That's What I Said to Her

I like what I like; why fight it?

2012-01-16T12:25:00.001-05:00

That's the Hipster Mantra, but not the Hipster Truth, so I think you'll be OK.

I'm in the process of applying for jobs

2012-01-05T15:41:00.001-05:00

So, for what kinds of jobs are you applying? Are they for fun, philanthropy, or financial gain? (does that count as alliteration?) Don't worry; I don't have prejudices against selling out, in case that's what you might do. I, myself, will likely sell out after finishing school. I'm kind of tired of being a small cog in a big machine, even a good machine, and the best way I see to be my own machine is to be, for a while, a cog in a machine that pays its cogs. So sue me; no, I'm not self-conscious about it; why do you ask? Not at all.

As with any do-gooding institution, I am unsure how effective they are

2012-01-05T15:38:00.001-05:00

Most people don't seem to realize that non-corporate entities (governments, b-i-NGOs, do-gooders, and so on) can never be as efficient with money and saleable resources as those whose main goal is to accumulate money. When the entire goal is money, financial inefficiencies have a natural and almost inevitable way of working themselves out; not so with the rest of us citizens (united?) who use money only to get other things.

A lot of these urban education programs seem like ego-stroking of the privileged

2012-01-05T15:32:00.002-05:00

All I know is that the people I know who taught in city schools are some of the smartest and most caring people, and they did a good job at teaching. That being said, your comment does sound quite post-hipster or post-activist, making my comment-in-progress post-post-hipster/activist and granting me the proverbial high ground in the Battle for Ideological Superiority and rendering invalid any attempt [by you] to reverse the argument back on me. Try a flanking manoeuvre, maybe?

I can see that in you because I do it myself

2012-01-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Just because you do something a lot doesn't mean you're good at recognizing it. Being wrong a lot doesn't make you good at detecting falsehoods.

Devil's advocate

2011-11-03T14:21:00.000-04:00

That's why I ask questions. It's not that I don't believe you; it's that I don't understand.

So it wasn't true love?

2011-10-07T14:04:00.002-04:00

I think... that you can buy that only once, but you can live off of it for a while. (-TB, in a dream)

Men still have more pressure in terms of work, supporting a family, etc.

2011-10-06T14:03:00.000-04:00

I always think it's funny hearing that from a woman. Maybe you're right, but I don't feel that way. It's been a long time since I've felt significant pressure from "society". Pressure from myself is way bigger, and usually in a different direction. Also, societal pressure seems more like a falsely-held belief than an actual force. Kind of like God. No need to pay attention to it.

How do you feel about going back?

2011-09-16T17:17:00.001-04:00

I'm returning home a broken man.

Well I guess you have good choice in friends

2011-09-16T17:16:00.003-04:00

Yes; I'd claim that as a talent of mine, but honestly the un-awesome ones just seem to disappear after a while.

I shouldn't have said that

2011-09-12T13:44:00.001-04:00

The great thing about words is that you can amend them later if you want.

I should have filtered my words

2011-09-12T13:43:00.001-04:00

Often, I get tired of rules like that. Society likes filtering itself; sometimes it's ok; sometimes it's just tedious.

We have fun together

2011-09-11T13:55:00.002-04:00

You're just the right shade of crazy.

Some people feel entitled

2011-09-02T12:38:00.000-04:00

In the U.S., financially secure people complaining about "entitlement" has become a bigger problem than false entitlement itself.

This song makes me sad because it reminds me of someone.

2011-08-04T13:58:00.002-04:00

Well, a memory of someone you loved is always a good one.

I thought you'd like that bar because you're pretentious.

2011-08-01T17:35:00.000-04:00

There are different kinds of pretension. Mine finds music snobs vulgar and profane.

I lied a lot as a teenager

2011-07-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

As a kid I was too good. Now I have to go back and catch up on all of the mistakes I missed.

Do you drive an American car in Austria?

2011-07-24T15:01:00.000-04:00

Living in Austria, and not owning a car; I'm not sure which one makes me less American.

I don't want to have feelings

2011-07-24T14:29:00.002-04:00

What else is there besides reason and emotion?

Can we stop arguing?

2011-07-24T14:28:00.002-04:00

When I think to myself, I have arguments in my head. It's my addiction.

Do you vote based on social issues?

2011-07-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

This next election will feature one big issue that is social, moral, economic, and political at the same time: do we care about the well-being of other members of the lower and middle classes? If so, we need to work together to raise taxes, provide health care and a viable safety net, curb dishonesty, and start programs encouraging education, research, and the meaningful productivity of every member of society. If we don't care, cut taxes and spending and watch our country regress economically, scientifically, and politically, as underprivileged people starve. That's the issue.

But that's immoral

2011-07-21T14:36:00.000-04:00

That's the complexity that people create. In the beginning, there are no rules, no expectations, but people construct these based on what they like and what they are used to. Then, they forget that other people have other preferences and other expectations, and they call these "immoral".

Why do you tease people so much?

2011-07-21T11:52:00.000-04:00

If who you are can easily be changed by people teasing you, you should probably rethink things. That's why I tease people so much, in a way. Well, mostly because it's fun, but I justify it by this reasoning, that it doesn't do any harm, and in fact does some good.

I've already dug past the surface

2011-07-20T15:50:00.001-04:00

I care only about the surface; that's all you'll ever see anyway.

That's a tough decision

2011-07-17T16:18:00.000-04:00

I had to choose between math and a social life, and I chose math.