Not used to this whole "drinking before it gets dark" thing. May take some time, and besides, I'm not sure I want to get used to it. Last Sunday we had a "book club" meeting at Ginger Man, and as had been described, we got about fifteen minutes of discussion in before it devolved into the usual social event. That started at four pm. A few of us ended up continuing drinking well past midnight. Yes there was a hangover involved, but not the rager I expected. Then today, The Hurricane and I went with some friends to a tour of independence brewery, which was really just an excuse to drink beer and sell merch. Must feed the merch beast. Courtesy of a couple of responsibly-minded parents who had come with their impressionable spawn, we received extra tickets, to facilitate a real drinking event. Note that this followed a night of drinking at various functions.

It all puts me in mind of a comment a friend and former roommate made once when confounded by my ability to drink copious amounts and usually not get sick and almost never suffer the next day: "you are built for abuse." An interesting interpretation of my physiology, to be sure; I have to admit my curiosity of whether it goes for my psychology as well. It's hard not to wonder when many of the people I am around seem to collapse under the lightest strain. It seems as though histrionic behavior has become more and more acceptable. Perhaps as we become more and more saturated with the mass media, we gradually assimilate dramatic behavior into our daily routine because we are unable to distinguish our lives from those being represented. In effect, we are like people at a party compensating for increasing volume by speaking more loudly, which adds to a commonly perceived positive feedback loop. Of course, at some parties, people respond by lowering the volume of some easily controlled output source, such as the stereo. Unfortunately, there seems to be little opportunity to do this on a national or worldwide scale; therefore I propose a more general form of TV turnoff week.

I think we should all try to lower the volume in our lives: teach our minds to be quiet by being in the quiet. Sit silently with someone you love for twenty minutes, or by yourself. Here in Austin the weather is perfect for it right now. Go to the park, lay in the grass, and stare at the sky for half an hour, and let the sensory experience settle around you. No radio, no phone, no computer or TV or book. Just be still in the moment. I think it'll help.

Your pal,
Dylan