To everything a season...

So I'm thinking that, at this point in my life, it's not so much a time of romantic love for me as it is for philosophy. Yes, that's right, friends. Philosophy. Me. I only wish I'd happened across it sooner!!

In large part, this new interest in philosophy stems from the AWESOME conversation I'd had in Albuquerque, then with subsequent friends. I am now fully engrossed in the book Sophie's World, which I couldn't recommend more. In fact, I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas with an old buddy of mine, who bought the book so we could discuss it. Thus, our entire Saturday afternoon was spent reading the novel and pausing to discuss it. Awesomeness and nothing short of it!

I suppose maybe I'll try dating again when the new year comes along, but not before then. For some reason, I'm not really into the whole idea of dating at the time. It seems I'd like to get my head on straight before attempting that again. So here we are.

In the meantime, friends, I leave you with a few questions directly from the novel:

1.) Who are you?
2.) Where does the world come from?
3.) What does it take to live a good life?
4.) Are we born with innate "ideas"?
5.) Is there a basic substance that everything is made of?

(As an aside, I think so much good can come from asking questions. After all, what is science if not the quest for answers?)

On philosophy, the Holocaust, and Albuquerque

So I took a road trip to Albuquerque this past weekend, and WOW!, was it a great trip! Among other things, I met some REALLY cool people and went to the annual Balloon Fiesta (pictures to be posted as soon as I've uploaded them).

For me, the highlight of the entire weekend was a 4-hour philosophical conversation with two virtual strangers. I happened across a museum on intolerance and the Holocaust, and the ensuing conversation made the whole trip worthwhile. I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, but an older gentleman (age 67), a gent my age, and I entered into a rare discussion. We talked about it all: the nature of humans (for good and for ill), perception, the universe, philosophy, and so forth. Hmm... I wish I could say more about it. I shall, I suppose, when I'm more in the mood.

Out of all of this, though, two things occurred. First, I had an AMAZING selection of documentaries and books recommended to me. (I've already procured myself a copy of Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder! It's phenomenal so far!) Second, I've had an odd ephiphany...

... I want to teach again. In my own classroom. Not this school year (as it's already halfway through October), but I think I'd like to try it again. There are SO many opportunities to have an amazing impact, and I want to do all I can for humanity. After numerous conversations with others, I can't help but feel the rightful place for me is in the classroom. (Granted, I go to various schools a few times a week for 45-minute lessons, but it's really not the same.) We'll see.

For now, I'm going to send off a philosophical e-mail to my friends and family to see how they respond. I'll publish any interesting findings here. Ciao!

A rose by any other name...

Quick story...

So this guy at work has been calling me Mary Jane lately. I guess it makes sense, since there's a gal in my office named Jane. However, it'd been kind of bothering me (I get called Mary Ann, Mary Lou, Mary... you name it all the time). Yesterday, said guy at work & I were at the copier at the same time. Our dialogue went like this:

Me: Good morning, Tim!
Tim: Morning, Mary Jane!
Me: Actually, it's Marybeth.
Tim: Oh, I'm so sorry! What was I calling you?
Me: Mary Jane.
Tim: Ah... That's probably becuase you work with a Jane.
Me: Yeah, it happens all the time. Don't worry about it.

... 5 minutes later... (as I'm leaving the copier area)

Me: See ya, Tim.
Tim: Later, Mary Ellen.

Sigh. :)

Groups: Some observations

So my latest observation is that people (whether they like it or not) fall into groups. Republicans, Lutherans, African Americans, Tri-Delts, goths, teachers, intellectuals, astronauts, lesbians, obese, anorexics, diabetics, smokers, gamblers, hippies, and so forth.

These groups have many benefits:
-ongoing support (generally), as long as you're a member of the group
-immediate identifying factor(s)
-sense of belonging
-networking

They also have downfalls:
-can lead to justifying unhealthy behaviors
-can impede personal growth
-can instantly exclude others not in the group
-group membership may incorrectly label people (both in & out of the group)

I've been noticing people lately, and I'm starting to see "repeats." People I thought were so unique in high school and college now have carbon copies. (As I'm sure the people *I* knew were themselves carbon copies.) There was the group in high school of pseudo-intellectuals who'd dress in funky, cheap clothes and wear conspicuous eyeglasses. They'd usually have unkempt hair and would quote Marx and Nietzsche as if it were a multiplication table. Driving home from work today, I saw a girl who looked EXACTLY like one of these aforementioned pseudo-intellectuals. This morning, I saw two others.

I notice trends among child and adult alike. A group of people 20-30 strong WILL get antsy after 45 minutes, no matter what the age range. There WILL be conflicts between people who have more similarities than differences.

Also, I've been watching the Fox reality show (I know, I know... I swear I don't usually watch Fox!!) "The Academy." It's about Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office recruits, and it's fascinating. I've read some discussion boards, and the opinions are varied... Some feel the sergeants are too tough on the recruits, others feel they're not tough enough.

I'm seeing, though, that in any given group (be it sheriff's deputy recruits or 10-year-olds), a group dynamic will form. There will be natural leaders, natural jackasses, those who will submit to authoritative figures, and so forth. What I've also noticed, however, is that the "jackass"es and seemingly indifferent people are usually the ones with the most to deal with. Something made the hard outer shell at some point.

I dunno... maybe I'm not really talking about anything here. Hard to tell sometimes. :)

I'm always interested in hearing your comments & thoughts, though. Send 'em my way, if you're so inclined. Peace.

It's Wednesday, clearly.

Apparently, I have an enemy and its name is Wednesday. Yes, folks, Wednesday. Here are some ways I knew that this particular Wednesday had it out for me:

-While preparing for my morning run, my iPod completely died. No music = no inspiration to run. So I walked for 30 minutes instead. In silence.

-When I got to work, I was extremely scattered. I eventually found the right keys to get to the back part of the building. However, once in said part, I forgot why I was there. Eventually, I remembered: to get coffee and make copies. On my second trip to "the back," a coworker called me Mary Jane. :P

-While home for lunch, I went to the bathroom. My cat walked in and peed on my bathmat!! (This is the second time he's done that... grrr...) No more of my bathroom for Mr. Neurotic Little Kittyman.

-Upon arriving at work, I saw some cars in the parking lot with those "Support our troops" magnets. I realized I hadn't noticed mine in a while, so I went to the back of my car to find my magnet. It's missing!!! Someone took my "Bless the World" magnet!!! :( There was a picture of it on my first entry here. :(

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ok, a new train of thought... There seems to be a trend in movies and books where a kid, with no special skills or abilities, somehow has something magical happen to him/her. I can't help but wonder: are we all kind of hoping that, through no fault of our own, we become something better than what we are? The message in these media is clear: have a good heart, and something amazing and magical will happen to you. I can't help but wonder...

I had an interesting T.A. at Ohio State when I was a wee college student. This man pushed me to write better, but was a total jackass in the process. He'd go off on tirades all the time about seemingly useless stuff. He was particularly perturbed by "Forrest Gump." He felt that no one, by sheer virtue of being a good person, could lead the life Forrest did. He (the T.A.) was enraged by the notion that by doing absolutely nothing extraordinary, one could have an extraordinary life. ("What's the point of working hard, then," he'd bemoan. Maybe he was just having a grad-school-life-crisis.) However, this T.A. was incredibly smart, and I did my best academic writing EVER... in that class. Go figure.

Hokay. I think that's about it for now... Wednesday craziness: check. Good-person/good-life dilemma: check. Peace out, children.