Needs, Wants and the Road

I am biking more and more these days. I managed to put 68 miles into three excursions last week. I am going to hit 100 miles this week. There is not much to do while biking¹ but think about life. Life is pretty much all I think about at any point in the day, but I am not unusual in this activity. The lack of compelling distractions contributes to my mental clarity while traveling. I don't own a car² so I can delve fairly far into myself while riding the bus or train for hours at a time.³

The last few days I have been thinking about women. The universe tends to throw them my way when I need to be reminded of something. Kim was a government-oriented redhead I met in a bar in Adams Morgan. The line was so good, one of my brothers actually shook my hand. Needless to say, it can never be used again. Kim and I went on four dates over two months which is rather lame but she had international travel assignments and I was unemployed. It might have worked out better between us if I had been employed at one of the many jag-off jobs available in the federal sector. The whole experience reminded me that while coasting on savings was fun and allowed me lots of time to write and meet ladies, it was no kind of life for me.

Leah and I met at a party. I quit my dead-end, low-paying waiting job two weeks later. That job was holding me back and earning me a whole lot of nothing. Two weeks after quitting that job, I got a call from my current employer and never looked back.

Kathleen⁴ came out of the blue sky and by the time that was over, I knew I had to stop talking a good game and start playing one. I am still working on this one.

The most recent woman in my life, however brief, reminded me that I get what I need and don't need what I want. I need something to help drive me or I stall out and watch endless Law & Order episodes. I need the motivation more than I want her or anyone else. In short, I need an unfulfilled want.

1 Besides curse out the idiots who refuse to obey the rules of the road in my head.

2 Give me a non-polluting electric car and an infrastructure to use it and the road trip is back, baby.

3 Tuning out is a valuable skill when you are broke and have 20 hours to wait in an airport for your connecting flight, as is being able to sleep anywhere in any position.

4 Different one.