Today is my first full day sitting out in the lobby.
See, we've done some re-arranging where I work, and as part of that process my desk got moved out to the lobby. This means that I'm rather isolated from the rest of the building, but also that I get a door, a lot of space, and big windows to look of (it also means that people are less likely to notice if I'm updating my blog at work).
Thoughts:
8:15 AM You know, the constantly-looping TV isn't as annoying as I thought it would be; I can pretty much tune it out whenever I want.
9:30 AM My boss seems to worry about whether I mind being out here.
10:49 AM Receiving a few calls, dealing with invoices, doodling a few cartoons...feel like a genuine receptionist!
11:30 AM Someone just received a 60-lbs package and he's not at his desk!
11:40 AM Lunch time!
12:40 PM Back from lunch!
1:12 PM Always so tired after lunch: why can't the day end with lunch?
2:16 PM I really like Alfred Edward Housman!
2:40 PM An interesting effect: there's a hallway that runs pretty much the length of the building which begins right outside the frosted-glass door to the lobby. That means I can see someone's shadow on the glass as they walk all the way down the hall. The effect is kind of creepy: like they're just walking and walking, but not going anywhere.
3:08 PM Writing pithy political jokes...
3:48 PM Time to start packing up...
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Momento Mori
Every so often, I will remember the fact that every day could be my last and that I need to seize the moment and get busy living.
The trouble with these moments is that there seem to be a lot of things on my "try to do before you die" list. The result tends to be a rather overwhelming set of tasks that I suddenly remember I need to get to work on (write another chapter, no a blog post, no say a Rosary, no try to meet up with a friend, no write another e-mail to *redacted*, no practice Italian, no...).
I tend to over think things, especially 'hypothetical' or theoretical (or whatever '-etical' you would call it) propositions. If someone says "imagine this is your last day on Earth..." it doesn't really motivate me because I think of what I would do if I literally knew this was my last day on Earth, and those things definitely wouldn't include going to work or writing another chapter of a book I'd never finish.
More useful is the simple awareness that there is no gaurantee of tomorrow...or, heck, even another hour. Though, again, this tends to put me into panic mode where I try to think of all the things I want to do and it's like they get stuck trying to get through the door of my mind ("The three-stooges syndrome").
Momento Mori is like the nuclear option of motivation: the tricky part is channelling the energy productively, rather than letting it just spread out in confusion and eventually dissipate.
The trouble with these moments is that there seem to be a lot of things on my "try to do before you die" list. The result tends to be a rather overwhelming set of tasks that I suddenly remember I need to get to work on (write another chapter, no a blog post, no say a Rosary, no try to meet up with a friend, no write another e-mail to *redacted*, no practice Italian, no...).
I tend to over think things, especially 'hypothetical' or theoretical (or whatever '-etical' you would call it) propositions. If someone says "imagine this is your last day on Earth..." it doesn't really motivate me because I think of what I would do if I literally knew this was my last day on Earth, and those things definitely wouldn't include going to work or writing another chapter of a book I'd never finish.
More useful is the simple awareness that there is no gaurantee of tomorrow...or, heck, even another hour. Though, again, this tends to put me into panic mode where I try to think of all the things I want to do and it's like they get stuck trying to get through the door of my mind ("The three-stooges syndrome").
Momento Mori is like the nuclear option of motivation: the tricky part is channelling the energy productively, rather than letting it just spread out in confusion and eventually dissipate.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
On my lack of blogging
I tend to blog in fits and starts. When I'm feeling good or energetic, I blog more. When I'm depressed or unhappy, I blog less.
That conclusion you're drawing about the last week or so? Probably correct.
The thing is, blogging and writing in general is therapeutic, but it requires a good deal of effort. When I'm depressed, I don't feel like making any kind of effort, even when I know it'll help.
Why, no, now that you mention it, that isn't a very sensible attitude.
So why don't I make the bloody effort and start blogging again if I know it'll perk me up? Well, honestly gentle reader, what do you think the point of this post is?
To conclude, here are some quotes currently floating around in my head (because I love quotes!)
"Sadness is just another word for 'not enough coffee'"
-Wally, Dilbert
"Had I such a wife, I would not willingly bring a tear to her beautiful eye!"
-Andrew Jackson, after seeing Lewis Robards yelling at Robards then-wife, Rachel, later Jackson's wife.
"A page of history is worth a volume of logic."
-Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Calvin's Mom (on the phone): "WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALVIN LEFT HIS CLOTHES AT SUSIE'S!?"
-Calvin and Hobbes
That conclusion you're drawing about the last week or so? Probably correct.
The thing is, blogging and writing in general is therapeutic, but it requires a good deal of effort. When I'm depressed, I don't feel like making any kind of effort, even when I know it'll help.
Why, no, now that you mention it, that isn't a very sensible attitude.
So why don't I make the bloody effort and start blogging again if I know it'll perk me up? Well, honestly gentle reader, what do you think the point of this post is?
To conclude, here are some quotes currently floating around in my head (because I love quotes!)
"Sadness is just another word for 'not enough coffee'"
-Wally, Dilbert
"Had I such a wife, I would not willingly bring a tear to her beautiful eye!"
-Andrew Jackson, after seeing Lewis Robards yelling at Robards then-wife, Rachel, later Jackson's wife.
"A page of history is worth a volume of logic."
-Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Calvin's Mom (on the phone): "WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALVIN LEFT HIS CLOTHES AT SUSIE'S!?"
-Calvin and Hobbes
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