A World of Words

I contributed two new recommendations for the library's Core collection yesterday - this brings my count of books bought by the library because of me up to three! They weren't books that I was personally interested in this time, but something still feels good about the contribution of more than just my secretarial skills for once. I wonder whether most people would feel so pleased with a relatively small occurrence like this, or if my fondness for books has bolstered my level of satisfaction.

On a slightly related note, an interesting remark came up at the lunch table today. An education student declared that the e-gaming student who works in the writing lab is a rarity among students of our academic concentration, because gaming students are apparently not interested in writing. I was highly offended by the comment, even when it was clarified to mean uninterested in the mechanics of writing and the grammar of the English language. To hear us e-gamers labeled as having turned a knowingly blind eye to one of the very foundations of our society is utterly disappointing, even more so because this education major in particular used to be an e-gaming student herself. I don't think she stands in a position to make any such statement, and it disheartens me greatly to hear such blanket stereotypes spoken even by my peers.

I'd be lying if I said this conversation hadn't dampened my spirits today. Heading back to the game lab for an hour after work and walking in on a boisterous monologue about light sabers and Superman didn't restore my confidence in the academic nature of e-gamers either. It's sad to see a few loud and unfocused individuals destroy what might otherwise be a healthy working environment for a group of diligent individuals who neither reflect nor deserve the harsh judgment inflicted by outsiders.

That's my rant for the day. I'll think of something better for next time.

Ho Hum

Another work week off to a slow start, and it's already half over!

I feel like I accomplished quite a bit today. Read a 60 page design document, gave my Info Lit team members an assignment to complete by the end of the week, and started a massive art asset list. Unpacked 283 books, took pictures of 75 or so, and started processing around 50. Attempted to diffuse a concern one of my team members has about another team member. Still at work until 10 doing the processing bit. This is my break for the day; when I go home, I only plan on reading a little before I succumb to the blankets.

I haven't been feeling very philosophical lately, but one thing that has begun to stick with me is a strange sense of comfort when I'm around other people, with little matter who they are. I've always imagined the people I know as having rope twined into my heart; those that know me better have thick ropes that twist deep to hold tight, while some ropes have been chopped off completely, leaving behind only the stump of a past friendship. Lately, I feel as if so many forces are anchored to me that I've somehow begun to lie suspended between all of them in a happy social stasis.

On the opposite side, one thing that seems to bring my feet back to the ground is the idea of a meaningless moment. With so many parts of my life feeling right and purposeful, those that I spend doing something mindless are painful; worst of all are the moments when I can't muster the brainpower to think of something good to do. It feels something like clawing at the sides of a deep hole and making the hole even more difficult to get out of in the process. Fortunately, those moments don't strike too often.

And on a completely random note unrelated to any of this, I miss listening to music. I used to exercise my creativity by listening to my music collection on random and adding the songs to playlists that were named as imaginitively and elaborately as possible; things like "Looking Up at Skyscrapers with Neon Signs at Sunset" or "Rowing a Boat Past Grassy Hills on a Painfully Bright Day." I rarely got more than one song onto a playlist, but it was absolutely delightful to me to be able to look at one of those descriptions at a later time and feel that exact feeling again on cue. Memories tied to music are powerful in a way that I don't understand, but it never stops me from completely adoring it and allowing it to carry me away.