Enjoy the Ride

Enjoy the ride.

That's what he said. Did he mention how frighteningly steep the drops were, and how unsurmountably high the subsequent climb?

Be in the moment. Feel the wind on your face as you pick up speed in the drop. Taste the sweat as you struggle upwards, eyes to the sun, blinded and thirsty. Is that what he meant?

Laugh as you realize you're about to spin out of control. Sing as you imagine the triumph of conquering that mountain. Is that what he was thinking?

It's what I'm thinking. It's what I have to think. Sometimes, I don't know if I'm falling, or climing. They're one and the same to me now. Is that what 'enjoy the ride' means?

Some high points:

Recent note to a friend:
"I've had a hard time of it over the last year, not very focused and not "feeling it". But I've since changed advisors, and we're on a neat direction...I hope. I'm at odds with the standard way of doing things in academia, in particular in the social sciences, where the wrtitten, 100 page, boring thesis reigns. I just don't believe that that's the only way to embody and display knowledge (if there is such a thing as knowledge). So, my advisor and I are working on a way to do something a little different - going to incorporate performace into it somehow. I want to be able to critique the current way of embodying knowledge - sort of critique by doing, instead of just writing. Performance studies is a relatively new branch for communication studies (Yes, I know it's existed elsewhere for a long time - but it's still "out there" for Comm). I love it. Harley is on my committee! Isn't that cool? So, even though I'm literally breaking new ground (as far as the Comm deptartment is concerned), and will be doing something more along the scope of a mini dissertation rather than a simple thesis - I'm excited about it."

And another:
"At this point I'm interested in examining how creative expression (e.g. artistic performance/product) is perceived and "commodified" as something extra-normal, heightened, or in the realm of the "other." Artists and their products - the process of artistic creation/production - seem to be commonly viewed as being able to access a realm of humanity that the "rest of us" can't quite "do" ourselves. I'm also particularly interested in the place of art in the academy: performance and art are clearly delineated as "other" than academic inquiry. The embodiment of knowledge takes all forms, and I believe that art is a powerful medium for knowledge production and dissemination - different in form than traditional social scientific academic inquiry - but no less valuable or important. So, ideally I want my thesis to confront these boundaries and to, in some way, bridge them. A big task, I know - but one that is fascinating to me."




http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/tolerance/seminar.html

A colleague sent this link as a point of possible interest/study. I need to remember to watch the webcast.