Reading, Internet, piano, youth rights activism, revenge.
In the language of David Keirsey, I describe myself as a "Composer Artisan" (or "ISFP," if you insist on the misleading letter code of Myers-Briggs). This might mean I'm particularly weak-willed and in need of help from this site.
"Revenge on my cruel, unsupportive family" I commit to:
disturbing my mother's sleep every night with harassing phone calls. Starting at a randomly determined time between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., I'll spend a minimum of 15 minutes, a maximum of 30, making her phone ring as many times as possible. Either she stops me with a restraining order—which she knows I would consider a badge of honor—or she keeps taking my abuse. Either way, teenagers are the new niggers and I'm the new Rosa Parks. Youth liberation now!
Contract End:
30 May 2012
Contract Length:
52 week(s)
Recipient of Stakes:
Anti-charity (Abortion: Americans United for Life)
disturbing my mother's sleep every night with harassing phone calls. Starting at a randomly determined time between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., I'll spend a minimum of 15 minutes, a maximum of 30, making her phone ring as many times as possible. Either she stops me with a restraining order—which she knows I would consider a badge of honor—or she keeps taking my abuse. Either way, teenagers are the new niggers and I'm the new Rosa Parks. Youth liberation now!
The user must post a report on 23 May.
In the event that this deadline is missed, there will be a 48 hour grace period to report.
VOID CONTRACT NOTICE: With embarrassment, sorrow, and regret, I confess that I have largely failed to do any work toward this goal since October or November of last year. The reports of success since then have been fraudulent, as will be the upcoming reports of success.
While I'm saddened and discouraged by my failure to make good use of stickK here, the dark cloud has a silver lining. The other day, I made a friendly phone call of reconciliation with my mother. She congratulated me on the apartment I got about two years ago. I told her about my cat, Mooshika. The conversation went well. I may be fighting the monstrous parents of my adolescence for some time to come, but I won't be expressing my anger through harassing phone calls anymore.
2 Oct 2011 05:29 AM
I changed my tactics yesterday. Today, I'm doing it again. It's impossible to get past her voice mail anymore. My best guess for an explanation is that she has chosen not to erase incoming messages, thereby keeping the memory full, diverting all new calls to the voice mail, and preventing the phone from ringing. I might as well abstain from calling her until November. Just when she has let her guard down—and maybe built up hopes for reconciliation—I'l l strike again. In the meantime, I'm glad to reintroduce myself to the experience of a full night's sleep.
CORRECTION of yesterday's journal entry: All through the commitment period so far, I have almost always called her land line rather than her cellular. In desperation, I've been hitting the cellular lately. But that number, the one from which I missed a call yesterday morning, appears to belong to someone else now. Oops! I've inadvertently been prank calling an innocent stranger. Sorry.
30 Sep 2011 07:02 PM
A tactical modification is required. I have been reaching her voice mail more and more frequently, which presumably means I'm making her phone ring less and less. Starting today, I'll do a harassment session every evening between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. in addition to the late night session.
In other news, something unprecedented happened at 9:21 this morning. My phone rang very, very briefly, hardly more than a second. I didn't even have time to touch it in my pocket. The record of missed calls told me my mother had attempted to call. Mmm, I'm excited now. I can taste blood in the water.
10 Sep 2011 07:44 PM
I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened to my alarm clock last night. The sun was already up when I examined it, wondering why it didn't wake me up to make the phone calls. As far as I could determine, I had done everything right in setting it to wake me up at the appropriate time. Yet I don't remember making the calls last night.
Either there is a subtle mechanical problem with my clock radio, or I brushed off the alarm in the middle of the night, switching it off and going back to sleep without having woken enough to record the memory consciously.
Yesterday, I wrote "void contract notices" for four other stickK commitments, but not for this one. Tonight, I resolve to make up for the lapse by putting in two separate fifteen-minute calling sessions. I would much rather do that than admit failure and lose some of my money to the pro-lifers.
6 Aug 2011 03:48 PM
Last night, due to circumstances beyond my control, my cellular phone had no network connection. I had to use a pay phone. Tonight, things will be back to normal.
5 Jul 2011 01:09 AM
The night before last, I shortened my battle cry to "Teenage liberation! (Sustained, vaguely sexualized grunt.) Teenage liberation! (Sustained, vaguely sexualized grunt.)" In effect, I cut it in half, although I also made some effort to say it slower.
Last night, on the other hand, I had a setback. Having gotten more than I bargained for from a cannabis-laced treat I had eaten early in the evening, I spent the whole night in panic and paranoia. I made a tiny number of sporadic phone calls through the night, but nothing near the minimum of fifteen minutes I had pledged. I face a crisis of conscience. How do I hold myself accountable to my commitment, make sure I'm not abusing the honor system, yet keep my money from going to pro-lifers?
Today and tonight, I'm working harder to compensate. This afternoon, I gave thirty minutes to phone calls. Tonight, I intend to put in another two separate thirty-minute sessions, one early in the night and the other later.
22 Jun 2011 08:34 PM
"Teenage liberation! (Sustained, vaguely sexualized grunt.) Teenage liberation! (Sustained, vaguely sexualized grunt.) Teenage liberation! (Sustained, vaguely sexualized grunt.) Teenage liberation! (Sustained, vaguely sexualized grunt.)" I have settled on this as my nightly battle cry into Mom's answering machine. I don't even mind sounding Oedipal when I admit I love to fuck with her head.
15 Jun 2011 06:25 PM
Only two weeks in, I'm already reaping psychic rewards from my commitment to the revenge campaign. I can think somewhat more clearly, decisions come a bit faster, and everything is a little easier to cope with.
3 Jun 2011 02:45 AM
I've been having an interesting discussion with online friends about this commitment: http://brainsandca reers.com/phpBB3/vie wtopic.php?f=18& t=1673
To understand our jargon, you may need to brush up on David Keirsey's theory of human temperament: http://www.keirsey .com/4temps/overview _temperaments.asp
1 Jun 2011 06:49 PM
Intermittently for a little over a year and a half, I have made harassing phone calls to my mother, hoping to goad her into getting me served a restraining order. I haven't had the persistence to make it happen, but maybe stickK will change that for me.
Tonight will be my first night under the commitment contract. I prepared for it today by buying phone minutes and getting randomly selected clock times from random.org to start the calls over the next seven nights.
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