Library, Monday (January 25)

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

If the Monday library aide had come in this morning sporting a wary look and holding a mop from one of the supply closets like it was her staff, just in case, well . . . if that was in any way silly, it was too early for anyone else to notice. Right?

Coffee was first on the agenda when Gabrielle got in; after the weekend, she suspected it might be needed. By her, if no one else. Once a caffeine supply was secure and the usual morning tasks accomplished, she stowed the mop beneath the collections desk and took a seat, but not before taking a single piece of air-pillow packaging from the supply cupboard. Said piece of packing was tucked carefully out of sight, but on hand just in case.

Hey. It'd been a busy weekend. The caffeine might not tide her over forever. For the time being, she'd settle for working on her latest scroll, frowning in something more than just concentration as she dashed ink onto parchment. It was hard to describe a chariot racing duel without having witnessed it, particularly when you only had the word of one taciturn warrior on which to base your reconstruction of events -- though it was the events leading up to it that really caused the frown.

Japanese Etiquette & Tradition, 1/25/10, Period 5

[shiroi_tiger]

"Easy class," Algren announced as the students filed into the Danger Shop today. "We're going to be covering proper etiquette when entering a Shinto shrine."

As he spoke, the danger shop shifted, so that the students were standing in a wooded area with a building set in the middle, a series of gates, stairs, lanterns, and fountains leading up to it.

( Before we get to exploring the shrine... )

[OCD on the way up!]

Study Hall, Monday [1/25]

[takesaftermom.livejournal.com]

Summer had study hall open early to set up the snacks and drinks she'd gathered for the day. She'd watched a special on food presentation over the weekend, so she felt the need to arrange the snacks just right.

Once that was done, Summer and her large cup of coffee settled in behind a table at the front of the room. She had a couple of issues of Ocean! Magazine with her. Time to get some reading done.

[OOC: OCD up! And apologies for missing last Monday.]

Horror 101, Monday

[chosehumanity]

It had been an incredibly long two weeks.

Not that Mitchell had suffered from the gremlins this weekend: he hadn't come back until late last night, and for some reason, the creatures - like most Fandom weirdness - had given him a wide berth upon sight.

He wasn't going to complain.

"I know you've all had a rough weekend," he started, "So I'm going to make a deal. If you feel the need to talk about what you've done or what's happened to you in the past couple of days, you can. If you don't, I've got a copy of the worst film ever made and a generous supply of tea and coffee."

A beat.

"Either way, I think we're covering horror well enough."

Another beat.

"And yes, Kate, everyone's encouraged to talk through the film. Come on."

This whole 'focusing on other people's problems' thing was getting a bit desperate on his part.

[[ wait for the ocd up! ]]

Ethics [Tuesday, January 26]

[sith_happened]

Anakin, reflecting on his conversation with Arthur in the last class, had a bad feeling about how the topic of pride might go over today. It didn't mean he was going to change topics, of course: Anakin enjoyed beating his head into things.

"Master Lao Tzu, a great Chinese Master of this world said centuries ago that 'Pride attaches undue importance to the superiority of one's status in the eyes of others; and shame is fear of humiliation at one's inferior status in the estimation of others. When one sets his heart on being highly esteemed, and achieves such rating, then he is automatically involved in fear of losing his status.'"

He smiled. "Lao Tzu thought in similar patterns as those who taught me. He has the mind of a Jedi. Pride--or hubris, if you speak Latin--in the Catholic religious tradition of this planet, is considered the original and most serious of the deadly sins. In order to deal ethically with other people, we need to acknowledge this very human flaw in ourselves and others. We want to believe that we are different, better than everyone around us." His gaze sharpened. "We're not. Everything is connected. You, me, the rocks outside, the deer in the preserve, the beings who live across the causeway, the trillions who make up the multiverse around us. Take pride in being yourself, certainly, and in what you can do," he concluded. "But don't for a moment believe that who you are makes you more than the person sitting next to you. Because that kind of pride is where you make your first mistake."

Not that he'd ever made such a mistake.

...Often.

"So, learning to swallow our pride and admit we're not quite as special or brilliant as we thought we were is never a fun process," he continued. "How high do the stakes have to be before we'll admit we've made a mistake or have been fooled?"