Life, Little Rock, and Mamma Mia!

Last week, my mother came up to see me and we went to see Mamma Mia! as performed at Robinson Center here in Little Rock. For those that are unfamiliar with the musical, it consists entirely of music written and originally performed by ABBA, set to a storyline that does NOT trace the roots of ABBA; rather, it follows a two day journey of a girl and her mother through the rigours of putting on a wedding. Exciting stuff, let me tell you.

I originally saw ABBA in Las Vegas (I think it was being performed at the Wynne) with Mom and I have to say that the Little Rock performance paled in comparison. It seemed as if the music was being played louder than the vocals in order to cover them up. If I hadn't known the words to the songs, I wouldn't have understood what they were saying. Plus, I thought the actress playing Donna Sheridan used a little too much in the way of vibrato, trills, and glissandos. A little goes a long way....she went too far.

I did, however, see my friend Phil Frana there and during intermission, I had to go over and say 'hello' since I hadn't seen him in three weeks. I can only go so long without talking with my Phil. During that ten minutes, I made a startling conclusion: It is remarkably easy to network in Arkansas. In that short span of time, we were able to identify somewhere in the vicinity of five to ten people and also label their positions, some of which would be positions of "power" in local governments. Had I been a reporter, it would have been very easy to perform an ambush interview to find out what these guys think. Too bad recording devices are banned in Robinson Center. Too bad I'm also not a reporter. Too bad I don't really know anything about local affairs, preferring to stay abreast of national/international politics. I'm intense like that.

But it got me thinking, with all these easily made connections, why am I not utilizing my degree in Public Administration by leveraging some of that easy-to-get networking here in Arkansas? Why am I whiling away my time at PetSmart grooming dogs? I mean, after all, dog grooming isn't exactly glamourous. I get pissed and shit on no less than five times a week. I make decent money, but I have inconsistent hours. Not to mention the entirely unglamourous condition of not getting to dress up. I'm relegated to windsuit pants, a t-shirt, and a cruddy smock every day. Not the pinnacle of fashion, lemmetellya.

But, like Sophie in Mamma Mia!, I came to the conclusion that I'm not garnering for a more glamourous position (in my case, a more presitigious job; in her case, a white wedding) because I'm perfectly content to stay where I am for now. She wants to explore the world. I would like that too (finances prevent it at the moment), but I'm content staying home. We're both content with exploring who we are at this moment.....not who we are after some life-defining event.

I'll be honest: It's tough watching my friends go off to Graduate School and get real jobs. Sometimes I think to myself, "Fuck PetSmart. I'm gonna get my Masters." But then I cool down and realize that the best thing in life is not what the future may or may not hold; it's being content with what you have now.

In the back of my head, I hear Buddha saying, "Take the Middle Way."

Yes, Sir. I think I shall.