Physically in San Francisco, but mentally still in New York City, the monkey is finding himself in a schism of lifestyle. Settling into the San Francisco vibe has proven tricky, and having New York Times bloggers barking in my face isn't helping.
MONKEY BUSINESS by Tony Asaro (Composer/Librettist)
If you were on the internet at all last week, you undoubtedly saw the New York Times Opinionator Op. Ed. by Tim Kreider, "The 'Busy' Trap. You undoubtedly also saw many "busy" people posting it to facebook triumphantly, and you may have even seen some eloquent rebuttles. I particularly liked this one: "Tim Kreider Debunked: In Defense of the Busy Trap" in which author Phy Tran takes Kreider down for being overly simplistic.
Though debunking Kreider is not the point of my blog post, I would like to take a second in pink to mention this whole latch-key imagery Kreider uses. He spent 3 hours of unstructured time at home in which he remembers playing. I wonder how his parents would remember those 3 hours–they were WORKING during those that time of day. He had latch key time because they were employed being busy. A child with no responsibilities is going to be able to be idle. Those supporting a family often don't have the luxury to have afternoons off. Just saying.
So here I am, exactly one month since moving back to San Francisco, a glorious city which moves proudly at roughly half the speed of New York City. I am currently unemployed, and the weather has been pretty glorious. And somehow, with my days completely free, walking around this paradise with the California sun shining down on me, I can't fucking relax.