So, the biggest downside really to Eugene livin' is the amount of times I have to hear in detail about the intricacies of zen, all spoken with the certain and casual conviction of the self-evident truth and value of it. It's hard, too, when your own views on mindfulness and meditation are not merely a shadow absence or negation but apparently a horrible twisted perversion of the original concepts. Pope, meet Antipope. Now FIGHT! Rome might win and repeat history, but play it out enough times and maybe the northerners'll get the right lucky shot in.

The constant confusion of the philosophy of zen versus the religion of original-locales Buddhism also irritates the crap out of me. I mean, shit, it's a world different.

It stokes ambitions of kingship in me, right enough, to enforce benevolent capitalism and specialized function-specific socialism. Because I am genius madman.


Upside? Invitation to sushi parties, edamame eatin', and some kind of weird mold-based tea that fascinates me.




Damnit, about an eighth of the time, all I can do is flashback to the Halloween party and then I'm distracted by visions of asses and cleavage in bright colors and lose my train of thought. Better than memories of 'Nam, but it's not reassuring when you're going for something past crass. I mean, if there'd been time for talk and room for body-language, it could've been more a gettin' to know you sorta scene (in the social networking not the Biblical sense), but packed like it was, what are you going to do but watch the pretty scenery pass and writhe and occasionally bounce by. To my credit, it was "Look" not "Ogle". 'Cause I'm classy and smart enough for subtlety. I really miss being pure tick-tock, tell you what. It was a hell of a lot less hemi-embarassing. I remember when certain body parts was just parts defined by fat distribution. It was a good time. Well, technically, it was a time without the impulse to consider good or bad past values of "Effective" and "Dischordant", but that's the world through ROBOT EYES.

Aaaaand MONSTROUS!