A "vagrant" story
Well, my forage into the world of full-time employment is about to draw to a close, I guess. Just... what, three more days, and it's time for an actual vacation! And well... some trip it has been. I'll probably go to greater detail over some of the interesting places we've been, and things we've done (having some of the photography is probably going to help there), once it's actually over (which I'm afraid is probably going to take at least six hours of overtime. Whee.) In the meantime, though, it's the actual experience of it that's really coming down on me. It's something I think is worth writing down, just in case I forgot... and really, what else do I have to say?
See, the way I've understood it, usually when people have a job, it works like this: one wakes up, goes to work, does stuff for about eight hours or so, goes home and does pretty much whatever he likes to do. This is not exactly the case here. The fact of the matter is, no matter how interesting my surroundings might be (a distinct variable), I'm certainly not home. I spend the week with essentially the same people as I do when I'm at work, and my chances at recreation are kind of limited to what I can take with me, another distinct variable.
I'm not really contemptuous of this state of affairs, but... I do notice that it's markedly different, and some of the effects it has had on me are nothing short of odd. For instance, it's actually kind of funny, that I would actually miss playing video games, but I suppose I really do - which is particularily weird, since it's not like I exactly had all that much time to play game all year. But really, being this effectively cut off from the things I usually do is making me appreciate how profoundly they're actually part of me, I guess.
Funny. Just three months ago, when I started this job - because in a way, it feels like from a whole different planet. I think it's a good thing, because it means I've learned, experienced, really, a lot of things. Not all of them were so nice - I might reminisce later just how precisely Tuesday last week was a day from Hell - but none entirely without value. The drawback is, though, that my life's essentially been on a hiatus for the whole summer. I have met people, but in a manner that seems hasty and erratic, somehow. I've done very little in terms of creative things. It's creepy to read newspapers and realize I have no idea whatsoever as to what's going on out in the real world.
Well! Things could be worse. Considerably. See, I could chalk all this up to being here and not somewhere else, but in all fairness, the thing I really worry about is this - if I were not here, I still probably wouldn't have gotten much at all done all summer. On the other hand... having been here, I actually feel kind of psyched now, about all the things I might be able to get done in the month I have left before classes are on again. So I guess when it comes down to it, this particular brand of isolation might have rejuvenated me after all. When you look at it like that, there's really no way to be down about it, is there?
See, the way I've understood it, usually when people have a job, it works like this: one wakes up, goes to work, does stuff for about eight hours or so, goes home and does pretty much whatever he likes to do. This is not exactly the case here. The fact of the matter is, no matter how interesting my surroundings might be (a distinct variable), I'm certainly not home. I spend the week with essentially the same people as I do when I'm at work, and my chances at recreation are kind of limited to what I can take with me, another distinct variable.
I'm not really contemptuous of this state of affairs, but... I do notice that it's markedly different, and some of the effects it has had on me are nothing short of odd. For instance, it's actually kind of funny, that I would actually miss playing video games, but I suppose I really do - which is particularily weird, since it's not like I exactly had all that much time to play game all year. But really, being this effectively cut off from the things I usually do is making me appreciate how profoundly they're actually part of me, I guess.
Funny. Just three months ago, when I started this job - because in a way, it feels like from a whole different planet. I think it's a good thing, because it means I've learned, experienced, really, a lot of things. Not all of them were so nice - I might reminisce later just how precisely Tuesday last week was a day from Hell - but none entirely without value. The drawback is, though, that my life's essentially been on a hiatus for the whole summer. I have met people, but in a manner that seems hasty and erratic, somehow. I've done very little in terms of creative things. It's creepy to read newspapers and realize I have no idea whatsoever as to what's going on out in the real world.
Well! Things could be worse. Considerably. See, I could chalk all this up to being here and not somewhere else, but in all fairness, the thing I really worry about is this - if I were not here, I still probably wouldn't have gotten much at all done all summer. On the other hand... having been here, I actually feel kind of psyched now, about all the things I might be able to get done in the month I have left before classes are on again. So I guess when it comes down to it, this particular brand of isolation might have rejuvenated me after all. When you look at it like that, there's really no way to be down about it, is there?