Neurotic Wonder
So it's three times now, that I'm aware of I may have missed a few, where people have invited / asked me to participate in an online quiz / meme and I've said something flippant like, "My newly formed religion forbids it!" The three bloggers are The Diva Drip, The Paper Back Writer, and now The Pink Goldfish. So lets explore my rejection of this material a little further.
Do I really truly have a sort of religious aversion to answering these types of questions? Yes and No. On the yes end of that equation is my tendency to equate quizzes and memes with the type of content one might find in the types of magazines where one can learn ten ways I can please my lover better, or the 15 secrets of relationships. Is this a valid link? No. Many of these quizzes ask questions that go to ones character, they ask a person to spend more than a moment contemplating what truly matters and then to brave the idea of sharing it. Does admitting this change my aversion? No.
On the No end of the spectrum is the fact that I'm very lazy. When I first started this blog I would add pictures on occasion to illustrate my rants. If I was talking about my fat cat I would start out with a picture of em. On nights I really didn't feel like writing I would find myself adding pictures with just a funny caption. I started to treat the blog as a chore. To many days have gone by without an update, but I have nothing to say, better add a picture to let people know that new content is being produced. To avoid doing this I created Everyday Absurd. Any time I have a photo to share I stick it there. I feel that should I start answering these quizzes and memes this would become just another internet diary instead of a collection of neurotic rants, sublime humor and crackpot theories.
That said, however, one must stop and examine what one is rejecting out of hand. The first question of a quiz The Pink Goldfish recently took asks: (What are) 7 things I plan to do before I die?
Holy rocking of my foundations Batman. I'm a guy who refuses to keep a calendar or wear a watch. I start filling out calendars or planning my life out and suddenly its like I have every moment of my life accounted for right up till death. What are my plans for next year? No idea. Next Week? No idea. Tomorrow? Sleep in. Probably play with the computer? Pet the cats. Not really sure about the rest. I may have oat squares for breakfast. I may not. It's too early to tell. Many of my problems in life revolve around a stubborn refusal to plan too much of my life? I think I'd like to be a father, but I can't plan for that (the lack of a uterus and all). I'd like to get paid to write. Dream of Dreams, I'd like to make a living wage without having to spend the vast majority of my time working or in transit. I'd like to get into a real writing program. I should probably at some point study punctuation. A relationship would be nice, but I kind of lump that in with the fatherhood thing as I don't see myself just spreading my seed around at random. I'd like to die of extreme old age.
One question, just barely touched, and I have half a page of material. I step terrifying close to my neurotic core being and time will tell if I'm a better man because of it.
In summary: I'm not being a snob about the quizzes (well not totally) I just know how easy it would be for me to fall into the mindset of seeing this as a chore instead of an opportunity. I don't wear a watch. Still no uterus.
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Do I really truly have a sort of religious aversion to answering these types of questions? Yes and No. On the yes end of that equation is my tendency to equate quizzes and memes with the type of content one might find in the types of magazines where one can learn ten ways I can please my lover better, or the 15 secrets of relationships. Is this a valid link? No. Many of these quizzes ask questions that go to ones character, they ask a person to spend more than a moment contemplating what truly matters and then to brave the idea of sharing it. Does admitting this change my aversion? No.
On the No end of the spectrum is the fact that I'm very lazy. When I first started this blog I would add pictures on occasion to illustrate my rants. If I was talking about my fat cat I would start out with a picture of em. On nights I really didn't feel like writing I would find myself adding pictures with just a funny caption. I started to treat the blog as a chore. To many days have gone by without an update, but I have nothing to say, better add a picture to let people know that new content is being produced. To avoid doing this I created Everyday Absurd. Any time I have a photo to share I stick it there. I feel that should I start answering these quizzes and memes this would become just another internet diary instead of a collection of neurotic rants, sublime humor and crackpot theories.
That said, however, one must stop and examine what one is rejecting out of hand. The first question of a quiz The Pink Goldfish recently took asks: (What are) 7 things I plan to do before I die?
Holy rocking of my foundations Batman. I'm a guy who refuses to keep a calendar or wear a watch. I start filling out calendars or planning my life out and suddenly its like I have every moment of my life accounted for right up till death. What are my plans for next year? No idea. Next Week? No idea. Tomorrow? Sleep in. Probably play with the computer? Pet the cats. Not really sure about the rest. I may have oat squares for breakfast. I may not. It's too early to tell. Many of my problems in life revolve around a stubborn refusal to plan too much of my life? I think I'd like to be a father, but I can't plan for that (the lack of a uterus and all). I'd like to get paid to write. Dream of Dreams, I'd like to make a living wage without having to spend the vast majority of my time working or in transit. I'd like to get into a real writing program. I should probably at some point study punctuation. A relationship would be nice, but I kind of lump that in with the fatherhood thing as I don't see myself just spreading my seed around at random. I'd like to die of extreme old age.
One question, just barely touched, and I have half a page of material. I step terrifying close to my neurotic core being and time will tell if I'm a better man because of it.
In summary: I'm not being a snob about the quizzes (well not totally) I just know how easy it would be for me to fall into the mindset of seeing this as a chore instead of an opportunity. I don't wear a watch. Still no uterus.
More Laters
posted by Rich Rosenthal II at 2:18 AM
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