We have this thing here in Turkey called sozluk.sourtimes.org – a website where people can make entries about anything and anybody that the hell they please. I have been intrigued for the longest time that I seem to have quite a few entries to my name, posted by my students of course. And some of them are highly unflattering too, I might add…
I was in for a bit of a shock just a minute ago when I glanced at the stats for my blog from today: The viewings have absolutely skyrocketed! Normally I do not get too many. The blog is simply too new (and also I think way too personal) to have attracted much attention outside of the people that know me already. And how many of those are interested enough to check out my palaverings on a daily basis anyway? So, today’s activity was unusual enough for me to click on the details of the stats – and hey presto – there it was! My (at least, I think that this is who she is, can’t be totally sure of course) recently graduated ex-student pornqueen has linked the blog to the entry page for my name on sourtimes.org and now my students past and present seem to be trooping in to see what this is all about. There is even a related entry posted today on the sourtimes.org page by a student of mine from almost 10 years ago (in this case I know for certain, one of her classmates spilled the beans on her – she goes by the nickname of Cheja). Anyway, she declares total amazement at my having read Aleister Crowley, at my hanging out in Second Life… (!?! – why, I wonder?)
So, here is my amazement: Either there was something terribly wrong with me when I was their age; or there is something really wrong with those of my ex-students who can somehow muster up this interest as to what I do or say. I do not think that I have ever given any instructor of mine even a minutes further thought when I was at that age, either while still in college or during the decades after that. My own life and all of the nonsense that I got up to was so interesting in itself that I would never have had a minute to spare for pondering upon some “old fogey”s life, you know? These days I have some amazing instructors and I would be lying if I said I did not give Roy and the others quite a bit of thought. But, I am older now and I am a college professor myself. So, in a sense my PhD instructors are also my colleagues. I attend joint conferences with them, I collaborate with them. They are not only my instructors but valued professional associates. Of course, I think about them, follow what they do and write about with great interest. But back then? When I was 20-something? Please!!!! Pffffffffffffffffffffffffftttttttttttttttttttttttttttt… Really!
Really? What the hell is going on here? How can one even begin to explain this weird phenomenon? Eventuality number 1 would have to be that I must be soooo totally, bewilderingly, flumoxingly charismatic and compelling and forceful and altogether so bloody interesting that some of my ex-students simply cannot help themselves and have to think about me non-stop. (Fondly or not – hardly the point here, btw. What matters is that they really still seem to be doing so!?!?) And furthermore, they have to manifest this by posting entries about me 10 years later?… Much as I would love to believe this one, I really seriously doubt that this would be the case. ROTFL, in fact… Which brings me to eventuality number 2: My poor little ex-kiddens (as wolfie called my current students in SL the other day – hhh) cannot be having much of a life, can they now? Not one in the sense that I had one when I was their age anyway. Not one in the sense that I have one today, for that matter. So, in the absence of anything better to occupy their minds with, they actually have the time to sit around and wonder about what I do over here? How sad is that? And if they manage to devote this much attention to me, I don’t even wanna know about what other kinds of totally boring stuff is needed to fill up the void of those endlessly empty days and nights.
Of course, I am thankful to be able to say that the overwhelming majority of my ex-students have completely dropped off the radar. Or I hear from them very rarely, at appropriate occasions like when they send me birthday wishes on facebook or whatever. Now, that is nice. I like that. But as for all those that are storming wordpress just to see what I may be babbling about, or indeed the ones that make posts about me on slander sites (sourtimes.org, despite all its good intentions can at times become a sort of a slander site I think). Don’t you have anything better to do for God’s sakes??? It is a beautiful hot summer’s night out here. How about going up to Istiklal for some righteous cruising? Knock back a few beers on Asmali Mescit? Nevizade is also good for that, no? What about one of those nice chi-chi discos on the Bosphorus? And Kadikoy too is like so totally beyond cool these days you know… Hang out and shoot the breeze, crack a few good jokes? Gossip a little maybe?… And not about your old professors either – please!!!
So, here’s a good, solid bit of advice from your nasty old school marm: Get a life people! I certainly have one (two in fact – hhh). I really think it is about time you guyz (and galz) did too! Oh and… While you’re at it you may also wanna consider not listening to Jethro Tull anymore? Jesus! Even I don’t do that and at least I was around during the time when he could actually stand on one leg and not fall over! 😀