Yeahhh… It’s done. Now to figure out how best to make use of the 6 weeks and a few days before enlistment. List-making may be in order. Or it may not. And I don’t have to do either if I don’t want to! Yay.

Ho-ow long?

Soon! SOON!

I’ve just had my only real double-paper day of the exams. In terms of exam hall hours, I’m just past the halfway point. I’ve spent a large portion of the day trying not to think at speed. I’m on my second long chill session of the day. Both sessions involved expanding the function of individual chairs by arranging them in a suitable manner. The Radio Lab episode I was listening to yesterday featured a super-stretched version of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, and I guess it does kinda reflect how everything felt super slow after chem today. The episode was about Time, and it brought in a little bit about space-time. Edit: Since it’s past the 24-hour mark, I guess I can say that the space-time thing kinda came up in the poem.

‘Clowns’ by Goldfrapp sounded about right for today.

Tomorrow, I take my first paper. It’s starting! 

Proverbs has been great. There’s usually at least one warning in a chapter about being a ’sluggard’ (OWTTE), or an exhortation to ‘diligence’, in addition to wisdom which would be worthless without work. 

(Random: Integration help. )

Mad Men Season 1

I’ve just watched the final episode of Season 1 of Mad Men and it was fantastic. Don’s pitch to the Kodak people was one of those great moments… 

I’ve somehow managed to watch the episodes at a rate of slightly under one a day. It’s been magnificent. I have Season 2 waiting. 

The society and the place and the time the show is set in isn’t one I haven’t been introduced to before, because my EE text (William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice) was set just a few years before 1960. There are long passages seemingly aimed at introducing how life in that time and place was different from life at the time of publication. When I watched Mad Men, a lot of the issues mentioned came up, and it was interesting to see how they interacted. 

The characters are… fascinating. 

The plot moves somewhat slowly for a TV serial but it works really well. I’ve heard from a few people who’ve watched it, and they really enjoy the clothes and color and the overall visual presentation. Those aren’t things I’m usually conscious of, but they definitely didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

Proverbial Wisdom

While reading Proverbs a few days ago, I recognized some familiar verses:

[5] Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. [6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. [7] Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7, KJV)

The verses used to be on the left-side wall in the old JS auditorium. There aren’t that many things I clearly remember from my JS days; certainly I don’t remember the words of lessons or speeches. The verses on the wall are probably the only extended passage of words I clearly remember. I still remember being struck by the rhyme and rhythm of ‘Be not wise in thine own eyes’ (one-two-three and one-two-three); I wouldn’t have thought of calling it rhythm or rhyme, though. Or assonance. But I still enjoy the rhythm of the passage in the same way today. 

They used OHPs and transparencies in those days. There weren’t LCD projectors in every room. (Three projectors, in two cases.) Chapel didn’t involve blockquotes of verses in vivid color. I remember listening, though, even if I can’t quite remember the words that were said. And when my attention did wander, I’d look at the words on the wall. There weren’t stone sculptures and disposable banners everywhere either. Also, I didn’t go to Sunday school, or Sunday service, for that matter. Maybe that’s why, in primary school, I never had the feeling that Bible verses were cheap, although I hesitate to ascribe the feeling to simple overexposure. 

In any case, I think the verses on the wall in the JS auditorium are great, great words to have in any Christian educational institution that has ‘character building’ as one of its stated aims, especially when the ones in whom character is supposed to be built are still impressionable and with ‘character’ still mostly unformed. 

Proverbs seems to have been an appropriate book for meditation in the past week or so. The call to seek wisdom does compel one to refocus and evaluate one’s actions. Are they constructive? (Not just productive; think capital vs. consumption goods.) Do they have value? What kind of value? Overall, I find it has helped keep things in perspective.