8 November 2023

Someone said I was living the dream, while I understand the sentiment, anyone can choose my path. My strategy has been to find something no one wants and refine that waste into a valuable resource. People suffer from one of two pains, either the pain of work or the pain of regret. When I was young the most insulting thing a person could call me was “dirt ball”. While the Army hurled constant expletives at me, nothing compared to being as low as dirt. Using Shakespeare’s “the lady doth protest too much” I can suppose dirt is how I saw myself, from employers to teachers, the authority figures corroborated the story. That’s how I get to conclusions like doing something yourself is the only way to do it right. People are always looking for ways to cheat on the responsibilities of their own life, helping someone else can make the responsibility easier to bare, but when money is involved only the hungry are motivated. Shakespeare’s Caesar said such men are dangerous that have a lean and hungry look. It’s hard to turn away food though, waste not want not, America is brimming with waste. Waste management would be my recommended career path to anyone, there’s always going to be waste and no one ever wants to manage it. Ego becomes the hurdle to overcome, an inflated notion of the self. Even a king has to be willing to drag his crown through mud. A difficult task I once did during infantry training was a 100 meter low crawl through sand. The low crawl is laying chest down crawling forward without any bodypart getting off the ground. Of course we’re carrying a weapon and can’t let the dust cover face towards the ground. The dust cover covers the ejection port where expanded brass is released, sand in the dust cover could cause a weapon malfunction.  All that friction polished me into the gem I am today.