2003-01-08 - 1:14 p.m.
As of late I have seemed to lack the inspiration to write. No that�s not true, I have WANTED to write�I just feel like I am running out of things to say. I mean geez�yesterday I resorted to writing about my trip to the shrink. Has my life gotten so boring�or am I once again becoming content with life?
Looks like tonight is going to be full of Geeky Goodness once again! First off it�s COMIC DAY! And that is always cause for celebration. I am also going to a Hockey game tonight. Granted it is AHL and not NHL�but hell, $15.75 for center ice tickets 10 rows from the glass beats the $125 that I had to pay to see my poor slumping Bruins play. I can hardly wait. Sigh�but I still have this miserable work day to get through first. Oh well�perhaps it will go fast. Yeah Right!
I had the strangest�and saddest student in class yesterday. This fellah, who is in his late 30�s comes into class. He is very quiet, very polite, and amazingly attentive�ahh a dream student. But I was very surprised with his response to my standard question of how much experience do you have working with computers. He quietly admitted to having been a professor of computer science at ODU, a programmer in several languages, and a whole load of other things. Now about the moment that my jaw dropped he quickly added that about a year he suffered some serious head trauma in an accident and now has a limited form of amnesia and a damaged short-term memory. He looked at the floor and said that he can no longer understand how computers work. He still has all of this knowledge stuffed into his head, but cannot remember how it is applied�
As class moved along I watched him fairly intently and saw moments where it seemed as if he suddenly began firing on all cylinders but as soon as it happened it went away again. His questions were amazing. He asked things that proved his story true�How very sad.
But then I find myself admiring him as well. He has not let this incident ruin his life. He did not quit. He is getting back on the horse and trying to regain at least part of what he has lost. How cool is that. It leaves me wondering�would I have the courage to do the same?
Yesterday I learned�um. Well damn�I can�t remember what I learned. Oh yeah I remember now�I must have tried to block the images from my mind. I learned that sometimes it sucks working at a place of learning and research. I had a young lady come into my lab yesterday (I figure she was a freshman in High School) putting together research for a health class project. Problem was she was not very computer literate so I had to help her find the information that she was after. Ok so far so good right? I hear ya�Mr. Bear what�s the big deal? Well her project was to find 2 pictures (male and female) for each of the following conditions�Herpes, Genital Warts, Scabies, and Chlamydia. Oh lucky me. Not only did I have to look at these pictures (oh yuck!), but I had to deal with a squeamish, embarrassed, giggly teen age girl at the same time. Oh how I love my job sometimes�
So what did you learn today?
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