Memorabia (3): Post-collegiate Angst

Ah, Zippy: you captured my mood clearly enough at the time that I photocopied this and faxed it to a friend 3000 miles away. He later moved another 3000 miles or so. I doubt it was in response to this fax, but you never know.

Post college was a challenge for me, as I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do. I worked at Mrs. Fields Cookes (still had the paystubs), an Austrian powder coating company, sold leather jackets, started Napkins By Reid (yes, as bad as it sounds), and worked on a wide variety of other business plans: Cafe Tomo–mini van based mobile espresso, World Wide Comics (also a non-starter, but it got me a free copy of Margot in Bad Town, which is still awesome) and an electronic BBS for the Washington State Japan America Society, corporate sponsored adventure travel. There were probably more. All within about 16 months.

Did I mention the bad, non-rhyming poetry? Hopefully that never surfaces.

Most of that stopped by the time I made it to Chicago in fall, 1992.

But the interesting thing is that I wasn’t even close to going through it all alone. The vast majority of the letters I had from friends at that time were similarly aimless.

A little aimlessness is probably good for the soul. We all seemed to find our way, more or less. I suppose it might come back (never say never, right?) but I’m pretty much hoping it was an “I’m 22 kind of thing”.

Oh, and to the 19 yo poetry major I spoke to the other day: I now remember the “midlife” crisis feeling you described. It won’t last. Something else will probably take it’s place in due time, but that’s another store.

OK, that’s it: enough with the indulgent nostalgia trip. I need to eat breakfast.