Relevance made an impression

From “Reading Lost Illusions“ by Benjamin Kunkel at Salon.com:

When you’re a novelist, or want to be one, and instead of staying at home to nurture your genius, you’re chasing some romantic prospect, or drinking too much with your friends, or writing another book review, it’s never entirely clear whether you are wasting your time, or whether, in fact, you are investing in so many treasury bonds to be paid out in the form of mature works. It could be that ostensible distraction is really just a diversified portfolio of experience. A novelist has to write about humans, and it doesn’t much expand your knowledge of the human to do the things you should.

I look back on my first years in New York and wish I’d worked harder. I also look back and wish I’d gone out dancing far more often, and spent more money on concerts and plays.

I read articles like this, written by successful people like him, and it gives me a great excuse to party really hard. And then I check my bank account, dream forlornly about sushi dinners and vacations to Europe and end up sitting back on the couch.