Shrugged

It was a particularly stressful Wednesday. Work was hard. The strange thing about my job is that my performance is constantly quantified by a dollar amount in a little box at the bottom of my computer screen. It’s called a “profit and loss” box. Every time I make a trade, the box updates the number, either adding to it or subtracting from it, depending on whether it was a good trade or bad trade. I try not to attach any emotion to the box (or even look at it for that matter), but at the end of the day it’s nice when the number is large and positive. That day the number was large, but not positive.

I was a tad flustered in traffic, late to night class again, when I realized my gasoline gauge was at a dire level. I pulled into the station. The conversation went something like:

ME:

How much?

GAS PUMP:

Large round number!

ME:

Shit, seriously?

GAS PUMP:

Blame Gaddafi man, I’m just the messenger.

ME:

Yeah, but still. Maybe you made a mistake.

GAS PUMP:

Nope machines don’t make mistakes or talk to people for that matter so you should probably get going because you’re late.

And late to class I was. We had a Hollywood agent come in and tell us about the fruitless years of toiling you have to go through before you can even think about making money as a writer. She advised us to "carefully consider things" before entering the industry. I exited the room feeling like Atlas holding the weight of the world on my shoulders. Things were grim.

As I walked out of the building I felt a surprising warm breeze. It was the first time in months I didn’t need a jacket, or even sleeves. There was a sweetness to the air. I could smell the trees and the budding foliage. Electricity ran through the sidewalks of campus. A buzz. People were loud. It was a happy, enjoyable, loud.

With every breath of warm night air my muscles relaxed, and a thought hit me across the face like a playful slap from a long lost lover.

SUMMER IS COMING!

Oh my God, it’s almost here. The beach, and the girls, and the sun, and the concerts, and the long days, and the tan, and the freedom, and the girls. Everything good was ahead of me. Suddenly I had nothing to worry about. I've decided to take the world off of my shoulders and slip into some sandals.