Sorry, There Is No Blog This Week

This week, I’ve been sick. I flat out don’t feel like writing a blog.

Being a planner (see last post), I had a full list of things to do for every day of this week, which I made out last week in a fit of obsessive zeal. This week, I've been looking at how many things on that list are absolutely necessary, and which ones just don’t matter.

I have decided to continue attending my classes and doing my homework. I am still actively job searching this week, although I cancelled my registration at a job fair. I didn’t think sneezing on recruiters and wiping my nose before handing over my resume would be a positive way to stand out.

Other than that, I have been resting as much as possible, which seems to be helping.

I just don’t care about any of my other “obligations” right now. So you’re not actually looking at a blog post. I just didn’t feel like writing one.

Living by the (Date)book

It’s a potential tragedy: I’ve lost my datebook.

I strive to keep my life simple. But even though I’m unemployed, I’ve still managed to book (and sometimes overbook) my time. I’ve got classes and homework, now that I’m a student again. I have job searching and networking activities. I have miscellaneous obligations, like doctor’s appointments, activities with friends and family, and the occasional theater ticket.

In short, I have a regulated, scheduled life. I have to keep track of it.

Add to this that I am an ardent list maker and planner. I write down everything I need to do, and set deadlines for myself by adding items to my calendar. And I write things down because there is so much to keep track of, that if I didn’t schedule it, I’d forget it.

Now, with the loss of my datebook, I don’t know what to do or when. Am I supposed to have tea at the White House on Monday? Am I supposed to pay the utilities bill by the 29^th? Was I planning to have a novel written by Wednesday?

Luckily, the doctor’s office will likely call me with a reminder before my appointment (if I have one). But what about all those other plans and tasks, whatever they are? Will this development bring a huge dose of happy spontaneity into my life? Or will I just degenerate into a ball of anxiety?

I don’t know what to expect. Losing my datebook was not scheduled in my datebook.

Common Sense

It’s true what they say – common sense isn’t that common.

Common sense describes an idea so basic and sensible that it’s shared by all. Is there really such a thing?

I was driving to my volunteer shift one day after a snow storm. The roads were clear, thanks to the city plows and a little melting. However, when I came into a residential neighborhood, I found a man throwing large chunks of ice across the road. I had to slow down to a crawl to make my way through this obstacle course of icebergs that were big enough to tear a hole in my undercarriage.

His common sense told him that he lived on the shady side of the street and if he ever wanted the ice to melt off his property, he needed to throw it somewhere else. He has seen other people do this and thought it was a reasonable idea.

I suppose his common sense also told him that the road in front of his house was heated or at least hotter than his property and therefore, the ice would melt away quickly. His common sense also must have told him that vehicles of all sizes, including compact cars but barring the Titanic, can easily crush icebergs.

My common sense told me that I’d be lucky to get through his street without damage to my car.

This idea of throwing ice across the road, while not shared by all, is common around here. But is it actually sensible? The city, who is in charge of clearing the road of snow and ice, would not think so. I, wincing and bouncing all the way through this rough off-roading experience, did not think so.

Do you have examples of not-so-common sense?

Plagiarism

This week in one of my classes, we discussed how to avoid the dangers of the internet in violating copyright on images. While we did not discuss text, the same thing goes for that, too.

In my working life, I’ve run into plenty of people, of all different ages, who believe that writing consists of finding information on the internet, copying it and pasting it into a Word document. Furthermore, they’ll accept any source of information as valid, presumably because it’s posted on the internet (but don’t get me started on that).

The copy-and-paste method of writing is called plagiarism.

It’s fine if you have to look up some information in order to write something. It’s fine if you use that information, even some of it word for word, as long as you cite your sources. If you only paraphrase someone else’s ideas, you should cite that source too.

Don’t let the internet mesmerize you into the idea that everything that’s out there belongs to everyone. You might be able to access it for free, but you can’t take credit for it.

You must significantly change a piece of writing (or an image) in order to call it your own. But while you’re at it, why don’t you just create a whole new piece that truly is all your own?

If you know of any links to informative sites on this subject, please post them in the comments section (with credit given where it’s due, of course!).