I went to the writing center on campus and printed Bawd Blue Cohosh, but was dissatisfied with the results. It was readable, but not without some difficulty. The imprecision of the printer yielded blurred words. Simply throwing all the paper away seemed a wasteful and uncreative solution, so I walked across to the library, climbed…
Five days from now I’ll be in Minneapolis. I’m excited for the potential that it will be a significant enough change from so much of the past that I’ll be shaken awake and will feel alive. Aside from a few exceptions, I’ve felt like a corpse since junior high. Inventory: passport state ID insurance card…
There is often a wait associated with common errand locations: the post office, the bank, the grocery. In anticipation of having to wait, people entering these premises allocate themselves an amount of patience. Allocating patience is like cocking a gun; the patience should be discharged before too long. Most people discharge their patience in small…
Many objects serve multiple purposes. This is often strived for in the name of efficiency. An object serving two purposes will sometimes do so simply by means of reciprocal actions. For example, a needle & syringe can put drugs into you or draw your blood, depending on the direction of the plunger. One rule that…
I’m sure that a number of people in the early stages of dementia interpret losing their sense of self as an indication that they’re approaching enlightenment. I wonder if their believing this has any impact on the progress of the disease. If you believe strongly enough that you are someone you currently are not, you…
It used to be that, even when procrastinating, I was never afforded the true experience of relaxation. This was because, from an academic point of view, I could be spending my time more productively. Even during previous Summer vacations, feelings of exuberance and relief were tempered by the knowledge that I’d be back in class…
Unless there is animosity between them, coworkers who happen to see each other by chance at the store, on the street, or elsewhere other than their workplace, will be inclined to smile. I think there are two things happening. 1. Identifying a familiar face from among the faces of countless strangers who populate a person’s…
You experience a small change. Something outwardly minor enough that it goes unnoticed by people around you. You notice it because it’s persistent and uncomfortable. Being persistent, you’re always aware of it at some level, and it comes to the forefront of your attention when you are busy with nothing and have no distractions. And…
Time management: if you want to speed up the passage of time, think of all the things you have to complete before semester’s end. If you want to slow it down, think of how much you want for the school year to be over. One of my friends likes to think of our lives as…
Why is it so satisfying to break the ice layer that forms over puddles during cold nights? It’s like Amélie shoving her hand into a bin of beans. Maybe it’s the fun of breaking molecular bonds with the clean knife precision of cracks. It’s also the rarity of opportunity. The visual, auditory, and tactile senses…