Dinner With a Friend

I had dinner with a friend at SliderBar Cafe in Palo Alto. Last time I saw him was over Thanksgiving, when we went to his house in East Bay for the traditional Thanksgiving fare. As usual, we exchanged some gossip. I told him how I was giving up getting back the few thousand dollars that my agent stole from me, because clearly he and his whole family are going bankrupt. He told me how he had come to dislike lawyers after his son's boat accident because he realized that they represent themselves as opposed their clients and they are best buddies with lawyers on the opposite side because more arguments between them keep both of them employed longer.

We talked about movies. He said that I had weird tastes because I seem to like movies from totally foreign places and totally remote periods, and I said that would make sense since I can't travel to those places in those times. He said that he could not see any sad movies because that would destroy his mood and that's why he did not finish "Leaving Las Vegas", and I said "Leaving Las Vegas" was by far not that sad compared to some other movies out there, such as the Czech films and Danish films. He said what are you doing watching Czech and Danish movies, as Denmark is in the Arctic circle and people are depressed half of the year, and the Czech people have nothing to be happy about. I reminded him that since he himself likes beer so much, the Czech people consume more beer per person than any other countries on earth. And he said that just proved his point. He asked me if I liked living in Palo Alto, and I said yes indeed so much better than up north in South San Francisco, and he said, "Stepford wife."

He observed that I seemed so happy and relaxed, and I said that since I don't have a full-time job and I am seeing friends periodically, of course I seem happy and relaxed. He reminded me that when I was doing my first startup company, I was often tense and anxious and unhappy. And I said that I am now trying to resume that type of life by raising financing for my second startup. He asked me if I was really sure about going through it once more, or if I had become so mature and experienced that I would not let things bother me as much. I said that I was sure there would be a ton of headaches once I raise financing, but I will try to not let things bother me if there is nothing I can do about them.