Thursday, March 04, 2010

Dumpster Diving

you would think the CBC showcase (did the jokes I wanted, went well, haven't heard anything yet, thanks for asking)was the most exciting thing I did last night.

It wasn't.

After the show, I went dumpster diving with a lesbian.

That's not a metaphor for something dirty. That's exactly what I did--digging through a dumpster in my showcase clothes with a group of people that included a pregnant woman, a very nice couple, and assorted others.

It was fun.

Part of it is the joy of experiencing something new, of being introduced to a world you didn't know existed.

Part of it is the thrill of learning. I love learning new things, even though I am often stressed about doing them badly which leads me to be cautious about what I take on. Sometimes I think I love learning new things in spite of the fear. Sometimes I think the fear is what makes learning them worthwhile.

Half the joy (and the stress) of the new laptop has been setting it up. I was at the computer store the other day and was contemplating buying a router so I could get wireless access at home...not because I want home internet access (In fact, I prefer to have limited internet time. Otherwise cyberspace has a way of seducing me for hours and keeping me from doing things that need doing), but because I wanted to learn how to set it up (**)

Another part of the excitement of dumpster diving is the rush of Bucking the System. As I've started to think more beyond myself, I'm becoming more interested in Making a Difference in the world. My dumpster experience felt very anarchist and revolutionary.

(A friend and I were commiserating about this Fighting the System stuff, and how our temperaments are so ill-suited to it. His comrades get him all worked up, but when push comes to shove, he ends up making friends with all the people they're supposed to be angry at. We're both too genial to be revolutionaries (**))

And of course, now that I know how to dumpster dive, I have one more skill that will help me survive the Apocalypse--assuming the apocalypse doesn't interfere with corporate North America's shipping and receiving schedules(***).

Yay me.


(*) After that, I would build a time machine, and go back to the time a friend of mine had laptop troubles and fix it for them, pausing just long enough to high five my younger self on the way out the door saying "Knock it off with the feelings of inadequacy, you sexy motherfucker. We have got this shit COVERED."

(**) Some would make the argument, that genial people make the most effective revolutionaries what with our ninja empathy, non-judgement, and quiet dedication to changing hearts over looking good to the people who already agree with us. The problem is, it's the loud, visible folks that get the press and the adulation. Saving the world is nice and all, but if it doesn't bring you chicks and glory, what's the point?

(***) I'm almost willing to give capitalism a fighting chance. Have you ever noticed that t doesn't seem to matter what fires, floods, or earthquakes happen in the world, the latest blockbuster movie always seems to open on the scheduled release date? Misplaced priorities aside, consumerism gets shit done. It might be the wrong shit, but it gets done.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan your night dumpster diving sounded like a night in PG with your brother and my sister.

I remember one night after hours of breaking ice and setting it free on the fraser river. We soon found that there was a limitation to the size of ice you could break with just rocks. The NoTrespassing sign posted at the end of the CN bridge was very inticing and it did not apply to us. After all he was a budding engineer, my sister was a professional dirt scientist and I was a 10 year federal government employee. Anyways our thought was that around the railway there are always awesome cunks of scrap iron that would work realy good for breaking ice. So we hopped the fence and start crossing. About 3/4 way across the bridge we here a train horn and see a light comming our way along the bank of the river. So we turn and run back. Just as we are about to hop the fence, we notice the train never even turned at the bridge it just carried on east along the bank. We laughed so hard that we ran so fast so we wouldnt get caught by the "Man" crossing a railway bridge. At that point we were tired and we still had beer in our pockets so we stopped and enjoyed some while we tresspassed. We never did go back on the CN bridge but we had such a blast that night ignoring what the system expected of us.

Take care Dan.

Brad