Home sweet home

At last. After one of the longest weeks I remember, after a journey through a paralysed by winter country, I finally got home. It's only after a long time away that you really, really appreciate such little and not-so-little things as for example lying in your own bed, emptying your own fridge, smelling all these familiar scents, moving around in a space you know so well - to put it as simply as possible: being home. And now I'm going to really enjoy the next two weeks.

Not to mention all my friends I can't wait to see. Actually, two weeks, two months, no matter how long would I be staying here, it can't be enough. Funny thing: so long I wished to go somewhere far, so long I wanted to see all these distant places. And quite quickly it turned out I miss my friends, my home so much. If I only could, I'd take them with me wherever I go. Who would ever suppose such an independent individual as myself might be so attached to people? Anyway, I wouldn't like it to be any different.

Well, maybe I'll come up with something witty and brilliant or whatever soon, meanwhile - I'm gonna take some sleep in my bed. Three weeks I've been waiting...

A flash in the pan

Once I skipped something in my schedule - only once. And all my enthusiasm was gone, all my plans once again were subject of procrastination. I had a week off at University, almost no lectures whatsoever - and still was unable to do anything.

Oh well. Happens.

Meanwhile though I had an opportunity to have a discussion with a man over the Ocean. Hey, do you know how to get more popular instantly on the Internet, at least for some time among a certain group of people? Find a forum or a site on which you can upload some picture etc., the bigger the community the better. And post something in regard of, for example, religion. And watch people argue - not over your work or what you said, for they will forget it really quickly. After all, they only needed - longed for - a provocation.

Actually, I did not publish anything like this. I took part in the discussion, and man, I wish I hadn't. When your adversary is someone foolish and only tries to shout louder than you, it's no problem, you just cease to talk, it is useless anyway. Actually, sometimes it's worse to meet someone cultural on the opposite side. Wouldn't it be terribly rude if I just didn't reply (not to mention pride - to lose a discussion simply walking away? Hell no!)? Yet I have to tell you - man, it's so tiresome to discuss with creationists.

The guy is intelligent enough to continue the dispute, yet blind enough to miss my arguments. I got to say though, he made me do some study on such classics as Voltaire or on some physics, the entropy law to be specific. Would you believe someone might claim to know a scientific proof against evolution? I wonder what are they taught in the US. I'm so happy to live in a country enlightened enough to fire a minister who postulates creationism and wants it to be taught at school...

So. Be sure to choose your adversaries for a debate wisely (for arguing with dogmas is no use, too) and revise the basics of thermodynamic before you talk to creationists, kids. And be ready to prove them the Earth is a sphere, you can never be sure what else might they come up with.

Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto

One would think that after a few years of humanistic studies, like classic philology or whatsoever, a student should be open-minded and try to grasp at least the very basics of any kind of knowledge or science. After all, there are a lot of thing that constitute our cultural heritage, not only literature, architecture and other fine arts, but mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry as well.

Studying a humanistic specialisation myself, I got to know many people who passed their high school exams and hoped never to see maths or physics again. No more numbers and calculations, no formulas, no... logic? I would understand if it was just them not being really into the exact sciences, but what saddens me is that they see no use for any scientific method in their field. Which strikes me as a complete misunderstanding - not only are they (the exact sciences) present in everyday life and work of an average M.A., but in my opinion make a great exercise for, I don't know, thinking? Surprisingly, some of my friends who study maths or IT are very open for anything 'humanistic' and do not belittle it.

Terence would be disappointed, I'm afraid.

Sure, specialisation in any branch of knowledge has its cost and there is no way to be good in everything, yet the exact sciences should not by given up completely by anyone. It seems simply unhealthy. No way to keep a sharp mind when you're over 80 years if you do not play with maths or play chess. Or both.

Procrastination

Or could it be laziness, probably? Let's not try to fool myself, it definitely is pure laziness. I could have deadlines just few hours ahead, lots of things that need to be done right now, and still waste time on games or (worse) just thinking, doing nothing, I don't know, when I have something important to do, I somehow manage to find and grasp any distraction I'd stumble upon.

Today, to prove myself it's not that bad, I decided to clean up the mess that somehow appeared in my room. Sure, I did manage to do it - although I wasted like three hours before I started and another two or so after finishing. The cleaning itself took me like 30 minutes. Along with hanging the curtains. And reorganising my notes. And preparing everything I need for tomorrow.

5 hours of wasting time and 30 minutes of work. Sounds like high time to get myself together.

For a good start - a few hours of sleep. Note to self: get over with 'starting' things and try actually 'doing' already.