Frustration leads to an eventual relief (well sort of)

The laptop is still down. I called Avaratech support and they were about as helpful as my grandmother in identifying the problem. The recovery disks don't seem to work and unless I figure something out I will (1) have to find someone with working recovery disks (wink wink) (2) send the laptop in for repair.

My weekend was a lot less exasperating. Spending Memorial Day Weekend in New Hampshire, with friends, was the buffer I needed. I had started working at SleepTech the Monday after school ended and have since wined about not taking more time off. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday provided the perfect opportunity. Needless to say, doing a whole lot of nothing while engaging in a whole lot of something was exciting, relaxing, and enjoyable—as advertised. (Is that opaque enough for you?)

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about: the Prince of Ghana, Lilly's barking patterns, Brian's driving skills, Jeremy’s amazing sense of navigation (we were betting he would never find us) the very generous hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. B (who made me an egg-McMuffin breakfast sandwich!!), Badnarik's new-found New Hampshire celebrity status, Jeremy's ability to (a) identify my voice before I could introduce myself—(I would make a horrible Russian spy, really an embarrassment to the institution) (b) his remarkable phone patience for our multi hour phone marathon (part of it spent sitting in a shall-we say rather disgusting parking lot).

A great many thanks to both Brian and Jeremy--- we should make this a Memorial Day Weekend tradition.

On to the frustration (and relief):

Someone once told me that I'm a very one-dimensional person. I didn’t believe them, until this weekend. Consider the following:

Brian and I were playing pool (Sunday morning) and discussing the romantic relationship in "Joe College," a book both him and I were familiar with. I linked the fictional romance in the novel to my relationship with Lisa. Brian responded with the following: "Jeez Igor, [I know what you’re thinking he could have at least used ‘oy vay!’] I can't even envision you in a relationship or being romantic...I can only see you writing academic papers." (Pardon the loose quoting).

This got me thinking.... if our personality is like an alphabet whose letters (A-Z) represent the spectrum of humanity, then most people can only relate to me in A-J (a completely imaginary personality component that for my purposes includes academia, work , studying etc...).

J-Z is rarely explored or seen. This was confirmed by both Danielle and Clara. But if I'm only defined by a single side or dimension then I could only befriend (in a platonic or romantic friendship) equally bold A-Jers.

Here, size matters. A-J is a fairly narrow spectrum and is as satisfying as a small (2 x 4) blanket on a cold winter night. In other words, if my friendships revolve around A-J and my friends find it difficult to relate to me on other levels (components, J-Z) then other interests (needs etc...) will go unmet.

Panic stricken, I began making phone calls. I wanted to both identify the problem and find a solution. Danielle and I decided (after 3 hours on the phone) that I intimidate people. At work I quizzed Nancy on why I'm unapproachable in the J-Z categories. But none of this helped. Finally I called Laura.

She told me that everyone has their A-J (for some it's academics, for others it's automobiles—these traits act as hooks to pull people in) but friendships develop beyond J, towards Z. She referenced our friendship and my relationship with Clara. In both instances I’ve been able to transcend mere academia. Life provides us with the opportunity to mature, grow and change. With opportunity comes movement towards the Z (a full and comprehensive understanding).

Now if only Laura was as technologically savvy as she is intelligent...