Am I Dreaming?

My job is amazing. There is nothing else to it. I wake up every morning with motivation and a smile, knowing that I get to go into an environment where the people around me are working towards the same goals. It's incredibly exciting.

We met with Heather Kelley yesterday. She is SO AWESOME. She was very laid back with us, very frank, and polite. She told us that if we ever wanted to come talk to her about, not only our project, but the industry in general, that we are more than welcome to. I guess she is living in Montreal (which she says she loves) and is planning to rent a place here in Burlington, and I'm in awe of her dedication to this project. She has so much experience and knowledge to share with us that she will be an incredible asset to the team. Having a successful woman on the team will be a great motivator for me as well.

All of the reading and staring at computer screens this last week has given my eyes a lot of issues. I'm having headaches (which I am hoping are from staring at the computer and are not from something else). We'll see what happens.

Last night I had an incredible conversation with a few residents of the dorm, and I've made some really awesome friends here. I really enjoy the company of Lauren and her boyfriend, James, and the atmosphere of Burlington seeps its way into my frame of mind. There are few things more beautiful than this.

EMC Orientation

Being back in Burlington has made me realize the different kinds of boredom -- even though I have felt none of them. There is the kind of boredom that acts as just a mask for the true loneliness you feel. There's the kind of boredom where you have nothing to do and feel it, and there is the kind where you have so many things to do but you just can't make a decision.

The UN project orientation was an incredible experience. The information poured into my ears and my thoughts spurred around in my brain. I am excited to get started with my team. So far I have been doing research and stuff of that nature, and I plan to do that for the rest of the week. 5 hours of reading a day (on really depressing topics) is a LOT, though.

Today is a big day. We're meeting the well known game designer Heather Kelley who is working on the project with us. I can't wait! She is huge in the industry, and is apparently working in Montreal and in Burlington, so she'll be accessible for half of the week ^_^.

Back at Home

I'm in Burrrrlington now, and it definitely isn't any colder than Massachusetts. My room is spacious, and my roommate(s) are wonderful. The only complaints that I have about the place are the bugs and the fact that there are hardly any windows. I'm in the basement, so light doesn't really shine in. I'm not unpacked yet, but I will be by the end of tonight.

Being up here again makes me feel so good. I walked around campus, and it felt like I never left. I'm hoping that work starting today will expand my feeling of welcomeness -- although my excitement will only raise ten fold.

I saw The Dark Knight last night and it was absolutely amazing.

More Than a Job

I often find myself starting an entry by explaining what the weather feels like against my skin. Right now, it feels like a slow-moving, cool, muck, unlike the recent hot stuff we've been experiencing as of late. When I woke up at 7am this morning and walked into my living room, I wondered why I cannot find anything else to write about. I plopped next to my dog who then got up and ran away. The beauty of life and expressing it through writing is that there are so many things to write about; I can never decide which one of these things will shine through the rest. Even so, as I write this, I occasionally open a new tab in my browser and look at my usual websites. Have I become indifferent towards the things in my life? Or am I unable to decide which things in my life are more important?

One of the biggest things in my life has happened recently. When I interviewed for the job of my dreams, they asked me why I wanted the position. I remembered the time I finished Kingdom Hearts and how the message of that video game stuck with me for years. I remember the empowerment I felt when I learned about the Civil Rights movement -- watching college kids, just a few years older than me at the time, standing up for something they believed in. When I applied to Champlain, I knew it was something that I wanted to do, but I questioned whether or not it would satisfy me academically. I asked myself, "Do I really want to make video games instead of helping the world?" This job opportunity has allowed me to fulfill all aspects of my life; I can make a video game, and help make some parts of the world a better place. I truly want to become a citizen of the world, not just a citizen of the United States. Globalization is happening, and people thousands of miles away are really going to start impacting those that are nowhere near them.

I told a friend of mine that this was the best thing that has happened to me. She replied with, "No. Serge is." I understood where she was coming from at the time, and in many ways Serge is an incredible part of my life, but he didn't "happen to me". He and I grew with time, and I made an effort, instead of passively allowing it to happen. We happened to each other in a very non-happened-ish kind of way, I suppose. When she said that to me, I hadn't really thought everything through, but I stick by with my response. I told her that she is right, and that getting on the UN project was, instead, the "biggest thing to happen to me."

It's my last day in Sharon, my last day of work, and I'm just taking it all in -- through a stuffy nose, of course.

The Journey Begins

Last night I drove home from work late in the evening, and a thick fog lay over the streets. It was mucky and sticky and uncomfortable, but I kept my windows down and curved down my street for one of the last times -- at least for a while. The rain has finally come, and it's hitting us now; I'm hoping that it continues for the rest of the night.

I got a blister on my hand from too much Rockband, and I'm gearing up for some exciting times. Tomorrow marks a big day, and I utterly cannot wait.

I was really starting to warm up to being home.

Obsession as a Concept

Obsession is such a strange concept. It's a frame of mind where we are fixated upon something, one thing -- one entity and it just completely clouds our vision, our dreams, and our thoughts. I wonder how many lives could have been saved or lost, or how many marriages and relationships and friendships could have been spared.

The word itself is unique. The prefix "ob" means "against", and the latter part of the word is simply "session," suggesting that when one is obsessed, perhaps they are not in a session of fixation, but a long period of time of being utterly engrossed. I'm just theorizing here, taking my own impression of the word.

At first I wrote world instead of word. My own impression of the world.