—I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR BAD ACTORS, AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU

 

…Ahhh, Friday, how’ve you been? Me, I’ve been making some good changes, and things are looking up. Can you tell?

…Sometimes less really is more.

...One thing I could use more of is confidence. I seem to have left that at the store

…You’ve got to be able to trust the people in your life, otherwise you’re doomed to all kinds of betrayal and deception.

…These days sure are slow. That should be a good thing, except it isn’t when you’re looking forward to something, when you’re ready to see your friends but it’s not quite time.

…I’ve been thinking about forgiveness a lot lately, how you can forgive, yet not forget, the damage done to you.

…One thing that’s certain is I would make a really terrible hermit.

…A best friend is hard to find, and when you do find one, you’ll know how much they mean to you by the way you miss them.

…It’s a helpless feeling when someone you love is hurting and there’s nothing you can do about it.

…A lot of times, social media is a farce. It’s rare to read something genuine that’s really just meant to manipulate you somehow. And still, like a fool, I go there…

…Last night, I dreamt of the infinity pool. It was divine.

…Planking is a good way to get to know your carpet better.

…In the last few weeks, I’ve read some spellbinding books and have seen the five films I most wanted to see: I Care A Lot, Nomadland, Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, A Promising Young Woman. Loved them all for different reasons.

…The two people in this world who make me laugh the most, and the hardest: my best friend and my daughter.

…I never kept a diary when I was younger because I assumed my brothers would find it and then the gig would be up. So, thoughts just floated around in my head, like the scummy foam on top of unclean swimming pools. And now, here they are...

…What is it with these female bots on Words With Friends always trying to get me to invest in Bitcoin? Does that sort of thing really work?

…Also, every day for the last few weeks, I’ve received an email for a product that wants to “increase (my) manhood by up to 67 percent!” On top of that are the emails with photos of “Beautiful Russian women who want to meet and have sex with (me).”

…It’s not a lot of fun, these days, being male, being white, being heterosexual. I mean, you can’t help what you are, can you?

…I’m about halfway through “Girls.” So far someone’s had sex in every episode but one. It’s not necessarily gratuitous, but maybe superfluous. I think the art I appreciate most is where the characters are flawed, differentiated and fully-formed. I might not always like them, or root for them, but my gratitude for them is always there. That’s how I feel about every person in “Girls.”

…Nobody said life was fair. Like, not one person said that.

…Last night I wrote another chapter for the novel that’s sulking in my head. A new character moved into the care center, taking Esther’s old room after she died. He’s surly and swears an awful lot. I might like him even more than I like Pearl. Hmmm.

…I know I’m opinionated, but geez, people on FBK…

…My parents never saw the place I live in now, even though I invited them regularly. On the phone my dad would always guilt me about visiting them, though I did a fair amount. One thing he’d always say, which I hated, was, “It’s okay. You’ll come see me when I’m dead.” About that, he was correct.

…If you have a dog, your day is always going to be better than if you didn’t.

…I’m reading this thin little book that has received ten times more hype than it deserves, ten times more hype than all of the other books I’ve read this year (33 so far), which are all better. I just don’t get how the hype machinery works.

…It feels good to say, “I love you,” when you really mean it. It feels even better to have it said to you in the same manner.

…Even though nothing interesting ever comes anymore, it’s still a bit sad to open the mailbox and find it empty.

…People say bacon makes everything better, but it doesn’t do a thing to make death less awful.

…I guess I’ll leave you now, unless you left me first.