NEVER become complacent!!!!!

This is one of my fundamental Life Rules. I got to thinking about it today because Violet said to me via email that she was shocked I said I was "relaxing" -- that she didn't KNOW me to relax. Well, of course I relax. Some would argue my entire life is relaxing, given I don't have a job. But I don't have the patience to take on THAT argument right now...or, well, EVER. But I got what Violet was saying. In fact, there's not a day that goes by that i'm not plotting, scheming, organizing, LEARNING. Seeking to better myself. I'm restless to a great degree. It's why, I think, I have little patience for movies. Sit there for 2 HOURS and watch something?! Something that 90% of the time adds nothing to my life? I have an insatiable appetite for LIFE. It's why I always have a fucking pile of papers or magazines...I always feel like there's SOME pearl of genius buried in those pages and pages of print. Right now, I have an article on Liberia next to me that I tore out. I didn't know jackshit about Liberia...and I feel ignorant saying that. And I don't LIKE being ignorant or feeling stupid. I'm not gonna immerse myself in everything Liberian, but at the very least, I'll now have a basic outline of the country's situation. I try not to be ashamed of my ignorance on things. Fuck, i'm known as a pretty bright person, to be frank. But i'm sooooooooooooo not the smartest person on earth. Smoke and mirrors is a game I AM a genius at, and I learned long ago that a good written and spoken vocabulary can get you VERY far in this life. Not to mention being a good speller, using proper grammar, and keeping track of current events. All effortless things to me...and easily learned. For example, one of my favorite books is the dictionary. If I see a word I don't know, I will literally jot it down on my hand if there's no paper around, and look it up as soon as I get home. Most people wouldn't bother to look up a word if the dictionary was sitting next to them. But it bothers me feeling like an idiot. Perhaps my favorite explanation, though, of my superior vocabulary...soap operas. I've always liked them...and the FUN characters on them, the villians...they're forever spouting devilishly clever wordplay, which eventually you pick up on as a 10-year-old watching Donna Mills eviscerate her latest business enemy or bedroom plaything. Oh, and TV GUIDE always employed the most captivating summary of my fave weekly shows...another way I learned. See, all around you are opportunities to hone your vocabulary. But this wasn't about vocabulary. It's about complacency. It's about my nonstop HUNGER for knowledge and new experiences. It's about feeling like few people around me share that hunger. It's about feeling as curious and optimistic about life now -- if not more so -- as I did at eighteen. I can see the eyerolls now. Who the FUCK do I think I am?! I am Gary. Hear me blog.