Disillusioned Radiance

I used to automatically assume that people didn’t like me and so I didn’t talk to anyone. Then I found out about the term: introvert- where the person is classified as a reserved/solitary individual. And then I used to think that being an introvert is “ok- because there are others like me who share this personality trait”.

And then I realized that it was so impractical for someone to magically stumble upon me in a bakery I don’t go to, rereading my bukowski, and falling in love with all my quirks and imperfections.

You can be introverted like me and prefer book clubs over parties (or more accurately Halo parties over parties), or rather stay home and blog instead of going to a club. Introversion doesn’t mean you’re boring, quite the opposite in fact. But don’t confuse introversion with passivity. 
For change to happen, I believe wonders are achieved if you make the effort to get off your ass and just….do something. 

Talk to that girl.
Go on a bike ride.
Climb some muthafuggin rocks.
Discover new music.
MAKE new music.
Work out.
Go learn something new.
Paint.
Sing.
Dance.

And when you’re in the ebb and flow of any of these actions, you’ll come to realize that life isn’t as shitty as you make it out to be. That meditation within every action can give you peace of mind. And at the end of the day, you have the ability to make yourself happy without having to rely on others.

What are we but the sum of our memories?

A friend asked if he should keep old pictures or delete them with the mindset that deleting pictures means he either he's trying to forget the past, or he's trying to move on.

Some replied by saying keeping certain pictures are worthwhile if they're good memories whilst he should delete pictures that cause him pain. Now I know that we should try to shape our experiences and personalities based on generally positive vibes but I personally feel that deleting "painful" pictures is just you lying to yourself. I believe that every memory is important regardless of how happy or painful it was. Whatever you do, whatever decision you make- that's what makes you YOU. I am my every mistake and my every achievement. I own up to it and live through it. It is not a question of forgetting the past, it is the question of having the strength to live with it.

We create these impressions on people and in turn, create a memory of ourselves through someone's mind. Even after we die, our memory embedded in them lives on and in this way- we achieve immortality. It's not such an uncommon phenomenon. Many artists have achieved immortality by living in the minds of our current generation- viewing their art from thousands of years ago however fragmented it may have become. Memory is a fragile thing. Everyday we forget something, and thus everyday a little bit of us dies whilst creating new memories. Choosing to forget is redundant. Choosing to forget -to me- is a sign of weakness.

Sowing Season

Was losing all my friends. Was losing them drinking and to driving. Was losing all my friends but I got them back-

Junior year of high school (2006) I transferred from Colony High School to Corona Del Mar (Newport). It was during this transition that I experienced my first move. I had to abandon my past life and relationships and start anew in a frighteningly rich school. Albeit I made some great friends there,by the end of the year I moved again and back to my old home and high school of all places. To my surprise, some of my so-called friends didn't even notice I was gone. I grew up thinking that I would never leave this place because of all of the relationships I've acquired here but this one insignificant little moment (to anyone else) made me realize that life was so short and that I could be anywhere else. My time up to high school obviously didn't leave an imprint on anybody else's lives-why bother at all?

It was after Junior year of high school that I re-evaluated my life, my friends, and how I chose to spend my time. I stopped caring about my "status"-my "myspace"- my "image". I guess it was an appropriate time to develop senioritis. T'was also the year Brand New came out with their album: The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me.

This album changed my life- It made me accept myself. I was more content with the friends I could count on my fingers than the number of friends on my myspace. it was after I stoped caring about what people thought about me that I became happy- free to do anything without a care in the world about who might think me weird or who thought me strange. I AM weird. I think everybody is weird and that's ok, only some people try really hard to hide that fact and wear whatever swag they see on TV (and listen to whatever the radio spoon-feeds them) . At the end of it all, high school was some fleeting dream short lived, a machine I slept in whilst the saviors had wood and nails. But I've been awake for some time now and I look around to see people still dreaming.

Black Holes and Revelations

Have you ever met someone so bland, dull, and boring when it comes to their personality? Granted that you might just have different personality types and you find other things more interesting but more often than not, I feel like society has created a personality template that most people don't tend to deviate too far from. I don't mean to hate on music at all- in fact I'm a musician in my own right. I've written my own songs and play a variety of instruments (regardless of how proficient I am at them). But I feel that those who listen to the radio are fed the same notes at the same time repetitively are subjects of brainwashing. By all means, good for you for having at least some music in your life but you could at least develop your own taste instead of swallowing whatever mass media feeds you. Music is such a colorful part of life and if you're one of those people who just "listen to the radio"- I'm obliged to think that you're pretty fucking boring from that premise alone.

These people. They tend to be Black Holes of conversations. Whatever you say and/or ask, they'll simply nod their head in agreement or give one word answers. I came to the Revelation that regardless of how "nice", "cute", and "pretty" someone is or can be- the effort in getting to know them has never been worth it.

This is ibbqcats- losing faith in humanity. One boring person at a time. Be the change you want to see in the world and ask yourself if you would hang out with yourself. What do you do for fun on your free time? A question I'm surprised to see many people struggle with.

[[End Communication]]

Thoughts at night

Sometimes at night while laying on my bed I get lonely and think about how nice it must be to be in a relationship. And then I remember all the little things of my past relationship that makes me shiver. All the crap I had dealt with just for a little affection.Then I got around to thinking...maybe I just wanna cuddle and wonder if other people ever have this same feeling. Not even sex or anything- just...cuddle.

And that's when I found out that I was hypothetical cuddle slut.

And then I shame away this feeling with video games and Doctor Who feels.

[[End communication]] Ibbqcats out.

Voids for Cats

"We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off." -Tyler Durden- Chuck Palahniuk.

I can't help but feel that great writing is inspired by something well...great. However sorrowful or fantastic writing may be, there is a spark that happens naturally in the world and we as writers are there to capture it and turn it into something more or less. My predicament is the same of Tyler's. We have a war I'm pretty positive nobody truly knows anything about and a "Recession" where I slightly have less money in my pocket.  I'm not claiming to be in the political know-how or even up to date with the status-quo. Hell I don't even keep up with pop culture. Am I the only one who hates Justin Beiber and Chris Brown almost instantly? No. There is nothing so powerful that has moved me to write aside from the fact that there's a noticeable lack of it. Am I so blind as to not see the stories that unfold around me? Am I suffering writer's block? Are volumes so overwhelming that I've become deaf and blind?

I mustn't be afraid to flow my mind. For now I'll just write and write- clearing up one clot till the next black hole.

Camping with the Baman.

A few weeks ago I went camping at Kernville with two of my closest friends, Baman and Jacob.
We spent a total of 3 days out in that blazing heat but everything was well worth it. It was my first time river rafting and it was so much freaking fun. I had always thought those river trips were always kind of boring when read on paper. Just a bunch of white people doing white people stuff. Just kidding. Or am I? I mean think about it. You get a raft and you just sit in it and you float slowly down a river. We weren't even tied together to talk during our float or anything so most of the time we're just....floating there. But as boring as floating sounds, it was different and a very good different at that. It was one of those "you had to be there" experiences but I'll do my best to rationalize why river rafting is the shit.

If you've never been, the sheer thrill of hiking out towards the river, mounting rocks, and throwing your raft down is already giving you a sense of adventure. Look at you...doing hoodrat things with your hoodrat friends. At this point, it doesn't matter what you're really doing, as long as you're doing something with good company.

As soon as you throw your raft down, you realize that despite this bolstering heat, the water is pretty damn cold and you're getting second thoughts. You've already made that hike though and you're too lazy to walk all the way back to the truck in this heat. Screw it. You jump in your raft and off you go on a current that seemed much slower from a distance. Now you're floating off with no hope of stopping because there's nothing to grab onto and the bottom of the river is actually quite deep. You're hoping your friends will do the same and jump in too and you're hoping they do it quick because this shit is now pretty fucking fast and you don't want to be alone.

Fast forward. ->>
Your friends finally catch up with you on the slow part of the river where you can just relax...until you head white water crashing in the distance. Your raft picks up speed again and soon you find yourself maneuvering between rocks and branches hoping to God or whatever deity you wish that your raft won't get punctured-whilst hitting your ass on the rocks you're unfortunate enough to go directly over.

Add this scenario with screaming almost the entire length of the river, and you got yourself a damn good time.

[[End Communication]] -Ibbqcats out.

More Photos Here: Kernville

Day Zero 2

It's my first time actually writing after getting back from my travels and although I have plenty of stories from my adventures in SouthEast Asia, I'm not quite ready to share them just yet. Instead- I'll be blogging again in an attempt to start my writing again even if it has nothing to do with my creative aspirations. I'm writing for the sake of writing.

I'm currently job hunting and it's going pretty slow. I've applied to several places that have nothing to do with my major and I'm pretty conflicted about that. I understand that my parents need a little extra income but it's kind of going against everything I stood for in college. I chose English Literature as a major because it instills creativity whilst mathematics and science are beautiful in their own sense, they don't involve imagination quite like Literature does. Getting back on topic with the job hunt, my mom suggested I work at the local Seven Eleven. Albeit I could work there because they have an open position, I realized that I had just finished 5 years of higher education and wait for it....dare I say it---aim a little higher? Money is important but they don't call us starving artists for no reason. I am an artist in my own right. I write-I create-I discover. I would rather dream big and dare to fail instead of playing it safe and not trying at all. In my honest opinion, I felt that the other departments such as math, science, and engineering were safe bets and thus I chose the opposite. Fingers crossed to be your next Librarian.

Day Zero

I woke up today and noticed that the window next to my bed was open. I usually like to sleep with some background noise as long as the noise isn't sporadic or too constant. Sporadic like the random high pitches of your family karaoke-ing downstairs, constant like the precise monotonous ticking of the second hand of your clock in  a quiet room. The calm sound of the outdoors, even if it's an urban outdoors is soothing to me. I like the sound of cars passing by, the morning birds that start chirping around 5 am, the occasional stray dog that wanders the street with its collar still jingling along with it wherever it goes.

I realized that these are the subtle things I'll probably miss when I'm out there travelling. I suspect I wont get that feeling of serenity and peace when I wake up, something that I usually don't pay attention to-

At this time next week, I will be on a plane to Southeast Asia.

I will be recording my journey but unfortunately I don’t think Wifi is that abundant over there. I know one month isn’t really THAT long but seeing as how it’s my first experience out there in the foreign world without parental guidance with just me, my cousin, and our backpacks- I feel like I should write a little blurb of my thoughts pre-journey.

I’m nervous, clueless, but with a ravenous sense of wanderlust. Getting away from school and work is as exciting as it is scary. I don’t know what to expect but I suspect I my soul will develop immensely afterwards (if I even get through the trip alive.) I’m at that chapter in my life where I’m supposed to move on from school and find a job/career that i’ll settle down with for the rest of my life, working for money until the day I die. If that’s what growing up means, then the Peter Pan in me is as rambunctious as ever.

I haven’t gotten it figured out yet. Maybe nobody ever has, but I do know that there is so much more to life than the “job” my parents and society want me to have. Some people have families and obligations to live up to which stress more emphasis on obtaining a steady income. I totally understand that. And sure- I’m an only child and you can call me spoiled too. But what good is being an only child if you don’t take advantage of it? What good is being an only child if you aren’t in a relationship and have as many obligations in life?

With less ties than others, i’m given the opportunity to set aside time to discover myself with a trip like this. Whatever happens out there, I will never regret this trip. For how will I know limits from lies if I never try?

Some recent climbing pics (pre-injury)

A Short Take on Writing

I joined Tumblr with the original intent on making it a personal blog and now it seems that ALL I do is reblog other content. In a way though, my reblogs are a way of sharing what I think is beautiful, inspiring, funny, and sometimes just downright fucking sexy. These reblogs ARE me. Images portray a thousands of of different meanings. These images, songs, and videos all resemble a part of me that isn’t so unlike me. It is contorted, confused, and chaotic. I’m a self proclaimed writer but I don’t write much. I honestly just have a love for writing. I’m intimidated by putting my thoughts to the written/typed word because it is chaotic. Maybe a part of me doesn’t want to portray how lost I feel- to the world so I show tid bits and glimpses of it via tumblr.

Albeit I do admit I admire blogs that do post personal things. It gives me some distorted sense of virtual intimacy with a random person online. To know deep personal problems and the little things that make people tick, these are the things that actually make me feel less alone in the world. I’m a single child, and life without brothers or sisters is a life quite lonely. Sure it has it’s perks. I’m spoiled but I don’t flaunt it. At least I don’t think I do. I do my best to be humble with everything in my life (except video games. I’ll fucking own your shit). Yeah friends are there too, but you can’t simply just MAKE a new brother or sister. Cousins are nice too but I feel like it’s nothing compared to a fraternal/sororal bond. But getting back on topic, feeling some sort of connection with a complete stranger out there is something in and of itself.

I believe that’s why I love the printed word so much. If it went through enough effort to be printed, it means that someone somewhere thought long and hard about which word to put down and which word to put out. It’s an art. Seeing which words flow seamlessly with each other whilst still having the ability to convey subtle hidden messages. I want to be able to reach out to all the introverts out there who go into hermit mode because the things in their everyday life can turn to shit. I want to touch them with words to let them know that there are others out there who know and share their struggle. I’m not talking about self help books or anything like that, moreso I want to provide an escape.

I want to to help people of all ages escape into a world of magical nonsense where dragons breath lightning and frost, where the boy gets the girl/ girl gets the boy. I want to bring them into my world of fiction where I am God. I decide who lives and who dies. If I’m going to entertain people with my writing, why not have fun while I’m at it? Yeah yeah I know, I get shit for comparing myself to God but you see…that’s precisely why I write. I’m free to write about whatever the hell I want and if you don’t like it, that’s your problem- Not mine. I HAVE to be pretentious. It’s not an option in this profession, if you can even call it that.

“Man is naturally born into a state of freedom. He is not born so that he might submit to rules or a master. This though has occurred to me. But does this not contradict the duties of a warrior?”


“Freedom is neither won through painful struggle, nor can it be forced into existence. What’s more, freedom has absolutely nothing to do with one’s social status or profession. To simply accept yourself as you are, and as you live, to let it be. In this is freedom.”

//Jin & Priest.

To me it is interesting to watch anime not only because of it's pure aesthetic value but also for it the ideas it inspires for thought and conversation. What Jin asks of the priest pertaining to what freedom really is- is more perplexing than most realize. The Bushido Code is a doctrine of moral values upheld by the Japanese Samurai that literally translates to "Way of the Warrior". It upholds frugality, loyalty, and honor above all else. What happens when a samurai becomes masterless and considers freewill? To Jin, the duties of the Bushido code was his life. With his very question, he is already free in the sense that he questions his status and direction in life. He is free to contemplate a future without penalty for free thought.

Yet there is always some paradox when it comes to finding a purpose in life. The priest's answer rings true in most buddhist philosophy. Freedom cannot be forced into existence-to accept yourself as you are is true freedom. What happens though when one's social status is focused on being free and happy? By asking about it, you are now mentally barred from becoming it. This theme dates back further than even ancient Japan- way back to Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, characters often find themselves with the predicament of foreknowledge. When characters are told of their fate and/or unfulfilled destiny, does freewill even exist at that point? Do we all grow into the people we are meant to be or do we shape our own lives? By thinking about trying to be free- we are bound by the thought alone. Freedom via peace of mind in itself is a conundrum when you analyze it. To achieve peace of mind, you must simply be- instead of forcing it. Yet with this foreknowledge, achieving bliss and enlightenment becomes near impossible.

Perhaps this is why Balance is so prevalent in Buddhist and Taoist philosophy. To find and refine the right amount of thought and freedom to achieve enlightenment, freedom, and the happiness all buddhists seek.

Recovery

I have to learn to be patient. Being a cripple and hobbling around on one foot and crutches really made me restless and irritable. I noticed that my behavior for the past few days has been rude and snappy to my caretakers. I wonder if other handicapped people go through the same phase. That phase where we just get tired of people constantly asking if we're "ok" or if we can handle it. My foot might be lame but the other one works just fine. It's more of a injured pride thing moreso than an injured foot thing. The point where we realize that we're being "babied" as grown men and women- forced to be dependent on others for miniscule tasks. Regardless of injury, I've gone to parties, a desert camping trip at Joshua Tree for a meteor shower, San Diego, birthday parties, and more. Today is day two without crutches and I can't seem to get around without a limp. At this point, I'm just really hoping that my foot heals up before my travels.

Crutches

Although it’s tiring as fuck to get anywhere with crutches, I’m trying to not let it inhibit my routine activities save for the obvious shit like rock climbing. I just got home from a fucking random ass trip to SD and honestly-as much I love talking to the friends that accompanied me and one particular friend I met there, it was the people of the city that were cool as fuck.

Wandering the campus and talking to strangers there was a little boring in the sense that these students don’t have much else to say aside from daily chit chat and classroom chatter. Further into the night we stopped by some park that overlooked a channel and a major part of the city that was beautiful and surprisingly bearable temperature wise. (I figured the crutches were keeping me warm). It was there where I saw two photographers at midnight, one with his kid and the other with his wife, discussing camera settings and techniques to capture the best quality of picture via interval shooting. It was just something about these 2 men that were indulging in their hobbies late into the night with their loved ones that warmed my heart. As we continued onto the pier, I met a couple that were fishing with a tent set up at the very edge of the pier. They were extremely friendly and were even willing to teach me how to fish had my ride decided to stay any longer.

I guess it’s just refreshing to see folk out there doing recreational things instead of seeing/hearing the ratchet ass clubs and booty grinding music. All in all, the heavy breathing and panting from the crutches was well worth my time today as opposed to sitting on my ass at home- rotting away in front of MTV. In 11 hours, I’ll be on my way to Joshua Tree to witness this year’s Lyrid Meteor shower/ camping there for the night with a few friends.

Getting excited for my travels.

Humbled

School is done, and I've been keeping busy with fun. For the sake of memories, I'll briefly record what i've done. I've gone to the shooting range, played videogames, and hung out with friends. I played Ingress, a Google+ social experiment disguised as a game using smartphone GPS that marks what people consider a point of interest in public places. It discludes commercialized places and focuses moreso on art, sculptures, monuments, museums, parks, etc... Of course, the game itself shouldn't be my motivation to visit these nice public places but up to date, there hasn't really been anything like this that lists spots of interest. Walking through downtown Claremont, I would have never gone off the well beaten path to see beautiful sculptures, museums, and colleges. The game serves as a mini-trip, allowing me to explore my own city, my own county, my own state for points of interest i'd appreciate much more if I were a tourist-all for free save the cost of gas. I've also clocked in a lot of time rock climbing. I've been climbing indoors just to build my endurance up while trying my hand at outdoor climbing. I've gone to Corona Del Mar, New Jack City, and Mt.Baldy to do both sport climbing/top roping and bouldering. Although climbing outside is much more dangerous and difficult, all it takes is one climb throughout the entire day to boost your confidence level to the point of tackling anything indoors. However I must admit that life has a funny way of humbling you.

Yesterday after a very short climb indoors, I was tackling a problem that was beyond my skill level and my ankle paid the price. I was attempting an unmarked V3 and fell from an 8ft drop. Although the floor is padded to prevent any hard shock injury, it didn't prevent my right foot from rolling inwards. Falling at 30mph from an 8ft drop with 135lbs of force all into my right ankle, I have to admit it was pretty painful. I even did a little pain dance with my foot in the air. The immediate swelling grew to the size a large grapefruit but thanks to icepacks and a homemade shin splint, we were able to reduce the swelling down to the size of an apple. From the stories I've heard, I'm expecting about 2-3 weeks before full recovery but until then we'll see. I've yet to check it via x-ray and i'm afraid they might have to pop something back in if that's the case.
I have no regrets. The problem was fun and the injury could've happened to anyone. At the moment, I'm still living life with the philosophy that you're not really living if you're not out of your comfort zone. I'm constantly trying new things and I'm still planning to go to Joshua Tree to view the years largest meteor shower. For now, I'm a cripple trying to occupy myself with books, netflix, video games, and internet.

Neverland

I’m in a comfortable niche right now but I feel the storm coming.

The world and all it’s splendor will open up too many opportunities I’ll probably regret missing out on and I’m unsure if it’s because I’m anchored by responsibilities or content with luxuries. I always say that you’re only as old as how you feel but what happens when you start to feel your age? In what other way can I cheat the deterioration of my life if not in the mind where it truly counts?

This swirl of oncoming responsibility and freedom with the accomplishment of my near-graduation is too much to anticipate while I compose 12 pages of literary material essentially regurgitating 10 other sources into a “voice” that is supposedly mine. No, instead of writing my term papers, I’d rather say what’s actually on my mind for a change. I’m afraid of falling into a slump of the familiar. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat.
The world is so much more terrible/more wonderful than that. The idea of finding a steady income is what scares me. I can’t imagine how people memorize schedules and deadlines whilst counting down till their vacation days. Is the stable flow of money and security really that important?

In the end, what is the value of one’s life? The amount of money they’ve acquired? How successful they feel? How many houses they’ve got? My philosophy has always esteemed happiness as the most important factor ever but determining what makes one happy is an art in and of itself. It requires extensive exploring and experimentation-to make one step outside of their comfort zone forever onward. I’d love to literally go exploring in the modern sense of the word (backpacking) but there are so many deep seated attachments one would have to sacrifice.

I’m referring to family. If it’s not already the biggest obligation in your life- I don’t know what else could compare. You owe two of them your existence. If they’re good parents, they’ve built a life for you and provided for you. But to explore the limits of absolute beauty and ecstasy, you have to be free of them. How can anyone really let loose when in the back of your mind, you know that someone is worried sick about you having a roof over your head? The guilt holds you back. I’m definitely NOT saying that you have to be an orphan to be truly happy. I’m saying you need to reach a near impossible compromise of understanding between you and your loved ones that you’ll have to go away for a very long time to discover yourself. And thus we return to the responsibilities of growing up, and providing for those who provided for you. Of course we love them in one way or another, but it is an unspoken obligation nonetheless.

“I want to always be a boy, and have fun!,” to which Wendy replies “You say so, but i think its your greatest pretend.”

Fuck you Wendy. Not all of us are Victorian.

I feel like a boy chasing more than his own shadow.

New Beginnings

It has been a week since I graduated college and I think it's funny that I haven't really touched my video games at all. When I was in school, I felt like that's almost all I did because they provided an escape. Now that I have nothing to escape from, the allure of video games don't attract me as much because I feel like I can be doing something else with my life. Ever since I quit crossfit two years ago, there hasn't been a single day that I don't think about it. I see the physical progress of some of my old friends and I'm not in any sense jealous but proud and happy for them because healthy living is a beautiful thing. After being couped up in my room doing nothing but reading literature and playing video games, I feel like the muscle atrophy I went through has seriously affected my happiness level. Simply looking in the mirror depressed me because I am a shadow of what I used to be 2 years ago and 30lbs heavier with pure muscle. I know I complain on the surface but I can't get enough of physical activity and it's what I crave most right now. Thankfully, I've been blessed with friends and family that stay active and I've been able to go out and explore new sports and activities.

Today is March 31st, 2013 Easter Sunday. It is also my birthday and I can't help but think that this was some cosmic poetical coincidence. The day I was brought into this world happens to be the day Christ was resurrected from the grave. His return represents new hope and beginnings, thus arrival of Spring and flowers re-blooming after the harsh winter. Is it coincidence that my graduation was near my birthday, essentially freeing me from one of the longest chapters of my life (school)? Last night I met a man named Sean and he was telling me of his travels through New Zealand in which he spent a minimum of 3000$ lasting him 8 months.  I'm about to travel to Japan with a stay of 2 weeks and an allowance of 4000$. Sean's take on essentials really put my travels into perspective in which I reallly do just want to travel in the "backpacking" sense of the word. Perhaps real traveling is something I should look into instead of this...typical tourist type of traveling that involves hotels, luxury, and room service. I yearn to explore the world to find peace of mind without worry of money, taxes, relationship problems, and uneccessary drama. To me it is a form of peaceful meditation that should be a way of life. Isn't that what the Buddhist strive for? Enlightenment? Nirvana? To empty your mind and focus on the task at hand. That's essentially what rock climbing is to me. The only thing that matters is getting to the next rock, the next hold and nothing else. I'm not burdened by any other thoughts and I can honestly say it's the only time I feel like I'm right with the world. Rock climbing is only a temporary relief though. After your 4 hour climb, you get back into your car or your bike and you go back home to the same comfortable lifestyle. Backpacking sounds like an everlasting experience and maybe 8 months is a bit much but perhaps I can try 2 months of traveling on my own. --I should've asked for camp gear for my birthday.

On Weed

Personally, I don’t smoke but I’m really indifferent about who smokes it and who doesn’t. It’s just another fish in a vast sea of monsters.

What I DO care about is how people carry themselves when it comes down to “choosing” a side on whether Marijuana is Bad or Good.
“There is nothing either Good or Bad, but thinking makes it so” -William Shakespeare.
Nobody is any better than the person next to them because they choose to stay away from the substance and the same can be said the other way around.

But what really irks me is the pride. Sweet Jesus the pride…
I once asked a fellow at a mutual friend’s birthday party if he smoked and he rolled his eyes and made a sign with his hands. I didn’t know what it meant so I asked him and he replied with these rehearsed lines: “I’m above the influence”. Is that the slogan nowadays? Is this some hipster bullshit that somehow spread onto televised media or is there something else I’m missing altogether? Way to go broski.

You made it known that:

1. You don’t smoke weed.
2. You’re now a condescending asshole.

And yet…the pride still irks me the other way around.
Let’s say you do smoke weed. Please don’t be one of those annoying bandwagon morons with the whole 420 crap. That’s ALL I hear:
“420 hahaha”
“420. get it?!?”
“What time is it? 4:20”
“Dude it’s 420”

I know some brilliant minds out there who smoke weed. Please don’t reinforce stereotype that all of you who smoke are this fucking annoying.

Please?