Elitists and Proles, or Changes in the works...
I don't ever want to be like you.
I don't ever want to buy my clothes from a high-end retailer. I don't want to drive. I don't want a home entertainment system, surround sound or Blu-ray. I don't even want a TV. I don't want the latest toys. I don't want an electronic leash like a cellphone or Blackberry. I don't want a condo. I don't want Ikea. I don't want to shop at a big-box retail giant.
I don't want to be a couch potato. I don't want to sit on my ass, staring at a television or computer screen for hours. I don't want to live my life online. I don't want to chat for hours on MSN. I don't want YouTube. I don't want your online social networks. I don't want to "share" files, music, or pictures.
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I realized last night (03/22/07), after half a bottle of navy rum and a few hours of screaming along with my favourite CDs, that I need to make a few changes in my life. I'm trapped in an endless cycle of debt and depression. Of computer parts and eBay. Of video games I never play and music I rarely hear. Of self-improvement and self-destruction. Of poor diet and worse health. Of creativity and broken deadlines. Of caffeine and sugar. And of course, of Conceit and Sociopathy.
In my half-drunken state last night, I told myself to get my act together. "How?", I asked, "What should I do?", to which I replied "Sheejay, wat you gotta do is get rid of all yer ol' computer crap, shell it all on eeebay... mebbe keep the onesh you really like, and f*cking do shomethin' with 'em..."
"Like what, ashhole?", I asked, mystified. "You alwaysh act like you f*cking know everything..."
"Now calm down, matey:, I told myself, "You jus' gotta calm down. Wat I'm gettin' at in my roundabout way ish to get rid of all the onesh you don't use, dat you bought to pissh around wit' but never really used. And get ridda da onesh dat are too exshpenshive to upgrade an' sell 'em for big bucksh to some nerd"
Astonished at my own genius, I replied, "Sheejay, man, you're a f*cking geniush! Lemme get you a drink!"
The rest of the evening is a blur, somehow I ended up with a black eye and my shoes were on the wrong feet. Nevertheless, I was on to something. I need to make a number of lifestyle changes, and selling off the computers I don't (and likely won't) use is a good start. That way, I'll never feel the urge to upgrade them, or spend money on other frivolous hardware & software. But that's just a start.
Next on the chopping block will be most of my video game collection...
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The intro rant was originally directed at a particular group of people who frequent a couple of the web forums I'm on, but once I got going, it turned into an attack on society itself.
In my drunken evening of defiance and self-reflection, I realized while the bulk of my "problems" are financial in nature, I also need to make changes in my personal life as well. I'm never going to be a condo-livin' well-to-do member of the elite. My attempts at being a dapper, sophisticated bon vivant have been laughable at best. I just can't hide all the "North End" in me... that said, I'm also not a low-brow, poorly educated labourer, and my attempts at humility have been equally laughable. I just can't hide my intellect no matter how hard I try. What's left? A Costco-shopping, TV-ingesting, SUV-driving, Middle-class suburbanite with 1.5 obese kids? I'll never let that happen. So where does that leave me?
After all these years, I'm still a misfit with a disdain for both our materialistic society and this culture of convenience. And that'll never change. So why not channel that disdain into something positive? Something creative? Or something truly nasty?
At any rate, whether good or bad, I've decided to take up writing again.
I don't ever want to buy my clothes from a high-end retailer. I don't want to drive. I don't want a home entertainment system, surround sound or Blu-ray. I don't even want a TV. I don't want the latest toys. I don't want an electronic leash like a cellphone or Blackberry. I don't want a condo. I don't want Ikea. I don't want to shop at a big-box retail giant.
I don't want to be a couch potato. I don't want to sit on my ass, staring at a television or computer screen for hours. I don't want to live my life online. I don't want to chat for hours on MSN. I don't want YouTube. I don't want your online social networks. I don't want to "share" files, music, or pictures.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I realized last night (03/22/07), after half a bottle of navy rum and a few hours of screaming along with my favourite CDs, that I need to make a few changes in my life. I'm trapped in an endless cycle of debt and depression. Of computer parts and eBay. Of video games I never play and music I rarely hear. Of self-improvement and self-destruction. Of poor diet and worse health. Of creativity and broken deadlines. Of caffeine and sugar. And of course, of Conceit and Sociopathy.
In my half-drunken state last night, I told myself to get my act together. "How?", I asked, "What should I do?", to which I replied "Sheejay, wat you gotta do is get rid of all yer ol' computer crap, shell it all on eeebay... mebbe keep the onesh you really like, and f*cking do shomethin' with 'em..."
"Like what, ashhole?", I asked, mystified. "You alwaysh act like you f*cking know everything..."
"Now calm down, matey:, I told myself, "You jus' gotta calm down. Wat I'm gettin' at in my roundabout way ish to get rid of all the onesh you don't use, dat you bought to pissh around wit' but never really used. And get ridda da onesh dat are too exshpenshive to upgrade an' sell 'em for big bucksh to some nerd"
Astonished at my own genius, I replied, "Sheejay, man, you're a f*cking geniush! Lemme get you a drink!"
The rest of the evening is a blur, somehow I ended up with a black eye and my shoes were on the wrong feet. Nevertheless, I was on to something. I need to make a number of lifestyle changes, and selling off the computers I don't (and likely won't) use is a good start. That way, I'll never feel the urge to upgrade them, or spend money on other frivolous hardware & software. But that's just a start.
Next on the chopping block will be most of my video game collection...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The intro rant was originally directed at a particular group of people who frequent a couple of the web forums I'm on, but once I got going, it turned into an attack on society itself.
In my drunken evening of defiance and self-reflection, I realized while the bulk of my "problems" are financial in nature, I also need to make changes in my personal life as well. I'm never going to be a condo-livin' well-to-do member of the elite. My attempts at being a dapper, sophisticated bon vivant have been laughable at best. I just can't hide all the "North End" in me... that said, I'm also not a low-brow, poorly educated labourer, and my attempts at humility have been equally laughable. I just can't hide my intellect no matter how hard I try. What's left? A Costco-shopping, TV-ingesting, SUV-driving, Middle-class suburbanite with 1.5 obese kids? I'll never let that happen. So where does that leave me?
After all these years, I'm still a misfit with a disdain for both our materialistic society and this culture of convenience. And that'll never change. So why not channel that disdain into something positive? Something creative? Or something truly nasty?
At any rate, whether good or bad, I've decided to take up writing again.
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