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 | And My Thesis Is...
entry by Path Walker
2/21/2006 11:43 PM
| Going back to college is quite an enlightening experience. I could not, and cannot, express in words how thankful I am to not be working; and I'm extremely thankful that Ana has the job and the love in her heart to support us and to have encouraged me to take this step... even though she's been pressuring me to do it for the past 3 years and takes every available opportunity to tell everyone we know that, "he finally did it after 3 years of me nagging him about it."
I've learned that I am indeed smarter than a lot of people, just not about things most people are smart about...
I've learned that I am old enough and wise enough, but I don't have to let anyone know it...
I've been reminded that I'm a phenomenal writer by an English professor who promises to tear apart every last written thing I hand to her in her personal effort to make me the best writer I can possibly be (and I cannot thank her enough for that, cruel as it may sound to anyone else)...
I've learned that I'm attractive to 18 and 19 year old females... Which is something that will never cease to make me feel all "warm and fuzzy" inside. It's nice to have really hot looking young women coming right up to you asking for "help with the class" and then the topic very quickly slides right into "what're you doing after class" and "do you want to get some lunch/coffee?"
So, for the aforementioned English class, our next project is to write a research paper, which for me - being a writer and researcher - is a somewhat easy task. I toyed around with the ideas of researching familiar topics such as ancient Egyptian magic and religion (and whether it was so powerful as to be able to bring someone back from the dead to identify their murderer, then let them lapse back into death where they belonged); modern magickal practices (specifically related to healing and energy work); ghosts and modern research/"hunting" to scientifically "prove" their existence; where Jesus learned the things he taught (not "god," people... c'mon, you actually believe that??) as in his travels to Egypt, India, etc; and Mary Magdalen as the Holy Grail (Jesus' wife, mother of his children, and quite possibly one of his religious teachers of Egyptian mysteries)... I'd been bouncing these topics around in my head for the past week and a half trying to pick which one to do. Well, today I had to choose. In lieu of showing us how to do research and cite references on the in-class computer (it's mounted in a desk at the front of the room and projects out of a module in the ceiling onto a hanging screen over the whiteboard) - since she "couldn't get it to work" - she decided to sit at the small table in the front of the room and, as she called names on her attendance sheet, asked the person what their topic was and opened it up for class discussion. Therein it took her an hour and fifteen minutes to go through the attendance roster.
Now, I like the way she teaches this class because she gets the class involved. She doesn't just stand there and preach to us (although, perhaps ironically, she is a Methodist minister... though you couldn't tell it from meeting her, seeing the holistic shop she runs, and listening to some of the things she says), she encourages us to openly talk about anything and everything she mentions. At first this was kind of daunting, given that none of us knew each other. Now, we just don't care - we'll talk about whatever comes up. Today, it was research topics. Thursday it might be whatever's big in the news.
So given that my name is relatively low on the list (thanks, dad!) I had a little time to go over my choices as well as listen to most everyone elses' and the overall responses to theirs both from the professor and from the rest of the class. So I'm sitting there staring at my notebook, underlining things, boxing things, circling things, writing a little more detail about things, when it hits me...
Sure, I've researched all of these topics, but these are things that are avidly being researched and published by a whole bunch of people all around the globe. In essence, I wouldn't be revealing anything that wasn't general, public knowledge available at libraries and bookstores, much less on TV. I wanted something... "juicier."
Urban exploration as an effective means of historical preservation.
I was the only person in the class that stated a thesis statement as my research topic, and the prof made sure to point that out. Once I'd stated it (and re-stated it, since I apparently mumbled or something) the prof said, and I quote, "Gee, Matt, could you be a little more specific?" with a bemused smile and a chuckle - she was kidding. I'd been almost too specific, and she said she loved the topic. Immediately, I had people asking me about urban exploration (including one of the aforementioned hot 19 year olds, the redhead sitting next to me... /drool!) and how in fact it would be effective historical preservation. That's when things get a bit fuzzy, because I was trying to focus on talking to the redhead while attempting to listen to at least 2 conversations about my topic that were simultaneously occurring in the classroom, one of which involved a very outspoken kid who looks (literally) like a young Jesus Christ (ironically he mentioned so himself today in the class... yet another reason to kill him - I mean, nuuuuuthin'...) and the professor herself (erego I kind of should have had a vested interest in what they were saying). The redhead of course won out, but only partially because my brain was in my pants.
Last night, Ana and I went to a concert at Northern Lights to see Live; we got great spots right in front of the stage, and of course right in front of a huge set of speakers hanging from the ceiling and sitting on the stage and floor. Needless to say, the show rocked my skull and my hearing is damn near shot; therein, it was extremely difficult to pay attention to 3 conversations at once with ringing, partially deaf ears.
My dilemma, as it were, is that I have to cite five resources for this paper and one of them has to be a book, magazine, or journal. I can pull websites out of my ass on the topic, and have at least one interview that I've given to someone else who was working on a similar project for one of their college classes, but I have no books. I know that Ninjalicious (may he rest in peace) came out with a book, but I don't know its title or whether I could pick one up at any of the local bookstores. I could find out easily enough by slipping on over to his site, but if anyone reads this and has the info, please please please feel free to post it in reply to this entry. I'd be greatly appreciative, offer a thousand thanks, and attempt to ensure that the fleas of a thousand camels never infest your underpants. If there are other relevant books on the topic out there, and you feel like sharing titles (and maybe authors, ISBN numbers, prices, quotes, and the occasional nude photo [I'm talkin' to you, ladies *wink*]) that would be awesome.
I'm actually looking forward to writing this one. I always look forward to writing, but this is something I can be passionate about because I'm involved in it on all fronts. I love a live infiltration as much as the next guy, as my previous entries have alluded to, but visiting an abandoned site that I've researched, a truly historic site that's sitting there rotting away, offers a feeling of true purpose. My infiltrations border on amateur tactical industrial espionage where I'm just there to see if I can get in, out, and away while snapping as many cool pictures as I can. My explorations of abandonments go far deeper than that, though at times that can be just as intense. To quote the author of a book I'm reading, "Having knowledge of an area's history gives my adventures greater meaning." (William J. O'Hern - Adirondack Characters and Campfire Yarns) In all too many cases these days, our photos and experiences in some of these locations are going to be all that people can reference about these places. The Saratoga County Homestead seems to be very well known among local teenagers who have literally trashed the place, but we had the toughest time coming up with historical info on the place, and our photos are probably going to be the last views anyone has of it if the owner of the property knocks it down. I've mentioned the Homestead as well as other places in previous entries (I think). We are the last effort at historical preservation of these places, and I know (or at least feel like I know) that I'm not the only one who feels this way about this hobby.
Most importantly, I have a pretty good opportunity to expose my class to Urban Exploration in a very positive light. Given the responses I got today alone, it's not something that a lot of people know about (which we UErs know and appreciate) and being able to instill a primary opinion of UrbEx as a beneficial hobby is a great thing. For the sake of the paper, I'll feel obligated to mention "non-ethical UErs" as well as people that visit sites for the sole purpose of destroying them; but the focus will be on the better aspects of what we do.
I know that some of you out there read what I write (benefit of seeing the number of views in a board/thread), so I invite any and all of you to share your opinions on this and offer me whatever guidance you wish. Especially valuable resources. I can't thank you enough for anything you provide.
~PW
[last edit 2/22/2006 5:56 AM by Path Walker - edited 1 times]
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