Friends and neighbors, have you got f***ing problems? Well, you've come to the right place.
Being here in Chicago for YK2007, I am happy to say mostly what I have seen and heard are people offering solutions to problems. And if not solutions, people are at least offering suggestions on how to get to solutions. That in itself has been gratifying. When friends asked why I was going to "that blogger thing," I simply said I wanted to be a part of history in the making. And I felt I have done just that. No problem there.
WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?
But, of course there are problems. Problems, problems, problems. Big, small, self-centered, or altruistic in nature. And my f***ing problem this week is with metaphysical multitasking. T
Follow me down the WYFP? rabbit hole to see what the hell I'm talking about.
If you are attending YK 2007, then you are all to familiar with this thing. It's the ginormous convention schedule grid. Printed out on 11x17 paper, it still uses something like 3 point type. My 47-year-old eyes have struggled with it. But reading it isn't the real f***ing problem with the schedule.
My f***ing problem with the schedule grid is there are too many things I want to attend running concurrently. Do I sit in on "Left Behind by the Right" or "Evolution and Integration of the Blogosphere?" I chose the former, but really wished I could also have attended the latter. "Progressives and Capitalism" or "WTF happened with Ned Lamont's Race?" (my title for it, not the official one). Either would have been a great choice, but I was at the foreign policy meeting. And then there's the mother of all f***ing schedule problems: Which candidate's break-out session do I want to attend. I was not prepared for that question when I checked in at the registration desk Thursday morning. Hillary? Obama? Richardson? Gravel? I had to decide on the spot. WTF?
My f***ing problem is that I cannot be in two or three or four places at once. Damn you, laws of nature!
This is not just my f***ing problem. Others have this metaphysical challenge. As I drafted this thing earlier today from a coffee shop somewhere on Chicago's north side, I wished I was listening to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Rahm Emanuel. Alas, they too could not be in two places at the same time. They were scheduled to be part of an "Ask the Leaders" forum first thing this morning. But their f***ing problem is that they all had to stay in Washington. Something about caving on important FISA legislation.
Some people turned this kind of f***ing problem into a party. Hat tip to the folks hosting the MyDD, Open Left and Lurkers caucuses Thursday. They decided to merge their meetings into one, and they also brought in several cases of cold beer. Now, that's the kind of problem solving that makes us, well, at least a little intoxicated without dropping $4.75 for a tepid Miller Lite from one of the convention center bars. Well played, Misters Stoller, Bowers, Singer and Lux. Well played indeed.
This whole metaphysical multitasking problem pops up all over the place. For example, Lollapalooza is going on a few miles north of YK. Would I like to be taking in some live music on Chicago's beautiful lakefront this evening? Sure, but I'm hosting this and waiting for Markos to deliver the closing keynote. Can't do both, and I promised Musing85 I'd host WYFP?. So that's a f***ing problem.
OK, enough whining and sniveling. In the grand scheme of things, these are hardly major f***ing problems. But I know people who have missed major family events because they needed to be on the road for their job. People often have to make hard choices about where to be, choosing one loyalty over another. How many times have you agonized over a difficult choice of doing what you wanted versus doing "the right thing?"
So, good people, what's your fucking problem? (I had to let one uncensored f-bomb slip in. Sorry, mom.) And said f***ing problem by no means has to be one involving metaphysics. But if you have one of those, it will really go a long way to validate my convoluted theme.
From Chicago... wish you were f***ing here!