Sunday, February 25, 2007

Monotony

You notice very mundane things when you're out of work and have been for some time.
  • A day encompasses a lot of time.
  • Thinking too much becomes an understatement.
  • So much time, so little to do, and yet, nothing gets accomplished.

My most recent jobs completed:

  • I purchased a new laptop. My theory regarding Dell computers, given I have owned a number of them in my time, is that they are made very much like cars that have a four-year warranty--to start to break down after about a year and a half. My Dell laptop slowed to such a crawl recently that it was impossible to restart the computer in less than ten minutes (that is no exaggeration). After consulting Consumer Reports, I decided to go with HP this time. So far, so good.
  • Of course, the new purchase meant that I had to transfer all of my files, pictures, documents, and more to this computer, which has taken hours, but far less memory.

Last night, before I actually fell asleep, I picked up The Four Agreements again. In the case of any book with some wisdom to share or some insight to give, I always find myself reading it straight through first, and then, later on, rereading relevent bits and pieces of it. This time, I found myself going back over the section regarding making assumptions. When you're stuck with your own company a lot and little more than that to focus on, it is easy to completely dream up scenarios and explanations in one's head regarding anything from momentary glances to convoluted situations. I think I have found myself doing that most often when I disbelieve that I will receive closure any other way. At least if I "explained" it to myself in my head, then, I could create some scenario where I wasn't to blame or where things came out right in the end. I don't think I have ever once really "accepted" something if there was a missing piece or if the puzzle was hopelessly incomplete.

On a less deep note:

Bad Movie for this evening: "Cutthroat Island". A horrible pirate epic starring Geena Davis. Who cares? Ships, lots of gunfire, tropical locals, even a monkey called King Charles. How can you possily go wrong.

Recent Good Movie choice: "Dances With Wolves". Yeah, yeah, Kevin Costner--I'm sure he has a hate-site out there somewhere. However, the scene was captivating--and truly the only time I can say I have ever thought as much about the American Plains. The self-discovery theme was extremely well developed, and the incorporation of Native American culture (Sioux in this case) was as much an incredible experience as an educational one. There are scenes in that movie that I will never forget and I know will touch me. It's the type of movie that, although long, deserves one's full attention, and at least in my case, I came out of it knowing that enough of it will stay with me that another viewing will not be necessary to refresh my memory so much as it would be to enjoy the film again.

Ugh, exhausted, and back is hurting. How is everyone out there?

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Dover

I was again peeling through some old photos and I realized that I never did anything with the pictures I took when I briefly visited Dover in Kent. The city itself wasn't particularly impressive (apologies to any and all Dover residents who read this blog--if there are any, which I doubt), but the castle overlooking the famous white cliffs was a fascinating place, used for literally thousands of years (from the Romans to World War II) and with evidence left by nearly all of its inhabitants. Although harder than one would imagine to get a good view of them, the white cliffs were certainly a memorable sight, as was the countryside that extended out from the city proper, panoramically visible from the Castle complex.

View overlooking the city from Dover Castle

View to the northwest on the wall, one of the Gate Towers

Dover's white cliffs