Of Latitudes and Attidudes

I am sitting at a diner located near my office and I am wrapped up in my thoughts. Work, life, progress, future, service - the usual stuff. Lately, it's been a more continuous, more sustained feeling of sorrow and loss. Not sure due to what but something seems amiss. The concept of sustained development has been ingrained in the mind but a newer concept is now taking root - sustainable happiness. That should be the metric of our success in life. For how long, and to what degree we have managed to remain happy. Simple. If we take the premise that one who is content is happy, then happiness is the mere satisfaction of our wants. But how do we sustain it? The answer simply is to control the wants and mitigate the needs. So how do we control the wants? Suppose I'm working at this office, I have a house to live in and I have a decent family. In this simple case, my wants can range from wanting that promotion or pay raise at the office, to wanting to pay out my mortage completely, to...

I was on my toes, desperately trying to see what she was doing over the counter. The cursive flow of her writing intrigued me and I wondered how women have such different handwriting than men. But I am not supposed to be here; I am not a regular. She was old and seemed patient but even in the situation I was in, I could not understand why she would simply not shove the form on my face and have me fill out the personal details. Instead, across the counter and behind the protection of a thick glass window, the practiced hand was copying details from my arrest warrant. The unexpected holiday gift was a reprieve from not having to post a bail in the amount of 6,000 dollars or go to jail. Valid only from Dec 1st to 31st. If you turn yourself in during this month, you essentially get a 'get-out-of-jail-free' card. I was here to cash in on my good luck. Armed with my checkbook, I had reached the Santa Clara County sheriff's office with the express purpose of turning myself in. I ...