Every day of ones life new things are learned. Considering that this is in fact a day [or rather, was a day] I too, have learned things today.
What you ask?
I've learned that...
1. LA as a whole is severely lacking in bike lanes. Not cool.
2. Carson is completely devoid of competent Starbucks Baristas.
- If you see me standing at the cash register, odds are I'd like to order.
- If I ask for an iced coffee and I'm the only customer in your store, odds are I'd like to have my drink before grey hair becomes a reality of my life.
- If I ask for syrup in my coffee, odds are I'd like to be able to taste it
3. Lastly, I've learned that there are rather significant holes in my music collection... That, more then anything else, is unacceptable.
11.6.09
What I learned...
8.6.09
Frustration
Frustration is spending 2 hours using the "not quite up to New York City standards" public transportation of LA to apply at a bookstore... Only to discover that they are in fact NOT hiring. Despite what you were told on the phone a few days prior.
In response to the great waste [which is what we will now call the total of 4 hours I'll have lost due to this trip], I made a pit stop at my thinking place. Yes. A coffee was definitely needed while I found myself once again back at square one. Trying to figure out where best to go from here.
It's funny, in the way life always isn't when it's trying to be as difficult as possible. One half of me would like to go home and have a rather spectacular sulk. While the other half would like nothing more then another coffee. This time, freshly brewed instead of iced. No doubt, the half of me that would rather have another coffee then sulk is the Buddhist half. After all, there's no time for sulking when one has great coffee. And a Buddhist should never sulk. It implies that one has given up.
I haven't. So I'll just go get that coffee
5.6.09
You, Me & the Bourgeoise
Right now, I can be found doing what Americans all across the country did today. Drinking a coffee and eating a doughnut. However, unlike most American's I'm sure they used National Doughnut Day to eat great doughnuts and drink crappy coffee.
So of course i had to buck the trend. Or be a crappy trendy asshole. Or a be a broke college student determined to enjoy the few luxuries I can afford.
What did I do you ask? Well, I went for great coffee and a crappy doughnut. Actually... I'm kinda wishing I ditched the $1.50 overpriced crappy old fashioned doughnut from Starbucks and simply got the always delicious Iced Coffee w/Toffee Nut. Unfortunately, ditching the doughnut would have left me even worse off then before. After all, with out the doughnut, I'd be a Unpatriotic Trendy Asshole. And I really don't need more reasons for Red America to hate me.
So yeah. I've got the doughnut. The delicious coffee. And the almost empty bank account. The only options I have left to me are to either angst about the plight of the full-time College Student during the summer semester or.... Glance at the stock broker guy sitting a couple seats away from me looking utterly hopeless and be glad that I don't have his problems.
I'm going to go with the latter. One should never angst when in the presence of good music and good coffee.
Crappy Doughnut withstanding.
29.5.09
Self-Amused?
Is it wrong that I amuse myself? Am I to much in my head? Sometimes I wonder.
I mean, it can't be a good thing that sometimes I'm not sure if I've spoken out loud or simply thought something. And believe me, that happens a lot. And it's NOT amusing when one isn't sure whether you've said something insanely scathing within the hearing range of the person said scathing thoughts/words were spoken near.
However, on the other hand... It does provide me with a constant reel of things I did/said/wrote that I found amusing. That can't be bad. In fact it could be said to be a tad narcissistic, but it's really not! I'm just used to amusing myself!
...And apparently it's gotten a bit extreme...
-
Bah. I've come to accept my insanity. In fact, if ever I completely realize all of the facets of said insanity I'll write a book. It'll be titled "Dissecting my Crazy." Book reviewers may call it a self-indulging waste of trees. However, with out a doubt it will have a few lovers. After all, there's got to be others in the same boat. High functioning crazy people just trying to figure out exactly how crazy they are. And the book would be amusing. So maybe it wouldn't be immediately written off. After all, everyone likes to read about how crazy other people are. It gives them a sense of security. Relief. It gives them the ability to say, "Oh thank heavens, at least I'm not that bad"
In a way, I'd be doing a public service while providing a wee bit of humor into my self-depreciation. I would be the example to hold up. I would stand there as an example that, yes. Crazy is the new sub-genre of normal. It's ok. I'll walk you through this.... You know, when I'm not being distracted by my own insanity.
Actually, I think when ever I do write and publish "Dissecting my Crazy." I'll add a small blank journal to the back. Or have it sold with a separate journal. The title of course would be, "Dissecting YOUR Crazy." The sub-title will of course be, "Acceptance is the first step to Infinity." The sub-title of course will be confusing to non-crazy people. However, knowing you're crazy doesn't change your crazy. It just means that you acknowledge it and plan on playing it off as a quirk.
---
Really... the original point of this post was to see if being amused by things I've done in the past made me odd...
Deus. Maybe I should just stick to blogging
20.5.09
Trust me.
I'm feeling slightly guilty right now and it has nothing to do with the way I shamelessly drown my blog with crappy concert photos.
No no. This guilt is the result of spending the entire Spring Semester quietly hating my favorite professor's TA. [And yes. I am talking about that professor] To compound this guilt, I didn't even have a good reason to hate her. It was just one of those instant on-sight-dislike kind of deals.
Now what is causing me to suddenly by smacked with unwanted guilt? Well, perhaps the fact that I just spent the last 15 minutes talking to her and she's pretty damn cool.
Oh well. I never said my dislike-o-meter was mistake proof.
30.4.09
Death
Is by no means amusing. Not in reality
Sure as a society we try to ease ourselves into the fact that the end result for all of us is quite the same, which is a one way ticket to six feet below the earth. Or scattered above, depending on whether a person decides on cremation. However, it's all the same right? The great sleep is it. We have shows like Dead Like Me that attempt to show a fun alternative to the fire & brimstone or glowing wings & clouds, Christian alternatives. We have books like the Darwin Awards that poke fun at the very act of dying; after all, if a person is stupid enough to earn a spot in the book, then self selecting themselves out of the gene pool was the least they could do.
However, the sad truth is... No one is ever prepared for death. Not when it happens to someone you know. It rarely matter whether you personally no the person who's died. Case in point when famous people die, if they were well liked there is generally a sense of mourning among the public. Example? Bea Arthur dying on Saturday. I loved the Golden Girls and was deeply saddened by her death. Another example? When a cousin you weren't particularly close to dies.
As apparently, mine has. Last Friday in fact. I found out today. It's crazy because, as I said we weren't close. He was from the age bracket above mine. But I'm saddened by it.
When I think about all of this: all of the shows, the jokes, and the books, dedicated solely to the topic... I find I sometimes find it hard to believe that most people have never been to a funeral for someone they knew, let alone a family member. To contrast that with myself... As a person who's been to... quite a bit more then a few, from quite a young age... with most of them having been for family members... I don't know. It's a bit sad, to put it mildly.
It's also a bit ostracizing. To have experienced that much... Loss, I guess you can call it... You look at the world differently. You live differently. It becomes hard to deal, to live. Because, when you are so often faced with your mortality through the loss of family member's... It becomes hard to focus on the mundane. On the minor things of life that are actually necessities. Life becomes something of an urgency. You find yourself either filled with the desire to live as much as possible in each day... Or you succumb to the hopelessness of it all. Either way, life is one extreme or the other. And my family is shrinking rapidly.
But enough of that.
Cake or Death?
Sure as a society we try to ease ourselves into the fact that the end result for all of us is quite the same, which is a one way ticket to six feet below the earth. Or scattered above, depending on whether a person decides on cremation. However, it's all the same right? The great sleep is it. We have shows like Dead Like Me that attempt to show a fun alternative to the fire & brimstone or glowing wings & clouds, Christian alternatives. We have books like the Darwin Awards that poke fun at the very act of dying; after all, if a person is stupid enough to earn a spot in the book, then self selecting themselves out of the gene pool was the least they could do.
However, the sad truth is... No one is ever prepared for death. Not when it happens to someone you know. It rarely matter whether you personally no the person who's died. Case in point when famous people die, if they were well liked there is generally a sense of mourning among the public. Example? Bea Arthur dying on Saturday. I loved the Golden Girls and was deeply saddened by her death. Another example? When a cousin you weren't particularly close to dies.
As apparently, mine has. Last Friday in fact. I found out today. It's crazy because, as I said we weren't close. He was from the age bracket above mine. But I'm saddened by it.
When I think about all of this: all of the shows, the jokes, and the books, dedicated solely to the topic... I find I sometimes find it hard to believe that most people have never been to a funeral for someone they knew, let alone a family member. To contrast that with myself... As a person who's been to... quite a bit more then a few, from quite a young age... with most of them having been for family members... I don't know. It's a bit sad, to put it mildly.
It's also a bit ostracizing. To have experienced that much... Loss, I guess you can call it... You look at the world differently. You live differently. It becomes hard to deal, to live. Because, when you are so often faced with your mortality through the loss of family member's... It becomes hard to focus on the mundane. On the minor things of life that are actually necessities. Life becomes something of an urgency. You find yourself either filled with the desire to live as much as possible in each day... Or you succumb to the hopelessness of it all. Either way, life is one extreme or the other. And my family is shrinking rapidly.
But enough of that.
Cake or Death?
26.4.09
Those that can't do...
So I just re-read a short, cute and funny Hermione/Luna story on FF.net. After reading it I realized that the story had only 2 comments and I couldn't remember whether I had commented on it before; so I clicked the little reviews button and glanced over them. The first comment was nothing more then a, "Hahaha, that was funny." The second however, was two paragraphs of some person tearing the writer a new one over a couple of minor yet excessively common grammar mistakes in the story. However, the reviewer didn't stop at the minor mistakes in the story, but apparently perused through the girls bio for further ammunition. It was insanely harsh and filled with nothing but insults.
Now, I don't know the author personally or other wise. And I think that's the only story of hers that I'd ever read. But the comment was enough to make me see who this person was. So I click the link, expecting to see an account filled with stories upwards of 10,000 words long.... Did I find that? Yes. Only those stories were favorites; not stories written by the reviewer. That made my blood boil. I then felt compelled to send reviewer a message. This is what I wrote.
"Hey, this is in response to a comment you left MissaSempai who I don't know personally at all. However, reading your comment left the worse taste in my mouth possible. Kind of like the feeling you get when you see a bully being overly cruel to a passerby. Ever heard the saying, 'Those that can't do, teach'? Well in your case, those that can't do try and tear down those who can. Were there grammar mistakes? Yes. Did they completely destroy her story? No. Were some of things you flamed her over even remotely connected to the story? No. Meaning it was uncalled for. It's easy to be a grammar nazi when you yourself aren't putting yourself out there. There's constructive criticism and there are flames. Hopefully one day you'll learn the difference. Hopefully, before you completely dishearten a writer."
There was so much I wanted to tell that reviewer, however I was so.. offended for the writer that it would have degenerated quickly. I just so hate when people are unnecessarily cruel. I know personally how hard it can be to write something, no matter how long or short, and post it for the public to see. It takes a lot. And to put yourself out there, write a provide a decently well written story beside a few minor mistakes... Only to be torn down can be crushing.
I mean, believe me. I've read stories so full with grammatical and spelling errors that I've had to look away after a few paragraphs. I've also read stories that just had no point. Seemingly nothing more than a bunch of words randomly thrown together with a pronoun every now and then.
*shakes head*
Now, I don't know the author personally or other wise. And I think that's the only story of hers that I'd ever read. But the comment was enough to make me see who this person was. So I click the link, expecting to see an account filled with stories upwards of 10,000 words long.... Did I find that? Yes. Only those stories were favorites; not stories written by the reviewer. That made my blood boil. I then felt compelled to send reviewer a message. This is what I wrote.
"Hey, this is in response to a comment you left MissaSempai who I don't know personally at all. However, reading your comment left the worse taste in my mouth possible. Kind of like the feeling you get when you see a bully being overly cruel to a passerby. Ever heard the saying, 'Those that can't do, teach'? Well in your case, those that can't do try and tear down those who can. Were there grammar mistakes? Yes. Did they completely destroy her story? No. Were some of things you flamed her over even remotely connected to the story? No. Meaning it was uncalled for. It's easy to be a grammar nazi when you yourself aren't putting yourself out there. There's constructive criticism and there are flames. Hopefully one day you'll learn the difference. Hopefully, before you completely dishearten a writer."
There was so much I wanted to tell that reviewer, however I was so.. offended for the writer that it would have degenerated quickly. I just so hate when people are unnecessarily cruel. I know personally how hard it can be to write something, no matter how long or short, and post it for the public to see. It takes a lot. And to put yourself out there, write a provide a decently well written story beside a few minor mistakes... Only to be torn down can be crushing.
I mean, believe me. I've read stories so full with grammatical and spelling errors that I've had to look away after a few paragraphs. I've also read stories that just had no point. Seemingly nothing more than a bunch of words randomly thrown together with a pronoun every now and then.
*shakes head*
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