Jade is a gemstone too.

Can't always be diamonds.

What is this generation's "Going Off to War"? Because 'Going to War' certainly isn't it. Sixty five years ago if you were a bored young American man, there was an easy and noble option: Go to war. Suddenly you've got a job. People need you. You are REALLY IMPORTANT. You're doing something great. Something heroic. Someday they're gonna make a movie about you, kid, and everyone's gonna remember.

And it's not just the stuff you're doing that's great- it's the stuff you DON'T have to do.

Paperwork? Fuck you, I'm dodging bullets.
Traffic? Not on the ocean, pal. Not in this tank, buddy.
Girls? What do you think I'm fighting for. No I'm not ignoring you, I'm saving your life. Thank me later.

Oh man. There is no dating stress when you could die at any moment. Cause honey, I can't follow a format when there's a mortar right outside my door.

The greatest thing about going off to war is that you're only worried about your life. The same shit my dog worries about. The same stuff a three-toed sloth in a jungle somewhere is worried about. A live or die situation sounds surprisingly relaxing.

All you have to do is not die. You get a pass for just about everything else.

See back then, people excused our soldiers because everyone knew the war mattered. We had a legitimate supervillain in Hitler. We had a clear and traceable ambush to provoke us in Pearl Harbor. We got to play heroes and we actually knew who the bad guys were.

I don't talk religion or politics, so brief is sufficient: People don't believe in this war.

Because of that, "going off to war" today isn't a heroic option. You don't get to die for anything noble. It's hot and its boring and it's scary and when you get back, people aren't as much 'proud of you' as they are relieved you're alive.

So how do I go to war now?
---

We find this war in our hobbies. I want something I can tell them I'm doing so that they think I'm busy enough with something important that the fluff becomes negligible.

If I was dodging bullets 65 years ago they wouldn't care so much that I didn't always say the right thing at the right time. If I was fighting Hitler, I might be able to get away with 'chilling' on a Friday instead of going out.

There's this pressure to be so interesting, that all you can do is fake it or find some overwhelming purpose to compensate for it. Everyone knows that feverish protester who lives to raise awareness for some underrepresented endangered animal. Their whole fucking life dedicated to the Madagascar Scorpion and its rights.

This passion means its okay that they don't shower.
---

I like showers. I don't wanna stink. So I want to go to war. How do I go to war in 2007?

I have been so busy with this photography gig. It's work. It's literally work. Someone else would be making a ton of money for what I'm doing. It's WORK. It occupies my thoughts and my time and I'm busy. And this guitar has me busy. I'm just busy.

So busy that I can't go out on Tuesday, sorry, I'm shooting, and I can't hang on Friday, cause sorry, I'm practicing, and I'm exhausted on Sunday cause I was drinking (for work) on Saturday...

...

When do you get to ENJOY BEING INTERESTING!?

I'm so distracted with these interesting things that I never get to brag about it.

I'm online. I'm blogged, wired, websited, facebooked, myspaced, AIMed, business carded, partied and played and worked and busy and TIRED.
---

My roommate and I are watching Braveheart.
"Do you think he'd do well with girls these days?"
what do you mean?
"I mean I doubt he's got a sense of humor. He's so intense. Do you think a girl would wanna be around a guy like that these days?"
hmm I dunno.




---he doesn't have to be interesting or funny or charming or caring, because he's too busy worrying about his life and yours.

I just wanna relax. I'd love to fight for your life as long as it mattered. But this filler, this pressure, these hobbies... this distraction. It's boring.

I wanna go to school. I want my whole life to bank on whether or not the girl in my class sits next to me and smiles and stuff... la la la highschool.

I digress.




I've been spending so much time on myself, I guess I just forgot how much fun it is to spend time on other people.