Time flies

Hört på tunnelbanan idag, lite förenklat:

A: Japp, onsdag imorgon då!
B: Ja - ha! - mitt i veckan!
A: Jomen det går fort.

Ja, tänkte jag, det går fort, och funderade på hur vissa verkar behandla livets stadiga lunk som något nödvändigt ont. Det är nästan som om de bara försöker ta sig förbi livet, som om det bara är ett hinder på vägen. Vart de nu är på väg.

Jag undrar hur de kan klara sig undan ångesten och depressionen. För den finns väl där för alla, bara man känner efter? De kanske bara stretar enträget framåt, knuffar sig förbi och fyller upp varje tyst minut med prat om lägenhetspriser och busslinjer och renovering bara för att slippa höra sina egna tankar. Har de faktiskt någonting att se fram emot på helgerna, eller är det bara ett till tidsfördriv? Varför vill man egentligen fördriva tiden, är inte det något man vill behålla?

Nu låter det här inlägget kanske depressivt och tungt, men det beror nog på att jag har suttit och läst igenom hela Johan Rheborgs blogg. Den är både deprimerande och inspirerande, till exempel fick den ju mig att prova på svenska för en gångs skull. Det är väl positivt?

Musical genius III

Presenting Julia Nunes, winner of the 2007 Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest.

Musical genius, cont'd

Remember the norwegian guy who made a beatbox video by editing together different sounds he made in front of his webcam? It was very goofy, he even had a sneeze in there somewhere. Anyway, check out this other video he made.

People skillz

I'm starting to wonder if socializing isn't about acquiring some special conversational skill, but just talking to the right people in the right circumstances. I've had some success having intelligent conversations with certain individuals when it's just the two of us, in a relaxed environment.

Talking to people at parties is doomed to fail, for three reasons: 1) Noise, 2) ostentation and 3) alcohol. Screaming and straining to hear people over the din and music is exhausting and instantly gets me in a bad mood. Item number two refers to the partygoers' need to impress one another, dredging up useless facts, clever jokes and anecdotes or trying to bust a move on the dance floor. I have no such need -- maybe I'm only imagining it in others -- but the fact remains that I feel embarrassed for them and bored by their antics. Of course, other partygoers also consume alcohol, which only aggravates points 1 and 2.

Dinner parties or small get-togethers have their own set of problems. If it's too diverse a group, or if anyone's boss is present, the guests will stick to shallow smalltalk. A few people might dominate the conversation with anecdotes or jokes. Eventually, smaller conversations might spin off, with guests speaking only to the ones sitting closest. Chances are I'll end up next to a conversation I'm not at all interested in. Sports, maybe. Bob Dylan. One might suggest that I move around and sit somewhere else, but if I do muster the energy to stand, I might as well take the opportunity to leave. Besides, there has to be an empty seat next to a very interesting person for me to even bother.

Reading through what I've just written, I realize I'm probably extremely picky. Still, I believe one has the right to choose who one consorts with, even if that ultimately means one is alone.

So, I need a relaxed setting where I can talk to people one-on-one, and both involved actually want to and have time to talk. That's only ever likely to happen at work, and it rather rarely happens there either since people actually do work there. So I guess I'm screwed. Happy New Year!

Twitter

I just added a Twitter section to my sidebar. Twitter is a sort of mini-blog where the length of each post is restricted to a maximum of 140 characters. The idea is to write tiny tidbits about your life without giving it much thought, which usually translates into more frequent posting. You can also hook up your mobile phone to Twitter and receive an SMS the minute a friend writes a new post, which explains the 140 character restriction.

Anyway, twittering seems like fun. I'll probably update my Twitter more often than my blog, so take a look to your right under "Twitter" to see what I'm doing right now.