futz
The last time I went to drop off my time card for research-related hours, I grabbed a handful of time card copies so I wouldn’t have to stop by at just the right time to sneak in and grab one. But, I feel somewhat awkward in that office. Perhaps not awkward, but certainly imperfectly comfortable. Something about HR people frequently triggers a new dimension in me, one that I haven’t probed enough to comprehend these reactions.
Anyways, this handful of time cards that I grabbed, as I look at them now, is actually an extended family of over 30 time cards. I wasn’t paying attention at the moment - awkward - and, apparently, walked away with the entire stack available. Awkward.
Then I think about what “30 time cards” means. That’s 60 weeks worth of work. In other words, this stack should last me through July 2008 abouts. Even in the employment realm, planning my life one year in advance seems impractical, if not futile. At my Monday lunch, I spoke to one of my best friends about the future. Our quick conclusion was that the long-term future is pointless to fantasize about, at these points in our lives. We hear peers speak of their plans after graduation and then report to each other in our lunch meetings to scoff at these disillusioned minds.
The university lifestyle should be played as a game of chance, a game where three, mysterious doors lead to three more. There is no right choice, a few wrong ones potentially, but certainly no perfect solution. These time cards may be useless to me by the time I use the 20th, or 10th, and so on.
There is one word of advice I have, a rule of thumb for this game of chance. When things seem to be moving smoothly, it is best to purposely sabotage your comfort. Sabotage is too harsh a term, I realize, but throwing a wrench into the soothing monotony of university life can result in wonderful outcomes. New people, new opportunities, new goals - taking an unprecedented step could lead to one of so many otherwise overlooked futures.
Maybe this applies to all lives, not simply university life. But, given my current supersaturation of academia, I can put this perspective into words.
April 13th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Hey Ryan,
If I had three thumbs, they would all be up right now. I just read this entry and nothing could be further from the truth. As a person about to graduate, I always feel so small when I don´t know exact details about what my future will be like. Especially when Career Services sends out that survey to ask us detailed questions about job oportunities and salary wages. But how should I know? Who am I to take the place of God and know my exact future 3 months from now, let alone 3 or 30 years from now.
Upon approaching 2003 high school graduation, I had some very creative classmates that made their own music video in response to subject of straying away from the comfort monotony that the education system presents before us. Here it is if you want to watch:
http://stage6.divx.com/user/CardboardRobot/video/1107869/Mindless-Automotons
It´s called Mindless Automotons.
Enjoy the rest of the semster!
April 14th, 2007 at 11:17 am
It’s good to hear from you, Sher! I hope the experience is just as or better than expected, assuming you were expecting it to be wonderful, which I assume was the case.