I've been following the ideas on Change.org, and was happy to see that while the idea "Introduce Esperanto as a foreign language subject in schools to help American kids succeed" did not make it into the top 10, it did make it into the second group of 25 ideas that Change.org will also be promoting. The idea received a total of 3,597 votes, including mine.
Whenever I get antsy/bored, (especially here at work), I go to the start bar and pop open the browser, and start "surfing" the web.
Thinking back, I remember that when I started college (twelve years ago now), I had only a vague idea of what the Internet was. I'd never sent an e-mail. The only times I had used a computer were when I needed to type a paper, or rarely, when I played a game. I couldn't see other uses for the machine, honestly. The first time I used the Internet, I typed in an address at a prompt on a terminal with a monitor that used bright green text on a black background, and navigated through sites using the arrow keys. When I wanted to chat, I would type in a telnet address and visit a "talker." Even then, my floormates in the dorm awarded me the title of "VAX-aholic" for my long hours spent in the computer lab.
These early experiences seem so alien now, though less alien than my life before www.whatever.com/net/org/edu... Realizing this, I have to stop and wonder at the effect this technology has had on my life. Access to all sorts of information at the click of the mouse...information that I would have previously had to find in a library, if it was stored there at all. Numerous romantic relationships -- I won't even get into that here. Some pretty great friendships, too, as well as interesting acquaintances made.
I find it hard to conceive of my life without it now, and without other handy gadgets. Still, I am trying to find more time to spend away from the glow of my monitor...reading, cooking, gardening, sewing...working with my hands and body and using my mind actively, rather than just clicking around from screen to screen.
I'm not saying that I don't love this sticky web I'm in. I'm just saying that every once in a while, I need to remember that I am just a visitor, not a victim about to be devoured ;)
"Quickie: There are many options; it's not hard to pick the right path if you have confidence.
Overview: You can change things, just not in the dramatic, tower-toppling fashion you were hoping. Real change happens from within and from the ground up. It's not as flamboyant, but it's a lot more lasting."
*sigh*
If only the random Yahoo horoscope gods knew what they did to me.
While visiting my parents this past weekend, I read Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, on loan to me from pi2. I started and finished it before bed on Saturday night (don't be too impressed that I knocked off an entire book before bed, as it's teeny). Rilke focuses a good deal on the importance of solitude. For those interested, I'm posting the quotes that most interested me ( Collapse )
Some co-workers invited me to come along with them to happy hour tonight. I was surprised and then sort of glad that they liked me enough to invite me along. I'm sure we don't have a ton in common, but I can usually find at least some common ground with people. It will be good to be out with other people for a change instead of holed up in my place. There's a time and a place for holing up, of course, but tonight, I decided, is not one of those times.
Stuff at work is getting pretty rough. The budgets are due, and everyone is scrambling. I noticed the appearance of hot pink post-it notes on the coffee decanters: Regular Strength and Double Strength. Yep, it's crunch time for higher ed administrators. And things are not looking good. And in the middle of this, I am trying to be hired on permanently. Wish me luck, because I am clearly going to need all I can get. Everyone here at work tells me I am doing a great job, and that the situation for my boss and for them in working with him is really improved since I started in February. It makes me glad to hear that, but I wonder if it will be enough? I'm starting to get nervous as my assignment is officially over June 30th. To my knowledge, nothing has been done to figure out how to get me into this job, even though everyone is saying it should happen. I'm about to do it all myself, if I knew how, and just let them sign off on everyhing. Hell, I'll even interview myself.
My boss is looking worn out. He was cursing about the spreadsheets he had open, and is admitting that he is way over his head right now. I don't know that there is anything I can do. He just has way too much on his plate, with work and with family problems. I may complain about the job a lot, but I feel sorry for him. I think I like him as a person....can't tell yet though because we never get a chance to talk.
On another note: I am really appreciative of some new friends I have been making lately online, as well as some older friends who have stuck by me. Thank you all for being around when I needed you.
This is my first home-cooked meal in my new home. Eh. It's ok. I made enough spaghetti for two people, though, and I have to eat it all, since I have no refrigerator and thus no way of preserving it.
I've gotten a lot done since I closed on the house on Friday, but...
the haiku in my userinfo explains it best:
My spaghetti is getting cold. At least the a/c is working so it can get cold. Blah......
tired
frustrated
grateful
drained