So I read Ben’s post the other day and was so impressed. Not that being floored by his incredible intellect, talent and insight is a new feeling for me; I often sit in awe of how much he’s accomplished and how completely astute he is at getting to the heart of absolutely everything – from people and places to jobs and communications objectives. And, oh yeah – dogs, I guess. I don’t pretend I’m not constantly jealous of him and his abilities. But what impressed about this particular piece was the honesty.
I read The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman a little while back and am reminded of his fascination with our generation’s crush on the Internet. Generation ‘Techs’ as we are often known, Friedman speaks about how being deep in the throes of integrating technology into every aspect of our lives has empowered us all with a burning desire to publish our own content. Be it Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging or Twitter, everyone is in such a race to tell the world their story. And although I’m pained with the thought of how hypocritical it is for me to say this on a blog, I don’t always think this newfound global love affair with being an author is always such a good thing.
But while it’s true that some people only hear what they want to hear, in an age where our blogs are the trusted point of contact, sometimes we only say what we want to say.
And when we hold back the negative details about our lives – which, lets face it, all of us are guilty of doing – we give people an inaccurate representation of ourselves. And then when people start singing our praises because our last status update boasted success, or worse, someone calls the suicide hotline because we had some depressing song lyrics displayed online, we end up in a pretty twisted moral dilemma.
And me, well, I’m just as bad as everything I’ve just said. I’m not even going to try to get into all of the problems with the fact that I use an alias to add international perspective to a friend’s blog; you can only tackle so many faults in one post and, frankly, I’m just not smart enough to be that personally introspective.
But what I will say is that I’ve portrayed a particular image of myself as Ben’s regular guest blogger; the fiery, somewhat self-deprecating PR executive getting a laugh out of the cultural challenges of living and working in Britain. And although none of that description is untrue, there’s a lot more to my story than just that. Things aren’t always coming-up-daisies for me, and I’m certainly not always taking the high road with how I deal with it – I stress and whine and cry and worry about my future and state of mind just as much, if not more, than anyone else. And I can’t exactly pretend that when I’m going through the tough stuff, my quirky little posts aren’t notably absent from NOR.
So kudos to you, Ben, for laying out some of the cards your ego tells you to keep closer to your chest. I think at the end of the day, giving some of the bad with the good gives a much more accurate picture of who we are. And knowing you personally, you’re still all the phenomenal things that people say about you; your flaws only enhance your character. They make you more real.
Wow. So I totally just turned this post into a Benjamin Boudreau Highlight Reel. I guess that’s OK – none of it’s untrue and it is his blog, afterall.
Besides, now that he’s a fully employed hot shot, he can afford to pay me for my promo work.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
You are either bang-on with your semi-colon usage, or I’ve got a serious Thursday-morning wine hangover. Or both.
EF: Good point. I’ll take it as inspiration.
Peter: Niiiiiiice!
Matt: That would have been the classy way out.
Racquel: Seriously? Uncontrollable giggles for Great Big Sea?
Thrice: Boo.
Maxie: I hear that.
JustAGirl: Touché.
Paul: I thought about that. Then promptly decided to let it slide.
MissMusing: Oh dear…the only one looking sillier was probably the friend sleeping with people for VIP passes haha
DMB: Damn. Opportunity missed!
Dolce: See, this would have been a private box for my company. PERFECT.
Stealthnerd: I’ll call that bet!
Kellie: Morons. They smell bad.
Rachel: It definitely would have been the same for us.
Steph: Hahahaha I like your friend!
Andy: That’s pretty much how it went to be honest.
Kate: So lame.
Kristen: Thank you so much!
Golublog: Me too…
Chelsea: See you in VIP?
Lindz: It was great!!
Maggie: Hyphenating is just as good as semicoloning!
Sheila: Hahahaha thank you.
AHHH HAAAA….
That’s what happens when your head gets so much air pumped into it. It slowly starts to leak out of all the holes and you are eventually lowered back to the same level as our lowely lives like a deflating balloon.
Welcome back.
I love hyphenating. And laughing. Which is probably why I’m here.
Oh nice. I’m still jealous because I would kill to see Hairspray live.
I over-hyphenate randomly too. See? Can’t even comment without it. But again, laughed out loud. At you. Sorry.
A-to-the-men.
It’s o.k. Everyone likes feeling a little fancy sometimes. I just wish it was more of the time for me.
Awwww…boo.
I posted the doggie donation thingy. Actually it was manslave but it’s there. I hope it helps out!
Kick in the ass, huh?
I can just imagine your smile gradually dropping, cartoon style, as you saw where the sits actually were. That’ll teach you for puffing your proverbial chest.
OMG, that’s hilarious!!! It totally reminds me of me and my friends though. Once we were in the VIP section at a club, and I asked, “If we don’t go down to mingle with the common folk, then what is the point of coming here and only talking and dancing with each other? We could stay at home and do this for free!” And my friend said, “Well then we wouldn’t have an audience.” LMAO!!! You would fit right in with us as we brushed past the peasants with your security escort!
I was the same way when Dan got tickets to the company box for a Bulls game. We get in at the nice seats and private bar….and then realize that we are so high up that you have to watch the game on the TV in the room. So basically I get sexy-upped to see a game on TV.
Aww boo!!! How dare those peasants!
You and I would get along quite well in public places. I assure you.
Haha! I wouldn’t mind being in the VIP section if I didn’t have to converse with all the ass holes in there.
you should have pulled the “don’t you know who i am?!” line. a lindsey lohan classic.
“I just semi-coloned the shit out of that.”
There are so many things I find wrong (let’s start with using colon and shit in the same sentence) and delightful about this phrase. I wish this was able to come up in conversation. Perhaps I’ll say it if I ever use a dramatic pause when speaking.
I prefer to NOT be VIP at bars. Mostly because I enjoy not being noticed, and dancing in the VIP section attracts more attention than the anonymous dry humping that happens on a crowded dance floor. And I never know how to act in other VIP-related scenarios. Am I allowed to fart in a box? (Heehee)
I think I could be VIP with you though…sounds thoroughly entertaining.
I’m such a freakin VIP whore too. If I get VIP at a club I am automatically partying like I’m a celebrity. It’s usually really bad for my bank account.
Buahahahahah! take that Ben!
I watched the Great Big Sea concert from the players’ box because my friend works for their record label. After the show we went backstage and I kept my hand on my heart the entire time, willing myself to stay conscious.
I would have used the word “peasants” if I had been capable of speech. As it was all I could do was giggle uncontrollably.
You should have been all diva about it and threw a HUGE fit.
Whenever I am in situations like that I think… what would Mariah Carey do.
Mariah Carey would not stand for being relocated.
During my last year at Dal, I was one of the folks that ran Frosh Week. And, because we were scammers, we weaseled our way into getting VIP passes for the best bars in town. It was AWESOME.
Especially during the winter months (all 11 of them.) I’d strut up to the front of a crazy long line, pausing only to pick a random cute girl shivering in too little clothing, yawn a “she’s with me” to the door people and stroll right in.
I kindly disagree. You can still look down at them, you just have to try harder. Think of how Simon treats Paula or those other judges…BINGO!