Let Go

So, I lost my job today. It’s a weird feeling, to be honest. It’s something I feel like I should write about, but I don’t know if I have anything significant to say. Maybe I’ll throw in a symbolic metaphor. Can’t go wrong with metaphors.

I was let go, which implies I was being held back. But it’s more like when you let go of a balloon. You watch it soar into the air, feeling like you’ve set it free, but you haven’t. That balloon is probably freaking the hell out. You know…if balloons could freak out.

I applied for The Red Balloon Toy Store once in Provo. I thought the fact that I loved toys and would likely spend a lot of my paycheck in the store would be reason enough to hire me. They, apparently, disagreed. I ended up working at The Letterbox (a packing and shipping place) for three months until I told my boss he was incompetent for printing my paycheck on the back of a scrap piece of paper that had stuff written all over it. I stayed unemployed for a while after that.

I saw a cartoon by Don Hertzfeldt during college about sadistic balloons. It starts off with Billy getting tortured by his balloon and eventually escalates into an entire group of children having horrific balloon experiences. Here’s the video (this is not for children):

You know, maybe you can go wrong with metaphors.

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