2nd floor of the student union
I'm sitting in the union, not getting much of anything done. 2 apparently homeless people in the same lounge area, sleeping. One other student. I'm supposed to be writing a paper on the history and future of transportation planning in Milwaukee. It's not exactly difficult, but it has that lack of urgency about it. Besides, I prefer wasting time here than at home. At home, I'd think I should be doing the laundry/cleaning the kitchen/vacuuming or whatever. Or I'd get annoyed that the bf wasn't doing it.
He got all philosophical on me last night, talking about Nietzsche (pause for spellcheck...). It just sounded like Buddhism to me, basically. I know that Buddhism and existentialism are not the same thing, but the parts my BF was referencing sounded very similar. He even said "Maybe I'm a Buddhist" last night and I had to laugh. I wasn't trying to convert him, honestly.
It seems like almost every guy I've known has gone through this trajectory of materialism to spiritual crisis to finally realizing that relationships are the only thing that matter. Some guys get there in their 20s and become poets. Some guys don't get it until their 50s. Mine is getting it at 36, and I knew this moment would come, which is why I've stuck around to this point. After this point, guys are awesome creatures. Prior to it, they're really only good for hot sex and lifting heavy things.
further asshattery
There have been 23 armed robberies in the last 30 days near campus. How come I didn't get an urgent e-mail about THAT?
Followup: they sent one out today, titled "Campus Security Update." An excerpt: "If you see someone who makes you feel uncomfortable, leave the area immediately." Thanks. That's helpful.
sheer asshattery
Less than 10 days after the Virginia Tech massacre, I get an e-mail in my school account with the subject Urgent News Affecting ALL UWM STUDENTS!
Upon reading just the subject line, I was ready to dive under a desk. I fully expected to hear gunshots, or smell smoke.
Instead, the e-mail was about the potential revision of the student non-academic misconduct policy to include punishment for illegal behavior off-campus, and asked us to voice our opinions on a Web site and at a forum on May 7. This is not "urgent." This is not even important to anyone who doesn't break the law. Furthermore, I highly doubt the e-mail is even true. "If some of the proposed changes go though, you could be kicked out of school because of a noise violation or drinking ticket." If that were so, we'd be devoid of half of our undergraduate population in about a year or so.
I wrote the sender back, but I also want to call her out here. Samantha Prahl, President of the Student Association at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, you are officially an asshat.
Flayed
flay (flā) pronunciation
tr.v., flayed, flay·ing, flays.
1. To strip off the skin or outer covering of.
2. To strip of money or goods; fleece.
3. To whip or lash.
4. To assail with stinging criticism; excoriate.
If this were Livejournal, this would be my mood at the moment.
I check Woot every once in awhile, and I'm fascinated by the culture of the forums. Many posters detail everything they've ever bought from the site in their signature, like this guy. It's like they're bragging about winning a competition or something. I feel like next time I go to Target, I should wear a T-shirt stating what I bought on my last trip:
2 - Colgate Toothpaste
2 - 4 pack Cottonelle
4 - pair of white tube socks
1 - pair of silver hoop earrings
1 - rust orange henley shirt (size XS)
1 - 64 oz bottle of Tide (Mountain Fresh scent)
1 - 12 pack Coca Cola
A Brief History of the Apocalypse
This is a fascinating site about all the times the world was supposed to end... and didn't. An example:
Lotharingian computists foresaw the End on Friday, March 25, 970, when the Annunciation and Good Friday fell on the same day. They believed that it was on this day that Adam was created, Isaac was sacrificed, the Red Sea was parted, Jesus was conceived, and Jesus was crucified. Therefore, it naturally followed that the End must occur on this day!
A Brief History of the Apocalypse
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