Transitive Cognition

Competition is fierce, opportunities are rigorous, but in business, a career is something you own. To this day campus newcomer’s and hopefuls I see in recruiting still view the Big Four as an accounting major’s “Rite of Passage.” Clearly, even if you don’t stay to make partner, the experience gained here represents a golden ticket for future opportunities in business.

Having said that, the close of my first year in Big Four accounting ends this coming July. It feels as if I’ve barely completed a single blink with one eye, that I’ve spent most of my first year money on a business wardrobe, bought a replacement for my college junker car, had multiple CPA exam expenses, and now enjoy furniture in our house. But, the mental flashbacks represent more than what they seem. Important things have been learned, probably much more than I am consciously aware of.

That in mind, I’ve put together a short list of things I wanted to note– sort of a public diary of maxims for dealing with the businessworld, ones which I’ll probably come back to edit for some time (add, take away, modify etc.). I may even expand it to include my second, third, and so on years. More to the point, I wanted to share some things that may (or may not) be valuable but are on my mind. The ideas here are meant to be available to others for critique and discussion.

So here they are:

1) Get comfortable knowing that managers may expect you to bounce ideas off them at any time rather than keeping things to oneself for the course of a project. Learn to welcome this, and sincerely consider their input in your decisions.

2) Bypass the tendency to become defensive in relationships with peers you are competing rigorously with. Competition doesn’t imply hostility, but represents a way to see (in a team of individuals) how to achieve the best product or outcome.

3) Find and stick with those people whom you feel you’d like to develop into, keeping them close. Crave to know the workings of their talents. Brilliance is always awaiting to be tapped, and there will always be someone out there who knows more than you.

4) Find ways to modify your use of language in business discussions to talk “technically up” and “technically down” based on who you’re training and or discussing with. This is vital to achieve clarity in communication with co-workers of differing levels (partner all the way to intern). If you don’t know something, ask. If someone asks you something, be ready to teach.

5) Take any job gladly, no matter how small, and run with it like it’s worth a one million dollar bonus. This, is probably the summation of my company’s central culture. Excellent.

6) Focus on communication with peers, keep confrontation tactful, direct, and succinct. There will be confrontations every single day. Get used to it. Invite it.

7) View others with different interests as resource pools and as ones to learn new things from. The most important skill a businessperson can acquire is how to get along with everyone, be flexible to change, and take interest in learning new things.

Seek out coaching, both formal and informal ALL the time, and preferably before reviews. Coaching should be upward, downward, and horizontal. Never underestimate the power of continually developing yourself and helping others around you do the same.

9) Always know what’s expected of you, if this is not clear - ask. Ask again. If you still don’t know, ask. No one will fire you because you had a question. If they do, you shouldn’t be working there anyway.

10) Never assume that once a project is given to you it’s always feasible to work all the way through; changes happen all the time - don’t be alarmed. Each assignment is a give and take, susceptible to change and modification at any time.

11) The art of doing business is mostly learning how to act your best on incomplete information. Know that the best judgment of the moment is not necessarily the best decision you could make if you had all the time in the world available to you. Without familiarity with this art, the business world would fall to pieces, not to mention your career. Extremely important to master. Perfectionists beware!

12) Ask others to prioritize work for you if two supervisors give you two or more different urgent projects. It’s not your responsibility to be omnipresent. Let them dish it out.

13) Always display enthusiasm and interest for any assignment given to you. Otherwise be clear as to why you’re not at your best. If you are ill, go home. Don’t let this hamper your work performance. Be frank. Down time is just as important (and sometimes harder to accomplish) than work.

14) Happy Hours are a golden opportunity to learn about the goings on within a company. Attend as many as possible!

15) Recruiting and Human Resources departments hold a great deal of change enforcing power up their sleeves. Know this.

16) Always, always be kind to those in the elevator with you. Elevators are not awkward, but just an opportunity to meet new people. After all, they might be your next boss.

17) 80% of business is about learning to work well with ALL different kinds of people, 20% is focused on how well your technical skills are.

18) Everything you say or do in the workplace is an opportunity to either defend or undermine your career. Obtain neutral (not shallow) interests - things you can talk about with others allowing you to bypass office politics altogether. For example, picking up knowledge of a sport, joining a committee, doing community work as a group, etc.

Thanks for listening!

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My brother once told me that the key to life is a sort of balance. And he is, if I may put it so delightfully, a wonderful Tzar of theories.

When I think of this idea, I visualize an act portraying itself in a kind of delicate maneuvering. An idea displayed along with the hope of arriving at satisfaction. The “hope of arrival” is a sort of moving state, one transient, yet always having a goal in mind. The “act of balance” is the determination of not giving in to one or more “hopes” and continuously monitoring the consistency of the “goals” in mind. In essence, it is the dignity to give up when it’s proper to do so, and the perseverance to continue when necessary.

That’s, at least, my understanding. So what were you saying bro?

Oh yeah, he defends his dissertation on June 4th. Guess we’ll do coffee and discuss after that.

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I’m an advocate of tough love. *Random slaps to self* There. I just needed to redeem myself for blogging worthiness, now I can move on. That said, I need to write more often, as opposed to binge-blogging-catch-up, which is far less lucrative than regularity. How unacceptable!

Can I entertain some updates? There is a lot to be excited about. Here’s an executive summary (get it now, with illustrations!)

The Precious:

We have a whippet puppy on the way. I’ll be going to Cleveland to get her at the end of April. What a sweetheart! If anyone knows me I’m a die-hard for animal rights, but if you think even for a second this is a cover against getting/making real babies, don’t be fooled. This is most certainly a practice for us and why we are not adopting a track-dog. More blogs to come with pictures and updates.

The Husband:

Houston is out of our future. Turns out the job was not a good opportunity, so the husband has decided to go into business officially for himself. Hello….K-1 ! We’re not ruling re-location out EVER, as that IS part of the plan. More updates for sure to come.

The Vain:

We finally got cushy, snuggly, comfy camel colored microfiber suede couches. Yes, they are just that lovely. It goes perfect with our wide-screen. Yeah, baby. We are comfy.

The Half-Marathon:

I’m going to Cincinnati in early May to explore the city and run with the flying pigs (not kidding.). 13.2 is the goal. Oh, c’mon, I’ll do anything for free t-shirts.

The Mind:

I plan to attend Mises University, a well-established institute for studying Austrian Economics in July. Still haven’t heard back on the scholarship opportunity, but I plan to go regardless. As it stands, the dates might conflict at least partially with my annual training in DC, but I intend to work around this. Simply because, here is where I will mingle with greatness, and stretch my thought horizons beyond every day expectations. It is also the thread that keeps me teetering between my longing for academia and a more comfortable life. Everything intersects here. Can’t wait!

The Eyes:

I am still learning, ever so much as time allows to master my Nikon D80. It is a feisty little thing, with a button and dimension for everything. Luckily, my fantastic dad has the same unit, allowing us to mingle accessories and practice together. As he has done a bit of professional photography in his day, I am looking forward to schooling with him as spring/summer arrives. The natural step after that will be photoshop, to which I already have an adept husband who can teach.

The Family:

My brother is exercising his powers right now in defense of his dissertation, as he will soon graduate with his PhD in condensed matter physics. I am so proud that he has so much opportunity to capitalize on - including interviews with Ivy League institutions. Go Bro!!!

My sister-in-law Megan, is enjoying her life tremendously with her ever so attentive husband. They recently adopted the CUTEST basset hound puppy, General Zero. Please note, he will also be spoiled by his aunt Britt beyond measure.

My childhood dog, Jenna, — also the ring-bearer in my wedding, passed away at 15 yrs last Tuesday. She was loved more than I can say, and it truly impacted my family and I last week as we learned to cope with our loss. We had fostered several ex-racing greyhounds at home on my parent’s acreage while growing up, and she served as a catalyst for them in transition from track-dog to household pet. She will be indescribably missed. I intend to devote my future work with animals to her inspiration.

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Next month, I volunteered at PwC to help with their annual “Take Your Child to Work Day.” I thought it would be interesting to get more experience with kids, AND while at work (read: experience-gaining challenge). But I am kid illiterate and need your suggestions! There will be about 25 children from the ages of 5.5 to 13 yrs that day and here is what will happen: A few other people and I will be heading up a series of activities/games for a few hours in the morning so their parents/relatives can get some work done.

Thus far, we have something to this affect planned:

1) Donuts and juice (I’m a little hesitant as to the resulting sugar high. Are we setting ourselves up for suicide? What real food do kids eat that’s “cool”?

2) Introductions about working in accounting (this is perfect, no changes needed.)

3) Giant 1040 exercise (yes, one of my co-workers will attempt to bring in a life-size 1040.) Awesome.

4) Explore and create stuff with our administrative laminating machine (wow, this will also be fun)

5) Finally, and perhaps most on my mind — the Jeopardy game, modified for kids’ interests. What are kids these ages interested in that I could quiz them on? Thus far, I’ve heard of “Spongebob,” “Hannah Montana” and similar. Anything else? Do kids even know what Jeopardy is?

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So, apparently one of the perks of being married to an IT guy is that I’ll eventually get some bad-ass websites in my name. I have a list of ideas I’d love to implement, this here being one. This site was not exactly built, but set up by my dear hubby wubby (sorry for the pet names… I know.) It’s fairly similar to Blogger, but I’m still in the “test phase” so we’ll see if it works out for good. I have to admit, I don’t like changing blog sites, but I do like change when it amounts to something better, so here goes, I’ll give this a shot.

Yay WordPress!

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Ah, nothing beats a warm greeting from Jeff Dunham’s Achmed, especially as he sings “Jingle Bombs.”

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Lately, I’ve been reading quite a bit on individualist anarchism and feminism, specifically focusing on the works of Wendy McElroy.

These readings have led me into the historical events behind third-wave feminism, which is essentially a cumulative critique of all the events and circumstances arising after 1848, or when the Seneca Falls Convention (SFC) took place. If you have some time, please amuse yourself with the “declaration of sentiments” pertaining to the SFC or wade casually through Eleanor Roosevelt’s Presidential Commission on The Status of Women. They are both well worth the read - and created for the sole purpose of igniting thought. I’m delving into this stuff rigorously as I concurrently prepare to attend a week-long Austrian economics conference next summer. Yes, I said economics. Before giving me a weird look, know that I can tie the two topics together –and actually quite harmoniously.This evening, however, I was more in the mood for prose. So after reading some McElroy, I decided to springboard off a few of her provocations. So here it is, I landed on this lovely little piece by early political activist and feminist Olive Schreiner (a favorite of Sara Elizabeth Holmes, also a notable feminist writer). Wow. Quite a discovery, I might add. It’s quite lengthy for a blog post, however anything worthwhile I’ve ever read has been lengthy, so I won’t apologize for that. Simply put, investments take time. In any case, I have posted it in its entirety since it is available freely online and without copyright restriction.

Be forewarned, those sensitive to the analysis of gender issues and embittered by the ill-too-often confused and highly unwarranted connotation associated with feminism should stop treading here immediately.

Um, can you handle it?

V. THREE DREAMS IN A DESERT.

Under a Mimosa-Tree.

As I travelled across an African plain the sun shone down hotly. Then Idrew my horse up under a mimosa-tree, and I took the saddle from him andleft him to feed among the parched bushes. And all to right and to leftstretched the brown earth. And I sat down under the tree, because the heatbeat fiercely, and all along the horizon the air throbbed. And after awhile a heavy drowsiness came over me, and I laid my head down against mysaddle, and I fell asleep there. And, in my sleep, I had a curious dream.

I thought I stood on the border of a great desert, and the sand blew abouteverywhere. And I thought I saw two great figures like beasts of burden ofthe desert, and one lay upon the sand with its neck stretched out, and onestood by it. And I looked curiously at the one that lay upon the ground,for it had a great burden on its back, and the sand was thick about it, sothat it seemed to have piled over it for centuries.

And I looked very curiously at it. And there stood one beside me watching.And I said to him, “What is this huge creature who lies here on the sand?”

And he said, “This is woman; she that bears men in her body.”

And I said, “Why does she lie here motionless with the sand piled roundher?”

And he answered, “Listen, I will tell you! Ages and ages long she has lainhere, and the wind has blown over her. The oldest, oldest, oldest manliving has never seen her move: the oldest, oldest book records that shelay here then, as she lies here now, with the sand about her. But listen!Older than the oldest book, older than the oldest recorded memory of man,on the Rocks of Language, on the hard-baked clay of Ancient Customs, nowcrumbling to decay, are found the marks of her footsteps! Side by sidewith his who stands beside her you may trace them; and you know that shewho now lies there once wandered free over the rocks with him.”

And I said, “Why does she lie there now?”

And he said, “I take it, ages ago the Age-of-dominion-of-muscular-forcefound her, and when she stooped low to give suck to her young, and her backwas broad, he put his burden of subjection on to it, and tied it on withthe broad band of Inevitable Necessity. Then she looked at the earth andthe sky, and knew there was no hope for her; and she lay down on the sandwith the burden she could not loosen. Ever since she has lain here. Andthe ages have come, and the ages have gone, but the band of InevitableNecessity has not been cut.”

And I looked and saw in her eyes the terrible patience of the centuries;the ground was wet with her tears, and her nostrils blew up the sand.

And I said, “Has she ever tried to move?”

And he said, “Sometimes a limb has quivered. But she is wise; she knowsshe cannot rise with the burden on her.”

And I said, “Why does not he who stands by her leave her and go on?”

And he said, “He cannot. Look–”

And I saw a broad band passing along the ground from one to the other, andit bound them together.

He said, “While she lies there he must stand and look across the desert.”

And I said, “Does he know why he cannot move?”

And he said, “No.”

And I heard a sound of something cracking, and I looked, and I saw the bandthat bound the burden on to her back broken asunder; and the burden rolledon to the ground.

And I said, “What is this?”

And he said, “The Age-of-muscular-force is dead. The Age-of-nervous-forcehas killed him with the knife he holds in his hand; and silently andinvisibly he has crept up to the woman, and with that knife of MechanicalInvention he has cut the band that bound the burden to her back. TheInevitable Necessity it broken. She might rise now.”

And I saw that she still lay motionless on the sand, with her eyes open andher neck stretched out. And she seemed to look for something on the far-off border of the desert that never came. And I wondered if she were awakeor asleep. And as I looked her body quivered, and a light came into hereyes, like when a sunbeam breaks into a dark room.

I said, “What is it?”

He whispered “Hush! the thought has come to her, ‘Might I not rise?’”

And I looked. And she raised her head from the sand, and I saw the dentwhere her neck had lain so long. And she looked at the earth, and shelooked at the sky, and she looked at him who stood by her: but he lookedout across the desert.

And I saw her body quiver; and she pressed her front knees to the earth,and veins stood out; and I cried; “She is going to rise!”

But only her sides heaved, and she lay still where she was.

But her head she held up; she did not lay it down again. And he beside mesaid, “She is very weak. See, her legs have been crushed under her solong.”

And I saw the creature struggle: and the drops stood out on her.

And I said, “Surely he who stands beside her will help her?”

And he beside me answered, “He cannot help her: she must help herself.Let her struggle till she is strong.”

And I cried, “At least he will not hinder her! See, he moves farther fromher, and tightens the cord between them, and he drags her down.”

And he answered, “He does not understand. When she moves she draws theband that binds them, and hurts him, and he moves farther from her. Theday will come when he will understand, and will know what she is doing.Let her once stagger on to her knees. In that day he will stand close toher, and look into her eyes with sympathy.”

And she stretched her neck, and the drops fell from her. And the creaturerose an inch from the earth and sank back.

And I cried, “Oh, she is too weak! she cannot walk! The long years havetaken all her strength from her. Can she never move?”

And he answered me, “See the light in her eyes!”

And slowly the creature staggered on to its knees.

And I awoke: and all to the east and to the west stretched the barrenearth, with the dry bushes on it. The ants ran up and down in the redsand, and the heat beat fiercely. I looked up through the thin branches ofthe tree at the blue sky overhead. I stretched myself, and I mused overthe dream I had had. And I fell asleep again, with my head on my saddle.And in the fierce heat I had another dream.

I saw a desert and I saw a woman coming out of it. And she came to thebank of a dark river; and the bank was steep and high. (The banks of anAfrican river are sometimes a hundred feet high, and consist of deepshifting sands, through which in the course of ages the river has worn itsgigantic bed.) And on it an old man met her, who had a long white beard;and a stick that curled was in his hand, and on it was written Reason. Andhe asked her what she wanted; and she said “I am woman; and I am seekingfor the land of Freedom.”

And he said, “It is before you.”

And she said, “I see nothing before me but a dark flowing river, and a banksteep and high, and cuttings here and there with heavy sand in them.”

And he said, “And beyond that?”

She said, “I see nothing, but sometimes, when I shade my eyes with my hand,I think I see on the further bank trees and hills, and the sun shining onthem!”

He said, “That is the Land of Freedom.”

She said, “How am I to get there?”

He said, “There is one way, and one only. Down the banks of Labour,through the water of Suffering. There is no other.”

She said, “Is there no bridge?”

He answered. “None.”

She said, “Is the water deep?”

He said, “Deep.”

She said, “Is the floor worn?”

He said, “It is. Your foot may slip at any time, and you may be lost.”

She said, “Have any crossed already?”

He said, “Some have tried!”

She said, “Is there a track to show where the best fording is?”

He said, “It has to be made.”

She shaded her eyes with her hand; and she said, “I will go.”

And he said, “You must take off the clothes you wore in the desert: theyare dragged down by them who go into the water so clothed.”

And she threw from her gladly the mantle of Ancient-received-opinions shewore, for it was worn full of holes. And she took the girdle from herwaist that she had treasured so long, and the moths flew out of it in acloud. And he said, “Take the shoes of dependence off your feet.”

And she stood there naked, but for one white garment that clung close toher.

And he said, “That you may keep. So they wear clothes in the Land ofFreedom. In the water it buoys; it always swims.”

And I saw on its breast was written Truth; and it was white; the sun hadnot often shone on it; the other clothes had covered it up. And he said,“Take this stick; hold it fast. In that day when it slips from your handyou are lost. Put it down before you; feel your way: where it cannot finda bottom do not set your foot.”

And she said, “I am ready; let me go.”

And he said, “No–but stay; what is that–in your breast?”

She was silent.

He said, “Open it, and let me see.”

And she opened it. And against her breast was a tiny thing, who drank fromit, and the yellow curls above his forehead pressed against it; and hisknees were drawn up to her, and he held her breast fast with his hands.

And Reason said, “Who is he, and what is he doing here?”

And she said, “See his little wings–”

And Reason said, “Put him down.”

And she said, “He is asleep, and he is drinking! I will carry him to theLand of Freedom. He has been a child so long, so long, I have carried him.In the Land of Freedom he will be a man. We will walk together there, andhis great white wings will overshadow me. He has lisped one word only tome in the desert–’Passion!’ I have dreamed he might learn to say‘Friendship’ in that land.”

And Reason said, “Put him down!”

And she said, “I will carry him so–with one arm, and with the other I willfight the water.”

He said, “Lay him down on the ground. When you are in the water you willforget to fight, you will think only of him. Lay him down.” He said, “Hewill not die. When he finds you have left him alone he will open his wingsand fly. He will be in the Land of Freedom before you. Those who reachthe Land of Freedom, the first hand they see stretching down the bank tohelp them shall be Love’s. He will be a man then, not a child. In yourbreast he cannot thrive; put him down that he may grow.”

And she took her bosom from his mouth, and he bit her, so that the bloodran down on to the ground. And she laid him down on the earth; and shecovered her wound. And she bent and stroked his wings. And I saw the hairon her forehead turned white as snow, and she had changed from youth toage.

And she stood far off on the bank of the river. And she said, “For what doI go to this far land which no one has ever reached? Oh, I am alone! I amutterly alone!”

And Reason, that old man, said to her, “Silence! What do you hear?”

And she listened intently, and she said, “I hear a sound of feet, athousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, and they beat thisway!”

He said, “They are the feet of those that shall follow you. Lead on! makea track to the water’s edge! Where you stand now, the ground will bebeaten flat by ten thousand times ten thousand feet.” And he said, “Haveyou seen the locusts how they cross a stream? First one comes down to thewater-edge, and it is swept away, and then another comes and then another,and then another, and at last with their bodies piled up a bridge is builtand the rest pass over.”

She said, “And, of those that come first, some are swept away, and areheard of no more; their bodies do not even build the bridge?”

“And are swept away, and are heard of no more–and what of that?” he said.

“And what of that–” she said.

“They make a track to the water’s edge.”

“They make a track to the water’s edge–.” And she said, “Over that bridgewhich shall be built with our bodies, who will pass?”

He said, “The entire human race.”

And the woman grasped her staff.

And I saw her turn down that dark path to the river.

And I awoke; and all about me was the yellow afternoon light: the sinkingsun lit up the fingers of the milk bushes; and my horse stood by me quietlyfeeding. And I turned on my side, and I watched the ants run by thousandsin the red sand. I thought I would go on my way now–the afternoon wascooler. Then a drowsiness crept over me again, and I laid back my head andfell asleep.

And I dreamed a dream.

I dreamed I saw a land. And on the hills walked brave women and brave men,hand in hand. And they looked into each other’s eyes, and they were notafraid.

And I saw the women also hold each other’s hands.

And I said to him beside me, “What place is this?”

And he said, “This is heaven.”

And I said, “Where is it?”

And he answered, “On earth.”

And I said, “When shall these things be?”

And he answered, “IN THE FUTURE.”

And I awoke, and all about me was the sunset light; and on the low hillsthe sun lay, and a delicious coolness had crept over everything; and theants were going slowly home. And I walked towards my horse, who stoodquietly feeding. Then the sun passed down behind the hills; but I knewthat the next day he would arise again.

Ah, what an enjoyable piece of prose!!!

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Goin’ South For The Winter

I have my first solo out of town assignment this Thurs and Fri. I’ll be going to the well-known bustling cities of Fancy Farm, KY and Union City, TN. I’m helping the auditors with their year-end inventory counts. So yes, this is the part of my job that fits the stereotype of counting beans. Even though I am not sure precisely what I will be counting, the mystery element fascinates me. On another note, I do know I’ll be counting donuts near Chicago as well at the end of Jan. It’ll be nice to get out of the office before the International busy season throttles into full swing.

Ginger is More Than A Spice

My husband’s childhood dog is staying with us until Christmas (they say mixed breeds outlive pure ones, but wow, she must be ancient). It was not difficult to persuade me once I found out she needed a place to stay. In my opinion, there cannot be enough animals in the house, or outside the house. In fact, we really should invest in a farm.

Thievery Comes In Garages

To my dismay, along with most everyone else in my office, I discovered that my registration tags have been stolen off of my car in the adjacent garage at work. Apparently, I have to go through the trouble of getting a form notarized in order to have them replaced. I pay over a hundred dollars a month to park downtown, you’d think tighter security would be imperative.

Babies Come In All Sizes

My husband has been under the weather lately. He will mutter things like “Can I have some soupie” etc. Then, he will do the pout. The “I know I can have anything I want” pout. His lower lip poofs way out and then quivers a little. It’s adorable. Almost makes me want babies. I said almost….

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A rush of steadiness fades hastily into the background. Christmas lights dangle like icicles overhead. Palm trees and sassafras finally come into focus. With every movement, the city lights penetrate through the massive windows, longing, wandering as to find festivity. High rise buildings tower like companions among the horizon. An outline for the scene rises undeniably into view: success and glamour reverberate through everything visible.

“Would you like champagne, my dear?”

“Why, of course,” she says, as she savours the fineness given to her with subtle graciousness, knowing fully what uncertainty the object in her hand may represent.

She takes a long, deep breath, conscientiously inventorying the status of her composure. Lifting her drink, she toasts the air, saying satisfactorily, “Yes, I am here.”

Without reserve, moments fly from next to next. Effortless, all things fall serenely into place. What once had been apprehension diffuses entirely into euphoric numbness. Whispers surround her by the hundreds saying candidly, it’s meant to happen– here is perfection–here is fulfillment– and it’s high time that you knew.

Then, a moment of dread, like a draft of death, quickly surges into the room. But she unabashedly waits– as it is for what she had been waiting. She sees the shuddering stillness reflecting against what appears at the end of a mirrored gauntlet. The early anticipation of which she had made herself aware astounds everyone yet leaves her entirely unmoved. Sweeping across the room, the mirrored reflection emerges with the most horrid presence glaring into view. The presence… yes, the inevitable presence — it is what silences those who crave to thrive; it is the source of hollow existence. To sacrifice first passions–this is a specialty. To find pleasure in static helplessness–this is given gladly if brave enough to cling forever in bored security. One gaze, one seduction is all that is necessary. The beauty of the presence: flawless. Everything that sways to lean for a touch fails to revive. Yet, the sparkling sequins of hypocrisy spread in tandem through the wind of her gown. The aesthetical aura she creates toxifies until stupor all who venture close enough.

Unmistakably, she proceeds to introduce herself.

“Hello, my name is Power & Prestige.”

Abruptly, laughter once again fills the room. The orchestral music lightens the mood, and dampens all tendencies for serious interaction. Suddenly everyone forgets about the encounter. Instead, everyone smiles, everyone loves, and everyone gives without discretion. Ah, the simple perfection.

Slowly, yet firmly he grabs her hand. Time has frozen. The city lights, like a vacuous portal, suddenly siphon everyone without worth out of the room. There is nothing more, only the hollow shells of bodies taking up space. Their souls have been obliterated. She is alone. He is with her. Her heels begin to smash carelessly as she begins to run against the shards of the broken:

–her glass has fallen.

“Slow down,” he says.

And so she walks, gladly aware of certainty for the first time in her life.

“Let’s go,” he says. “There is nothing more to be found.”

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