The best way to not get jaded, bitter, and old is to learn how to get over it and move on....

I meet a lot of people in my travels. I cross many paths. A lot of water has passed underneath the bridge that my life is, and plenty of shit goes down. I know I'm not unique in that, especially in this town. Everyone I know is probably living some kind of perpetual mini series.

I'm more into comedy than drama....I don't mind WATCHING drama, but I'd rather live a comedy...which is not to say that I want life to be a joke or that I don't take it seriously....quite the contrary.

Nobody's perfect, but time and again, I see people who do nothing but complain, complain, complain.....and bellyache about this and that which happened in the past. They hold grudges, dwell on ancient history, and consequently hold bitterness in their hearts. And what good does THAT do? It ages a person, and makes them unattractive to others. People can see your true colors pretty quickly, I think....just ask them.

I learned very early in life that when life throws shit at you like some rhesus fucking monkey, or knocks you down like steamroller, the best thing to do is wipe yourself off, feel the pain for a *little* while, then face forward and do your best to learn a lesson, move the fuck on, and GET THE FUCK OVER IT. How did I learn this? Let's just say I lost a lot of significant family members before age 12, ok? But the rest of my family and I didn't waste our lives sitting around and moping and crying about it. We turned chicken shit into chicken salad and made the best of it! It's not being callous or cold (two things that I am definitely not), it's simply facing reality but not letting it kill who you are.

We all have our stories about why our lives are fucked up in one way or another....nobody wants to hear you complain. People want to be inspired and forget about the shitfalls of their own, even if for a few moments. To me, that's what Rock N' Roll is about in a lot of ways, and is one of the more poignant reasons why I do and believe in what I do.

And so far it's going pretty well, because I couldn't be bothered with any reasons why it WOULDN'T! I mean, the whole world is stacked against most everybody.....that's a given. Why dwell on the fucking negative? Forget about that shit....and I refuse to travel in negative company....can you dig it? Too many people justify their own failures and problems with all these reasons why they can't do something, how it's all someone fucking else's fault, and pretty much just bitch, bitch bitch their lives away. They take no responsibility for anything, even their own actions.

Not me!

That all being said, we all have problems and disagreements. That's just life. But coming to a resolution is awfully important. Some people are actually taken aback by how forgiving I can be.....and how quickly I'll apologize when it's proper for me to do so. I'm not saying I'm righteous or that I'm even close to always being right. What I am saying is that if there are problems, and there often are, the best thing to do is to atone in whatever way you can and move the fuck on. The longer you let shit fester, the more lines will appear on your face. People, at least the sharp ones, can smell bitterness from miles away, and most of them don't like it. You don't have to be friends with EVERYBODY....but not eveybody is ENEMIES with everyone you don't like, you know? And gratuitous shit-talking is only going to reflect badly on you. Again, I see it happening again and again.

You'd be amazed at how good it feels, if you have a chance, to let the shit that ails you go. It's like concrete blocks have been lifted off your shoulders and replaced by wings. Chances are that the shit that's keeping you down is doing so because you enable it to. That makes you your own worst enemy....and who has time for that shit? Life is, indeed, too fucking short - and remember, it's YOUR life! Take heed and take care.....and while everyone else is bellyaching, shit-talking, and pussyfooting around, you'll be laughing, kicking ass, and having fun. I know which sounds better to me! How about you?

Is everybody going batshit crazy, or what?

What a day. I think maybe this entry will wind up being the most faithful to this blog's title, hahahahaha....

Between having a strange, wonderful, and unexpectedly great couple couple of nights...that seemed to me to be written in the stars....and on the other side, all of the varieties pitfalls that (more than 5 of) my friends have been having in their interaction with the world....and certain people giving me less than merciful character assassinations - one after another - while I try to help sort everything out for everyone....this has been a strange fucking day.

Is it the Spring-denying NYC Weather? Are certain people not getting laid? Is there some kind of poison infiltrating the air? I can't figure it out.

What I can tell you is that, while I am by NO MEANS anyone's boyscout, I CAN say that I make every effort to be, generally, an honest, sensitive, and thoughtful dude. Do I fuck up? Sure! Does my behavior at times deserve to be filed under "Questionable"? Absolutely, I'm sure. But hurting anyone is, and never will be, on my agenda. I'm all about inspiration, fun, and getting the most out of life.

Now, that all being said, sometimes I think that people paint an image of you as a person, that isn't altogether accurate. Consequently, when they are disappointed that you don't live up to that image, or their definition of who you are, especially in relation to them, they get hostile. It's something I don't particularly understand, but when you haven't lied to such people, or misled them into believing that you are a certain way (if anything, you've told them the OPPOSITE) then the only people they are fooling are themselves. Consequently, they are, in effect, using you as a vehicle to hurt/sabotage themselves as well. And all you're doing is waking up and wondering what the fuck this person is so angry at you about.

I mean, just because I can't be what someone expects me to be all the time, for whatever reason, doesn't mean I don't care about that person. And I don't think I pressure anyone, ever, to be something they are not. So, why would anyone else want to do that to me? It's as silly as it is selfish. And what's funny is, when someone is acting up on you in a situation like this, they often use favors that you've done for them as ammo to use against you. It's like that old adage, "No good deed goes unpunished." Well....again, you're welcome.

The best part? The reason people have for ripping you a new one these situations is often the result of hearsay, rumor, shit talking, and the like. And jumping down someone's throat, assuming the worst about them, and believing every single word said out in "drunkland" is wrong....and most people know that....or at least most of my friends (which is a pretty fucking big list, I think, and I love each and every one of you) know that, which is WHY they're my friends.

And if you expect someone to treat you with enough respect not to jump to conclusions (which, as humans, we all do from time to time), maybe you should do the same for them, right? It's not an unreasonable assumption. (There's also the issue of, whose BUSINESS is it WHAT you do?).

If someone automatically assumes the worst about you whenever there's some kind of a discrepancy, then perhaps that person was never your friend in the first place.

Which brings me to a final set of thoughts....perhaps it's shit like this that's sort of life's way of "weeding out the weaklings" from your life. And if it happens that way, you can rest assured that the choices you made were the best ones for you, don't you think?

You're probably wondering what the fuck I'm talking about....but I'm not telling....

Tomorrow is another day....let's make it a brighter, warmer one, ok?

Take care,

Marty E.