4.14 Living the Dream

I'm usually totally House focused, but tonight I thought Cuddy was hot hot. Post-strike, has she lost a couple of pounds or something -her face looked a little more angular. Agree with those who think that a certain realism is continually being sacrificed for plot, but except for the kidnapping, I very much liked this episode, even the parts I didn't like (the Amber Wilson kissing stuff, which to me looked not real).

Cameron wearing a vest. I'm ashamed to admit that I've kinda missed the bloody things! I hate them, but I got all nostalgic, like "Awwwww! Cameron's in a vest just like the old days! Good times." :lol:

Anyone else get a flashback to House's teenage stalker from season 3 when Soap Nurse opened her dress so Soap Doc could check her heart? Sorry, I saw a flashback to a similar scene with David Tennant on The Friday Night Project. And you really don't want to know. 13 and Taub both seemed to be disheartend with their jobs during this episode, with the job satisfaction and the plastic surgery conversations especially. I would not be surprised at all if this is setting up their departure. I got that impression during Taub's conversation, but Kutner and 13's conversation seemed to be fundamentally more about personas. Kutner said that he had had miserable jobs, but that he hadn't been unhappy. When 13 said that she wasn't happy, it seemed that she was making a statement about her general state of mind/being, not her reaction to this job in particular. That's why it's so difficult to make a change for some people. If you've almost always been unhappy or dissatisfied, it's hard to imagine that a change in circumstances will change your overall mood. I blame my psychology class, but I'm really seeing Taub and 13 has having some depth of depression (dysthemia and/or personality disorders). Kutner seems to be the only one that doesn't have some pathology.

Cameron wearing a vest. Can't the costume people find something else to dress Cam in? The vests are the only thing about her I actually miss. I love them, I have some and I'm always looking for more of them.

I thought the discussion of plastic surgery was fine. People get drawn to different fields because of their personalities. Different things are fulfilling and make them happy. For House it's the puzzle. He can perform the procedures just fine but they don't interest him. Figuring out how the human body works and why it stops working, when the reason is not obvious, is what gives him personal satisfaction. Taub is interested in what can be. He wants to give people the bodies that make them happy. There is nothing sexy about cutting into a breast and shoving an implant in or doing a reduction. It's bloody and messy. Cameron's field -- immunology, not emergency medicine -- is about quality of life. Wilson's is about being there for people, helping them get through bad times and maybe making their lives a little better. And so on. And I doubt any doctors are respectful in their language when we're not around. My first gynecologist used the word "boobs." I think he was trying to make the whole proceeding less intimidating but what he actually did was make me find a new gyn. But I wouldn't be surprised at any terminology doctors used among themselves.

And I doubt any doctors are respectful in their language when we're not around. I guess it would depend on the situation and the people they're with. I know in nursing you get so used to normal bodily functions (and abnormal to some extent) that you can joke about it with coworkers. But I see using something like "boob" to be offensive, inappropriate, and unethical. Of course, when has this show catered to that exclusively? I had a female professor use the term "boobie" once while holding the cadaver's breast in her hand. While I appreciate the use of humor to lighten the mood, it's just something that sticks in my mind as what not to do.

His language also plays up on the shallowness of plastic surgery- overemphasizing the lack of impact he really had, to drive in his point that something does not have to be deep, for it to be enjoyable.

13 and Taub both seemed to be disheartend with their jobs during this episode Agree on Taub, but then, hasn't he been disheartened with it all year? He was forced to give up something he loved for a much lower-ranking job; who wouldn't be disheartened? I didn't think it was the case with 13, though; she has other things to depress her. Just as a miserable job doesn't necessarily make you miserable as a person, being miserable as a person doesn't necessarily mean you think your job is miserable. Plus, there's a huge continuum between "happy" and "miserable"; I wonder if 13's presence overall isn't meant to reflect on House's assertion that not being happycheeryperky doesn't mean he's miserable. I suspect House offering to rehire Cameron was her version of the Chase bowling scene -- not so much actually missing her as seeking the comfortable-familiar to make up for the Wilson-shaped hole. he was also glad that at least he went after what he wanted. Oh, yes, making the attempt was definitely important. I'm glad you brought up the "nice tries are worthless" line, because I'd forgot it but I think it's probably very relevant to this season, with regard to H/W/A (and hope). I think Amber would definitely believe it, but I don't think House really does. I think House probably wishes he believed it, so that he could stop finding himself making nice tries that fail.

So we can follow our dreams as long as we don't expect them to make us happy? House "Lives the Dream" by indulging every whim, but he is miserable. Taub and Kutner, and most of the world think the POTW must be "Living the Dream", but the dream is not fulfilling. Wilson says he is happy even though he acts responsibly, and when he finally follows his dream and buys the waterbed, it doesn't turn out the way he had imagined. Taub gave up his dream job for something that was more important to him. Cameron gave up her dream job for ???? Department head or not, there is no way she should be doing House's filing. And her "you hired 13 because YOU miss ME" comment just made her sound like she still needed to prove that House had feelings for her. ugh.

I don't think House was serious when he kept saying he'd fire someone for Cam. He just wanted to see if she'd bite.

Another question. Why did House say Cuddy should be fired when he called her at the end of the episode? I think he was saying that she need to question him more.

I don't think House is all that miserable. He's not a happy, sunshine and lollipops person. He's a pessimist. And he's certainly not a people person. But he loves his work and his music. He has Wilson and Cuddy and, if he wants, Chase as friends. He enjoys not following the rules. Other than the extreme pain, I just don't see him as miserable, no matter what Wilson says. I think people are somewhat hardwired for whether they are cheery or not. But the fact that you don't think life is an ice cream truck with flowers and virgins outside doesn't mean you're unhappy all the time.

Someone on LJ mentioned House eating non-Wilsonian people's lunches. The idea makes me sad, so I'm just going to class it with the Chase and Cameron: he's only doing it to fill the hole. So we can follow our dreams as long as we don't expect them to make us happy? But a dream that you don't try to live is only an illusion. What Taub and Kutner and everyone else see of Evan's life is only an illusion, both the soap opera story and the "story" of a celebrity's life that fans like to imagine; the truth, once known, isn't wondrous. Wilson needs to recognize the dream he's been aiming for as a (non-wondrous) illusion before he can change course to something that really will make him happy. I don't think House lives the dream at all; he may indulge his whims, but whims are only whims and no more. I think he'd tell you he has no dreams (at least none that don't involve Carmen Electra and Brock Sterling in interesting anatomical positions).

I don't think House is all that miserable. He's not a happy, sunshine and lollipops person. He's a pessimist. And he's certainly not a people person. But he loves his work and his music. He has Wilson and Cuddy and, if he wants, Chase as friends. He enjoys not following the rules. Other than the extreme pain, I just don't see him as miserable, no matter what Wilson says. I think people are somewhat hardwired for whether they are cheery or not. But the fact that you don't think life is an ice cream truck with flowers and virgins outside doesn't mean you're unhappy all the time. I completely agree with everything you said here, Poeia. I've thought this about House for a long time. He has never seemed miserable to me, and it drives me nuts the way the other characters throw this word around so much.

And I doubt any doctors are respectful in their language when we're not around. I guess it would depend on the situation and the people they're with. I know in nursing you get so used to normal bodily functions (and abnormal to some extent) that you can joke about it with coworkers. But I see using something like "boob" to be offensive, inappropriate, and unethical. Of course, when has this show catered to that exclusively? I had a female professor use the term "boobie" once while holding the cadaver's breast in her hand. While I appreciate the use of humor to lighten the mood, it's just something that sticks in my mind as what not to do. Doctors talk crap all the time to each other. They say tons of inappropriate stuff. Esp the male ones.

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