A Salute to Humankind.

I know I tell you guys at least three times a year about the physicists. What a ... special group of people. I am working with 7,000 of the most brilliant scientific minds in the country. Minds so full of particles and formulas and theorems and information that there is little room for anything else, like social skills, or hygeine. And they truly are the most arrogant group of people that I work with all year. (However, their most arrogant subset is not this week; it's fall at the Department of Plasma Physics meeting they hold in conjunction with the Department of Defense.)

My favorite thing about scientists is absolute adherance to their stereotype. They come out of their labs once or twice a year to share their findings with their peers, and they're just hilarious, with their bowties and their crazy hair and their snarky t-shirts that say things like "Don't drink and derive." No, I'm not kidding. Yes, I got one.

But anyway, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the good in Us. I actually really like people. I like quirky people. I like funny people. I like sensitive people. I like real people. But even the people I don't like? Have something likeable about them.

A co-worker and I were talking about this other freelancer today, who nobody really likes, because she talks. Incessantly. All the time. Never stopping. About nothing. And I have to admit, she *is* rather annoying. But you know what? She's an incredibly hard worker. She does every single task asked of her, and some that are not asked of her, even the ones that no one else wants to do, and does them with an unbelievably good attitude. And of all her continual words, I've never once heard her complain. About anything. I think that's a fantastic trait.

There's this other girl, who worked for my client for the past 9-10 meetings I've done for them. She's no longer with the association, and I hear she left on really bad terms. I did always find her a bit eccentric (just for the sake of being eccentric), and a little immature, and overly sensitive, but I remember that last time we worked together, in November, there was a concert in Denver she wanted to see, and no one else wanted to go, so she went alone. To a big concert in a strange city. Because she was that passionate about the music, and she doesn't need to be with the crowd all the time. I admire that quality.

Anyway, I think that you can find something to look up to in everyone, even the most unpleasant people. Someone stole my wallet, and I think that person is a jerk. But I bet if I knew that person, I might find something in him/her that I could identify with. It's comforting to me to know that even though I have flaws, major flaws, and traits that I don't like even in myself, I have some admirable traits, too. I hope people can see them even when they are frustrated with me, or annoyed by me, or just plain don't like me. And I hope that I always have the insight to find them in others.