Reading Paolo Coelho's "The Alchemist"

"But all this happened for one basic reason; no matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved towards the same compass point. Once obstacles were overcome, it returned to its course, sighting on a star that indicated the location of the oasis. When the people saw that star shining in the morning sky, they knew they were on the right course toward water, palm trees, shelter, and other people."

I'll try to come back to explain but for the time being...

Sometimes you have to break something in order to fix it.

Not really but I have many road ragesque stories to share from Southern California.

In So Cal, most on ramps are metered (ineffectively) and there's sometimes a carpool lane that allows cars with more than two passengers to pass the meter and get right on the freeway. A single man in a Mercedes in a metered lane behind me decided that he was too important to wait and jumped into the carpool lane... only to get pulled over by a cop and given a $500 fine.

And I had one of those rare moments in life when you connect for the briefest of moments with a total stranger. I was waiting at a four way stop and had just entered the intersection when a car coming in the opposite direction tore through on a left hand turn in front of me. I managed to stop in time as did the other oncoming car but we were both kinda blown away. We looked at each other and I shrugged and she smiled back at me and nodded. It was brief but it made me smile for the rest of the day

I really need to overhaul my list... so many things that are life maintenance and not what I feel the meets the intent of the list. However, I did make some progress on the list in February - 

16. Take GRE prep class/17. Take GRE test
I scheduled a GRE test for June 28 at noon.

47. Attend a theater performance: opera/musical
Dan and I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theater starring the original Jesus Ted Neeley and featuring Corey Clover as Judas. I thought Corey Clover was fantastic but I was a bit disappointed overall. Perhaps it was our seats that a stage light shining into my eyes through the whole performance but the staging was so minimalist that it was distracting. I did forget how much I love Mary Magdalene's songs though.

91: Visit five states
President's Day weekend I drove myself to Atlantic Beach, NC. The drive was looong - 12 hours each way -  and the solitude was overwhelming at first but I quickly grew to love it. It was off-season so the whole community was quiet and the last day was stormy. I went to the local aquarium one day and sat on the beach in quiet reflection. I went to see Fool's Gold in the local theater and watched Juno and Across the Universe in my hotel room. Can't wait for my next solo trip.

 

I read a fascinating article once that attempted to explain how some gamers work toward the "common good" and others work against the common good in a mostly anonymous setting. In MMOs, you may form attachments to other players but with some exceptions (families, RL friends) you don't actually know anyone else. So why be motivated to good or evil?

The theory was that people act very similarly to monkeys. Monkeys develop a territorial bubble starting primarily with immediate family, then extended family, then extended clan and radiating outward. At some point, the monkey does not recognize another monkey outside of their bubble as another monkey, it just becomes a combatant and not another member of the species with similar (if not identical) needs for safety, food, and companionship.

I find this to be an apt theory that applies to most online communities (not just MMOs) and this is the basis for my decision to not keep an online journal. While I may be excluding many who are able to envision me (via my navel-gazing) as an actual human being; most cannot, do not, and will not and I am unwilling to give them full access into my life.