Still standing
In case anyone is actually paying attention—a big if!—apologies for the lack of posting. It’s been quite the month: tons of work on my plate, miraculously finding a house, and prepping for the love of my life to finally move to the East Coast next week. Tapping out a few words here shouldn’t necessarily take a back seat but, you know, life.
If I had the time, I’d write about the way the home buying process has reinforced my belief that we live in a world generally comprised of people who are professionally incompetent. I know that sounds harsh, but we’re all on the bell curve: math dictates only a tiny percentage of people are true rock stars, and dealing with everyone around the house has reminded me how mediocrity rules.
Basics such as error-free emails and texts, proactive communication, the ability and inclination to clearly explain complex issues, and all manner of other table-stakes skills seem totally absent. I’m really not quite sure how the world functions when so many people seem incapable of the barest competence, other than the planet just bumbles along 99% of the time, miraculously progressing despite the best efforts of people to drag it asunder.
It’s also renewed my opinion that realtors are utterly unnecessary. The property we’re buying resulted from me going alone to an open house and submitting an offer that was accepted. The realtor who was a spectator to the whole thing now gets to collect a commission for … sloth? The reality is that in an age of instant online property listings and the disappearance of true insider knowledge and access, realtors only act as a roadblock. They should go the same way as car dealers: out of the buying and selling process so we can “add to cart” online.
The other big takeaway is it’s become really apparent that just because Connecticut is geographically close to New York City doesn’t mean you get big city competence. Ever wonder why a lawyer stuck in Connecticut doing property work isn’t at a major law firm in Manhattan? I mean, it could be a lifestyle choice. Maybe. But it could also be because they’re about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
Anyway … rant over. Yesterday I re-watched Roger Federer’s celebrated speech to the graduating class at Dartmouth and was reminded particularly of him noting that despite his record-breaking career winning 80% of his matches (in my opinion, he’s the greatest tennis player in history), he only won 54% of total points.
“When you lose every second point, on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot,” Federer said. “You teach yourself to think, ‘OK, I double-faulted. It’s only a point.’ When you’re playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that, with intensity, clarity and focus.”
So, onward. All’s well that ends well: Elevator Girl will be here next week, we move into a beautiful home next month, and my about-to-finish-the-school-year boys get to see their Grandma in person the month after that, along with their extended family in Australia. It’s going to be a wonderful summer.
A note about whatever this is …
After writing a few thousand articles for newspapers and magazines, I spent a long time trying a bunch of other stuff. I guess I figured what came (relatively) easily must by definition be less valuable, so I wandered in the corporate wilderness, becoming increasingly frustrated and doing work that felt increasingly lousy.
Sometimes with age comes wisdom, and I’ve realized finding something (relatively) easy ain’t a bad thing. So, this is a space where I’m resurrecting writing for myself, on topics weird and wild and wonderful.