Thursday, February 21, 2002
Hmm, how to describe today...
The most newsworthy thing that happened was I went & put a note on the windshield of the car that keeps parking in our spot & keeps doing burnouts up the complex driveway. If he doesn't comply, I'll just pass the licence plate details on to the body corporate manager - that's what he's paid to deal with anyway.
Otherwise a very average day at work:
Got to work. Sent a fax to my property manager about new housemate. Organised carpet cleaning for next week. Talked on the phone with a mate who's travelled up to Brisbane on the govt dollar & wanted to know where to go once the meetings were done. Did some database work. Lunch. More database stuff. More phone calls. More reading. Went home.
The highlight of today was lunch; I went & sat in the courtyard of my building & continued reading "The Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain De Botton (it's also a series being shown on the ABC as part of Compass on Sunday nights). (Hey - the ABC Shop is selling this for $22, but you can get it at Academic Remainders for $15) I had my book, my Ham, Cheese & Seeded Mustard on Turkish bread sandwich, and I had a warm day with a light breeze - joy.
I've never read any books on philosophy, but was attracted to how this one looks at timeless problems & how various philosophers would've approached them.
At the moment I'm reading the chapter regarding 'Seneca on Frustration', but I won't comment on it as I haven't finished it yet. My favourite thus far has been 'Epicurus on Not Having Enough Money'. Epicurus seemed to have his priorities in order; he said that all you really need to be happy is 1. Friendship, 2. Freedom and 3. Thought. Sure, you can have a huge house and fast car & all that crap, but if you're alone at the end of the day, or forced to work in a job you hate just to make the repayments, how happy are you, really?
I've had a look around the web & this book seems to get a bit of a slam for being a sort of "dummies guide", but I doubt the reviewers have even read the book. As for me, this will probably lead to more reading on the area - I'm starting to become quite interested. If only there was 'Socrates on Being Mugged & Stabbed by Junkies'...
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