Winning

Unlike the rest of the world, I’m taking Charlie Sheen’s meltdown personally. I grew up in the era of the brat pack and he was my brat packer. This was a critically important role in a tween's life. He was a little on the fringe and stared in excellent movies like Lucas and the ultimate and shameless anti-commie I love America movie,Red Dawn. And I just love the scene in Ferris Bueller between him and Ferris’ sister Jeanne (played charmingly by Jennifer Grey). I loved it, because I saw similarities between me and Jeanne, the older studious sister whose younger brother gets all of the attention (When I was a senior in high school, people would ask me if I was Jeffrey Huber’s sister. He was a freshman at the time!!) It was nice to know she got the cute boy.

Rightly so it’s starting to feel mutually exploitative, this Sheen thing, but there’s one phrase that he keeps using and I like it. “Winning.” As in, “I just got fired from my job but got a million twitter fans in 24 hours. Winning.”

I get it. No wait a minute, I don’t get it at all. CS is completely kooky pants and I guess pretty sad. But I like the concept. I like that it captures the anxiety of looming failure or crisis, but recognizes small victories and more importantly a desire not to give up. Like a battle in a war. Like Rocky maybe, everyone’s favorite underdog; well perhaps Rocky mixed with Woody Allen.

How might one use it?
The dog didn’t get into a fight at the park today. Winning.
Found a roll of TP way under the sink just in the knick of time. Winning.
It’s raining today, but it’s almost 50 degrees. Winning.
Etc. Etc.

I had a job interview the other day. It went ok. I didn’t nail it and am trying to downplay its importance in my overall scheme to become employed. However, the day before the interview I received a call from a recruiter from another organization who wants me to come and talk to her. Winning. And the same day, I received an email about helping another organization with some part time work. Winning. So, ok, perhaps the battle for the job I interviewed for is lost (jury’s still out) but in the war for employment, I think I’m staying afloat, making progress even.

One last literal use of the word that I may have used so much in this blog that I don’t want to ever use the term again…On Thursday night I went to my cousin Patti’s house in Hyattsville, MD. I hadn’t seen her and her husband in a while. In fact, I was meeting her 5 year old and 2 year old for the first time. Patti and her husband Brandon are computer geeks. I think this is ok to say, because they have a website called twogeeksandababy.com.

Their children were fantastic; so sweet and, like their parents, really smart. The five year old challenged me to a game of “No Stress Chess.” It’s a learning version of the game where each player takes a turn picking a card that tells them how to move. Brandon and little Kai assured me I could handle it. The kid beat me in 4 moves. Not winning. I smiled the whole way home. I lost the battle of “No Stress Chess,” but I have this great family right around the corner from me in DC. Winning!!

I just realized that this is my second concept blog in a row...oy, this is starting to get a little too therapeutic.