My head is in the sun

Only in academic reading do you find sinister readings of corporate slogans from your childhood such as this:

[Nintendo's] slogan, "Now you're playing with power," explicitly spoke to the technological mastery it promised youthful players but tacitly conveyed the corporate confidence of an enterprise that had remade and dominated the interactive games sector through much of the 1980s. (Kline, Stephen, et al. Digital Play. Montréal, McGill-Queen's UP. 2003. p. 109)

Ah, corporate slogans of my childhood—why must you be so imbued with double meaning?

It should be noted that eating ordinarily flavorful samosas while congested yields less-than-satisfactory results. It feels like you're eating tasteless mush with a crust, which is annoying because you know the samosas usually taste good. Eating cereal was actually more satisfying—at least you can pick out the different textures (cranberries, flakes, etc.)

Some resolutions for the new year:

1. Maintain my grades. It was a good first semester, and I'd like to finish up my first year of grad school in the same fashion. Man, do I love being back in school.
   
2. Keep in better touch with friends. The craziness of going back to school and purchasing a condo meant that Aly and I didn't get many chances to hang out with local folks. We'd like to do a better job this year.
3. Become a real programmer. I must find time to thoroughly learn Ruby on Rails and Django.
4. Get to know my brother better. He might be meeting us at SXSW and/or coming out to DC to visit this year!
5. Stay in shape for volleyball and soccer. I played outdoor volleyball earlier today (in January!), and pulled something in my back. This is likely a result of not having done anything for the previous month. Consequently, I'll be hitting the weights tomorrow ...

Five songs that I couldn't stop listening to over the past few months:

1. "Wuthering Heights," covered by Petra Haden while she was with the Decemberists. Also: "Thriller," another cover.
   
2. "If Looks Could Kill," by Camera Obscura. We're going to see them at the 9:30 Club on the 22nd!
3. "She Says It's Alright," by the Rentals. See "Haden, Petra" above. Also: "Waiting"—an oldie but a goodie.
   
4. "In the Valley," by Midnight Oil. I always liked their Earth and Sun and Moon album.
5. "White Collar Boy," by Belle & Sebastian. I heard it soon after the album was released, and recently rediscovered it while I was in Bloomington last week.
   

A student stopped by my office today so I could show her how to upload files to a departmental web site she was maintaining for a faculty member. Pretty straightforward, right? Well, everything was going smoothly until ...

"Hey, are you a Web genius or something?"

This is a horrible, horrible thing to ask (in this area, at least; I'll get to how this is location-specific later). It conveys the impression that a Web designer/developer is somehow outside the acceptable set of ordinary professions and usually precedes some sort of requested favor. Slightly annoyed, I responded with a  standard explanatory line about my job here: "I'm just a web designer/developer for CNDLS."

Later, she randomly asked me if I could teach her "CSS layers" and Javascript. I tried to be as blunt as possible without offending, saying, "Unfortunately, I don't think I have the time to do that ... and it's not really my job." Coworker Michael thought I handled it well; he also noted that the "Web genius"-type line seemed to be particularly stinging here in DC. Our theory is that it's tied to the level of respect afforded to creative professionals—in San Francisco, for instance, the line wouldn't be such a bad thing to say and might even be taken as a compliment. In DC—where lawyers and business types dominate the professional landscape—the line is kind of a sign of general ignorance and/or unwillingness to converse on an equal level with the person you're talking to.

So, dear student: The next time you feel the need to ask your friendly local Web designer about teaching you something, you'd do well to make that request without marginalizing their profession.

Oh, and when I relented and recommended Designing With Web Standards (for learning CSS layout) to her, she asked, "This isn't ... written for total geeks, is it?" Nice.

I just purchased some of the books for my Citizen Gatekeeper: Analyzing “Truth” in Contemporary Media class:

When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences by Eric Alterman
The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past by John Lewis Gaddis
On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt
Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public by Helen Thomas

Should be interesting reading!  (Yes, this is also known as the "Truthiness" class.)

The first lecture of the fall went pretty well, although one of my classmates described it as "boring!"  True, we did basically go through the structure of the class for an hour and a half, but I was content to soak the atmosphere of the classroom up.  It was fascinating to hear all the nervous (and not so nervous) chatter around the room before the start of class, and to see how prepared some people were—a binder with a printed label that had the name of the course comes to mind.

The course itself will present a framework for how to evaluate stuff—technological innovations, cultural objects, public policy, etc.  Three professors with different backgrounds and approaches will teach the course, which is itself divided into three segments: production, distribution, and consumption.  One of the professors is interested in public policy and legal implications of technology; another is interested in film; a third is interested in the social implications of technology.

We're also going to use a wiki to produce a collaborative glossary of concepts throughout the semester, which seemed to cause a ripple of consternation in the class.  Students were concerned about the experiment devolving into a mess—"So you know what's going to happen when you set up a wiki?" one student asked—but the professors and TAs deflected most of the criticism with reassurances that yes, it was an experiment, but there were safeguards like rollback in place, etc.  It will definitely be interesting to see how this evolves, since this is the kind of stuff I'm interested in at my day job.

I still haven't really met a lot of folks, but I expect this to change once I have a small class.  Today's class was composed of the entire incoming graduate class—70-some students.  As it turns out, this will be my only class this week; classes don't really start for me until next Monday.  But at least now I have a syllabus and some reading—okay, a lot—to do.  I'm starting off with The Whale and the Reactor, which seems to be a promising read so far.  It's a good sign when you're nodding your head to a book about technology that was written in 1986.

I'll keep this short, as things are quite busy today ...

I've got my first class this afternoon at 4:15.  (Classes technically started last Wednesday, but none of my classes have met yet.)  I'm excited and nervous—as has been the norm during the past couple weeks—but I'll feel a lot better after I've made it through my first class.  I keep telling myself to handle these milestones one at a time: acceptance, orientation, first class, first reading assignment, first paper, etc.

As my work level has increased, I've started to remember what it felt like to be juggling a ton of responsibilities during undergrad.  The difference this time should be that going to class is something I look forward to instead of a chore.  It's tough to break out of the old mindset, though, especially on a dreary day like today.

After class lets out, I'll write my first post about what I've learned!  I can tell you are all anxiously awaiting said post ...

"Maybe it's a good thing if you're very busy. You won't have any spare time to waste." —Mom

Well, except for blogging, that is. I do consider this to be somewhat productive, though.

Sometimes it's a really good thing to stay at work late. Tonight was one of those nights. I stuck around until about 8 p.m.—longer than I'd stayed at work in a long time. It's great when you don't have to deal with anyone and can just concentrate on the task at hand. (Especially when that task is very mechanical, like setting up a large number of blogs for faculty members. It's therapeutic, I swear.)

I sometimes forget why I work. I was, however, reminded today that I do it because I genuinely like helping people. I got to teach XHTML/CSS to two of my coworkers today, and it was a wonderful feeling when they got to the point where they got it. Perhaps teaching is in my future ...

There isn't really a point to tonight's post other than to record today as a very good day, both work-wise and socially. I'm hoping to string together a couple of these. Who knew being super-busy was so rewarding?

Some observations from orientation on Friday:

I should have expected this, but the folks in my class are really, really smart. I felt a bit out of place, but I'm sure I'll feel better once I've written a paper or two and have a better idea of whether or not I belong here. It's all about feedback, right? Luckily, I decided not to sweat it and continued talking to people even when they mentioned they studied "post-colonialism" as an undergrad. Intimidating, but I was able to deal with it. My strategy for the day was to listen first, think second, and talk third—a strategy I'll be using in class, too. It sounds pretty obvious, but I've developed a nasty habit of talking without thinking/listening over the past few years.

I definitely gravitated towards those people who had been out of school for a while, but most of the recent graduates were cool, too. Everyone was very nice, and I'm hoping I'll become friends with some of the folks I met. Seventy-two sounds like a large number (and this is the largest incoming class yet), but I'm sure I'll end up knowing most of the people in the program.

My status as a staff member was a bit awkward, but I think I handled it pretty well. I discovered that being a staff member and having done your undergraduate studies at Georgetown are actually pretty similar things—at least in terms of first-day interactions with folks. I spent way too much time talking with a coworker at the reception, but finally had the common sense to excuse myself and mingle with my fellow students for a bit.

I'm very optimistic about the coming semester. It was a great relief to finally feel like part of the program as opposed to just an admitted student. The professors all seem amazing, and I'm looking forward to registration (which opens online in a scant 4 hours!). This semester is about getting comfortable as a student again, and then going from there. After Friday's orientation, I feel like I'm on the right path.

Tomorrow is orientation—the beginning of a stiff test. I expect this return to school to be one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I'm trying to be as prepared as possible. Actually, I'm overpreparing: I've already purchased a large number of highlighters, a couple notebooks, and two extra fine Pilot G2 pens. I'll have to relearn how to write, how to do research, how to juggle school and work, and how to meet other students.

I'm going to stop by my office around 8 am and down a cup of tea before I walk over to the orientation site. The office is very likely to be empty at that time, and I plan to have my tea standing at my window overlooking the Potomac. It'll be one last moment of quiet reflection before I embark on a three-year journey that's bound to be humbling, challenging, and amazing.

Thanks to those of you who have helped me get to this point. I hope that I can repay your trust and encouragement with something—even if it's just a written record of my school experiences.