Tag: covid-19

Can You Relate?

Rob Says3 Comments

woman wearing white high top shoes

I went out with a friend of mine on Sunday and he introduced me to another guy who is approximately 18 years younger than me. This younger guy is a cool cat, he’s got his shit dialed in as far as I can tell. Let’s put it this way: I like him so far and he’s likeable.

The three of us went out and a some food and a drink at a microbrewery that I had never been to before and for the most part it was a really good time. The television was on in the background and thank god the volume was muted. The closed captioning however, was there in all of its glory.

The whole BLM and racism thing was going full force and the creators of the advertisements and the programs were going at it hard. It left a foul taste in my mouth. If people aren’t racist already, they will be when this whole thing is “over.” Instead of eradicating racism, it’s being created. I wonder if that is actually the goal.

While we were sitting there, commenting to one another about the ads and the programs that were going full force on the television, I felt uneasy. I felt watched. I felt like a target. I almost wanted to say to my friends, “Not so loud, you don’t want the other’s in here to hear you.” Not that they would have done anything necessarily, but it’s the idea that they could. As edgy and even as hostile as some people have become recently, who knows what could have happened?

I hate wearing masks. I hate that this virus has people running scared and hiding in their homes. I hate the riots. I hate all of it. I especially hate the fact that I don’t feel like I can relate to people as well as I did before the pandemic. Even “getting out there” isn’t the same as before, and I hate that the most.

My Father thinks that masks are going to be the norm from now on. Same with social distancing. I really hate thinking that he is probably right. What good is the world when you hate what it has become and the direction that it is going? All I can say is, I’m pretty sure that I’ll hate it even more than I already do.

I hate feeling paranoid and social media doesn’t help. Twitter is becoming a cancer to me. If I get off of it completely though I won’t have the interactions with my friends that I have there and I won’t sacrifice that. It’s too good to give that up.

Alcohol only goes so far in numbing some of the bullshit and after several beers the low is worse than what I felt before drinking, so boozing it up to complete excess and self medicating isn’t the answer. Maybe MDMA is. Hahahaha! I’ve never done that one, but I’ve heard great things about it. Problem is, I don’t know anybody who has some. That and I don’t trust strangers. I don’t want to get ripped off or get more than I bargained and paid for. So that’s pretty much out of the question.

Sex is a great placebo for a minute, but then it’s back to reality. I now understand the line from a Korn song where they say, “All I want to do is fuck it away.”

Writing about it all helps though, as weird as that may seem. Putting it “out there,” onscreen makes it seem more manageable and more petty that what is brewing in my head. The trivialities of an existential crisis. Life is absurd and since there’s no inherent meaning to life, you get to choose what life means to you. Except sometimes in the deep, dark, quiet of the night, life is just absurd with no meaning and pleasant sounding words and the click of the keys on a keyboard don’t kill the dread.

Can you relate? I started off with that title and when I typed those words, it had a different meaning than the one that is coming to me as I’m typing these words. How’s that for a swift kick in the ass?

I started off thinking, “I’m having a helluva time relating to people with everything that is going on, are you able to relate to the people around you? Can you relate to others?” and now I’m at, “Do you get me? Do you understand? Are you going through something similar?” Can you fucking relate?

This is almost stream of consciousness for you kiddies. Number of beers drank while writing this? Zero. Sobriety at one hundred percent. Jesus, what would it look like if I was drunk? I have no idea, but it would probably make more sense and it would be more entertaining. Maybe even relatable.

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Why You Shouldn’t Care About “Karen.”

Rob Says3 Comments

karencover

Lots of guys on the internet worrying about “Karen.” Why? Why do you care about what “Karen” does or doesn’t do? Karen is gonna Karen. Unless you married Karen, or are in a relationship with Karen, or thinking about marrying or being in a relationship with Karen, why do you care about Karen?

While we are talking about Karen, why are you so concerned with Murder Hornets? Remember Africanized bees from a few years ago? No? Yeah, no one else remembers them either, but apparently they were going to be the new scourge of the world and kill off all the honey bees and anyone else who got too close to them. The world didn’t come to an end then, and it isn’t going to come to an end with the Murder Hornets either.

I see so many guys “unplugging from the Matrix and taking the Red Pill,” finally starting to understand women’s behavior and whatnot, and while they are getting out of the Matrix, they are still stuck in the Web.

The Web of not only Mainstream Media, but also Social Media.

That article about Karen doing Karen stuff? Where did you see it? Who shared it with you? Why are you sharing it with me? Why do you think I care? Social media “news” is seldom newsworthy. It’s definitely not worth my time or attention, but why is it worth yours? Who is curating your news for you? What are you getting out of it?

Why are you choosing outrage over something else?

While everybody is “Karening” Karen, and thinking that the food supply is going to dry up because of hornets, and worrying about lines on photos, because guys are leaning in, I’ve been doing other things.

For one, I figured out how to get my microphone to sound like a high dollar professional microphone for free. I can not only record videos with great sound, I can live stream with great sound as well.

I’ve also figured out some cool edits that are really easy to do and they add a little more interest to my videos. They don’t take much time either, only a few seconds to do.

I’m also reading a couple of really good books, and while I’m at it, I’m having conversations with people that have nothing to do with Karen, COVID, or Murder Hornets. I’m even talking about lighting arrangements with a couple of guys.

Karen, COVID-19, leaning in, and Murder Hornets. This is what the internet has become. What a waste of time. Guys unplugging and yet still sucking down the outrage like it’s going out of style. I guess you guys can’t let go of your mental masturbation.

What do you get from it? A dopamine hit? Do you feel like you’ve done something useful or productive with your time? Are you looking for “brownie points?”

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it yet again:

Vote With Your Attention, Vote With Your Wallet.

When you click on that link and read that article that Karen wrote, what are you doing? You’re doing exactly what she wants you to do. You’re giving her attention. Same with the YouTube videos about her. Why are you giving any of it a moment of your time? Is your life really that good (or dull) that you have nothing else to do?

Who cares what Karen does? Who cares what she thinks? Same with Murder Hornets. What are you going to do about them? Start carrying cans of RAID around and nuke every flying insect you see? Why are you reading and watching stuff that tells you what to be afraid of? Why are you reading and/or watching stuff that tells you what to be outraged about?

You don’t watch Mainstream Media anymore right? Haven’t done it for years? And yet your reading, sharing, retweeting, and commenting on things that are even more absurd and trivial than what the Mainstream Media is showing these days.

When you have to talk about Karen, guess what that makes you? A Karen.

You’ve “unplugged” right? Now get out of the Web of Social and Mainstream Media. Decide what is actually worth your time and energy. Outrage isn’t it.

Those links to articles and videos that you want to share with me? I’ve already seen them. I saw them over two years ago. Nothing has changed. Do me a favor and don’t share them with me, because I don’t care.

Get out of the Web of Outrage and do something more creative and productive with your time. Or stay stuck in it and burn. Either way I don’t care. Just don’t share that nonsense with me. I’m done with it.

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“Half.”

Rob SaysLeave a comment

blue toy car

Half.

That’s what my workforce has been reduced to since the beginning of our ordeal with the virus. Half. I don’t know if my work can reduce the workforce any more than they already have. If customers keep closing their doors to keep out the virus, there won’t be enough work to warrant keeping our doors open at some point. And there we are.

In other news, I’ve been working on a video for a couple of weeks now that I fully intend to finish and release, but with the latest turn of events with the earthquake and the virus, the video doesn’t seem to be very relevant right now. So I’m shelving it for the time being and I’m going to focus on other topics and other things. In a lot of ways, the video would not only seem to be irrelevant, but it almost smacks of cyber-bullying at this point. Kicking a person while they are down, while they might have it coming,  and would feel immensely gratifying, it would not be very challenging or very “honorable.” It would feel like, “Oh, that girl wanted to fight you, and so you did. And you won. Cool bro, but you beat up a girl.” She wanted it and she got it, but you beat up a girl. I hope that makes sense.

I find it interesting that some guys are talking about “women coming out of the woodwork on online dating apps” now that the plague is here. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, honestly I don’t know, I’m still not on dating apps and have no plans on getting back on them any time soon. Right now “dating” and even sex for the most part, has taken a back seat in my life. I’ve got bigger fish to fry at the moment.

My thoughts about the women showing up, if they are though? Good for the guys if they are. Keep in mind that we are just starting our ordeal with the virus. Women may be getting bored, but most likely they are frightened more than anything. Two or three weeks into a quarantine isn’t going to change their views or their natures. If anything, I think they are looking for reassurance right now. I think they are looking for someone to tell them that “everything will be okay.” Ladies, everything will be okay. There you go. We need to go a lot longer or have something even bigger and badder happen to really see honest change happen.

If the plague ended tomorrow and “Big Daddy Government” gave us the green light to go back to work and resume our everyday lives, women would go back to what they have been doing and what they have been taught to do over the last 50 years or so. Let’s not kid ourselves. I’m not saying don’t meet women for fun and sex, by all means, if that’s what you want, knock yourself out. But keep in mind if you are interacting with women during this time that they are adapting to their current environment at the moment, as well they should, but don’t delude yourselves into thinking that they’ve made any significant changes in their lives right now. Nature is still what it is.

It either takes a significant period of time to effect true and long lasting change, or it takes something that borders on the catastrophic to get there quickly. Working from home, not being able to go to the gym or to the bar, and runs on toilet paper isn’t it. Even losing a job, while that can be stressful, isn’t going to be that catalyst to effect a long term change. People talk about, “we are in hard times.” We haven’t even begun to experience hard times yet.

When the power becomes truly intermittent or goes out entirely, with no idea of when it comes back on, or if it does, that’s hard times. When the water stops running and the garbage piles up in the streets and the sanitation department is a distant memory, then we will be experiencing hard times. When you don’t know when you will eat next, or if you will eat again, that’s hard times. Not being able to sit down at your favorite fast food restaurant with your friends, and you can only pick up your food at the drive-up, that isn’t hard times.

When the semi-trucks stop delivering groceries to your supermarket and no one knows if or when they will deliver next, that’s hard times. We’re not there yet.

You’ve got internet, electricity, running clean water, guys picking up your trash, a working cellphone, working heat and air conditioning, and meals still readily available? Yeah, you haven’t hit hard times yet. Women are no different. You think they’ve “changed?”

Yeah, we aren’t there yet.

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