Thursday, November 01, 2007

Recovery: Resurrecting Old Interests

This will be a short post, as I am down with the flu. I have to share with you my rediscovery of some old interests. I love books. I was unable to read regular sized print until the sixth grade when a friend stole a magnifying glass out of her science class for me to try.

I went to the dictionary first and broke all library rules by screaming with joy. No way was I not going to go back to her science teacher and officially have the miracle of a 10x hand held magnifier. My friend and I interrupted a class in session as I breathlessly told my story. My girlfriend, the teacher and class cried in joy for me. Needless to say nobody got into trouble and I was provided with the reading glass.

I quickly fell in love with our local public library. I'd go to the card catelogue and find a subject of interest and browse the titles. When computers came in I was shut out of the library i loved. I still can't freely browse the online card catelogue, as it is a PC with no provisions for the legally blind.

So, I'd forgotten all about this part of myself. Oh, sure, I have about 4,000 ebooks and about 20 print books in my possession. But I found out years ago that when I share my excitement over something the odds were 10 to 1 that my friends would roll their eyes and plead with me to stop with that... So, I just kind of gave it up.

Much as I love my boston friend, we are radically different as people. He's the most visually oriented person I've ever met. He can't fathom how I'd rather listen to a football game instead of "watching" one. The visual experience of football for me looks like a pile of laundry wearing helmits and sneakers running up and down the field!

I love math, he LOATHES it! Even our taste in humor is radically different. But I enjoy his faithfulness and optimism as a friend. He has introduced me to whole new worlds on the Internet. Social networks being the most intriguing.

Facebook, myspace and a few places I just didn't pick up on. Facebook is a busy site. Lots of quizzes and the like. I felt totally retarded when I compared my taste in movies with this man and didn't have a clue on 95% of the films he likes! He reads books, but I believe is more into pod casts and magazines. Things that take less time to absorb. Me, I like the 1,000 page tomb that becomes woven into your life to where, when its over, you are almost sad.

Twitter is a lovely compromise. I can follow the amazing thinking of a vast group of people and still have time for a life. Blogs take too long and I just don't have time to do all the exploring my brain longs to do.

Then, somewhere I read about a social site for book lovers. Shelfari.com. Oh, my GOD! I have a happy brain! I spent several days attempting to remember the titles of every book I've ever read and have around 200 plus books on my shelf. My wish list shelf is probably bigger. No overlapping, except on a few books I want personal copies of. I am finding animal lovers, disaster novel lovers and several "love that author" groups. Oh man, I feel like I rediscovered an entire piece of my personality that had gotten lost in the shuffle.

I bet my Boston buddy will breathe a sigh of relief, as I will now stop trying to "teach" him how to love math!