Sunday, January 29, 2006

My Brain



Lately, my brain has been nagging at me. It has been very thirsty, you see, and wants more and more knowledge. I guess this is what brains do.

Up until recently, it has been sidetracked by diversions such as continous pain and lots of work (the kind where you go someplace and do stuff in order to bring home a paycheck.. you know.. the mind-numbing, soul-killing sort of stuff... tedious, miserable, drudgery.... what fun!)

Lately, though, I have managed to take care of the pain, which is all but gone, finally, and thankfully!! No more plantar fasciitis and no more excrutiatingly tender toes! The nail has yet to grow back, but it is all coming along very nicely, and so long as I don't drop stuff on my foot, I don't even notice it. I cannot even begin to tell you what a pleasure it is to be able to walk about without pain. Sigh.

As for the work part, well... there's still that, but, work is work, and we do what we have to do, I suppose.

Back to my original premise regarding thirsty brains; My brain, the one that rides around in my head all day, is a sort of an oddball. (just like me!)

My brain wants to know stuff. Not just important stuff, though, certainly, it does want to know that, too! It wants to know everything, and it wants to know it all now!!

Obviously, this ain't happening, but, its my brain, and I have to try to keep it happy, or it keeps me up all night thinking about stuff!

I have decided, therefore, in addition to my up at 4:30AM plan of late, whereby I get my lazy ass out of bed and head to the gym each morning for an hour (I can train again, now that I can walk again!), I will also be training my brain. To this end, I have found college lectures that are available, either on disc or at the library, and I have taken out books in areas of interest that I have, such as Philosophy, Astronomy, Mathematics, Languages, Literature, History and Theology, and I have begun systematically devoting a number of hours per week to study.

I love this! I plan on continuing to do this for as long as it is humanly possible!

I have learned so much great stuff over the past couple of weeks, that I almost cannot stand it!! My brain is going a thousand miles a minute, trying to wrap itself around all of these new concepts, theories, systems, methods, and data!!

Braingasm!!

I only wish I could go to college... to a number of them, actually... Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and that College down in Charleston that offers a degree in Classical Studies!! Trinity College in Dublin, which offers courses in Irish, Irish history, and all sorts of wonderful things.... AAAAH!! I can't even get started on this, or I'll never quit writing this list!! They will find my poor dessicated body, hunched over the keyboard, my freakishly large skull lolling from my skeletal neck...

"Poor guy... looks like he was trying to compile a list of every college and university that ever existed... shame how his head exploded like that...."

That's what they'll say when they find me, years from now...

Anyway... I'm pretty happy, and extremely excited and enthusiastic about doing this. I already go to Gaeilge classes, and I love them!! I count the days each week until Thursday nights, when I can go to class. It seems that the time there just flies by, though, and before I know it, I'm on my way home again. Not that I don't like being home... quite the contrary, I love being home, but, you know what I mean... Speaking of which, the lads at the Scoil Ghaeilge Ghearóid Tóibín (who are a great bunch of guys) are very, very much deserving of my gratitude for the fantastic gift of knowledge that they bestow upon me each week. They are wonderful teachers, particularly my teacher, and they do this all as a labor of love. They don't charge a cent, and what they give is beyond price. Thanks so much, guys!

I can't actually attend college.. I don't have the money, and I don't have the time to spare from work in order to go. I suppose that I could learn whatever I learn and then test for credit, which I very well may do... but, to me, the learning and the knowledge is much more important than the piece of paper that tells me that I learned stuff...

So. In a word, I'm thrilled!

Tommorrow starts early, and 4:30AM comes around whether I'm ready for it or no.. so I had better get my ass into the bed so I'm not crying when the alarm goes off. (Who do I think I'm fooling?! I'll be crying in any case!)

Till next time.

8 comments:

scribe said...

I applaud your efforts in lifelong learning. I share your hunger for knowledge and I long to go to grad school, but until that happens, I'll be taking non-credit courses and reading voraciously as always.

I'm especially pleased to know how much you were enjoying your time of study, because it makes me feel less like I hijacked your wife this evening. :-) Thanks for having me in your lovely home.

Mona Buonanotte said...

Oh, I'm so jealous, Bear! One of these days, when the kids are a little bigger, I will have time to search out classes for me, just me, just Mona.

Good luck to you, and keep us posted on how it's going!

Bear said...

Scribe,

The sound of you two laughter was music!! I had a blast listening to you two evil twins cracking up!!

You are always welcome...

Bear

-----------------

Mona,

Hey, stranger! How're things?

When you take a classes for you, just you, just Mona... what will they be? Math? Physics? Science? Literature? What do you want to learn? What do you *most* want to learn??

Hmmm?

:-)


Bear




.

NewYorkMoments said...

That's fantastic! I want to get a PhD in Psychology but I'm too broke :-(

Mona Buonanotte said...

Bear, I want to learn how to draw.

Silly, huh?

I'm (mumble-mumble) years old, and I want to learn to draw. I know lots of art history, and if that was involved, I would relish it.

But really.

I want to be an art-eest.

Or at least someone who can talk intelligently about art. Humanities prof?

Marcheline said...

I want an Irish Pub in New England. Waaaaah!

word verification: zhpdqhhd (zipperhead? zippity doo duhhhh?)

- M

SVN, prn said...

As you know, I am a student now. I have to admit it took me a while after reading your post to reply. Maybe because this subject is so close to my heart.

My situation is a bit different. Yes, I did choose to go back to school but there is huge sacrafice. Financially.

I used to be a field that I LOVED. Travel/Hospitality/Concierge but the pay sucked, perks were awesome.

When I divorced I needed career I could pay the bills with. Hence my decision to decide on Nursing. Stable, in demand, opportunities in every size city.

I enjoyed the pre-req classes and enjoyed the mental stimulation but now the core nursing courses are TOUGH and the pressure is on. I enjoy it but to a lesser degree.

I am virtually using my life savings to obtain my LVN and failure is simply NOT an option for me. This stress sometimes makes life very difficult.

Yes, I did CHOOSE to go back to school to create a better life for me and my girls, hopefully I will be sane when I am done :0)

Persepctive, perception is the key. So, I guess the bottom line is a don't feel like I am living a dream but maybe I need a reality check?

Anonymous said...

There is a great prof from Princeton (I believe) who lectures on James Joyce's "Ulysses," and it is available on CD. A friend gave me the first installment some time ago, but I've lost track of where to get the rest. I need to do some research. I'd really like to revisit the classics this year.

Your commitment to continuing education is inspiring; keep us posted.