Tuesday, February 07, 2006
excuse me
"did she say step-bump-bump, or bump-step-step?"
if i was a pop diva, 2006 would be the year i'd kick off my "no excuses" tour. in addition to the title track, other hits would include "money isn't everything (job quit remix)", "five easy pizzas (please don't eat me)", and "answer your phone every once in a while".
fortunately, my imagined predilection for conceptual specificity and my general suspicion of definitive statements keep me from making ridiculously specious claims like "no excuses". i mean, really, i'm just not so sure that "good reasons" and "excuses" are as different as parents and high school principals would have us believe. plus, i think trying and failing can feel bad enough without the spectre of "no excuses" hovering over you in an ethereal state of contemptuous judgement.
don't get me wrong, a little contemptuous self-judgement can go a long way towards achievement. i'm sure, for example, that every professional athlete or musician has at one time or another looked to self-judgement as a means of becoming better at their trade (with the possible exception of the bass player from van halen). and i'll be the first to admit that ordering $30 worth of pizza without entertaining guests or being high deserves a little contemptuous judegement, no? but it just seems a little unrealistic, and unhealthy, to decide that your mantra is going to be "don't fuck up".
all of which is to say that you won't be seeing me parading front and center with the wireless mic headset, taking the world by storm. at least, not this year. but i think that doing what i can to make the final cut for the backup dancer squad, you know, is maybe not so bad.
