Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Keeping Up With The Clock

Or not – which is what has been happening to me over the past couple of weeks. I didn’t realize how quickly time sort of shot by until I happened to look at when I posted last. I know it’s only a couple of weeks, but I have not had a lot of time to do one of the things that keeps me balanced and sane: posting to this blog. And it is starting to show; I feel like I am developing “cracks in the foundation”, mainly because I have been going almost non-stop for a considerable length of time. And there is no sign of it stopping any time soon.

The only thing that is keeping me from totally going out of control is that I am able to sleep when I need it, for the most part. While there have been some busy shifts, I can honestly say that the activity level is just really high until it’s time to rest. Then I at least can do that.

At the moment I’m taking a break from studying. I’ve been in front of a textbook for most of the afternoon trying to soak in the nuances of writing balanced chemical equations. In a perverse way I like it. At the same time it is both challenging and relaxing, mostly because it gives me something to concentrate on. Plus, balancing a chemical equation is a lot like solving a puzzle. A mathematical puzzle, to be sure, but a puzzle just the same.

I don’t remember appreciating this as much the last time I went through a Chemistry course (almost 20 years ago); as I recall, it was much like mental torture because the instructor at the time seemed to make it purposefully difficult. This time around – different school, different instructor – it’s much less bothersome.

The only problem I have as I write this is that I have succumbed to a cold that I’ve had around my neck since the weekend. It shows no sign of abating, and I’m going to have to see how the next couple of days go, at least in terms of work. I hope I can hang. If not, then so be it. But I will do my best.

I think I need to get back to work. Let’s see if I can get back to this over the next day or two and write something that actually makes sense and is worth reading. And let’s also hope that I can get on top of that raging bull that many of us associate with the clock.

What makes me laugh is that Einstein said that time is not real. It is something that was devised by mankind so that we can put a number on events as they happen. If that is true, then why does everything that happens have a sense of being so concrete?

As I don’t know the answer to that question, I’ll have to think about it. At least for now.

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