Uncouth PerspectivesNot on the rug, man.

I plan on writing a book or two within the next 18 months, and if no one else will publish them, I�ll have to end up self-publishing. It�s out of this desire to be the person who precipitates change, to be one of the ones who is responsible for the way the world turns out in the next century.

Some of my friends who were most idealistic and most desirous of change when I was younger have retreated into quietly contented lives, many of them buying into the �well, everyone changes the world in some way� philosophy that many movies and television shows espouse. While thinking this is true in a literal sense, most people can see that it isn�t true in a more realistic one. Unless they just happen to be the person who unwittingly prevents the death of a world leader or some equally strange circumstance, the vast majority of people change very little in the world around them. So while I do not begrudge these friends their lives � I can understand that drive for contentedness � I also choose not to take their path.

However, in the past few months, I have found someone who takes it to the other end of the spectrum. A friend of mine, we�ll call him H, wants to change the world at the expense of all else. He�s twenty-eight years old. He�s still a virgin. He�s never even been kissed. And what�s more, he�s not sure he wants to change that � he�s worried that a romance could detract from what he�s trying to accomplish.

And what, precisely, is he trying to do? Well, he wants for humanity to live forever. Clinical immortality, that�s his Big Thing. In his opinion, this can happen within the next 150 years if science keeps progressing at current rates, but that even a 1% slowdown in technology (because of compounding, like interest at a bank) could slow down Immortality Day by decades. And he�s afraid.

So he works solely for his cause, but working solely for the cause is what is slowing him down. People need love, they need touch and romance and good friendships. He refuses to love, feels guilty about even starting. He�s afraid of touch, especially that of women. And he only makes friends with those he considers valuable to the cause. This would cause anyone to become neurotic, and H is no exception. He�s stuck in these constant states of anguish over what he should do next that will further his cause the most. He never takes the time to realize that the time he spends agonizing over minutiae is wasted and would be better spent just deciding.

He�s unhappy. He�s lonely. But he has his cause. Is that enough? I don�t think so. Maybe the most compelling evidence for that is in the fact that if somehow he made it to Immortality Day, if his dreams became reality, he doesn�t know what he�d do. All he has is his cause. For him, there is absolutely nothing else. If his goals were achieved, he has no relationships that are important, no other dreams. He works tirelessly to achieve his purpose, never realizing that what he is doing could well make him purposeless.

I don�t see the point. �Purity� doesn�t help one get where one wants to be, unless one is considering being a monk. I�m an experience-oriented person, and while I have a cause (though it�s a bit different and more narrowly tailored than most), I do not stop living my life for it. At one point, I almost wanted to. And H showed me, through example, why I do not want to become that, why I can�t. I still have purpose, still have direction and goals. But I refuse to kill the things that are best within me for those purposes, I refuse to give up the rest of my life. I refuse to stop living.

To all you would-be ideologues and activists, remember: there are more important things than changing the world.

Let’s talk about people. Hell, let’s just talk. It’s something not enough people do.

I am a firm believer in mutual respect and communication. I do not bias people on things they cannot control (age, race, gender, etc.), because it is the person who makes the person, not what color their eyes are. And, therfore, I judge on merit alone. There are a lot of things that follow if this is a belief you follow.

First, I give everyone an equal chance. Just as I do not judge udly against someone, I also do not judge unduly for someone. Each person I meet I leave open to allow him or her to be.. him or her. I believe that everyone has the right to pursue their happiness, as long as they are not sacrificing others to themself, or themself to others.

Second, I listen. A lot of people can hear, but not everyone can listen. Just as it important to be able to communicate your wants, beliefs, and values, it is also important to hear what others have to say. Not only will they be respected, but you will also learn and grow.

Third, (there are many more, but I shall limit it to three..) it’s about, as I said, respect. Unless someone has done something to degrade their merit, everyone person around me gets respect. Respect as a person, respect for a conceptual mind, respect for the chance to be a person and to be happy. As a manager, I have proven myself time and time again to have happy people working for me (even in dire situations) if not for only that fact. Sadly, I do not see everyone treating each other this way. I know most of my life, I have been treated down or made to work harder, because of things like my age. I have been an achiever from a very early age, but in every situation, I get held back and unsupported because of that lack of respect. True, some may argue it makes you stronger. But, I don’t think you have to have the trauma to make you stronger. In fact, I think you’re stronger when properly support and allowed to grow, instead of held back by those around you.

We are motivated by our pride in accomplishing our goals. Hold respect and listen to the people around you–especially the people you care about–and you will all grow, be supported, be strong… and hey, you can be happy, too.

I was listening to the radio last night (my CD player in my truck will be fixed today!) and I heard an interesting news report. I am glad that I was listening to the radio last night, or I may have never know. It makes me want to listen more and more…

Are you ready? This is big news…

Brittany Spears, who endorses Pepsi, was seen drinking Orange Sunkist!

OH. MY. GOD.

Can you believe her?!

Why, I never.

Or, wait…

SO WHAT?! There’s a lot of things I can say to this. I think most people might have one or two of them on their lips (or at least, somewhere in their mind). But, really, when it comes down to it, above and beyond the “so what” … this actually is a big deal. Because our lives are not run by the companies. Our lives are not run by those who give us our pay checks. That is part of living in our system. That is part of being rational.

You control yourself. I heard Pepsi was very upset with Brittany. This is, in fact, the second time she’s been taken picture of (yes, those inane media photographers died for a picture of this!) drinking a competitor’s product. And I say, bravo! Or, at the least, so what? Because, she’s human and she can make a choice. I mean, and I really do mean, if I gave her a paycheck to endorse my product, and she was seen with a competitor’s, I would be fine with it.

I bet you don’t believe me..

And you know what?

I don’t care.

I am talking, of course, about the ever-shrinking size of parking spaces.

Who exactly decided that it was a good idea to shrink parking spaces down to sub-atomic sizes? At work, I need a can opener to get into (or out of) my car if I am unfortunate enough to be sandwiched between two other cars. It doesn’t help that the average American consumer has developed a taste for large, ungainly, behemoth-like vehicles that rove about the urban landscapes on a quest to drain the earth of it’s remaining fossil fuels. And, have you noticed that the people who drive these monstrosities seems to have lost man’s innate ability to park between two parallel lines? The other day, in front of my favorite Mexican eatery, a buddy and I laughed ourselves sick while watching some balding yuppie freak spend a good ten minutes attempting (but never actually completing) the world’s worst parallel parking job. Like the guy on the commercial laments, “Time was, a man could command his own vehicle…”

But, I digress. I drive a Miata, which as you may know is the world’s smallest mass-production automobile that doesn’t come with “Hot Wheels” stamped on the bottom. If I can’t find a decent-sized parking spot, then nobody can. This problem is beginning to reach epidemic proportions. At first, it seemed like only a few office buildings were perpetuating this travesty upon humanity, but now everyone’s getting into the act. Shopping malls, movie theatres, airports, you name it, the parking spots are shrinking every day. Is this the brainchild of some middle-management MBA policy work, who reasons that if there are more parking spaces, then more people can park, which will therefore result in increased market share, or fatter profit margins, or something? Let me state it once, slowly, clearly: just because you paint more spots, that doesn’t mean you can fit more vehicles into a finite space!

Actually, I’m looking forward to the day when parking lots are repainted to the point where the parallel lines are actually touching each other, and parking lots all over the world become nothing more than large fields of asphalt and white (or yellow) paint. Imagine the confusion, as people drive around endlessly, looking for a space large enough to park their 2002 Ford Gigantosaur before it runs out of gas. The resulting chaos, as no one can park and go to work, or spend money, should be enough to throw our economy into chaos! Production falls! Income drops! The trade gap widens! It’s the end of Western Civilization and we know it!

Well, maybe it’s not that bad. But, if I get another door ding, I’m really gonna be mad.

Editor’s note:

See also: The Uncouth Guide to SUV’s

Another holiday, another small, tiny, little blurb from Isaac about how he hates holidays.

Okay, for those of you who are avid readers, you’ll know what’s up. For those of you who aren’t, I’ll keep it brief:

I don’t like holidays. I don’t like birthdays. I don’t like anything that tries to force something you should do everyday into one day, thus giving people an excuse to be stupid and lazy.

Especially things like birthdays and christmas and such… I celebrate a person’s life every day.. not just one day. I don’t need to single them out, just because of the day. I can do that whenever I want.

Anyways, that’s all. You know the routine.

Oh, and, I just want to gloat. I’m currently snuggling comfortably in the new robe that Rachel bought me. It rocks. And you know what–It’s not attached to a day or an event… it’s a gift because it was a gift. Now that’s cool.

Oh, speaking of birds–

http://asia.cnn.com/2001/US/11/20/deadly.duck.ap/index.html

It is especially nice when you’re not busy trying to play the games of social politics and all the other ‘fun’ things we tend to do with our time and random social encounters. The need to get something out of meeting people is, to me, horrid. That something being beyond the actual meeting of another mind and the connection there in.

I love to meet new people. Whether it be online, on the phone, in person, or whatever. I love to learn and I love to grow–and we can do that just by talking to each other. (Yes, this communication thing.. it is amazing..) But, I don’t go into a situation looking to try to get something out of it.

Like, for example, I had an opportunity to meet a girl I have spoken with online, who lives near me. We were both hungry and said “Screw it, let’s go eat!” And that is all we did… we went, talked, and ate. There was no more expectation and I had a great time. It was a rather quick encounter, too. Long enough to get something to eat and to get out of the house.

Now, let’s see if I can come around to my point. My point is this.. I know a lot of people who, if in the situation to meet a random person of their gender inftuation type, they would have gotten all riled up with how they looked, what could happen, how would they look, what would be thought of them, etc…

Bah! Leave that nonsense at home. In fact, don’t start carrying that nonsense. Every social situation is not going to be one of romance or intruige. That will only bring you dissappointment or paranoia… and neither of those is fun.. (And, er, for the record, Hail the computer!)

There are a lot of people out there. If we try to have hidden anticipations about each person we meet, we’ll never be meeting enough people–or at least, really meeting them. Go for the gold–find yourself in others. And let them show you something new… We’re all in this together…

So, anyone wanna meet?

Simple enough. Normally this doesn’t satisfy them, and they say something alluding to the fact that they wish for me to expound upon what I do. Then, most times, I say that I am a writer. Then I get one of these responses: “oh.” “cool! what do you write?” “do you have a real job?”

Normally I raise an eyebrow after this question, and this is what runs through me head, simultaneously: “as opposed to a ‘fake’ job?” “who said writing was a job?” “good bye.”

Why do people feel compelled to let me know that, being a writer, they feel I am wasting my time? I never thought that what I do to earn money had to define what I am. If they asked me how I earned money, I would tell them. But if I am asked what I do, or something of the sort, they will get an answer that portrays me as a writer, because, in my mind, that’s what I am. That’s what I do.

I may not always be good at it. I may not always do it. But still (everyone repeat this mantra) that’s what I do. And I take it seriously. It insensitive to act as if I just do this as some kind of silly hobby, because that it is so much more. If some one were to say that they were a pianist, wouldn’t that merit some respect? Maybe I get such a response because to be a writer, you don’t really need to invest money into it. There is no instrument to buy, you don’t have to take lessons, or go to recitals; you just… write.

So… what am I? A Freda, of course. What am I? Ultimately, a human, but I’d like to think of myself as a writer. And no, it isn’t my job. It’s just something I do.

Dedicated To Virginia

Looking for tomorrow

You only found today

Lost in all the madness

It was never all that clear

How everything should be so easy

When hard is all you see

Never a clear path

Nor ever an open door

You want so much to reach

Hold on to that precious dream

That one that always slips away

But you’ve finally found a place

That quiet comfort zone

An eternal slumber

For all to see

To know your words and hear your voice

As you never so could speak

The answer for the quest

The quest for tomorrow

Became to give up today

And you’ll never see tomorrow

Because today is all we have.

Isaac S.

11-11-01

I’m talking, of course, about all these recent commercials that try to sarcastically depict the business world as a bunch of buffoon-ish characters talking in some psuedo-hip industry lingo about whatever nonsense the nut jobs at the ad factory are trying to stuff down our collective throats this week.

I, for one, am sick of it. First of all, nobody talks like that. These people sound like idiots. Not sure what I mean? Take, for example, the recent ad for an overnight carrier (who shall remain anonymous, except to say that their name rhymes with FedSucks) in which two business guys at lunch are discussing the case of a company employee who recently saved their entire company from disaster by shipping everything on this overnight carrier’s website. All the other employees had food poisoning (from a cake? Come on!) but our protagonist is able to keep the company afloat single-handedly with his heroic efforts (point, click, and ship). The ad, obviously, is poorly conceived and executed, but to make things worse, our collective intelligence is insulted when one of the moronic idiots disguised as a businessman continues to obsess (in what is, apparently, a weak attempt at humor) over the lamentable fact that he does not have a PDA. Any company that allows cheesy idiots like this to work for them deserves to have its staff decimated by cholera, or at least, that’s what I got out of this ad. There are many other examples, just turn on the tube: they’re inescapable.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, why is it so hip to portray out nation’s working class as a bunch of boobs? It seems like it has become the observation du jour to re-imagine business to be an evil, heartless enterprise, largely incompetent, and staffed by intellectual midgets. Well, cut it out, you ingrates! This same business has propelled our nation through one of the greatest periods of prosperity known in history. This business is the result of our market economy, which is so successful that most civilized nations (by which I mean nations that don’t spend most of their time trying to figure out how to send weapon-grade Anthrax to public officials or hijack airplanes with boxcutters) have coped it. Business is our legacy, as Americans. This is what we give the world: a blueprint for successful enterprise. Why do you think people all over the world are lined up for a chance to live here? I’ll give you a hint: no matter what you see on the TV, it’s not the cheese.

This trend was probably started by those pansies in the internet start-up companies who mistakenly thought they were creating a “new economy”. Well, where’s that new e-conomy now? Trading for 1/32 a share and heading for the bankruptcy court, that’s where. After watching the ineptness of the “new way” (in which “profit” was considered an unimportant concept), I for one was very happy to see the “old way” rise back up and pop the “new way” right in the kisser.

In fact, I might even go so far as to declare the internet to be the source of many of the nation’s current problems. Sure, it’s nice to bump around and check out free sites (like Uncouth.net) where you may find people with similar interests, but as a vehicle for commerce, the inernet is a spectacular failure. Other than fleecing a few million dollars out of some investment capital brokers (and don’t think that bill isn’t going to come due someday real soon!), no internet company (porn and gambling aside) has shown that it can make money out of nothing. Yet these companies were the first to point the finger at the old economy as a blueprint for inefficiency. And where are they now? In the bread lines, ladies and gentlemen, trying to trade their worthless Webvan stock for some peanut butter and a sturdy cardboard box to sleep in. This would be a nice time to continue on and diagram out for you how this is all the fault of the materialistic, self-centered a-holes in the Northern California Bay Area, but I think I’ll summarize by suggesting that perhaps we can lay off the stereotyping of the working man. That includes you in the back, the tattooed freak with the nose rings and surly attitude working for Tower Records and living in your parent’s basement. After all, who do you think signs your paycheck?

We don’t really want to stand up for what we believe, we just would like everyone to think that is the case. As soon as the moment arises that we can show, truly show, where we stand on an issue, we grow silent. I’m not talking about a debate, where people don’t mind being opposed, opposition is expected in such situations; I’m talking about when taking a stand might change your life.

Everyone seems to want to rally behind some cause or belief system, but how passionate are we about it? It seems to me that there are more lack-luster evangelists and activists today than ever. The early Christians were ready to die for their beliefs. No wonder it wasn’t a popular religion in the beginning. Now that there is no penalty for holding Christian beliefs, there are more “Christians” than ever.

Now there are some things that I feel strongly about that I won’t fight tooth and nail for. I think orange is a great color, but, I won’t die for that belief. (laughter goes here) I’m just disappointed because it people are more talk these days than anything else. It seems that comfort has replaced actual principles.

How many of us would quit a job because the company was doing something we didn’t approve of, yet didn’t affect us directly? How many of us would rather be homeless than do something we couldn’t stand? How many of us would stand by someone if it meant being shunned by those you loved? How many of us would do anything on principle if it meant giving up leading comfortable lives?

Some of us may have strong opinions about things for which we may never encounter. Some of us feel strongly about something that we feel may never happen to us, but in all actuality, could. Would we still feel the same way? What if it happened to someone in close proximity to us? What would we do? What if standing by these principles cost us dearly?

This is more of a question, as opposed to a rant. One that I would like to have answered. Can everyone think about some issues they feel strongly about, and ask themselves if they would, beyond a shadow of a doubt, stand by their ideals no matter what?