Priorities

I was talking to a college classmate of mine about the multimedia work I do for the newspaper, and she told me that a guy from our class was in charge of that kind of thing at the Times. The New York Times, that is. Needless to say, I was skeptical, and not just because I know the guy who’s in charge of multimedia for the Times and I’m pretty sure he’s at least a little bit older than me, and I’m absolutely sure we didn’t go to the same Alma Mater, because he made no mention of it when I handed him my resume a few years back after knocking on his door in search of the possibility of maybe at some point in the future, dare I say it, getting a job at his fine institution.

So I Googled the guy – this classmate of ours – and found (in his engagement announcement published in the Vows section of the Times) that he is, in fact, in charge of the entire web site, not just the multimedia bits that are published on it.

I believe the thought that ran through my head was, what the fuuuuuuh ckhave I been doing for the past 15 years?

Well, there were those two years after graduation I spent in Boulder, CO working my way up from bussing tables to waiting table and ultimately, after a short stint delivering pizza, tending bar. That was a proud day for my parents, when I finally got to work behind the bar. But maybe I should have gone to Harvard to get an MBA instead.

Nah.

I’m not sorry for the choices I’ve made. And while I often lament my lack of professional accomplishment, I wouldn’t trade any of the experiences I’ve had bumbling around trying to figure out what to make of myself for any title, paycheck or raft of responsibilities. I struggle enough being responsible for myself.

So I will content myself with the sense of accomplishment I feel when I’m biking through the pouring rain with the kid riding in the trailer hitched behind me and a woman calls out from the sidewalk to say, “You guys rock! Hard core, man.”

Hard core. I wonder how that would look on a business card.