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Long time ago back in Japan in December 2000, I met an executive from a recruiting firm in America.  He was a typical brash, youth.  About one year old than me.  Of course, that one year difference and his career success compared to mine was a bit of an ego breaker for me. 

At that time, I was proud and had certain beliefs.  He quizzed me, asking me, "Which do you think has bigger distribution?  Linux or Windows?"

I instantly replied, "Linux!" Why? Because one I'm a fan and two I honestly didn't know any better.

He told me that was a psychological quiz and said that I was impulsive.  His answer was, "Let me find out and get back to you later."  I was shaken and told him that I was a Linux and perl developer.  He made fun of me saying that developers are a dime a dozen and that his company employed Windows.

Back then I was a big perl/mod_perl nut.  Also, a female pro-wrestling nut.  My goal was to build a Japanese female pro-wrestling site and make money.  Oh boy some aspirations, huh?

So the female pro-wrestling scene in Japan was dying a sad, quiet death, not too unlike perl/mod_perl in the states.  Just before leaving for Japan, I had done a brief interview with then LA high flying dot com EToys for a software development position.  I had received an email while in Japan, a little before Christmas.  The recruiter asked me if I still was interested in joining EToys.  I told them to wait a bit.  Surely thereafter, EToys filed for bankruptcy when they failed to make their mark, missing around $150 million out of a $250 million or so investment in their latest shipping technologies.

Of course, other companies were falling in a similar manner.  But that blew my mind and was to set the tone for 2001.

Coming back to the states, the first two months were brutal for me.  No one wanted perl anymore.  The new catch phrase was Java and Python.  Hey, isn't Python a big friggin' snake?  Oh, and they wanted you to possess 5+ years of technologies that perhaps existed for 2-3 years at best.  That whole experience really humbled me and made me go back to that guy in Japan.

At the time, I was distraught and didn't care for (what I perceived) his arrogant demeanor.  I don't remember the exact conversation but I did reveal to him my aspirations and he laughed at it.  At one point, I started talking about what other people thought about me.  And here's where that all important piece of advice he gave me still haunts/plagues me:

FUCK 'EM.

I have a saying where in grade school and in college they teach you to go out and save the world.  So he's telling me to do the opposite.  I used to be that Keyclubber, the altruistic giver who would run out on his Saturdays to help kids.  When it came to sacrificing what I wanted for the team, I'd give.

10 years later I completely think the opposite.

My mom was awake this morning.  I thought it was disturbing or that she had watched too much TV again.  So I went to check on her.  Sure enough, as always, she was in her familiar position, sitting on the couch with a glazed look.  I asked if she was tired.  She said she had been thinking about how her hours were cut.  The first time she mentioned it, I didn't hear her well and thought that she just meant she had been sleeping funny.  But the second time she clarified her situation with me: her work lost a big contract and her hours were cut down to 15 with no benefits.  My mom had been working at this place for 12 years now.  And this is what loyalty (and laziness) pays.

FUCK 'EM.

Exactly.

The other day I was helping some guy out in World of Warcraft.  He gave me a measly 150 gold for a nice ilvl 251 trinket.  I should have told him to fuck off.  Another friend told me to "fuck everyone" after I got him into a guild and he rushed home.  But it was known that we raided at 730 pm.  Maybe he shouldn't have rushed.  Or maybe I miscommunicated with him.  Either way, I don't see why I deserve to receive hatred.  Here's another one.  A friend of mine in Japan I call "Crazy" constantly badgers me in trying to help her on her interview recently, causing me to lose sleep and sanity.  Then she expects me to go to Japan and pay for her overly expensive meals.  What do I get?  More badgering.

FUCK 'EM.

I tell you, if aliens landed and figured out that I was the only person in this world to make a decision for allowing humanity to sink or swim, it's pretty obvious what I would do.  I can see it now.  World leaders pleading, citizens begging me to spare their children, old grannies and wives.  Then you have this nice red button the aliens let me push of all people.  Not even they can push it.

Of course, I get to make a great speech to the world.  I'd review the crimes against my family and myself and against each other.  For being too stupid, too incompetent, never bother to listening to me when the chance was there.  Maybe those bad jokes about me being Jesus/God weren't jokes, but some secret inherent truth that would only be unveiled on 12/12/2012 by the aliens to me.  These sad fuckers would cry to me, "Oh we'll change!  We'll make it right!"

Considering if there was a Jesus Christ, these people did a piss poor job of making his little book work out, right?  And if I'm designated as the re-birth of Jesus, I know one thing is for certain: I ain't gonna sacrifice myself for mankind's sins.  No way.  Those sins suck. 

I would designate around roughly 200 people that would board my space ship that the aliens provide as the only survivors for the world, first of all.  Afterward, I would at least give the people of the earth some knowledge to think about prior to the destined occurrence.  My little after thoughts would be, "If you people weren't stupid and treated each other and yourselves with a little respect, maybe things would be different."  At that point, I'd probably give them an hour to ponder their moments on Earth as the space ship flies off.  The survivors would have their memories terminated (most of them are hot females) and I'd tell the space aliens to break out with their genetics labs so we could work on that intelligence and common sense thing.