Thursday, April 19, 2012

I hereby call it “intent-based volunteering,” a noun for the kind of public service I favor above all: the type where you raise your hand for a cause, only to have the cause itself cancelled, days later, for scheduling reasons. Brownie points are yours for the taking, then, with a minimal outlay of effort. Of course, you don’t get nearly as many points as you would have if you actually volunteered, but there’s got to be a few points on the table, right? Or maybe one point? Half?

In short order, though, I agreed to a weekend of kayaking. Now, I’ve only gone one other time in my life, but I remember having fun. There’s a twist to this upcoming event, however, and it’s a doozy. This kayak? It’s gonna be sitting on a lake. During a festival. Which will celebrate Asian culture. I don’t know! I don’t know what I’ve become. The feather in my cap is that I’m a sub, so while I must attend practice, there’s a chance I’ll be able to skip the event proper entirely. There it is again. Intent-based volunteering.

But I must disabuse you of the notion that my sociability is blind and all-encompassing. Do you remember Jim Carrey’s Yes Man? I do, and what was intended to be a comedy now strikes me as an hour-and-a-half of light horror. I’m not trying to say “yes” to everything. As always, there’s a reason for action, in this case self-betterment and some sunlight. But all this is weeks away. This weekend will be spent, with dread and excitement in equal measure, on the Sport Which Must Not Be Named. Until Tuesday, at least.