"Too many lies, I can't quite see the truth when I look into your eyes..."

S'been a while. Since a proper post anyway. A fair bit has happened since then and now, but now is really the only time I've been able to actually sit down and spend time putting it together properly to form a decent entry. Anyway, here goes.




First and foremost, I finally broke my concert-virginity the other day. Only took me 22 years. And it was fitting that my first ever concert was for my favourite band. You may have heard of them (/sarcasm) - Rise Against. They played at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on the 22nd of this month, and I saw it with a good friend of mine I've known since high school but who lives in another city. I rarely see him so it was good to catch up, and even better that we got to see a band we both really like (my favourite, as I've mentioned, and one of his too, I believe). It was also fitting, in that he's the one who introduced me to them, back in... '05, if my memory serves me correctly.

Anyway, they were awesome. Seeing as it was my first concert I admittedly don't exactly have anything to compare it to, but I do know that I had a damn good time when they were playing. The two opening bands were shit, but the main event was worth the wait. And like hell. They played pretty much all my favourite songs too; Audience of One, Satellite, Architects, Swing Life Away, Survive... the list goes on. A really top notch performance I thought, good crowd involvement great energy from the band, all that jazz. A really good night. If any of you guys are even mildly fond of their music, I'd recommend checking these guys out live, as they kick-arse. And I bought a Rise Against hoodie and t-shirt... repre-SENT.

In other news, my job is a bit, how to say -- ehhhh. I just recently found out I was only getting paid half of what I thought for petrol so I've essentially been spending double of what I thought, and I also found out a lady who works for the same employer and who is a fair few years older than me is getting paid pretty much the same as I am... so I don't think I'll be staying here for too much longer. I just feel like I'm being used as cheap labour and that there's no real room for pay rise or advancement. The feeling of being used as cheap labour is justified when I first found out I was being paid 10k less than a friend of mine was offered before he quit, and he was doing exactly the same jobs that I'm doing... so that's just a bit shit. Plus I've never actually signed a contract or anything official like that. I wouldn't go as far to say the job is 'shady', but just little things here and there make it seem a bit... off at times, and that's honestly a bit concerning. So yeah, I don't think I'll be there next year. Or at least I'll start looking for new jobs come 4th quarter of this year.

My job kind of brings me onto my main point. Or at least what I've encountered while on the job, that's been reinforcing what I've thought for a long time. At both school's I'm at, I'm basically first contact for staff and students with IT related problems. One main problem at one school is with a bad batch they've received of laptops, which have a fault in them that causes the LCD screens to die. So we get a lot of students coming in to report dead screens. Another issue we have is with students reporting cracked or damaged screens, 99% of the time due to... let's just say 'user error'. Now, the school has paid for a 4 year warranty, so all accidental damage is covered. This means for the majority of the time, the students get off scot-free each and every time something happens to their laptop (though loss of the laptop isn't covered, and the student has to pay an excess of $100 odd I think). Anyway, of course students lie all the damn time and say "I don't know how it happened." Bullsh*t you don't know how it happened, you bloody caused it. That's that I feel like saying, every bloody time I hear a student say 'they don't know how it happened'. You learn, fairly quickly, to pretty much never believe what a student says. A very unfortunate fact, seeing that you do sadly seem to mar every student with the same brush and look at all of them through the same light - seeing them as filthy little liars. A real shame, because there are some good eggs out there. They're just much harder to find.

But yes, every once in a while we get in a student who straight out admits that they are responsible for the physical damage to their laptop. And kudos to them for stepping up and admitting that. I respect them. But you know what happens to them for their honesty? They have to pay for their laptop to be replaced, while these other little liars walk out laughing, knowing that we can't prove they've done the damage. And that really is my point; that liars get off with no penalty, and those who are big enough to tell the truth, get punished in some way. I'm not just talking about something as inconsequential as student laptops, I'm talking about out there in the world and in general.

We're taught to always be honest, and that's something I always try personally to uphold. And yet, the society we live in seems to punish those who tell the truth and it seems to be the liars who avoid any sort of penalty. Honesty and integrity mean a hell of a lot to me. So much so, in fact, that those of you who've been following my blog from close to when I started, will remember my post about me wanting to get tattoos. Those two tattoos were going to be symbols for 'Truth' and 'Honour', because they are two things I will always try to stand by. But what do we get for being honest, most of the time? We get blamed. We get found responsible for what's wrong, and we pay the penalty for it. And all because we've owned up to it.

Now obviously if it's something serious then yes you should be held accountable, but really, don't honesty and truth stand for something? If you're big enough to tell the truth, shouldn't that mean something? Especially in this day and age, when it's so much easier to lie and just skip out, whistling, as you avoid paying for your actions? It's something that really, really grates with me.

I do admit I can see the 'benefit' of lying, if it means you don't have to be held responsible for your actions. But to me it's more than just missing out on a fine or being held accountable. To me it says something about someone's character when they lie their way out of trouble. To me it shows theys have no backbone and no integrity, and I honestly do lose respect for people like this. In fact, at times I cannot stand them, they just... piss me off. They come off as weak and cowardly. And you may also recall me mentioning my severe dislike of cowards and cowardice.

Truth just means so much more to me. Truth is honourable. The person who is able to tell the truth, especially when they know their arse is about to be handed to them on a plate because of what's taken place and because of what they're about to own up and admit to, is a person worthy of respect. Respect. Another trait I really admire, and something I look for in another being, whether they show respect and can in turn be respected by me. If I have to take orders from someone, it's a lot easier for me to do if I don't particularly like them but respect them and their position, than if I do like them but think they really don't have or even deserve my respect at their particular post of authority. Sounds a bit weird I know, but I do tend to abide by a more 'militaristic' code, in that for me to take orders from someone, I have to believe that they deserve to be where they are in a position of relative ability and authority. That's just how I roll.

So yes. Telling the truth; big reps and kudos to those who do tell the truth, especially when they know they're going to be torn down for doing so. You have my respect, and you're worth more in my eyes. And to those out there that lie just to get off scot-free... you're worth very little in my eyes, and I hope one day karma comes back and curb-stomps you for it.

Too harsh a way in which to end my post? Fair enough. Here's a picture of a bunny with a pancake on its head.

Running
Evermore
Real Life, 2006