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Out and About
Jan. 26th, 2007 11:49 amSo. Last night I went out. I walked down the hill to downtown, bought a ticket to see Pan's Labyrinth, grabbed a sandwich at Quiznos for dinner, and then began reading one of my philosophy books ("The World as Will and Representation" by Schopenhauer, chosen in part as source material for that modern fantasy I still want to write, but mostly because I like philosophy). And it was done by myself. And I rather enjoyed it.
Which, though it may seem like rather little in the grand scheme of things, strikes me. I'm a people-person. I like people. I take time for myself now and again -- my room have ever been a sanctuary where I can escape the world -- but given the choice I would much, much rather be with a group than by myself. And I really don't like going to the movies by myself; it's always seemed like such a... depressing idea. But I went out last night because I preferred to see Pan's Labyrinth alone than not at all, and it's begun to seem as those are my options.
The amusing thing, though, and the bit that pleased me about the night, though, was that even though I was 'by myself,' I interacted with people. Strangers amuse and fascinate me. There was the girl who's been living here for a year who had no idea where an Itialian restraunt was, and the befuddled old man who, apparently, couldn't figure out how to buy an orange juice from Quiznos (that is, grab one out of the case and pay for it). There was a group of misfits, the sort of people I'd expect to see at an Anime Convention (including at least one girl wearing cat ears) standing outside of the theatre. I passed them to get my ticket, and then one of the guys followed me a bit as I passed again to go get food, asking if I had any cash:
Guy: Hey, you have any spare change to <unintelligible>?
Me: Sorry, I don't carry cash. (Which is generally a true statement.)
G: Well, I take credit cards, personal checks, cellphones, backpacks, pretty jeans...
M: -laughs- These are hardly pretty jeans.
G: Well, ok, but I *mumble mumble* (I'm not sure, but I think he was hitting on me. I was amused.)
M: -laughs loudly again-
G: (As I'm walking off.) You have a good night!
M: You too.
It was about as random as it sounds, but it wasn't nearly as weird as the text seems to put it. It was really kind of amusing. And it was... interaction. I just really like interacting with people. And in ways, that minute-long interaction was more real than most of what I get during the week on campus.
There's a guy in my class, another SFSer, Brian. I don't really like Brian too much; I don't *dislike* him, but I think we're both too alpha-male to really get along too well. He rubs me the wrong way. Anyways, in a recent meeting we were discussing the yearly SFS Symposium, and ways to make it better. I said that they should do more to actively get us to mingle, because people are prone to clump together with people they already know. And Brian made some quip that basically boiled down to, "well, maybe they should just try harder." But I'm like that. I'm great getting to know other people, but I generally hesitate making the first step. I'm good at making friends, and I'm easy to get along with, but I tend to stay with what I know unless something outside of my encourages me to look up. And yeah, that's kind of a personal problem, but...
I'm not really sure where I was going with that. I'm rambling now.
Pan's Labyrinth was good. I liked it. But I'm not quite sure what I think about it. It's decidedly not a children's movie; far to violent and gory. I think there's a lot for me to unpack, though, and I think I'd have to watch it a second or third time to really get at it. I think that, somewhere, it's talking about obedience. And mortality. And maybe sacrifice. All very interesting things to talk about. And I love the theme. And it's a very dark movie, in content and presentation -- almost every scene is done at night, in the rain, or by firelight. I like that.
And now I'm going to stop procrastinating and go be unproductive. I should really look to get started on my net coding project but... Later today, perhaps. Before FNM.
Which, though it may seem like rather little in the grand scheme of things, strikes me. I'm a people-person. I like people. I take time for myself now and again -- my room have ever been a sanctuary where I can escape the world -- but given the choice I would much, much rather be with a group than by myself. And I really don't like going to the movies by myself; it's always seemed like such a... depressing idea. But I went out last night because I preferred to see Pan's Labyrinth alone than not at all, and it's begun to seem as those are my options.
The amusing thing, though, and the bit that pleased me about the night, though, was that even though I was 'by myself,' I interacted with people. Strangers amuse and fascinate me. There was the girl who's been living here for a year who had no idea where an Itialian restraunt was, and the befuddled old man who, apparently, couldn't figure out how to buy an orange juice from Quiznos (that is, grab one out of the case and pay for it). There was a group of misfits, the sort of people I'd expect to see at an Anime Convention (including at least one girl wearing cat ears) standing outside of the theatre. I passed them to get my ticket, and then one of the guys followed me a bit as I passed again to go get food, asking if I had any cash:
Guy: Hey, you have any spare change to <unintelligible>?
Me: Sorry, I don't carry cash. (Which is generally a true statement.)
G: Well, I take credit cards, personal checks, cellphones, backpacks, pretty jeans...
M: -laughs- These are hardly pretty jeans.
G: Well, ok, but I *mumble mumble* (I'm not sure, but I think he was hitting on me. I was amused.)
M: -laughs loudly again-
G: (As I'm walking off.) You have a good night!
M: You too.
It was about as random as it sounds, but it wasn't nearly as weird as the text seems to put it. It was really kind of amusing. And it was... interaction. I just really like interacting with people. And in ways, that minute-long interaction was more real than most of what I get during the week on campus.
There's a guy in my class, another SFSer, Brian. I don't really like Brian too much; I don't *dislike* him, but I think we're both too alpha-male to really get along too well. He rubs me the wrong way. Anyways, in a recent meeting we were discussing the yearly SFS Symposium, and ways to make it better. I said that they should do more to actively get us to mingle, because people are prone to clump together with people they already know. And Brian made some quip that basically boiled down to, "well, maybe they should just try harder." But I'm like that. I'm great getting to know other people, but I generally hesitate making the first step. I'm good at making friends, and I'm easy to get along with, but I tend to stay with what I know unless something outside of my encourages me to look up. And yeah, that's kind of a personal problem, but...
I'm not really sure where I was going with that. I'm rambling now.
Pan's Labyrinth was good. I liked it. But I'm not quite sure what I think about it. It's decidedly not a children's movie; far to violent and gory. I think there's a lot for me to unpack, though, and I think I'd have to watch it a second or third time to really get at it. I think that, somewhere, it's talking about obedience. And mortality. And maybe sacrifice. All very interesting things to talk about. And I love the theme. And it's a very dark movie, in content and presentation -- almost every scene is done at night, in the rain, or by firelight. I like that.
And now I'm going to stop procrastinating and go be unproductive. I should really look to get started on my net coding project but... Later today, perhaps. Before FNM.
