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[theinevitable]

All of my siblings are smart as all heck.
My sister, the youngest, I think does not get it that she's really smart, and is in this bullshit 13-year-old-girl thing where she only cares about stupid shit.

my brother works really hard, but is not that motivated, if that makes sense?
As in, if he has to do something, he will do it THE BEST IT CAN EVER BE DONE (basketball, advanced math and science classes), but he doesn't seek out new things to do on his own.

i am pretty goddamned lazy, and it has never bitten me in the ass until now. I would like to think I am getting in better habits nowadays, though.
There is a difference, though, between my laziness and school and my un-laziness in other areas. My boss over the summer commented that I was a "hard worker" and that was the first time I had ever heard that phrase in relation to myself.

[jaydub]

...and his friends played for a jew years after I got out of college...

I'm looking at my keyboard here and have no idea how I transposed j for f - they're home keys on different hands for chrissakes.

My boss over the summer commented that I was a "hard worker" and that was the first time I had ever heard that phrase in relation to myself.

In the semester after I flirted with academic disqualification, I tried to turn things around by becoming a peer counselor for new students (getting involved, etc).  This ended up being a genius idea, and marked the beginning of jaydub: the years he got shit together.  One of the high water points came when we were getting together after successfully launching a flight of new frosh into the delights of college life, when we were debriefing and a senior guy said "If I really need something done, I know John's the guy I can turn to."  That was definitely the first time anyone had ever said such a thing, and frankly, had most of the people who know me been there, they would have dropped like stunned mullets.  I hadn't realized how seriously I had been taking my responsibilities with that team until that moment - when anything came up I was consciously taking care of it as soon as I could, because the idea of fuck*ng up yet another new opportunity in my life would have been intolerable. 

That simple, almost off-the-cuff statement from someone I respected may not have been the sole turning point in my life that got me off the spiral into failure, but it stands out in my mind as an experience I wanted to repeat.  Somehow I was able to internalize the things I was doing in that one setting and apply it more generally across my life.  These days, I still have my share of dropped balls, but few people would call me a flake in any serious way.  I guess this is what "growing up" means.

[Doc]

My little brother isn't as smart as me academically and has no real interest in that sort of thing but he sure as hell works a ridiculous number of hours at whatever part time job he holds at a given time. Hopefully once he finishes the uni degree he doesn't even seem to want to do this will translate into something useful to him in his career. I pretty much coasted through high school and it never really hurt me until maybe year 12 maths C but it was certainly eye opening when I saw people who in high school I easily surpassed getting crazy grades at uni while I was just about average. Took me a while to figure out how hard you have to work for it, hopefully not too long.

[lprkn]

Graah! Brains!

Um, since this is sort of the current default comic thread, I just wanted to say that I just read the first volume of Powers. I declare it excellent and fit for human consumption.

[Pedro Picasso]

Graah! Brains!

Um, since this is sort of the current default comic thread, I just wanted to say that I just read the first volume of Powers. I declare it excellent and fit for human consumption.

Powers was recommended to me by Fred Perry (a guy I know at work).  Fred is so into comics that he wrote  this book interviewing a comic writer and artist, so when he says Powers is good, I bleev it.  From the sound of it, Powers is exactly what sf/fantasy is supposed to be: an exploration of the human experience from outside its bounds.  If the world were absolutely and completely different from the way it is, what wouldn't change?  Initially it's the fantastic setting that provides interest for the reader, but by the end of the piece, it's the familiar that proves fascinating.  I look forward to reading Powers to see if it lives up to your declaration.

[jay-ell]

I look forward to reading Powers to see if it lives up to your declaration.

I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your magazine. 

[Pedro Picasso]

In the semester after I flirted with academic disqualification, ... jaydub: the years he got shit together.  ... "If I really need something done, I know John's the guy I can turn to." ...  I guess this is what "growing up" means.

I reread this post today.  It's really a great essay.  It's reveals a little bit of life in an honest straight-forward way.  I know it's just a little post to your imaginary friends, but I recommend you hold onto it.  You could even rewrite it for style and submit it as prose to some place interested in that kind of thing.  Anyway, I'll hold onto your story (long with Ash's description of political correctness) and it will affect the way I see the world.