jennings rampage

It wouldn’t be a cliche if it wasn’t true.

I know people are generally going to want to know the same kinds of things when they see me for the first time in awhile and I shouldn’t complain about having to sound like a record broken in such a way as to repeat the same bit over and over, but here I am.

I’ve had this conversation several thousand times in the past week:

Other person: “Hey, great to see you.”
Me: “Yeah man, it’s good to see me too.”
Other person: “Ha ha ha. So, are you back in town for good now?”
Me: “No, I’m just on a little vacation, that all.”
Other person: “Oh, cool. So, how’s life in [Florida/North Carolina/Delaware]?”
Me: “Virginia. It’s pretty good. Got a good job, get to teach Harold on the weekends, I’m pretty happy.”
Other person: “That’s awesome, I’m glad you’re doing well. So, when are you moving back?”
Me: “I don’t know. I don’t know if I ever will move back. I decided that thinking in terms of ‘when will I move back to New York?’ was driving me crazy. I decided that I just need to slow down again and appreciate what I do have in my life, which is a whole list of things that I was missing from my life last time I lived here; things like a job, a stable income, a healthful way of living, the security that comes from paying bills on time and being able to check the mail and answer the phone without fear of what’s waiting for me, the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that comes from a full day of honest work, two cats, the ability to teach improvisation to eager students who have yet to be completely fucking ruined by the kind of politics that goes on around here, the ability to perform improvisation in a community that hasn’t turned into an overgrown high school status game yet, and a driver’s license. So who knows? Maybe I won’t move back to New York at all. Maybe if I win a million dollars tomorrow, I wouldn’t use it to quit my job and buy some property in Jersey and lurk around the city every day, ’cause I’m lurking around the city right now, and I’m pretty bored by it. So much has changed, so much has passed me by. Sure, you don’t feel that way, you see me and nothing at all has changed, you can see me drop right back into the slot that you had me in your life, but things are very different for me. Sure, I definitely moved away last year leaving a lot of things unresolved, but those things can basically be tied up with ‘yeah, you’re talented, just do the fucking work,’ or ‘you’re liked and respected, and we understand that you were going through a tough time in your life, and we’re really happy that you’re more like yourself again,’ or ’she’s just not interested, dude.’ So you know what? Maybe I’m happy right now working on that ‘other’ career and pursuing my calling on the weekends. It’s a nice balance. I’m better off only having access to improv on the weekends, at least for right now. It’s a matter of perspective: I completely lost perspective living here and doing something related to comedy every night of the week, and now that I’m back in polite society, it’s only going to make my comedy stronger. Trust me on that one. And look at me! I look absolutely fantastic, this city was no good for my health. Yes, I love it here, I love the people and I love the theater and I love you, but it just may not be what I need right now. So yeah, I’m happy, life is good, my things are falling back into order, and maybe I’m not going to move back. Who the hell knows?”
Other person: “Come see my show.”