I thought that for our 10th topic, we could go a bit off the beaten path and discuss something a little more philisophical, and a lot less interesting. This was basically a rant I had running through my head for a while, so I figured I'd write it out and see how it panned out. Afterwards, it seemed like it could be interesting for our little experiment here, so I'm posting it. Enjoi, Aerin, and hopefully you can find something to respond to in here.
See, I've been thinking. There's always been this fascination in my mind with the human condition, and our natural and immediate responses to any and every situation. Its always been a little pet of mine. See, if you take a thousand people, and you put them all through the same rigors, they'll all, for the most part, respond in the same general manner. Sure the actions conveying it could be different. A laugh instead of a smile. A frown instead of a tear. Accosting instead of insulting. But the general feeling and reaction is always there, and almost always identical.
And that's boring. Interacting with people on a level like that would be infinitely dull for someone like me. You know me, I like to play my games. I like to experiment and manipulate situations with complete strangers. A sociological experiment, if you will. But as I've described so far, that experiment has dreadfully boring results.
The thing that makes it interesting isn't the 999 in 1000 that all smile. They're useless. Its that less than 1% who surprise you. The frown instead of a smile. The laugh instead of a tear. They're what make everything worth it. If we all went about our daily rigors without any real difference to those around us, life would be a real drag, no?
But its those surprises. Those people who catch me off guard. The waitresses who actually give me more crap back than I give to them. The lady in the supermarket who smiles and curtsies when I tip my invisible hat and smile. They're the ones that make it interesting. Those completely unexpected retorts to my intangible witticisms.
Do you see what I'm getting at here? The key to it all. The only thing you can really count on.
The only real entertainment... the only real fun... is in the true, unscripted chaos. It's the moment the storm hits and you can feel the electricity in the air. Lightning is going to strike, but damned if you know where or when. You look for it, you scan the horizon. But its never right in the center of your vision. Always off in the periphery. Barely in sight, barely in reach. Those moments of real brilliance and uniqueness.
It's not the standard fare of people dressing and acting like complete ponces to emulate some sense of originality. It's not the kid in Hot Topic clothes in the mall. It's the kid walking on the side of Hebron Ave, at noon, dressed in Hot Topic clothes, carrying a katana. I saw this kid a few weeks ago, and it really put it all into perspective for me.
I don't know why he was carrying a katana. Don't know what he was going to do with it, or where he was headed. All I know is that this 16 - 18 year old blond male was walking down Hebron Ave at lunch time with a large Japanese sword in hand. It was a beautifully surreal moment.
And that's what I think this is all about. Every breath just killing time until the next waitress unexpectedly gives me crap. Every little fake persona and white lie to coerce another smile when someone should be frowning. Every day trying to pull the strings and coerce into existence another scene kid with a katana.
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