aether full of sun
Ξ Tuesday, 21 Oct 2008 at 22:34 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Normal |
I wore long sleeves today, which in retrospect was kind of a mistake. It was initially cold in the morning, but it got warmer as the day went on, as weather is wont to do. since Jenn wasn’t at work today, and I had brought my own lunch, I found myself alone for lunch for the first time in a very long time. I don’t often take my own lunch, since I take more pleasure in socialising during lunch if possible. but it was nice, actually.
i sat in the courtyard in the middle of the Humanities building, which was surprisingly uncrowded. I found a bench for myself, one of only three there, and I soon found why it was uninhabited. The sun streamed down from the open sky above, nearly blinding me, and it also generated a great deal of heat — hence my error in long sleeves. It wasn’t that bad, though, and I sat there eating my lunch for a little while, and I’d brought my iPod to chill out to as well.
sounds mundane, I know. but it was a happy pocket of solitude and ataraxia in the middle of the day. I didn’t do a whole lot today at work, but I did work on a lot of PDFs and learned something new about Acrobat in the process — how to make forms ’saveable’ (I don’t know a better way to say it, for all my vocabulary!). That was an immense help.
I’m writing from my laptop again, and it’s a nice trend I think. Oh, and I think it’s just about the “most creative” time of night right now, but not just yet. I’ve been feeling rather introspective lately, and reflective (as you’ve seen the frequency of my posts go up exponentially, lol), and perhaps for that reason I’ve been listening to a lot of instrumental and electronic music lately. Most of the weekend I listened to game soundtracks, as I probably said as well, but today I was listening to my electronic playlist on my iPod. It’s good to chill out to, especially the ambient stuff, but even the glitchy mechanical stuff is pretty great. I’ve been really liking Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works albums when they come on.
I really wish this election would end already, too. It’s stressing me out hearing more news about it every day, and feeling helpless to do anything about it. I know I could help campaign but I really haven’t the time, and I know that sounds bad, but it’s true. I’ve just been trying to stay informed about everything, and Nicole’s kept me abreast of things with her knowledge as well… I’ve been watching a lot of Daily Show and Colbert Report as always, and reading CNN and BBC News online as much as I can.
I’m voting Obama, just FYI, and I want so fervently to see him win. I’ve not been as inspired by a presidential candidate since Clinton in 1992 (and 1996, but that was sort of a given). I remember him coming to Mac Court at the UO back home, and wanting to see him speak and fancying I’d get his autograph. We never ended up getting in there, but I was so excited, and I was only eight years old! In any case, Obama will do so much good if he’s elected, and I can’t wait to see what happens.
And if you’re not voting in this election, you’re neglecting your civic duty as an American, and showing that you don’t give a fuck about this country or where it’s headed, not to mention showing yourself to be willfully ignorant of what’s going on around you. Read the paper, read your news online, watch it on TV, but know what’s going on and what the candidates are about. If you don’t know by now, though, that’s pretty sad, especially after all the debates, which were extremely telling. So get out there and vote, whichever party you belong to, and exercise your right.
Enough politics, though, for it’s not my forte and I don’t want to go on and on about it. You know my stance now, and anyone who’s known me for awhile will know my stance already. I generally avoid politics, however, since they end up stressing me out, and I’d prefer to look at ancient politics instead, if any. But I am trying to be more informed these days, especially with the election, and Nicole and I are talking more about things and discussing, which is good.
On a random note, I need to see about when “fall back” to Standard Time occurs. I think it’s within a week or so, and I’m looking forward to that extra hour of sleep. For some reason, I woke up this morning, finally, at around 07.30. But when I looked at my watch, instead of 07.30, it said 06.15. My cellphone had said 07.30, and I know that’s updated off of the internet, so it should be accurate, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how my watch was an hour slow. And I don’t know how long it was like that either. I’ve had the same Citizen Eco-Drive since I graduated high school in 2001 (a graduation gift), and I know that it dies sometimes without enough light to recharge its battery — and I was inside a lot this weekend, but still. Just something random when I woke up this morning, that’s all, and made me wish I had that extra hour.
I wish it weren’t as late as it is. I hate coming home after 5 and the day’s basically shot. The darkness comes so quickly as the summer dies and autumn takes its sceptre, and it’s a little depressing. I like the night though. I was messaging Vanessa back and forth earlier today, and she said she doesn’t like the switch back to standard time because she has to come home from work when it’s dark. I agree with her to a certain extent, because it is a little sad, but I do love my extra hour of sleep, fleeting however it may be. carpe noctem is the rallying cry of emo kids everywhere, riffing on Horace’s carpe diem. It is a valid slogan, easy to back and crowd behind, but it is at the same time trite before it leaves their mouths, a mere imitation of an ancient aforementioned intellect most likely superior in most ways.
the sun shone today, as I said, and it banished the grey gloom which permeated the weekend. I normally love the gloom, especially as we were on the beach on Sunday, but for some reason it left me a little down. so the skies opening up and liquid gold streaming from the aether above was heartening and warm, even if I did move to the shade not too much later.
with that image, I am off for the time being. a little tired, and I’ve much to do before I sleep.
