Erasure once sang, "give a little respect to-oo-oo-oo me."
Sartre once said "Hell is other people."
I used to interpret that famous Sartre quote as describing the frustration of being trapped in a crowd in the metro where the foot traffic patterns seem purposely designed to be the least logical and efficient. Sometimes I took it to mean a mall food court and its crass greasy marketing and overweight American consumerism. I've also interpreted it as being trapped behind a wall of painfully slow walking people on a public sidewalk and being unable to step around them. I guess I instinctively applied it to other people en masse, more to crowds than individuals because public space in France is just so damn frustrating.
However, this week, I've changed my mind. Truer to the actual play that the quote comes from where a few people just torment each other for all eternity, I think "hell is other people" in fact describes the insult and anger of even just one or 2 individuals who show no respect for you rather than the annoyance of walking in a crowd. This attitude describes an awful lot of people I know at the moment and disappoints me. Life is just a set up for disappointment, Sartre would probably say and shrug and light a cigarette. Or turn up Erasure.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sideways?
Sideways or upside down, I'm not really sure which direction things are going in these days, but it's definitely not straight ahead progress...
Some good points of late were a recent weekend in Norway, more travel plans in May, including a half-marathon with Tiffany and spending more time with my best girlfriends. The end of some of my classes and the start of spring break are also really soon-- only 2 weeks to go. Which is good, considering how annoying students with spring fever can be... Also planning on moving to a way nicer apartment in either May or June.
Some negative points are dealing with workaholism (not my own), seeing a previously solid work team unravel a little, having girlfriends who seem to require an inordinate amount of attention for simple things like planning to meet up, and being currently without a cell phone. The future move, while for the best, is also a source of stress in that it's not in the least bit organised yet and I'll have to break my lease to do it, and negotiate with my landlord and this, like many things in France, will be an ordeal.
Some points of suspense (I honestly don't know if they'll be good or bad) are that I really don't want to go back to my main job again next year, although I'm glad to have that option as a back up plan, so over spring break, I'll be job hunting with a vengeance. I'm also waiting to hear about another job next year. The nature of the job is changing, which will be a change for the better, but I don't know if that means that they'll still have a place for me or not or if so, in what capacity.
Some good points of late were a recent weekend in Norway, more travel plans in May, including a half-marathon with Tiffany and spending more time with my best girlfriends. The end of some of my classes and the start of spring break are also really soon-- only 2 weeks to go. Which is good, considering how annoying students with spring fever can be... Also planning on moving to a way nicer apartment in either May or June.
Some negative points are dealing with workaholism (not my own), seeing a previously solid work team unravel a little, having girlfriends who seem to require an inordinate amount of attention for simple things like planning to meet up, and being currently without a cell phone. The future move, while for the best, is also a source of stress in that it's not in the least bit organised yet and I'll have to break my lease to do it, and negotiate with my landlord and this, like many things in France, will be an ordeal.
Some points of suspense (I honestly don't know if they'll be good or bad) are that I really don't want to go back to my main job again next year, although I'm glad to have that option as a back up plan, so over spring break, I'll be job hunting with a vengeance. I'm also waiting to hear about another job next year. The nature of the job is changing, which will be a change for the better, but I don't know if that means that they'll still have a place for me or not or if so, in what capacity.
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