Words without music
In the last episode of The Genius Season 1, a Korean reality show pitting participants in games with one player being eliminated every episode, a skilled gamer faced off against a middle-aged television personality. The latter was somewhat weaker in games requiring much thought but had enough savvy skills to survive to the finals.
Each of them had a pool of supporters comprising of the eliminated participants, who chose one of them to side with. It became evident too that the supporters supporting the TV hostess were weaker in games requiring much thought too, and the gamer obtained a lot more help from his team. But there was this one moment in which the hostess' supporters out-thought the other team. The television personality was suitably touched, and pulled herself together. From that point on it felt as though she was playing to win not for herself, but for her team members, who were trying their best to help her. I was suitably touched too.
I ended my full-time but work-from-home so perhaps not-really-full-time job a month ago. Wow it has already been a month! I've been working on my projects, doing various administrative stuff, and relaxing since then. I like this newfound freedom; I wake up every day invigorated, thinking of all the possible things I can do, all the things I can accomplish. I spend a lot of energy seating at my desk and lying on my bed alternately, thinking and thinking. I said energy, not time. That's what it is - I think of things, I rethink them through, and I write them out. And I do feel expended after those short sessions, in which case I go relax by, for example, watching The Genius. And then I return to the work at a different part of the day. I feel satisfied with this so far, but I'm also wondering if I can improve my mental capacity to work for longer periods at a stretch.
I'm reading Phillip Glass' autobiographical book now, amongst other things. I do like some of his pieces, though I also dislike some others. I'm not close to finishing it yet, but one thing that does strike me is how much interaction he'd achieved in his younger years, with people in his field and intellectuals from others. This is probably nothing out of the ordinary when you go to specialized schools and live in artists' colonies.
Perhaps it is an enviable opportunity. Perhaps not. Myself, I eat my dinners alone at coffeeshops around my neighborhood, and sometimes have supper too. I look at other people, tap my fingers on the table, and sometimes think of something and sometimes think of nothing. I'm really not sure if I'd like to be in the living presence of other striving and accomplished individuals in my area and from related fields. I would feel both stifled and bored by 75% of their conversation. On the other hand, I can imagine being immersed in a hive of potentially interesting characters as exciting. Having such interaction have their own benefits too, perhaps the greatest of which is the increased drive to work on one's own project.
It's been this way for me for a very long time now; the university environment brought this into sharper focus. That is: I'm perfectly capable of and content with occupying myself with thoughts, so both my need for and the benefits I gain from interaction with individuals similar to myself are not so strong. Lest you think this haughty of me, this doesn't imply that the quality of my thoughts are superior to others; I could still be entertained with myself even if that were not the case.
Each of them had a pool of supporters comprising of the eliminated participants, who chose one of them to side with. It became evident too that the supporters supporting the TV hostess were weaker in games requiring much thought too, and the gamer obtained a lot more help from his team. But there was this one moment in which the hostess' supporters out-thought the other team. The television personality was suitably touched, and pulled herself together. From that point on it felt as though she was playing to win not for herself, but for her team members, who were trying their best to help her. I was suitably touched too.
I ended my full-time but work-from-home so perhaps not-really-full-time job a month ago. Wow it has already been a month! I've been working on my projects, doing various administrative stuff, and relaxing since then. I like this newfound freedom; I wake up every day invigorated, thinking of all the possible things I can do, all the things I can accomplish. I spend a lot of energy seating at my desk and lying on my bed alternately, thinking and thinking. I said energy, not time. That's what it is - I think of things, I rethink them through, and I write them out. And I do feel expended after those short sessions, in which case I go relax by, for example, watching The Genius. And then I return to the work at a different part of the day. I feel satisfied with this so far, but I'm also wondering if I can improve my mental capacity to work for longer periods at a stretch.
I'm reading Phillip Glass' autobiographical book now, amongst other things. I do like some of his pieces, though I also dislike some others. I'm not close to finishing it yet, but one thing that does strike me is how much interaction he'd achieved in his younger years, with people in his field and intellectuals from others. This is probably nothing out of the ordinary when you go to specialized schools and live in artists' colonies.
Perhaps it is an enviable opportunity. Perhaps not. Myself, I eat my dinners alone at coffeeshops around my neighborhood, and sometimes have supper too. I look at other people, tap my fingers on the table, and sometimes think of something and sometimes think of nothing. I'm really not sure if I'd like to be in the living presence of other striving and accomplished individuals in my area and from related fields. I would feel both stifled and bored by 75% of their conversation. On the other hand, I can imagine being immersed in a hive of potentially interesting characters as exciting. Having such interaction have their own benefits too, perhaps the greatest of which is the increased drive to work on one's own project.
It's been this way for me for a very long time now; the university environment brought this into sharper focus. That is: I'm perfectly capable of and content with occupying myself with thoughts, so both my need for and the benefits I gain from interaction with individuals similar to myself are not so strong. Lest you think this haughty of me, this doesn't imply that the quality of my thoughts are superior to others; I could still be entertained with myself even if that were not the case.