Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Your total is $22.47. Would you be interested in saving 10% by opening a RedCard today?”

 

The customer just looks at me. Tired and weary. A slight shake of her head tells me that no, she does not want one and why did I bother asking. A small gaggle of kids is running around her. A little boy tugs on her floral skirt crying that he wants candy. Another of them shrieks out that she has to have the Barbie doll that’s on display. I can’t help but curse the person who put those toys at eye level of three year olds.  I know it’s a marketing ploy, but some days the squawks of children pestering their parents are a bit much. The woman has finished signing the signature pad. A pair of  exhausted eyes with faint wrinkles seemingly highlighting her long day meet mine and she looks defeated. I wonder if this is the life she had dreamed for herself. I can’t help but think societies great plan for us (birth, school, college, work, marriage, kids, retirement, and death) isn’t the grandest plan after all.

 

Beeeeep. The receipt prints out.

 

“Thank you for shopping with us today. You have a nice night.”

 

Another nod from the haggard woman, this time it’s accompanied by a small smile and a whisper that sounds like “you too.” I turn my attention to the next customer.

 

“Hello, did you find everything alright today?”

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend- Camus

It's often better to be in chains, than to be free.- Kafka

It is quite true what philosophy says: that life must be understood backwards. But then one forgets the other principle: that it must be lived forwards.- Kierkegaard

Is there suffering on this new earth? On our earth we can truly love only with suffering and through suffering! We know not how to love otherwise. We know no other love. I want suffering in order to love.- Dostoevsky

I love love love that last quote. I just started reading Crime and Punishment and I've just love his writing. Anywho, I'm going through end of the year cleaning and I'm spending far too much time posting stuff on livejournal =]

speaking of existentialism... Camus' piece about the myth of Sisyphus is amazing... and inspired me to draw this comic not too long ago... i lied, it was last semester, but oh vell =]

 hug.


I talked to Joan and her side of the family today. I'm so completely.... emotionally drained. Everything terrible has happened all at once. The 9th is always difficult and this year both Easter and April 8th reduced me to zombie-like status and now I had to be on the defensive all day. I had to be on guard against the usual manipulations.
'We miss you' and 'when are you coming home?'

Never. I am never going 'home,' because it's not  home. I consider myself lucky because i got away. I'll be damned if i ever go back.


In Pennsylvania they have third degree murder. It's a murder charge that's not intentional or unintentional. It's described as 'all other'. I didn't get that until last Easter. It's the reason I will never go back.

Reasons and goals of the strike can be found at http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/395310.html

Reasons why I joined the strike were provided by darkology, who was awesome and explained it to me, can be seen below:

To make a lengthy story short:

1) SUP (the company that now owns LJ) got rid of the free, no-ad Basic Accounts without notifying users that it would happen and against the advice of their own advisory board. It wasn't even released in a news post, it was noticed by a user and confirmed in the comments of a news post. Now only the plus, paid, and permanent account options are available. Info here. SUP has subsequently claimed that Basic Accounts were only used to "create spam" and not content.

2) SUP created a filter that limited the ability of users to search and know how many users had certain interests, including "fanfiction", "yaoi", "bisexual", etc., and the words that were filtered showed a homophobic bent. on SUP's part. The filter was removed when users noticed and complained on a news post. SUP claims it was "an accident", but I'm not sure how creating and implementing code that chooses to filter words like those can be an accident.

ETA: Ugh, I didn't mean to submit this comment yet. Anyway. The purpose of the strike is to "remind" SUP that the users create the content and the ad revenue - and if we don't feel heard, we can leave.

http://www.latenightunderground.com/2008/02/behind-the-brawl.shtml

It's outtakes from "The Brawl" with Stewart/Colbert/O'Brien

=] made meh happy

That was too wonderful

So.... very excited. The Oscars are tonight... not that I care about Hollywood or the movies or really anything related to the Oscars.... Well that's not entirely true.... I am interested in the host :P Hahaha, since everyone at school knows I <3 Jon Stewart I thought I'd inform the virtual world as well :D Anywho, quite smitten and quite excited to watch tonight, especially since the past week's hiatus of the Daily Show.

Anywho, thought I'd give you all an update. I'm going off to donate blood! yay! *drips of sarcasm* I really dislike donating blood. I ost always pass out and it scares me :(

Math (mth): N. The bane of my existence.

A girl sits in a seat
edged up to her desk
a

p
i
l
e

of papers at her side
her pen etching empty words

the clock chimes
she stifles a yawn
shaking herself awake
while her eyelids droop
and she works on ...
the hours eek by ...

three days pass like this
the clock ticks in day four

A girl sits in a seat
edged up to her desk
a

p
i
l
e

of papers at he side
her pen etching empty words

she yawns
eyelids droop
and her head reposes on a book ...

the clock chimes
the hours eek by.