what's worse than stupid people?
In my line of work, you have to deal with all sorts of ridiculous complaints from people about what you write. This isn't even about errors, mind you; it's about turns of phrase, or unflattering headlines, or quotes that people didn't think twice about until it appeared in print.
So yes, I've had my fair share of ridiculous complaints. But this one takes the cake.
posted by zyn ::
1:19 PM ::
1 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
sickness + boredom =
Thursday, August 30, 2007 |
R: Don't you guys ever talk about anything besides fat guys and tall guys?
I: Look at that fat guy, so cute!
Me: I really like tall guys. Don't you like tall guys too?
N: We can talk about cute chicks if you want.
My workplace conversations have descended into a banality so deep and comforting I fear I will never escape. I'm not sure when and how it happened, but all those old philosophical discussions and ancient office gossip and in-depth WoW strategising have somehow disappeared. Perhaps it's familiarity; perhaps it's jadedness. All I know is with time and age, the inclination to explore and debate gets weaker, and the tendency to converse and banter never seems to go away anymore.
We start shying away from the hard questions, having discovered a fear of not having an answer. Thought experiments take their toll on our wearier minds; intellectual curiosity slowly dies by the hand of the sleek, fat cats our bodies have become. But still the meaning of life eludes and perturbs us. Some turn to God, others to money, still others to decadence and distractions. And we forget.
But on quiet nights, when loneliness turns thoughts to sound, you can hear the sense of uneasy loss whispering like a conscience, and you pause - maybe if you'd thought harder - searched longer - probed deeper -
And then House s3e24 finishes downloading! And life begins again.
posted by zyn ::
11:19 PM ::
3 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
lovelove
I remember, with surprising clarity, a conversation some time ago about lovelove with pretty much the last person I would have imagined to coin the phrase. He was talking about a girl. I said, why her? And he replied: because it works better with her than with anyone else.
As you get older, love becomes more complicated. More people get involved, everyone has scars, and undiluted happiness becomes as much a myth as unconditional love.
But if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: you can't love to order. It comes, as my wise friend (another word I would not ordinarily associate with him) said, when you're with someone with whom it works better than anyone else. If you could decide whom to love and why, how much easier and poorer the world would be for it.
And once you resign yourself to the fact that you love the people you love and you can't change that any more than you can change the shape of your nose, then, I think, you grow up. If you can stop loving someone just by willing yourself to do so, you probably never really loved that person in the first place. Not being able to stop even when you want to, I've learned, isn't a character flaw.
So here's to lovelove - to those who have it, those who don't, and those who found it but had to let it go.
posted by zyn ::
1:46 PM ::
2 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
blahblahblah
Thursday, August 23, 2007 |
B. and I. are totally kicking my ass at Scrabulous with these ridiculous bingos. Undaunted, I have started another four games.
Also, I've finally handed in two assignments, one very long overdue, that have been hanging over my head in the last few weeks and making me irritable. For the first time since - I think - January (that's how long overdue), I have a clear work conscience.
Today I had an epiphany. I now know why I am doing the things I am doing and thinking the thoughts I am thinking. Shockingly, this epiphany has not made me any more likely to do or think differently. It has, however, allowed me to rationalise any possible mistakes and attribute them to fear and self-loathing.
If I'm not making any sense, it's probably because I'm on late shift this week and sleeping at 4am every day after chain-watching Arrested Development, Entourage and House. I have very confused dreams about Ari Gold getting his hand bitten off by a seal and popping pills from his secret stash.
Who's up for drinks? I'm bored.
posted by zyn ::
9:56 PM ::
0 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
the problem with work
is not that it's become less interesting. On the contrary.
The problem is that there's no longer anyone to smoke with. I started counting last night, and six of my seven previous smoking kakis have quit. The company, not smoking.
And when you can't walk around and have smoke breaks and talk about rubbish and think about something else completely irrelevant just for a short while - then work just becomes work just becomes work. Which then becomes a drag. And not the good kind.
I fear that going clean will make me a boring person. But I suppose it's time to grow up.
I don't understand jealousy. It's such an irrational emotion. All the books that teach you how to deal with jealousy seem to correlate it with self-esteem. To the extent that that theory holds, it's understandable; but sometimes it doesn't, and I'm at a loss to explain it myself.
posted by zyn ::
6:16 PM ::
5 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
rush hour 3
Thursday, August 16, 2007 |
was disappointing. Not in the way I expected - that is, that all the good parts were already in the trailer - but in how Brett Ratner appeared to be so confident in his stars' ability to sell any movie that he didn't even bother with a believable plot or any lines from the other characters that weren't punchingly, painfully bad. That will teach me to watch a movie that only got 20% on Rottentomatoes.
That's not to say the show wasn't enjoyable. You just have to lower your IQ by, say, 70 points and ignore all the glaring loopholes. The company helps, too. :)
With any luck I'll be able to catch Bourne Ultimatum tonight. 93% on Rottentomatoes! That should be good.
Aiyah so many movies to watch. Haven't even seen the Jay Chou one yet. Then there's Paprika, Brave Story, Ratatouille!, Stardust, Hairspray, Superbad, etc. Ahhh so little time.
posted by zyn ::
10:19 AM ::
7 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
quick update
Haven't really been in the mood to blog much, so as usual this is a placeholder list entry.
Am back from Sydney with: a bottle of Semillon, two boxes of Krispy Kremes, and a cold.
What I am back without: a jar of olives for Joyce, a tub of cheese for my mum, and my moisturiser. These were all deemed dangerous liquids and confiscated at the airport. No doubt if I google long enough I can find a way to make a b*** from them.
This is what I decided in Sydney: I will stop playing World of Warcraft for now, at least until the Lich King expansion. I will take up inline skating and horse riding. I will try to do something charitable. And, most of all, I will be nicer to my mother.
The highlight of my trip: Bondi Beach in the winter.
posted by zyn ::
12:54 AM ::
4 Comments ::
permalink
--------------------------------------------------------::--------------------------------------------------------
