Tuesday, Sept. 01, 2009 - 7:23 a.m.

First day of classes yesterday here too. I was filled with joy and relief that I didn't have to be stuck in a classroom, teaching. I do sort of miss taking classes. As an undergrad, in particular, where there's not much else to worry about-- just show up and they tell you interesting stuff and give you a list of interesting things to read and then send you home to read them.

I love the excitement of early fall semester. Everyone arriving, getting lost. I went up to the coffeeshop by campus to set up and work a little and soak up the early-fall-semester atmosphere. I brought wire to cut, file, and bend. I was reasonably productive. There were people at the next table going on and on about their RPG. They didn't talk about anything else, and they were there when I arrived and still there when I left; every time I thought they might be talking about reality, it rapidly became clear that no, they were talking about their RPG. The woman had that "smart sarcastic geek girl" way of speaking that I also have, only she talked a lot more. But since it was all about the game, it never quite became interesting. Well, no, that's not true; early on she talked about going to see Twilight with her boyfriend, who hadn't realized it was a teen girl thing. That was amusing.

When I work in a coffeeshop and have stuff to read, I have a chance of tuning people out. When I'm doing nothing but fiddling with wire, no chance. I am a total eavesdropper, and I can't help it. Be forewarned, o ye coffeeshop chatters.

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