16x: For this, I shaved?

I'm trying this new gum - Five (or "5?") It's left a weird taste in my mouth (the flavour is "Cobalt" which I think is a type of metal, which is disturbing,) but damn is it long-lasting. I was going to fnish chewing before I started typing, but that was like a half hour ago. Don't ask why I needed to be done chewing before I typed this up, I just wanted to.

I'd been bummed and directionless for a couple of days. I didn't know what to do with myself and had little motivation to crack the philosophy books. I just wanted to wander around aimlessly and drink copious amounts of coffee and just quiver with frustration with myself. Going into today it was the fourth or so day when I just had no agenda and continued to avoid what I knew or thought I ought to be doing.

And then today I picked up a pencil.

Okay, it's no big deal, because I was drawing over the weekend, but it was something. It's hard to believe I ever get anything done with my Guitar Hero controller sitting across the room, or when I know exactly how long it would take to get a cup of coffee or when I could be checking Facebook to see what groups my friends are joining. I've been drawing a strip called Regular Guy for nearly a year, off and on, whenever I feel like it. The story hasn't advanced that much (it's not much of a story) but it's something, something to do that doesn't involve me typing endlessly or pouring over John Perry's dialogue on personal identity and immortality.

So I drew, I washed the dishes, I shaved. I was beginning to like my roguish beard but it really does make me feel dirty and sketchy so I decided it was time to clean up. And then the major thing, I found out around dinnertime.

I got a reply back from one of the places I applied for work. Not gonna give too much away but I'm pretty jazzed about it, not so much for the work itself or because I'm guaranteed the job, but because I've got an interview and it seems like something that could at least keep me outta trouble/a rut for the summer. The girl was also very enthusiastic in her e-mail, since she used numerous exclamation points.

So to celebrate, I dragged a sick and ailing friend down to a coffee joint to dish. Well admittedly, she just had a case of the sniffles and when I called her, I offered her a freebie first off - "Hey, how are ya feeling?" She seemed enthusiastic about going, so we went. And though she was sniffling a fair bit, she was solid company. We caught up (on the last week or so) swapped work stories and other miscellany, including my sharing of a normally-taboo anecdote that involves a discarded newspaper and a very unfortunate restaurant. Overall, it was a quality evening.

As soon as I finish this I'm going to get back to my studies. Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to head into Toronto for a review period in my Film Study class. I don't necessarily think I need it and likely won't stay for the entire thing, but any help would be useful, as well as a chance to spend my day doing something. Also I'll be getting my last assignment back, and I'm eager to find out how well I did on it because frankly I've got a good feeling (but then again, sometimes our feelings betray us. Okay I don't know what that means.)

One thing I did mean to talk about though was an apparent gluttony for punishment and abuse. Earlier this week, Chef Gordon Ramsay was in town doing a book signing and all the media was there, seemingly in a fruitful deliberate attempt to bait him into yelling at them, for instance one reporter got into a conversation with him about her last night's dinner, and it was only moments before he flipped out, "You CAHN'T STEW CHICKEN! It gets all stringy!!" Much to everyone's delight. similar scenes were seen in other interviews where he was involved in cursing matches just for yuks and tossing interviewers out of the room. I don't know, it seems weird to be so fascinated and eager to bait a man so obviously full of rage. Like yeah, his gimmick is that he yells at people... it's like a parlour trick for the amusement of his public. I don't watch his show, but it just seems odd to me how enthusiastic they are to watch him explode. Like, is that healthy?

I don't know. More idle thoughts from an idle mind's idle hands.

Strangely, I'm all abuzz.

Keep on rockin'
-Scott