Monday, April 13, 2009

Work/Play: PLAY

"Play that is work" is something that is done as an end in itself that is a means to an end.

We will call this PLAY.

I would have really liked to called work that is work WORK and play that is play PLAY, because that seems mathematical. But I am only a little bit mathematical, and I went with what felt right to me.

I would also like to say, there is a related phenonomenon where something starts out as play, or fun, and ends up as not fun, or work; that's not what I mean by play that is work. Or perhaps it is the dark side of PLAY, the way work done as means to an end that doesn't achieve its end is the dark side of HOBBY. Examples come to mind, certainly.

But what I mainly mean by play that is work is something that you do just for itself, not thinking of anything that it may accomplish; but it accomplishes something, anyway. My main example of this is skating, which I just do as peace-out activity as I said. Two years on quads, though, and I've turned from a person who would run only if somebody was chasing me with a knife into a person who can run for the bus. Weirdly also, I get my name and some numbers written on a piece of paper every month for doing this thing.

Is that the ideal? Mmmmmmm. (Nnnnnnn means I'm thinking about saying No, and Mmmmm means I'm thinking about saying Maybe. If I'm thinking about saying yes, I just say yes. Hhhhhhh is for hot and bothered, but that's a different subject.) It's still about that thing you do and the qualities of that thing you do, I'll have something about that soon—