n. Slang.
An occupation or other source of income that requires little effort while yielding considerable profit.
I guess that I'm a little curious about the gravy train. Does it look like the polar express, or does it more resemble the LIRR? Is it like the new N train that everyone in Queens calls the "unicorn" due to the fact that you only see it on magical occasions? Does it smell good?
I've had little exposure to this phenomenon growing up, but caught glimpses of it during "What I did this summer" stories in English class in the 6th grade. "Me and my parents went to Ireland" "Me and my parents went to our house in California". Mine was more like, "Me and my three siblings sat in the house all day. We went to Wal Mart sometimes." Okay, poor me, wah wah. The truth is, it didn't bother me so much. I kind of enjoyed getting on my oldest sister's nerves and threatening my younger brother with knives. When I got bored I dressed up like the chicks on MTV and me and my friends sang along to "This is How We Do It". We prank called the guys in my class. Life was simple.
But alas, people grow up and they move to New York, the capital capital of the world. And they decide they don't want to be an actor anymore so they get a grown up job so that they can afford a laptop and printer to write plays at night. And being able to answer the work telephone well turns into doing other things well that weren't in the original blueprint of your life. Other opportunities rear their heads and before you know it, crap. You start thinking like the yups. "How much money can I make doing this job? Hmmm..."
So you put on your Christmas shoes and board the gravy train.
This is not entirely accurate, actually. Gravy Train insinuates that you're somehow getting money the easy way, and my my work has not been easy. At all.
Again, wah, poor me.
The point is, I've located the gravy train. (It's not as easy as everyone says it is, but it's there). And I'm scared of it. I feel like I've worked for it but that I don't deserve it. I'm scared to talk about it. I'm scared to smell the air. I'm scared to look around. I'm even scared of these Christmas shoes.
Why does comfort make me so uncomfortable?
