Told You So

Last night, I was sitting in the lounge watching tv when Ruth came in.  She was drunk, and giggly, because her drunk is always giggly.  And she had a problem. 
A few weeks back, she had gone out with a guy over dinner.  And then the next week, drinks.  And then the next week, drinks again.  I told her this was all a bad idea, because he was paying for things, and that meant there were certain expectations. 
Ruth was totally thick when I said that, and I tried to explain to her that going out with a guy multiple times, like this, implied they were dating.  Ruth and Jenny decided this was ridiculous, that's not how it works.  Lavvy, thankfully, sided with me, saying that this guy (Ruth won't even give me a name because she's paranoid I'll track him down, which is so strange, because I honestly didn't even think that until Ruth made the suggestion) probably does think they're dating, and that's the important bit. 
I told Ruth she needed to have a face-to-face meeting, gently tell him she's seeing someone else and that she would like to be friends and drinking buddies.  Ruth never likes this idea.  She doesn't want to meet face-to-face, she'd rather send an email.  (This always causes me to wonder what is wrong with her; who the hell sends emails like that in this day and age?  What is this, 1997?)  Then I suggested that she just not-subtly mention her boyfriend, as a way of indicating his importance to her to this guy friend.  No, she just gives another exasperated sigh. 
So last night, after getting drunk together, this guy tried to kiss Ruth.
"I told you so," I said, as I sat there.  Ruth apparently told him, in her flummoxed state, that she had a wife, which she explained to me and made no sense.  It might have been the drunken state. 
Ruth went into a bit of a rant about boys and how stupid they are and how they always manage to find her.  She told me about this guy named Ben, who is coming to visit soon. 
"I'm going to make Ben and this other guy meet, because then they'll see their stupid behavior within each other and then themselves and then they won't chase after me."
I disagree.  I suspect that these guys are not going to get that they are both being ridiculous, and instead, they will just see that the other one likes Ruth and it'll turn competitive. 
(As a side note, what do you readers think about this?) 
She told me some stories about when her Dad had cancer and she was crying and Ben kissed her, even though he had a girlfriend. 
"Wait," I said.  "I though crying was a turnoff for guys."
"Really?" said Ruth.  "I've found it's a great way to get guys.  It probably makes them feel all needed and protective."
Oh great.  It's not enough for a guy to like me, I have to make him feel like he's being a man and protecting me. 
We giggled for a while, talking about other things like our work, and she complained to me about this essay she's writing and we were relatively merry.  Then one of the spazzier women came in wanting to watch a tv documentary about 2012.  (I'm so not even kidding.)  We let her, even though she apologized twenty times and tried to get us to stay.  I explained to her that we were fine and were leaving anyway. 
I wish Ruth would have listened to me and nipped this thing in the bud.  Something tells me there's going to be a lot more drama on the way, even if she does avoid this guy as she's decided to. 

Human Rights and the State

Reading this post today about how Syria has recently gotten itself onto the Humans Rights Council.  While I agree that Syria isn't a good candidate for Humans Rights, considering they recently arrested a bunch of kids, all under the age of seventeen, for criticizing the government through street art, I don't think we as Americans should pretend we are better.  The government and the military violate laws and rights all the time.  (The war on terror has a bunch of examples were the U.S. violates the rights of its own citizens as well as combantants and civilians, digging a legal black hole around their recent designation of "citizen combantant.") 
The problem isn't even really one or several or even most countries.  It's the state as an institution.  States are always going to be interested in maintaining power; they'll do it at anyone's expense, and they're not above breaking their own laws to make it happen.  If anything, having states policing themselves is stupid, because inevitably they'll avert their eyes to other council member's violations, especially if money or other deals can be made. 

Women Have to Stick Together

I had dinner with Ruth.  She's been off on some socializing stuff, and she told me about how she was at a casino, and a stripper offered her a free lap dance. 
"Male or female?" I asked.  Devil's in the details. 
Lavvy was there, and she awkwardly gulped her food.  Claire started laughing.  "That was brilliant!"
"Female," Ruth asked, ignoring the whole Lavvy/Claire thing.  "There was this creepy man on the other side of the room."
"Oh," I see, I said.  "She was trying to get away from him, and you offered her temporary shelter?"
"Something like that," Ruth said.
Good for her. 

Melodramatic

Awhile back, there was a small fire in my building.  No one was mortally injured. 
There's this woman I listen to in the caf every morning, and every morning she rips into the person who started the fire (on accident.)  Every morning, she prattles on and on about how we could have died (almost impossible), how someone could have been hurt (probable) and how they should kick this person out. 
It's seriously the most melodramatic thing I've heard in a long time.  And this rant happens every morning.  Without fail. 
I kind of want to tell her off, because she's totally overreacting, and there's something incredibly negative about her whole attitude.  Yes, it was unfortunate, but now that we've learned our lesson, can we go back to our regular schedules?

Advertisement

I have been reading lots of poetry lately, and this cool poem struck my eye.  There's so much amazing imagery here.   I really love the line about cushioning someone's misfortune with sleep. 

Cthulhu Comic

One of my ex-roommates sent me this great comic featuring Cthulhu.  The art is so cool and it's a cute little joke at the end. 
Obviously, the only problem is that I'm posting this a little late.   

Beowulf, Retold by Odd Future

So this medieval blog I occasionally check out posted a link to a retelling of Beowulf, and because I'm a masochist, I looked at it anyway. 
It's actually not as bad as I feared it would be.  Mostly, it's just as crazy and ridiculous as actual Beowulf, but with some humor thrown in.  Honestly, it reads like Odd Future wrote it, except with less rape.  (And I'm honestly not complaining.  All the rape in Odd Future really turns me off.) 
So enjoy.  If you can.  I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to go near the thing.