Oh yeah, this economic downturn has affected me. My mutual fund money is gone. My 401k is insulating my new mobile home. And my stocks have kept the stove going to keep my children warm.
Oh wait. No, I'm 21 years old and not yet grown up enough to care about this crap. No the only way the economy has affected me is by cutting gas prices nearly in half, which is fantastic. This moment is great for me and the members of my generation.
You see it is going to bottom out sometime. And then, probably when I have a job and start thinking about investing. It will go back up. It's what the market does. It will rise and rise on some new crazy boom. And I am going to make crap loads of money off it.
And because this is what Alan Greenspan described as a "once in a century event", all of that money will be safe, because I'll be dead, or possibly implanted into a cybernetic body having no use for money or such simple things, by the time the market tanks again.
So please stop trying to make this sound so awful, Mr. Big Negative Press machine. I got my cheap gas, and my bright economic future. Stop trying to bring me down. That's what my angst-riddled music is for.
Today's lab consisted of duties, watching John and Brian eat chinese food, then finding myself frightfully alone in the newsroom.
Again my Hawk Walk was ruined. This time the problem was either a messed up tape or a dirty play head in the camera I used. I suspect a saboteur.
Are there any Frenchmen in the Dole Center, because it would probably be him. Because saboteur is a french word.
I still had a blast and learned a ton though!
The day started off well. I completed all of the usual managerial tasks with relative ease.
I spent a few minutes considering the gossip of Steve Jobs that was being fed to me live. So productivity dipped a little bit there.
But it picked back up as I headed out to film my Hawk Walk for the day. The question was about the upcoming curriculum change in the school of fine arts, so I went over to the Art and Design building and asked some of the students there what they thought of the process. There was some trouble finding students a) at all and b) that wanted to answer a question. But I did finally find enough people and returned.
That's when the frubing malarkey really started. Upon my return I discovered that all of the computer rooms were occupied, which was bothersome. But it was okay as I settled into a computer in the big ol' room of computers. A few minutes after making this move a 301 training group entered and commandeered my computer, so I had to sort of sit around until that was over. Then, just as I was about to import my footage I was informed that my tape was needed by Dick Nelson and the News (not to be confused with Huey Lewis and the News). So my efforts were once again stymied.
They finished, my tape was returned, and I finished my Hawk Walk over an hour after I was supposed to leave.
If that's not dedication then I guess two hours would have been.
It was a fine day this day. I completed my monotonous checking comments and such duties while contemplating what question I would ask for this week's Hawk Walk. I was also considering alternatives to the Hawk Walk, as I am not completely sold on this idea, and in fact am wary of the idea of having to do it later in this semester when no one will be outside, and this wonderful University, with all of its transparency and openness to journalistic inquiries, seems to have problems with shooting video in any of its buildings.
What do they think they are hiding? Are there some policies being carried out in the Underground that they feel could conflict with the Geneva convention or what? I suppose there were those numerous cases of brain cancer on the first floor last year. And no one's found the radioactive alien corpses that caused them yet. So maybe that's it.
But besides that, it was a fine day to be outdoors. It was a fine to be indoors, but outdoors was nice as well.
When first introduced to this topic, my first thought was back to a young showering Matthew Broderick. By this I am referring to the Ferris Bueller quote, " -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself." and not anything more scandalous.
I wonder about his idea though. What place do -isms have? In my estimation they are a tool for us to categorize humans into smaller and more manageable groups. Inherently there are two groups that a person cannot escape being a part of. Being a human being, and being yourself. Every other descriptor is a linguistic attempt to define yourself, I suppose.
Also while pondering this question, I thought about the different views you can take on the world that affect the importance of -isms to you.
First you can take a very short-sighted view of things, having no worries past your next paycheck, and living in the moment. In this mindset, the most likely way an -ism would affect you is if you read in People that Will Smith has finally become a Scientologist. Even though I guess Scientology isn't literally an -ism, it is anyway.
Secondly you can choose to view your entire life and make long term decisions towards long term goals. You can realize that you only have a limited time on this planet and you should do as much as you can before you have to leave. This view will lead to a strong belief in -isms, as -isms tend to help you validate your existence by giving you a purpose, however real or important it may be. Religions, political systems, etc. fall into this part.
And last, you can view the Universe in it's entirety, 4th dimensionally as well. And when you consider the magnitude of the Universe in it's space, and the infinity of time, you realize that everything you do is meaningless. There is nothing you can possibly do to make a difference. And there is one -ism for this view, nihilism. Which is fun.
To which of these views and levels of -ism do I personally subscribe? It just depends on the day I suppose.
