Back in the day, I preferred waitressing to working in offices because I could not stand the tedium of office tasks. I had morals of some kind too, because when I was contracted to write a manual for the military, I turned it down. Not only did I turn it down, I said I would do it, then just didn’t show up for the job.

Part of the reason I flaked was because there was a girl working there that I had gone to school with. I was embarrassed that I hadn’t done anything super wow already with my life (I was about 24).

I was quite vocally opposed to war and violence; in contrast to the small town acceptance of such things that we both grew up with. By taking the job, everyone I grew up with would know that I had failed; that I was forced to accept war/violence as a way of life. I was stubborn and block-headed, then; viewed most things in black and white rather than shades of grey.