Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Finding a New Seat


Bridget was quiet but the look on her face was definitely saying, “The girl sitting next to us in this movie theater is definitely shitting her pants.” Maybe it was also the smell that clued me in, or the fact that this girl was forcefully kicking the seat in front of her as if she was birthing an eight-pound infant. Let me tell you, this was no infant.

Let’s face it, sometimes people shit their pants. Sometimes people shit all over someone else’s couch. Sometimes the ‘shit’ that happens is a crazy lady from Craigslist placing a curse on you and your girlfriend, or maybe it’s an exhilarating morning of ball surgery (I’m pretty sure that’s the proper medical term).

About two years ago I made some shit happen when I quit my desk job. I was unhappy where I was and I made the tough decision to leave for unpaid uncertainty – the life of a comedy actor and voiceover guy. It’s one of the most ridiculous things I could have chosen to do with my life. I’ve had a few modest successes over the last 24 months, but it can definitely be easy to start freaking out when it’s been a few months since the last booking. In such an absurdly competitive environment, it’s easy to start focusing too much on what’s next and how you can make it happen that you end up missing everything else.

I think we all can agree that actually making a living doing what you love would be a dream come true, but no one can know exactly what the future holds. If the ticket guy had warned me, “Hey, a lady usually comes in halfway through the movie and takes a dump in the 6th row,” I probably would have sat somewhere else. But life isn’t about knowing what happens next. It’s about enjoying the journey it takes to get there. Even if that means politely stepping over the lady shitting herself as you move to a new row.