I decided to clean the entire apartment today by the following (in order of importance):

  1. I am a neat person and the place was getting out of hand
  2. My parents are due to arrive in NY tonight
  3. I was in a good mood and had the time
After completion I proceeded to write my room mates a 3 page letter. It contained the following:
Hey Guys,

While you were gone I had some spare time and noticed the place was in a mess so I decided to Spring Clean as they would say:

  • Washed all Dishes
  • Cleaned Stove
  • Reorganized and Cleaned Fridge
  • Bathroom, Toilet, Shower, Mirrors
  • Cleaned all Windows
  • Swept all rooms
  • Mopped all rooms + bathroom with bleach
  • Made up beds
  • Reorganized Living Room
  • Cleaned/Organized Desks
  • Reorganized all cupboards



The reason I did all this is because I want to show you guys that I’m concerned about the space we live in, not just my section but the entire space since it affects all of us. I look at you guys like younger brothers; as such I wanted to teach you responsibility and cleanliness through positive reinforcement.

I noticed a few days before you all left that the sink was full of dishes so I made the effort to wash them all. I know it’s hard to wash a plate or glass when the sink is so full because the fossit can’t reach et al. Washing them didn’t bother me, it’s somewhat therapeutic in fact to take time and clean something…gives you a sense of fulfillment that you’ve done some good…not only for yourself but others as well.

What did bother me however was no more than a couple days later the sink was full of dishes once again. I thought to myself, “If everyone would just wash their dishes we wouldn’t have to deal with this mess so often.” I mentally refused to wash the dishes as I hadn’t made the mess. I thought to myself I will faster put the dishes in the tub or in everyone’s room before I wash them so people start being proactive about cleanliness around here. In this way EVERYONE would be affected and would start pulling their weight.

As the days went by with everyone gone for Spring Break I was alone in 1706. I started cleaning my room because my parents would be coming in a few days. A few days had passed and the dishes began to smell really bad so I was forced to wash them once again. It just wouldn’t be acceptable to have my parents or a friend here with the kitchen and living room in such a smelly mess. One thing led to another and I found myself reorganizing the cupboards, sweeping the living room, the bedroom and so forth until I decided that I was going to spring clean the entire apartment.

I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well. I believe in taking pride in anything I do and leading by example. With that said I expect you to maintain the clean environment which I have procured for us today. Let me repeat: irrespective of tennis, the gym, class, studies, going out, eating, drinking, shitting, and sleeping I expect you to maintain the clean environment which I have so thoughtfully provided for all of us.

I didn’t have to do any of this, but did because I wanted to set an example. I wanted to show you guys that if you put in an effort, people will take notice. I know you guys have it in you to be better and I want to bring it out instead of brining you down. So I altruistically attempted to show you that I care by cleaning up your mess as well.

It took me an entire day to do this. Times along the way I wanted to stop and leave a note saying that since I did 75% you guys need to clean the bathroom or this. But I figured I 1 man did what is really the responsibility of 4 then it would wake you guys up. I am holding you guys in high regard, because I’m usually not so patient and giving.

With that said I’ll digress into cunt mode. Here’s not what I ask but demand of you. AT THE LEAST clean shit that you use. Respect is earned, not given. I have shown you guys love and respect today. They say no good deed goes unpunished and well…I’m tired of being everyone’s bitch and maid.

After reading this don’t come to me and say that you don’t make this mess, or don’t do that. I don’t give a flying fuck who did it, nor am I concerned about figuring it out. This is not a Hardy Boys book, I don’t have time to figure out who the fuck made what mess. YOU KNOW WHAT MESS YOU’RE MAKING…STOP FUCKING DOING IT.

Since I don’t know who makes what mess, Peter will pay for Paul and Paul will pay for ALL. I know I don’t drink coffee, I know I wash my wares, I know I always fill the water bottle after using it, I know I always throw things IN the garbage (not AROUND or AT for those of us unfamiliar with prepositions). I know I turn off my PS2 and wrap the controllers after using it. I know that without rules and order in life chaos reigns.

If this place gets EVER gets untidy again I will fuck up your shit up. I suspect who’s been making what mess and haven’t been calling anyone out on it to save you the embarrassment. From here on out be warned:

If I see a pile of dishes in the sink that I know I didn’t create I will throw them like Frisbees into your room, more specifically in your bed hopefully while you’re sleeping. I swear on my grandfather’s grave I am not joking with youà piss all over the toilet and I will piss in your bed, I will throw your rotten food in with your clean clothes. I will do all of this with a big smile and absolute confidence. I’m not going to be a cunt about a few dishes in the sink or some stuff in the fridge, but when I see someone’s shit in the fridge for weeks getting rotten or a huge pile of dishes In the sink then I will be a cunt.

Make a sincere effort or else I will fuck your shit up…there are no if, ands or buts about this. I do not want to see this happened again. This is your first and ONLY warning you will ever get. You don’t need to come and tell me thank you. Tell me thank you by showing me you care; through actions, not words. If push comes to shove and we end up in a dirty place again don’t come crying when I fuck your shit up. Act like a man and I’ll treat you like one, act like an inconsiderate child and I’ll have to teach you a lesson.


With Love,

Patrick



Looking back I wish I had taken pictures of the "before" so you could really appreciate how much work I did. Oh well...there's won't be a next time. Here are a few more shots of my awesome work:




Study if you lived in the jungle and had to survive.

Elevator Life


Yes, elevator life; we all know it:

  • That feeling of discomfort obtained while standing next to a stranger in a confined space.
  • The primary notion that one is required to ask rhetorical question such as "What's up?" or "How ya going?" if you even vaguely know the person.
  • The way you can tell that person is in a good mood if they ask "What floor?"
  • The secondary notion that you never, ever, under any circumstances make eye contact.
  • The fact that you both stare at the flashing LEDs so as to avoid eye contact.
  • The insecure idiot who presses his floor button multiple times like it's going to turbocharge the elevator and hit warp speed.
  • The smelly fart you let out while alone, only for the elevator to stop on a new floor.
  • The fact that every living soul must reach for their dead signal cell phone as if God is about to call.
  • The pimple face lovers that are making out, almost as if to rub in your face like they're hot shit. rolleyes
  • The retarded conversations people either begin or continue once aboard. No one cares about your score in Guitar Hero you dildo --> take a hint and STFU!
  • And the worst of the worst: the fat, lazy alien cocksucker who takes the elevator to the 2nd or 3rd floor (always happens when you're running late).

Freedom?

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. It’s hard to imagine something so naive, so overly-simplistic could sum up modern democratic societies justly... But I digress.

Freedom, man's only wish, his greatest desire, yet it is the fundamental weakness which governs the world we live in today, as it has in the past. The fundamental of freedom is freedom of thought, free expression; the ability to forms one's own ideas, concepts and theories on things. It requires effort, willingness and some degree of intelligence or experience in the subject. This holds true ranging from what television channel to watch, to voting in an election, to if to kill or be killed.

A democracy assumes all is equal, and that everyone has that fundamental freedom... but do they really? Or have they given that right up? Groupthink and doublethink plagues modern society as man is lazy. Why make a choice when you can have someone make it for you? Why bother to see the contradictions and inefficiencies of governments and polices when you can sit and do nothing? Why? Because it is easy. Politicians, world leaders, even religious icons all know this, and exploit it well; to stay in power, to maintain control, alas, the opium of the people.

Consider this. Everyday we observe stupid people doing stupid things. Often you find yourself asking why would someone do that? Or, what were they thinking? And often you would try to explain your point to said individuals, or try to understand thier logic behind thier decision. 99% of the time they did not arrive at thier conclusion based in logic, thus you cannot alter their decision based in logic. The solution to this problem still eludes me.

The future of mankind will ultimately be determined by the true battle between good and evil, that is, ignorance vs. wisdom. It is the few and the proud which would have to steer mankind into something resembling a brighter tomorrow and hope for the best. Ignorance is my war, knowledge is my weapon, and wisdom is in self sacrifice.


I really hope the day I have a kid he/she doesn't turn out to be a spoilt brat. The only thing worse than a brat is a retard. I can't help but notice how sad and stupid many of these Americans are. I'm sitting outside of starbucks listening to the most vacuous conversation in history with the primary imbecile looking like Peter Griffen in his early 20s complete with the bird nest beard. Whats especially depressing is how loudly he speaks, making sure to draw lots of attention to himself. NY becomes a lonely place as you lay adrift confined by an air of mediocrity with kids that show little capability of reaching their potential. Its the international students that are saving the educational system in America.

Maybe one day these kids will grow up and look at the bigger picture. I'm sure its been argued that somewhere between bangbus and deuce biggalow we've lost many of our youth to mainstream zombie media. A book is so much harder to obsorb because you need to think. Do it long enough and it provokes thought and possibly even change. but I don't want them to hurt themselves. Wouldn't want them to overburden themselves by picking up a book.

I wish I was intelligent enough to induce some change. Be the spark that lights the fire, the ripple that starts the wave. Maybe I'm just a chameleon, simply wearing a cloak and executing the proverbial dagger for fear of coming to terms with my own intellectual short cumings. Oh yes, intellectual masterbation is as sad as it is temporally fulfilling.

Everyday, every waking hour, every moment of our meager existence we are trapped. Trapped by the walls that surround us, by the laws of physics that govern us, and ironically, the first question which comes to mind is what I think the least pertinent. why?

Why?... why do good things happen to good people, why do good things happen to bad people. and more importantly, why don't more good things happen to me? Its these questions which often drive man to the brink of insanity, which shows its head in many forms. The most widespread and dangerous form is religion, which offers answers without fact, guidance without knowledge resulting people seeing without looking, blinded by sounds of silence.

Yet through this mess, mankind, like a skipping stone, bounces along, never knowing when we will take the plunge into the unknown abyss. The question is never why. It is when. We were not the first to rule this planet, and we may not be the last. It doesn’t matter why we lived, but that we lived. And this brings me to my point. In this world there are hammers and there are nails. There are those who make the rules, and those who live by them. Those would be remembered, and those who never existed.

It's a harsh reality that many will never accept, but I assure you, you can never truly be happy, unconditionally happy, unless you see the world through the eyes of a child. No country, no religion, no heaven or hell. Choose freedom, the only true kind there is. The open road, the fresh air, the sultry feeling the fills you to a point where you feel like you're floating out of your body. The freedom to not know, to not care and just to be. The freedom to imagine, to imagine peace, love and respect. Open your eyes people. Freedom is not ignorance, ignorance is bliss. Freedom is in knowing who you are and what you are... seek fact not fiction. Be a hammer not a nail.

I told myself for a long time that I should see this movie, but never got around to it. While searching imdb for things I should download, I remembered LLV and I'm glad I didn't forget.

I don't think I can recall having ever watched a movie as paradoxical as this. It's so sad yet I'm fascinated by the idealistic conception of how two people can fall in love in a world of filth and shit. You can genuinely feel the intimate relation these two people had at a time when they hit rock bottom. It was plain to see the Cage's character was worse off that Shue, but God, I couldn't help but find it amazing that she could look past the alcoholism and see something good in him. I don't think women like her exist, and if they do it's only cuz they have hit rock bottom and a drop of love in an ocean of sadness is all they need.

It's ironic that society labels Shue's character (a prostitute) weak, a drain on all things productive and relevant to what is needed in a community. Yet prostitution is the worlds oldest profession, that in itself should tell people that as prideful as the middle class and elitists might be, they still cannot ignore their basic sexual needs. People treat a hooker like shit because they are insecure that they can't manage to get a woman in bed like "normal" people. In order to come to terms with their filth and lust they must seem more like a man by slapping her around or calling her names. It's often quite convenient to cast a label on someone when you are either insecure about yourself of not in a position to make an objective analysis of why it came to this.

The movie was over the top in the sense that you think to yourself that no woman would ever put up with Cage's shit and no man could ever drink that much. Then you begin to appreciate why Shue's character is willing. You put yourself in her shoes for a second and appreciate that she no longer feels like a woman, no longer feels like a human being. People look at her with scorn and contempt. She feels hollow and does what she must to survive. She has managed to obtain a reasonable method of financial security and an apartment to lay her head, yet lacks the emotional security of a man and place to call home. As pathetic and sorrowful as Cage's character is, he fills that void because they share a common thread. It's ironic that these two find love in America's playground of filth and sin. They are casted as the lowest of the low yet most viewers will be able to relate to their basic longing to love and be loved. No one will accept them for who they are much less take time to understand how they got there.



It's beautiful to see them find solace in each other. To watch as Cage makes Shue feel like a person, a woman again. As Shue, accepts Cage for what he is and let's him drown his sorrows of the past in the way he has chosen. It's hurting her to see him throw his life away and the potential life they could have. You can't help but wonder why she doesn't pull the bottle away from him as he slips further and further into a comatose state. Man did he punish his liver. But then, she made that promise right...and the relationship is volatile. I say there's a beauty to this sorrow because even though you know it's going to end badly you can't help but think if these are the circumstances then live for the moment, savor it to the last drop.

You think of Cage in the bank recording a voice note of his dream fantasy with the hot teller. Of alcohol beading down her body as he fucks her. Yes, in every sense of the fantasy it is an alcoholic mans dream, but try to dig deeper. When Shue, unbeknownst to her, does this very thing at the pool side she's simply accepting a man for all his faults and short comings. She hopes that in so doing he will realize that she is accepting him for who he is, and that in itself will help him to wake up and realize that there is still a life waiting for him. This in of itself is very important. It shows the road less taken with relationships. Often when a couple is faced with an issue which involves personal change they will criticize their partner until they break down their self-esteem. Once this has been accomplished they will try to build them back up in the light they wish to see them.

This is the problem with many relationships, and women in particular. The see what they want their man to be, not what he is. Nothing is wrong with this, but they go about provoking change the wrong way. Instead of compromising and evolving change through time, love, and patience they take the easy route of breaking a mans spirit via arguments, cognitive games, sex deprivation and verbal abuse. Shue's character was the opposite, the more Cage faultered, the more she was there for him. Then again...it could be argued that this is an extremist approach...and I think this is the point the director/writer were trying to make.

Unfortunately, Cage can't seem to let go of the life he lost, the wife and child, the job...it's amazingly depressing to see him throw away this second chance at life and in the process see Shue's character disintegrate as well. Again...woulda, coulda shoulda. He keeps calling Sera his Angel throughout the movie because she represents the idealistic conception of what his dream woman is...a woman that doesn't leave him for his fuck-ups but takes the little good in him with all the bad...she's willing to make that sacrifice...which is part of what love is all about. I kept hoping that Cage would wake up and be a man, drop the bottle and pick up the pieces of his life. Maybe get a new job writing in Vegas, which would in turn allow Shue to stop hooking and so forth. The happy go lucky, rainbow care bear ending so to say.

But the movie is brutally honest and thus sincere. After all this is a movie about an alcoholic and a hooker in Vegas...I mean come on. That in itself is interesting, because as much as the director attempts to get your hopes up, it's like, at the end he's saying...keep it real. In real life this shit wouldn't happen and as much as we all want to go to Vegas and be movie stars, poker players, sex gods and millionaires there's really no happy ending...it's simply a means to an end. Instead I think the lesson is everything in moderation....balance....and in so making the sacrifice to limit one self, you will find true happiness.

Cage and Shue are like the many people who get caught in the trap of either living to work or working to live. Life is not black and white. Just because you live life by the standard that society tells you to doesn't mean you can make up for the time lost via a vacation of lust, greed and excess (everything Vegas represents at the end of the day). Working 20 hour days and trying to justify it to yourself through instant gratification will not bring you happiness. On the contrary, living on the edge via alcoholism, prostitution, gambling, drugs and so forth will only lead to depression.

In the end I think this is a movie about relationships. Relationships of how people in society view each other, of how men and women look at each other and the roles we play. In so doing we must face the harsh truth about who we are as men, women, and the community we form as a result of the relationships we build around us.




 

Copyright NY3NE 2008