quelquefois

I get a phone call from an unknown number. I answer, “Hello?” And it’s a person I met a few weeks ago. I had stopped picking up his phone calls because he called me too often to talk about inane things. This time, he was using his friend’s phone because he is “too lazy to add more money to his phone.” Right.

Him: 你的美国朋友还在外地吗？你的同屋. Is your American friend still out of town? Your roommate.
Me: 嗯。Yes.
Him: 我这边有朋友来看我，有点挤，能不能在你那住个晚上？方便吗？I have friends visiting and staying with me, so it’s a little cramped for space, can I stay at your place tonight? Is that convenient for you?
Me: 什么？？What??
Him: 方便在你那过个晚上？Is it convenient to spend the night at your place?
Me: 不方便。No, it’s not convenient.

Why do you [Chinese] men think that’s okay? Why do you have to use sneaky tactics like calling me from another phone number? Isn’t it clear that when I don’t pick up your calls, I don’t want to speak to you? Why do you have to be a creeper and ask me if my roommate is home? If your friends are there to see you, why don’t you spend time with them instead of trying to spend the night elsewhere? You brought it onto yourself inviting more friends than your apartment can handle. Deal with it.

How is it that a sophomore student who writes a paper two hours before a deadline receives a better grade than a senior student who finishes a paper one day before a deadline? I doubt it is one’s intellectual capability over another. I despise the inconsistency in standards and grading between TAs. I also hate my TA because he’s an asshat. Well, right now, I hate any class and any person that doesn’t have to do with this damn thesis.

The Undercover Parent. This seriously qualifies as trash. Any parent who reduces him/herself to spying on their children’s internet activity to the extent of installing spyware on their computers is oversensitive, overbearing, and over the line. The amount of internet activity in the world far exceeds the amount of outlier cases such as suicide and (to a lesser extent) pedophilia. Shouldn’t you be reading signs from your children better instead of reading their chat logs?Young children need danger and exploration in their lives in order to learn for themselves. That does not mean that the parent cannot intervene, but to begin with, a simple warning of the dangers of the internet to children is enough. If parents expect their children to be self-sufficient adults in the future, don’t stifle their curiosity.

“[I]t might be enough to show them this article, have a discussion about your concerns and let them know the possibility is there.”

From a young adult to a parent: No. Teenage years are formative years when it is completely acceptable that children a) distance themselves from their parents, and b) do tons of stupid shit. By insinuating that you may be keeping tabs on them, you’re asking for more trouble than it’s worth.