031 If you could put a near-perfect lie detector on your phone to flag any dishonesties, would you? If so, would you use it a lot or just for very specific conversations?

     I feel like I am a very trusting person, sometimes maybe overly trusting. One of my old friends used to blatantly lie about the most random things, and then tell me it was a lie, just for kicks. I was always very confused as to why this person would do this. That is, lie for no apparent reason, because I just don't see the pleasure in lying. Whenever I lie, or try to deceive people, on a big scale, perhaps, I always feel there's a weight on my shoulders when being untruthful. I only lie when I don't want others to be mad at me (triggering weight-on-shoulders scenario), or when I want to spare someone's feelings. Lying is only used when absolutely necessary, and I try to make them white lies when I can.

     This is the reason why I wouldn't use a lie detector on my phone. People trust me not to lie to them, and vice versa, because really, what reason do I have on a daily basis to lie to them? The only reason I wouldn't trust someone to tell me the truth is when they have told serious lies and I have caught them before. If I haven't discovered their lies, well haha, lucky them. Perhaps the only people I would want to use the lie detector on are the people that I don't trust, due to previous lying.

     I am not a cynical person, and I default on my belief that everything everyone says is the truth, unless proven untrue. Maybe it's a bit naive to think this way, but I like to think the best of people, in that they tell the truth. I can forgive a little white lie, such as telling me they can't hang out with me tonight because they have a bunch of homework, when they really are hanging out with another friend. I might have done the same in that situation, but I also would have completely understood if they told me the truth as well. However, if someone lies to me about something important, something they know is going to make me upset, and is going to turn into a big deal, that is where I draw the line. You only get a certain number of mistakes before you're out. Buh-bye, see ya. I try to be honest and respectful to everyone I meet, especially my friends and if that respect is not reciprocated, then I have no desire to further our relationship. It tells me that you don't care enough about me to be nice and civil, and that is not worth any of my time.

Okay, I got kind of overly worked up on this one, but if you'll excuse me :P ;)

What about you, Quibbles, are you more or less trusting than me when it comes to people telling the truth?

Love always,
- Nargles 9/01/14

021 Freak the Geek

So you all know about John Green. Or most of you do. If you don't know who he is, check out our Book Corners page and you will see pretty much all of his books. And after that, you can click on our links page and there are three links dedicated to him.

He's known for his writing because he speaks the truth, he has quirky, unique, and lovable characters, and he has a fantastic sense of humor. In The Fault in Our Stars, he swells up our hearts and make us love and adore the characters... and then proceeds to stomp on them (both our hearts and the characters) with the heel of a stiletto. In fact, John Green describes Hazel describing Augustus's cancer as "a one-legged fat man wearing a stiletto heel standing on the middle of his chest". But you and I know this isn't true. It isn't John, or Hazel, or Augustus that's being described. It's those of us stupid enough to open the book, fail to realize that the book could blow our feelings apart, and keep on reading to the end. And I am one of those people.

In any case, here's a quote I found from one of his lesser known works, a short story called "Freak the Geek" from an anthology of short stories called Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd. It's about two girls in a private school: a geeky, shy girl named Lauren (the narrator) and a geeky, not-shy girl named Kayley, her best friend. The ritual at their school is for the the popular kids to "freak the geek", or, in other words, massively prank the girl(s) they find the geekiest. Lauren and Kayley are 'freaked' by a paintball war in which (surprise surprise) they are not the ones wielding the guns. As they run into the woods and hide under a bridge, Kayley sort of blows up on Lauren by telling her that the reason they're running from their own classmates and considered the two least liked girls in the entire school is because Lauren is "meek". Lauren responds by telling her the following:

You know, you're a total know-it-all. And it's incredibly rude sometimes; I mean, you're not perfect either, and you act like it's my fault but it's not my fault for being quiet or your fault for being a know-it-all. It's not your problem or my problem; it's their problem. They're the demented ones, not us, so don't take it out on me, because the only thing that holds anything together for me is having someone else on the Not Demented Team.
(Lauren to Kayley)

- John Green, "Freak the Geek", Geektastic

This quote sort of intrigues me. Because it's interesting to think that being the way you are isn't your fault if someone doesn't like it. It's their fault for thinking that way. Me, I don't think any opinion can be wrong or right, and I really don't think an opinion can be someone's fault, but it's an interesting thought to consider.

- Quibbles 8/7/14

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