Interview with Ugo Mon, Jan 13, 2014

U  Let's start with my former obsession.

L              Former?

U               Yeah.

L              Former.  So you've moved on from her?

U              I formerly beieved her to be super human.

L              How's that?

U              Now I feel that it is better to give her regular qualities.

L              Can you say more about that?

U              Well, to land a regular girl; to have a relationship.

L              How is transforming your obsession into someone normal related to having a

relationship?

U              Well, a regular girl would be part of my obsession.  (Ugo puts his hand up to his

forehead). I'm saying               osession a lot because we're talking about her.

L              How was the obsession super­human before?

U               I don't know.

L              Could it be that she wasn't human?

U              Yeah.

L              So now it's about imagining something that can exist? Is that right?

U              Yeah. Turn it from somthing that can't exist to something that can exist.

L              So what is somthing that can exist that you'd like to imagine?  If you have the power to

create somthing               possible for yourself, what does that look like for you?

U              It looks like Valérie.

L              Who is she?

U              A girl I met here (at the Cafe)

L              What are the Charcteristics of a regular relationship that would interest you?

U              A sense of humour.

L              That's a good quality for you.  You have a good sense of humour too.

U              And a tie with my family.

L              Hmm. Well, that's kind of rare. If a girl doesn't already have a tie with your family, that

doesn't mean she isn't               suited for you.

U              Oh, that's right.

L              Have you tried connecting to someone who has a lifestyle and life circumstance similar

to yours?

U  No, I haven't.

L  Why not?

U              I don't know why not.

L              What about Rose?  The only thing was that she already had a boyfriend.

U              Oh yeah.

L              It may be easier for a woman similar to you to relate to your lifestyle.

U              I tried that, but it didn't work.

L              Well, Rose had a boyfriend, and she's just one person.  That doesn't mean it can't work.

U              Oh, I guess you're right.

L               Have you kept in touch with Rose?  When was the last time you spoke with her?

U              Last Thursday

L              Oh, that's pretty recent.  Is she in your Improv group?

U              Yeah.

L              Does she still have a boyfriend?

U               I guess so.

L              You could keep connected to her.  Do you ever call her?

U              Yeah.

L              How does that go?

U              Pretty good.

L              That's positive and grounded in reality—a regular girl; a regular kind of relationship.  It

could evolve            

              into something more than just a friendship at some point, and what you have now is also

enjoyable.

Questioning the Obession

“The whole purpose of calling her your obsession was to try to stop thinking of her as a real person," said Brooks.

“I think the best thing to do is to think of her as a real person,” said Ugo.

“Why's that?”

“To stop giving her surreal qualities so she stops giving you surreal qualities.”

“That's interesting. I agree with that goal, but it's hard for me to think of her as a real person because I don't believe that, you know what I mean?”

“Well it's hard for you to think of her as a real person? To start off by giving her surreal qualities it gives too much importance to her. And that would make her start by giving me surreal qualities. And I don't want that because that would make it impossible for me to submit any kind of quality.”

“I see what you're saying. Do you think we should stop saying 'your obsession?'”

“Yeah, because I'm not obsessed with a surreal woman.”

“You're obsessed with a real woman. Is that what you're saying?”

“Yeah, and obsession makes too much of an unrealistic woman.”

“I guess I find myself in a bit of a paradox. Because from my perspective, she is nothing more than a creation of your psychosis, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So she's clearly not a real woman to me, right? However, I see what you're saying and I could try to stop calling her your obsession, but I can't think of her as a real woman either, you see what I mean?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think that would work for you?”

“Yeah that could totally work for me. Cause I want something real.”

“But to be honest, I don't think you're gonna get something real either. I mean it's definitely better to be real than surreal, as you put it, but the woman is neither surreal or real.”

“Yeah, she's just not there.”

“Right, but then I often wonder whether it's really a good thing for me to convince of that.”

“Convince me of what?”

“That she's not there. Because it seems to me that she fulfills some kind of function for you. That's she's kind of a coping thing for you. You know?”

“Yeah. I'm not too sure if I agree with the coping thing. It doesn't help in any way in terms of coping with a surreality.”

“What about coping with your needs for a relationship which aren't being fulfilled?”

“No because it doesn't seem like my needs for a relationship are really that high.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, because I don't need a relationship. It would be nice, but it's not needed. Because that's the desire of any man. And I dare say that I'm not any man. I'm a superman.”

Busting Open the Dream World

Ugo and Brooks were on the 18, heading to Caffe Italia. Ugo said “I've never seen her,”

“Neither have I, Ugo,” Brooks replied.
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. I've never seen her.”
“How do you know you've never seen her?”
“Because she's a figment of your imagination.”
“Yeah. But how do you know you've never seen her?”
“Have you ever seen a figment of my imagination?”
“No.”
“Has anyone ever seen a figment of anyone else's imagination?”
“No.”
Ugo and Brooks looked at each other for a moment. Ugo looked like he was thinking hard.
“Do you find it hard to believe still?” Brooks said.
“No, no, it makes perfect sense.”

...Half an hour later, sitting in the Cafe, Brooks raised the topic again.
“Hey Ugo,” he said, “Do you remember the conversation we had earlier?”
“No,” said Ugo.
“I find it interesting that you don't remember that conversation.”
“Uh-huh”
“Why do you think I find that interesting? Is it okay to keep talking about this?”
“Yeah. I want to talk about it. I want to bust open my little dream world. Although I don't really know how to bust it open.”
“Any ideas on how to do that?”
“Conversation. That seems to be the best way to bust it open. Now whether I have what it takes to do that I'm not so sure. But, if I force myself a little bit... yeah.”
“Okay, well I found it interesting that you had forgotten about our conversation on the bus. Here's what I think: it seemed like you understood how it would be impossible for me to see your obsession, right? Because you agreed that no one can see a figment of another person's imagination. But that realization doesn't really serve your obsession, so you forgot about it pretty quick. What do you think about that?”
“She's no longer my obsession. She's a real girl. Im not obsessed with her. A real girl that hangs out somewhere. Somewhere around me.”
“And you're not obsessed with her?”
“No.”
“That seems like a big step. That's new, I think.”
“Yeah.”

A few minutes passed. Brooks and Ugo sat in silence.
“Don't look over there!” Ugo said suddenly. Brooks eyes had been wandering around the room.
“I thought you weren't obsessed anymore”
“I'm not. Just don't look over there.”
“Do you think even though you said you're not obsessed anymore, your obsession might come back?”
“No," said Ugo, "She's no where.”