website/content/posts/ennui-abridged.md
Anthony Wang 27f7354824
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Delete the "fun" tag
The reason this tag exists is because I used to have a subdirectory in my website called /fun (now most of it is in /about with a bit in /projects). Unfortunately, this tag got *really* overused, for instance the 汉字 post is tagged "fun" for no good reason. It's now the most common tag of my blog. This tag is very useless and more specific tags like "humor" or "satire" should be used instead.
2024-03-28 13:56:06 -05:00

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title date draft description type tags
Ennui Abridged 2023-04-24T03:44:27Z true The deep, dark secret of IOI winners (abridged) post
fiction
story
short-story
competitive-programming
ioi
shaggy-dog-story
monk-joke
humor

Ennui had a seething hated for modern society, because honestly, who doesn't? She despised the endless monotony of her life, and the only emotion she could feel nowadays was boredom. Endless, dull, tedious boredom!

One day, Ennui had the brilliant idea of running away from home and going for a joyride on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Because, you know, nothing screams excitement quite like sitting in a cramped, musty train for days on end.

After breaking multiple countries' multiple laws, the first five seconds aboard the train were a flurry of excitement, but boredom returned as quickly as it had departed. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Ennui noticed a visibly troubled young man with an exceptionally bad haircut. Since she had nothing better to do, Ennui roasted his hairstyle, but the man took it as a compliment, and they struck up a slightly less boring conversation.

He introduced himself as Ben Qi, a three-time International Olympiad in Informatics winner, as if anyone cares. Ennui nosily asked Ben Qi what was bothering him, because that's totally a question you ask a stranger you just met 30 seconds ago. Ben Qi just replied cryptically, "I have a secret. A deep, dark, beleaguering secret gnawing away at my soul. And I'll tell you what it is, if and only if, you become an IOI winner like me."

So, because Ennui was so utterly bored with life, she immersed herself into IOI training, living and breathing algorithms and data structures.

And then, surprise surprise, she actually won the IOI! Because, you know, that's totally realistic.

Long at last, the moment had come. Ben Qi smiled proudly and said, "Congrats Ennui! You're now an IOI winner! And now I must fulfill my side of our agreement. I'm going to reveal to you my secret."

Ennui leaned forward eagerly, her heart pounding with anticipation. Finally! She had waited so long and sacrificed so much! Finally!

Ben Qi took a deep breath and whispered in a hushed tone--Oh wait, I must interrupt! You see, dear reader, I cannot reveal to you what Ben Qi's secret is. Why, you ask? Well, simply put, unlike Ennui, you are not an IOI winner.

To give credit where credit's due, this is a variant of the infamous monk joke.