Kristine Joy, Writer

To Whom It May Concern and FWIW,*

• As an enthusiastic problem solving woman of great work ethic that happens to also have a Juris Doctorate and Masters in Business, I need for the process of obtaining a Summer job as a cashier at a public golf course to be an “Easy Button” task as opposed to the detailed and lengthy process that it was (interviews, background check (my second on the week per renewal of a coaching license; I passed both), drug test (good thing no one actually shared their rass with me)).
  • And now that I’ve “arrived” to my course (!) for the Summer, I need a raise since it costs an hour of wages to drive each direction.
    • Ironic Fact: I could 100% swim and run from my house to the golf course in less time than it takes me to drive.

• I need to know whether my memory is a blessing or a curse.
  • Friend: Wow, you remember everything!
  • Husband: WHY DO YOU REMEMBER EVERYTHING?

• I need for the AI Image Generator used in my previous post to take fewer than 92 tries to get it right.
  • And I needed to have saved an image or ten to share with you out of the first 91 attempts (i.e. scared to bejesus woman with four arms, not all of them attached, one of which is adjusting the radio and another of which is driving a foreign car (foreign because the steering wheel is on the right and the car has foreign objects not belonging in a car) with a red light out the back window of the car, which is actually positioned in the middle of an intersection, despite being AT a red light, near a restaurant with a sign that reads PISYKOLOGY).
    • After describing the degree of ridiculous that we call “intelligence” these days, I feel a need to re-create the “lack of” that was more apt in this case:

• I needed for the image used for this post to be acceptable enough on the sixth try (because I needed to leave for work).
  • I can live with a coffee mug with two handles.

• I need for the massive hill that we live in the middle of to feel easier to walk, run or bike up after ten years of built up muscle memory.
  • Seems my actual memory is far stronger than my muscle memory, which makes me question my identity as an athlete?!?
  • Greg LeMond has a famous quote about climbing to the summit, but as far as I’m concerned, he can shove it.

It never gets easier; you just go faster.

– Greg Lemond

• I need for the “family” guinea pig to NOT be more aptly titled “my” guinea pig.
  • And I need for the guinea pig’s resting place (while still very much alive) to not be in my writer’s sanctuary that does in fact never not smell like it also houses a rodent.
  • I need to learn to love the guinea pig a fraction of how much I love my daughter (which explains why “we” (“I”) have a guinea pig in the first place).

• I need for my place of employment to award more than ONE raise in 15 years!
  • And for that one raise to have been more than 2% when it did happen.
  • The concept of inflation and/or compounding must be a foreign concept to the brain trust behind it all. Or more likely, their understanding of it is backed by a belief that the rest of us are obtuse enough to not?
    • News Flash to the Board: One of us (🙋‍♀️) passed Level 1 of the CFA exam and others of us teach college level Finance.
  • Now you know why I need a Summer job (see above, see economy, see cost of living, see the price of gas (and hotels!), see husband’s near retirement, see the expense of teenage children, see the cost of a slush being $4.50 instead of $2.50).

• I need for my parents to love and support me to the utmost degree. They do and it is felt. THANK YOU! But…
  • I need for my Mom to care less about the state of cleanliness in my house and/or how it is decorated (let’s just agree that it’s not).
  • I need to believe that my Dad asking me WHY I travel to pickleball tournaments, WHY I write poetry about (insert subject matter), WHY I run Ironman races, WHY….is because he wants to know how my brain works rather than questioning the choices that my brain actually makes.

I appreciate your readership. I need the validation as writer; if there is a like or heart icon for you to depress, I’d most appreciate the support!

Sincerely,

K.J. Sculling

* The content is presented as “needs”, and some of them may front a harsh reality that evoke strong emotions. Others are expressed in pure jest to entertain myself (and maybe you?!?). Ultimately, the notion that we all live in a more idyllic world is at the core and not actual need. Life can be tough; regardless of your own circumstances, please keep up the fight because life can also be grand! The idea of ‘I Need…’ stemmed from my thought process while sitting at a red light listening to the song, Alright by Darius Rucker, on the radio (you can read the original ‘Idealist’ post here and all ‘Idealist’ posts here). If you’re inspired to submit your own ‘Idealist’ “needs” for future reader write-in posts, I’d love to hear from you via this form.