The End Draws Nigh

And now only 40 more years until the next time I have another full summer off. I received my first job assignment for work and suddenly walking into work this coming Monday has become very very real. When I graduated back at the beginning of May, August 31st (aka The Day the Music Died) seemed like a million years away. In between May 1 and August 31 was a five week trek through Southeast Asia and then an additional six weeks after that to recover from the trip. I shaved infrequently, swam often, learned that Tom Colicchio likes virtually nothing, and more or less enjoyed a carefree existence, hopping from place to place with nobody really to answer to but myself, kind of like a homeless person in a buttondown and pink shorts. Those days are done, son. However for some people those days are every day. Hanging out at Surf Lodge in Montauk last Sunday night I wondered, "who are these people here on a Sunday, just hours before the work week rolls in?" I know I am a recent b-school grad, soon to be a cog in the wheel of corporate America and soaking up the last days of summer, but these other folks...the girls, long hair, tall, svelte, sun-kissed, and the guys, long hair as well, the classic it-may-look-like-I-don't-care-but-I-do-but-I-don't-want-you-to-think-that-I-care beards, and enough plaid and ridiculous looking hats to clothe Paul Bunyan several times over, which prompted me to remember one of my favorite quotes from Eastbound and Down's Kenny Powers, when he says to his girlfriend, "Baby, I love you, but you dress like a dickhead". Anyway, these people all seemed to be, as I like to say these days, "freelancing life". I don't get it really. Maybe they are all international surfing stars, or maybe they are all successful hedge fund managers who retired at the age of 30, or maybe they are royalty. Or maybe they were all the international students at Michigan I just never hung out with. Regardless, they all seemed to be having a grand ol' time and the looks on their faces weren't the ones I used to get back in the day on Sunday nights when The Wire finished up and I'd look at the clock and literally say "Shiiiiiiit, tomorrow is Monday". This Sunday will be the first time in over a year I'll look at the clock on Sunday night and say, "shiiiiiiiiit". Worst of all now those silly little days actually have meaning again. Up until this weekend Monday was Saturday and Sunday was Saturday and everyday was Saturday. No mas.

As I mentioned above I didn't shave a whole lot this summer. About two weeks ago I decided to grow a 'stache because my thinking was that if I went into work on Day 1 with a moustache I'd be setting a precedent that says, "that Finger guy, yeah, he wears a moustache". Would it look ridiculous. Absolutely. But would it give me an option to grow a moustache later on in my career and not have it be one of those "ironic moustaches". Absolutely. I chickened out in the end, but this is what I would've unleashed on the world...

"Would you lika some parmigiana ona youra spaghetti?"

The possible captions for that photo are endless. My moustache reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of The Cosby Show where Theo uses a pencil to draw in a moustache in order to look more manly and impress the ladies. Oh that Theo. Please note that no performance enhancing drugs were consumed in order to increase the luster or the density of my moustache. Believe it or not that's all natural.

I've been able to go sans blackberry for 27 years, but I don't think I'll make it to 28. This week I had to go to the Amagansett Public Library several times to check my email. Just me and the Cat Ladies straight chilling up on the second floor accessing our email and talking shop. Mittens is pregnant...again. Slut. What am I supposed to do during the next two weeks when I'm training at work and have no email access? Do I run to the NY Public Library at lunch and check gmail? Obviously not. I just go get a damn blackberry like the rest of the world. I've been putting this off for too long, and now instead of waiting until I get home and seeing that I have another email from JCrew CrewCuts, I'll immediately know about "Jenna's Picks: The Classics Remixed (+free shipping)". These are things that simply cannot wait.

People have been asking if I'm looking forward to going back to work. I'm looking forward to being a member of society again. I'm looking forward to the getting back into the social swing of things in the city. I'm also looking forward to the First and Fifteenth. I can't believe this crazy run is coming to a grinding halt. The next time I blog I'll officially be a suit. A moustache-less suit.