Star struck

I've been pondering the mysteries of being a fan this week. I've never really understood the whole celebrity culture. In the main, I'm guessing because we didn't have a TV or a whole lot of choices for movies when I was going through the teenage crush stage. But last Friday night, at nearly 50 years old, I got a taste of what it means to be a teenage-like fan.

Alan Alda, of MASH fame, was in town. He was here for the World Science Festival (#WSFBrisbane), a program to bring science and scientists to the people. A great initiative, and one that he is obviously very passionate about. We attended a play reading that he had written, called 'Dear Albert'. It was a fascinating insight into a scientist I've never paid much attention to. Sure, Einstein's theories have had life-changing impacts, but I don't understand them; I've never needed to understand them; so I've never really taken an interest in Albert, the man—the rather flawed and very human man.

After the play, we were told (Daniel coerced the usher) that we might be able to meet Alan Alda at the stage door. When we got to the stage door foyer, he was sitting with Brian Greene, a scientist. (Prof Greene is another scientist I don't understand. Eleven dimensions! I'm not sure that the fourth isn't just a man-made construct.) I'm sure they were having a quiet chat and enjoying being away from the crowds. There was no-one else there! Thank you, Brisbane, for being too polite to barge in. I know we weren't the only fans in town.

For about five minutes we chatted, he graciously signed our MASH DVD box and one of his autobiographies, and then we left. What did we chat about? I can't tell you.  What I can tell you is that it was probably not articulate or intelligent. It represented neither my abilities nor personality. I remember aiming for 'polite' when I asked for his autograph. I suspect I may have missed the mark and hit sycophantic. He would never have guessed that I spent five years as a professional communicator, that I have a science degree, or that I have a Masters in wordsmithing. So many intelligent things I could have said, but didn't.

I've always held that all people, are not just created equal, but are equal, regardless of their current 'status', simply by virtue of them being people. I have high regard for many individuals, but never felt that anyone warranted special attention based simply on their celebrity status. But meeting Alan Alda was not a literary, but a literal, adrenalin rush—I was shaking when we walked away. Ridiculous! I met a man, I shook his hand, I uttered a few idiotic phrases, and I felt like a giddy teenager.

On a more logical level, I have an even higher regard for the man than I did before the WSF. I listened to his speech to the National Press Club after meeting him. For nearly six years, I tried (often in vain) to teach scientists how to 'write good'; how to communicate scientific principles and findings with integrity, but in a way that Joe Public could understand and relate to what they had to say. It often felt like an uphill battle, and I was just working with a small group of specialists in one company. I am thrilled to know there is a whole university school that teaches them before they hit the real world. This week I have purposefully avoided watching MASH. It feels almost like a betrayal to all that Alan Alda has achieved in the past 30 years to relegate him back to 'merely' being Hawkeye. (I'm sure I'll get over it.)

Logic aside, my brush with fandom has bemused me.  There are no benefits, short-term or long-term, to meeting Alan Alda, but a week later, the memory still brings a smile to my face, and I have an understanding of why we call it 'star struck'.

Creativity Journal - Inspired

Yesterday I was suffering from a bad case of "unemployed blahs". These come and go through the weeks. I have never, ever been out of work for more than a couple of weeks. Now four months and counting. sigh The really disheartening thing is that I am (supposedly) so much more employable than I ever have been. Since the last time I went job hunting, I have gained a Bachelor's degree, I have gained a Graduate Certificate, I am half way through a Masters degree. double sigh

You read these inspiring articles online or in the magazines - if you're not doing what you love, make some changes, get a new qualification, start again, blah, blah, blah. Well, I did that and at this point in time, it's not working out so well.

Which isn't to say I regret it. I don't. I am very proud of my qualifications. Not the end result, the bit of paper, per se, but that I actually stuck it out - through all the stress, the illness (yes, studying made me seriously ill), the never-ending-ness of it. I'm starter, not a finisher. I love new projects. I love shiny. I love potential. I get bored with the day-to-day of things pretty quickly. Dishes, laundry, filing, timesheets - blurgh. But I stuck it out for six long years and I actually finished it. I proved to myself, in a grand way, that although I don't enjoy the blah, I can see it through.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, oh, look at that ...

The irony of my unemployment is not lost on me. Most jobs in my post-grad field are Sydney based. If there is one place on the planet that I simply do not wish to live (and neither does the family), it's Sydney. We're not really city people; we 'cope' with Brisbane living. I think Sydney would send us all around the bend within a week. Most jobs in my grad field,for someone with my limited experience, are site based. Which would be wonderful, if I were the standard graduate with five years experience - mid 20s, young, unattached, footloose and fancy free (I have vague memories of those days). The 'fly in-fly out' or 'drive in-drive out' lifestyle gets very old, very quickly even if you are in the right age bracket. For someone fast approaching, ummm, twice that age bracket, with a teenager, with a husband, with a life - it gets old even before you start. And my pre-grad field? Well, I'm too qualified and no-one's even nibbling.

Some days I really enjoy staying home, getting up late, pottering about in my PJs, baking in the middle of the day, not stressing about how to fit my studies into 5 minute blocks of time. But some days the budget and boredom and the lack of mental challenge and, quite frankly, the rejection, all pile up and this feels like a big pile of poo. double sigh.

photo credit: f1uffster (Jeanie) via photopin cc

And yesterday was one of those days. I thought I'd check the next creativity journal challenge. I got thinking about it. I worked on something that meets the challenge. And then I was inspired. I'm still thinking it through. I'm not sure how it's going to pan out. I'm not convinced it the answer to my unemployment blues, but I'm going to take the first step or two and see what happens.


One thing's for certain, today will be too busy for the blues to stick around for long. I'll let you know how it all pans out.

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Today at work I forecast projects I know I'm involved in over the next couple of months. If I could find a clone or two, I'd still be too busy, but strange enough, that just makes me extraordinarily happy. All the work I have forecast is editing work. Yippee! Not quite sure how I juggle 70 hour weeks for a couple of months, but I'm actually sure it won't actually amount to quite that much (I hope!).
To top off my day, as I pulled into the driveway, my phone rang. My past supervisor, who has moved north, rang to see if I could take on another editing role.
He-he-he.