I meant to say "Hi" back

There's a cartoon I like, I think it's a Far Side, where a cow looks up and says, "Hey, this is grass! We've been eating grass!" This speaks to me, and not just because I like cows (and grass), but because it crystallizes the importance of always knowing what the hell it is you are doing.

By that I'm not talking about competence; I mean literally, what are you doing right now and why? I feel fortunate in that by nature I initially take everything at face value. This has its disadvantages, of course, in that when I pass someone in that hall and they say "Hi" it takes a moment of conscious thought for me to realize that I'm expected to respond. However, it all but totally prevents me from taking things for granted.

I recommend this as a general way to approach life. It makes boredom all but impossible, because to some extent you teat everything, no matter how familiar, as if you're seeing it for the first time.

So as I sit here tonight, tired after getting about 2 hours sleep last night (don't ask), and I suddenly realize I have to go to work in the morning and talk about math for 4 hours straight from 8:20 to 12:20. And before I get around to thinking about how much I enjoy what I do every day, my initial reaction is "Really? Math? I'm going to talk about math for 4 hours straight tomorrow? Why in the world would anyone purposely do that? And whatever am I going to say?"

But I'll show up at school tomorrow, notice that that's where I am and I'm sure I'll come up with something. And I can't help but think that the fact that I started with "Really? Math?" is part of what makes the whole thing interesting and worthwhile for me and the students.