(no subject)

The process of cleaning out my library is complete. I took away the last books (the o-chem ones) today, then spent some time just hanging out and talking before proceeding to the senate barbecue thing for free food, which involved more hanging out and talking.

Then, this evening, I went and practiced for the first time in forever plus a week or so. It wasn't a terribly productive practice session, but I've had worse. After that, I went to visit John for a bit. (Public drunken debauchery doesn't have to make things weird later. Yay!) Then on my way home, I ran into Blanca, and we stood out in the cold talking for a while.

So I have made progress in the project to become a useful human being. Yesterday I even went grocery shopping. Next steps: actually cooking some of that newly-purchased food and moving the job search into the phase that includes submitting applications and whatnot.

Sometimes My Only Response Is a Head Shake

It is spring semester, and once again the Quest is at the center of a controversy that is utterly stupid. And once again I have gotten wind of the controversy before actually seeing what it was all about. And once again, I've been very underwhelmed by the controversial thing.

There are things that matter, and there are things that don't. It is easiest to get riled up over the things that don't matter, because the ones that do are hardest to deal with.

Doesn't matter: A poor quality and badly timed centerspread that many Reedies call racist simply because it features the one black professor on campus.
Does matter: Actual racism, or really any form of intolerance that still causes separations and inequities throughout our society.
See the difference?

It's probably a good thing that I'm taking this semester off, because I'm seeing shades of last spring, which is what first set off a chain of things that led to my needing time off. (That was badly articulated. Sorry.)