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The Opposite
Tuesday, March 10, 1998 I wrote to my friends Jane and Luke yesterday, to congratulate them on their anniversary. I mentioned that Jason had written me and asked how I was, and described what I had replied to him, about how many areas of my life he was connected to. Jane said, "It is weird how big a gap people can leave. You were more in love than you knew." Today was a tough day for me at work, perhaps because I was at my desk going through my bug list the whole time, instead of going to meetings or presentations. Listening to a Jimmie Rodgers tribute album was completely wrong! Sad songs about lost love and last chances, or hoboes dying on the train, just sent me right over the edge. So I switched to Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe and felt better. In fact, some of the more bubbly numbers I played over and over again. I'd like to find a (freeware) cd player for my PC that I could set to repeat a track, so I wouldn't have to do it manually. I've taken off a bit early both days this week, but I haven't lost hours because I've been starting work even earlier than normal. When I get to the edge of my emotional resilience, it's just better to leave. Today I went to the Broadway Market on my way home. As I drove into the garage, a strange sensation came over me: Jason had been there with me, but when? It came to me in a rush, that we had stopped there on our way to the Lincoln shadow puppet play on Valentines Day. Ouch! I walked across the street to Bailey-Coy Books, because I wanted to buy the book for this month's book club meeting, Umberto Eco's The Island of the Day Before. I have sworn to read it, after all! I was glad that they had it, and that I found my little bonus card for that store so I could get credit towards a later purchase, and that I remembered to get my parking validated. I looked for some lighter reading (for comfort), but didn't find anything to the purpose. So I stopped in Fred Meyer on the way back to the car, and bought The Rake by Mary Jo Putney. This is an altered version of The Rake and the Reformer, which published in the late 1980s as was what called a superromance. This was an historical romance that was longer (and more explicit sexually?) than the standard of the time. I do have a copy of that original somewhere, but she is an author I like, so I bought this new version.
One of my favorite episodes of Seinfeld was on tonight: The Opposite. I loved it! George decides that, instead of following his instincts, he'll do the opposite. He meets a beautiful woman and gets a great job, because he doesn't do his normal lying and self-puffery. "I'm afraid I'm just not interested in how I present myself. If those kind of superficialities are important to you, this probably isn't gonna work."
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