A B C D E
F G H I J
K M N O P
Q R S T U
V W X Y Z
Noel.
Observations, rants, and plausible
deniability from a person who refuses
to be a prisoner of his own world.
deniability from a person who refuses
to be a prisoner of his own world.
The Village
I AM WRITING!
My Screenplay -- Draft Three
I'm currently reading:
On my Kindle 2
I'm listening to:
iTunes Radio
I'm driving:
The Honda FCX Clarity
Tuesday, December 20, 2005, posted by Q6 at 4:25 PM
As November came to an end, I found that my son was behind in several assignments in his Humanities class (which is really nothing more than a two-period class combining English and History--a concept I'm not fond of, for to do two things at once is to do neither). In an attempt to be the active parent I've always wished to be, I contacted the teacher, met with him (and my son), and spent the next few days being the inquisitive taskmaster ("Did you do this?" "Did you do that?"), all the while double-checking with the teacher. And in less than a month--almost immediately, in fact--the problem went away. His assignments were being completed on or ahead of time, his grades went back up, and I stopped having to ask within two weeks of making my presence known. He even made "Student of the Trimester" and the Assistant Principal's Honor Roll. Now I only ask once in a while. Did MY parents know this trick all along? Have I stumbled behind the curtain and exposed one of the wizard's secrets? It seems that the appearance of surveillance can be just as effective as the real thing.
Not that I'm gonna ignore him now, or anything.
Not that I'm gonna ignore him now, or anything.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005, posted by Q6 at 12:01 AM
My divorce becomes final today (ahem . . . my second divorce), and over the last week I've come to notice just how much people identify themselves by their marital status. "Why is this so important?" I've been asking myself. At what point did my attachment to a significant other become so . . . significant? There are so many other things that could be used to define me: my career, my hobbies, where I live. I guess these things come into play in some people's minds, and I'm sure that collectively they do say something about who I am. But lately I've been wondering about the institution of marriage and its efficacy--are we socially beating the issue to death? When I take a giant step back and look at my marital history, I see mistakes that (a) I couldn't have seen ahead of time, and (b) probably couldn't have been avoided in a culture where marriage is an assumed goal in life. Should marriage be the social requirement we've made it out to be? Should the concept itself be placed on such a high pedestal, especially with the divorce rate climbing as it is? Have we cheapened it? Diluted it? It seems that way from my end. What am I in the scheme of things, now? Am I "single?" Am I "divorced?" I guess the real question I want answered is, "Do I need a f**king label at all?"
Did I not think my first marriage through before hand? Arguably. Did I get married too quickly the second time? Without question. If I've learned anything at this point, it's that life isn't meant to be shaped by a societally-determined pattern. Bill Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes because he no longer found it feasible to conform artistic expression to a preset template, and he was right. Something as important as a meaningful relationship should not take a back seat to a cultural mold. I've spent far too much of my effort on the appearance of authenticity and someone else's idea of happiness. From this point on, I'll focus my energy on a relationship of true authenticity, of honesty, and without regard for its legal status. I owe that to the other person involved; more importantly, I finally owe that to myself.
Did I not think my first marriage through before hand? Arguably. Did I get married too quickly the second time? Without question. If I've learned anything at this point, it's that life isn't meant to be shaped by a societally-determined pattern. Bill Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes because he no longer found it feasible to conform artistic expression to a preset template, and he was right. Something as important as a meaningful relationship should not take a back seat to a cultural mold. I've spent far too much of my effort on the appearance of authenticity and someone else's idea of happiness. From this point on, I'll focus my energy on a relationship of true authenticity, of honesty, and without regard for its legal status. I owe that to the other person involved; more importantly, I finally owe that to myself.