The Carl I Want To Be

Around the corner is the Carl I want to be. Pretty much looks the same as me; Same Beard, routinely trimmed; loosely ironed shirt, tie, khakis, dress shoes. He lives in the same place, but its cleaner, has the same job and is just as stressed, but with more on the plate. His day to day is pretty much wrapped around education, school in the morning, meetings or grad classes in the afternoon. As tight as the schedule seems, he spends a majority of his time in casual conversations. His students know he can stop class and go through new ideas with them whenever they need it. After school, collar unbuttoned, he can sit down and chat about world politics, educational policies, or sports with anyone from the principal to someone of the street. Not really that much different from Carl now. Still doesn't get the whole "ooooooh New YORK!!!" thing the way his coworkers or friends back home do. Still trying to cut back on drinking, almost back in shape...but not really. More career oriented, and given the staleness I'm noticing in my regular bar scene I'm not surprised. Not necessarily less social, just less of the 'college frat party' kind of social and more of the networking kind of thing. He still wishes to be home, he is almost debt free, and has almost saved up for a down payment. He knows there is still little for him now, and perhaps more for him in New York. When the book of my life is written, this Carl will be the picture on the chapter titled "upper twenties." The first day of this chapter starts in another 20 days. Shortly before and after my 25th, I will be quietly mulling over the details of this new Carl, the potential Ms. Carl, the health prospects of Carl's elders, maybe the prospects of mini-Carl'ums running around, and how I can follow, or create a career path that takes me to all the important places I need to go. Although dealing with this whole "I'm a grown up thing" isn't all that dramatic, it does lend itself to a lot of thinking. So, naturally, as much of that thinking as I can will be logged down in this here blog as the "quarteritis" continues.