Thursday, August 10, 2017

An update, and some musings

I'm sitting in a café at the Mainz train station, studying for my two remaining exams. I am studying the material that I compared to a treadmill the last time I was writing here. And it still feels like that while studying. But studying for exams is also something I've gotten better at during the years. I feel like it's kind of like sketching - well, I've never really done much sketching, so maybe an actual artist can tell me if the comparison is good.

When the subject you want to review is small enough, you can go through every single detail. You can start in one corner and just move out from there, filling in all the bits you need. But if what you need to review is the equivalent of a mural, that's not the way to go. It's too overwhelming. So, you draw the biggest, least detailed sketch that you can. Then you fill in one more level of detail. Then one more, then one more.

That's what I'm doing now. That treadmill class met for an hour and a half twice per week for the last two semesters. And in two weeks, I have to answer questions about it. And next week, I have a different exam. So, splitting my head a bit to fit both things in - we'll see how it goes.

Like I said, I'm currently in a café. I have been wondering about café culture in the last few years. I know personally it has really been a positive thing. All through my college years, both in the States and in Germany, I have done a substantial amount of work in cafés - whether it be one at the train station here or the Mills College Tea Shop, or the one café in Berkeley where I always went when I had my German class at UC Berkeley (On a side note - that was the only café where I really was a regular. Only twice a week, but always those days at the same time when the same people were working. They started doing really creative designs in the foam of my cappuccinos - starting with friendly and lovely flowers, hearts, etc. - until one time, I swear they drew a pig in my cup. Not sure what they were trying to say with that one, but it made me smile.). There's less pressure than in a library, there's readily available caffeine, and there's not the pull of lounging around that you get at home. I feel this café culture has really increased in the last few years. But I wonder if that's also part of the function that "The Club" used to fill for men, back in the day. Maybe that was just smoking and talking, not so much working, but I've found it a useful place to collect my thoughts and get some work done.

When I don't get distracted by writing blog entries, that is.

I suppose I also have a soft spot for them because I used to work in a café, in the one café in my hometown and I did my best to make that one into a place where this kind of work could be done. So, I appreciate a good café. And a good pig drawn in the foam of my cappuccino.

Back to the algebraic treadmill.

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