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I caught something on Carolyn's pages while searching for her thesis that provoked some thought; she wrote about LCD conversations. I presume she means lowest common denominator, though this interpretation was garnered strictly through the tone and a strong mathematical background. Perhaps she is referring to the genesis of conversation that matches everyone's interests in order to remain unconfrontational, unprovoking. Offering conversation outside of LCD domain, one is running the risk of offending, or not connecting; I often think of such risks as being one's I'd rather let someone else take - I am generally more interested in a less probing/intrusive method of finding out who someone is, especially when in a large, unknown group of folks, who I have an interest in generating some friendships from. And I know why my interest is such, and where it comes from.
However I also wonder if being intelligent... brilliant even, is orthagonal with being communal or being able to make every situation work for all parties. I like to think of myself as a great community-builder, networker.
I find myself in a laundromat now, washing and drying some garments prior to my impending travel to Boston. I'm realizing that my time with Penny and Robyn and Dan was rushed, that I missed seeing Janak, and the benevolent professor K. Did I accomplish what I wanted here in NYC? I don't know exactly, but then, I'm not sure what I had intended to do, other than say 'hi'. I did discover that Dan is interested in a great job for himself, that not much has changed in the OSA, that Robyn is pregnant w/ twins due in March (congrats!), that Ishwara seems immensely scoped, well-connected, and talented - as expected. And I have also discovered that a number of the people who I knew in my 'former life' at Columbia discovered unhappiness in their post-college employments and have either moved on, or are looking for new things to do (while I am very happy and enjoying my budding career). Penny seems to be doing quite well, is happier, and is going to Nicaragua, and is happier - she wanted me to know she reached a platform for her to be successful on - the repetition of which however made me uneasy, and perhaps slightly unbelieving. In addition, I found out that a few friends who chose to join a startup together have not been as successful as they would have liked.
My small gift to Robyn seemed to be received well, as well as the chocolates I presented to her office staff (hint: when in doubt, chocolate truffles are a very reasonable gift!) - I am of course still debating whether the book was appropriate or if it will be taken the wrong way - I hope not.
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