Catch a Tiger by the Tail

In "Life of Pi " there is a part where, confronted by the sheer impossibility of surviving at sea with a tiger on his lifeboat, Pi realizes that he might as well go about trying to quench his thirst.

You might think that I lost all hope at that point. I did. And as a result I perked up and felt much better. We see that in sports all the time, don't we? The tennis challenger starts strong but soon loses confidence in his playing. The champion racks up the games. But in the final set, when the challenger has nothing left to lose, he becomes relaxed again, insouciant, daring. Suddenly he's playing like the devil and the champion must work hard to get those last points. So it was with me. To cope with a hyena seemed remotely possible, but I was so obviously outmatched by Richard Parker that it wasn't even worth worrying about. With a tiger aboard, my life was over. That being settled, why not do something about my parched throat?

I decided that I needed a tiger. Something big and unwieldy that would dominate my life, forcing simplification into my decisions. Being me, my tiger is a 6-month studio office gig with overtime and a giant L.A. commute.

I had ten things on a to do list for last night, after being out on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I got two of them done before I collapsed into bed for the sleep I simply must get to be able to perform well in my new position: I stopped for gas on the way home, and I wrote my BlogHer post. I didn't stop by the bank, pay bills, write my directing update for September, write a letter to Cobra regarding my health insurance, or clear my inbox. All those things are waiting until Sunday (my next open time) because I've got to respect the tiger. I had to go to bed.

Writing this post was on the list, so I'm doing it this morning instead, but I have a hard computer out in the morning of 7:30am, so if I end abruptly, you'll know why.

I'm going to have to be doing less going out on the weeknights.

I'm going to have many, many times where I simply can't get to the fray that waits on my computer.

I'm going to spend a lot of money at the gas station and Audible.

I'm doing something completely new to me, and hoping for new outcomes, or at least some rewarding focus for the next six months.

And... I'm out.

Comments

[Caron]

Good luck! Have fun and enjoy Audible!