On Satisfaction

Exploring shops on South Congress the other day, in Austin TX, I came across a pretty, hipster-y rack of greeting cards depicting voluptuous flapper girls, greasy black hair perfectly kinked and deep-set eyes all alluring, paired with various quotes and sayings.  My favorite may have been the beautiful girl carrying bushels of fruits and vegetables and flowers, with the inimitable Dorothy Parker quote "You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."  However, another gave me pause and amusement, considering things I've been working through:  a woman at her desk, thinking, as though after a long night,

"I have no idea what I want,
but I won't be satisfied until I get it." 

On the inside it said "Here's hoping you get everything you want this year.  Happy Birthday."

No, it's not my birthday, and I do, in fact, have some idea of what I want - a healthy helping of simplicity, for one, after a summer of hunkered-down complication.  But I took the liberty of listening to that inanimate card as though it were a kind old friend, wishing all good things for me this year, and that brought a different sort of satisfaction.  Having returned to New Haven last night in a spectacular downpour, I was happy to find my Ivy Noodle fortune cookie agreed:  "The best thing you can do is get good at being you."

...On y va!
Estelí