Back From The Bestest City EVAR

I’m back in Swarthmore, PA after 4 days in Vienna, Austria. If I’m not too jet-lagged tonight, I will write a number of posts fanboying Vienna. I’m sure that will do this as well, and that will laugh at both of us.

I have a few Apple Software Updates to install, about 400 e-mails to read, and about 60 LiveJournal entries. It’s amazing how much can happen in such a short time.

Things I will miss now that I’m back in the US of A:

  • Weissbier
  • Amazing public transportation
  • Continental breakfasts
  • Every item of food that I ate
  • Good airline service
  • Good international TV news
  • Hungarian food, Austrian food, Italian food, German food…
  • Beautiful old buildings
  • Did I say food already?

It appears that a massive attack of SWILAngst occurred while I was gone. I’m definitely glad I wasn’t here, because now I have the chance to look over the whole incident. A few preliminary comments:

  1. Stop making backhanded complaints about people in public forums like LJ. It does absolutely good, and in fact can be insulting, degrading, etc. LJ lets you consider your words before you commit them; think about what you’re going to say, and if it’s not constructive, don’t bother saying it. If you absolutely have to say it, have a private conversation with the person in question. Don’t even get me started on friends-locking…
  2. Procrastination is fine, and people do get stuff done even when they procrastinate.
  3. There have been a lot of complaints about our (‘s, ‘s, and my) SWILPresidency. I understand why you are complaining, but I know we had fun, SWIL didn’t collapse in on itself, events happened, and people seemed to be happy. If you’d like to talk about our apparent massive failure as presidents, let me know.
  4. I’ve already talked about my reduced involvement in SWIL for 2003-2004. I think my reasons have been fairly clear, but if you want to hear them again, feel free to ask.
  5. as a group does have some things in common, but we all have very different views of the world. Remember that when you start talking about as a cohesive unit of like-thinking people.
  6. Be nice. Honestly. Is it that hard?

I’m not talking about specific people, but I think everyone knows what they’ve done wrong in this. At least I hope they do. If you feel that I’ve offended you, please tell me.

SWIL will go on, no matter what happens. We’re eerily difficult to kill, in that sense ;o).

To get back to the important things in life, Vienna was absolutely awesome. If you ever have the opportunity to go there, do so!!! Have fun, enjoy Reading Week and Finals, etc., etc.


Comments

17 responses to “Back From The Bestest City EVAR”

  1. To all your very pertinent comments about SWILangst, I would further add that lj is a really sucky form of communication because you never know who’s going to find out what when, if ever. For instance, I only just found out about through this very post. I didn’t even know SWIL had an lj-community!

  2. To echo , thank you.

  3. Okay, so it’s not a very faithful echo.

  4. And I was surprised when I was made a member of that community when it was formed!

    But really, it was an offshoot of the chat list that’s never been all that exciting, so people don’t really talk about it. You’re not missing much.

    Incidentally, how is a person supposed to notice when there exists a community that’s perfect for him/her? By looking at other LJers profiles?

  5. you just used the word “fanboy” incorrectly. you deserve a noogie.

    it’s not possibly to fanboy vienna. that’s just..not the way you use it.

  6. You and I both know that we have fallen in love with the city. If you have a better word, I’d like to hear it.

  7. Er, yeah, just by wandering around and stuff.

  8. “fan” works. but fanboy is too obsessive with a somewhat negative connotation towards the object of affection…

    i was enchanted by vienna; i fell in love with it; i must go back, but i am not a fanboy of it…

    heh.. but call it what you like..:)

  9. To address the part of the post relevant to me:

    My lj-rant echoes, not verbatim but with the same information content, stuff I said repeatedly in person. In my view of etiquette, it’s OK to lj-bash someone if they’re on your friends list, the post isn’t friends-locked against it, and you’ve said the same things to their face already.

  10. Yeah, you definitely can’t really ‘fanboy’ a city. And besides, I’m not going to laugh at you — my mother and I fell in love with Vienna when we were there, so I completely understand.

    Just wait til you go back some time and see the Lipizzaner stallions! :) (Although possibly that wouldn’t be as important to you if you didn’t grow up reading about them, like I did. ::shrug::)

    Glad to have you back. :)

  11. I’m not going to drag the whole other debate over here except to say that etiquette means a lot more than not saying things behind people’s backs. Sometimes it *requires* you to say things behind people’s backs or else not say them at all (which is usually the more polite solution), and that in some ways publicly denouncing someone to their face is less respectful than saying bad things about them to a few other relevant people, since it implies that you don’t even think the person’s feelings are worth preserving or that the person’s impression of you is valuable to you. (Especially if you phrase it so that you’re not publicly criticizing the person to their face where others can hear, but publicly criticizing the person *to others* and not caring if they overhear, implying that they are the objects of rather than participants in the conversation. Ever had someone talk about you to others while you were standing there in the room? Ever wonder why people consider that the height of rudeness?)

  12. I would say you’re more glad to have back :oP.

  13. Is that it’s never okay to lj-bash anyone. That’s not saying that I’ve never done it, or never will do it, but that I never should do it, if I can help it.

  14. ::blush:: Would you poke me if I squeed? ;)

    Seriously, though, I think I can manage a little bit of happiness you’re back around, too. :-P I’m glad you had such a good time!

  15. (laughs) Awesome — but next time, I get a postcard, dude…

    What’s a Weissbier?

  16. I don’t have your address :o(. I sent plenty of postcards, though.

    Weissbier = wheat beer. Tastes different, because you use wheat instead of barley (like most beers) to provide sugars for the yeast to ferment.

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