The Karma Chameleon
Rolling with Virgil is my baby. In gambler speak, I’m all in (spiritually, emotionally, and fiscally). A caveat to that fact is that I work every spare second I have at jobs like catering to stay afloat. It’s ok, but it sucks, but no really it’s ok. I truly am sustained by my passion for my art and craft and for this all-consuming and worthy project, and I do eat pretty well and sleep in a decent bed, so I certainly don't have it too hard in the grand scheme of things.
Anyway, tonight I was faced with a test of morality. After working long hours at one of said catering jobs in a very high end private house party, the host came up to pay us servers for our time. He approached me first, counted out the money, left a little extra in there like a hero, handed it to me, and went to pay the other servers. It was good money, and I was feeling pretty happy with my night. A few minutes later he walked up to me and paid me again. He was slightly tipsy, and at first I was confused and thought it was a bonus he had given us in good spirits. When I looked closer, I saw that it was the same amount as before (the same amount each of the other servers had been given just once).
I never actually considered keeping it, and so it wasn’t really a test of morality, come to think of it. It was more of a test of pain tolerance, because it damn sure did sting deep in my soul to track him back down and give back a very significant percentage of my monthly rent, fully knowing he probably earned it in the lesser part of an hour and would never have noticed its absence.
Oh karma, I hope you’ll remember this on the night I launch my Kickstarter!
(2015 Update: the Kickstarter performed admirably back in 2014, but, in the end, fell short of its goal and returned all the money pledged to those who had supported. Never fear, however, because the project film has begun attracting independent financing, thanks in large part to the publicity of the campaign.)
