MMXI

Happy New Year! 

2010 was the year in which Decadence found her name, although she has existed for many years. This was a year of fabulous accomplishments and celebratory moments mixed with hardships and lows. In many ways it was the epitome of a bipolar year; not in the psychological sense of the word, but in the extreme polarities of the experiences and how they blended together into one hot messery. 

The last year brought endings and beginnings, it brought the completion and culmination of 2 years work, and it generated the need to redefine a life. This was a year of moving and traveling, searching and networking. Old friends came back into Decadence's life and new friends entered the picture. 2010 brought more changes than any other year has and it is hard not to feel overwhelmed reflecting back on it now as well as confused when looking at how much was packed into such a short amount of time.  

Finding adventure in every day was one of Decadence's goals, whether this meant appreciation of the irony in situations, amusement at her frequent awkward moments, following spontaneous ideas, or making the most out of time with friends. Decadence succeeded in this goal. Many adventures were found and many more found Decadence. 

Although Decadence lives more in the moment rather than considering the future in her adventures, this is that time of year when resolutions are set. As with her list making style, Decadence prefers manageable and attainable goals or list items, it increases the feeling of accomplishment. This method is brought to the table when Decadence sets her new years resolutions. Yes, new years resolutions, those little promises we make and break for ourselves each year. As cheesy and inconsequential as the practice may be, Decadence takes part in it. This is not in the normal way of setting some sort of self improvement goal for herself, but more of as one additional way to take part in an annual tradition on the surface while also bringing a more jovial, fun aspect to the boring conversation of "What are your new years resolutions this year?"

Attainable new years resolutions of the past:

-Graduate

-Get a job

With goals and resolutions like this, Decadence always follows through on her resolutions (that is, the ones she can remember).

This outlet seems to be the ideal place to record these resolutions:

1-Bridge count 2K11-Every bridge crossed by foot, bicycle, or car will be counted no matter how many times a day it is crossed. "Bridge" referring to any raised path/roadway whether it allows navigation over water, buildings, houses or fields. (The count will be kept track of on the House of Decadence.)

2-Find adventure in every day.

3-Maintain current employment so as to fund further adventures.

May you too have a year of Decadence! If this thought makes you nervous then just remember: everything in moderation (not a personal motto of Decadence, but perhaps it will ease your fears).

Rico-Free Gang Formation

In order to truly maximize one's time on earth and/or with other human beings with which one finds a connection, one must form clubs (or groups, gangs, posses, crews, etc.). It has been said that the formation of gangs or groups creates a stronger bond between members, and in the case of the example gangs to be discussed here this notion was fully supported.
The gangs suggested and spoken of here do not endorse or take part in fear mongering or hate, they do not have needs to commit illegal acts; they are merely for the purposes of furthering the enjoyment of life. Both were formed during periods of time that had a definite end in the near future, aka college and graduate school, which perhaps served to further the feeling of urgency felt by the members to "live it up" while they had the freedom to do so.
Starting from the beginning...well before Decadence was discovered, she was a gang/club former. It seems Decadence has always been able to find individuals who share her affinity for adventure, wildness, and for "laugh-cries" (which is exactly what it sounds like-laughing so hard, tears stream down the face). Upon finding such individuals, the natural order of events takes place and inevitably a gang is formed. The formation of said gangs takes careful planning among the willing members, or simply many escalating conversations about logistics, rules, events, creeds, etc. At the official formation, the members come together as a stronger unit for the greater good of the gang versus the individual needs of the members (this concept sounds familiar...).
Strictly speaking of the gangs Decadence has been affiliated with, once formed new membership was near impossible. The original gang members knew and understood that this would be a lifelong commitment and such a commitment is unwavering.
Names of members cannot be revealed for obvious reasons, but the names of such gangs will now be released publicly.
The SAAs:

The SAAs or the Self-Appointed Assholes was the brainchild of Decadence and a nameless (for now) co-creator. This gang is the more organized gang of the two discussed in this post. It was formed with a creed which essentially stated that the members would "be the entertainers of self and others" an open-ended creed that the members took seriously in promising each other that each would never again be bored. The members of this gang all had birthdays that fell in the same month, a month that is now referred to as DeSAAmber. DeSAAmber is a month dedicated to the SAAs, SAAlebration, and AAdventure. As one might guess, when in full SAA-mode, members replaced each plain lowercase a with a double capitol AA. Act of defiance? Perhaps.
This gang also established a new understanding that one should not work too hard. In the aim of enjoying every minute left (what was then time as an undergrad student and has now become working adult) the SAA member knew that at any time, they might be called upon for adventure, responsibility be damned.
One might say that when together, the members of either gang experience "flashes of Decadence" which can be defined as a few minutes to upwards of several hours of Decadence-style daring-ness. Now when forming a gang, one should come up with their own activities because from an outside vantage point the gang activities of the SAAs may seem under-whelming, but this list lacks details of actual events (so as to stay out of reach of prosecution). SAA activities include organized and made-up games, "tagging", pranks, sticker sticking, heckling, beverage and/or food consumption, running/chasing, yelling, bike riding--sometimes in formation (sometimes trying to avoid running into things, other times SAAs were asked to vacate premises for safety concerns), roller skating, and the list could go on...

 Tagging via Defacement of national currency...(see upper right corner)

DEWG:
The newest gang to be formed is DEWG or the Destiny Express Wheel Gang. Also known for its shenanigans and havoc-wreaking, this gang was formed along the same lines, that living and experiencing life fully encompasses a certain amount of urgency, this urgency drives the adventure. Employing many of the same activities as the SAAs, DEWG members understand that just around the corner is serious responsibility. With this knowledge, the DEWG member fights to hold onto every last moment as a free soul. Many times grasping onto the moments one has leads to escalating situations, and situation escalation is what DEWG (and the SAAs) are all about.



Both gangs still exist and at times have been known to wreak havoc on establishments, homes, streets, and cities. Gang formation is a favorite past time of Decadence (and pre-Decadence). These examples go hand-in-hand with the examples serving to define Decadence.

Defining Decadence

It may be necessary to define exactly what Decadence means in the case of this entity referred to as "Decadence Brown." This definition will of course come with examples.

Starting from the beginning, Decadence meant class, elegance, and the finest things money could buy-to the extreme. Now this was manifested in the 80's prom theme as follows: a tight (more like painted on) purple velvet dress with an off the shoulder, scallop-edged top, taken up at the bottom where graduated layers of neon green and yellow tulle were added and slits had to be cut in order to allow for dancing, walking, and movement of the knees. This look was accessorized with a metallic hot pink purse and shoes, a hand sewn orchid forearm-sized corsage, a large flower and tulle hair piece, and a glow-in-the-dark prom court sash. As the night ensued, so did Decadence. On this night, however, others were more carried away than Decadence and it was she who pieced many others' nights together, this after a fast one was pulled on Decadence and she was left at the after party with only one other person she knew. This only served to prove from day one that Decadence was a survivor who was able to make the best of any situation...

After this Decadence spent many a day distracting the host self from completing assignments that had nearing due dates, preventing the host self from searching for employment that would earn her money for more adventures after an impending graduation, and countless hours filled with a mindset of "Yeah, yeah, yeah, WHATever. I do what I want!" Others were pulled into these shenanigans and no apologies are needed for this because in many circumstances this sort of attitude is called for, but the lesson of note here is this: if Decadence had her way, this mindset would have no limits, no boundaries, and all would join her. Decadence lives with a sense of urgency, like running at a full sprint with no thoughts of exhaustion, soreness, injury, or the like-that every minute could be the final minute. The problem arises when responsibility rears its ugly head...
Decadence did remain relatively undetected for a few weeks during this time, it's only during thoughtful reflection that she was found.

Perfect day of Decadence shared by all

The next definition-example pair relates to Decadence's partiality to saying "yes" when a simple "no" would suffice. Because Decadence is who she is, yes is a much more appealing idea. Many times she has the foresight to know what will happen when yes is the answer, and will even warn those around her of what is about to happen...and then "yes" happens and the bit of foreshadowing preceding the "yes" becomes reality. Example: Decadence does not tolerate rum, especially in small amounts without mixers and/or chasers (although various mixed beverages pass inspection). On the occasion of this example, Decadence warned her good friend Fancy Freeman when Fancy offered Decadence a rum shot. Decadence went so far as to warn Fancy that the shot would make Decadence lose a to-be-determined amount of her stomach contents. Fancy did not listen. Fancy pushed for the shot to be taken, and Decadence with her preference for the word "yes" took the shot. Upon taking the shot, Decadence tilted her head back for intake then just as quickly forward towards the clean, polished wooden bar where, just as predicted, a small amount of stomach contents-including the rum-were deposited on the bar and the bar stool beside the bar. Decadence looked at Fancy and said, "I told you!" Since this time, Fancy has refrained from offering/pressuring Decadence to take a rum shot.

Decadence says "No"

Often Decadence shares a motto uttered by Clark W. Griswold, Jr. in Christmas Vacation: "We're gonna do it right, and we're gonna do it big." which is also fitting considering this time of year. Is doing it "big" or pushing it to the extreme in the case of the current definition always best? Of course not, but when it comes to Decadence it tends to be standard. Take the example of Decadence's new-found death-allergy...upon "venom testing" (technical term) it turns out that Decadence is, as the doctor stated it "extremely allergic to all stinging insects". Now really, what would be the fun of only being allergic to one stinging insect? Who has time to differentiate between the pesky devils? Why not brave the great outdoors with a severe allergy to all stinging insects-clearly life gets more interesting in the latter situation...such is Decadence.
A version of this sort of living has also been summarized in terms you may be familiar with: "When it rains it pours." This has also become a way of Decadence. Decadence has been known to have bad days, but because Decadence lives in extremes-bad days tend to be especially and extravagantly bad. In these cases, it is necessary to reflect on how ridiculously bad the day was, ponder how quickly the situation or series of situations escalated, and then (hopefully) laugh, make fun of, or shake a fist at the day. At times Decadence will purposefully make a day or situation worse as a test to see if it can be done. Warning: such is a test that always works. Examples of these situations will come in due time.

The alternative is good days, but again rules of living in extremes (although the combination of rules and extremes seems unnatural) means that good days become fantastic days that must be celebrated with whatever means necessary. The same applies for awkwardness-awkwardness should be celebrated, after the embarrassment passes. Fancy reframes the awkwardness of Decadence as something that attracts people to Decadence. Could this be true? Perhaps...perhaps it even normalizes others' fears that they too are socially awkward.

A brief introduction...

The House of Decadence is devoted to telling the true stories of the life of Decadence Brown (and in the process, hopefully normalizing the wildness going down in your life). "Decadence Brown" began as a theme for an 80's Prom party, quickly morphing into a shadow of the host self, and has since begun to take over the daily life of said self. -On a side note, Decadence Brown should have won first place in the 80's Prom Queen department, but this title was robbed from her by Fancy Freeman and if Decadence had won this much-deserved title, none of the following stories may have ever happened. Instead the world and I (the host) has Decadence Brown to deal with...at times, she can be exhausting.
**Pictured here: Decadence Brown, Euro-Trash Pardee, and  Fancy Freeman**