IMHO

More and more I've learned that my opinions don't have to be just kept to myself and if people disagree, then good for them... they're allowed. But I don't have to keep them to myself, and this is going to be my healthy outlet of ideas.

So, Elise, here's a late birthday present. You will no longer be the only unfortunate person who gets to hear me rant about whatever particular thing is inspiring/bothering/fascinating/obsessing me. Now you all get to hear about it. Lucky you.

On Relationships...

Elise, for anyone who's reading this and doesn't already know me, is my girlfriend. We've been together for just over 2 years and things seem to be going smoothly. We're pretty much on the same base in what we expect out of life at this point so it makes being together pretty easy. I think the fact that we live, work, and do all recreational activities together and don't want to kill each other is a good sign. No... this is not an opportunity for any of you to give me that look I know you're giving. Marriage is not something we're (yes WE're) thinking about right now. It's not that we're not even considering it, it's just not something we feel like doing yet.

We both agree that our 20's are going to be our "me" years. I was going to say our selfish years, but I don't think that's very fair. When you're a kid you pretty much do what your parents say... yes, parents do everything they can to try to allow their kids the freedom to do what they want, but it's kind of hard when you can't drive, have no money, and the word "no" can stop everything you wanted to do in its tracks. Then when you get old enough to drive, you rebel from it but in a way you're a slave to your own rebellion. Who can look back on their teens and say they were doing what THEY wanted to do? I think they were either doing what their friends wanted to do or what their parents DIDN'T want them to do. College is sort of a time of freedom, but for both of us... it was a time of working and working hard. I got the College experience somewhat, but I'd be lying if I said I got whatever it is those crazy people got out of it.

So right now we're doing whatever we want... making mistakes, I'm sure, but learning from them to. We're old enough to make informed decisions, but not quite old enough to be set in our ways... so we're enjoying that.

It sort of puts an unintentional negative on the whole married/having kids thing. I know that there are a lot of great things that come out of that, but, you know... give a little, take a little. You get to have kids, but you get to be responsible for them too. That means for every kid you're adding 100% more chances of somebody doing something you have to apologize/make up for. And I worry about my cat when I'm not home, I can't imagine the worry that goes along with a life you created and are completely responsible for. Is it great? Yes I'm sure it is. But am I ready for it? Not in the least... which I'm convinced is a sign that I may be a good parent some day. Part of being good at something is respecting it and knowing when you are actually ready to handle what goes along with it.

On Ambition...

I'm a computer programmer for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Not exactly the most ambitions or alluring of titles, but hear me out. Originally I took this job as a way to pay the bills and have health insurance until I got into Grad school. I didn't get in. Now, I could try again, but I realized something... I have time. I'm 24, not 90 (although many people claim I act as though I'm 90). If I ever want to go to Grad school, then I will. But for now I'm happy and comfortable.

Now maybe I've lost a little of that ambitious drive, but I've gained a lot too. My job pays well, gives me all I need (health insurance and the like) and, best of all, the free time to have a life outside work. I always have time for pretty much any hobby I could ever want. I don't really think I've lost any ambition, I think it's just changed. I've found myself lately aspiring to try as much as possible in life while I can. There's a lot of stuff out there and I'm never gonna be able to do it all, but why not try.

On Spaces...

Always 2 spaces after a sentence. I always will, it's habit. I don't know if blogger is going to remove them like so many other web applications, but I'm going to continue to do it anyway. As should you. I'm pretty sure it started with typewriters to better separate sentence because they used monospaced typefaces. Well, I know that we don't really need to any more... but I still think it's a good habit. I find things easier to read with 2 spaces between sentences. And that's how I was taught and it'll never go away, so... if it bothers you, deal with it.

Scratch that, I just checked... looks like the spaces are taken out anyway. *Sigh* What is the world coming to?