For an insecure, shy little kid, middle school swimming class seemed like a nightmare. In that youthful ignorance, having an Olympic-sized swimming pool connected to shower rooms and lockers in your junior high school was taken for granted. Knowing nothing about aerobics or cardiovascular health or fitness in general, we would all systematically line up in our swim suits, await instructions and submerge ourselves in cold, chlorinated water while shivering and chattering like jitterbugs.
It didn’t quite make sense why it was cold at first and then became tolerable after a few routines. At the end of each lesson was “free swim”, in which they blared a pop radio station over the loudspeakers while everyone was allowed to do as they pleased for the last 15 minutes of class. Sometimes I’d try to show off to the girls by doing front flips off the diving board and then diving down to the bottom of the 13-foot deep end. I don’t think it worked.
But mostly what I liked to do was grab a snorkel and goggles and submerge myself as deep as possible and listen to the music, bouncing off the tiled floors and reverberating around the enormous ceiling and back through the water. Sometimes until class had already left I’d still be there, hanging out a few feet beneath the water’s surface listening to the amplified, distorted sound waves and letting myself forget that I was breathing through a plastic tube.
With nothing but rubble at my feet, can I still call myself a businessman?
It’s sort of like if a twee version of Dead Skeletons had their vocals mixed by John Maus.
Not by my choice.
Sometimes when you extend a helping hand out of the goodness of your heart, people will lash out with unbridled toxicity. It’s one of the risks in actively helping others instead of carrying on a shitty indifferent attitude toward things that are clearly wrong.
I think I’d be OK being deaf.
For the last half a year I’ve been doing 3 mile runs every day. When I was younger and thought about running when I got older, I always imagined I’d get pumped up about making playlists on an iPod or something and start fashioning mixtapes specifically for running.
Instead, I run to silence. It’s the most inspiring part of my entire day. Of course, there are the sounds of life taking place all around you.
Fastest run: 3.2 mi / 22 mins (some Keith Richards pace)
Longest run: 6.8 mi / 51 mins
You will need:
1. Steak, cut into strips
2. Cooked long grain rice
3. 1 clove garlic, 1/2 cup green onions, 1/2 cup carrots, 1 cup your choice of vegetables
4. 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tbsp corn starch, 2 tbsp vegetable oil (separated), 1 tbsp chili stock, 1/2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp beef bullion granules, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 cup water
Dissolve granules into water and bring to a boil. Mix in soy sauce and corn starch and turn heat to low. Stir until heated and set aside. Mix together minced garlic, ground ginger, black pepper and brown sugar with steak strips and cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat, adding 1 tbsp vegetable oil as needed. Remove and set aside once cooked as desired. Mix in chopped vegetables, chili stock and 1 tbsp vegetable oil to remaining oil in skillet and cook until crisp and brown on the edges. Stir then mix in soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for three minutes and remove from heat.
Serve over heated rice.
I think every once in awhile you just need to break something. The more “valuable” the thing, the better. The more frustrated while doing so, the better.
I’m convinced there are a lot of very cancerous ideas imprinted into people based around societal and conventional norms. Not that being normal is wrong or anything, it’s just most people’s idea of normal probably isn’t healthy or sane by any means considering the rise of unfettered capitalism and all the completely insane bullshit that comes along with it.
It really isn’t very difficult to see past the social anxiety and stress that our materialistic nature instills in us. Just let go of things. It’s never easy, but that’s the point. You eventually realize how much better off you are, and it teaches the value of the things worth cherishing. This is where I write something heartwarming about feelings, people, love, or memories.
Next time you get angry, break something. Preferably something you possess ownership of, to avoid any legal trouble.
Is it really necessary to point out why going after BitTorrenters is the completely wrong approach to ending internet piracy? People everywhere are constantly losing money. Once you’re done raping the innocent for your profiteering, will the justice system step in and help them too?
