ENTROPY at 26
Merriam-Webster defines Entropy as:
a. the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity
b. a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder
It’s the 24th of March, and frankly I should have written/published this a while ago. But humor me, and let’s go back to a recap of 2020 before we talk about the celebrations that ensued as the clock turned from 2020 to 2021.
Last year we had a novel virus outbreak on the international scale, followed by the most aggressive fear-based public relations campaign in modern history. I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that this campaign was disseminated through all social and news channels from each soverign nation and their national medical professionals. Interestingly, much of the rhetoric on the front end was written to emotionally manipulate individuals into doing what they were told. Sheep always need a shepherd after all. “Stay home to save my grandma 9 states away!” “If you don’t wear a 6 masks, sanitize everything before and after you touch it, you’re the problem.”
Combine this fear based programming with every news outlet streaming the looped video feeds that replay the senseless killings of individuals in the United States and you have the start to a year that turned everything upside down. Fact of the matter is…there’s never a reason to kneel on someone’s neck for 7 minutes and 46 seconds. Senseless violence should not be tolerated and individuals have a whole lot of personal responsibility to accept with their actions. We must evolve.
Now that everyone living under a rock for the entirety of 2020 is caught up, let’s look at the night where entropy smacked me in the 5head.
In fall of 2020, I started moonlighting at a new bar/speakeasy that opened up in Buckhead, Atlanta. Fast forward to New Year’s Eve and there I was behind the bar knowing that I wouldn’t be walking out with much money from the shift. To my surprise, we hadn’t been busy all night. Might I also add that I was stone-cold sober, which added to the bleak nature of the night.
It all changed when fight number 1 happened and half the male staff had to get involved. From there like dominos, entropy ensued. There was a champagne bottle shattered on the corner of the bar, and a group of aggressive beta males began peacocking for the alpha male of their group (as if that ever impresses a lady). From there, the “alpha” mustered up enough gall to grope a unsuspecting woman, which led to fight number 2. Then there was Captain Underpants, a 40ish year old male with enough spirits in his system to kill a full size horse, who decided it was a grand idea to spit at a bartender. Over the bar to handle Captain that bartender went…and I have never seen that bartender move with such ferocity. After these few interactions, a woman passed out in the bathroom sans friends. 10 or so minutes later, I slipped behind the bar and busted my ass. This concluded our time of service to patrons, but the entropy didn’t stop.
While balancing drawers, one was hundreds of dollars short. Aye dios mio. At this point I had to pinch myself to make sure this was real. It had been ages since this much disorder had been in front of me at one time. We finished cleaning, locked up and then I went to call an uber. Walked outside and the app notified me that a driver was en route. After 15 minutes of waiting, the driver cancelled — what a surprise!
Unfortunately at this point, it was just me outside the bar at 3:40am — standing in the streets of Atlanta on New Years Day with almost everyone either asleep or drunk as a skunk. So I thought ‘what the hell’ — I’ll call another driver and set the pick up location a little down the road and start walking. After 20 minutes of walking and the “no drivers in your area” push notification continually being pushed my way, I cancelled pickup and tried it again. That’s when my phone died.
So at 4am, I began the 5.5 mile walk from the bar to my place. I had never made this walk before, but I didn’t see another viable option. I walked at about a 16 minute/mile clip and made it home safe minus the two handfuls of blisters on the bottom of my feet from my oversized shoes sliding around. All in all, not a bad night.
Why does any of that matter, you ask? Well it’s important to understand that disorder is oftentimes unavoidable. This can be both positive and negative; I feel that distinction is based on perspective.
Embrace entropy. Make the best decision you can with what you have in front of you. Look at disorder as a way to grow, adapt, and think on your feet. The plan for my 2020 and my new years eve were COMPLETELY different than what manifested. Embrace entropy — sometimes it’s what you need.
