That Place

I envy all of you who have a "place".  I don't have a place.  I have nowhere that I feel so intimately attached to that leaving would manifest itself as physical ailment.  No place that feels like "home", no city to call my own.

For a lot of you, it's California, or Chicago, or New York.  

I've now spent time in: California, New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Chicago, Taiwan, Malaysia, Beijing, Hong Kong, and London.  

None of them are mine.  Yet.  I'm not sure I can ever put down roots in just one place, and be content, like the hordes of people that never even venture beyond the borders of their hometown.  

Or maybe, home really is where the heart is.  So where is mine?

The return of masculinity?

I'm a big fan of Tucker Max. Even though he's a self-described, and from the sounds of it, real-life asshole, I find his stories to be hilarious.

Hypocritical, perhaps, because I disagree with most of his views and his outlook on life. Most recently, he wrote about a fellow internet star's new book, called "The Alphabet of Manliness". And, predictably, Tucker goes on a rant about the return of masculinity and how everyone should fuck off.

But somehow, Tucker believes stereotypical masculinity somehow equates with being a "man". I believe firmly that the two are mutually exclusive. Just as being really feminine has nothing to do with being a woman, being really masculine has nothing to do with being a man.

What exactly is being masculine anyway? Must it be what Tucker embodies? Must it mean a complete and utter lack of empathy, being self-absorbed and a lack of sensitivity? Granted I don't know Tucker personally, but you get the idea quick once you start reading his site. It would seem from his rant that he does believe he represents what it means to be "manly".

Later, he blogs about finding a girl to do his laundry, for free, for sex, or for barter (a couple of the books he's written, for example). At one point, he says in response to why he gets a girl to come do his laundry, "BECAUSE I FUCKING CAN". I figure that's the attitude that Tucker would like to think makes him more of a man than the next. I think it's pretty sad, not only that he does this, but that he thinks it makes him superior in some way.

Back

After a 20+ hour trip, I'm finally back in the U.S.  It was really only supposed to be a 15ish hour trip, but as my luck would have it, my flight was delayed 3 hours before departure, and then delayed another hour upon arrival.  There is nothing worse than to be 10 minutes from landing (after a 12 hour flight) and then being told that you'll be in a holding pattern for 30-40 minutes.  

A long wait to get through customs, and finally... freedom!

I have about a week and a half before I head to childhood friend Jason's wedding.  Got to enjoy my time as much as possible while I'm here!