iTunesU love

So my work schedule involves a couple of overnight shifts, usually 8pm to 5am. My job is physical and mechanical, so I have a lot of time to think.

I started downloading podcasts from iTunesU, which provides audio content from a number of universities. Right now I'm in the middle of "Interviews with Philosophers," a series from Oxford University, and "Origins of the Earth," a series on science and faith from Seattle Pacific University. I highly recommend poking around the content that is offered, it's really incredible the wealth of information that these Universities have recorded for the benefit of their students, but also generously made available to the general public. I love listening to good lecturer, that really knows how to evoke an understanding of the content of the lecture, and that isn't just reciting facts from memory. I know that this isn't really intended for casual listening, but I find that it keeps my mind fresh and active. I read books all the time, I probably go through about six to eight every three weeks, but it's something else entirely to listen to a lecture, and it's something that I find myself looking forward to every week.

My biggest regret in life thus far is not finishing college. Although I've recently applied for FAFSA and am going to try to take some courses at the community college a couple of blocks from where I live, I will never be able to go back full time, to really immerse myself in scholarship. When I was a kid, I thought I would never, ever get tired of learning, of drinking down knowledge greedily. When people joked about being a 'professional student,' I thought, how amazing would that be? I used to spend hours in the library at U of D long after I dropped out, back in the furthest corner of the stacks with a pile of books that I'd never be able to really digest if I took them home to read them, but somehow, in that environment, I could comprehend the material. Now that I get to listen to lectures, whenever I want to, at my own pace, I feel like I can still get the richness of the learning experience even if I'll never have anything to show for it.

But anyway, maybe I'm just a really big nerd, but I highly recommend checking it out.