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theladyroseI am tempted to toss away every plan I've had so far of getting work done because something totally unexpected ends up delaying the best of my intentions.
Initially I planned to go to Lamont Library after lunch to look up a chapter in a biography on B.F. Skinner for my behaviorism oral presentation tomorrow. Originally I had planned to meet Danielle over there, but the lines were horrifically long and I couldn't find her anywhere. I ended up checking for mail and then looking at LJ friends' updates before it struck me that I ought to get some food. Unfortunately that really nice guy who gives me free pizza wasn't by the Science Center cafe today so I actually had to pay.
It's 1:30 PM at this point, so I figure that I'll head back towards my room to get my laptop and then go over to the library. Just outside my dorm, though, I spotted a lost looking middle-aged guy. What started out as a "Do you know where Mather Hall is?" turned into a lecture on wealth redistribution, housing subsidies, the conservative bias in American politics, problems with the New York City transportation system, public transport security in preventing terrorism, the Iraq war, joining the military, and getting into Harvard (his views, at least), roughly in that order. The guy turned out to be one of the union organizers for the NYC MBTA bus and subway division (he showed me his membership card, and it looked realistic enough) whose wife was attending her class reunion at Harvard; hence, he was searching for her old dorm while she was hobnobbing with her former classmates. His views on politics and conservatism struck me as being rather simplistic (populistic, even, but he's a union member after all), but it was entertaining enough to hear him rant and give me "the insider's perspective" on security in mass public transportation. And thanks to him, I now know how to get decent rates for dental coverage and discounts for subway tickets. I couldn't figure out whether or not he thought I was much smarter or much dumber than I look; after awhile I think it was the former when I scolded him for ingesting all of the phosphoric acid in diet beverages. He, Larry, seemed to take a mildly creepy interest in the fact that I am Asian and hinted that he couldn't share a computer with his wife because of "certain kinds of images she might accidentally discover." I gave him my e-mail address anyway because he intrigues me and seems harmless enough.
I really do love meeting all of the various eccentrics around Harvard Yard/Square. Perhaps it's because I'm equally bizzare?
I kept trying to muster up the energy to go over to the library, but various friends kept stopping by to talk and convince me to do something with them. Not that I mind the distraction, but I really did need to get my report done. Finally by 9 this evening I went over to the library to start my brief report and randomly lectured about Skinner's baby tender/air crib to Sophia as we were doing laundry.
I don't want to go back home for some time; I'm approaching my third week here at Harvard, and already I can't stand to think about leaving. God forbid I become bored of a less absurd existence in Pleasantview and regret all of the times I could have done something with someone and didn't this summer.
Initially I planned to go to Lamont Library after lunch to look up a chapter in a biography on B.F. Skinner for my behaviorism oral presentation tomorrow. Originally I had planned to meet Danielle over there, but the lines were horrifically long and I couldn't find her anywhere. I ended up checking for mail and then looking at LJ friends' updates before it struck me that I ought to get some food. Unfortunately that really nice guy who gives me free pizza wasn't by the Science Center cafe today so I actually had to pay.
It's 1:30 PM at this point, so I figure that I'll head back towards my room to get my laptop and then go over to the library. Just outside my dorm, though, I spotted a lost looking middle-aged guy. What started out as a "Do you know where Mather Hall is?" turned into a lecture on wealth redistribution, housing subsidies, the conservative bias in American politics, problems with the New York City transportation system, public transport security in preventing terrorism, the Iraq war, joining the military, and getting into Harvard (his views, at least), roughly in that order. The guy turned out to be one of the union organizers for the NYC MBTA bus and subway division (he showed me his membership card, and it looked realistic enough) whose wife was attending her class reunion at Harvard; hence, he was searching for her old dorm while she was hobnobbing with her former classmates. His views on politics and conservatism struck me as being rather simplistic (populistic, even, but he's a union member after all), but it was entertaining enough to hear him rant and give me "the insider's perspective" on security in mass public transportation. And thanks to him, I now know how to get decent rates for dental coverage and discounts for subway tickets. I couldn't figure out whether or not he thought I was much smarter or much dumber than I look; after awhile I think it was the former when I scolded him for ingesting all of the phosphoric acid in diet beverages. He, Larry, seemed to take a mildly creepy interest in the fact that I am Asian and hinted that he couldn't share a computer with his wife because of "certain kinds of images she might accidentally discover." I gave him my e-mail address anyway because he intrigues me and seems harmless enough.
I really do love meeting all of the various eccentrics around Harvard Yard/Square. Perhaps it's because I'm equally bizzare?
I kept trying to muster up the energy to go over to the library, but various friends kept stopping by to talk and convince me to do something with them. Not that I mind the distraction, but I really did need to get my report done. Finally by 9 this evening I went over to the library to start my brief report and randomly lectured about Skinner's baby tender/air crib to Sophia as we were doing laundry.
I don't want to go back home for some time; I'm approaching my third week here at Harvard, and already I can't stand to think about leaving. God forbid I become bored of a less absurd existence in Pleasantview and regret all of the times I could have done something with someone and didn't this summer.
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LOL!
Date: 2005-07-13 10:08 pm (UTC)Perhaps I could use my compulsive LJ-posting as my target behavior for my self-modification report later on.