Hello Normalcy

My tiny little clinic that I've built up over the past five years has just been acquired by a large corporation. I am now a salaryman. Growing up there were a few wonderful things I've learned from my Dad. I think the first one was...never be a Salaryman! The second was that you drink Scotch with dinner. Umm and he has these great sayings.

Once a penny spend never come back.
Never invest more than 30%, like the fish eating bait, 30% no problem...60% you die.
Earrings are for women.
Wallets under $200 are junk.
Of course the work-week is 6 days long, what are you lazy?
Anything mixed with vodka can be called medicine.
Vitamins can cure anything, maybe magnets can too.
Learn Hebrew, I've got a plan.

But I've mentioned this a million times, I never listened to anything coming out of his mouth. I just watched how he walks this world and tried to learn to take those same big-ass steps. And I've griped before about trying to cut down to 5 days a week and blah blah blah...it didn't take. I went right back to the six days.

Ok so now I really get to go to the whole 5 day thing...in fact I am actually going to a 40 hour work week. Unbelievable. I still see my same patients and still get to run my little clinic, I'm just forced to follow a set schedule now. A reduced schedule. I still go to night school, but I'm in my last year of my program. I get to spend more time with my family.

So why am I freaking out? I once read some spiritual mumbo jumbo about how life presents you with lessons and you get them repeated to you until you finally get it right. And I realize that I'm writing about something that I have written about before...like exactly. And I realize that I'm not learning the lesson here: I need to slow down.

I'm doing MD blog therapy here. When I look at the sentence "I need to slow down" I feel like an idiot, because in my mind I am already the laziest man on this planet. But then I think about the fact that I work 6 days a week, go to grad school at night and blog every free moment I have, and I have a wife and son and I am trying to go back to my roots as a painter and writer. Something doesn't add up here. I get the feeling that I will be writing about this same topic annually. In fact let me check when I wrote about this last...BRB

Crap November 13, 2005. Eleven months ago I was in the same place writing about basically the same thing. Life repeats lessons until you get it right.

Ok maybe I shouldn't look at what my Dad has done to guide me. I'm going to look forward and try to learn something from the hopes that I have for my Son's future life. Here's what I hope for my Son's future when he has his first child.

Dear Conman,

I hope that you work 6 days a week and not be a lazy bastard.

Love,
Dad

Hmmmm I thought that would come out differently. Oh well Scorpion and the Frog right? I'll see you guys here next year, and I'll be writing about the same thing. Life tries to teach you lessons, who knows if I'll ever get this one right.