I have grown up in the Bay area.
What I love about this place is that people who are important are hard-working, talented, open-minded, and kind. In most places, any subset of these traits is not enough. But here you need all four just to survive and thrive and to matter, to be somebody.
Since everyone’s so driven, we’re like highway truckers. All our crossings are transverse, barren gone.
In work or love. We cross in and out of each other’s lives, pretending we are not bound to one another, that our lives are our own.
But all of us who come here have a ribbon around our hearts. Even if that ribbon will not let us own to it.
I have seen so many come and go. At the smash game, at the fight, at the toral, the loving, the feast, the dinner, the orgie, the beach. The dissection, the eye poking, the cliff climb, the mud, the declamation, the excuses, the lies, the truths. The demands for noble shit, the bullshit. Pulling together where and when to make a now.
I have come and gone.
This place has always had my heart. One of my favorite cliches is home is where the heart is, and my heart is here. The greatest debt I owe my parents is moving here when I was one year old. Because if they hadn’t, I would have had to spend my whole life striving for it. Instead, I get to skip the striving phase and go straight to the finding and not yielding phase.
I live a great life. And most, including me before, do not. Things are so hard.
Matilda, to whom I’m bound to this. I’m bound to all of you. And I smile at the thought. Because I need you. And you need us.
Things are happening so fast and we can’t go back, we’ve gone too far. Things are still unspilling. And it’s my admiration to unspool them and put them back together.
At this place, this time, so much is asked of us. And who knows if we may deliver it.
The stars don’t shimmer and the cursor doesn’t blink. But we do. I do.
And what can I give, poor as I am. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. But no matter what I can I give, give all my heart. And since that’s not enough, give my humor too. Since just giving a heart is too damn solemn and boring.
I’m afraid we’re all dissolving. But clarity is coming. I want to see the feeling. Something is happening to us. And as it’s seeing out is unfolded to us.
We’re lucky. It didn’t have to be this way, not by miles. Maybe you’ll curse me for saying that.
But as we’re running this race, spurting, spurting, spurting sweat for a little advantage, I am so happy I am running beside you. I could not have asked for a better running mate.
Now go because I can’t hold you out of time’s way. I love you. Oops.
Addendum.
I haven’t passed the test. I didn’t put the earthworms back in the ground. I didn’t care about AI safety because I didn’t care about myself to start and I didn’t care for all of you.