I am defecting to WordPress.
Goodbye.
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Time flies...
...when stuff happens. Or something. I blinked and it was Spring. In eight days we move out, to spend a summer by the sea. This is our last week in this room, this house. I can't wait. We've had some awesome times here, some crazy times, and some pretty sucky ones too (PigBeast™ and thieving little git spring to mind) but it is definitely time to move on. For one thing, the house is a total mess and I can not be bothered to keep on tidying. A small, non-shared place will be fine, but I do rankle at having to clean up after other people. Not that I do any cleaning anymore, but never mind. Also, we will all be living near each other and nearer our friends, not to mention the Common and the seafront. I can go running. Yeah. Me. Running. Or jogging. Or, more likely, limping like a retarded cripple.
Today I am having to talk to people on the phone. We have just got the internet sorted for our new place. That was the first utility we bought, because we have our priorities straight. We can do without water, gas or electric, as long as we have our broadband.
Today I am having to talk to people on the phone. We have just got the internet sorted for our new place. That was the first utility we bought, because we have our priorities straight. We can do without water, gas or electric, as long as we have our broadband.
Saturday 6 March 2010
Friday 5 March 2010
Social Conditioning (Warning! Thought Tangents Ahead!)
Think about yourself. The hugely complex set of thoughts, desires, goals, morals, ideas and assumptions that make you 'You'.
Which parts of yourself have you consciously chosen? And which parts did you simply assume?
The majority of people will be either male or female. And maybe you have never thought much further than that. You simply grew into a socially conditioned version of your biology, without ever questioning what, exactly, this means. Which qualities are specifically masculine or feminine? How much of who you are is inborn, and how much is a product of how you were brought up, the culture which you have been steeped in since the day you were born?
If you had the choice, would you still be the way you are? If you could start again from scratch, what would you change?
What is right and wrong? How do you know? Have you examined the ethics of your actions in the world, or do you simply assume that, because you live a 'normal' life, then you must be doing ok?
Speaking of 'normal', what do you see as normal? What is acceptable? These ideas are inextricably linked to the wider society. Do you agree with the majority view because you have critically examined it and found it to be right, or simply because it is so pervasive that you may not even have noticed its influence?
Maybe you deliberately try to act counter to social norms. Maybe for the fun of it, or maybe because you are trying to change something. Are you being truly subversive? Are you really changing anything? Is what you are doing right? Or are you simply reacting against society in a meaningless way? Or perhaps you are following different norms. The subculture, the political movement, the rebel alliance you belong to, why have you chosen it? What does it do for you?
Is everything you do motivated only by the ego? Are all your actions simply designed to support your world view? If you changed your beliefs, would your personal identity crumble around you?
I am trying to critically examine every part of my life. This is, possibly, a recipe for some kind of horrendous post-modernist mental breakdown, but hey, I need something to fill my time.
Which parts of yourself have you consciously chosen? And which parts did you simply assume?
The majority of people will be either male or female. And maybe you have never thought much further than that. You simply grew into a socially conditioned version of your biology, without ever questioning what, exactly, this means. Which qualities are specifically masculine or feminine? How much of who you are is inborn, and how much is a product of how you were brought up, the culture which you have been steeped in since the day you were born?
If you had the choice, would you still be the way you are? If you could start again from scratch, what would you change?
What is right and wrong? How do you know? Have you examined the ethics of your actions in the world, or do you simply assume that, because you live a 'normal' life, then you must be doing ok?
Speaking of 'normal', what do you see as normal? What is acceptable? These ideas are inextricably linked to the wider society. Do you agree with the majority view because you have critically examined it and found it to be right, or simply because it is so pervasive that you may not even have noticed its influence?
Maybe you deliberately try to act counter to social norms. Maybe for the fun of it, or maybe because you are trying to change something. Are you being truly subversive? Are you really changing anything? Is what you are doing right? Or are you simply reacting against society in a meaningless way? Or perhaps you are following different norms. The subculture, the political movement, the rebel alliance you belong to, why have you chosen it? What does it do for you?
Is everything you do motivated only by the ego? Are all your actions simply designed to support your world view? If you changed your beliefs, would your personal identity crumble around you?
I am trying to critically examine every part of my life. This is, possibly, a recipe for some kind of horrendous post-modernist mental breakdown, but hey, I need something to fill my time.
Thursday 4 March 2010
Thinkativity
Well, here we are. Yesterday was my first anniversary with Owner. A year ago I agreed to be his, despite my never having met him in person. So our Real Actual Anniversary is not until 22nd April. Which is good because we didn't do anything much to mark yesterday. I don't quite understand anniversaries, what with never having had a relationship reach six months, and I still don't understand people who make such an enormous deal out of them. 'Ooh, we've been together for three months today, break out the caviar and champagne!' 'It's seven weeks since we moved in together, so I bought you a diamond!' It's fourteen months since I first kissed you, have a million dollars!'
Anyway, things are going very well. I have got over myself to a certain extent, which might make this blog a little more boring but it has helped the relationship a whole lot. We are still deeply in love, and I am eternally grateful to M for putting up with me through the winter, which was not good. I think I do have Seasonal Affective Disorder, which coupled with woman hormones turned me into the Crazy Psycho Bitch From Hell. Generally it was a bit bad, but now I am feeling better.
We move house in 14 days. Our own place. I am insanely excited. Everything got confirmed yesterday, we've paid our deposit and booked the moving van. Our own flat. I can walk around naked all freaking day! I hope the central heating is good...
I have been extensively thinking about all kinds of things. The usual young adult stew of philosophy, self identity, meaning, place, etc. I have been critically examining -isms and -ologies, and most of them have come up lacking. Communism is sweet but deluded, Radical Feminists I want to punch in the tits, Capitalism is the grim swamp we are swimming in right now, Anarchy is pretty foolish... It seems that the only -ism I like is masochism, and even that comes with a few qualifiers. Maybe I should set myself up as a Cynic. But then I haven't read up on Cynicism yet. Screw all of these ideologies and philosophies. I think I will aim to be a free-roaming intellectual maverick. Fuck yeah.
Anyway, things are going very well. I have got over myself to a certain extent, which might make this blog a little more boring but it has helped the relationship a whole lot. We are still deeply in love, and I am eternally grateful to M for putting up with me through the winter, which was not good. I think I do have Seasonal Affective Disorder, which coupled with woman hormones turned me into the Crazy Psycho Bitch From Hell. Generally it was a bit bad, but now I am feeling better.
We move house in 14 days. Our own place. I am insanely excited. Everything got confirmed yesterday, we've paid our deposit and booked the moving van. Our own flat. I can walk around naked all freaking day! I hope the central heating is good...
I have been extensively thinking about all kinds of things. The usual young adult stew of philosophy, self identity, meaning, place, etc. I have been critically examining -isms and -ologies, and most of them have come up lacking. Communism is sweet but deluded, Radical Feminists I want to punch in the tits, Capitalism is the grim swamp we are swimming in right now, Anarchy is pretty foolish... It seems that the only -ism I like is masochism, and even that comes with a few qualifiers. Maybe I should set myself up as a Cynic. But then I haven't read up on Cynicism yet. Screw all of these ideologies and philosophies. I think I will aim to be a free-roaming intellectual maverick. Fuck yeah.
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