Roommates

At what point does a person decide that they don't want to live with roommates anymore? I realize that a lot of people don't like to live by themselves, and I also realize that some people enjoy the companionship. My question, however, revolves around a progression in life: grow up, become liberated from parents, get a place of your own, and live apart for your parents. Is there a point when you finally decide that you need to live on your own?

Is it always ok to keep looking for a roommate to stay with? I'm not trying to disparage the idea of living with roommates, I know it's a good idea economically, but is having a roommate something that's eventually "outgrown"? Living with roommates has always seemed, to me, that it goes along with not having any money; getting a roommate was a way of living without much money.

I guess I'm looking at it wrong; maybe a roommate is someone's way of getting out of not having companionship. Does there come a point when having a roommate is no longer feasible? Is it ok to be 40, single, and living with a roommate? The whole idea just seems a little out of order to me... but then again I've never had a problem living or staying by myself and I don't know what it would be like to not be comfortable living that way.

What's Old is New

For some reason, everyone is apt to believe that the newest thing is always the best thing. Whether it be electronics, automotive, or even things around the home, it's obvious that marketing and businesses are looking to sell the next best thing in order to stay afloat. I recently discovered, however, that the newest may not always be the best.

Recently, I came to the point where I'd had enough of shaving. It's never comfortable, it's expensive, and most of the time it downright hurts! Because of this I've always looked at shaving as a necessary evil; do it and get it over with. TV commercials love to advertise the newest advance in shaving technology, and I always figured that the newest evolution would undoubtedly be the best.

While rummaging through some of my Grandfather's possessions, however, I discovered an old razor (not unlike the one seen above). After going to Youtube to see how to use it (yes, I'm that young), I purchased some shaving soap and a brush, and I decided to give it a try.

Long story short, I never would have believed that something from so long ago could out-perform even the newest technology. I've had a consistently better shave with that razor than with any other type I've used. It feels better, smells better, doesn't hurt after I'm done, and besides all of that, the blades are only $0.20 apiece! I'm constantly kicking myself for suffering through shaving all these years when there was something so much better out there and within my grasp.

I guess it goes to show that what's new isn't automatically better, and perhaps we should look to something from the past when dissatisfied with something from our present.

Freedom Isn't Free?

I don't know if it's merely an American thing, something tells me that it probably is, but I hear the word "freedom" bandied around a lot. Whether it's someone talking about their rights as an American/human being/whatever or part of a bumper-sticker slogan on someone's car, it seems like mention of "freedom" is everywhere. Although I'm not very old, I feel like it's one of those things that's been posited as a central part of American life for a long time. No doubt the "War on Terror" also has a lot to do with America's general conception of freedom; there's nothing like a war against someone who doesn't share the same values as you do to make you cherish the ones you have and put them above the ones of other people. I think many people, however, have a misguided, or perhaps ignorant, notion of the different kinds of "freedom."

"Freedom" for most Americans, or so it would seem, is about being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want. It's about a general lack of being told what to do and not to do; generally the first thing spouted off as a hallmark of "freedom" is the notion of freedom of speech, religion, etc. "Freedom" is an individual's right to have what they want, go where they want, and do what they want without the intervention of another party. The things that our constitution allows for us to have make up the general consensus of most people's conception of "freedom," and it never enters anyone's mind that "freedom" could perhaps also have other meanings.

For me, and probably more people if they would stop to think about it, there are actually two different kinds of "freedom." There's the aforementioned type, freedom to do or have, but then there's also a freedom from something. The idea that freedom is not only the ability to do, but also the ability to be separate from, is something that many American's fail to recognize. It is on this point, therefore, that most American's are not free at all; in the sense of this "negative freedom," freedom from, Americans are some of the most oppressed people in the world.

Although we may have infinitely many opportunities for things, they all seem to fall in the same patterns or categories. We can do what we want and buy what we want, but it all falls within the same 20th-21st century framework. We are bound to grow up, get an education, get married, get a job, go to work, make money, and buy things to live. That's it. Rinse and repeat. Vacations, travel, time-off, etc., the things that remove us from our day-to-day, are only small reprieves within the overall picture. Americans are bound to this circle of doing things, and there is little hope to separate ourselves. Even a choice to liberate oneself from this cycle is never fully realized; to live and be a part of 21st century America one must follow this formula or else become an outcast. And although many Americans would consider other cultures to be "oppressed" or "backwards," on a further glance it would seem that America is not as liberated as one would at first believe.

So "freedom," or what I would consider the normal American notion of it, is actually a bit more complicated than many would believe. It's nothing more than naiveté, or even vanity, to believe that America is a pillar of "freedom" in an oppressed world.

The Value of a Conversation

With so much time being spent on indirect communication methods, cell-phone, text, computer, etc., I think it's easy for us to forget the pleasure and fulfillment that a face-to-face conversation with another human being offers. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that most of our communication is based on utility; everything we talk about is for some reason. Every online post is to some end, every phone call is for a meeting, every text is directions, and it's easy to get lost in the sea of communication possibilities.

I think it's important for everyone to stop and talk to someone about anything, or nothing for that matter. Just make sure that the interaction is face-to-face. There's more to talking to another person than just communicating ideas back and forth. Interaction with another living, breathing human is about a shared experience; thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions, all the things that can't be translated as easily over electronic communication, but are nonetheless abundant when talking face-to-face, are a part of the fulfillment that a conversation gives. Too often we're concerned with getting our ideas across to another person in the most efficient and timely way that we forget to stop and enjoy the company of others around us.

So, with that being said, I think everyone should make it a priority to have a face-to-face conversation with another person as often as they can. Preferably it should be someone who's company you enjoy, no one likes being around someone that can't stand, and take time to think about the emotions and feelings that are conveyed in a conversation about nothing in particular. I think it's a lost art, that of having a conversation about nothing, and I think it's something that we miss out on all too often.

Advertising on the Down Low

Sometimes, when I stop and think about what I actually buy, I'm amazed at how effective advertising is for products. If I really stop and think about why I buy a certain brand of some product, especially when buying something for the first time or trying something new, it seems that I don't have any other reason except "I want to try this." It would seem altogether normal at a cursory glance, but when giving it some more thought it seems that there are other reasons for my product selection that I'm not even aware of.

Case in point: I needed to buy some deodorant the other day, and I decided to try something new. I looked through the different types and kinds of deodorant, there must be thousands, and finally settled upon a new type of Old Spice. After leaving the store, I began to question why I really chose that brand out of all the others. I certainly liked the way it smelled, but there were tons of other brands that smelled just as good. It had an attractive packaging, but then again, every one had some type of attractive package. The only reason I could come up with, finally, was that the Old Spice seemed more attractive because of the increased amount of Old Spice commercials on television.

I know it sounds a little far-fetched, but hear me out.

In my part of the world, southwest Florida, Old Spice commercials are played all the time. You probably know the ones I'm talking about; your man could smell like a man, me, on a horse, with tickets and pearls, etc. etc. - it's a fairly common commercial. Because of this, however, it's really the only commercial that I think of when I see deodorant, and when looking through the many brands it seemed that the Old Spice was instantly familiar, even though I only had exposure through television advertising. Something that I had never even seen in real life, only on television, was influencing my choices without my knowledge. Weird, huh?

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from buying anything, not Old Spice or anything else. I just find it interesting that I could be partial to one thing over another, in this case many others, simply because I had seen it many times before and had taken notice. It's just a little scary how much we are influenced by things that we often take for granted.

Think about it the next time you buy one thing over another without any other reason than "it looks familiar."

Inception

It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that's been good enough to talk about, let alone one that was interesting enough to write about. A few weeks ago, however, I saw "Inception", and it happens to be one of those movies that's good enough to say something about.

The story, settings, action, and effects of the movie are all excellent; the movie itself is very entertaining to watch. It is a movie that takes some thought and insight to really grasp the concepts and details that went into its making, but once everything comes to light it's not a difficult movie to enjoy at all. It's a few parts exploding Bruckheimer, a little Doug Liman, and even a dash of Tony Gilroy (a la Michael Clayton). With all this going for it, though, the part I found most intriguing was the movie's ability to replicate the feeling of a dream.

Without giving away too much of the story, I'll say the movie is about people that go inside others' dreams in order to steal/plant secrets/ideas. The entire movie revolves around a group of people being conscious within various dream worlds. This aspect, that of taking part in a dream, is where the movie recreates the feeling of a dream. When all is said and done, the dream and movie finally over, I got those same feelings that I do when waking from a particularly intense dream: is this real or am I still dreaming? Was it all just a dream? Am I finally awake?

The ability of the movie to recreate something so complicated and insightful as a dream is what sets it apart from others in my opinion, and it's this part of the film that makes it great.