☮ Social ☮ PD Social Talk Thread: Somatic Swirly Sepia Summer Sausage Stage Set Suppository

[Help?!?!]

Holy 1-etynyl!

 

[SKL]

Well, that's good. Just be careful. It is easy to get entangled in unfortunate situations even from the peripherary and weren't not all that young anymore It's awesome that you care about your friend and want to help him out but I just hope you are not getting dragged into any complexities and are staying safe (in the broadest sense of the word.) I have taken in old friends from bad situations and it hasn't tended to work out well; yes, they did not have their "shit together...in terms of drugs and alcohol," as you put it, but it's a delicate balance. I don't know the people involved, haven't been well acquainted with you or your circumstances for a while, and I quite suppose that you can (and certainly must) trust your best judgment; I just post to suggest caution when relating to the altruistic impulses, depending on exactly how much responsibility you're taking for others.

Not to compare your situation to mine per se, but I'll tell a story, and a long one, partially just because I like doing so and most of them are entertaining and some even have points; this one comes to its own at the very end.

Spoiler: tl;dr

This one relates to one of my oldest friends that I am still connected to and the kid who first introduced me to dope (followed by our both picking up what would prove to be our first serious habits, our beginning but our shared Habit interrupted only by occasional stays on bupe' or 'done, or cold kicks and getting intensely into daily religious practice, or incarceration, or substitutions of booze or keta, or other detours on what our fellow dope fanciers out West have called the "Black Tar Road," something that I cannot say with accuracy, nor equal in poetry.)

G— was always a stand up dude. Even when he was as strung out as a sheet on clothespins I could trust him with fronted work, to do a mail-drop pickup or a delivery, to stay at my home unsupervised, etc. So he never hurt me financially but he, while with my permission experimenting with a box of drugs to amuse himself while I was away, overestimated the strength of one of them and wound up with a psychotic break and exhibiting behaviors that threatened to compromise my operational security in my home when I was not and could not be there.

I had to demand that he leave my home and the City. He left me the most heartbreaking and emotionally wounded note. But I had to take steps. We've since reconciled and had some good times together including a truly odd synchronicity of his catching the same City-bound bus as I while I was making a run. The entire bus ride I had to make up on the fly a whole story of where I was where I was, and the character of a girlfriend who I was telling him I was seeing there; I did let him crash at my place, but not to do any drugs except dope which we both binged on for a bit and, much to his bemusedment, after checking him for a wire (because I don't really believe in synchronicity, or absolute trust either) told him the truth about my "girlfriend" (who later, actually, became my girlfriend for a shooting star like fleeting moment in time) and even have him a bit of work which was readily settled. Truly an honourable man, a rarity, but a potential behavioral problem on strong stimulants.

Happily, even more recently we've been in touch, he's recently out of prison somewhere in the Deep South (where LE truly does not fuck around) and has another 2 years probation on another charge. He's hopefully and apparently likely to succeed in getting this transferred to New York State under the interstate compact, and he's certainly not going home, the both of us are more than done with that place, he is, of course, going to the City.

He is drug free and sounds genuinely committed to staying so to the point that I wondered if I mightn't be, Suboxone and all, a bad influence on him, but fortunately he never "popped the question," so to speak, of staying here "temporarily while looking for something else" (read, indefinitely.) Instead he's actually staying at a long term TC type rehab. A sectarian one but one that appears to be legit although I haven't dealt with them professionally (would usually give me pause as I have worked with, for, or at least referred to most of them, but I'm unaware of them likely by virtue of the fact that they are not only sectarian but private pay—his parents have some means, and it would seem, finally, some hope!—but thus out of the reach of my clientèle.) But anyways, I was relieved that he didn't prevail upon me for a place to stay. Were he to, I'd be torn, I'd feel like I would be reconnecting and closely so with one of my oldest and dearest friends, but if things went South, it could be dangerous. This could still of course happen if he quits the rehab; if that circumstance eventuated, I might, assuming his parents would cut him off, pay for him to get on bupe and let him stay on a couch, but I'd worry.

Who knows what the future holds in these kinds of scenarios? They involve many deep things like trust, feelings of obligation or of fraternal love, or the both. Regardless I am a very careful and very traumatized man, with more than a touch of paranoia and PTSD from my wild years. This informs everything I do. Your own conscience and risk assessment must do so for you. I just think it's important not to ignore the latter in some degree of depth, when making any such changes.

 

[HeadphonesandLSD]

That would be pretty awesome if your friend was able to move there. It is a beautiful area. That's what people have told me anyways.
It is actually one of the states I have never been to or even drove thru ever

North Carolina is a wonderful place with a next to nothing cost of living. The only problem is you'll be hard pressed to find a job outside of a major city, hell you'll be lucky to find anywhere to shop besides wal-mart outside of a major city.

Still the best place on Earth though.

 

[Xorkoth]

Well, that's good. Just be careful. It is easy to get entangled in unfortunate situations even from the peripherary and weren't not all that young anymore It's awesome that you care about your friend and want to help him out but I just hope you are not getting dragged into any complexities and are staying safe (in the broadest sense of the word.) I have taken in old friends from bad situations and it hasn't tended to work out well; yes, they did not have their "shit together...in terms of drugs and alcohol," as you put it, but it's a delicate balance. I don't know the people involved, haven't been well acquainted with you or your circumstances for a while, and I quite suppose that you can (and certainly must) trust your best judgment; I just post to suggest caution when relating to the altruistic impulses, depending on exactly how much responsibility you're taking for others.

Not to compare your situation to mine per se, but I'll tell a story, and a long one, partially just because I like doing so and most of them are entertaining and some even have points; this one comes to its own at the very end.

Yeah, an apt warning, as I tend to get emotionally affected by people close to me, and I want to help. Honestly my friend lives with me now and it's been exhausting because he's been going through this endless shit with his ex/girlfriend (not sure where they are now).

But yeah, I'm not concerned for myself in terms of him being a bad influence or anything, honestly I'm past that stage entirely. But I do worry about the possibility that it would be difficult for me emotionally. But, he's my best friend, I'll do what is best for him in this situation.

 

[HeadphonesandLSD]

Watching the evo tournament all weekend. Just happens to fall on the same weekend everyone came out of the word work hoping I'd throw a party or something. Haven't gotten many bites for people to come over and watch Street Fighter all weekend, the few that did show up got treated to lots of free booze though.

I got $40 on this young kid, don't think he'll win it all but I'd like to see him make the top 8 for Street Fighter. They had over 5,000 people show up this year so getting to Sunday is a big achievement itself.

 

[Xorkoth]

So I just gotta vent a bit... my roommate is driving me nuts. He's a good friend, but it's a strain living with him. He's been here for the better part of a year and I can barely take it anymore. The entire time he's been having this ridiculous back and forth drama with his on/off girlfriend that just seems insane and juvenile to me, and whenever it goes bad he obsesses about it to me non-stop. He's really confrontational all the time with people, he yells at people in the street, he'll yell at his girlfriend on the phone, FUCKING this and FUCKING that, outside for everyone to hear in this little cover I live in where sound carries like crazy. There are quiet families and kids living next to me, I don't want people to think that's what goes on at my house. And I love his dog (really, she's great even if she's a wild little blue heeler, when i watch her for him she's really calm), but she's constantly worked up by his energy I think, barking all the time and then he's yelling at her to "shut the fuck up, jesus christ", etc. I'm trying to live a peaceful life and it's this constant intensity with him around, like with everything, he seems to enjoy confronting people and raging out, I think he's looking for it to vent his frustrations. He'll get on the phone with someone if there's some sort of problem with something he ordered or some such situation, and tell them off, swearing and freaking out. My girl and I both feel an almost PTSD-like feeling when we hear that because her dad was like that growing up and my ex was like that. It's gotten to where I don't usually want to hang out with him because him being around causes me anxiety. I'm always wondering when the next thing is going to drop, or when he's going to rage out again or come to me hyperventilating about his girlfriend and I will have to give him the exact same advice as every other time, dude, just move on, this shit is insane, why are you still trying, any fucking idiot could see it's not going to work, you've been beating your head against a wall for a year and a half now, what's wrong with you? I don't want to feel this way about my friend. He's been talking about moving out but it keeps sliding and he's still here. One of these days I'm going to explode on him and I don't want to do that. I just want a peaceful environment, which I would have 100%, if he was not living here. In small doses, not so close to home, he's awesome, but the daily grind is getting to me big-time.

grumble grumble...

 

[Help?!?!]

Just have a truthful conversation with him! I would tell him that his seeming rage filled attitude is not only consuming him but you as well! I used to live a very rage filled life and everything is thousands of times better now. When your stuck on that path you really don't realize how badly it eats you up until you stop! If I hadn't changed, I have no doubt I wouldn't be here right now. Living a life consumed with rage, anger, and hate is no way to live at all! If he can't accept that maybe it's for the best that you tell him he should move on. I've also lived with rage filled people for a good portion of my life so I know how that goes too...

 

[TheAppleCore]

My girl and I both feel an almost PTSD-like feeling when we hear that because her dad was like that growing up and my ex was like that.

I have the same reaction to excessively angry people due to growing up with my dad constantly taking out his repressed rage on trivial things. It's not necessarily your roommate's fault, and he probably doesn't even realize he's handling his problems poorly, but it really does sound like a poisonous attitude, both for him and everyone around him.

Living together with someone for an extended period of time can begin to reveal all the little flaws in their personality that you never would see otherwise. I guess you just have to decide whether or not the pros of living together outweigh the cons.

 

[Bluuberry]

I think my hat is the most "valuable" thing to me. I have a few, but the one I've been wearing solidly for years has a lot of value to me. It has some things on it that can't be replaced, and it's been on my head through the good and the bad. Wouldn't sell it for anything. But that's just one idea of value. The thing I care about most is the Mackie monitors I listen to all of my music on when I'm at home. Those can be replaced though.

On another note of value, I recently bought this Grateful Dead heads / tails coin at a festival. It's fucking awesome, no pics though sorry. I have been carrying it around with me and brought it to a work site where my friend saw it and immediately lit up and offered me more than five times what I paid for the coin. I thought about it a lot while I was working - the work was shit and I wasn't making very much money, there were days where I worked for 12 hours straight and could not make as much as he offered me for the coin. But I wouldn't sell it, because I loved it so much. Then after thinking about it for a while, I realized I wouldn't even want to profit off of my friend at that rate (5x the value of a coin?!). So I just gave it to him for free to let him know that he's part of my family, because that was much more valuable than any money he could offer me. The most valuable things in life to me are the intangible things. Other than that, I just want these Mackies and an endless supply of music and I'll be okay.

 

[TheAppleCore]

The thing I care about most is the Mackie monitors I listen to all of my music on when I'm at home. Those can be replaced though.

YES, thank god, another person that listens to music on actual speakers. The number of people who listen on cheap headphones that come in KeWL KoLorZ is... disgusting. But then again, if they're just listening to Justin Bieber, well... who cares?

What do you use as a source / DAC? I was AMAZED by how much more dynamic and bright the sound was when I replaced my PC's onboard audio with an outboard audio interface.

 

[Bagseed]

two exams tomorrow and I might fail both of them... at least I bought some fine weed yesterday and I'll be headed to a small dub festival after the madness

 

[Bluuberry]

I use an Alesis IO4 for an interface. If I had extra money I would probably get a different one, but honestly I don't really have any complaints about it after using it a while. There's no way to run those monitors directly off my computer so I've only ever listened to them through my interface, so I can't compare to my onboard soundcard. It's crazy how clean the sound is, a lot of the music I really like these days doesn't even sound close to the same when I listen to it on other people's speakers. It's like aural sex .

 

[Xorkoth]

The best sound quality comes from really good headphones. For my band, we have a headphone mixer and we use high-quality headphones and when we practice or record we all play and listen through the headphone mix instead of in the room, even though some of us mic our amps to produce the sound that's coming through the mix (and into the recording software). When we're listening back, we tend to listen through some nice monitors, but when we are trying to really hear a particular part of something, we stick the headphones back on, you can hear everything so much more distinctly. From the speaker directly to your ear, with the external sounds muffled. The headphones we use are about $120 apiece, and they're not some shit like Beatz by Dre (which are stupidly overpriced and which alter the sound input to their own EQ (bass-heavy cuz you know, you gotta have the bass turned so far up it's all you can hear, that way you seem more badass to everyone else).

 

[TheAppleCore]

The best sound quality comes from really good headphones.

Hmm... I respectfully disagree. Yes, headphones have certain advantages over speakers -- it's undeniable that headphones allow you to hear subtle elements of a sound more clearly -- but for me, the overall experience of speakers is more satisfying as a listener (due to room reflections, and feeling the bass in my body, most likely), and speakers are also typically more useful to me when mixing.

 

[Bluuberry]

When I produce music I use both.. They have different advantages. I can tell straight away if someone mixed their song on headphones, if I listen to it on my monitors. The highs are generally way too quiet and the lows are often completely blown out. Personally I think music sounds much better on monitors than headphones, but to each their own. Monitors definitely have a lot more variables as far as position, room shape / size / dampening, etc.

 

[Thorns Have Roses]

Mmmm....got me some Dogfish Head 90 minute imperial IPA, some Lagunitas Stoopid Wit (I prefer their Lucky 13 and Wilco Tango Foxtrot as far as the current limited release stuff goes) and some xanax. Bring on the GABA!

Have you seen Jupiter Ascending?

I was able to tolerate ten minutes of it.

The best sound quality comes from really good headphones.

Headphones also have the advantage of letting you listen to really loud music without bothering anyone else. If we are to look at things from a quantity over quality standpoint (I break them too much to buy good ones).

 

[Bluuberry]

I choose my living space with the intention of playing music loudly without bothering people, whenever possible. I need to move currently..

I like my Sennheiser HD 202 headphones. They were less than $30 and are at least as good as any $400+ beatz/whatevers. I have compared them with several people who have shelled out for "fancy" headphones and we all agreed that mine were as good as the overpriced bullshittery. Of course this is purely for listening enjoyment. I would use different headphones for recording purposes.

 

[Help?!?!]

Awwww yeah! Was just about to rep the sennhesiers! Their whole line is good but holy shit if those aren't the best cheap headphones ever. I read it one of those tech news sorta sites doing one of those "Top 10" articles about the cheapest but best phones. The cord is so fucking long too. Their others are good too, I had a higher end wireless pair a few years back. I've done the same thing though and I've always got a reply like, "Holy fuck you only paid thirty bucks for these?!? They sound nice as fuck!". Those beats though...dude their by Dre! Have you ever seen how cool he looks wearing them in the commercial, plus that sweet B on them? It shouldn't even be a choice man!8)

Nice NVB! I've been abusing my GABA receptors too! Going for all spectrums A,B! I just ran out the 1-ethynylcyclohexanol but will have some GHB soon enough! God damn do I love both those drugs for pure hedonistic reasons! Well I guess it helps as well their really the only two things that'll knock me clean out but god damn! Normally I'm not a fan of short acting chemicals but both are so euphoric! GHB is great for taking walks and listening to music, while 1-ethynyl is great for just feeling fantastic whilst being super relaxed. It almost feels kinda like it has a bit of a..."rush" as well if you take it on an empty stomach as even more so than GBL, you go zero to fucking sixty. Ahhhh my poor receptors! Ah well I've given them a solid break for most of the year and then some. Plus I don't have to take any pregabalin the days I'm using these two, so that's always nice! These guys are cheap for me right now so it's hard to fucking resist! Buy a bit of this and get fucked up a couple of times or for the same cost buy a good chunk of that and be fucked up for a couple weeks, sorta deal, so poor right now I'm choosing opition two!

 

[vortech]

Headphones are like sunglasses to me. Indispensable almost every day, but I never buy the expensive ones because they tend to get lost or broken in the chaos of life. But even the cheap ones, (i'm talking like dollar store sunglasses for $1, and headphones around the $10 range), do a fine job keeping the light out and the sound in.

Mmmm....got me some Dogfish Head 90 minute imperial IPA, some Lagunitas Stoopid Wit (I prefer their Lucky 13 and Wilco Tango Foxtrot as far as the current limited release stuff goes) and some xanax. Bring on the GABA!



I was able to tolerate ten minutes of it.



Headphones also have the advantage of letting you listen to really loud music without bothering anyone else. If we are to look at things from a quantity over quality standpoint (I break them too much to buy good ones).

 

[Xorkoth]

Hmm... I respectfully disagree. Yes, headphones have certain advantages over speakers -- it's undeniable that headphones allow you to hear subtle elements of a sound more clearly -- but for me, the overall experience of speakers is more satisfying as a listener (due to room reflections, and feeling the bass in my body, most likely), and speakers are also typically more useful to me when mixing.

When I produce music I use both.. They have different advantages. I can tell straight away if someone mixed their song on headphones, if I listen to it on my monitors. The highs are generally way too quiet and the lows are often completely blown out. Personally I think music sounds much better on monitors than headphones, but to each their own. Monitors definitely have a lot more variables as far as position, room shape / size / dampening, etc.

Totally fair points, and I should clarify, when I'm seeing a show, or hanging out somewhere, I prefer monitors as well, specifically due to body feel and the shape of the room. But when I'm trying to listen hard to something, I prefer headphones. Or if, for example, I'm trying to drift off into music land on a dissociative or something. I really love how close the music feels with headphones, almost like it's just playing in my head.

I use the Sennheiser HD 280 pro headphones. Those things sound fucking great.