Life, lately

Satu is in town, and Juha came back, so we all went out drinking on Friday. Ran into other friends while we were at it, too. I kind of like accidentally bumping into friends while walking around town, it cheers me up even when I am not feeling particularly sociable. Ran into four of them this morning too, which is pretty good for one morning.

On Saturday went to measure my new apartment. Was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of things that had be measured, but I think I got at least most of them right.

Sophia and her friend Jenny have been staying over at my place since Saturday. I am trying to show them the city and probably am not doing a very good job, but they seem happy enough. They are very sweet and young (21) and seem to be enthusiatic about their science(s), and I am trying very hard not to be openly cynical about academic careers. Although I am probably wrong (not about being cynical but about trying to conceal the cynicism) - one should not hide the realities of life from young people. I think I would have been more openly cynical if they were 16 or 18, but at 21 they are either about to notice everything for themselves very soon (if not already), or actually happen to like the academic life in spite of all its drawbacks.

(I was very enthusiastic about my science at 21. By 23 I was having doubts and by 25 they became a certainty. And then I lived happily ever after, chewing the granite of science at my own very slow pace and making my living in a much easier field. When I was 18 I thought that if I ever do something like I will regret it every morning for the rest of my life. So far the regret has mysteriously failed to appear. The only thing I ever regretted was spending quite a lot of my parents' money in the process.)

Meira's bachelor party was also on Saturday, and was a lot of fun, at least until my allergic reaction to the cat (it was at Killeri's place and I am quite allergic to Zenya and they have carpet floors downstairs) reached some ungodly proportions in spite of the amount of drugs consumed earlier in the day. Still coughing. They should really invent some better drugs.