THE HAPPY THREAD

[MysticalDescent]

I quite enjoyed reading that, it was interesting and well written. I actually wish, in a way, that saw things like that and could then produce such an eloquent and detailed reflection.

This post will now seize the opportunity provided by the mention of teaching to rapidly depart on a tangent. For the last couple of weeks I've been doing some demonstrating work (lab and problem sessions) at my University, alongside some other stuff, while I have further stuff in the pipeline. I suppose it might end up getting wearing after doing it over a longer period of time, but in all honesty, I've found it to be quite exhilarating. I actually get on with the students, I haven't done anything utterly embarrassing, academically speaking, and they all seem to be somewhat grateful for my occasional input. It's nice. I'm fairly sure that being the grand master of all equipment and answers rather helps the feeling, too.

[EsBe]

There is snow! On the ground! Tomorrow I will have to shovel 2 or 3 feet of it, but for now I am sliding down my driveway. And I have power to heat up hot cocoa. This is pretty sweet.

[jvcc]

Dylan Moran is coming to Chicago!!!



Tickets go on sale online tomorrow at 10 am. I don't know how much they are, but I don't care. I will buy them.

[ntw3001]

I saw him once and he was a bit rubbish, but judging from the opinions of others and all the other things I have seen him do (well uh Black Books) I believe that infochunk may be an outlier.

[jvcc]

He's going to be doing his Yeah, Yeah routine, which I've already watched/listened to several times. I enjoy it, and he is my favorite stand-up comedian.

Bought my tickets todaaaaay!

[sum yun gai]

hey, i haven't been around awhile because i was on vacation, but in regards to "happy": she said yes!

[PonderThis]

WOooOOoOOo good to hear, syg.

[Skimba]

hey, i haven't been around awhile because i was on vacation, but in regards to "happy": she said yes!

Cong-rats and all that jazz!

[MysticalDescent]

'Grats.

[Null]

Congratulations, SYG! May all happiness fall upon you both, for all time.

[quetzalcoatlus]

Got a job finally, doing stock at a thrift shop. My coworkers are generally pretty nice, and this is only the second retail job I've had where employees have some say over the music - the piped in music comes through an ipod deck/radio, and provided the registers aren't super busy and that whatever you're playing is free of cursing, employees can hook up their own ipod and get a playlist on. However, the latter requirement is somewhat harder to fulfill than you might think - I've discovered that I have more songs with sudden, unexpected swears in them than I thought.

[jvcc]

Congrats on engagement, Syg! And congrats on employment, Quetz!

[ntw3001]

Oh yes I got a job as well. As of yesterday I am caring at an old people's home. It is not my dream job! But it is a job and it's not a two-month contract, so that's a plus. It's generally okay anyways. Serving up food is fine, dealing with the various things they expel from their bodies is not. But the ones who talk are alright. The ones who can't are a little unsettling because I can't quite tell whether I'm causing them to suffer excruciating pain in some way. I don't think I am, but some of them suffer excruciating pain as a general thing. Gonna try and get back to the teaching-English abroad plan quick snap. I'm now thinking Brazil may be a workable alternative to Korea, on account of the threat of war but to be fair if war broke out it would probably still be better than the UK.

[chrismachine]

good... news?

[ntw3001]

This should probably have gone in the ambivalent thread.

[sum yun gai]

i see ponder has logged in this morning, so that means that at least he didn't get caught in those (literally) killer tornadoes near dallas yesterday...

[EsBe]

I found an apartment in New York City the other day, after a long weekend of fruitless searching. Go me.

[jvcc]

So, I'm the grad student representative to a departmental committee that consists of a bunch of professors and...me. Which is both awesome and terrifying. Sometimes we have to vote on time-sensitive issues via email; someone makes a motion, someone seconds, we vote, and a new departmental policy or whatever is born. As of today, I have officially made my first motion.

Even though it was only done through the social anxiety-reducing magic of the internet, I'm still pretty psyched about it. Any opportunity to prove that I'm an actual grown-up, as opposed to a child masquerading as an adult, makes me pretty happy. Plus, I enjoy learning about the administrative side of academics. Yeah, it's mainly bureaucracy, which most of my peers find frustrating or even disillusioning, but there's an invaluable practical element to it as well.

Anyway. I've also started classes again, taking and teaching them. I'm teaching two classes for the first time ever and I designed my own course, syllabus, etc. It's going well so far.

[PonderThis]

Why would you ever have social anxiety? You're awesome!

[MysticalDescent]

a child masquerading as an adult

I was beginning to wonder at what point in one's life one stops feeling like that. Ideally, I'd like to achieve it some day.

[jvcc]

Why would you ever have social anxiety? You're awesome!

Aw, thanks. I'm a lot better than I used to be, and am trying to get better still. I just get self-conscious around other people, especially people like professors whose opinion matters a great deal to me.

a child masquerading as an adult

I was beginning to wonder at what point in one's life one stops feeling like that. Ideally, I'd like to achieve it some day.

I mentioned this sort of thing to my mom, referring to it as "impostor syndrome," and she said that she doesn't feel that way anymore. However, she did say that, for a while, she felt like an impostor when she got promoted to her current position. So I think maybe most, or at least some, people eventually accept and feel comfortable in adulthood, even though adulthood will always throw challenges at you that make you feel unprepared.

[MysticalDescent]

a child masquerading as an adult

I was beginning to wonder at what point in one's life one stops feeling like that. Ideally, I'd like to achieve it some day.

I mentioned this sort of thing to my mom, referring to it as "impostor syndrome," and she said that she doesn't feel that way anymore. However, she did say that, for a while, she felt like an impostor when she got promoted to her current position. So I think maybe most, or at least some, people eventually accept and feel comfortable in adulthood, even though adulthood will always throw challenges at you that make you feel unprepared.

I find it ebbs and flows. I get things in an order where everything's fine and I'm perfectly adjusted and then something new and different pops up and I break into full blown 'what am I doing here, why did I possibly think any of this was a good idea' mode.

[Dusk]

Congratulations everyone!

[PonderThis]

HEY EVERONE ITS THAT DUSK GUY

Glad to hear you're, like, alive and stuff.

[ntw3001]

I find it ebbs and flows. I get things in an order where everything's fine and I'm perfectly adjusted and then something new and different pops up and I break into full blown 'what am I doing here, why did I possibly think any of this was a good idea' mode.

Speaking of which, I'm currently engaged in a CELTA course! It's like that. I'm still better than everyone else, natch.