Who knew I was a Taoist all along? I thought I was a nihilist. Not the kind with black turtlenecks but another kind. I've always been a bit interested in Dao/Taoism but never studied. All of the western weirdos who were into Eastern philosophy scared me off. I didn't want to turn into one of them like Steve Jobs or that hippy book about motorcycle maintenance. I believe in living in the moment and always have. Back when I was first studying Chinese I learned all the words for moving around: directions, street signs and so on because those are immediately useful. A lot of them had the character dao in them somewhere, like dadao, boulevard or daoda, arrive.
One day, I step into the vestibule of some random temple and there is a two-story high scroll of the character 到.
As I craned my neck to see the top, I said, "ooooh, I get it! Dao! The way!"
Upon seeing this, I was enlightened.
people at work are always like, "do you have any plans for this weekend?"
as an uncarved block,
my potential is infinite.
my silence is auspicious.
the vinegar is sweet.
Funny thing about weekends when you're unemployed: They don't quite mean so much, except you get to hang out with all your working friends.
--Primus, Spaghetti Western
Weekends??? That's when restaurants charge more for lunch!!!