exsiliumlogs | (no subject) (part 2)

Mm. [ a beat, and she shrugs and looks towards their waiter ] We'll see how it goes.

Huh. So, we're also supposed to share general interests, hobbies, dreams of the future - to check compatibility, preventing getting too far into a relationship that's ultimately gonna blow up or sputter out because neither of us wants to compromise their career, likes the wrong kind of music, won't eat tasty, tasty meat. By the way, I am totally fine being a kept man, my favorite kind of music is loud, and I love eating the flesh of animals. And I enjoy meat.

Music's always best loud. [ beat. ] You already know I like machines, I eat meat, I hack and mess around with computers. [ She really doesn't have a long list of things she does for fun. ] What careers?

Figurative careers. Especially since back home I could retire now and be my own kept man - I'd die of boredom before hitting bankruptcy.

I'm not sure that actually says much about how much money you have, given how fast you'd die of boredom. [ Turning her water glass around and around on the table. ] Figuratively speaking, I'd be working in R&D somewhere, or running a mechanic's shop. But I'm never been that dedicated to any one career.

Well just know that I spend money like I breathe air, so, it would still work out pretty evenly. [ Can the stew arrive now, so they have more to play with. ] Run R&D in the mech shop.

[ Yes it can. A quiet thank you to the waitress. ] You said you'd be happy being a kept man, but it doesn't sound like you actually would be.

Could do that, I guess. Be one hell of a timesink.

[ Awesome so he picks up the spoon and pokes at it and then starts eating after whatever random litmus test he's given it has deemed it edible. ] A particularly specifically kept man, how's that?

Like most occupations aren't.

What sort of specifically?

I'm generally good at efficiency in my jobs.

I don't know I just wanted it to sound like a counter-point.

Can't see that working out too well for you.

This whole logical argument thing, it kind of escapes you sometimes.

Oh? Why not?

Timesink versus efficiency? Kind of a natural oxymoron.

Jobs are timesinks by nature. I'm good at getting the most use for time out of them, but still. [ shrug ] Sometimes there's long slow tasks you can't just avoid.

Yeah, I usually let other people do those. [ Which is actually basically a lie, since at home and sort of here too he's typically careening back and forth between workaholism and shirking everything at once, and if it's anything remotely important, he won't let anybody else near it. ]

That assumes I would have someone else who could do them for me. [ Kind of amused. Oh rich people. ] Which I almost definitely wouldn't.

Well, if you're convincing enough. Gotta have some charisma to make other people want to do things for you when they don't actually have to. Or trust, I guess, which is just a dumb idea.

And the money to have a company big enough to employ others.

Yeah, that helps too. Promising starting shares on the ground floor only nets you so many people.

I think people have to know your work pretty well for it to get you any.

Not if you're a super charismatic salesman.

I'm the opposite of that. [ Dryly. The empathy could technically be used for that, but she avoids using it for illegitimate purposes when she can. ] Maybe I can recruit a super charismatic salesman.

I wonder where you could find one of those.

I don't know. Maybe there's a store somewhere? For hire: charismatic salesmen. The one that convinces you best gets the job.

Well, that would make sense. Sell yourself to the customer. Sort of like a politician or a prostitute - lots of careers require a healthy serving of charisma.

Compare it to those professions and you aren't going to get many people jumping at it as a job opportunity.