Saturday, May 27, 2006

My New Favorite Quote

"Only those who are crazy have both the will and the perserverance [that are necessary to achieve greatness]. Whoever is crazy about writing may become a successful writer; whoever is crazy about art may become a successful artist. Only the unsuccessful are not crazy at all!"

-Pu Songling, "Strange Tales From the Idle Studio"

Monday, May 15, 2006

Math for Old People

Ok, well I have no idea who Nextday is, but he (or she?) left a comment on my last post, and he/she is right, I haven't updated the blog in a while. I've been working on my thesis all day, and my brain is absolutely fried. But I figured I'd give it a shot, partially since it seemed like a welcome departure from my hectic schedule of late, and partially because I'm curious as to whether anyone other than Nextday even reads this anymore.

Today is the 15th of May. It's a frightening day for me because (1) I've been 25 for eight days now and (2) I'm officially more than halfway through my last month of school. I will never be 24 again, and I will never be an undergraduate again. I don't know whether to be thankful or miserable on either count.

25 was a kind of depressing birthday. I've come to the conclusion that any birthday on a number with a multiple of five feels a little traumatic. 20 was intimidating, and turning 25 is downright scary. My insurance rates will go down, for crying out loud! No longer am I a child. This requires that I finally figure out the answer to the dreaded question "what do you want to do with your life?", which I'd just as soon not answer because I'm perfectly content living in the moment, but to which the rest of society demands a pensive, carefully-reflected-upon answer post haste. My good friend Lindsey decided that we could solve the whole dilemma by simply saying that I am not in fact 25, but rather 24-plus-one. So, for future reference, I never turned 25. On May 7, 2007, I will turn 24-plus-two. Until, of course, I reach 25-plus-25, after which I will have to find a different equation to help me circumvent my age.