Well, as nobody has yet noticed, I haven't edited this blog in a while. This is partly because of my laziness, and partly because I'm unmotivated due to my utter lack of an audience. (yet) But today I have been somewhat inspired to write a new post, and as the title suggests, my motivation has been the Day of Silence. This is something that I have much approval for. No, I'm not gay or anything, but I do support their rights, and I actually have a few friends who are gay. So I thought it was a great idea that people should raise awareness for what gay people go through, it kind of reminds me of the bus protests that happened in the civil rights movement. I only wish I had heard of it before two o' clock this afternoon, so I could have joined in. Unfortunately, though, it seems that not all people think that.
So I was in my last class of the day when I found out what the whole silence thing was about, and when a nice girl in my class explained it to me, (via written note, of course) I was happy for everyone who did it. Then, of course, things got messy. So a person sitting behind her poked her, or something like that, and she said all of one word. When she did, a bunch of people immediately began laughing and making fun of her and the other participants. Now this annoys the hell out of me, so I was sure to (kindly, mind you) tell them that it wasn't very respectful of them, and that it really wasn't okay to mess with them. I mean, these people were determined to stick to their guns, and the other guys in my class all wanted to make them screw up just for the sake of doing so. It bothered me because they essentially wanted to gain pleasure by making other people upset. So I was sure to be polite in asking the guy not to keep at it, and he said "I'm not immature or anything. I'm just bored and have ADD. Haha!" So I still wasn't perturbed, because he wasn't arguing, or being mean or anything. I did say, though, "Well that's kind of the definition of immaturity."
Mind you, I know that isn't the actual definition of immaturity, but I said so because it was a perfectly good example of it. Of course, the person sitting behind me, who I hadn't been talking to, said in a rather rude tone: "Actually, that's about as far from the definition of immature as you can get." So I already knew this guy pretty well, and he's generally an asshole. The thing is, there's still hope for this particular asshole, so I argue with him a lot, hoping I might improve him as a person. He would make a very good non-asshole, if he put his mind to it. I think the reason he felt the need to say what he did was because yesterday, I kind of ground him to dust in an argument, and essentially proved that he's immature and that people don't like him because of it; and I think he was still angry about it. The thing that makes him so impossible to reason with is his ego. He seems to think that he can do no wrong, and always convinces himself, if no one else, that he's right... Or, in some cases, in the right. It reminds me of the quote: "The true hypocrite is the one that fails to see his own deception, the honest liar." Or something like that. This applies perfectly to the person I'm talking about, in that he seems to delude himself into thinking that he's just all that and a bag of vomit.
Anyway, this triggered a brief discussion about the terminology, in which I essentially proved that no one was wrong here. My point was that I was using the commonly understood meaning of immature, and not speaking literally. He, of course, refused to concede, and simply resorted to using points over and over, even after I defeated them. At this point, I should have stopped caring, because he wasn't following the rules of a proper debate. A warning to all of you: If you're arguing with someone who does things like reusing already-disproved points, or failing to use evidence and logic, then just stop. I recommend pointing it out to them, reminding them that in a proper debate they have to use things, and telling them that if they refuse, then you will assume that they are doing so because they can't defend their point in a fair discussion, and it will be reasonable to assume they are wrong.
Anyway, so back to the story, after I had pretty much made proven my point, and he had pretty much said the same thing over and over again, acting as if it was still a valid point, he started becoming an asshole. Well, mind you, he was being an asshole already, and I think that he realized it too. So upon realizing this, or maybe just that he was wrong, he said "Haha! I'm just saying this to mess with you! Look how angry you're getting!" I hadn't raised my voice or anything, and never did. I was annoyed, but not angry. But what bothers me is that he basically said "I'm only pretending to be an asshole, to have fun, but I'm really not, I'm just playing games." This bothers me because that statement is a lie, what really happened was that he realized he was being an asshole, and said that to cover it up. And about 90% of the time people say something similar to what he said, that's what they mean. So I pointed this out to him, and said that he was, in fact, an ass. He then went on a huge rant about how it was a cycle of assness, that made little sense, was not logical at all, and actually proved that he was an ass, if anyone paid enough attention to it.
At this point, half the room had gotten involved. We had a substitute teacher, so I there was nothing to stop us from arguing, or swearing, for that matter. Most people seemed to think that he was an ass, but some also thought that I was an ass, or at least, a smart ass. The thing is that he's more of the social whore, douchebag type, who hits on every girl he sees, never shuts up, and always has annoying things to say. I'm more of the awkward but well known, generally not taken seriously, loser type. It's annoying, though, because logically my argument won out. It just wasn't on a very fair battleground, though. Anyway, though, I just gave up talking to him, having realized that he wouldn't make a reasonably argument, similar to a toddler after having caffeine. (I know, I'm an older brother...)
Later, though, he did something I found particularly offensive, and that I just couldn't ignore. He started badgering the people who were being silent. Continually harassing them and talking down on them, arguing that their idea was stupid. I'm not going to argue whether being silent is or isn't a stupid way to get a point across. I'll just say that it doesn't really harm anyone, except the participants, and even that's rare; and that I think it's as good a way of bringing attention and awareness to an issue as any... Like I said earlier, the strikes on public transportation that MLK organized were similar to this, and they turned out to be a good idea. What the guy was saying, though, was that anything like this shouldn't interfere with life or anything, in any way. This is why, in addition to being an asshole, he's also an idiot. Intelligence wise, the guy's pretty smart, but as far as reasoning, maturity, and what you might call "wisdom" goes, he's a total retard. Because if you want to drive a point across about something you care about, you CAN'T do so while just staying out of people's way! You HAVE to interfere, you HAVE to stand out, you HAVE to do something that stands out about you, and that stands out to other people! You can't just passively support something if you want things to get done, you have to DO something, whether it's at school or work or in public or anything, you're going to have to do something differently. This idiot even said it would interfere with education. First off, it wouldn't interfere with ANYONE'S education but their own, and secondly, even the people who did it were probably only MINUTELY affected as far as their education goes.
So, to see him unjustly criticizing these people who didn't even speak to defend themselves, I had to jump in. We had quite a row, he and I. He said that he was in favor of gays, but not the method of protest. This is what really annoyed me. So he AGREED with these people, and yet he CRITICIZED them for doing something about their belief, which he supposedly has no contention with? I told him that if he really wanted to help gays, he would do better to rant on the people who AREN'T trying to show their support. By what logic does he figure that he would be most helpful by insulting the people who ARE trying to help the cause? And when they're doing something that isn't harmful or even remotely extreme, no less! My theory is that he just felt like being an ass. So again with the argument, again with him making bullshit points that weren't even valid, and again with him trying to pretend that he wasn't, at any point, being genuinely an ass.
What I love about the whole situation, though, is that while half of the onlookers seemed to think I was an idiot, the people who were silent, as well as a few other reasonable ones, were quite grateful that I stuck up for them. Their gratitude made the whole argument worth it, because even if half of my class hates me, and even if it's going to affect my social life forever, I know that the people who actually count, the people in the room who were both decent, and brave enough to stand up for what they believe today, took my side. And, even though overall the argument went awfully, I'll never forget the moment where the people who I was sticking up for wrote on a sheet of paper "No, you're an ass. Thanks Ellipsis." That moment: Priceless.
So to conclude this post, let me point out something to anyone who reads this. You may think that I was a fool for arguing with a fool, and that I should have just ignored him. Well I don't regret what I did. Sometimes silence is the better option, but that's not the theme of today. We can't always just sit down and let things happen. We can't always just let idiots be idiots. Even if I barely got anywhere. Even if I proved to no one that the idiot I was dealing with was wrong. Even if I'll take crap for doing what I did, I have no regrets. If I hadn't done what I did, here's what would have happened: People wouldn't have questioned what the idiot said. Being popular, people would just go along with what he said, unquestioningly. He, and maybe more people would have continued to insult and badger the silent people, and probably have made their lives suck significantly more. Finally, on principle, if I had kept my mouth shut, I would just be allowing for ignorance to run rampant, and for people to trod all over the ideas that I believe in. Whether entirely successful or not, I defended what I believe to be the truth, and what I believe to be right. If people don't do this enough, then the idiots of the world will just keep on multiplying, and wiping out good sense. So my point here is: Argue with fools! They say it brings you to their level, but it doesn't have to! If you know you're right, then prove it using your good sense and logic. Don't resort to their level of thinking, but rather prove that it is wrong! Smash it into the dirt, force them to defend their point with logic or not at all! Those of you who use the right method of proving things, you HAVE the advantage, so use it! It is a solid fact that there are certain rules to follow to properly prove something, and you can bring these up! Explain them to the idiots! They won't like them, they'll call you stupid, but keep trying. Keep your head together and stay patient, and you CAN prove that they are wrong, and you CAN bring sense to people, and stifle the ideas of the idiots! Good luck to all, and may we one day overcome human stupidity, even our own.
Sincerely,
The Ellipsis
Friday, April 15, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Insomnia, and how to deal with it.
Insomnia is probably one of the big things that makes me who I am. I cannot remember the last time I didn't stay up past eleven o clock. It's just my nature, really, I can't make myself get to sleep early. There's just so much to do before I go to sleep. Things like feeding pets, making my bed, preparing coffee for tomorrow, tidying my room... All get blown off until at least eleven o' clock, when I begin to think about going to bed. Another good example is writing blog posts. You can be assured that I'm not writing this in broad daylight!
Keep in mind that by insomnia, I don't mean the actual condition. If I wanted to, I could lay my head on a pillow at 9 p.m. and be asleep without any trouble. What I mean by insomnia is that I choose not to sleep early, or very long. It's not even out of necessity, either! On nights where I've done everything I need to do before getting to sleep, I still find myself lingering awake, occupying myself with random things for no apparent reason.
One thing that makes me different from some people, I suppose, is which end I cut into my sleep on. Most people, when confronted with a lot of homework to do, or any task that needs doing before they begin their regular day in the morning, will probably just go to sleep at their usual time and wake up early. I, however, am the opposite. I will frequently stay up until past midnight just to get a homework assignment done, or anything along those lines. I guess that this has a lot to do with how my energy changes throughout the day. I don't know if most people are morning people, but I am definitely not. When I first roll out of bed, I am exhausted, half asleep, and utterly useless. By 10 o clock, though, no matter how tired I was all day, I am suddenly alive with energy. I find myself motivated to take on any task, and I am never at a loss for the energy to stay awake. Sure, I get tired by around 2, but I'm never collapsing. My mind is also never too wiped-out to do things properly, even if it does get sluggish by 1 or 2 a.m.
For those of you fellow insomniacs out there, here is a brief guide to losing sleep. I hope that you find it useful!
1. Know your limit. If you are the type of person who only feels truly rested after 10 hours of sleep, then you probably shouldn't get any less than 8. Just make sure that you know exactly how much sleep you are going to need at a bare minimum.
2. Keep track of time. When you're staying up late, and have given up on getting an ideal amount of sleep, it's very easy to disregard the time, and lose more sleep than you intended.
3. Don't waste your time. If you're going to stay up, do something productive. You don't have to do homework, or work on a personal project or anything, just get something done. As long as you have something to show for the time you spent that is in some way helpful to you, then that's all you need. The point is to not use the time drooling onto your lap and doing nothing.
4. Wake up! Some people, like myself, are deep sleepers, and it's easy for them to get carried away and sleep in on accident. If you know that you'll have trouble with this, take every possible precaution to ensure that you won't be late for anything in the morning.
5. Coffee is good. Although it won't propel everybody through the entire day, coffee is good for a jump-start. I'm only a mild coffee drinker, so I only have one cup a day. For those of you out there who also only drink coffee in small amounts, here's my recommendation: Make yourself 1-2 cups in the morning. Drink half of whatever you made before you leave the house, if possible, and take the other half with you. Drink this next half over at least an hour or 2, (I recommend using a thermos to keep it hot) so that you might prolong the buzz you'll get. If you aren't very tolerant of caffeine yet, then a little goes a long way. If you only drink a large amount at once to wake up, and then spread the rest out over time, you should be pretty energetic for at least first few hours of your day. Personally, it keeps me going until 5 o'clock, on a good day.
6. Try to avoid all-nighters. Those of you who can pull all-nighters without breaking a sweat, respect. But for the human beings in my audience I would advise against it. While getting only 6 hours of sleep can make one really drowsy, getting no sleep can be hell. Picture getting a car up a hill by blowing on it through a straw. You'll be sluggish, get tired easily, be unable to maintain focus, get hot very easily, and feel like crap all day. If you have to pull an all-nighter, or if you can handle them better than I can, then go on... But just please be prepared to deal with some pretty sever consequences the next day. Oh, and also: If you pull an all-nighter, be sure to go outside and watch the sunrise. It's a sight that we don't get to see very often, and it can be very beautiful and relaxing, so don't pass up the opportunity!
So that's my take on insomnia and sleep-loss. Keep in mind that I'm talking from experience, not from expertise, or years of study in the field. I hope you found this a helpful (or at least entertaining) post, and if you didn't, feel free to keep that to yourself.
Sincerely,
The Ellipsis
Keep in mind that by insomnia, I don't mean the actual condition. If I wanted to, I could lay my head on a pillow at 9 p.m. and be asleep without any trouble. What I mean by insomnia is that I choose not to sleep early, or very long. It's not even out of necessity, either! On nights where I've done everything I need to do before getting to sleep, I still find myself lingering awake, occupying myself with random things for no apparent reason.
One thing that makes me different from some people, I suppose, is which end I cut into my sleep on. Most people, when confronted with a lot of homework to do, or any task that needs doing before they begin their regular day in the morning, will probably just go to sleep at their usual time and wake up early. I, however, am the opposite. I will frequently stay up until past midnight just to get a homework assignment done, or anything along those lines. I guess that this has a lot to do with how my energy changes throughout the day. I don't know if most people are morning people, but I am definitely not. When I first roll out of bed, I am exhausted, half asleep, and utterly useless. By 10 o clock, though, no matter how tired I was all day, I am suddenly alive with energy. I find myself motivated to take on any task, and I am never at a loss for the energy to stay awake. Sure, I get tired by around 2, but I'm never collapsing. My mind is also never too wiped-out to do things properly, even if it does get sluggish by 1 or 2 a.m.
For those of you fellow insomniacs out there, here is a brief guide to losing sleep. I hope that you find it useful!
1. Know your limit. If you are the type of person who only feels truly rested after 10 hours of sleep, then you probably shouldn't get any less than 8. Just make sure that you know exactly how much sleep you are going to need at a bare minimum.
2. Keep track of time. When you're staying up late, and have given up on getting an ideal amount of sleep, it's very easy to disregard the time, and lose more sleep than you intended.
3. Don't waste your time. If you're going to stay up, do something productive. You don't have to do homework, or work on a personal project or anything, just get something done. As long as you have something to show for the time you spent that is in some way helpful to you, then that's all you need. The point is to not use the time drooling onto your lap and doing nothing.
4. Wake up! Some people, like myself, are deep sleepers, and it's easy for them to get carried away and sleep in on accident. If you know that you'll have trouble with this, take every possible precaution to ensure that you won't be late for anything in the morning.
5. Coffee is good. Although it won't propel everybody through the entire day, coffee is good for a jump-start. I'm only a mild coffee drinker, so I only have one cup a day. For those of you out there who also only drink coffee in small amounts, here's my recommendation: Make yourself 1-2 cups in the morning. Drink half of whatever you made before you leave the house, if possible, and take the other half with you. Drink this next half over at least an hour or 2, (I recommend using a thermos to keep it hot) so that you might prolong the buzz you'll get. If you aren't very tolerant of caffeine yet, then a little goes a long way. If you only drink a large amount at once to wake up, and then spread the rest out over time, you should be pretty energetic for at least first few hours of your day. Personally, it keeps me going until 5 o'clock, on a good day.
6. Try to avoid all-nighters. Those of you who can pull all-nighters without breaking a sweat, respect. But for the human beings in my audience I would advise against it. While getting only 6 hours of sleep can make one really drowsy, getting no sleep can be hell. Picture getting a car up a hill by blowing on it through a straw. You'll be sluggish, get tired easily, be unable to maintain focus, get hot very easily, and feel like crap all day. If you have to pull an all-nighter, or if you can handle them better than I can, then go on... But just please be prepared to deal with some pretty sever consequences the next day. Oh, and also: If you pull an all-nighter, be sure to go outside and watch the sunrise. It's a sight that we don't get to see very often, and it can be very beautiful and relaxing, so don't pass up the opportunity!
So that's my take on insomnia and sleep-loss. Keep in mind that I'm talking from experience, not from expertise, or years of study in the field. I hope you found this a helpful (or at least entertaining) post, and if you didn't, feel free to keep that to yourself.
Sincerely,
The Ellipsis
Monday, March 21, 2011
Quotes
"An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind." - Mahatma Gandhi
How many of you just believed every word of that? Probably most of you, right? I'd be willing to bet that at least 90% of you just though "Hey, an eye for and eye really does make the whole world blind!" Now what if I were to say: "An eye for an eye , and you've just taken away some asshole's depth perception.", or "If to take an eye is to lose one, then all our eyes are safer." Both of these make sense too, in a different way, right? So why the hell didn't you think that when you read the first one? How many of you didn't even pause to check the logic? As human beings, we have a lot of cognitive errors, but this one is by far my least favorite.
Just because something is worded somewhat cleverly, wrapped up in a pair of quotation marks, and followed by the signature of someone famous does not make it true!!!!! It's so easy, though, to just fall for whatever we read! In some cases, takes a blatant contradiction of one's beliefs for them to not revere the wisdom of whoever said it. For some, fancy words and an elegant style can make people consider things that, in a real-life context, they'd never even consider believing! Personally, here's my mental checklist for quotes:
1. What is the idea behind it?
2. Do I agree with this idea?
3. If yes, is it insightful, have I learned from it? Maybe I'll use it in the future, because I think it's a very wise point.
4. If no, is it at least well-worded? Does it at least make sense? Did someone famous say it? If so, I can use it in an argument to keep myself from losing, and make some stupid person change their mind just because I used a quote.
Please, people, don't let yourselves be the poor idiots I mentioned in step 4. I know, a well-worded quote can appeal to one's sense of sentimentality. This happens all the time, with speeches, songs, with good books... Anything that sounds good, and strikes a certain note in our brains ---though different things might do it for different people--- can potentially appeal to our emotions. When this happens, it is no longer reason with which we are thinking, we've begun to think with our feelings. We believe things, if only temporarily, that common sense will tell us aren't true! Though many points made and expressed in quotes are wise, valid, and insightful, none of them are the absolute truth, 100% of the time. So the next time you read a quote that gives you anything to believe, don't be foolish. Find the point, and use reasoning to decide if the point is true. Then, you can decide to agree with the quote, make references to the quote, use the quote to argue, set the quote as your facebook status, or whatever you want.
Here's a quote for you.
"With the sole exception of this statement, just because something is inside quotations, doesn't mean it's true."
I hope you all found this post helpful, or at the very least enjoyable. Until the next one, though, au revoire!
-The Ellipsis
-The Ellipsis
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
In Defense of Coffee
Okay, I like coffee a lot. I think most people do, right? But am I the only one who has actually taken criticism for it? I'm not saying I get a lot, or that it's like the kind that people who do other drugs will get, but I am frankly kind of shocked that I get it... It's kind of ridiculous. Here are a few examples of the crap I've put up with, and why it can only be defined as complete idiocy.
I was at a family reunion of sorts, to celebrate my grandma's birthday. Everyone is having coffee with their dessert and I ask for a cup. My aunt threw a friggin tizzy over the very notion, and said something to the effect of: "Your parents let you drink coffee!?!? This is madness, mine would never have let me do such a thing! What an awful habit for a young man to have, surely the caffeine will eat at your eternal soul like spiritual acid! Repent now, heretic!"
Now tell me, what is so wrong with drinking coffee? And only a few times a week I might add. It's not like the stuff actually stunts your growth, but from the way she described them, I suppose that her parents never revealed this to her. I'll bet they also didn't tell her that Santa wasn't real until her first year of college. Any way, what really bothers me is her nerve to criticize my parents on their ability to raise me. Coffee has so far proven almost entirely harmless to me, in the amounts I've been drinking it. I'd probably be able to drink it now and then even if they didn't want me to, as well. It's not like they let me do anything insane, or like it's even their fault if any harm becomes of it. I introduced myself to coffee, I took the initiative to get into it, and they only consented because they accurately acknowledged that it was harmless. So what?
This next story is even better. So I was at my health class, which I had first period at the time. I brought a thermos of coffee to class, but I wasn't allowed to drink it in class. We were given a break, about halfway through, so I stood in the hallway, leaned my tired ass on a wall, and started drinking the coffee I hadn't finished before class started that day. So I was there, enjoying my precious few ounces of delicious French roast, when this kid from my class, Henry, (I'll call him that) walked up to me. Now what's important here is the tome of what he said, the first thing was said in much the same way that my aunt spoke. "Hey, what are you drinking? Is that coffee???" As realization started to dawn over him, so did annoyance and disapproval. So I said, trying to sound passive and reasonable: "Well yeah, why?" What he did next puts him at about a 6 on the asshole scale, because he was clearly trying to be a prick, but didn't have the method down just right. Nonetheless, I was annoyed when he said "[heavy over-pronounced sigh] That's just sad."
Now what bothers me about this isn't his obvious ignorance, but rather his condescending tone. He acted like my goddam disappointed parent, not like someone with conflicting interests. It was clear that he was either trying to look like, or actually thought he was looking down on me. Now let me inform you that this guy does not only have the good sense of an eggplant, but he also is a total douchebag, and one of those spoiled rich kids who likes to act like he's a gangster. So needless to say, I was pretty annoyed that he, of all people, was looking down on me for the fact that I enjoy coffee. He's the type of person who you would expect to either already be doing drugs, or to be doing them very soon. So before I could even tell him how much of an idiot he was for a: trying to tell me my business, and b: criticizing something he clearly knew very little about; I was beaten to it. This junior in my class, one of those kind of short but really buff, walked up to him and said something like "You got a problem with coffee? Shut up man, coffee is the shit, you've got nothing on coffee." he turned to me and said "Shove it up his ass, man." I felt like Optimus Prime had just swooped down from the sky and beat the crap out of Voldemort for me, it was definitely a triumphant moment. Sure I'd have liked to handle it myself also, but I admit, I loved the feeling of being backed up by a fellow coffee-lover.
Before I move onto the last story, here's my take on the actual effect of coffee: Caffeine, the drug in coffee, blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, preventing drowsiness. This causes the brain to make adrenaline, giving you energy. Dopamine is also released due to coffee, which makes you happy. This can cause health complications, if one drinks excessive amounts of coffee, but tell me: Does this reaction really seem that bad? Caffeine essentially just gives you an adrenaline rush and a slight dopamine increase, things which occur naturally anyway. The difference is that you control when this is caused. And though too much caffeine can cause noticeable problems with the adenosine receptors I mentioned, I am currently not concerned by this, because I'm not a huge coffee drinker. And even if the energy you get is unnatural, isn't it better than being tired? A mistake people commonly make is to think I'm in withdrawal, because I'm tired when I don't drink coffee. But I don't get a lot of sleep in general. I'm writing this as it is a few minutes from turning midnight. So if I'm tired, it's because of sleep loss. Caffeine only prevented my sleep loss from being apparent. It's like if an ugly person wears makeup to look average, and then stops wearing it... They're going to look ugly, but not because they became dependent on the makeup! It's just because there is no longer any makeup to mask a pre-existing condition! So do you critics see why I can't find a good reason to quit drinking coffee, and why I think it harmless?
Now this last story is the only exception to my rule against caring what others think. My girlfriend of one month, and best friend of nearing a year... Well, she doesn't like that I drink coffee. She's sweet, though, and one of the things I like about her is that she wouldn't try to change me. I couldn't help but notice, though, that my coffee drinking did bother her. She didn't ask me to stop, or give me an ultimatum, or anything like that. I just decided to because it would make her happy. As of now it's been two weeks, and I'm going for six before I pick it up again. When and if I do, I plan to do so in a way that will bother her as little as possible... Because that's what being in a relationship is about, right? Or at least one of the things... I want to make her happy, and that's the most important thing in the world to me. Now that is a reason to not drink coffee.
So, just to sum up this fist entry of mine, here's what we've covered. Coffee is good, and I love to drink it. People who try to tell me not to are self-assured pricks who think they're way more important than they are. As far as a good reason to stop drinking coffee, I see none. There are no serious consequences, as of yet, to the level of coffee-drinking that I do, and therefore I won't stop just because someone says some vague, general statement about how the stuff's supposed to be bad for you. However, I would stop drinking it to make someone I care about happy, especially someone who doesn't try to force me to.
Well, has been my first official post, and your first taste of my estranged head. I'll see you guys whenever I get around to making another one. Until then, take it easy!
-The Ellipsis
I was at a family reunion of sorts, to celebrate my grandma's birthday. Everyone is having coffee with their dessert and I ask for a cup. My aunt threw a friggin tizzy over the very notion, and said something to the effect of: "Your parents let you drink coffee!?!? This is madness, mine would never have let me do such a thing! What an awful habit for a young man to have, surely the caffeine will eat at your eternal soul like spiritual acid! Repent now, heretic!"
Now tell me, what is so wrong with drinking coffee? And only a few times a week I might add. It's not like the stuff actually stunts your growth, but from the way she described them, I suppose that her parents never revealed this to her. I'll bet they also didn't tell her that Santa wasn't real until her first year of college. Any way, what really bothers me is her nerve to criticize my parents on their ability to raise me. Coffee has so far proven almost entirely harmless to me, in the amounts I've been drinking it. I'd probably be able to drink it now and then even if they didn't want me to, as well. It's not like they let me do anything insane, or like it's even their fault if any harm becomes of it. I introduced myself to coffee, I took the initiative to get into it, and they only consented because they accurately acknowledged that it was harmless. So what?
This next story is even better. So I was at my health class, which I had first period at the time. I brought a thermos of coffee to class, but I wasn't allowed to drink it in class. We were given a break, about halfway through, so I stood in the hallway, leaned my tired ass on a wall, and started drinking the coffee I hadn't finished before class started that day. So I was there, enjoying my precious few ounces of delicious French roast, when this kid from my class, Henry, (I'll call him that) walked up to me. Now what's important here is the tome of what he said, the first thing was said in much the same way that my aunt spoke. "Hey, what are you drinking? Is that coffee???" As realization started to dawn over him, so did annoyance and disapproval. So I said, trying to sound passive and reasonable: "Well yeah, why?" What he did next puts him at about a 6 on the asshole scale, because he was clearly trying to be a prick, but didn't have the method down just right. Nonetheless, I was annoyed when he said "[heavy over-pronounced sigh] That's just sad."
Now what bothers me about this isn't his obvious ignorance, but rather his condescending tone. He acted like my goddam disappointed parent, not like someone with conflicting interests. It was clear that he was either trying to look like, or actually thought he was looking down on me. Now let me inform you that this guy does not only have the good sense of an eggplant, but he also is a total douchebag, and one of those spoiled rich kids who likes to act like he's a gangster. So needless to say, I was pretty annoyed that he, of all people, was looking down on me for the fact that I enjoy coffee. He's the type of person who you would expect to either already be doing drugs, or to be doing them very soon. So before I could even tell him how much of an idiot he was for a: trying to tell me my business, and b: criticizing something he clearly knew very little about; I was beaten to it. This junior in my class, one of those kind of short but really buff, walked up to him and said something like "You got a problem with coffee? Shut up man, coffee is the shit, you've got nothing on coffee." he turned to me and said "Shove it up his ass, man." I felt like Optimus Prime had just swooped down from the sky and beat the crap out of Voldemort for me, it was definitely a triumphant moment. Sure I'd have liked to handle it myself also, but I admit, I loved the feeling of being backed up by a fellow coffee-lover.
Before I move onto the last story, here's my take on the actual effect of coffee: Caffeine, the drug in coffee, blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, preventing drowsiness. This causes the brain to make adrenaline, giving you energy. Dopamine is also released due to coffee, which makes you happy. This can cause health complications, if one drinks excessive amounts of coffee, but tell me: Does this reaction really seem that bad? Caffeine essentially just gives you an adrenaline rush and a slight dopamine increase, things which occur naturally anyway. The difference is that you control when this is caused. And though too much caffeine can cause noticeable problems with the adenosine receptors I mentioned, I am currently not concerned by this, because I'm not a huge coffee drinker. And even if the energy you get is unnatural, isn't it better than being tired? A mistake people commonly make is to think I'm in withdrawal, because I'm tired when I don't drink coffee. But I don't get a lot of sleep in general. I'm writing this as it is a few minutes from turning midnight. So if I'm tired, it's because of sleep loss. Caffeine only prevented my sleep loss from being apparent. It's like if an ugly person wears makeup to look average, and then stops wearing it... They're going to look ugly, but not because they became dependent on the makeup! It's just because there is no longer any makeup to mask a pre-existing condition! So do you critics see why I can't find a good reason to quit drinking coffee, and why I think it harmless?
Now this last story is the only exception to my rule against caring what others think. My girlfriend of one month, and best friend of nearing a year... Well, she doesn't like that I drink coffee. She's sweet, though, and one of the things I like about her is that she wouldn't try to change me. I couldn't help but notice, though, that my coffee drinking did bother her. She didn't ask me to stop, or give me an ultimatum, or anything like that. I just decided to because it would make her happy. As of now it's been two weeks, and I'm going for six before I pick it up again. When and if I do, I plan to do so in a way that will bother her as little as possible... Because that's what being in a relationship is about, right? Or at least one of the things... I want to make her happy, and that's the most important thing in the world to me. Now that is a reason to not drink coffee.
So, just to sum up this fist entry of mine, here's what we've covered. Coffee is good, and I love to drink it. People who try to tell me not to are self-assured pricks who think they're way more important than they are. As far as a good reason to stop drinking coffee, I see none. There are no serious consequences, as of yet, to the level of coffee-drinking that I do, and therefore I won't stop just because someone says some vague, general statement about how the stuff's supposed to be bad for you. However, I would stop drinking it to make someone I care about happy, especially someone who doesn't try to force me to.
Well, has been my first official post, and your first taste of my estranged head. I'll see you guys whenever I get around to making another one. Until then, take it easy!
-The Ellipsis
An Introduction
Alright, this is my blog... I'm honestly very new to blogging, and to be frank, I never saw myself starting a blog before now. In fact, I was under the impression that blogging was for lifeless, reclusive teens who have no life and just need someone to whine to about issues of little importance.Yep, sounds about right. Well, I could introduce myself here, but it won't be necessary. This blog is going to be about the world as I view it. Whether this involves me speculating, philosophizing, complaining, explaining, or just babbling, if you follow this then you are bound to get to know me. So, for those precious few of you who care for some reason, here you go: Enjoy your glimpse into my life and my thoughts.
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