Forging Fly
I've been neglecting the blog lately, which is to say that I haven't had time for much of anything other than work and sleep - and less of the latter than I'm generally comfortable with. I've been learning just how far I can and can't push myself, and I've been surprised at the results.
I've believed for most of my adult life that it's the challenges that make us stronger; one need look no further than Hollywood to see that when little is required of someone, little is produced. I knew from the very beginning of my season in the wilderness that I was embracing a challenge, for better or for worse, that might very well define the rest of my life. I've been here nearly seven months, and I'm rather pleased with the progress I've made.
I'm working hard lately, both at my job and here at Zoo Station. I'm making a good money for that hard work, and I'm finding myself with little time and energy to enjoy that money; that's probably a good thing, since one can never save up too much money for a rainy day. Even so, I found myself at the nearest trace of "civilization" today: the Barnes and Noble that's roughly half an hour away. Between that and the music store at the outlet mall, I made the following purchases today.
Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden
The Reason by Hoobastank
Best of Chris Isaak by Chris Isaak
For the record, that Best of Chris Isaak record has an outstanding cover of the 1978 Cheap Trick classic, "I Want You to Want Me", also performed by Letters to Cleo on the soundtrack to the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You.
I'm hearing mixed reviews about Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, but I'm hoping to go see it this weekend when I (theoretically) have a couple of days to myself. I also need, need, to see Casino Royale this weekend. Assuming I have the time off, it'll be a good way to decompress.
A couple of weeks ago I went through my college transcripts in order to figure out how many redundant and unnecessary courses I'd taken. It's been really interesting for me to watch and see what classes were completely and totally worthless (for example, every stupid math class that I took the entire time I was in college) and what classes were completely worthwhile (like Naval Science 323, which taught me land navigation and map-reading skills that I'm using more and more frequently). Even though I don't believe that college should be a four or five year adventure in "finding oneself", I think that the benefits of a college education exceed what can be learned in the classroom. I find myself applying lessons about leadership, teamwork, professionalism, and character are every bit as applicable as any scholastic knowledge I picked up during my five years at [Generic University].
The Mojave is getting cold in the mornings, and windy during the daytime. As I was driving today, a view that usually stretches out for ten or twenty miles was obscured by a sand storm. During the Summer, I found the desert to be stifling, something that had to be endured. The discipline that I forced upon myself during my first season in the Mojave has earned me the Winter; and even though my body feels like it's falling apart, I find myself more at ease than I can remember having been in a long time. I almost feel as if I'm being rewarded; I'm not enjoying it enough to think about settling down here, but I'm comfortable enough now to consider staying on longer than I'd resolved to.
I applied for a freelance position with Jane's Information Group yesterday. I applied back in August, and they keep CV's on file for three months. It would be a part time gig to earn some extra pocket money, keep me accountable to write, and fill out my resume. I don't hold out much hope of them contacting me this time, but it never hurts to try. I'm also continuing to subtly explore the possibility of voluteering at Goldstone; that one's an extremely long shot, but I'd love to do it, and it wouldn't hurt for me to have something other than work to put my efforts into, time permitting.
As for politics, I'm beginning to believe that the folks who voted to put the Democrats in the legislative majority didn't think it through very well. I think everyone is shocked at the phrase "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi". I'm worried, but not to the point of desperation; the Democrats will have to play some ball with President Bush, since he has veto power and they don't have the kind of majority in Congress that they'd need to override his veto. Two years with Representative Pelosi leading the House and Senator Reid leading the Senate, and voters will be begging the Republicans to come back into power. Let's just hope that there's some hardcore house cleaning in the mean time.
Alright, I feel like I'm rambling now. I'm going to close this up, get a few things accomplished, and go to bed. Dirka dirka, folks.
I've believed for most of my adult life that it's the challenges that make us stronger; one need look no further than Hollywood to see that when little is required of someone, little is produced. I knew from the very beginning of my season in the wilderness that I was embracing a challenge, for better or for worse, that might very well define the rest of my life. I've been here nearly seven months, and I'm rather pleased with the progress I've made.
I'm working hard lately, both at my job and here at Zoo Station. I'm making a good money for that hard work, and I'm finding myself with little time and energy to enjoy that money; that's probably a good thing, since one can never save up too much money for a rainy day. Even so, I found myself at the nearest trace of "civilization" today: the Barnes and Noble that's roughly half an hour away. Between that and the music store at the outlet mall, I made the following purchases today.
For the record, that Best of Chris Isaak record has an outstanding cover of the 1978 Cheap Trick classic, "I Want You to Want Me", also performed by Letters to Cleo on the soundtrack to the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You.
I'm hearing mixed reviews about Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, but I'm hoping to go see it this weekend when I (theoretically) have a couple of days to myself. I also need, need, to see Casino Royale this weekend. Assuming I have the time off, it'll be a good way to decompress.
A couple of weeks ago I went through my college transcripts in order to figure out how many redundant and unnecessary courses I'd taken. It's been really interesting for me to watch and see what classes were completely and totally worthless (for example, every stupid math class that I took the entire time I was in college) and what classes were completely worthwhile (like Naval Science 323, which taught me land navigation and map-reading skills that I'm using more and more frequently). Even though I don't believe that college should be a four or five year adventure in "finding oneself", I think that the benefits of a college education exceed what can be learned in the classroom. I find myself applying lessons about leadership, teamwork, professionalism, and character are every bit as applicable as any scholastic knowledge I picked up during my five years at [Generic University].
The Mojave is getting cold in the mornings, and windy during the daytime. As I was driving today, a view that usually stretches out for ten or twenty miles was obscured by a sand storm. During the Summer, I found the desert to be stifling, something that had to be endured. The discipline that I forced upon myself during my first season in the Mojave has earned me the Winter; and even though my body feels like it's falling apart, I find myself more at ease than I can remember having been in a long time. I almost feel as if I'm being rewarded; I'm not enjoying it enough to think about settling down here, but I'm comfortable enough now to consider staying on longer than I'd resolved to.
I applied for a freelance position with Jane's Information Group yesterday. I applied back in August, and they keep CV's on file for three months. It would be a part time gig to earn some extra pocket money, keep me accountable to write, and fill out my resume. I don't hold out much hope of them contacting me this time, but it never hurts to try. I'm also continuing to subtly explore the possibility of voluteering at Goldstone; that one's an extremely long shot, but I'd love to do it, and it wouldn't hurt for me to have something other than work to put my efforts into, time permitting.
As for politics, I'm beginning to believe that the folks who voted to put the Democrats in the legislative majority didn't think it through very well. I think everyone is shocked at the phrase "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi". I'm worried, but not to the point of desperation; the Democrats will have to play some ball with President Bush, since he has veto power and they don't have the kind of majority in Congress that they'd need to override his veto. Two years with Representative Pelosi leading the House and Senator Reid leading the Senate, and voters will be begging the Republicans to come back into power. Let's just hope that there's some hardcore house cleaning in the mean time.
Alright, I feel like I'm rambling now. I'm going to close this up, get a few things accomplished, and go to bed. Dirka dirka, folks.
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