November 5, 2009
“random new york”, 1998
I drew this one in early 1998, during my first months of living in Manhattan.
I liked all those intense, late-night random conversations with all sorts of equally random Manhattan people– especially at first– but of course, after a while they all start to sound the same.
This is the kind of drawing one does sitting on a New York barstool, when one is not liking one’s day job nearly well enough. That was my situation at the time, anyway.
If today I met my younger self from back then, I’d say to him, “You’re just paying your dues, Kiddo. Frickin’ get over yourself…”
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I just moved to NYC, so this is timely. I laughed reading this, because it’s something my favorite person in the world (my Nana) would always say: “get over yourself” Indeed it’s just what I needed to hear today
LOVE this post… Yes, we do indeeeed do a great deal of ‘dues paying’
till we figure out our passion and how to weave it into ALL that we do
I’m telling myself everyday to get over myself. I may try this in a New Yoiker accent in an attempt to make it work.
Excellent post, excellent blog — especially enjoyed your “living in Manhattan” piece. You’re a talented writer, thank you.
When I graduated college I had been working in a lumber yard, and I told my best friend I was done paying my dues.
“Done? You aren’t done paying ALL your dues.”
So true, so true, and yet as a youngin’ I still have delusions of having arrived. I’ve arrived at the doorstep of my next adventure, that’s about it.
Read somewhere,every rejection is incremental payment for dues. Consider you are ploughing it back in your work.