Thursday, February 25, 2010

explain self?


On "Friends" the wonderfully silly "Phoebe" character occasionally would respond to something somebody said by giving a small, excited gasp & saying, "That's a good idea for a business!"

Like -- the one where Chandler says, "It's like they created my worst nightmare -- and charged me $32 to see it!"
Phoebe: "Oh! THAT's a good idea for a BUSINESS!"

I might be a little bit like Phoebe in that I'm an independent, creative thinker.
You know that expression, "think outside the box"?
I don't actually spend too much time IN the box.

I don't mean to be the way I am -- God made me that way.

Some days I wonder why, as there doesn't seem to really be a place for me.
But it's better now -- kind of.

So sometimes -- like Phoebe -- I will get an inspiration to think that something might be "a good idea for a business."

And when someone else is really good at something, I tell them they should go into business.
But that's a whole different thing.
People want to do what they love; they don't necessarily want the pressures and limitations that come with owning the place; it can end up owning you.

Some friends of mine "hired" me to do some shopping for them when I was out of work, & I still do some of their shopping but not as much.
Mostly, now, I only go to the liquor store for them.

They entertain a lot: stand-up cocktail parties; sit-down dinners.
They do a beautiful job with everything, all the time.

The thought occurred to me: "Start A Business" of being a personal shopper??

In this market it probably wouldn't be a dependable income.
That's probably a VAST understatement.

The "Official Reason" my friends asked me to do this was to save them time, obviously -- and I felt their other reason was to help me because I needed to earn money -- my income had been de-stabilized, then demolished.
(It was terrifying. Even before you get to the psychological and emotional feelilngs of Constant And Total Rejection, it's terrifying.)

At first when they asked me to "help them out" I felt embarrassed that they looked at me as a "charity case" or something. But then -- told self, "YOU NEED THE MONEY, TAKE THE JOB!!!!!!!!"

After I had been "Working as a Personal Shopper" for a little while, the manager of the liquor store I did business with passed by the cash register while I was standing there; guy behind counter was ringing up five or six bottles of wine -- probably one red & the rest white.

And the Manager grinned and said cheerfully, "Well, here's the wino!"

I was a little taken aback; it was on the tip of my tongue to explain to the guy that I was doing shopping & errands for my friends, but then I thought, I don't want to mention their name and -- I don't know -- have it get around that "they're so rich they don't even do their own shopping...blah blah blah"

and I also thought suddenly, "You know, I don't have to explain myself to this bozo."

And I didn't.

Let him fantasize that I'm going to sit in my living room with jazz on the stereo and my two cats, Chess and Genie, next to me, and all three of us having a glass of dry white wine.

Cats do enjoy a quality Pinot Grigio.

-30-

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