Gotta Cut Something

So, I have at last finished reading a prominent novel: 1984. By finished reading, however, I do not mean that I have read the thing to its end. No, I have read it to a few pages into Part II when the protagonist and another character establish a new connection. That's it for me. Its themes have been repeated so often since its publication that I am not overly concerned about missing out on them or the messages they can convey. I think I only stand to miss out on the specific details that can help characterise those themes in the minds of others. My girlfriend likes to make apropos references via events in the book. It was one of the reasons that I began reading it. However, I have limited time and many projects to fill it with. Being depressed by a book whose ending I partly know and whose valuable themes are not totally foreign to me does not seem like a great expenditure of my time.

It is satisfying to be able to accept that I do not want to nor do I need to continue doing certain things. Reading books are great examples. I've started on many a terribly boring book before and felt as though, having started something, I ought to finish it. If I had a problem where I started a dozen things and finished not one, then I'd be concerned. But seeing as I seem to be fairly productive with my time, I think it is not dangerous but rather just great! to give up on something that seems so fruitless. Previously, if I laboured away at a book that I did not enjoy, I might not read anything else for months (or a year!) at a time, as I laboured painfully through it. I wish I'd discovered this ability sooner. Less time misspent.

My time is of great value to me. I'm saturated with things I want to do. It's good no longer feeling bored. :) One concern of my mine is my work. I enjoy the work itself (at least when I agree with the project I'm working on, which was once not the case :|), but it makes me sad, the feeling that the time is being invested into a blackhole. The work we do is not very universally applicable, which software frequently isn't, and it's not universally accessible (and I don't mean for the differently abled) nor available. I have to focus on the benefit that my work confers onto the relative few individuals that get to use it, and how my efforts can improve their daily life. In the future, I hope to be able to contribute to the world in a greater fashion. Affect more people and in as timeless as manner as possible.

I've been glad to work on my project Gender Guesser recently. Really, I end up working on it almost exclusively on the bus. However, it's still turned into something quite useful. I'll be uploading it once I retrieve it from my laptop that I tried to upgrade to Ubuntu 8.10. (As could be expected, upgrading a Ubuntu installation ends in the fiery death of X - what else is new?)

Anyway, my girlfriend and I finished carving a pumpkin about 2 hours ago. It is belated, but if you have a pumpkin and a knife, what else are ya gonna do? Gotta cut something!