On Tuesday, I sent off a query to an editor about a content writing gig I found while poking around online.  I wasn’t really qualified, based on the description, but I figured “What the fuck…” and sent off an email.

As expected, that editor didn’t think I was the best dude for his need, but he passed over my info to another editor with his company who, as it turned out, was desperately looking for someone like me.  W00t!

I spoke with Editor B yesterday morning and we chatted for a little while about what he needed.  Wasn’t exactly my dream writing gig, but hey, clips are clips and money’s money, right?  And since this thing pretty much fell into my lap I thought I’d be stupid not to give it a whirl.

He asked me to send him another sample, which I did, and he replied a few minutes later with this:

Wow, this is very well written. I like your style!

Would you like to setup a meeting time sometime soon?

Color me stupid, but that seemed pretty damn encouraging to me.  I immediately emailed him back and we set something up.  In his words (typo and all):

Tomorrow morning would be find – how about 9 AM Eastern?

“Tomorrow” would now be “today.”  Sure, that’s 6am Justin Time, but my alarm typically goes off at 5:30am anyway.  Meant that I wouldn’t be able to bike in this morning or hit the snooze alarm more than twice, and that I’d have to rearrange my normal morning routine.  Slight inconvenience, but I was willing to deal with that.

So I sprung out of bed at the ass-crack of morning, rushed through my shower, and called him precisely on time.

And got his voicemail.

No problem, I thought.  Just leave him a message.  Probably got caught on another call.  Or step out for some coffee.  Or had to take a leak.  Whatever.  He’ll call back, right?

Wrong.

It’s now several hours later and there’s no word.  And I’m pissed.  Again, not that I was doing backflips over this particular gig, but it’s still irritating to get stood up.

And the thing is, this is the second editor in a row to do this to me.

It’s fine and dandy to get smacked down immediately.  That’s cool.  I can dig it.  We didn’t jive, I’ll get over it.  But when their initial response is all optimistic and it sounds like we’re gonna get down and boogie, it really pisses me off when they just drop all communication and leave me hanging.

That, and The Team Who Until Today Was Known As The Sonics is officially moving to Oklahoma City. (Piss off, Clay Bennett and David Stern.  I hear they’re working on tenth Circle of Hell just for you two bastards.)

And and AND…

Because of the new headset/cell phone law that went into effect in Washington state this week, I found one of these waiting on my desk yesterday afternoon:

I don’t want to be Bluetooth Headset Guy.  They’re dorks.  I’m more than dorky enough without one of these things.  Unless you can pull off the black tights and miniskirt look, you shouldn’t wear one of these, either.

So this was the dude sitting in front of me this morning. I heart him so much. Not only did he work the unbathed-and-wreaking-of-six-cartons-of-Camels action to the fullest, but the hat? And the jacket? I’m all aflutter.

I just couldn’t ask for a better representative of all the things I hated about the last 8 years of politics in this country. The big ol’ “America” leather jacket, complete with Stars and Stripes wavin’ in the background, is simply delicious. You can tell this gentleman is a true Freedom Fries eatin’ Patriot.

And that hat…

Doesn’t get any better than that.

Yes, his message couldn’t be more clear if he wore a sandwich board around that said something witty and civil like “America: Love it or just go and fucking die, you pinko commie Arab-lovin’ homo literate bastards!”

Can’t you just imagine him and his ilk walking down the street after pounding a half-rack of Bud (because Real Americans don’t drink that foofoo yuppie shit) and screaming the theme to “Team America?”*

There’s just been so damn much of that attitude during the last two terms… The idea of the changes we have coming make me tingly inside. Say what you want about the two candidates, but I don’t see how you can’t feel that things will look up up up with either McCain or (hopefully) Obama calling the shots. I haven’t been this excited about a pending election since my runoff for the 2nd grade hall monitor gig.

*Ok, I’d totally be down with replacing the Star-Spangled Banner with the Team America theme. Best part of that whole damn movie. That didn’t involve poop.