You're goddamn right I'm UNCERTAIN

[Wally]

I'm gonna.

[andronicus]

I slapped this phd student because they said to me that eventually they want to show that the underclass will be with us forever, because "there will always be people who refuse to help themselves."

This beer's for you, old fellow.

[alex]

I am kind of curious about the meaning of "becoming an adult" and "living in the real world", and how they relate to the decision (not) to go to graduate school.

And yes, Wally, I'ma buy you a beer for that when you get here.

[FreddyKnuckles]

yeah, I don't really look to the majority of these folks when I need a shining example of people with "their lives together' in the "real world"

[elpollodiablo]

You couldn't have just left that alone. Really, miles, really?

We fat bitter fucks tend to nurse a grudge every now and again

[elpollodiablo]

I slapped this phd student because they said to me that eventually they want to show that the underclass will be with us forever, because "there will always be people who refuse to help themselves."

This beer's for you, old fellow.

This is also extremely awesome; I hope it was the back of your good right hand you gave 'im

[peacocks]

oh please, people are going to do what they do and just because you're going to graduate school or work at blockbuster doesn't make you any more or less grown up or educated and everyone knows that so just shut it already!  What about that whole you don't want to add tally marks on the reason someone's life sucks thing?

and yeah, way to go wally for not just laughing that off, what a dick thing to say.

[Andrew_TSKS]

hahahah. i shouldn't be amused by contextless violence, but i just can't help it.

what did s/he do to incite such a thing?

also, i'm not completely opposed to post-graduate education, i'm just opposed to it when it's done for the reason that people don't want to go ahead and become adults and live in the real world. those people need to pull it together and grow up already.

Coming from you that is FUCKING hilarious

you're right, because i totally don't pay my own bills and am not supporting myself.

oh wait, yes i am. what the fuck are you talking about?

don't worry, i don't expect you to actually attempt to justify your pointless insults, so i won't expect a reply.

[C of heartbreak]

I thought he was just referring to your willingness to physically assault people who offend you, but I can see how you could take it more personally.

[alex]

you're right, because i totally don't pay my own bills and am not supporting myself.

Well, if this is your definition of being grown up and living in the real world, then pretty much every grad student I know is all grown-up and living in the real world.

[Andrew_TSKS]

I am kind of curious about the meaning of "becoming an adult" and "living in the real world", and how they relate to the decision (not) to go to graduate school.

all i was saying was that people who keep going to school forever because the idea of actually getting a job and supporting themselves scares them too much to actually attempt doing it need to grow up. because i see that sort of behavior as immature.

as i've already said, i don't have a problem with people who are getting graduate degrees for any other reason. but i've totally known people who've kept getting degrees over and over until they were into their 30s or longer, simply because they didn't want to have to go get a job and support themselves. in fact, one of the things i later realized should have been a red flag about my last ex-girlfriend was that she was in law school, not because she wanted to be a lawyer, but because it was a way to avoid getting a job and having to support herself. i'm pretty sure that girl was waiting to meet a man who'd support her while she had kids, so that she'd never have to be on her own and pay her own bills. that's, uh, probably a big part of why we're not together anymore.

but i've told that story on here before, so whatever.

[Andrew_TSKS]

I thought he was just referring to your willingness to physically assault people who offend you, but I can see how you could take it more personally.

well, it's something that i think about in my angrier moments, but in actual fact i've never done it. not once.

10 minutes later edit: god, this was a stupid fight to even get started in response to two different tossed-off half-joking comments of mine. holy crap.

[Wally]

Andrew, I love ya to bits, and In think the majproty of people whon read or post here have nothing but respect for the way you talk about music, film, books and you'reown life, but the pretence that it's your way vs, the go to school way is such a bag of bollocks it demeans you and all the incredible things you say. Everytime you get slightly pissy about this stuff, take a second to think about how hard miles, blake, dave, alex and I'm sure others work.

[Andrew_TSKS]

holy FUCKING SHIT wally THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID. how many fucking times have i explained exactly what i meant now, twice? is anyone reading what i'm fucking posting? also, keep in mind the original context of the statement:

citrus: i'm nervous about going out in the real world and getting a job.
jeb: you'll totally be fine, if i can do it anyone can.
freddy: you should just go to graduate school instead.
me: listen to jeb not freddy.

the reason i said that was because freddy was advocating continuing with school as a means of avoiding going out in the real world and getting a job. which i think is a stupid and immature thing to do. so i said what i said, and in a manner i intended to be at least half joking. and a whole bunch of people on this board who apparently prefer to find reasons to be offended at anything i'm saying than actually trying to understand the context of what i'm saying and maybe figure out first whether what i'm saying even remotely applies to them got all pissy and gave me a bunch of shit for saying a bunch of things I DIDN'T EVEN SAY. at the time i was under the impression that you at least understood where i was coming from, but now i'm thinking you didn't and you were trying to give me shit really subtly with your previous comment. so what the fuck?

[Andrew_TSKS]

you're right, because i totally don't pay my own bills and am not supporting myself.

Well, if this is your definition of being grown up and living in the real world, then pretty much every grad student I know is all grown-up and living in the real world.

yeah, and i would think that would make it clear that those aren't the people i'm talking about. so why are you getting offended?

[Good Intentions]

Because the way you described being immature would apply to them as well, and since we agree that they shouldn't be seen as immature, we took offence at how you stated things.

[alex]

Andrew - I don't know why you'd think I was offended, actually. I'm not. I was just pointing out that the pattern of let's-go-to-grad-school-in-order-to-avoid-real-life is probably not as common as you think it is, because to most people, grad school is a lot like real life, only it doesn't pay as well. (Personally, I find it hard to believe that, out in the real world, anyone would pay me more than I currently make, so this doesn't quite apply to me. What does apply to me, however, is that I pay my own damn bills.)

That said, I got no particular problem with people just wanting to avoid the real world, either. Whatever.

But, I mean, "listen to jeb, not freddy" is pretty much a universal truth, so I'm not arguing with that original statement at all.

[Andrew_TSKS]

Andrew - I don't know why you'd think I was offended, actually. I'm not. I was just pointing out that the pattern of let's-go-to-grad-school-in-order-to-avoid-real-life is probably not as common as you think it is, because to most people, grad school is a lot like real life, only it doesn't pay as well. (Personally, I find it hard to believe that, out in the real world, anyone would pay me more than I currently make, so this doesn't quite apply to me. What does apply to me, however, is that I pay my own damn bills.)

it's definitely an upper-middle-class-america thing, alex, and i think therefore it's probably far LESS common in europe than it even is here, and i'm in no way saying it's common here. the thing is that i specifically took freddy's comment to be tongue-in-cheek advice to use grad school as a way to avoid getting a job and etc. so i said "for the love of god, don't do that", which i also intended to be at least half a joke. i'm starting to think that no one else interpreted freddy's comment the way i did (i'm still pretty sure i interpreted it correctly, but whatever), and that's why everyone was offended. but i feel like this is my third straight disclaimer in which i explain that what people originally took me to mean was NOT what i meant, and i feel like the furor continues, which is why i am getting pretty frustrated, and i guess also why i took your comments to be from an offended perspective. so uh, i'm glad you're not offended, and sorry if my frustration got aimed at you a little bit.

That said, I got no particular problem with people just wanting to avoid the real world, either. Whatever.

haha ok we can agree to disagree on that.

Because the way you described being immature would apply to them as well, and since we agree that they shouldn't be seen as immature, we took offence at how you stated things.

i would hope that either one of my previous disclaimers or, failing both of those, the explanation to alex in this post would make it clear why what you're saying here isn't actually the case. if it doesn't, i don't know what to tell you. there's obviously a failure to communicate here somewhere.

p.s. dom i think you're an awesome dude regardless of whether you haven't been picking up what i was putting down in this thread and my apology for venting frustrations at alex extends also to you. sorry about that.

[alex]

No actually, I read Freddy's comment the same way, and was totally fine with your original comment, which I also read as somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But when you started earnestly defending the point, it seemed like you had missed the tongue-in-cheek-ness of Freddy's comment, which basically made it look to me like you were pretty seriously railing against a position no-one in their right mind would espouse anyway.

But yeah, let's move on to new uncertainties, maybe? I really got none for now, because grad school is kind of awesome to me right now and I can only recommend it to people who want to avoid the troubles and plights of living in the real world. (Teehee.)

[citrus]

eeek i didn't mean to kick this all off. sorry guys.

for clarification i'm going to science graduate school, which is more like getting paid to work in a lab for 6 years rather than more school. which is why i compared it to the real world. no offense to humanities graduate school pursuers, but i think that's more what people are reacting against.

and i am in no way upper middle class. i've gotten this far on scholarships.




...i just love neuroscience, ok? i want to keep doing it.

[C of heartbreak]

Hey I'm pretty jealous of you, I'd love to get paid to study neuroscience. As it is I'm just stuck experimenting on myself.

[citrus]

yeah there's a bit of that too.

[Augo]

http://picard.ytmnd.com/

Holy shit that's hilarious

my friend jojo sings that all the time. i never knew where it came from.

i guess i still kinda don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx3S5mqvvig

May have been posted on the boards sometime before now...
Worth posting again.  It's fucking gold.

[Augo]

Also my roommate's current ringtone.

[girl]

http://picard.ytmnd.com/

Holy shit that's hilarious

my friend jojo sings that all the time. i never knew where it came from.

i guess i still kinda don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx3S5mqvvig

May have been posted on the boards sometime before now...
Worth posting again.  It's fucking gold.

I was going to let this go, but since it's now been quoted twice and not commented on, I'd just like to salute pollo for never giving up.