Logs: Personal Introductions

[Bjorn]

Tim's intro:

[16:31] Bjorn: It is Tuesday.  Normally,  you'd be at work, but you're not.  Which would be a good thing, except that the reason you've booked the day off is because you got a letter from the U of T, asking you to come in for an interview with their "Career and Life Planning Centre" as a "normal part of the application process for mature students."

[16:32] Halbarad: grumbles as he bustles around his apartment, getting ready for the always-enriching experience of heading down to campus. Negatively enriching, if you consider the costs of parking.

[16:34] Bjorn: They were kind enough to include a map.  Admittedly, it is poorly-photocopied, and the hastily scribbled yellow highlighter that's supposed to help guide you is instead just obscuring the building name, but it's the thought that counts, right?

[16:43] Bjorn: Just as you're about to bustle out the door, the phone rings.

[16:44] Halbarad: grabs his phone off the desk. "Hello?"

[16:44] Bjorn: It's your boss.  Your new boss, the one who came in last week and managed, within three days, to get half the staff to quit.

[16:45] Bjorn: "Hi, uh, Tim?  Yeah, um, we, um, would really appreciate it if you could, um, reinvestigate your current situation-wise, and uh, come into work today."

[16:46] Bjorn: He always talks like that.  You have a sneaking suspicion that he thinks it makes him sound smarter.

[16:46] Halbarad: "I really can't, I've got an appointment today that I've got to get to," Tim replies, grabbing his keys and wallet off the desk as well. "I MIGHT be able to make it in afterwards, but it's not really something I can reschedule."

[16:47] Bjorn: "Okay, so, um, we'll see you in about an hour or so?  Great.  Um.  Samsung shipped a whole bunch of phones alternatively configured, so the phone's ringing off the hook, and as you, um, know, we're differently staffed at the moment. So, yeah, an hour.  Great."

[16:47] Bjorn: He hangs up.

[16:49] Halbarad: "Right. An hour. In your dreams," Tim says to the dead phone, stuffing it into his shirt pocket. He can't get tagged for coming in late on a day when he's not even supposed to be working, so they can deal. Preparations complete, he heads out to the car and prepares for the exciting journey to collegiate meetings!

[16:51] Bjorn: Through application of the sort of deductive prowess and observational skills that will serve you well in your pursuit of higher education (nervous about this appointment at all?), you've determined that the Career and Life etc (known until recently as the "Career Exploration Centre") is to be found in A309 Jester.

[16:51] Bjorn: By some utter miracle, you actually manage to find open parking on 21st St., just a hop, skip, and jump from the office.

[16:53] Halbarad: doesn't questions his good fortune in finding parking in the heart of campus, just prays that he doesn't get himself towed in the process of getting this meeting taken care of. Heading into the giant dormitory, he starts his search for the room in question...

[16:55] Bjorn: A task, to your surprise, easily accomplished.  There are lots of signs, well-placed without being offensive, leading you to a recently-refurbished suite that says, "we got lots of money to pay for all the latest theories on non-confrontational environments."

[16:56] Halbarad simply rolls his eyes, preparing to critique the meeting. Since it really won't have any useful information, he's sure, he might as well derive some entertainment from it SOMEHOW.

[16:57] Bjorn: Contrasting with the modern, hip-urban setting is the receptionist, who is old-school academic secretarial staff: early fifties, dowdy hair, ugly dress, and the face of a person who has been bored since JFK boffed Monroe.

[16:59] Bjorn: She does not immediately deign to notice your existence.

[16:59] Halbarad: "Excuse me, I'm Tim Maus - I had an appointment at 10:30?" Tim says to the well-preserved specimen in front of him. Amazingly lifelike...

[17:00] Bjorn: She doesn't look at you for a few seconds more, as she finishes typing up... whatever.  It's probably not a personal email, she doesn't seem the type.  When finished, she flicks her eyes over at the appointment book, then to the calendar, and then finally over her bifocals to look at you -- all without moving her head.  "You're right on time," she says.  You get the impression that doesn't happen too often.

[17:01] Bjorn: "Right.  Down the hallway, second door on your left."

[17:05] Halbarad: "Thanks," Tim says with a slight smile, heading away. Amazing what they can do with animatronics these days...

[17:06] Bjorn: The door in question is open, to that perfect angle that says "I'm available, but please disturb only if you need to."

[17:08] Halbarad raps on the door lightly. "Excuse me, I had an appointment?" he calls out.

[17:08] Bjorn: "Come in," comes a voice from inside.

[17:15] Halbarad pushes the door open, stepping inside. "Hi, my name is Tim - got a letter that said I needed to come in today?"

[17:16] Bjorn: "Ah, yes, Mr. Maus," says the woman behind the desk, rising to her feet.

[17:17] Bjorn: Which isn't very high.  She's really short, only about four and a half feet or so.  Looks fairly young, maybe mid-thirties -- long, curly red hair, and quite attractive, though maybe a little heavier than the current fashionable standard.  Mitigating the potential cuteness is her very sober, straight-cut power suit, which wouldn't look out of place in a corporate boardroom.

[17:17] Bjorn: "Sit down, please," she continues, gesturing at the comfortably padded seat in front of her desk.

[17:21] Halbarad nods, forgoing any pleasant formalities - she looks like she's all business, so hopefully she'll get to the point quickly. He takes the indicated seat - at least it beats the chairs at work.

[17:22] Bjorn: "I'm sure you've been wondering," she says with a bit of a smile as she takes her own seat again, "but this interview will not have any direct impact on the status of your financial assistance application.  You can treat it as a formality, but we at the University think it's a very important formality."

[17:24] Halbarad: 'Of course, all formalities and knotholes you can stick a prospective student through are important,' Tim thinks but neglects to vocalize. "I understand," he replies simply. "What exactly is this going to be about?"

[17:24] Bjorn: She rises again, abruptly, and begins to pace.  "You see, Mr. Maus, on one hand, mature students such as yourself are very often the best students that the University will see.  They are dedicated, and focussed -- they aren't here as dilettantes, but they have a goal in mind.

[17:26] Bjorn: "At the same time, their horizons are often limited by their experiences in industry.  They are, if you will, looking for a skill set to improve their resume, and nothing more.  But universities are a place to *dream*," and here passion enters her voice, "a place to try and become everything you had ever dreamed of becoming."

[17:27] Bjorn: Here, she sits down again.  "And this is the point of this meeting," she explains.  "To talk to you a bit about your options, and your plans, to give you a chance to get outside the mentality of the corporate world.  So tell me, Mr. Maus, what do you want out of life?"

[17:31] Halbarad: raises an eyebrow - definitely not what he was expecting for this. "The main thing I'm looking for is something to do with my life that I enjoy," he replies simply. "With the things I enjoy right now, actual work involving the things I enjoy requires a degree - that's why I'm here."

[17:32] Bjorn: "Things you enjoy," she drawls thoughtfully, tasting the words.  "And what sort of things are these?"

[17:33] Halbarad: "Programming and working with computers, mostly," Tim replies. "I actually enjoy writing code, and I figure it's a good direction to take a career. Hard to get hired in the field without a degree, though."

[17:34] Bjorn: She makes a little dismissive motion with one hand, as if to say that getting hired is a problem about on the level of killing a spider.  "And you've always enjoyed working with computers?  Did you have a PC when you were a child?"

[17:35] Halbarad: "Didn't have a PC for a long time," Tim admits. "But I've had some kind of computer around since I was about three."

[17:36] Bjorn: "And you always wanted to be a programmer when you grew up?"

[17:37] Halbarad: "Not always," Tim replies. "Lot of different ideas when I was a kid, of course, and I'd looked at psychology for a while, but it just didn't hold the same appeal. You can at least measure progress on a computer," he says with a wry smile.

[17:40] Bjorn: She looks at you for a moment, eyes slightly narrowed, and then leads forward intently. "Mr. Maus, I know you think this is a waste of time, but please, work with me.  Don't think about things in terms of careers, in terms of employability -- that's my job.  Don't worry about giving the wrong answers -- there are none, I can't change the status of your application.  Just relax, think freely.  Pretend you're a child again.

[17:41] Bjorn: "If you had everything in the world, would you be a programmer?  A psychologists?  Would you be a fireman, or an astronaut? A caveman?  A famous general, a barbarian hero? Do you dream of leaving a mark on the world?"

[17:43] Halbarad: "Of course I dream of leaving a mark on the world," Tim says with a slight smile - it's kind of nice to see someone this passionate for a change, rather than the usual gear in the machine. "I don't think anyone my age DIDN'T dream of being an astronaut, but I guess what I liked more was a little simpler - always wanted to fly. I love flying, but piloting is out thanks to my vision."

[17:45] Bjorn: "Ah, flying," she says... wistfully, it seems.  "To rise above the world, to have everything yours to see, with nowhere that you can't go.  They said Edison always dreamt of flying, you know: the mark of a man of a cut above the rest."

[17:49] Halbarad: "That I hadn't heard, but that's the general idea. I just love seeing the world stretched out below, seeing the landscape go by. Without being stuck in a car for hours on end." The last is said with a smirk.

[17:50] Bjorn: "Do you like to travel, then?"

[17:50] Halbarad: "I do," Tim agrees. "Almost never get to do it thanks to funds, but I do like to get out and see new places."

[17:51] Bjorn: She makes a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat.  "I see.  Likes to travel, fly... what about people?  How, in an ideal world, do you see interacting with people?  Do you want to give orders?  Take them?  Work alone?"

[17:53] Halbarad: "I'm equally comfortable either giving orders or working with a team," Tim replies, wondering what the heck this has to do with career planning for college. "I'm okay at managing people, so probably a little more towards giving the orders than taking them."

[17:54] Bjorn: She shakes her head reprovingly.  "You're starting to talk like this is a job interview again, Mr. Maus.  I'm not asking if you can work on a team -- I'm asking if you *want* to.  I'm asking if you want to be in charge."

[17:55] Halbarad shrugs. "Sorry, but I've been working for the past ten years - it's hard not to think in terms of a job. But yeah - I guess if given a choice, I'd rather be the one in charge than one taking orders."

[17:58] Bjorn: She nods at that.  "Well, Mr. Maus, if I might make a suggestion... I know of a position open for a career in foreign affairs.  I know this is quite outside the field that you've expressed interest in, but could I persuade you to meet with the recruiter?  Just to talk to him.  Perhaps you might rethink your plans, yes?"

[17:59] Halbarad blinks. "Uh... I GUESS I could," Tim says uncertainly. "I thought this was just some sort of career planning thing, not a placement interview, though."

[18:01] Bjorn: "Oh, it is just career planning, but if we can get you into a placement interview as well, it's just expiditing things, yes?"  She smiles briefly at that, and then sobers up.  "Have no doubts, Mr. Maus, even if everything goes well, you'll still need to be doing some learning.  This isn't a way to bypass education."

[18:02] Halbarad: "That's fine," Tim replies. "I'm certainly used to the idea of learning things outside of school."

[18:02] Bjorn: She rises to her feet.  "Well, Mr. Maus, it's been a productive session, yes?  I have good hopes for how this is going to work out.  Good luck to you."  She proffers her hand.

[18:04] Halbarad shakes the woman's hand. "Thanks. I just hope this opportunity works out - whatever it is."

[18:04] Bjorn: "Oh, it will," she says.

[18:04] Bjorn: And then there are flames behind your eyes, and your body vanishes, and then so does the room.

[Bjorn]

Nathan's intro:

[18:09] Bjorn: It's a Saturday.  You've been wandering around the mall, because you really desperately need to buy a new pair of trousers.

[18:09] Bjorn: Which is why, obviously, you find yourself in the game shop.

[18:09] Rez: Naturally.  This -always- happens.

[18:10] Rez: At least my roommate isn't here, because he always buys things.  And usually causes me to buy things.

[18:11] Bjorn: You're browsing the shelf of new PC releases.  Which mostly suck, but they also aren't trousers, which, you guess, is a selling point.

[18:11] Bjorn: It is, at this point, that someone taps you on the shoulder.  To clarify the situation, they helpfully add, "Excuse me?"

[18:11] Rez: Finding a pair of trousers takes five minutes, I'll do it later.

[18:12] Rez: I turn around.  "Uh, yeah?"

[18:13] Bjorn: You find yourself face to face with a woman, mid thirties, red hair, fairly cute.  Sort of face to face, anyways, because she's short -- about four and a half feet.  "Not to sound offensive," she says (accent's definitely not Australian -- maybe American?  hard to tell), "but do you happen to play a lot of computer games?"

[18:14] Rez blinks, a little taken aback, then nods. "Yes, yes I do."

[18:16] Bjorn: "I was hoping for a little advice," she confesses.  "I used to play games a fair bit a while ago, but sort of dropped out of the loop.  And I was thinking of taking it back up again, but..." She waves a hand hopelessly at the shelves and shelves of games.

[18:17] Rez nods. "Well, I can probably help. What sort of games did you used to play?"

[18:18] Bjorn: "RPGs, mostly, "she says.

[18:20] Rez: "Well, there haven't been too many good ones lately.  World of Warcraft is a good one if you don't mind online games . . . aside from that, Oblivion's good if you don't mind a first person game.  There's not many of the older style ones like Ultima still around."

[18:21] Rez can go on and on about this topic.

[18:21] Rez will probably do so, if he's not interrupted. "How long ago were you playing?"

[18:22] Bjorn: "I never played Ultima," she confesses.  "I liked, oh what was it, Chrono Trigger."  She makes a face.  "I liked the sort of game where the main character wanted to be a hero, yes?  Where something came up, and he seized the opportunity, not whined and complained about being forced into things.  Do you know what I mean?"

[18:24] Rez doesn't and so deflects the question, looking amused. "It's hard to say if he whined or complained, since he never said anything at all."

[18:24] Rez: "If he would have, I mean."

[18:26] Bjorn: She blushes.  "Well, you know what I mean.  There was no stopping to angst, no attempts to break off.  No selfish motives -- just doing what had to be done.  Not like what I've seen of, say, the Final Fantasy games for the Playstation."

[18:27] Rez: "In Final Fantasy 8 they got whining down to an art form.  I think I know what you mean, though."

[18:28] Bjorn: "It ruins my suspension of disbelief.  I mean, who would turn up an opportunity like that?"  She shrugs.

[18:31] Rez: "Well . . . you might think differently if you had a dragon staring at you . . . But you do have a point.  I never thought of it like that."

[18:33] Rez supposes she'd like one of the Elder Scrolls games.

[18:33] Bjorn: "The point of a game is to give you a chance to step outside the boring boundaries of the daily world.  A chance to be what you really want to be -- a hero, someone whose actions can reshape the world.  To be depressed, to reject opportunities, to strive for the status quo -- we get enough of that in our daily lives.  Why seek it out in our escapism?"

[18:35] Rez takes a while to answer this one. "Well, sometimes the story is about someone like that who ends up reaching above themselves and growing into the role. That might resonate more with people who wish they could do it, but don't know if they have it in them."

[18:36] Bjorn: She looks at you for a long second, and then nods slowly.  "Yes," she says, "you might very well have a point there.  Might you suggest a game like that?"

[18:38] Rez: "A game like that would probably be, say, Final Fantasy Ten.  They did that well.  A game more like what you were describing earlier - where it just gets -done-, in whatever way you choose, that would be one of the Elder Scrolls series."

[18:39] Bjorn: "All right," she says, and holds out her hand.  "Thanks for your help, Mr....?"

[18:40] Rez: "Nathan Shuker.  And you?"

[18:40] Rez reaches out to shake her hand.

[18:41] Bjorn: "An opportunity," she says, just as your hands meet.

[18:41] Bjorn: And then there are flames behind your eyes, and your body vanishes, and then so does the room.

[Bjorn]

Brian's intro:

[18:52] Bjorn: It is late of a Tuesday evening, and you're at work.  Closing shift, but it's not too bad; not really busy at all.

[18:53] Brian finishes reorganizing the "staff-picks", ever-so-slighty straightening his review of the Cryptonomicon, and frowning when he sees that -- somehow -- The Devil Wears Prada got back on.

[18:53] Bjorn: Sins of the world, indeed.

[18:54] Bjorn: Behind you, you can hear the tentative throat-clearing that suggests a client wants your attention but is worried that you're too busy to actually help her.

[18:54] Brian surpresses a sigh; people aren't as rude in person. Usually. Answering before he turns around completely, Brian asks:

[18:55] Brian: "Is there anything I can help you with this evening?"

[18:55] Bjorn: "I was wondering if you could help me with a recommendation for a novel?"

[18:55] Brian glances back at the rogue copy of Devil Wears Prada.

[18:56] Brian: "Well, what kinds of books do you prefer?"

[18:58] Bjorn: The customer fidgets slightly, as if embarrassed.  She's short, about four and a half feet tall, with curly red hair, and she's dressed as if she came straight from a meeting of the board for some major tech firm.  "I like fantasy novels, mostly.  Science fiction, too."

[18:59] Brian: "Oh, alright, then."  Brian thinks for a moment.  "My personal favorite is this one right here," and he gestures to the Cyrptonomicon, "but Stephenson is something of an aquired taste, and not everyone can get into his writing."

[18:59] Bjorn: "What's it about?" she asks, reaching up to pick it up.

[19:00] Brian thinks for a moment. "World War II, intrigue, cryptology, and a smidgeon of romance."

[19:01] Bjorn: She makes a thoughtful noise.  "What about the protagonist?"

[19:02] Brian: "Essentially it's the story of a cryptographer in the War, and a descendant of his in the modern day, each fighting a war on different grounds.  So the two of them would be protaganists, I guess.  They each have different approaches, but almost mirrored roles of one-another, especially when the younger Waterhouse follows in the footsteps of the elder."

[19:02] Brian: "And if you enjoy it, of course, there's an imposing 3000 page prequel to really sink your teeth into afterwards, set in the baroque age."

[19:03] Bjorn: "A cryptographer," she says thoughtfully.  "Would you call them heroes?"

[19:03] Brian is actually somewhat taken aback by the question. "Well.... You know, that's a good question. I think.... Definately in the end, though it's not always clear until they get there."

[19:05] Bjorn: "But what about their own perspective," she pursues.  "Do they see themselves as heroes?  Do they see an opportunity put before them, and seize on it?  Or are they dragged into affairs, against their own wishes?"

[19:06] Brian: "For the former, he's dragged into things.  For the latter, while it comes across him by surprise, he certainly seizes the initiative.  It's almost a kind of ... ancestral mission, really, with the first doing his best and falling short, and the next picking up the pieces, really."

[19:07] Bjorn: She makes another one of those thoughtful noises.  "Which of the two did you like more?" she asks while reading the back blurb.

[19:08] Brian: "Well, they're both likable in their own ways.  I think I liked the second one later, even though I missed the cheerful insanity of the first."

[19:08] Brian abruptly realizes he can't remember their names, and makes a note to check out a copy of the book when he leaves work that night.

[19:08] Bjorn: "Because he was the hero who succeeded, yes?"

[19:09] Brian: "More because he knew what he was doing, and that he was doing the right thing, really.  Success was just a reward for clarity, in my mind.  I mean....  Well, the entire thing is about encryption, and solving a mystery.  So when it finally unfolds...."

[19:09] Brian shrugs, not quite sure where he was going with that.

[19:11] Bjorn: "Because he saw the opportunity and seized it, you mean?"

[19:11] Brian at this point is lost and mostly wants to pursue the sale, so nods.

[19:11] Brian: "That's it.  I thought it was a ... you know ... heroic quality."

[19:12] Bjorn: "Well, then, it sounds like my sort of book as well," she says, with a smile.  Shifting the copy she's holding, she offers her hand.  "Thank you for help... Brian," she says, reading your nametag.

[19:13] Brian flips his badge around to show the Batsymbol sticker Nadine stuck there:

[19:13] Brian: "I'm here to help.  Hope you enjoy it."

[19:14] Bjorn: "Very cute," she grins, as you take her hand.

[19:14] Bjorn: And then there are flames behind your eyes, and your body vanishes, and then so does the room.