So last week I got home from work and my roommate was watching "King of the Nerds". I have never watched the show personally and what I saw did not grab me. In fact, something one of the contestants said during the episode struck me, "Do we really want him to be the representative of nerd culture?" I stood there in the living room emphatically thinking "No! I don't want anyone of you to be the representative of my culture!"
A bit of a preface should come with this article I suppose, I'm a nerd, pretty big one at that. I play video games, read comics, have a wide knowledge of both the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings universes, play Dungeons & Dragons, etc. Hell, I have had an hours long conversation on what proper procedure should be when the zombie apocalypse happens. So yeah... pretty big nerd, geek, dweeb, whatever pejorative term you elect to use.
But before I get inundated with pocket protectors and tick rim glasses (I already have a pair thanks) this Christmas, I also exercise at least 4 times a week, have a thriving social circle, and am capable of going in settings where I know very few people and still having a great time. I also love acting, playing music, and writing things that are not fan-fic (I went through a phase admittedly).
I suppose the real point I want to reiterate is that while shows like "King of the Nerds" and "Big Bang Theory" portray nerds through the lens of early nineties prime time television, the notion that those old stereotypes are still the case is archaic at best and more likely just downright insulting. I am the best representation of a nerd in our modern culture. I'm not saying that in the sense that I am the King of the Nerds, I'm saying if you were to take a census of all nerds everywhere...
Okay, one last point before I wrap up here, when I say all nerds, I am referring to that dreaded term "real nerds". If you really like Star Wars, that doesn't make you a nerd (when adjusted for inflation that movie made over a billion dollars when it was in theaters the first time, it doesn't exactly have cult status). If you do, however, know who Grand Admiral Thrawn is, the circumstances surrounding Chewbacca's death, or the names of Han and Leia's children, then yes congratulations you are a nerd. The same applies for really anything, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek; watching any of those things makes you a human, knowing more about the history of those worlds than you can safely proclaim to know about our own world lumps you in with my people (unless you are also a history nerd, in which case...well I don't have another analogy. Let's just say if your a history nerd you get a pass and can be called a nerd at will.)
So, back to my original final point, if you were to take a census of nerds everywhere.... someone kind of like me would be the average. Nerds are no longer socially awkward man-children in capable of understanding the appeal of dating, social gatherings, or when to "shut the hell up about Star Wars already Eric nobody cares!" (Hey, I can't say I was always this well adjusted). Most of my co-workers that I have begun working with play DnD, and none of them are incapable of carrying on a conversation about something other than nerd stuff.
And I think some of this may come from age, and a inherit lack of caring about how people will judge me based on my hobbies. I play Dungeons & Dragons every other week because it is a consistent way for me and those friends to get together and hang out. Yes, we really enjoy playing the game and sharing in the story, but it is for us truly no different than if we all just sat around talking for 3 hours, it is social time. I know too much about Star Wars and Lord of the Rings because those initial stories were amazing when I first experienced them, and once I became interested in writing and building worlds within my story those two universes were the best examples I could dive into and learn more about. My point is, when you are an awkward kid getting picked on in middle school (Hello! I'm Eric. Do you like the Rebel Alliance sticker on my Tapper Keeper?), those things are escapes from the real world. You hide in the stories and the worlds because they lack the judgement that the real world seems all too ready to dish out. It is sad, tragic, and most importantly of all: temporary. Now I am a grown-ass man who knows what I like and will proudly tell you about it if you want (Hello! I'm Eric. Do you like the Rebel Alliance sticker on my bumper?), or I will shut up about it and discuss fitness, music, acting, literature, pop culture, or anything else because I am capable of that, even if you are female.
So yeah, when you watch those programs just remember that you are watching outdated caricatures of a pretty large group of people that exist in the world today. Anyways, that's it for my nerd rant. Next time I think I may have to write about fitness or something to offset this wild imbalance I'm feeling.
A man, his friends, and the insanity that comes with living. Finding direction in life can be a long process, this is one man's attempt to get there.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
Check Yes or No...
I got home tonight after rehearsal and my roommate was watching the movie "Yes Man" on tv. That took me back. Honestly I have never sat down and watched the movie, but I did read the book (insert pretentious adjustment of my glasses). When I read the book I was immediately inspired. This book literally caused my to laugh out loud in my house by myself. The book isn't a work of fiction, it is a memoir. The author Danny Wallace actually spent about 3 months of his life only saying yes. His story took him to far off places, wild nights, and reconnecting with old friends. But more importantly, his take away was that he had reconnected with life.
I decided after reading it that I could pull it off for at least a month, surely. It seemed simple, yet daunting at the same time. This was a few years ago, and I only informed one person so they could keep me honest in my endeavor. I made it just over a month, but in a way it never stopped. Something happens to you when you just say yes to people. I found myself going to concerts, spending time with people that I had never really had the desire to, helping random acquaintances move, all kinds of random things. But more so, it felt good. Even the really crappy things that weren't fun, in my head I was constantly saying "I would never had gained this experience before." To this day, that month I spent saying yes changed me fundamentally.
I get asked quite a bit how I am so positive. I rarely vent, or rant, or gripe. I take life in stride and accept whatever it has to offer. I think it was because I learned by saying Yes to life, I was saying Yes to contentment. Am I always happy? No But I am content with my life. I do my best to see things from other people's needs and attend to my own. I do say no again, because doing everything empties your wallet fairly quickly. But, while I do say no occasionally to other's request, I have stopped saying no to my own requests. When I think to myself, "Can I do this" "Do I deserve this" "Am I capable", the answer is now yes when it once was no. So that would be my challenge, if you are brave enough, say yes for a month, it is a formative exercise that is enriching. But if you don't want to say yes to everyone, at least say yes to yourself. It will allow you to be happier, more productive, and makes life a lot more fun.
I decided after reading it that I could pull it off for at least a month, surely. It seemed simple, yet daunting at the same time. This was a few years ago, and I only informed one person so they could keep me honest in my endeavor. I made it just over a month, but in a way it never stopped. Something happens to you when you just say yes to people. I found myself going to concerts, spending time with people that I had never really had the desire to, helping random acquaintances move, all kinds of random things. But more so, it felt good. Even the really crappy things that weren't fun, in my head I was constantly saying "I would never had gained this experience before." To this day, that month I spent saying yes changed me fundamentally.
I get asked quite a bit how I am so positive. I rarely vent, or rant, or gripe. I take life in stride and accept whatever it has to offer. I think it was because I learned by saying Yes to life, I was saying Yes to contentment. Am I always happy? No But I am content with my life. I do my best to see things from other people's needs and attend to my own. I do say no again, because doing everything empties your wallet fairly quickly. But, while I do say no occasionally to other's request, I have stopped saying no to my own requests. When I think to myself, "Can I do this" "Do I deserve this" "Am I capable", the answer is now yes when it once was no. So that would be my challenge, if you are brave enough, say yes for a month, it is a formative exercise that is enriching. But if you don't want to say yes to everyone, at least say yes to yourself. It will allow you to be happier, more productive, and makes life a lot more fun.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
My Art...
For those of you behind on the times in my life, I left my job at AT&T about back in July. It was a great job that I was good at, but I consistently found myself unsatisfied when I took stock of my life. I had enough money to get by, a great group of friends, and a good deal of satisfaction with what I could accomplish at my job (including accidentally exposing a husband's infidelity). So I took a drastic action, I quit. I was unsure of what I was going to do, but I needed to free myself. I was living to work. So I left and a couple weeks later had a new job. But before the new job came along, I jumped back into my passions, acting and music, and discovered some new ones, painting and graphic design.
It was amazing to begin exercising those muscles again. It had been so long, so there was some atrophy, but before long I was remembering songs on the guitar I had learned a decade ago, and I was in a production of the Crucible (one of my favorite plays of all time that I had never had the chance to do before). I completed a painting and designed a web site. I began thinking about what makes art special, especially the older arts. One of my favorite shows, Parks and Recreation, has a quote from Ron Swanson:
"Welcome to "Visions of Nature." This room has several paintings in it. Some are big, some are small. People did them and they're here now. I believe that after this is over, they'll be hung in government buildings. Why the government is involved in an art show is beyond me. I also think it's pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they could just go outside and stand in it. Anyway, please do not misinterpret the fact that I am talking right now as genuine interest in art and attempt to discuss it with me further. End of speech."
Now, that is funny, but it did strike me as an interesting thought. We have photography, film, and recorded music; why would someone view a painting (I'm speaking of realism and landscape, abstract art is a whole other beast), go see a play, or watch a musician perform live? A photograph will capture the image more precisely, film actors have multiple chances to get a scene just right whereas stage actors have to get it right in that moment with you staring at them, and the music will sound great from your speakers.
But that is just it, my art exists in my mistakes. When I am painting the shape of a tree just slightly wrong, you know I did it. When I am acting on stage and I accidentally spit in an actor's face from shouting a line, you know that was a real moment and everyone involved if fighting that urge to react to it. And the voice cracks, missed fingering, and raw energy that goes into playing music in front of people, there's magic in it. Nobody seeking art is seeking perfection, they are seeking you. The artist has only one pact with his audience, to expose himself, not to be perfect, and with that knowledge, it takes a bit of the pressure off.
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
It was amazing to begin exercising those muscles again. It had been so long, so there was some atrophy, but before long I was remembering songs on the guitar I had learned a decade ago, and I was in a production of the Crucible (one of my favorite plays of all time that I had never had the chance to do before). I completed a painting and designed a web site. I began thinking about what makes art special, especially the older arts. One of my favorite shows, Parks and Recreation, has a quote from Ron Swanson:
"Welcome to "Visions of Nature." This room has several paintings in it. Some are big, some are small. People did them and they're here now. I believe that after this is over, they'll be hung in government buildings. Why the government is involved in an art show is beyond me. I also think it's pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they could just go outside and stand in it. Anyway, please do not misinterpret the fact that I am talking right now as genuine interest in art and attempt to discuss it with me further. End of speech."
Now, that is funny, but it did strike me as an interesting thought. We have photography, film, and recorded music; why would someone view a painting (I'm speaking of realism and landscape, abstract art is a whole other beast), go see a play, or watch a musician perform live? A photograph will capture the image more precisely, film actors have multiple chances to get a scene just right whereas stage actors have to get it right in that moment with you staring at them, and the music will sound great from your speakers.
But that is just it, my art exists in my mistakes. When I am painting the shape of a tree just slightly wrong, you know I did it. When I am acting on stage and I accidentally spit in an actor's face from shouting a line, you know that was a real moment and everyone involved if fighting that urge to react to it. And the voice cracks, missed fingering, and raw energy that goes into playing music in front of people, there's magic in it. Nobody seeking art is seeking perfection, they are seeking you. The artist has only one pact with his audience, to expose himself, not to be perfect, and with that knowledge, it takes a bit of the pressure off.
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
Monday, August 1, 2011
I kept making promises....
...that I would actually use my blog this time around and by God have I fallen behind. But here I am with a renewed sense of purpose and vigor (for now...Hey, at least I'm honest).
I guess the reason I so quickly abandoned my blog was because I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it. There are two kinds of people that will read this... A) The far more likely group of people that I actually know and speak to on a regular basis. And with this group reading I can't really expect them to want to read stories about my day when I am just going to tell them about it face to face. And B) people I do not know at all (I understand there may be people that I knew once just trying to keep in touch or noisy relatives trying to keep tabs...Hi Mom...but for the sake of the post let's move on). I am not one to presume that anecdotes about my day off or being drained about work will be engaging enough to have people come back again after one read.
So, with that in mind the question poses itself...What the hell do I write about? The last post I did back in February had the right feel I think. It was a quick tight story about my life, and then my personal insight on the story. So I think I'll try that for awhile and see how it goes... Without any further adieu....
Just now realizing how infatuated I am with ellipses. (One period with intention)
So, as many of my friends are aware there are a few of my co-workers that I do not get along with. It is a common issue and something I have had to personally deal with since the original crew at GameStop started getting broken up (Man, what a great group of co-workers, no drama whatsoever).
When I first started my job there were two people I worked with that were very antagonistic and deceitful. It made work a misery when I would see one of them (or God forbid both of them) at work as I arrived. Ever since my college career I have made it a point to avoid these types of people. The type of person that will find the most innocent thing about people and attempt to exploit it to the point of making them feel ashamed about it. In my case terms like "Gamer", "Nerd", "Geek", etc. were thrown around as if they were dirty words. Well light at the end of the tunnel, one of them quit to go to a different job. And something amazing happened, the other girl (Yes, they were both women, more on that later) became nicer, friendlier, kinder. It was incredible and I began to think, "Hey, maybe it was just the other girl. Maybe this one wasn't so bad all along). Boy was I wrong.
Fast forward about 6 months, new girl gets hired and seems very nice, cheery, and professional. She meshed well with just about everyone. Her and the aforementioned "other girl" struck up a grand friendship involving spending time together outside of work. Then out of nowhere they both started back in with the backstabbing, name-calling, and mean-spiritedness that other girl and old girl were so skillful at. I was so confused, because new girl and I got along fairly well. Not so much that I would spend time with here outside of work, but you know... compatible co-workers.
Without spending too much time on the remainder of the story...final act involves other girl quitting and new girl making the same 180 degree turn other girl had made once her cohort left. It was a revelation.
Because up to this point I had only really encountered this type of woman was in some form of education. (Yes, my experiences have painted this phenomenon as being exclusively women, but if men have acted this way towards you let me know.) In any form of schooling, people can find those that are truly like them a flock to each other, but outside of school its harder unless you have hobbies and whatnot to interact with people outside of work. This type of girl only truly acts out in groups, which is why on their own these girls have acted so nice and genuine, because if they start acting this way alone then they become the target since there is no one to back them up. I don't really know the point of this post...wait I think I have it! (Damn, most of the post gone by without another ellipse.)
We as people are social creatures, yes in a survival sense but also in a personality sense. Let me explain. We as creature have inherent joys, dislikes, and quirks; but it is tough to let those things out around people we either know don't share them or are unsure how they will react. In the example of the (To borrow a phrase from a Lindsey Lohan movie) "Mean Girls", they enjoy spreading rumors, gossiping, and dragging people through the mud. But if one of them tries to befriend me and reveal those parts of themselves, not only will I not share their excitement for "who slept with who", but more often than not I will react antagonistically. One the same point, if I start talking to a co-worker about the Captain America movie, DnD, or a match of Halo, majority of them won't care. Which is why it is great to find those people that share your interests, as long as it doesn't hurt others (Looking at you "Mean Girls".)
Okay, this topic goes pretty deep and its going to drag on for a long time, but that my general thought process on it. I'm sure I'll come back to it again once the remaining co-worker finds another soulless creature to join her in cracking the same jokes about me I've heard since 3rd grade. Anyway, I'll leave you with this... (Damn!)
“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.” -Mark Twain
I guess the reason I so quickly abandoned my blog was because I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it. There are two kinds of people that will read this... A) The far more likely group of people that I actually know and speak to on a regular basis. And with this group reading I can't really expect them to want to read stories about my day when I am just going to tell them about it face to face. And B) people I do not know at all (I understand there may be people that I knew once just trying to keep in touch or noisy relatives trying to keep tabs...Hi Mom...but for the sake of the post let's move on). I am not one to presume that anecdotes about my day off or being drained about work will be engaging enough to have people come back again after one read.
So, with that in mind the question poses itself...What the hell do I write about? The last post I did back in February had the right feel I think. It was a quick tight story about my life, and then my personal insight on the story. So I think I'll try that for awhile and see how it goes... Without any further adieu....
Just now realizing how infatuated I am with ellipses. (One period with intention)
So, as many of my friends are aware there are a few of my co-workers that I do not get along with. It is a common issue and something I have had to personally deal with since the original crew at GameStop started getting broken up (Man, what a great group of co-workers, no drama whatsoever).
When I first started my job there were two people I worked with that were very antagonistic and deceitful. It made work a misery when I would see one of them (or God forbid both of them) at work as I arrived. Ever since my college career I have made it a point to avoid these types of people. The type of person that will find the most innocent thing about people and attempt to exploit it to the point of making them feel ashamed about it. In my case terms like "Gamer", "Nerd", "Geek", etc. were thrown around as if they were dirty words. Well light at the end of the tunnel, one of them quit to go to a different job. And something amazing happened, the other girl (Yes, they were both women, more on that later) became nicer, friendlier, kinder. It was incredible and I began to think, "Hey, maybe it was just the other girl. Maybe this one wasn't so bad all along). Boy was I wrong.
Fast forward about 6 months, new girl gets hired and seems very nice, cheery, and professional. She meshed well with just about everyone. Her and the aforementioned "other girl" struck up a grand friendship involving spending time together outside of work. Then out of nowhere they both started back in with the backstabbing, name-calling, and mean-spiritedness that other girl and old girl were so skillful at. I was so confused, because new girl and I got along fairly well. Not so much that I would spend time with here outside of work, but you know... compatible co-workers.
Without spending too much time on the remainder of the story...final act involves other girl quitting and new girl making the same 180 degree turn other girl had made once her cohort left. It was a revelation.
Because up to this point I had only really encountered this type of woman was in some form of education. (Yes, my experiences have painted this phenomenon as being exclusively women, but if men have acted this way towards you let me know.) In any form of schooling, people can find those that are truly like them a flock to each other, but outside of school its harder unless you have hobbies and whatnot to interact with people outside of work. This type of girl only truly acts out in groups, which is why on their own these girls have acted so nice and genuine, because if they start acting this way alone then they become the target since there is no one to back them up. I don't really know the point of this post...wait I think I have it! (Damn, most of the post gone by without another ellipse.)
We as people are social creatures, yes in a survival sense but also in a personality sense. Let me explain. We as creature have inherent joys, dislikes, and quirks; but it is tough to let those things out around people we either know don't share them or are unsure how they will react. In the example of the (To borrow a phrase from a Lindsey Lohan movie) "Mean Girls", they enjoy spreading rumors, gossiping, and dragging people through the mud. But if one of them tries to befriend me and reveal those parts of themselves, not only will I not share their excitement for "who slept with who", but more often than not I will react antagonistically. One the same point, if I start talking to a co-worker about the Captain America movie, DnD, or a match of Halo, majority of them won't care. Which is why it is great to find those people that share your interests, as long as it doesn't hurt others (Looking at you "Mean Girls".)
Okay, this topic goes pretty deep and its going to drag on for a long time, but that my general thought process on it. I'm sure I'll come back to it again once the remaining co-worker finds another soulless creature to join her in cracking the same jokes about me I've heard since 3rd grade. Anyway, I'll leave you with this... (Damn!)
“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.” -Mark Twain
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
What a weekend...
Sorry it took me so long to post. It has been an eventful past couple of days. I went down to Dallas with Mayday to see some friends. It was a great time, but exhausting. Aside from the long drive, the weekend was almost non-stop. We went out on night one, then the next day we saw a play, went shopping, and went out to dinner. It was great to see everyone again. But, sadly the good times had this weekend are not the main reason I have been motivated to post.
I'm pretty drained. In every which way. Work is physically demanding. But I'm not going to have a pity party. It's just tough sometimes to see through everything that life throws at us so we can get to the good stuff. I have been extremely blessed with a close group of friends that share my interests and that I am capable of talking to about anything and everything. It's easy to get bogged down and begin to think about work, lack of free time, or abundance of it. In the past month I have done all of those and many more. But then there are these crystallizing moments of what can only be described as pure joy that snap me out of my self-imposed funk and make me realize I am blessed.
I can't help but thank those people that give my life meaning, no matter how frustrated I may get with them, how much I may annoy them at times, I always know that I have those people I can go back to when life gets to be a bit too overwhelming.
"I have a dream too, but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. It's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And I found a whole group of friends who have the same dream, and that makes us sort of like a family."
--"The Muppet Movie"
I'm pretty drained. In every which way. Work is physically demanding. But I'm not going to have a pity party. It's just tough sometimes to see through everything that life throws at us so we can get to the good stuff. I have been extremely blessed with a close group of friends that share my interests and that I am capable of talking to about anything and everything. It's easy to get bogged down and begin to think about work, lack of free time, or abundance of it. In the past month I have done all of those and many more. But then there are these crystallizing moments of what can only be described as pure joy that snap me out of my self-imposed funk and make me realize I am blessed.
I can't help but thank those people that give my life meaning, no matter how frustrated I may get with them, how much I may annoy them at times, I always know that I have those people I can go back to when life gets to be a bit too overwhelming.
"I have a dream too, but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. It's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And I found a whole group of friends who have the same dream, and that makes us sort of like a family."
--"The Muppet Movie"
Friday, February 11, 2011
An unexpected way to start the day
Last night I went to bed at around midnight, which is pretty early for me. I was just feeling really tired. I woke up this morning, still not feeling totally all together, only to discover that my house along with all the houses on my street do not have water. Thankfully Fallout Boy and Nice Nurse let me borrow their shower and I headed off to work. I still wasn't feeling great, but was determined to make it through my shift. About an hour in I had to excuse myself from a customer because I was about 30 seconds away from fainting. I went to the back room to cool down, and eventually I was sent home.
At this point, I have been taking it easy at home watching T.V. and eating a big bowl of soup. I feel a little better, but hopefully I'll bounce back before tonight when Mr. Rational and Literary Cat get into town.
Welp, that's all I have for now so Dpad Without Direction will leave you with this,
"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book."
-Irish Proverb
At this point, I have been taking it easy at home watching T.V. and eating a big bowl of soup. I feel a little better, but hopefully I'll bounce back before tonight when Mr. Rational and Literary Cat get into town.
Welp, that's all I have for now so Dpad Without Direction will leave you with this,
"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book."
-Irish Proverb
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A great day off, filled with thought
I've always thought that days off required me to be productive, get laundry done, pick up the house, and other things that make my existence more bearable. And I've lived by that creed for some time, but today was different. I woke up at 8 and got caught up on my T.V. shows, then checking facebook I was reminded that I needed to check out Moustache's coffee shop downtown. I called up Affliction, and later on he, Lobster Man, and I went to check it out. It was actually really great, and had a good atmosphere.
After we finished I went home and was feeling pretty drained, I had gotten sick the night before and hadn't gotten much sleep. I decided to turn on the T.V. and take a nap. I was great until I woke up 3 hours later, my "productivity guilt" was going nuts. I forced myself to go to get groceries, but upon returning home I wanted to do nothing more than continue my day of laziness. It has been a great day, and I didn't get anything done.
Looking to the next few days, Mr. Rational and Literary Cat are coming to town. Tomorrow night the Intellectuals are getting together to play D&D. I'm excited, one because I am wrapping up the adventure I have been running for quite sometime, and two I'll get a month or two off from DMing while Mr. Rational takes over.
It's always been an odd setup since college, I feel like I have two different lives. Not in the weird psychotic way, I have always just managed to have two different groups of friends. The Intellectual group has always been the people I go to when I have a serious issue or want to have an intelligent discussion. Then there are the Partyers, those people I go to when I don't want to deal with a serious issue or consciously want to make bad choices. But something weird has been happening, the line is beginning to blur. A couple weeks ago I got a call from Nice Nurse, who has always been the "Mama Bear" of the Intellectuals, being fiercely protective of us, called me up and asked if I was headed to the bar that night. Not something I ever imagined would happen, but a great night with her and her husband Fallout Boy. Before that at our group's Christmas party, the night ended with me doing shots of SoCo with Smart Musician while his wife Angel Cole looked on in amusement.
Perhaps this is the reason that most of the Partyers have slowly fallen out of my life. Affliction is my best friend, so he has always lived in both worlds, and my ex-girlfriend Mayday started out as a Partyer but while we were together I brought her into the Intellectuals. They are really the only two I keep in contact with on a regular basis, but part of me misses having that crazy side, the guy who lets go for a night and doesn't care about the consequences.
Well, that's it for me. I'll see you all tomorrow. Dpad Without Direction leaves you with this,
After we finished I went home and was feeling pretty drained, I had gotten sick the night before and hadn't gotten much sleep. I decided to turn on the T.V. and take a nap. I was great until I woke up 3 hours later, my "productivity guilt" was going nuts. I forced myself to go to get groceries, but upon returning home I wanted to do nothing more than continue my day of laziness. It has been a great day, and I didn't get anything done.
Looking to the next few days, Mr. Rational and Literary Cat are coming to town. Tomorrow night the Intellectuals are getting together to play D&D. I'm excited, one because I am wrapping up the adventure I have been running for quite sometime, and two I'll get a month or two off from DMing while Mr. Rational takes over.
It's always been an odd setup since college, I feel like I have two different lives. Not in the weird psychotic way, I have always just managed to have two different groups of friends. The Intellectual group has always been the people I go to when I have a serious issue or want to have an intelligent discussion. Then there are the Partyers, those people I go to when I don't want to deal with a serious issue or consciously want to make bad choices. But something weird has been happening, the line is beginning to blur. A couple weeks ago I got a call from Nice Nurse, who has always been the "Mama Bear" of the Intellectuals, being fiercely protective of us, called me up and asked if I was headed to the bar that night. Not something I ever imagined would happen, but a great night with her and her husband Fallout Boy. Before that at our group's Christmas party, the night ended with me doing shots of SoCo with Smart Musician while his wife Angel Cole looked on in amusement.
Perhaps this is the reason that most of the Partyers have slowly fallen out of my life. Affliction is my best friend, so he has always lived in both worlds, and my ex-girlfriend Mayday started out as a Partyer but while we were together I brought her into the Intellectuals. They are really the only two I keep in contact with on a regular basis, but part of me misses having that crazy side, the guy who lets go for a night and doesn't care about the consequences.
Well, that's it for me. I'll see you all tomorrow. Dpad Without Direction leaves you with this,
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."
- C. S. Lewis
- C. S. Lewis
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