It's hard, sometimes, to be a generalist in a world of specialists.
Generalists are, IME, far more interesting and fun to have around (and from what I've seen you wouldn't throw that statistic out any :)). And personally, life's too short and the universe too rich to want to be a specialist.
Everyone around me is better than I am at something. There is no category in which I'm the best.
*shrug* 'Good' is a far more meaningful label than 'best', I think - 'good' doesn't require anyone else to measure itself against.
Some days I start thinking why does the world need a CJ? There's no point, y'know? Vic's a better caller and Ike's a better mathematician and Mark's a better coder, so why am I wasting oxygen? Days like that are rough.
I hold the somewhat delphine attitude that existence is a gift, and needs to be enjoyed rather than justified.
But you're right, I don't unequivocally suck; I do a few things fairly well. That's pretty good right there.
And you *enjoy* doing them, which is, I feel, far more important than merely being the best. (That's one reason I never got into hardcore tournament scrabble, for instance - at that level, it's not just a game (or even an obsession), it's *work*, which tempers the enjoyment somewhat.)
The world may not *need* a CJ, but I bet it's more than glad to have one :)
Re: Here's to you CJ
Generalists are, IME, far more interesting and fun to have around (and from what I've seen you wouldn't throw that statistic out any :)). And personally, life's too short and the universe too rich to want to be a specialist.
Everyone around me is better than I am at something. There is no category in which I'm the best.
*shrug* 'Good' is a far more meaningful label than 'best', I think - 'good' doesn't require anyone else to measure itself against.
Some days I start thinking why does the world need a CJ? There's no point, y'know? Vic's a better caller and Ike's a better mathematician and Mark's a better coder, so why am I wasting oxygen? Days like that are rough.
I hold the somewhat delphine attitude that existence is a gift, and needs to be enjoyed rather than justified.
But you're right, I don't unequivocally suck; I do a few things fairly well. That's pretty good right there.
And you *enjoy* doing them, which is, I feel, far more important than merely being the best. (That's one reason I never got into hardcore tournament scrabble, for instance - at that level, it's not just a game (or even an obsession), it's *work*, which tempers the enjoyment somewhat.)
The world may not *need* a CJ, but I bet it's more than glad to have one :)