June 5, 2008

Of all of the Bedford/St. Martin's Founder's Days that I've gone to this one is probably my favorite. In my last Founder's Day picture I said that I remembered that first one more clearly than all the others and that is true. That is also largely because, in this picture, I'm extremely high. I don't even remember this being taken. I rarely ever smoke, so however much I smoked before this picture was taken hit me really hard. I do remember laughing and joking on the car ride up (some friends and I took a Zip car instead of relying on the company supplied vans), and just being kind of out of it and giggly while I was there. I remember getting into the free beer and wine. I remember a friend (who shall remain nameless) and I freaking out a little when our boss, the vice president of the company, sat next to our drunk, high asses at lunch.

My comically altered state is not why this was my favorite Founder's Day, though. It's because a lot of my favorite people in New York I met at Bedford, and 2008 was the year I really started to become close to them. Shared experiences create strong bonds, and I count myself lucky that I was able to be young, and silly, and broke, and in New York with these folks. We shared a job by day and irresponsibility by night. Some of us (me) occasionally showed up really hung over to work, and high to work-related events. We stayed out too late, drank too much, and ate at places we couldn't really afford.

This is not an original story; indeed it's terribly typical of twenty-somethings in this city. But novel or not, that reckless adventurousness in the face of professional, adult responsibilities was integral to my early years here. It made the high rent, fast pace, and looming closeness of everything completely worth it, and it created a camaraderie that made this enormous juggernaut of a place seem familiar.

I don't always have great things to say about this company, but I will never complain about having worked here, because taking this job was like stumbling into a new family. And even though nearly everyone that started out as assistants with me has moved on, when we get together now it still feels a lot like this Founder's Day in 2008. Only much less high.