Join the club?
You're either in or you're out.
Today I went for a job interview that included a technical exam. In the part of the interview before the exam, things were friendly, but formal. After the exam (I did okay) and the atmosphere changed considerably. We had a great chat about IT work in Dublin and working in Ireland generally. When I left, he wished me all the best and I could tell he really meant it. I'd joined the club of job applicants that can walk the walk (at 1st-tier interviews, I guess there are a lot of that can't).
Some years ago I did a 10-day Vipassana meditation course. It's a full-immersion thing. You're not meant to talk to anyone except if you need help from your teacher or for practical concerns. And meditating most of the day is hard. It's quite common to really want to leave about half way through and indeed, on my course, some people did. I was supposed to hand in my car keys when I arrived, but I "forgot" so I was in the unique position of just being able to pack up and take off in the middle of the night. Many nights I really wanted to. At the end of the 10 days the atmosphere changed completely. Congratulatory food was bought out, special books, a pin-up board with information about meetings and so on. By virtue of surviving the 10-days, I'd joined the club of initiated Vipassana mediators.
Right now, I'm reflecting on both my good fortune for new clubs joined as well as missing some venerable old ones, from which I voluntarily removed myself.
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On another note entirely, I spent some time yesterday in Merrion Square - a lovely private Edwardian square that fell into disuse before being gifted to the city and turned into a public park. It was lovely. It's hard to describe the quality of nature here. There is a greyness and a coldness to the light which sets things off. It seems to imbue everything with a sadness, quiteness, and seriousness. Oscar Wilde lived in the surrounding area for some time. I don't know if that's related or not.
Today I went for a job interview that included a technical exam. In the part of the interview before the exam, things were friendly, but formal. After the exam (I did okay) and the atmosphere changed considerably. We had a great chat about IT work in Dublin and working in Ireland generally. When I left, he wished me all the best and I could tell he really meant it. I'd joined the club of job applicants that can walk the walk (at 1st-tier interviews, I guess there are a lot of that can't).
Some years ago I did a 10-day Vipassana meditation course. It's a full-immersion thing. You're not meant to talk to anyone except if you need help from your teacher or for practical concerns. And meditating most of the day is hard. It's quite common to really want to leave about half way through and indeed, on my course, some people did. I was supposed to hand in my car keys when I arrived, but I "forgot" so I was in the unique position of just being able to pack up and take off in the middle of the night. Many nights I really wanted to. At the end of the 10 days the atmosphere changed completely. Congratulatory food was bought out, special books, a pin-up board with information about meetings and so on. By virtue of surviving the 10-days, I'd joined the club of initiated Vipassana mediators.
Right now, I'm reflecting on both my good fortune for new clubs joined as well as missing some venerable old ones, from which I voluntarily removed myself.
--
On another note entirely, I spent some time yesterday in Merrion Square - a lovely private Edwardian square that fell into disuse before being gifted to the city and turned into a public park. It was lovely. It's hard to describe the quality of nature here. There is a greyness and a coldness to the light which sets things off. It seems to imbue everything with a sadness, quiteness, and seriousness. Oscar Wilde lived in the surrounding area for some time. I don't know if that's related or not.
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