Technophiles have a difficult time prioritizing properly. If I’m any kind of indication anyway.
I’m always on the hunt for new gadgets. Like the iPhone, and now the iPad.
Last week I lost my $500 Shure earphones – probably on the subway system. Although that same evening I was at a bank annual general meeting and may have lost them there. It truly was a heartbreaker, and so I opted to purchase a replacement set next week. In the meantime I would use some backup “Plan B” earphones.
That was the decision, until tonight.
I had finally prioritized my Saturday evening and had intended to visit a kind of unique place in Toronto called The Drake Hotel. It really is a hotel but it’s also an entertainment venue, often featuring up and coming musical artists in its underground auditorium. I’ve seen some truly great bands there, and some mediocre ones too. So tonight I went, only to discover that it was closed to the public – they had a private event going on.
Talk about feeling ripped off.
I went upstairs and grabbed a glass of wine and watched the mating dance of the desperate. That got too depressing so I left.
Next stop: my favourite bar at the corner of Bay and Bloor in the centre of downtown Toronto. There, I ordered up a bunch of glasses of Chardonnay wine (really should have ordered up a bottle and did it right) while I read my ebook. Funny thing: the more you drink the more you have to go back and re-read the same passages over and over again.
Once again I got to watch a few examples of people with low expectations hooking up with other people of low expectations. What a drag.
There was a guy feigning intense interest in whatever it was a woman was telling him. It was so patently obvious, and I’m sure she wasn’t stupid and could see it too. However it was getting late, and I have to think she didn’t want to go home alone anymore than he did. They eventually left together, just as I was re-reading that same chapter for the fourth time.
I gave up reading, got my bill and staggered walked sedately to the subway.
It wasn’t until I got home with the strains of The Tragically Hip pounding in my ears that I realized it was WAY too early to call it quits for the night. I wanted desperately to party. To be around other people and just have a wild time.
It hit me: that only happens when I’m with the gang from my comedy improv group. I had previously made a half-hearted commitment to look the improv school up and take a few more courses.
Tonight I realized it was time to put it at the top of the priority list. The new earphones can wait. This can’t.
Besides – improv experiences provides all *kinds* of blogging material. Trust me on this.
The best is yet to come.
View from a Wolf 
That really sounds like a lot of fun! Go for it, man. I’m sorry to hear about those headphones that cost as much as an old car. That’s a bummer! In my line of work, anything we don’t tie to our work vests is guaranteed to be lost at some point. Perhaps you should try tying everything you take out to your body. You won’t lose it, and you just might make some new friends!
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Yes, you know – the only thing that troubles me about those earphones (beyond losing them) is figuring out how it happened. I’ve mentioned before about losing focus, with interesting results: leaving my keys in the door all night long (did it again yesterday); or leaving frozen food out on the cupboard, losing focus and then re-discovering it the next day after it’s had a good chance to thaw.
I’m thinking that losing the earphones might be a similar occurrence. I remember taking them out on the subway and putting them in their case and putting the case on my lap while I grabbed my book to read. I remember falling asleep and then coming awake just when it was time to get off at my stop. I don’t recall doing anything about the earphones. Bummer is the word for it.
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If you fell asleep while on the subway…are you sure that you are still you? Could it possibly be that you woke up as an entirely different person–a person who does not own, nor has ever owned, a $500 pair of headphones?
Perhaps owning the headphones was just a dream.
I don’t know. I’m just trying to help out.
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I love Improv!… I am seriously looking forward to the resulting posts!
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Me too. I can’t wait to get at it. :)
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I think that’s one of the reasons I try not to buy too many gadgets. I KNOW I’m going to just lose them at some point, most likely not long after buying them.
I’m definitely going to look forward to some new improv stories if you decide to take some courses. Now those should be interesting…
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I think improv is one the best things an ADD person can do for themselves – it gives you an outlet that allows you to flip all over the place with ideas. And afterward, if the group becomes close-knit, you can have the added bonus of the after-show parties and get togethers. I have such great memories of those the last time I went down that road.
I hear you about knowing yourself well enough to know the inevitability of losing gadgets. You’d think I’d learn: I left a palmpilot in a washroom at the baseball stadium one year. Realized what I’d done about 30 seconds after getting back to my seat (and only because I wanted to look something up). Of course by then it was too late.
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Grreat command decision. Improv places you “with” people. The other takes you away from ’em
Solitude is good at times, but you get that when you write, don’t you? Now you’ll get lots more to write about. Are you going to use real names? How about first names? Codes for names? Code names for names?
michael j .
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I’ll never use real names here. Don’t want to be *that* guy, you know? :)
Your observation is right on. As much as I like alone time I get a bit stir crazy if there’s no chance to be with people. Even though I can work from home I often prefer just to head into work, for that reason.
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