I should be studying chemistry.

But all work and no play makes Angela want to kill herself.

I gave my brother a ride back from the city today, tomorrow is my mom's birthday so he came home for that, as well as getting out of the heat. We had a fantastic conversation on the way home about suburbia: the frustrations about living in the burbs, the attitudes that prevail in scene-ster-ism, and the fact that it's utter insanity that we feel like we're somehow less worthy of respect because we live in a place that doesn't gouge large holes in our pocketbooks and give us asthma.

Granted, he's moved into the city, so he can see it from that perspective. But he had a great idea: A Save the Suburbs Movement. The thought process is thusly: since there are so many places on this earth that we grant amnesty in terms of so many different things, why can't we declare the suburbs to be a cultural third world? And demand that places like Kensington Market or Parkdale grant us cultural amnesty? Why is it that there are so many people (a full 40% of under 29 year olds live at home, according to the last census, that number is more like 60% when you take it as being under 25 -- they don't all live in the cities, trust me) that are so essentially ashamed to admit where they come from and what they do?

I've had the same thoughts about it, in a bit more of a sociological perspective (as I seem to be a bit of a wax sociologist sometimes) but the way I see it is this: Since the "Move back into the city" movement began in the 80's, there has been an ongoing gentrification of the major cities in North America. The fact of the matter is that any hip young twenty something living there is part of the problem, not the solution. You want to be ghetto and authentic? Move to mississauga; because that's where all the "ghettos" are: they aren't in the city anymore. Haven't been in a long time. You are some fucking yuppy scum dressed up in pre ripped jeans, early homeless chique. And as for the rest of us folx toiling away on the GO: Godamn, be proud of where you come from. As much as it is a cultural wasteland, you're not poisoning your lungs and embracing your alienation. You realize how important family is (or you realize how much easier it is to survive.)

The harder thing shouldn't necessarily be the more respected in this life: I know that this is the case with most of us, we think of people that have it hard as being somehow more worthy than people who don't. But we need to choose our battles wisely, ultimately, and being ashamed of where our parents live is an extremely wasteful way to spend our time.

This is why I love brown people: they just don't give a shit about this kind of stuff. Family is more important... why can't this be seen as a valid option for white folx? What is this utter obsession with rebellion and individuality? I mean, isn't it the case that if everyone is rebellious and individualistic, no one is? And isn't it the case that we're all just behaving like assholes for the sake of it?

Anyways... it's almost 11 so past my bedtime... Gnite, Jonboy.