Gladitude

Craig is always saying what a "privilege" it is to be doing what we're doing, i.e., spending our lives thinking and learning and talking about things that matter to us and basically being entirely self-absorbed.  And I always think "That Craiger, what a Christian.  Always gotta be grateful for something."  But tonight, I realized he's totally right.  Something's changed since I've been in grad school: I've started trying to actually find something valuable or creative to say (in classes and/or in my papers), instead of just reciting whatever other people have already said, and it has been a lotta lotta fun. And I've tasted that world of life after academia, where your mind dulls and you never have the time to read or to produce, and you fear you'll settle into sleepy, humdrum routines of modern cubicle life, and I am so glad to have been rescued from that world, if only for a couple years.  But I don't plan on getting a Ph.D. anymore, and that means I really don't get to do this much longer.  And as much as this weekend is gonna be a stretch, what with a novel to read and a paper to write and a presentation to prepare and friends coming in town, which will cut my time in half, I'm so glad to be here.  I will spend the rest of my life paying for it, but I am happy now.