Thursday, November 24, 2011

Friends

The title just looks ... what's the word? Nice. Yes. That's the word I'm going to be using a lot in this post. It's nice.

"Friends are the family you can choose." Someone said that and he was partly right. I find that some of the best friendships just happen coincidentally. My longest friendship of about 15 years just sort of happened because of our families working together and living in close proximity. In fact, I think all of my good friendships just happened coincidentally. How nice.

I don't get how people can over-complicate friendships at time. I don't get how there are people that are literally inseparable just on the basis of having things in common. Girls do this a lot. It's like one doesn't exist without the other. It's nice but impractical. I find that the best friendships usually get a lot of breathing time.

The closest I can get to this personally is with my girlfriend who I'm glad to say I consider my best friend also. I know that's an oxymoron having multiple best friends but it's nice. With her I not only enjoy the constant proximity, yet I sort of encourage it. Who wants to spend their life with someone other than a great friend? I'm nice.

On the other hand, I hark back to the oldest friendship of mine. I sometimes don't see him for months yet when we meet we're our stupid selves again. We know we're friends, we don't need constant contact and proximity to prove or substantiate it. We're nice.

Having friends is nice. I think this was a nice post. Of course it is far from my best, but it's still a nice one. If any of you nice people want to leave me a nice little comment, feel free.

Nice morning, the interwebz

[[10:11:51] Kathleen Vella: Did you tell them I love you?] - This is what the wife said just before I posted this. Isn't she nice?

Monday, November 21, 2011

Eczema

What can one write about this topic?

It is a skin disease. Doctors don't know where it comes from. It burns. There are different types of it, but I don't know enough to write about them. Google is your friend. They diagnose it by looking at you and checking your health history; not at the same time because that would be silly. Apparently a treatment for it is a change in lifestyle and a few medications to stop you itching. There is no real cure for it, but there are many ways to make you feel better once you have it. Again, Google is your friend.

The next page on the lovely medical website I was blissfully browsing is full of pictures of different skin conditions. I did not look at them for it is early in the morning and I don't want to barf up my Red Bull.

Take this post as an opportunity to peruse the rest of the blog and don't suggest stupid shit like this if you want any other proper posts. Dumbasses.

Good morning, the interwebz.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

"Anonymity" - Anon

This is something I understand yet, at the same time, don't really get. I'm also going to ignore the irony of asking people who comment to use their names and then getting an Anon asking me to write about "Anonymity".

Anonymity is something that has taken on it's own identity -pun unintended, yet very welcome- at the rise of the internet, specifically forums and comment sections. There are legions of Anons trolling all over the place, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.

The notion of 'anonymity' itself irks me. We all have identities, why squander them? I am a firm believer that every person is an individual and, as such, has the right to develop and show off their identity. Celebrate individuality, and don't hide behind the clichéd mask of the "Anon" label.

Of course, many take comfort in anonymity because when we feel we can't be identified, we tend to be able to act and say things in ways that we would not do out in the open. Hence all the hatred on the aforementioned forums and comment sections. The shit underneath Youtube videos, for example, is simply staggering. I call this false courage.

I refuse to hide behind a mask and, when possible, make it very clear that it is me who is commenting. I comment in my name and, if I need a username, be sure that the profile behind it tells you exactly who I am. This may sound arrogant, but I have an identity and it took me years to hone it, and I am bloody proud of it - scars and all.

I will leave you with a quote from -in my humble opinion- one of the greatest graphic novels/films of all time:


"Who are you?"

"Who? Who is but the form following what ... And what I am is a man in a mask."

"I can see that."

"Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking on the paradox of asking a masked man who he is."


On that note, I realise that it is quite futile of me to expect people hiding behind the "Anon" mask to leave their names at the end of their comments, but I still wish they did.

Good afternoon, the interwebz

[Bonus points to whoever guesses where the quote is from]

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Marriage

When I was a ratty teen, I used to be against marriage outright. I used to think that it was just a useless union that only led to the possibility of pain and arguments. That all it was good for was making unfortunate children's lives shit. Then again the only model of marriage I had was my parents'.

When I grew out of my Linkin Park days, I started to mature slightly in opinion but I still wasn't too keen on accepting marriage as a viable option for my future. I used to think that it wasn't necessary. Isn't a relationship still a relationship whether justified by matrimony or not?

Nowadays I still think it is just another step in a relationship. It is not necessary but, then again, most things aren't really necessary, are they? It is a tradition that a couple feel obliged to take after a certain security in a relationship. I'm fine with this. In the end, why not? If you are happy in a relationship, why not consider marriage?

Let's look at this from my warped point of view. You love someone; you've been together for a long time. You know that you want to spend the rest of your life with them. Marriage isn't really needed, but it would be quite a sweet gesture, don't you think? Why not call the woman who has kept you happy for as long as you've been together your wife? Plus, what woman doesn't want to be pampered and feel like a princess to that extent? The whole ceremony, the dress, the suits, all the friends and family. Why not, really?

Of course, one should never enter into a marriage as nonchalantly as I'm talking about it. It's all fine to talk about marriage like this except when you're actually considering getting engaged. Don't enter into it like a it's a fad, enter into it knowing that this is the person you will spend the rest of your life with. Then if it all goes cock-up, you'll know you couldn't have helped it.

Final word: marriage is not evil, however it is a pleasant detail. It is not necessary, but why not if you're already happy and you know you want to spend your life with the person? The most important thing is to be able to call your partner your best friend, and you'll be fine.

Good morning/afternoon the interwebz

Friday, November 4, 2011

Self-Esteem

How many times have you heard, "He/she has such low self-esteem!" to explain why someone is useless at something? Pisses me off that a problem has been turned into an excuse that is pretty much used in any situation. Kind of like saying anyone who has mood swings is 'bipolar'. No.

There are certain psychological buzz-words that have become so overused that the people who actually suffer from them end up being a cliché not to be taken seriously. Low self-esteem is usually said to be a common thing among teenagers in general, but specifically teenage girls. I disagree. I think that the search for a comfortable self-image is confusing enough as it is and with peer pressure and other outside factors interfering constantly, it is very easy to confuse the confusion itself for low self-esteem. Confusing?

I'm not saying that low self-esteem among young 'uns doesn't exist, I'm simply saying that I don't think it is as widespread as people claim it to be. I used to think I had low self-esteem, but that wasn't the case. It was actually more a case of damaged pride because of years of childhood bullying because I was always a fatty. However, I then realised that I esteemed myself highly enough to be offended by the comments as a child. Nowadays I couldn't give a rat's arse about my self-image most of the time and I make fun of myself constantly. Self-deprecation being a form of pride, let's say I'm over the whole low self-esteem business.

So what to do if you think you have low self-esteem? How can you tell if you have it at all? If people's comments at your expense get to you, then you don't. Simple as that. If you had little or no self-esteem, why would you care what other people say about you? It wouldn't hurt you at all because you wouldn't have invested any care in yourself. If you do actually have low self-esteem, my only advice is to surround yourself with positive people that make you feel good. You won't start to feel good about yourself instantly, but feeling good for periods of time will eventually make you feel good about yourself also. Positivity spreads, you see. Like butter. Maybe.

Until then, smile. Even if it's forced, just smile. You will notice that if you receive even the faintest smile back, you'll already feel a little bit happier. Plus you'll be making other people happy too. How nice.

Good morning, the interwebz

[The comments section is under this P.S.]

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Breakups

The arsehole of relationships. The point at which the whole thing cocks up so badly that you just can't do it any longer.

I've had my fair share of infatuation gone wrong, even love turned sour at a couple of points. There was a time when I was jumping from one companionship to another, some more strong than others, and in the end it backfired and I fell into the most stereotypical crock of crap that one can write in a romance novel about the womaniser turned overly sensitive and jealous.

The thing is that breakups happen and even if it feels like one can never love again and it hurts so badly etc etc, you will get over it. Unless you are already depressive by nature and would end up offing yourself in a ditch somewhere, you'll grow from the experience.

That being said, I still don't think that people should stop pouring all their energy and passion into relationships. Go for it, fall head over heels in love and never give up hope that you have something wonderful for life because, in a way, even if it doesn't last, you will still have something wonderful for life. It is the good memories which will follow a healthy relationship that will always stay with you. Unfortunately so will the regret from a stupid one, but that's the risk that you should be willing to take.

On that note, live for life and love unconditionally.

Good afternoon, the interwebz