Sorry I Didn't Call You Back

I'm a 27 year old who lives with his parents, works as a waiter, makes about 25k a year, and listens to metal.  What do you want to talk to me about?


I persistently forget to call people back, text people back, email people.  I have family members who want to keep in touch with me and know what I'm up to.  I have friends I haven't seen in a year or two who want to re-establish their friendships with me.  They're probably all wondering why I neglect to get back to them.


The truth is, I don't have a lot to say.  Nothing has changed recently.  I still do the same things, I still live at home, I still have no career path, and I still haven't done anything artistically extraordinary.  My family members don't want to hear about the metal show I'm excited about going to next month.  They also don't want to discuss religion or politics with me, as I can't stand religion and I don't lean right the same way much of my family does.


My girlfriend is in the same boat.  She's also a restaurant server, she hasn't really had much luck finding auditions or doing any singing/acting, and she lives with her parents too.  She and I spend a lot of time just watching cooking shows together, very occasionally going out to eat and have drinks, or seeing the few friends who have a lot in common with us.  We just aren't exciting people.


Many of my old friends have decent jobs, live with their spouses (some married, some not), go on exciting vacations, etc.  What am I going to tell them about?  A lot of them are into beer and cooking and stuff the same way I am, but how long can we hold a conversation about things we like to ingest?  I guess I can talk music with some of them, but it usually just turns into each of us trying to one-up each other, or wait for the other person to finish talking about a band I don't care about so I can tell them about a band they don't care about.


A friend of mine contacted me a month or two ago saying I should call him back and plan a visit.  He lives in NYC and makes a lot of money.  Taking a weekend off is kind of a big deal in my profession, and I can't just neglect to make money every time a friend or relative wants me to visit them - especially considering how little money I make even if I take no time off.  Don't get me wrong, in my job I can make a lot of money in a short amount of time.  However, those short amounts of time are few and far between.


So, I'm sorry if you haven't heard from me lately.  I'll try to get back to you, but don't expect to have your mind blown.