Woke up feeling refreshed. Ran the dog out around the wind-break to help her get some yayas out. It’s cold! The weather has returned to Wisconsin-normal, with ice covering the ground and a bitter north wind sucking the life out of everything. Sat down here with a luke-warm cuppa coffee and basically zero minutes free to gather thoughts and express them…
Yesterday I was longing for a simple life selling pasta or something. We had picked up some lemon pepper linguini from pappardelle’s in Kansas City and prepared it Tuesday night with a little olive oil and a lot of sauteed minced garlic. Beth found the link so we won’t need Ben to Fed Ex a continuing supply. Speaking of Ben, he has another feature in the dead tree version of Details this month… sadly it’s not online but you can read it while browsing at Borders. It’s called “The War at Home” and is about soldiers playing patty cake with fellow soldier’s wives.
Wouldn’t it be nice to take a laptop to the farmer’s market, hang out, blog, sell a few hundred pounds of pasta and call it a day? I’ve done the calculations. I’d need to sell an unbelievable tonnage to maintain what I jokingly refer to as my lifestyle. So, I’m off to another meeting.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
bmo 11.30.06 at 11:40
Yeah. Or like this guy. There’s your next metaquestion in the series: What would you do? Take a singular hidden talent, something you do well and love to do, and make something of it. I know so many people doing this and yet, well, here we are. Not working with bit working for.
McD 11.30.06 at 7:21
Frank,
You blog about the most interesting questions…
managing the tradeoffs of lifestyle vs workstyle.
I suspect you’re very good at what you do and there are a lot of people who would like to trade places with you but they wouldn’t be Frank… as you are.
Frank Paynter 11.30.06 at 10:14
Turning maple bats on a lathe… what a great gig. You baseball fans would see more in that than me, BMO. But I undersatnd the concept. “What would you do?” A very good question, and I don’t have the answer. Worth thinking and blogging about. Thanks!
And thank you too, McD. Kind words.
Dean Landsman 12.01.06 at 1:40
The clear answer is for you to be blending core capabilities (or is that skills?)for full maximization of potential and desire: set up networks for pasta distributors, stores, and makers. Also sell home pasta making machines via the net. Become a zillionaire, visit Italy as a business trip (and then China, where it all began, and where people read my blog with references to yours — in Chinese, no less!) and be known as The Royal FP, International Pasta Network King. You could replace that Ron Popeil fella.
Frank Paynter 12.01.06 at 7:20
Inspirational, Dean!
McD 12.01.06 at 3:40
Frank,
The key phrase in your post, for me, is “take a laptop”… I suspect, the pasta selling is just a “beard” for your true desire: the 3 B’s - blog, browse and blab.
“Nice work if you can get it. And you can get it if you try.” - Ol’ Blue Eyes.
Of course, what we really seek is the job that has no work to it at all: just unadulterated bliss. That is the work you cannot get by trying…
“Try? Try not! Do.” - Master Yoda
Do. Frank. Do.
“Doo-by Doo-by do.” - Another Frank.
and remember… “It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year.”
Frank Paynter 12.01.06 at 5:47
doo-doo…
sign up now for the war on christmas
put the X back in Xmas
McD 12.04.06 at 8:12
Frank,
My daughter seems to have found the right holiday spirit. She makes gifts for all her friends… a hand painted glass for John, a knitted muffler for Sandi, a collage decorated journal for Shelley and so on… each gift costing very little and often made with found objects. But they all contain a generous portion of her time, attention and creative spirit. Of course, she has to start early and pay close attention to what the person might like.
When it works… blogging is a lot like that: small gifts crafted with care and targeted to make the reader’s life more pleasant or interesting.