I met Chairman Kim to discuss a kinematic study he was finalizing. It felt good to be the helpful as the resident physicist and resident native english speaker in the department. I pointed out a couple errors in the English version of his Abstract, and helped consolidate his statements. Then I pointed out a possible implication of the results of the kinematic analysis, which got him excited and wanting to review his data again. ^_^ Happy face.
But then as I was walking to my office, I saw a couple students carrying what looked like styro-board models of office complexes they designed. (architecture presentation or something?) And this one student was very short. Maybe as tall as my shoulder, he looked about my age, and he was carrying his board in his arms in front of him like a giant plate of food. And I got this sudden urge to walk a little closer to his route across the street, and when I was close, just judo-chop the whole board in half. Like high-school bully meets Austin Powers.
So of course I didnt.
As hilarious as it looked in my mind, I then wondered, "What the hell's wrong with me?" I get random impulses like this all the time. Not always violent ones, but geez. And I know I'm not the only one, but should I be asking myself some deeper questions about why an impulse like that would surface in the first place, and where it might have come from? Is it time to do some psychology homework?Let's see, what else.....
Well, I've been gone for a year and a half now, and I have to say it's remarkable that I can stay in contact at all with any of my old friends. I mean, this seems obivous, but the physical distance and the distance in time that separates our lives and our worlds is tremendous now. I don't expect that upon my return in January that people will have the same space in their lives for me as they once did. That's preposterous, and pretentious. There will be some level of reminiscence and inclusion left, but what more could there be? I know that my feeling of friendship and my memories don't change much, but that does not make for a friendship, exactly. It's a realization I've been stewing over for a while, and here's the point:
As globalized and inter-connected as societies are nowadays, as small as the world seems in light of the global economy, global climate, and global attitude.... The one thing that will always remain incredibly local is the scope of human life and existence.
Most people live within about a 50-mile radius. Most people who've found their "soulmate" report finding them within a 50-mile radius of their hometown. We consider it extraordinary to make more than a 30-40 mile commute to work or school, or extracurriculars. In fact, many people consider destinations more than 50 miles away from home to be a vacation, even if it is a "day-trip," or we can go by high-speed transportation. And people that move far away from their hometowns, even after long and happy lives there, even feeling split between the world they enter and the world they left behind, don't seem to merge the two well. Our lives, our friends, our jobs, fit into a very local scale.
Lastly, I'm getting tense. I should do all my final exams a week early, so I can grade them and handle all objections before going to the US for a month. But I want to give the students more time to study, so no. I also am still waiting on the necessary documents to re-acquire my visa. (It was confiscated when I returned from The Philippines. Big mess. Not my fault.) I also want to buy a new phone before I return to the US. It's been a priority for a while to get a new smartphone. (Like, since my Palm Pilot broke 3 years ago.) And I'ma either get the brand new Samsung Omnia II or if I can find it, an Android-based korean smartphone.
Phone of Dreams?
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