“I am the scalpel that cuts out infection, and the heartbreak that makes men wiser.”

“Now that I know that I am no wiser than anyone else, does this wisdom make me wiser?”

“Unfortunately, I have dedicated great effort to the task of compiling this ‘sensitive words glossary,’ and I have mastered my filtering skills. I knew which words and sentences had to be cut, and I accepted the cutting as if that was the way it should be. In fact, I will often take it on myself to save time and cut a few words. I call this ‘castrated writing’ -—I am a proactive eunuch, I have already castrated myself before the surgeon raises his scalpel.”

“I want the pain of knowing them, and by extension myself: who and what I really am. Maybe with that scalpel, red-hot and sterilized in tears, I can begin to carve out the rot inside of me.”

“My paintings are wiser than I am.”

“Just making sure you know I got home. Two hours ago. when I beeped the first time.Clearly, I am not cut out for a life of crime.”