“Why is life so complicated....?' I asked.'To keep us from being bored,' he said.”

“Why are you so interested in amoebas?""Oh, they're immortal," he said, "and sort of shapeless and flexible. Being aperson is getting too complicated.”

“I've been so thoroughly incorporated into the California culture that I practice meditation and go to a therapist, even though I always set a trap: during my meditation I invent stories to keep from being bored, and in therapy I invent stories to keep from boring the psychologist.”

“Was he going to ask me to go with him? Maybe I was getting ahead of myself and he was just making conversation. Oh, why was talking to a boy so fraught with complication?”

“Sometimes life is so complicated to keep promises.”

“Is your badness so varied that it is still delightful? I expect anything gets boring after a while.' He looked at her with interest. 'How perceptive you are. It takes a good deal of effort to keep badness from being boring. One must seek out new experiences and challenges. Our mutual friends may think I have an easy life, but being notorious is grueling work after a few years.”