TCoMLfY

Hello reader, how are you? I hope things are going well in your life.

I've added a new list to the right hand side of the blog - 'best of' - some of my personal favourite posts.

If you have a favourite post, let me know. You can comment below, or send me an email - superchai(at)gmail.com

Thanks for reading

Things I Love Friday - my satchel

I bought this satchel from a garage sale in the first month I lived in Christchurch. The guy was a bit crazy, and the sale had been going for a week. He wanted 20c for the satchel, and it was exactly what I was looking for! It fits school books, a drink bottle, my lunch, receipts, and miscellaneous things found on the side of the road. As soon as I got it, I wrote 'vegan' on the back in marker, and put a blackspot on the front. I also chucked a few stickers on it - RDU, Proud SAFE Supporter etc.

I try and take it everywhere with me, and it's so incredibly handy to have. I can imagine it makes a statement with what's written on the back - but it's started a few conversations, good and bad.

Things I Love Friday - Adbusters

Hello, this is a new feature on TCoMLfY. Each week I'm going to talk about something that I really love, or is an important part of my life.

First up is Adbusters - a magazine based in Canada. It writes about things like consumption and advertising, and the detrimental effects they have on our minds and environment. All sorts of topics are covered, and every issue has articles and art which are inspiring/enlightening/disturbing/profound. It is the only magazine I can really bare to read - almost everything else seems dead and devoid of content.

I started reading Adbusters in 2003. It was my first year out of high-school, and I liked reading the journals at Massey University. Realistically, the magazine changed my life in a very short amount of time. I was in the right frame of mind for a paradigm shift, and I began to look at how I interacted with people around me, the media, the environment, my self.

I'd highly recommend you try and find some copies. Borders sell it, and most libraries (public and university) seem to have a good collection

A letter

"I see the progressive growth of apathy within our Western society. I see people's overwhelming tendency to minimise the brilliance of each moment, I think the key to life is to realise that there will never be another you, and because there will never be another human who could experience the world through the same subjective lens quite like you can, that each of us are essentially living art making history. Boredom is a sickness. I urge you not to waste time, and rather charge straight fucking ahead at life itself.” – Darren Bennet
This was a letter written to Adbusters magazine in 2006. It was the last thing I read before leaving to meet a friend.

The key

On my bike ride to uni this morning, I saw a key on the road. It was pretty busy, so I didn't stop, and also figured that the owner would like to retrace their steps and find it. I thought about it all day, and wrote 'KEY' on my hand. When I arrived at uni, I continued reading the amazing web comic, Tiny Kitten Teeth, and found this one quite fortuitous.

I went to the library in the evening, and cycled around town, feeling the cool air over my arms and legs. After a quick look, I found the key, and felt elated. I touched it, and it feels like a talisman

Relationships

"X loves her and she loves X, but they're in different cities and it probably won't work out.

Y loves him, but he doesn't love her, and that sucks.

Z doesn't love anyone, and no one will love Z, and that's the way it will always be."

Me

So here I am. It's 2010, and I am twenty five and a half years old. I feel like I'm exactly the kind of person I've always wanted to be - I've spent my whole life working towards the 'me' I now am. And I do not know where to go from here.

From around the ages 15-22, my new year's resolution was always to 'be nicer'. I think it's worked, and I wouldn't want to change who I am. The question is just - what next? See out the next few decades as I currently am?

It feels like I need to find something to aspire to, personally. I know there are still so many adventures and things that I will experience, but in terms of 'who I am', I'm really not sure.

Any suggestions?