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Let Me Be Your Life Coach

 
  

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Matthew Fluxington
15:07 / 03.10.03
Barbelith, you are special and unique individuals, with your own individual goals, values, talents, interests and personality. You deserve to spend your time doing meaningful work in an enjoyable environment. The more you love what you do, the more likely you are to succeed in all the ways that are important to you - intellectually, socially, and financially!

Your first step is to aim yourself in the right direction - but where to start? I am dedicated to helping you explore that question we all ask ourselves at one time or another: What am I meant to be?

I have the tools, knowledge, and expertise to help you discover the right direction. I'm here to assist you with whatever you need assistance in, from wardrobe, to diet, to finding you a kick-ass gynecologist!

Let me be your Life Coach.
 
 
pomegranate
15:14 / 03.10.03
flux, first off, thanks so much. this is just what i need. ok, so i'm thinking of going back to school to get my master's degree, but i'm not sure about it. i don't know what i want to study. the things i'd like to study, like women's studies and social work, will not bring me more money, which would sort of be the point of spending all that money and time going back to school. so what do you think i should do?

...please, don't post a picture of stoli donut as yr advice.
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
15:15 / 03.10.03
Do a law conversion and specialise in social issues/equal rights law?
 
 
Tryphena Absent
15:18 / 03.10.03
Erm, hello! I don't think you're the life coach!

Flux, will you be my life coach? I have this friend who's been taking his kids to a strip club. One of them's really sexually confused, she could be a girl? Or maybe a boy? It's screwing with my head a bit, knowing my friend's a bad father who doesn't deal with his kids issues. What should I do? Shall I recommend that he should find a life coach?
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
15:24 / 03.10.03
You'd be surprised.
 
 
Tryphena Absent
15:24 / 03.10.03
ohmygod! You and Flux are the same person?!!!!
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
15:30 / 03.10.03
As I've said before, repeatedly, you are all me. Every single one of you. [sigh] Why does no one listen any more?

But actually, since Mantis' question seemed pretty heavyweight, I just thought I'd offer an answer of my own. It's not going to stop Flux from replying, but even someone as wise as the Fluxter can use some support from time to time.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:32 / 03.10.03
That's right, Nick, I'm the Life Coach in this thread. Buzz off.

Praying Mantis, let's deal with your situation.

I understand the desire to want to return to school. Education is an enriching experience, and the social situations created in a school environment can be very enjoyable and rewarding. You deserve to have these experiences. But we are at our best when we have focus, which is what you are looking for. It would be a good idea to know what you want out of your school experience so that you can maximize what you can get out of it while you are there. Money is a very important factor here, and so we should consider how much this degree is worth to you, and if your investment will be returned. Money is not everything though, and you may be able to find a rewarding career that may not make you a wealthy woman, but will nourish your soul. Having a modest income does not need to be a bad thing if we can create a reasonable financial game plan.

What is the most specific idea for a career that you have? Try to envision numerous versions of your future, and I will help you create strategies that will allow you to not only live out those dreams, but to thrive in them as well. We can do this together! I believe in you.

Anna de Logardiere, I think you're just messing around with me. That scenario doesn't seem realistic even in the slightest.
 
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
15:35 / 03.10.03
Flux, coach me!

How could a (nearly) 30-year-old Goth such as my good self update the Gothic look so as to reflect not only the tenebruous poetic darkness of my crystalline soul, but also my wisdom and maturity? Do I have to give up my beloved black nail varnish, and can you recommend a good quality purple eyeshadow that won't crease on mature skin?

Also-- Long dangly diamante earrings with nail-studded collars. Still kicking or so over?
 
 
Ethan Hawke
15:39 / 03.10.03
Flux gives horrible advice. I recently broke up with my long term girlfriend, and in addition to this trauma he keeps badgering me to quit my job AND develop a heroin problem. I think he may be kidding about the heroin thing, but he knows I'm susceptible to my baser urges and should really keep such suggestions to himself.

Plus, and I think Qalyn may back me up on this, no one needs a "life coach." all you need to do to drastically improve your life is to listen to Tom Waits's "Going Out West" every morning, first thing upon waking. Yeah, I know it's about a dirtbag, and yeah, I know it's tongue-in-cheek, but damn if it doesn't make me feel like one cocky bastard. And yet, Flux has FAILED to do this experiment. I GUARANTEED that if he listened to that song every morning for a week, he'd be king of Westchester. But he hasn't, and he's not.
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
15:41 / 03.10.03
I think Todd should be a life coach.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:44 / 03.10.03
Todd can't take a joke. I was just kidding about the heroin.
 
 
Ethan Hawke
15:48 / 03.10.03
Nick, I appreciate the thought, but I'm not cut out to be a life coach. If I were, I'd be one of those "Little League" parents who tries to live vicariously through the achievements of their kids. I wouldn't take the desires and needs of my pupils into consideration at all. In guiding them, I'd pick the course that would make me the happiest and then yell at them until they did it, or started crying. And then I would buy them ice cream.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:49 / 03.10.03
Mordant, have you tried wearing all white? This may be a bad time of year to try this advice out, seeing as though it is now post-Labor Day, but reversing your standard color choices while keeping the conventional appearance of goth would be exactly the right thing to set you apart from the rest, while making a bold statement about who you are as a person.

Long dangly diamante earrings with nail-studded collars are timeless, darling.
 
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
15:53 / 03.10.03
I did that! When I was, like, 15! And now pushface... that guy who used to do that vampire fanzine... he does it! Do I want to look like one of those lame Goths who edit vampire fanzines? I think not.

You're a big suck loser. I'm not taking life coaching from a big suck loser.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:55 / 03.10.03
Mordant, maybe you'd be better off just buying your wardrobe at The Gap. Then more people would like you.
 
 
Cat Chant
15:55 / 03.10.03
What should I get my dad for his seventieth birthday next week? I don't have much money. I was going to do a cool thing involving rummaging thru the British Council archives from when he worked for them in the 60s and doing a "This Is Your Life As A Cultural Imperialist!" scrapbook, but I left it too late.

He already has a walking stick. And a hat.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
15:58 / 03.10.03
Deva, as we all know, as men grow older, their appreciation for fine craftsmanship increases exponentially. This is why I recommend that you buy your father one of those charming replicas of an 17th century boat inside of a glass bottle.

Either that, or you could take him out for a day at the spa.
 
 
Cat Chant
15:58 / 03.10.03
Damn. While I was writing that it was alleged that Flux was a big suck loser and now I don't know if I should buy what he tells me to.
 
 
Ethan Hawke
16:00 / 03.10.03
These really aren't life coach questions. Fashion? Presents? I think Flux is probably doing a disservice to REAL life coaches by answering them. I have a good mind to report him to the life coach professional association, if there is one.
 
 
Ethan Hawke
16:02 / 03.10.03
But I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. Here's a question. I am meeting my ex for dinner this evening. How can I prevent myself from making out with her? At this point, it might be helpful to note the fact that I really like making out.
 
 
Persephone
16:05 / 03.10.03
Go for it!
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
16:17 / 03.10.03
Todd, the key is positive visualization. If you do not want to make out with this woman, you need to visualize images and concepts that will keep you from making out with her. Also, remember that you are an adult, and you do not have to always give in to your base impulses. There is a reason why you are no longer with her (actually, there are SEVERAL reasons), please keep them in mind. If you want to have cheap sexual thrills, I would recommend finding a more appropriate partner. Like, say, NYU undergrads.
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
16:17 / 03.10.03
Wear one of those Hannibal Lecter masks.
 
 
Ethan Hawke
16:27 / 03.10.03
We're going out for dinner, Nick, and using a straw is gauche where I come from.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
16:29 / 03.10.03
So, are you considering the undergrads?
 
 
Ethan Hawke
16:33 / 03.10.03
And Flux, if I'm thinking about images and concepts that will keep me from making out with her, isn't that Negative visualization? You're getting me confused.

RE: The undergrads - ah yes, more bad advice from the Fluxster. Even before the official end of my relationship, he was telling me that the ideal partner for me would be an undergraduate at one of our fine local universities. I'm in what I like to call my mid-late 20s. You can see that that's probably not entirely appropriate, especially if I attempted to employ the various ingenious methodologies Flux has proposed for snaring said undergraduate(s), most of which involved my getting my hair cut into something called a "fauxhawk."
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
16:41 / 03.10.03
Todd, you have to want to be happy.

First, it's positive and not negative visualization because your goals are POSITIVE - you don't want to suck face with this woman who wronged you, and you most certainly don't want to have sex and accidentally impregnate her, binding you to her for eternity which is EXACTLY WHAT SHE SECRETLY WANTS.

Second, I think you need a much younger woman for a few good reasons. First, it will allow you to have the fun that you were denied because you spent so much time on your ex-girlfriend's leash. Now is the time for you to sow those wild oats and let yourself go. Who better to do that with than hot undergrads, especially if they are kinda goth? Goth girls are fucking hot, and you know it. You've told me so.

Another good reason to be with the undergrads is that they are young and will find you sexier just because you're older, "wiser," and an "artist." You can impress them with your paintings. They'll think that you're well read, especially if you start quoting from Dave Eggers books and taking them to McSweeney's functions. Frankly, no one else is going to dig you like these chicks will.

You'd look hot with a faux-hawk, too. You should consider it. I'll fax you over some pages from Vice, and we can talk about your new wardrobe later on.
 
 
Cheap. Easy. Cruel.
16:41 / 03.10.03
I wouldn't dismiss the idea of an undergrad for a sexual partner, Todd. Sorostitutes are usually quite good, and are often very accomodating. Just don't expect to be able to carry on a conversation at anything more than the shallowest levels with them.
 
 
Cat Chant
16:45 / 03.10.03
a much younger woman

The man's in his mid/late 20s! That's ten years at most older than an undergraduate! I don't call that "much" younger!

Ahem. No, no issues here. Move along.
 
 
Matthew Fluxington
16:46 / 03.10.03
Steelwelder, I don't know what podunk town you live in, but Todd and I live in New York fucking City. NYU girls are nothing like that, and neither are the Columbia, Parsons, Cooper Union, and SVA girls.

I keep telling Todd that he should set up an easel in Washington Square Park, paint some crappy "abstract" paintings, and play some Bright Eyes or Decemberists on his boom box. If he did that, there would be so many girls on his jock that he'd have to start handing out numbered tickets like at a deli!
 
 
MJ-12
16:46 / 03.10.03
Another good reason to be with the undergrads is that they are young and will find you sexier just because you're older, "wiser," and an "artist."

...and you can buy them beer.
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
16:50 / 03.10.03
Right. So we've established that Todd should sacrifice his integrity on the altar of, well, quite a lot of people's projected desire to have sex with undergraduates they don't particularly like.

Todd, for my money, if you wanted to make your life easy regarding your ex, you probably shouldn't be having dinner. Lunch would have been wiser. However, since that option has palpably expired, possibly the wisest thing to do is plan the evening to avoid any charmingly tense and erotic moments where you find yourselves crushed to one another in a freight elevator.

Go to a place with wide tables and don't go for any romantic strolls or vigorous bump-n-grind dancing.
 
 
Persephone
16:52 / 03.10.03
Just make out with her, Todd.
 
 
Cheap. Easy. Cruel.
16:54 / 03.10.03
flux

Wow, let's trot out the stereotypes. While he is altering who he is in order to get women, why don't we have him buy a motorcycle as well? Stereotypically, that has brought women in droves.

My question is this: If they are not like that at all, why are you recommending them as partners? Isn't that what this whole game is about?
 
  

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