Today is
-Lohri... happy Lohri!
-The end of my first thirteen days at my first job
-The day I got the answer to "Is the glass half full or half empty?"
First: Lohri.
You have to love a festival that involves sitting around a bonfire in a cold, foggy winter's night, eating popcorn and talking.
Almost perfect, you say, if only someone could play the guitar.
'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the E string, you add quickly, does not count as play.
Second: The job.
So the job (internships are jobs right?) is terrifying in a fun kind of way. Translation- I have only a vague idea of what I'm doing. And that's fun because that's my defence mechanism.
Third: The question
First of the Third: The circumstances leading to the question.
Every year, our conversations around the bonfire go through the same stages that the fire does.
At first its a little weak and shaky: this is when we discuss news, politics and the damn government.
Then it begins to really catch on and burn brightly and strongly: This is when we gossip.
Then it mellows down: This is when we hug our knees and get all spiritual.
Then there's the glowing red embers and the memory of a smoke: This is when someone realizes they left the gas on.
Second of the Third: The question.
So we were in the third stage of conversation and I began to wonder aloud.
"Let's assume," I said (a little pompously), "that there are no parallel universes. There is just this one universe and there is just one objective truth, beyond any perceptual distortion. It is this, or that, and no other."
"Then" (here I lowered my voice for a dramatic effect) "is the glass half empty or half full?"
Third of the Third: The answer.
By this time my brother had disappeared, my father had yawned rather loudly, and only dear Ma was interested in answering.
But Ma is an English teacher, which means you can only get an essay in answer.
"So what you are saying is," I said finally," the objective, absolute truth is that there is a glass with water. And that it is all free will after that."
This is when Dad realized he'd left the gas on.
-The end of my first thirteen days at my first job
-The day I got the answer to "Is the glass half full or half empty?"
First: Lohri.
You have to love a festival that involves sitting around a bonfire in a cold, foggy winter's night, eating popcorn and talking.
Almost perfect, you say, if only someone could play the guitar.
'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the E string, you add quickly, does not count as play.
Second: The job.
So the job (internships are jobs right?) is terrifying in a fun kind of way. Translation- I have only a vague idea of what I'm doing. And that's fun because that's my defence mechanism.
Third: The question
First of the Third: The circumstances leading to the question.
Every year, our conversations around the bonfire go through the same stages that the fire does.
At first its a little weak and shaky: this is when we discuss news, politics and the damn government.
Then it begins to really catch on and burn brightly and strongly: This is when we gossip.
Then it mellows down: This is when we hug our knees and get all spiritual.
Then there's the glowing red embers and the memory of a smoke: This is when someone realizes they left the gas on.
Second of the Third: The question.
So we were in the third stage of conversation and I began to wonder aloud.
"Let's assume," I said (a little pompously), "that there are no parallel universes. There is just this one universe and there is just one objective truth, beyond any perceptual distortion. It is this, or that, and no other."
"Then" (here I lowered my voice for a dramatic effect) "is the glass half empty or half full?"
Third of the Third: The answer.
By this time my brother had disappeared, my father had yawned rather loudly, and only dear Ma was interested in answering.
But Ma is an English teacher, which means you can only get an essay in answer.
"So what you are saying is," I said finally," the objective, absolute truth is that there is a glass with water. And that it is all free will after that."
This is when Dad realized he'd left the gas on.
posted by QnB @ 9:58 PM
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