This is a post I began a while ago...I have so much other subject material to update: the 4th graders, grad school, political commentary, etc.
So, here's about my DC trip back in January (since then other things have happened, too).
Please refer to the post below, where I mention that I never won a match in Call of Duty 4. I won at least three matches when Jonathan and I came to Washington, D.C. for MLK weekend. Practice makes perfect :). I had a great time, yet again, playing video games, gorging myself at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse, learning about parking garages, the European exploration of the early Americas, and visiting a Franciscan monastery.
I have to say, it's pretty cool that my younger brother has a place of his own (along with two roommates), a job, etc. It's also hard to believe and makes me feel old.
My memory about the rest of the weekend is pretty fuzzy...except for watching the Hangover, which is hilarious.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Real World
So, I haven't written anything in the last two months. I have been busy recuperating and cleaning up from getting fired (from a volunteer job, no less) and applying to graduate school programs in religion.
Contrary to John Mayer's assertions, the real world does exist, and I strongly prefer my imaginary world. In my imaginary world, at least the villains are methodically evil and tell people what they want. Most fictional villains I know of give their victims ultimatums with dates, times, and other helpful specifications, e.g. give me $1,000,000 by midnight tomorrow or else I will ____. Rare is the villain who says to the cowering populace, "maybe do something like this some time, but wait for me to get back to you," detonating a bomb at City Hall the next day saying "you didn't meet my expectations." Or who demands their victims do something one way one week and another way the next. Perhaps the only thing fictional and real villains have in common is that they ask rhetorical questions or otherwise speak extraneously. One of my favorite movies, The Incredibles, depicts a villain commenting on the tendency for the archetypal villain to monologue.
In my tour of the real world, I haven't met a single villain who would exist in my (or any movie director's) imaginary world; however, such characters might exist as objects of comedy. Ask any experimental economist and you will hear that people usually do not behave according to theory.
I would be remiss not to learn anything from a failed employer-employee relationship. Living with seven other people puts my idiosyncrasies, life habits, work habits, and general preferences into relief, as does working somewhere unlike any place I've worked before. I learn more about myself and others that way; such things are costly investments with high returns for self-knowledge. Kind of like school, except a different subject. Of course, at some point I hope to apply that knowledge and stop paying for more of it.
Some of the lessons are obvious ones, like you can't always have it your way, there are trade-offs in life, etc. No matter where I go or what I do, I'll have to face villains of one sort or another. Sometimes the lessons are the same ones I've known for a long time but without appreciating their importance, such as how I like to work, what interests me, and what I value. The coolest lessons, though, teach me to like something new, like chocolate, my brothers, team sports (thanks to corporate softball and volleyball), contemplative prayer, social gatherings, or something other than classical music and oldies.
Contrary to John Mayer's assertions, the real world does exist, and I strongly prefer my imaginary world. In my imaginary world, at least the villains are methodically evil and tell people what they want. Most fictional villains I know of give their victims ultimatums with dates, times, and other helpful specifications, e.g. give me $1,000,000 by midnight tomorrow or else I will ____. Rare is the villain who says to the cowering populace, "maybe do something like this some time, but wait for me to get back to you," detonating a bomb at City Hall the next day saying "you didn't meet my expectations." Or who demands their victims do something one way one week and another way the next. Perhaps the only thing fictional and real villains have in common is that they ask rhetorical questions or otherwise speak extraneously. One of my favorite movies, The Incredibles, depicts a villain commenting on the tendency for the archetypal villain to monologue.
In my tour of the real world, I haven't met a single villain who would exist in my (or any movie director's) imaginary world; however, such characters might exist as objects of comedy. Ask any experimental economist and you will hear that people usually do not behave according to theory.
I would be remiss not to learn anything from a failed employer-employee relationship. Living with seven other people puts my idiosyncrasies, life habits, work habits, and general preferences into relief, as does working somewhere unlike any place I've worked before. I learn more about myself and others that way; such things are costly investments with high returns for self-knowledge. Kind of like school, except a different subject. Of course, at some point I hope to apply that knowledge and stop paying for more of it.
Some of the lessons are obvious ones, like you can't always have it your way, there are trade-offs in life, etc. No matter where I go or what I do, I'll have to face villains of one sort or another. Sometimes the lessons are the same ones I've known for a long time but without appreciating their importance, such as how I like to work, what interests me, and what I value. The coolest lessons, though, teach me to like something new, like chocolate, my brothers, team sports (thanks to corporate softball and volleyball), contemplative prayer, social gatherings, or something other than classical music and oldies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)