ramblings

Having Fun the Right Way

For a long time, I’ve had this feeling that I’m not always having fun the right way. I know that sounds strange, but hear me out, because I think a lot of people fall into the same category. Let’s start with the easiest one to talk about: reading. I’ve talked with plenty of people who are apologetic about what they read. This might be because they like to read mysteries or Young Adult books or that they mainly read short stories or magazines or graphic novels. For whatever the reason, it seems there’s this cultural sense out there that there’s

Having Fun the Right Way Read More »

The Illusion of Time

I was reminded yesterday yet again of just how bad I am at figuring out how long ago something happened. I was talking to a coworker who, in my mind, has been working with me perhaps half the time I’ve been at my job. In my head, they came on “a while” after I started, and so that works out to about 8 years ago, give or take. When I asked them how long they’d really been here, I discovered I was a bit off. They’d been here for 14.5 years. I think a large part of that wonkiness has

The Illusion of Time Read More »

The Origin of Personality through a Religious Lens

As I’ve been taking this Psychology of Personality class, something that’s come up multiple times is what the origins of some of these different personality traits are. In other words, why is it that some people are extroverts and others are empathetic and others are neurotic? We’ve discussed a number of different causes, from the effects of upbringing, to the environment you were raised in, to genetic factors. Another item that’s come up multiple times is to trace the roots of those personality types back to evolution. All of this has got me thinking (as usual). I can see the

The Origin of Personality through a Religious Lens Read More »

What Makes Something “Young Adult”?

I read reviews and chatter about books online. It comes with the territory of being an author and librarian. And a personal pet peeve of mine is when books are dismissed as being “too young adult.” (I mean, of course it would irritate me, seeing as how I write young adult literature. I’d like to make a particular side note of an even bigger pet peeve: when adults criticize a YA book for being “too YA.” That’s like me getting angry that my chocolate ice cream tastes like chocolate.) From context, I gather that when people talk about something being

What Makes Something “Young Adult”? Read More »

Back to Psychology

The new school year is under way for everyone. MC headed off yesterday to fifth grade, and Daniela started her sophomore year this morning. Denisa’s teaching her second day of classes today, and I’ve already been back on the reference desk, visiting classes, and scheduling research appointments. (Note: the work never ends for me. It’s not like I’ve got a summer vacation. I’ve got more of a “summer of doing something else for part of the time.”) This year, I’m also going back to another psychology class. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I

Back to Psychology Read More »

×