect some aspects of that debate.


>Ideally, we're DC-bound after this.

Fantastic. Like a second home to me. I have a friend who
owns a great restaurant there, you and your wife would
probably dig it. Let me know when you go.


>I liked "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger" quite a bit, but don't
>really have any base of knowledge about how they were received
>here and elsewhere. Though I did see the latter at a theater
>at the Mall of America, which makes it one of maybe less than
>a half-dozen subtitled movies I've seen in a big, fat movie
>theater and not someplace artsy that makes me look smart. But
>that's not really what you're asking.

Lol


>How're you doing? How is Boston treating you?

Actually, quite good. My roommate is weird but not strange.
(as you can imagine, I've thought quite a bit about the
difference)


I like my neighborhood. I've concluded that Boston is definitely
not a good city for black men under 25, which is where it gets
a bad name from my demographic. For grownups of all hues, its
nice because it does calm things very well. It does bars well.
It does bar food VERY well. It does live music well. It does
coffee very well. I don't have the energy or patience to do
anything but the above for leisure and so its a perfect fit.


Work has been slow to get off the ground but I see progress
ahead (as in, I see how much harder I have to work to make
the progress, not so much that I just see the progress....which
is infinitely better than not knowing what to do to even be marginally incompetent)


----------------------------

Young Broadway Star Urgently Needs a Bone Marrow Donor. Is it you? http://MatchShannon.com/







O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "