English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

MickLH

15:00

@meer2kat "success" is just an ego thing anyways, lol you're already ahead of your parents

KitFox

Uh-oh.

Matt Эллен

the joker, three times?

MickLH

I mean maybe it's cutting straight to the philosophical too fast, but I don't care for anyone who can't switch between talking about the universe and laughing at fart jokes at high frequency

KitFox

Well, OK, not so bad, but not really informative.

Matt Эллен

sounds like fortune telling :D

meer2kat

15:01

hahaha exactly matt

Matt Эллен

what do they say?

meer2kat

what i do enjoy about fortune telling is that no matter what it comes out to, it's always vague enough that you can find a way to apply it to your life somehow haha

Payod Panda

Meerkat, I'm from India. The education system here is pretty f*ed up in my opinion, there's no counselling before you start college. So most students don't know what to do, and end up doing what their parents want them to do.
I, like most guys here in India, ended up doing an undergraduate course in engineering. By default, the guys who were "good" students go for engineering, and the girls go for an MBBS (medical). After starting college, staying in a hostel with others, I found out hardly anyone is doing what they really want to. This, in my opinion, is bad. You live your life living some…

KitFox

So first card is The Lightning, inverted. That's a private calamity, a personal trauma that you keep to yourself.

Matt Эллен

OK, so that's me

Payod Panda

15:02

That was one long message.

meer2kat

@PayodPanda that's fantastic :) i, too, started in engineering because my parents wanted me to

@PayodPanda congrats by the way :)

KitFox

The second card is The Lilies, also inverted. Your sense of calm and peace is disrupted, despite strong roots and a positive environment.

Matt Эллен

always

Payod Panda

Thanks @meer2kat. All I'm saying is you can find a way of doing what you want to.

=)

meer2kat

@PayodPanda i appreciate it :)

@MattЭллен getting intense matt! :)

KitFox

15:04

The last card is The Patient. You are headed for recovery, but it is a long road. You be will whole again with some kindness and nuturing.

Matt Эллен

yay!

meer2kat

you're gonna make it! woowoo!

KitFox

So put them together, some bad experience still affects you even now that it is long past, but eventually you will heal.

Matt Эллен

Excellent.

my cheque's in the post

KitFox

kthx

It's for togrogs, right?

Matt Эллен

15:06

EL&U Blog

Discussion for the EL&U Blog. For more info see meta.english.s...

@KitFox it's made out to cash

KitFox

Oh! Nice.

Anyone else for a fortune?

Mitch

@cc I would prefer not to echo a banana. That would make me uncomfortable, particularly before lunch.

@KitFox me! me! me!

Wait, this isn't Tarot is it?

Matt Эллен

It's similar: carrot reading

meer2kat

i think that makes his fortune orange

Mitch

@KitFox Also I want some of that too... also.

@MattЭллен urp done.

oh. I thought you said carrot eating.

@meer2kat Did they say "You're going into engineering." or did they say "You should go into engineering"?

@meer2kat My future is so bright, because I get lots of beta carotene.

meer2kat

15:17

@Mitch it wasn't really an option if that's what you're getting at

@Mitch there we go. that'll solve all my problems :P

KitFox

No, it's not tarot.

Mitch

@PayodPanda your parents probably see a better outcome in the long run with a medical degree than something else. They're not taking into account that it may be more difficult if that's not what you want to do. Note though that it is a bit of a luxury to be able to choose what you do and they are looking at the outcome (better finances at the end) rather than happy (doing what you like to do).

On the other hand, following your passion is great...if you have one. Not everyone has a passion, so might as well pick the thing that makes you happy in the end.

meer2kat

i feel like yours must be bad if she's not telling you @mitch :P

KitFox

Yeah, it's kinda...gulp.

Mitch

@meer2kat I was kinda wondering why the hesitation to tell me.

KitFox

15:21

Also, I was doing other things.

meer2kat

oh dear

Mitch

@KitFox Nope, I can take it.

meer2kat

lol

KitFox

brb

Mitch

argh! so frustrating! my fate lies in the balance.

or rather there's no balancing at all, I just don't know.

@meer2kat Just assumed? did you show proficiency beforehand for that stuff? Maybe they thought that's what you wanted to do.

KitFox

15:24

Choosing your own destiny is always an option.

At least, if the books I read as a child are any indicator.

Wait, no. That was adventure. My bad.

OK, so @Mitch, this is what I have.

Mitch

anticipates

Matt Эллен

procipates

Mitch

anticipates all hopes being dashed

KitFox

First card is The Archer. You found your love early and happily.

In the flush of youth, one might say.

Mitch

@KitFox I liked taking the paths that ended up circling back to a previous page. I could read that for hours.

KitFox

15:27

The second card is The Mirror, inverted. You broke up, or nearly so? I'm not sure which. It was your fault mostly.

Mitch

@KitFox OMG how did you know?

meer2kat

@Mitch i've been doing engineering type stuff since i was 11 so yeah

Mitch

@KitFox I did break a mirror once. Does that count?

@meer2kat So it wouldn't be totally crazy of them to assume.

meer2kat

lol you're a troll :P

@Mitch no

Mitch

@meer2kat No, I haven't gotten that card yet.

meer2kat

15:29

@Mitch lmfao

KitFox

The third card is The Star. Your life will be balanced and satisfying. Although you may continue on your path alone, you won't be lonely, and your living will set a good example for others that you love.

Matt Эллен

The fourth card is The Troll, extroverted. You kicked someone in the nuts with their own foot.

5

KitFox

roflcopter.

Mitch

@KitFox wow that's so nice. It's going to be hard to live up to that.

meer2kat

that's intense @kit :)

KitFox

15:30

So you put those all together and ... I don't know. I'm too hungry to make up more.

meer2kat

what's your fortune, @kit?

KitFox

I can't read my own cards.

meer2kat

why?

Mitch

@KitFox Your fortune. I'm looking in o my crystal ball and... I see lunch.

MickLH

That's not a fortune, that's a prediction!

KitFox

15:31

@meer2kat It's hard to explain. If you read cards, I think you'd understand.

meer2kat

@Mitch what's for lunch?

(i have a prediction for it)

Mitch

Wait, that's my lunch on the other side of the crystal ball. explains why it was upside down.

grilled cheese

meer2kat

@Mitch hahahaha

i think kit said shes having pizza?

@KitFox okay lol. not my cup of tea. isn't that a thing too? tea leaf readings?

MickLH

@KitFox do you do that tarot stuff?

KitFox

Yes.

And yes.

Although I am reading Rom cards right now.

I have three tarot decks, but only one I read regularly.

meer2kat

15:33

what's the difference between rom cards and tarot cards?

KitFox

Well, as regularly as I read cards.

@meer2kat Do you know much about tarot cards?

MickLH

Lol you can read mine, but only if you don't ban me from the channel seriousface

meer2kat

not a thing. just that all those more-religious-than-me people think it's voodoo :P

KitFox

Funny, considering how Christian its root are.

meer2kat

shrugs

religious people are weird

MickLH

15:34

@meer2kat They probably had someone do a good reading on them, and then got afraid that somebody else knows more about the universe than them

Which would offend them because that's the point of the whole god belief thing

meer2kat

yar

KitFox

So there are four suits in tarot, cup (heart), wand (club), sword (spade), pentacle/coin (diamond).

They represent four journeys.

There are also the Major Arcana. They represent the overall journey, the big events from knowledge to enlightenment.

Rom cards are similar to the Major Arcana.

Oh, Mick wanted his read. Just a minute.

meer2kat

sure thing

user4550

hi

MickLH

@KitFox Don't trip it's not a big deal

user4550

15:37

Can i ask you to check my sentences?

MickLH

I was more just joking that people usually act weird towards me after reading my tarot stuff

user4550

@KitFox can i ask you to check my sentences_

meer2kat

i'm curious now to see what yours are :P

KitFox

@user4550 I'm in the middle of something right now, so no.

Mick's is funny.

Ready?

user4550

oh thank you.

MickLH

15:38

You know that every time you shuffle a deck of cards, you probably just came up with a new set that's never been pulled before?

user4550

Somebody please...

MickLH

Like ever, in the history of the universe ever

user4550

@MickLh

MickLH

sup

user4550

Could you check my sentences

MickLH

15:39

@KitFox ready when you are :D

KitFox

@MickLH Except that the deck is finite and so the orderings are also finite.

Alraxite

@user4550 Just ask it.

KitFox

OK, the first card is The Patient, inverted. When you needed compassion, you gave it instead.

MickLH

@KitFox Except that 52 factorial is like 2 * 10^50 times the age of the universe in seconds

user4550

Are you a native speaker?

Alraxite

15:40

More like 10 to the 68.

meer2kat

@user4550 i am. send them.

KitFox

The second card is The Snake, inverted. You resist temptation, but fighting your own corruption is a constant struggle. That's funny, because it is the kind of thing I'd associate with a recovering addict.

Alraxite

Oh wait, didn't read the universe part.

MickLH

Meh, just an estimate, either way, if you had been shuffling decks since the big bang you still have not come anywhere even remotely close to finding every possible way they could end up

user4550

I invited you to another room.

MickLH

15:43

I saw and joined, just ask it here

in fact, I just left it :P

KitFox

The last card is The Queen. I'm assuming you're male because of your name, so this is either finding the right partner, or finding the right mentor to support you emotionally.

So if I stick them together, what I read is that you were missing support when you were young. You made bad choices, but you survived them and continue to try finding your way in the world. You will meet someone who gives you the emotional support you need to help you grow into the person you want to become.

user4550

meer2kat,

MickLH

@KitFox I am a recovering (recovered?) ego addict, so that's what that's about I'd guess

meer2kat

@user4550 yeah?

user4550

did ya read it?

Why...it took you just seconds?

KitFox

15:47

@MickLH Did you happen to have a mother who expected you to take care of her and feed her ego?

MickLH

lol, I could twist it into that form

She was actually just drunk too much and so she didn't really "expect" it but more just needed it

KitFox

Well, you know, who would say something like "You abandoned me when your father died" instead of being the kind of mom who would support her children in their grief?

meer2kat

@user4550 yes i did lol.

KitFox

@MickLH Yeah, OK, so you took care of her when it should have been the other way around.

meer2kat

this stuff freaks me out sometimes -_-

MickLH

15:49

Also while the compassion thing looks like it's related to that, it's not

KitFox

Oh?

MickLH

Ironically, it's related more to that bit where it looks so obvious, but it's really not

meer2kat

@mick you are a very compassionate person

MickLH

I am cursed with thinking at infinity miles per hour lol

meer2kat

:)

MickLH

15:51

I can't help but spin my way right out of my own point of view, through theirs, all the way out of the whole topic, back around to formal logic, and meta-applying it to the new ideas to filter apart the subjective and objective

meer2kat

it's pretty entertaining and a little freaky :P :)

KitFox

I remember feeling that way. I did a lot of drugs to make my brain shut up.

I feel better now.

MickLH

It all happens so fast, unless someone does it themselves, they could never understand it being logically described, because the details are generated faster than they can be explained

meer2kat

@KitFox 0.o

MickLH

So I'm sortof constantly begging people for compassion, respect, trust, etc, because there's no way to prove anything to them

In fact, trying to prove it only digs further into the hole

KitFox

15:52

You don't need proof.

You need some meditation.

And time.

meer2kat

silence is golden, duct tape is silve

MickLH

lol yeah I don't get stuck on proving things, but again with the ego now

I have to resist trying to help people out sometimes

Because I'd first have to show them that I only offer help

Which requires me to first help them understand me, which is ... help

KitFox

You must be early/mid-twenties too?

MickLH

Yeah

meer2kat

us youngins are hopeless :P

KitFox

15:55

Nah, just there is a natural path we all take.

And that includes an existential crisis in our mid-twenties.

MickLH

I already went through that :P

KitFox

As we separate from our parents and assert ourselves as adults.

meer2kat

yeah i'm not liking that part

KitFox

@MickLH Well, part of it.

MickLH

Some people have to have twisted paths if everyone has to follow the formula :P

KitFox

15:56

Yeah.

Have I mentioned that I'm really hungry?

Matt Эллен

Time to go!

KitFox

Ima eat lunch, listen to talking.

bbl

meer2kat

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

@mick

MickLH

:)

I hope you know I'm not just saying "I already went through that" to call myself more mature, I meant it beyond mentally, even beyond spiritually into physically, I had to enter the medical system pretty early on, and had to take myself out of it against everyones "judgements" a bit too early too

Used some thyroid medication, because the whole "hyperdrive" thing really applied to my life, I feel I showed up to earth over 9000 years old, and lived another thousand years in my first 18 years on earth

Lol I sound so full of myself

user116900

16:12

Hi guys! Guess who I am?

user116900

Wow, the conversation stopped right after I entered, lol.

user116900

@KitFox I would like my fortune told as well. Just created a new account after deleting last week, lol.

user116900

@meer2kat You should go for what you like to do. There can be miracles when you believe.

MickLH

oh

it's J-Leezy

user116900

I am now using Linux Mint 16.

MickLH

16:26

nice nice :) still running debian myself

user116900

I switched because my favourite desktop is now MATE.

user116900

I got 56 points on the first day, yay!

user116900

16:46

I think everyone's gone for lunch, lol.

Cerberus

@snailboat I loved that troll post haha.

+1 for your epic troll post on English Meta, I loved it! — Cerberus 4 mins ago

Mahnax

@meer2kat gags

user116900

@Mahnax Boo!

meer2kat

@Mahnax what?

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Hi!

@meer2kat Frost. I am not a fan.

meer2kat

16:51

@JasperLoy Of course Jasper :)

@Mahnax Ah. My favorite right now is john keats

user116900

By the way, I have now given up all religion, even Buddhism.

meer2kat

@JasperLoy That was quick

Mahnax

@meer2kat I have very little experience with poetry, but I can say that I really don't like most Frost poems.

user116900

@meer2kat Quick? I have been Buddhist for quite a long while, lol.

meer2kat

@Mahnax do you like emily dickinson?

@JasperLoy EH :P

user116900

16:53

@meer2kat I was Christian for about two years.

Mahnax

@meer2kat Haven't read any of hers.

meer2kat

@Mahnax ohhhh you poor soul. here. this is my favorite:

Cerberus

Hi.

meer2kat

I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d banish us – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong day –
To an admiring Bog!

Cerberus

@jasper What made you give up Buddhism?

meer2kat

16:55

@JasperLoy I hope you'll be able to open your heart to it again one day :(

Mahnax

@meer2kat Why all the em-dashes? It feels disconnected.

meer2kat

@Mahnax how she wrote it

Mahnax

@meer2kat Well yes, I know. But I struggle to find a reason to write something like that.

user116900

@Cerberus Well, I am not sure what the end product, Nibbana, really is. It seems to be a kind of non-existence. I rather suffer in the cycle of rebirth than be non-existent.

meer2kat

@Mahnax go ask her ;) take me with you :P

Cerberus

16:57

@JasperLoy Okay, I see.

user116900

@meer2kat He already has a girlfriend, lol.

Mahnax

I don't think that's what she meant…

user116900

@Mahnax Whoosh!

meer2kat

@JasperLoy Super lamesauce. Single life is where it's at

Mahnax

@JasperLoy sighs

meer2kat

16:58

@Mahnax In order to do that you'd need time travel....meaning you'd need a TARDIS...which would make you the Doctor.

Mahnax

@meer2kat Dear lord. Another white, male doctor. Spare me.

meer2kat

@Mahnax There can never be a female doctor

@Mahnax They'd lose 70% of the fan girls lol

Mahnax

@meer2kat I could just be Calvin. Much simpler, less Moffat.

meer2kat

@Mahnax ...less....Moffat....? I don't....I can't comprehend these words.

Mahnax

Steven Moffat

Steven Moffat (, born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer and producer. Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his relationship with television producer Sue Vertue. In between the two relationship-centred shows, he wrote Chalk, a sitcom set in a comprehensive school inspired by his own experience as an English teacher. A lifelong fan of Doctor Who, Moffat has written several episodes of ...

user116900

17:01

Anyone watched The Amazing Spider-man 2?

meer2kat

@Mahnax such a beautifully minded and terrible man will never be seen again. but it's okay. he's secretly immortal.

Mahnax

A DW fan, I am not. A Moffat fan, I am even less.

user116900

@meer2kat Have you watched that video I emailed you?

meer2kat

@Mahnax I've changed my mind. I can't be your friend :(

@JasperLoy I did :) I liked it :)

@JasperLoy Did I not reply?

user116900

@meer2kat Oh well, I changed my email twice since then, lol.

meer2kat

17:03

@JasperLoy 0.o

Mahnax

@meer2kat On se débrouille.

:)

user116900

No SE folks know my current email, lol.

meer2kat

@Mahnax Si.

Mahnax

@meer2kat If what?

meer2kat

@Mahnax I'm not doing accents.

@Mahnax je ne parle pas francais

user116900

17:04

Ah fuyez douce image!

meer2kat

@JasperLoy 0.0

user116900

Pourquoi me reveiller o souffle du printemps?

meer2kat

@JasperLoy Clara makes souffles

user116900

@meer2kat I don't know French. Those are just some song lyrics, lol.

meer2kat

@JasperLoy je ne parle pas francais :P

user116900

17:06

@meer2kat Clara is a girl I used to like. She was nasty to me when she found that out.

meer2kat

@JasperLoy bitches be bitchin

KitFox

@JasperLoy Hi Jasper.

user116900

@KitFox Hi! You can tell my fortune if you are free.

meer2kat

@kit is that acceptable or do i need to delete it?

KitFox

What?

meer2kat

17:07

the profanity.

user116900

@meer2kat It is acceptable.

Mahnax

@meer2kat You can swear here.

KitFox

What profanity?

meer2kat

lol

ok

KitFox

Hang on, Jazzy Jas, I gotta get my desk sorted.

Mahnax

17:08

@KitFox You tell fortunes now?

KitFox

I have always done.

Mahnax

Cool. Tarot cards, palm reading, tea leaves?

KitFox

Cards, sometimes palms.

Palms are harder to make up.

Mahnax

Haha. Just look really serious while you do it.

meer2kat

Hahaha :)

Mahnax

17:11

The vaguer, the better.

KitFox

I do.

Actually, I'm usually specific.

Throws people off.

meer2kat

The secret of it all. Make crap up. Let them fill in the blanks :P

Mahnax

Oh! No kidding. They'll think you're the real deal. You can make more money that way.

KitFox

I don't do it for money.

I never take payment.

Mahnax

Yeah, I know. Just kidding.

user116900

17:13

@KitFox Wait you mean you don't really have any cards with you?

KitFox

Well, it's more powerful that way.

And then I get stuff in kind instead. Also, information.

@JasperLoy I do have cards with me and I just laid yours out.

user116900

OK, I won't take this too seriously of course, so I am prepared for anything, lol.

Mitch

@meer2kat "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Yogi Berra

user116900

@Mitch Haha, why change it?

Mitch

@Mahnax Yeah but if you make more specific statments and it's right, the more impressive.

@JasperLoy funny. but some people may not get the joke.

user116900

17:26

@Mitch Certainly I don't get it, but nvm.

Mahnax

Gotta run, talk to you folks later.

Exam in an hour, too. ventilates

Bye!

Mitch

I've been saying it in a French accent all this time.

@Mahnax It's just an exam. no worries.

@JasperLoy because one of the tenets of that particular religion is that this life is just an illusion, a sham, that when you reach nirvana you'll see beyond.

user116900

I have no religion now, I depend only on myself to find peace in this sick world...

Mitch

I just learned that nirvana 'literally means "blown out", as in a candle.'

user116900

It is hard to explain what I think Nibbana is in this chat.

Mitch

17:31

@JasperLoy parts of it aren't sick. But stay away from Syria for now.

@JasperLoy the explanation is that there is no explanation. That's it. Done. Finito. When does the party start?

KitFox

Better Nibbana than tibana.

OK, so.

user116900

Yes, cards.

Mitch

Better a steak in a chalet than gristle in a castle.

KitFox

First card is The Dog, inverted. You were betrayed by someone close to you and it destroyed your innate ability to establish bonds of trust in your relationships.

user116900

Hmm, OK, next card.

KitFox

17:35

The second card is The Clouds. Your current path forward is unclear. Although it is difficult to see which way to go, it is exactly this lack of clarity that allows you to choose your destiny.

user116900

Hmm, OK, final card.

KitFox

The last card is The Mice, inverted. You fear that establishing stability will make you vulnerable to small thefts that will slowly erode your security.

user116900

Hmm, OK, I can more or less see the first two are true, but the meaning of the third is still unclear to me.

user116900

OK, that's all I guess.

KitFox

So altogether, this old betrayal left you confused about your place in the world because you haven't learned to establish secure social support yet. The thing that is holding you back is fear, not necessarily of future betrayal, but that even little disappointments in friendship will make it feel like someone is not a friend.

I'm not sure if I said that clearly.

Overall, it feels like a very empowering fortune. You aren't sure what to do, but that means you are at the nexus of infinite possibility.

user116900

17:41

Yes, you have said it clearly, lol.

user116900

Time to sleep.

KitFox

Good night!

Mitch

The cloud card is obscuring your analysis.

KitFox

Hush. I already did your fortune.

Mitch

@KitFox choice overload ... curls up in ball, shivering

@KitFox I'm all like over-confident because of my excellent fortune.

trips on sidewalk while looking up.

gets crushed by bus in traffic

KitFox

17:48

Well, that makes it easier.

meer2kat

@Mitch I usually end up walking in the grass. Screw roads.

So @Kit my determination from today to my own question that i asked you was that you can't read your own cards cuz it's weird to make up stuff about yourself

@Mitch problem solved lol

KitFox

@meer2kat More like it produces infinite feedback.

Endless loop.

meer2kat

@KitFox I saw that you had some cards that came up twice that you said meant totally different things, which is why I came to that conclusion

KitFox

The cards have general meanings and depending on the context and orientation, they can seem to have wildly different meanings.

I can teach you if you'd like.

meer2kat

that sounds entertaining

KitFox

17:58

OK. Do you have a deck of cards handy?

skullpatrol

:( my world cup 2014 site proposal has -3 votes already!

meer2kat

@KitFox nope lmao

KitFox

Playing cards?

meer2kat

@skullpatrol ohhhhhhh that sounds fun!!!

skullpatrol

sorry to interrupt

KitFox

17:58

Regular playing cards will work.

meer2kat

@KitFox not right now. i will in about 2 hours though

oerkelens

I wrote horoscopes for a club magazine for a year. I stopped when people wanted to learn how I did it :X

meer2kat

@KitFox still at work right now

KitFox

@oerkelens You didn't tell them you made it up?

meer2kat

lol!

Alraxite

17:59

@meer2kat What do you do?

Just wondering.

oerkelens

@KitFox I didn't tell them, no :)

meer2kat

@Alraxite I'm a mechanical engineering co-op at a powder metallurgy company

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