the blue comb
“Comb for a Car” re-imagined
and the path of least resistance
The pressure to trade a comb for a car in a short period was a bit much for me. It didn’t feel good; I still had that anxiety about not being able to pull things together, scarecity, failure. Not so different than the way we acquire things the old capitalist way. Pressure, drive, success, make daddy proud, Samantha.
Trying to get a car through barter gave me the same anxiety that a regular job does, while keeping a time-sensitive need (a good vehicle) out of reach. I am adaptable. I believe in following the path of least resistance… so I went and bought a car. Car prices may be through the roof, but they aren’t getting cheaper anytime soon. I bit the bullet and got a loan to add a little more to the financial weight on my shoulders.
So, what about the comb for a car project? Now it resembles the original “Red Paper Clip” project. The path is wide open, and the destination is the journey. I get to be curious, make my path. Now I get to trade and barter all the way to “the sky’s the limit.”
Can I just back up a bit and talk about this path of least resistance and why its important. Well, you can do a lot more. If you do more, you might finish your stuff and be free to do whatever you want. Some people like me can’t to more, but also owe it to myself and my child to give us a good life. The path of least resistance is a way of life and one thing it takes it contemplation and the honing of the skills of adaptability and acceptance, among others. I choose the path of least resistance becasue:
1) My daughter needs an incredible amount of support right now, including a complete psychoeducational evaluation so we can better support her.
2) I am working on a POD business, and I’m pretty pleased with the products and stores I have created thus far.
3) I have been restructuring and growing my established business. Okay, I mean, I was doing that, but right now I’m just barely keeping up with the clients I have. I have all this other stuff has been keeping me away, like…
4) I am working as a paraprofessional in a therapeutic classroom for teens with emotional and behavioral struggles.
5) I am a compulsive community organizer (why the hell and I trying to start an open mic in my community?)
6) I am writing a historical fiction adventure novel that is 80% done. It is imperative that I get it done and published asap.
7) I recently got off my medication. I have suffered from mental illness off and on since I was 12.
8) I have chronic pain, though I’m blessed that it is so much better than last year which was better than the year before.
9) I just bought a car and some braces, gave my savings as a down payment, and still have $15,000 to go in payments.
I could never be a niche writer on medium. I got everything going on. Disability, Neurodivergence, nonbinary, single-parent, chronic pain, bartering, mental illness, novel writing, communications for nonprofits, starting a new business, white trash permaculture, community organizing. And add homeschooling to that, too, will, ya. For some of us, the path of least resistance is a necessity.
I am excited that my bartering journey has opened up. But also, a little nervous. It’s been a while since my last trade. I must find someone who likes Muncie vases. Most people don’t even know what those are. Posting in craigslist hasn’t garnered any leads yet, but I’m about to up my game if I find a minute. Thinking it time to expand my range, maybe go public with the blue comb project on some of the neighborhood boards. So far, I have been very secretive, not telling many of my friends of community.
So I just for now my niche is people interested in trading, anti-capitalism, free of thought, bisexuality, asexuality, freedom of speech; how to live as a single, disabled, parent of a neurodivergent genius daughter. And for people who wonder when and where the new, new left with arise.
I’ll be back by Monday with my post on stopping medication, and an update on the comb/muncie vase.
