Today I passed by a couple of old friends hanging outside a bar. One of them remarked that "Life begins at forty," and there was general consensus among the peers.
They were both, I assume, well above forty. And well into their 8th beer.
But what kind of implications does such a world-view bring about?
For one, I’m dead.
I’ve been dead for the past 20 years and I’ll continue to be dead until I’m forty.
To some people, being dead is an obvious disadvantage. I’m not that sure, though. Dead people don’t have to pay taxes, don’t really need a job, have no urges to settle and they don’t worry too often about getting laid. Their laid-getting is over and done with.
Relatives and love ones come by every once in a while, mostly lamenting tho, but at least they have the decency to decorate the roof properly.
For a dead person, all pride lies in the fundaments of having a nice roof. If someone lying next to you on the graveyard has a nicer roof than you, I’d expect you’d get pretty annoyed. Lying there at nights with your eyes closed, just knowing that he’s got a helluva lot more flowahs than I do.
Flower Power, people!
And for some, the petunias stolen from Mrs. Anderson’s backyard isn’t good enough. You’ve got to have roses. Dozens of ’em. Preferrably arranged in some neat little arrangment there, just above your rotting body. And please, remove the plastic cover!
But I’m pretty much sure I ain’t dead.
Because I pay taxes, have a job, have many urges and worry too often about getting laid. And I don’t give a good damn about my roof, as long as its there, doesn’t complain or suddenly decides to fall down.
Some people spend their entire life waiting for God.
Not that strange, then, that I spend mine waiting for the paycheck.
Money…
I don’t like them, nor do I hate them. They can certainly have some ill effects on people, but that would require it being quite a lot of it at stake. I’ve never seen much cash, and today I’d to take another bite from my debt-building funds just to be able to live indoors.
At the time, living indoors is a cutting edge advantage, with the snow and the cold and all. And I want to keep that cutting edge. I don’t live very nice, nor very cheap, but I’m content.
This weekend I overdrew my account by 60NOK. There’s a strange way percentages work in a bank. When you’re on the plus side, you get nickels, but a week on the minus side spawns bills in the hundreds. If I had had enough cash, I would start my own bank, so that I never had to worry about being on the minus side. But then, I’d be my only customer too, so it would be kind of hard to deal with missing funds.
I could trial myself for financial fidelity.
But then I’d probably free myself on insufficient grounds, shake my hands and take myself to a dinner somewhere nice, further ruining my economical situation.
It’s not much of a situation per se. I’m dead broke.
I bought an apple today, that’s about it.
’twas a really good apple. Fresh and juicy. Worth my last crowners.
Sitting here, with my African Rooibos tea, I’ve got three bags left, one of ’em is lemon. I’m saving that to the day I know for sure I’ll die from starvation. Kinda sucks not having the books I’m supposed to be studying too. After twelve years of public school (including High School) you learn how to guess on the material. You develop a cognitive gut-feel, so you can more or less accurately meet the benchmarks the teachers and professors are looking for. Not so in philosophy.
Philosophy is more of a study of opposing, contradictory beliefs and perspectives. How these can be combined, how to avoid misunderstanding, and how to eloquently snatch that blonde in front of the big guys who’s majoring in gymnastics. And how to make the latter not perform martial art on your ass. It’s a trade, knowing how to not end up with a face falling under the ‘abstract’ category.
Aristotle admitted that there was an obvious advantage being born with some cash. I must agree. I’m born into one of the richest societies in the world – that’s just statistics but still – it gives you a cutting edge advantage. And being alive, despite the age-40 principle, is another advantage.
I can still get a good night’s sleep and dream restlessly – yet passionately – about Milla Jovovich into the brink of dawn; despite my financial situation. So.. in so many many ways, I’m rich. Sounds like a cliché, but it’s true.
I still want a new effin laptop and wireless connection, though. You can’t eat the internet, but it gives you something to do while you wait for the paycheck. Hello World.