Doldrums - Video Hostage

I'm about to graduate law school. I am all about this early-aught renaissance, but have no sense of nostalgia. Speaking for myself, that's the #1 indicator of positive mental health. It's more exhilarating to harmonize to every word of Life's run-on today than parse through the transcripts of whatever she whispered five years ago.  She has her eyes closed and the corners of her mouth, I would like to think, are upturned.

Doldrums is satisfying for a contemplative afternoon, but I'd like to dance barefoot to them out in a field.  Plenty of Coachellers out there did that this weekend.

Me, I'm at a stand-up venue.  I calculate the cost of each chair on the floor, the bitters in drinks.  What's the margin? They sign up patrons for a rewards program to get them to come back next Monday. What's their conversion rate?  It isn't a horrible line of thinking for my line of work, but it's awfully frustrating when you apply it to my career path. I'm ready to tattoo "GYST" on my knuckles. Paper read by 9am, bar stocked for weekends. My favorite to answer to BS: "Oh yeah?" and then nothing.

But you know what thought is inescapable to me, the raging capitalist?  It costs nothing to be nice to people. Human kindness, imagine that, is a resource that we cannot exhaust. So why are people so cruel or exploitative towards one another? Why do people confuse attempts at humility for weakness? Or detachment for self preservation?

"I'm not cold. My roots don't grow here anymore. I'm not sure if they ever did."

People stay young longer here.  Tacos at 2am, make-outs into our late thirties.  "I'll have it made when I've got an in-unit washer dryer."  There's no seasonal urgency ushering in harvest for most residents in Central LA.  Just drought, from the Salinas Valley down to Mexico.  Are we the Lost Boys, or just those lucky devils who'd dare  abandon Shangri La?