That's what my roommate said when she browsed my computer left open to nomadlife. A few blogs later, and she's convinced we're silver-tongued poets. Is this true? Is there a blog culture, a need to impress, or a need to meet standards? It's true that if you read many blogs (on nomad at least) you can find a common trend in word choice, word play, and flow of topic. But to make an observation, I think it's a compelling medium. Whatever this style is that we're imitating, it tends to draw people in, and beacuse we ourselves were drawn in by reading it, we seek to emulate. Makes sense.
In other notes, I think it's hilarious that my roommate continually facebooks my quotes. Some recent ones include "Jihad....that's Muslim for bombing! Umm...George, Muslim isn't a language". (Mocking Bush and misconceptions about jihad in general) and just now, "You have to make assumptions about what people are going to do--it's like the Old West". She asked me to do her Italian homework, and I said I would do it if she didn't mind it in Spanish. She said that sounded great--and I said I know it works. I've seen me do it. One time in high school I had this 8 page Chemistry paper due, and I hadn't even started it, so I printed off an old 8-9 page history paper I had written. I changed the date and turned it in to chemistry. I knew by the time the professor began to read them, I would have written the actual paper. Of course a few days later he aprised me of my 'mistake' and I, completely surprised, drew the conclusion that I must have turned my history paper in to the wrong class, which was ironically due the same day. Of course the conversation ended with, "You have to make assumptions about what people are going to do". Or what they have to do. Of course, my teacher could have verified things with my history teacher, who would have told him I wrote that paper 3 months earlier. Or he could have called my bluff and said 'Sorry, Charlie', be smart next time and make sure you turn in the right paper. But it's high school. And what if he's wrong? He doesn't want to be the asshole that has to defend giving you an F in front of the PTA. He just wants to work his 9-5 and get home in time for the game. So you take advantage of that and you manipulate the situation. Not because it's the right thing to do, but because you can, and because it's necessary, and because really if the system doesn't have a catch to stop you, you're going to be one of the only ones not doing it.
I find that much of my life even now is based on making thought-out, anaylitical plans of action around evaluating people. I walk in to a 1-2:30 class every day exactly at 2:30, to pick up the attendance sheet that invariably lies at the back of the room after its circulation. I sign it and turn it in, gaining attendance for each consecutive class and always gaining brownie points for being that good student that stays after to turn it in. I turned in a paper three days late online, because the other option was to turn it in by hand. If it's three days late online--no, I gave you the hard copy on time, just posted it later. If it's not in hand--you must have gotten it! Let me post it late just in case... Making an appointment with my professor, "I'm free any time between 10 and 3". My professor: "Well, I'm not free between 10 and 11 Ms. Smith, since that's when the class is". Later at office hours, "Miss Smith, do you attend my lectures?" "No sir" "Why is that, may I ask?" "You don't make it necessary, sir. You're lectures are posted online and you only read off the slides. I can catch up easily before an exam". "Don't you think you should attend class? It's your responsibility as a good student!" "I see my responsibility as getting my degree and handling my life in the least-stressful way possible. I think it's the system's responsibility to ensure that I must attend classes, by not posting lectures online, or by taking attendance multiple times in the class. If those kinds of regulations aren't in place, I don't see it as my fault that the class can be avoided. And as my degree doesn't require learning any type of knowledge that will actually be tested in real life (medicine or law, for instance), I don't feel any responsibility toward society. No, sir, I don't see why I should have to go".
Is this laziness, pure and simple? I'm just a bum taking pleasure in childish mind games? A useless avoidance of responsibility that will eventually bite me in the ass in the 'real world'? Or a deliberate honing of skills? Learning to bull shit the 'real world' way? Preparing myself for a world that 'works smarter, not harder'?
I think it's great that a mere two meetings have been cancelled and I don't know what to do with the time. Craziness, AIESEC. What will I do without you?!
