Caveman Loses Job at Wheel Factory; Becomes Astronaut 

Feb. 2021

They told me I would get let go at some point in my career, but they never said it would feel this good. I feel totally liberated. If it’s never happened to you, try it sometime. The floor drops out beneath you and everything that really matters comes into sharp focus. You’ll realize that you were hammering away at someone else’s dream. Like a caveman in a wheel factory doing as you’re told until you die.
Fuck.
That.
If you get the boot and find yourself plummeting toward the ground, drink it in, because this is the most important moment of your life. This is your chance to stop your guts from painting the sidewalk red. You get to look death in the eye and sail right past him.

I rode my bike everywhere for years. Through LA traffic, in thunderstorms, on highways, while drunk—I loved it. It was the bike that finally got me in shape, but more importantly it gave my life clarity. I knew at any moment some idiot on their phone could turn me into roadkill. I could be dead before I even realized what happened. It was incredible. Why? Because I knew that if I died going somewhere, even just to get pretzels, I would have died doing something l loved. That’s what it’s all about. Love gives you a purpose. Death gives you the motivation. So find what you love doing and chase it so fast that you outrun death.

I love writing. I hate publishing. Nothing is ever good enough. I hate editing. It’s too much work just to soil the purity of a first draft. But I have to write. If I don’t, my guts will paint the sidewalk red. Learning to write, like learning to love, is messy and embarrassing. Learning to ride my bike was messy and embarrassing, too. I was all bruises and boo-boos for a long time. That was good. It taught me how to get hurt and get back on the bike. I hope to write so much my fingers bleed and I can learn to knuckle up and hammer away at the keys over and over again.

The countdown has started. The destination is unknown. There is no return plan. You’re welcome to come along and see where I end up. If nothing else, it should be entertaining. Because when someone steps out into the unknown, they become an astronaut.