Ask Papa: If the guns don’t get you, your woman will
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Dear Papa: I've been stuck in a meaningless job for half a decade, and I can't escape. What the hell do I do?
Dear Papa: I’ve been stuck in a meaningless job for half a decade, and I can’t escape. Every day, I’m snowed under heaps of paper, alone, in a windowless room, doing busywork. I might not have a problem with the job, if only someone actually told me what I was supposed to be doing, but I have to make it up as I go along. So really, I’m forced to create my own misery in order to look productive. I hate this job, and every time I leave the office for home I feel a little bite that’s been taken out of my soul. The two things that keep from getting out of it are 1) No one else will hire me, and 2) This job cuts me paychecks that keep me complacent. What the hell do I do?
—Restless in Roxboro
Dear Restless: It sounds like you need a drink. You should have one, then have another, and do it again. When you wake up and you feel like hell, skip work and go fishing. No matter what you do for money, you’re going to be miserable.
Hey Papa: I know that you’re (allegedly) not a lesbian, but I have been wondering about the appropriate boundaries to have with exes. My ex-girlfriend and I are friends, which feels good for me because it’s nice that she is still in my life but in a different capacity. Often our reminiscence of our relationship will also feel good, nostalgic and important to remember. But I can understand how these interactions, in their content, form or frequency, could make my current girlfriend uncomfortable. What do you think is appropriate and inappropriate to talk about with an ex, and how often is too often?
—Gal in Germantown
Dear Gal: I can tell you that a sweet reminiscence with a woman is a walk in front of a firing squad but there is no last drink or last cigarette, you are just always there with the guns pointed at you. For some that is the kind of excitement they need in life. Do you need that kind of excitement? If the guns don’t get you, your woman will. But if you value your life, then save the fond memories for your book, where all things end the way you plan them to.
