Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 130

“I want to be a comedian. A lot of people in my class think...

“I want to be a comedian. A lot of people in my class think I’m funny. Sometimes it can be hard to think of a good joke that isn’t about Trump. But even if you don’t get any laughs, you can usually just keep silent for a few minutes and try again. Sometimes I accidentally make jokes that only I get. Like the other day I tried to tell a joke about that lady who handed out cashews instead of candy for Halloween. But only my friend Aiden knew about the Cashew Lady so nobody laughed. But then later my teacher asked where I got my sources for my constitutional rights paper. And I told her I got them from ‘a sorcerer.’ Even she laughed at that one.”

“A lot of younger people pass by me while I’m running....

“A lot of younger people pass by me while I’m running. It’s a bit of a metaphor for the rest of my life. I turned forty-seven in October. I’m starting to have bosses that are younger than me. It’s causing me to question what my experience is worth. I’m noticing that my younger colleagues are more adventurous and take more risks—either because they don’t know about failure or they don’t care. As I get older, I feel like more and more of my life is outside my control. That’s why I started training for the marathon. I want to be in control of something. I can’t control current events. I can’t control politics. I can’t even control my personal relationships. But I can control my legs. I can put one leg in front of the other. I can decide the miles that I run each day, each week, each month. And it feels great. I get a rush every time I make it to the top of a hill.”

“We had our son through a surrogate, so we didn’t get to watch...

“We had our son through a surrogate, so we didn’t get to watch the pregnancy day-by-day. We didn’t see the stomach getting bigger. We didn’t have the same sort of emotional preparation as traditional parents. It’s like one day we weren’t parents, and then the next day we are. He was born two weeks early so we had to quickly jump on a flight. But we got to the hospital late. We actually met our son for the first time in an elevator. We were heading up to the room, and the nurses were bringing him up from the nursery. They noticed two guys carrying luggage, and said: ‘I think this might be your son!’”

“She originally said she didn’t want kids. And I originally...

“She originally said she didn’t want kids. And I originally told her I was completely fine with that. But that was a lie. I guess I just thought we’d grow into the idea. She also told me that she never wanted to get married—and she changed her mind about that. So I thought she’d change her mind about a child too. Honestly, I would be disappointed if we didn’t have one. I think something magic happens when you open your heart to another living thing. But I don’t want her to make a decision for my sake. So maybe the solution is just to be disappointed.”

“Maybe I’m just selfish. But I value our time together. And I want to continue spending time on ourselves. Plus I just don’t feel very maternal. I’m afraid that I’ll convince myself for his sake, and I’ll will myself to believe that I want a child, but then I won’t feel that connection. But he will. And then it will be the two of them– and me.”

“I normally don’t tell people I’m a Christian because they...

“I normally don’t tell people I’m a Christian because they assume you’re a zealot, or parochial, or close-minded. And I don’t think I’m any of those things. I go to a progressive church. We bring in great speakers and do a lot of volunteering. My religion is just a centering part of my life. It gives me guideposts. It gives me a code of ethics and helps me see dignity in other people. Sure, there’s a storybook nature to it. And it can be a shame that people focus so much on the story. I’d rather focus on the message the story conveys.“

“I work at a disposable razor factory. We used to have seven...

“I work at a disposable razor factory. We used to have seven hundred workers. There were lines of people down conveyor belts. Now there’s only four hundred left, and most of those are just temporary. Machines do everything now. Anything that required hands, at least. We used to look at the razors through microscopes– trying to find imperfections. Now the computer just takes a picture. Even the forklifts drive themselves. Soon there will be nobody left. People are just too expensive. You can’t stop it. I tried my own little protest for a while. I told myself that I wasn’t going to buy any of the cheap stuff from Wal-Mart. But that didn’t last long. I couldn’t afford anything else.”

“I’ve been at the same company for nine years. I should have...

“I’ve been at the same company for nine years. I should have moved up by now. But I’ve just never been good at office politics. I assumed my work ethic and performance would be enough. But some people are just better at getting recognized. They ingratiate themselves with the boss. They have no problem taking credit for other people’s work. They’ll diminish your accomplishments and inflate their own. I’d never go that far. But I’m not waiting to get noticed anymore. If I beat a deadline, solve a tough problem, or get great feedback from a customer—I’m copying upper management on the email.”

“My husband is running for city council in Long Beach...

“My husband is running for city council in Long Beach and it’s been a difficult race. His name is Joseph Naham. He didn’t get many contributions or media coverage because he’s running as a Green Party candidate. He’s optimistic, because that’s who he is, but there’s a chance he might be a bit hurt by the results tonight. So I got him these flowers to thank him. He put his whole heart into the race. This wasn’t a power play for him. He genuinely wanted to help the community. I just want him to know that no matter what happens, he’s planting seeds, and they’re gonna grow, and that’s what it’s all about.”

“I just tried to go on my first run post-wedding. I...

“I just tried to go on my first run post-wedding. I wanted to make it three miles but I couldn’t do it. Toward the end I tried switching my soundtrack from techno to gospel, but I still had to stop. Too much eating during the honeymoon. You should have seen me on the wedding day, though. All that hard work paid off. That tux fit like lotion.”

“I had an awakening on a balcony in Seattle. I was listening...

“I had an awakening on a balcony in Seattle. I was listening to soul music on my Walkman. And I was paying attention to the music. And suddenly I realized that I was the attention itself. I realized that I’m not my mind—I’m the awareness of my mind. We’re all just drops of consciousness and if you get to the point where you can turn around and see your drop, you’ll discover that it’s connected to an ocean of consciousness. And then you’ll be illumined. I don’t care if anyone believes me. I’m not trying to convert anyone. There’s nothing to convert because everyone is exactly where they’re supposed to be right now.”