March 18, 2011

I Live In Too Many Worlds

Too many worlds, too far apart, and end up being no where at all.

This is a lament I have. I do too many things that have nothing to do with one another. See if you can reconcile this...

1. I'm editing a fiction magazine and bringing all my old troops from the alternative zine days to flesh out the ranks. I'm happy to see they are wielding their usual magic, and wait until you see who we've got coming. But I mentioned to Dave that what's funny is that my blog friends have no idea I have all this stuff going on with all these writers and all these writers have no idea I do all this blog stuff. So not only is the magazine one of my worlds, it crosses two other worlds of mine.
2. I'm doing novels and have nothing to give the magazine and because I'm doing long prose and working on it religiously every week I've stepped away from blogging and the internet a lot, which also means commenting on my favorite blogs. So I'm not in any of those places because I'm in the other one.
3. I have a new job where I punch a clock and work on equipment folding and stitching and trimming booklets that Catholic churches use. Do you go to Catholic church? I'll bet you we did your bulletin. Maybe even I did your bulletin. How weird would that be? The guys in the print shop don't know anything about my blog or the magazine or the non-blog writers I count as good friends and long time associates and colleagues, and they don't know I edit a magazine and they don't know I've written two novels and am working on a third. They see my old-school tattoo on my right forearm and how am i supposed to say "it's a lyric from Bob Dylan's first album. I got it in Corpus Christi Texas in 1973"? Most of these guys have death head ornate tats and weren't even alive in 1973. I have a wart older than some of these guys. So anyway I'm in the print shop world, which is connected to the Catholic church world and that life doesn't know anything about this other life.
4. I'm doing, by the way, the best fiction of my life and absolutely nobody knows that part.
5. But wait, it gets stranger.
6. I am the chairperson of the Nominating Committee at my Quaker Meeting. That's the committee that puts together all the rosters for all the other committees (Peace and Social Concerns, Outreach, New Meetinghouse, Worship and Ministry, Treasurer, etc. etc. etc.) and we can't find a Treasurer and people are making sounds like they want it to be me. And though these people know I have a new job and a vague idea that i write shit I've never sat down and versed them fully on it. And yet I go to Meeting for Worship at the Quaker Meetinghouse every Sunday and call committee sessions to decide who gets to do what. They would also be shocked to learn I was into punk rock before I was married.
7. Wait a minute... I think I forgot to mention the magazine to MrsRW. She has no interest in that but she'd probably like to know, ya think?? What a doofus I am...
8. The seeds for my red beets, golden beets and arugula arrived from Burpee and some weekend after the frosts are done I'm going to plant them so I can eventually make my beet-arugula-goat cheese salad because, you know, I'm still trying to cook. Though I only cook now when MrsRW is out of town because she'd rather do the old fashioned comfort food stuff.

So I'm in all these worlds but I'm really not in any world at all.

This is what happens when you live in your head. If any of you have kids ever, make sure they don't do that. Have them live in the world... so they can actually be someplace.

ON EDIT: Oh yeah I didn't even finish...

I'm still involved with Anonymous and in the past few months we've added helping the young reformers in the Arab world set up web sites and get around government internet stoppages in Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrein and you just wait for what pops next. We haven't stopped doing our best to expose the fraud and abuse of Scientology and some of us have set up all these mirror sites to get around the service denials the CIA set up to block Wikileaks and I sent money to Julian Assange and absolutely NOBODY in Anonymous knows who anybody else is so that's also part of the theme.

Also don't forget the White Sox are going to win the pennant this year and I already have tickets to a Monday night game between the Sox and the minor league team from the North Side called the Cubs or something. And the people I'm going with that night don't know anything about this other stuff except for the new job thing but that's all.

I'm sure there's more, but it's 7:38 Central, I just got home from work and my 4 day weekend starts right now. But I'm not here either so, well there you go...

8 comments:

sybil law said...

Dear RW -Did you ever know that you're my hero?

I'm only half joking. :)
And I don't blame Mrs.RW for wanting comfort food when she's home - she travels a lot! Speaking of food, I think I'm gonna make the rice dish again, soon. Soooo good.
Uh, but I did see one editing mistake in the mag. Ha! Seriously. :)
But all in all, it is FANTASTIC - and I'm glad I was here to see it take shape!

Dave2 said...

You don't have nearly enough to keep you busy. I'll open up a movie studio next so you can become a producer for the films I direct!

flask said...

i love you and all your worlds.

yeah.

i wish i had something clever to say about it, but i don't.

just thanks.

RW said...

sybil- I saw three.

dave - what percentage receipts?

flask - hope you're feeling better.

Faiqa said...

Sometimes, when you talk about Mrs. RW I feel like I'm looking into my future. Only I get to play you and Tariq is Mrs RW, which is, of course, a fine thing to be.
Also, you have to be one the coolest people I know. Seriously cool. Man.

Kaye Waller said...

My life used to be compartmentalized like that--the drunken bohemians on one side and the classical music crowd on the other--until they collided with in the green room after a concert season kick-off (I was the assistant conductor). It was terrifying because I'd worked so hard to keep my worlds separate. Turned out though, the maestro actually preferred my bohemian friends over his tuxed and furred patrons and came to our parties whenever he could steal away.

After that, I just let my worlds work it out for themselves--like oil on mud puddles.

Petunia said...

I spent the past couple years trying to convince myself the importance of learning how to let some doors close. But your doors are too cool, I think you should throw them all wide open.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to part of one of your worlds, Daddy-o.

Faiqa, he IS one of the coolest people. Seriously cool.