Tuesday, October 30, 2007
at
6:51 AM
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Fanatism "I am the greatest" Mohamed Ali
You know I look at people and wonder what's wrong with them? Are they crazy? This recent thought came as I heard that people had slept at the airport since 3am to see the Springboks return home. I remember the same insanity being exercised when people were waiting for the new Harry Potter book, the iPhone from Apple, with Bone Slasher 2 video game and with concert tickets. What the hell? Some of these people sleep outside the stores or ticket outlets on pavements in cold winters.
Then I started thinking, "what the hell is so great that one needs to brave lack of sleep and cold to get?"
I remember when I was much younger and getting to a party meant everything. We would drive from 10pm to far out place stopping at various garages to pick up other people for a convoy. The parties were disastrous and it would involve situations like; somebody's mom came back from holiday early and the party was called off, then someone else would offer to continue at his house on the other part of town but we would all religiously drive. When we get there half the people were gone including that girl you wanted. Then somebody would phone somebody and say they were somewhere else and it was rocking. Word would spread and we would jump into our cars again and go to another side of the country. By the time we got there it's 2am and somebody had hyped up the party to get people to come. Sound familiar? Yeah. All this in the name of being seen in the right places and that small hope of maybe getting laid or even a phone number which was a promise of getting laid at some future date. We did this for girls even though when we did get to parties with women we'd end up doing nothing just watching the few players do their thing.
But we did this over and over through the years even though we knew how the night would turn out. Just for the hope, we would drive 500km in one night even though we couldn't afford the petrol. We would drive 500km even though we knew there was a 2% chance of really getting laid. Even though we knew that the party itself was likely to actually bore us. We drove through for hours to go home at 5am and then we'd say, "Oh man, we partied till dawn".
The contrast I noticed was earlier this year when I got an invite to some exclusive party at some top end spot in Sandton. The who's who of the party scene was gonna be there. When I got to the door, the guy told me I couldn't come in unless I had a collar shirt. It would have taken me half an hour to go home to change, but hell no. I was like, cool, but no thanks. I went t another joint for a couple of drinks and went home.
Now if this was a few years ago, I would have got back into my car drove hundreds of kilometers to get that collar shit and back into the party. Initially I was proud of myself about being so cool and mature to not give a damn. I was proud that I knew better. But the more I thought about it I asked myself whether there was anything I cared that much for. Are the people that sleep outside shops to get the new iPhone or new CD insane or is it that they have passion and real excitement in their lives. I got stuck on that one because as far as I’m concerned, I live quite a happy life, yet there’s not a damn thing that I would be crazy enough to go outside Apple Centre at 2am and sleep there to be the first to get a device that morning.Or, are young people (I assume its young people that do this) more alive then we are? If so, when did we get so old so quick? Damn, I’m still in my twenties. This is not just me coz when I ask people at work, friends and family, they all agree. They love a lot of things, but there’s nothing that they would go that far down the extra mile for as the examples mentioned above.
Are we boring old farts or are the kids just damn crazy and find value in dumb things and are we far too smart to fall for the hype?
You know I look at people and wonder what's wrong with them? Are they crazy? This recent thought came as I heard that people had slept at the airport since 3am to see the Springboks return home. I remember the same insanity being exercised when people were waiting for the new Harry Potter book, the iPhone from Apple, with Bone Slasher 2 video game and with concert tickets. What the hell? Some of these people sleep outside the stores or ticket outlets on pavements in cold winters.
Then I started thinking, "what the hell is so great that one needs to brave lack of sleep and cold to get?"
I remember when I was much younger and getting to a party meant everything. We would drive from 10pm to far out place stopping at various garages to pick up other people for a convoy. The parties were disastrous and it would involve situations like; somebody's mom came back from holiday early and the party was called off, then someone else would offer to continue at his house on the other part of town but we would all religiously drive. When we get there half the people were gone including that girl you wanted. Then somebody would phone somebody and say they were somewhere else and it was rocking. Word would spread and we would jump into our cars again and go to another side of the country. By the time we got there it's 2am and somebody had hyped up the party to get people to come. Sound familiar? Yeah. All this in the name of being seen in the right places and that small hope of maybe getting laid or even a phone number which was a promise of getting laid at some future date. We did this for girls even though when we did get to parties with women we'd end up doing nothing just watching the few players do their thing.
But we did this over and over through the years even though we knew how the night would turn out. Just for the hope, we would drive 500km in one night even though we couldn't afford the petrol. We would drive 500km even though we knew there was a 2% chance of really getting laid. Even though we knew that the party itself was likely to actually bore us. We drove through for hours to go home at 5am and then we'd say, "Oh man, we partied till dawn".
The contrast I noticed was earlier this year when I got an invite to some exclusive party at some top end spot in Sandton. The who's who of the party scene was gonna be there. When I got to the door, the guy told me I couldn't come in unless I had a collar shirt. It would have taken me half an hour to go home to change, but hell no. I was like, cool, but no thanks. I went t another joint for a couple of drinks and went home.
Now if this was a few years ago, I would have got back into my car drove hundreds of kilometers to get that collar shit and back into the party. Initially I was proud of myself about being so cool and mature to not give a damn. I was proud that I knew better. But the more I thought about it I asked myself whether there was anything I cared that much for. Are the people that sleep outside shops to get the new iPhone or new CD insane or is it that they have passion and real excitement in their lives. I got stuck on that one because as far as I’m concerned, I live quite a happy life, yet there’s not a damn thing that I would be crazy enough to go outside Apple Centre at 2am and sleep there to be the first to get a device that morning.Or, are young people (I assume its young people that do this) more alive then we are? If so, when did we get so old so quick? Damn, I’m still in my twenties. This is not just me coz when I ask people at work, friends and family, they all agree. They love a lot of things, but there’s nothing that they would go that far down the extra mile for as the examples mentioned above.
Are we boring old farts or are the kids just damn crazy and find value in dumb things and are we far too smart to fall for the hype?
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2 comments:
U mean there's absolutely nothing u r that passionate about? There's one word to describe you-BORING!!!
Well that's the question. Outside of normal stuff life family etc. There's nothing that I would go and line up at odd hours ti get to. So I guess that means I am, BORING!
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