What Doing Nothing Consists of

16th September

2007

written by mau

My first week(end) of work has come to an end. It’s turned out to be mind boggling boring. When Ali would ask, “What did you do today”, I couldn’t really answer. I’ve decided to document what it means to do nothing in a computer lab.

7:30am - ignore work procedure and only open and start up 3 out of 21 editing rooms. Weekends don’t have more than 2 students at a time and the overkill is too much work and wastes electricity.

7:38am - begin documenting my day here in wordpress. Start up iTunes radio>Eclectic>KCRW Simulcast on my laptop using the only Ethernet connection at this station. My weekend co-worker says he doesn’t want to use the internet during work so he can read and play video games. We’re the ying and yang of the weekend.

7:43am - Update my Tadalist. Feeling stupid attempting to play along with Will Schwartz puzzles on KCRW radio.

7:50am - Remedy stupidness with Brain Age on my Nintendo DS. Unlocked a new game called “Time Passage” where I have to compare two analog clocks and answer how much time has passed. How appropriately inappropriate given my boredom.

8:20am - Co-worker arrives. Switch to playing RC Pro am and Excitebike on Nintendo Emulator on the Mac. Talk with co-workers about Nintendo, Japan, Japanese mail order brides, Okinawa, Karate Kid part 2, Clint Eastwood movies, movie spoilers, Massachusetts chicken farming.

8:40am - write that last entry.

8:41am - Listen to KCRW again, but this time, music stream. Simulcast was boring

8:48am - Chat with Allison Greenheck on IM. Not sure why she’s up at this hour on a Sunday. Turns out both her and John are Fantasy Football freaks now.

9:22am - Bored with Fantasy Football Videocasts. Hungry. the hunt for food begins.

9:35am - Found some.

11:56am - Finished watching “The Graduate” on VHS. My career pre-move was Benjamin’s life in college. My current job is Mrs. Robinson. Repetitive, safe, soul sucking, and trapped Mrs Robinson. Only as long as I let it shape me, rather than shape Mrs Robinson myself. Chilling.

12:11pm - Handed a vegan raw dairy free chocolate by Ben O while writing the last entry.

12:17pm - Looking up Mike Nichols career in IMDB

12:30pm - took a walking tour of the entire building, floor by floor. Realizing I have millions of dollars worth of resources at my fingertips with a staff ID. Planning out my own education here.

1:12pm - Wrapped up a long conversation about tango, general ballroom dancing, competition, martial arts competitions, that one time I got my ass kicked, Brazilian jujitsu, meditation, focus, chi, homeopathic healing, the power of suggestion, and doritos.

1:21pm - Tried to maintain 4 separate conversations on IM by using the same phrases with each response. Results here.

1:48pm - Walked to whole foods for lunch. 7 Veggie Curry Biryani, and Daal were too gross looking to post on mausmenu. Shared a refreshing beverage with co-worker.

3:03pm - Rocking the casbah with Culver City Dub Collective. Here… have a listen.

3:04pm - Look up the history of the Clash’s “Rock the Casbah” on wikipedia.

The song was inspired by the banning of rock music in Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini. The song gives a fabulist account of the ban being defied by the population, who proceed to “rock the casbah“. The King orders jet fighters to bomb any people in violation of the ban. The pilots ignore the orders, and instead play rock music on their cockpit radios.

3:12pm - Caught up on Twitters from 1/2 the quatro currently at the Austin City Limits music festival. Wrote the header to this Entry: My first week(end) of work has come to an end. It’s turned out to be mind boggling boring. When Ali would ask, “What did you do today”, I couldn’t really answer. I’ve decided to document what it means to do nothing today. But you’ve already read that.

3:30 - Complete my home schooling curriculum. Photography theory, Calculus 1 review, Java programming, Intro to Motion Graphics, Mixing and Mastering in Pro Tools, and PE. School begins tomorrow.

4:12 - Called a Tech Shaman by a faculty member cuz I helped him get sound to the monitors. My first tech support moment of the day and I’m off in 15 minutes.

4:30 - Walk downstairs and read “The World Without Us” on a bench as I wait for Alison to pick me up. Smile, noticing a Browne Berd, the mark of a Venice California Artist, here on the cabling of New Montgomery and Howard.