January 7: "Rye" Dip Monday, New Year, Old Friends

Last year, on Mondays, I fell into the habit of doing what I called a Carol dip.  I asked one of the burning questions I had about my life (things like "Will my pants fit tomorrow morning?" and "Did I remember to unplug the toaster?"), and then I flipped through my copy of A Christmas Carol and randomly put my finger on a page to find my answer.

Today, I inaugurate Rye Dip Monday.  The same rules apply, except that I'm depending on the pages of The Catcher in the Rye instead of Charles Dickens' tale of Ebenezer Scrooge.  I'm sort of leery about using Salinger.  Holden's story isn't quite a feel-good, Readers Digest kind of book.  I may not get quite so many happy answers from it as I did from Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit.  However, I will play the cards that are dealt me, to quote Kenny Rogers.

Before I move on to my question, I want to sit here and enjoy the peace around me at the moment.  I'm still on vacation.  My daughter and son are at school.  The TV is silent.  The Christmas tree is glowing in the corner of the room, and I have a few hours of solitude stretching out before me like a lazy cat.  I could really get used to this full-time, tenured professor kind of lifestyle.

Speaking of which, this afternoon, my wife and I are meeting some friends from the university for lunch.  Matt is a full-time professor in creative writing, and he has the kind of existence I dream about.  He publishes books like crazy.  He's on his way to tenure.  He just bought a huge house with like four bedrooms and twenty bathrooms (OK, I'm exaggerating a little--but it's a big house!).  Don't misunderstand me.  He works hard for everything he has.  I don't begrudge him a thing.  However, it is sometimes difficult to hold my jealousy in check.  It's one of my many character defects.  But I'm looking forward to spending some time with Matt and his wife, Louisa, who are simply all 'round lovely people.

On with business now.  In this new year, my first question for Rye Dip Monday sort of relates to my friend Matt:

Will I ever be in the same circumstances as Matt, job-wise and house-wise?

And the answer from J. D. Salinger is:

Finally I got out of bed, with just my pajamas on, and opened the door.  I didn't even have to turn the light on in the room, because it was already daylight...

There you have it.  Opportunity is going to knock for me, I just have to get out of bed and open the door.  (Of course, for Holden, it's a doorman and a pimp knocking, looking to collect money, but let's not go there.)

Maybe 2013 is going to be a good year for Saint Marty.

I just need the directions to this intersection