Several Pints of Useless Mediocrity

Temporary Employment is perhaps the most mundane thing one can do unless you happen to luck out like a compatriot of mine and wind up working with semi-rock star types who can tell you of their yesterlife and make the day pass with a bit more ease. But no that is not what I have.....I work among the Tuberculosis Paranoids and the Heroin Babies.

Since I now have new - shorter hair - - some random man - Mr. TB decides to tell me he doesn't really like the change - - That I need a cut that flatters my face and blah blah blah. As he is going on about oblong faces and really short hair on women and how he is losing his hair, my listening fades. I know my face is conveying that expressionless emotion that I reserve for such useless conversations as these. I just said that I liked it and I did it myself....which prompted absolutely bizarre inquires like - - "Is it a perm?" and "Well you didn't style it today - right?" He is blunt - but it is easy to imagine that his unsolicited candor in this manner has likely gotten him a smack in the face or two.

My mind is floating away from him and his continuing commentary but my thoughts are still near by.....as I consider this man. He is in his early 40's and lives with his mother and is a self proclaimed career temp........and holds the bizarre belief that I have tuberculosis. He also seems to believe that smoking is not harmful to your lungs but quitting is what makes one's health go downhill.

I realize this Tuberculosis comment may have piqued someone's interest - - at least any of the paranoid hypocondriacs out there. Basically, I have had this cough and flu type of illness for weeks now and it seems to ebb and flow - - especially when I combine this illnes with my restlessness. It is like this.....I am sick and should stay in bed and rest and so I do for a day or two or three but then I get so damn bored and restless -- and wham bam I am out of bed and playing a game of hide from the illness and assauge my silly belief that indeed I can win. I do things like stay out until 5 am behaving like a heiress to a hotel or a rock star and then go to my ridiculous temp. jobs on an hour of sleep and then return home to write and read until the wee hours again. So this sleep deficiency and bizarre antics of out manuevering my illness - - of course has the realistic effect of keeping me forever ill and thus with cough.

But I figure now this cough is my buddy - - so I don't care. I mean this is a lonely city and love is hard to come by and I figure if you can't shake your bad health and live the life you enjoy - - - then learn to enjoy and befriend the symptoms of your insanity. Yes - it is utter insanity to try to outrun your poor health as it can see through walls and all that jazz - - so I say embrace it - - I may even name my cough. I will perhaps even name it Cornelius McFlemish III.......or I could just stick with Buddy.

So me and my buddy have been tending to the uber soul sucking data entry at this slave rate temp job that I have had now for a bit over a week now. My buddy has been noticed by all people at this agency and that is perhaps the only thing they have noticed about me....until the hair.

Mr. TB has been feigning concern since day one......I say feigning because there is not one bit of genuine care in his comments - - he talks to me about my buddy to try to impress upon my his intelligence. Judge for yourself just how impressed I am. He honestly believes that I have TB today - in 2004 and believes I should go to the hospital and pay to take the test to see if this is actually the case. He believes that I have TB because he thinks that I have been hanging around a lot of older Asian people.........yes this is a real story.

I mean I do live in a predominantly Asian area - - however, it is not an area overrun with the plague and I hardly dine with a bunch of unhealthy Asian old-timers. I mentioned to Mr. TB that I didn't have health insurance but left off the obvious inner dialogue that I have a brain and rarely take my medical advice from 42 year old men who live with their mothers and indulge in the insane armchair medical advice - - but that is just me. Perhaps he impressed my buddy though because Cornelius McFlemish the III seems to have taken a vacation - - surely just a short one to a nearby Asian neighbor of mine..........