The Foolish Pursuit of Life | Clarity | Context

(PROLOGUE) Ep. 04 — The Story of Me, Part IV

“I mean I don’t see a halo on you—even though I see a couple of horns. See that little angel and that little devil on the side. Yeah. You’re you.”

— Serafin Jose Saavedra

Serafin Jose Saavedra and Enrique Vasquez

"You could have all the money in the world, but you aint even happy. The money ain't shit, believe me." -SJS

"You can be whoever you want to be, but at the end of it you're not going to be happy as a person." -EV

Krystal Wanberg

"You're not surprising in your demographic, I suppose. You just fit the stereotypes, not in a good way, not in a bad way..."

Tom Winterbottom

"When you were moving in, you seemed really prepared almost as if it was a show."

The Bench

"Google displaces humanity. These are families in the Mission-San Francisco, Area 1-415, local art pieces that the local people did..." (as described by Serafin Jose Saavedra)

Enrique Vasquez

"I mean, if I was lying to you, I wouldn't be talking to you."

Leif Haven

"Right now it's almost a cliché to take a job at a start-up, put in your time and vest your stock. It's cool that that's not really enough and you're way too curious to hang out at your job and do that."

Ethan Watters

"I had this idea of you walking into this room of mirrors and looking at all these mirrors, which where the interviews, to see what you saw-to see what type of person looked back at you. And the mirrors gave you different visions of yourself."

The Bench

A watercolor painting of Serafin Jose Saavedra in his usual hangout spot.

About:

This story, the Story of Me, probably won’t have a proper ending, like the kind that is comforting and reminds you that all is well in the world. It shouldn’t. Because that’s false and I’m not dead yet.

More than a month ago, the first part of this prologue aired with the intent of framing up this larger podcast project: a show about stories and the foolish pursuit of life, clarity and context. Family members, peers, friends and foes, from high school days to those that I work with were all interviewed.

Rather, this prologue wraps up with the outside perspective. What do strangers think of me? If you’re six-years-old and reading this, don’t try this at home. You shouldn’t be talking to strangers.

And then, the context. Was this project, a selfie in podcast form (possible Upworthy headline?), insightful? Did it provide any context about who I am?

Granted, it’s just the prologue, but it’s Some Noise.

Show Notes

[00:35] “They Reminisce Over You” cover by Quantic
[03:05] On Frodo and the Giant Eagles [Periannath.com, 2009]
[03:10] America’s Most Expensive City [Zumper, 2015]
[11:45] “93 ‘til Infinity” cover by Zifhang
[17:55] “Google Google Apps Apps” by Persia
[21:50] “O Yana Donder Beni” by Selda Bagcan [MiddleEastEye.net, 2015]
[27:30] “This Too Shall Pass” by Andre Paola Juan
[30:40] Ethan Watters (@ethanwatters1)
1. Urban Tribes