We've just finished the first week of the new semester. Lots of new students have started passing through, and some of us (old-timers) are starting to get to know some of the new ones. This years students seem to be a cut above the students from recent years. For all their other faults, they seem interested in the course, the culture, and interacting with people. They're still full of the newbie questions, but that's to be expected from any group immersed into a new environment.

We're having fun breaking in the new students. They have enough personality that they can give back almost as good as they get, and don't seem to mind. Explaining the culture and vocabulary used in and around the common room is most entertaining.

But during the breaking in process, I started thinking about all the things that are part of the culture. And I realise that I've had no small part in creating that culture. I can see my marks all over it, from the stories, the vocabulary, the history, then dents and bumps and markings, etc. It's a good feeling - I don't think I've felt that I've left my mark on anything before :P Sure, it'll be gone in a few years, but it's still nice to know that stuff that I did had a lasting impact on people.

The downside to all this is that it's much hard to get a game on the pool table now than it was before.