Procrastination Post

The funny thing about procrastination is that putting off getting things done only makes you less disposed to do them with each passing moment. If you start things way early, you know you have plenty of time to do them, so they don't stress you out, and you just get them done for the sake of having them out of the way. But if you put something off until the last minute, then you know that the moment you do start thinking about it you'll have to face the stress of the imanent deadline, and so you continue to do everything possible to delay that moment of confrontation. For instance, write lengthy didactic paragraphs exploring the nature and ramifications of procrastination on your weblog when you really should get started on that 2000 (or is it 3000?) word essay that's due in science fiction this Friday.

And really, I should be excited about this essay, because my tutor has given me permission to do it in the format of a movie pitch for the second and third Matrix movies, making the highly desirable assumption that the travesties which call themselves those sequels had never been made. Which is something I've pondered before and have a great deal to say about. And if I knew I had a few weeks until the thing was due, I'd probably be jumping to get started on it. But since I've left it until a week before, I've instead spent the morning I set aside for writing the paper cleaning my room, washing dishes, organizing my journal, answering e-mail, and now, writing in my weblog, in order to avoid commencing. Alas.

While I'm here, though, I'll briefly summarize the things I've been up to in the past week since I descended from my month-long Easter vacation back into the midst of classes, essays, and reading. The weather has been ridiculously summer-y, and since once again I'm in an area where sunny days are few and far between, the sunshine-glistening afternoons have been fully exploited by the student body, which has seized every excuse to spend time outside studying, socializing, eating, drinking, walking, etc. I have joined in this process to a large extent, sitting out on the hillside outside my window to read and write and watch the sunset, taking an exploratory walk with Justin (on which we met a herd of cows and got into a lengthy discussion on language, intelligence, and the difference between humans and animals), taking this week's book discussion group onto the lawn outside the Meeting House, and taking two days to go into Brighton and augment my wardrobe in preparation for the summer, as I brought mainly winter clothes on my journey here.

Much to my excitement, the current clothes fashions here in Brighton mirror styles I have always been a fan of but have previously been unable to indulge my interest in from the usually available assortment. Primarily, long flowy skirts, and shirts of various styles in an assortment of bright, solid colors like purple, teal, and magenta. So I now have the garments with which to face the oncoming of summer, and have finally pacified the child inside me who has been sulking since she outgrew her fairy costume and I failed to buy her another one.

Ooh, one other source of excitement has been a series of e-mails from the women I'll be living with next year. Lahlae sent out the suggestion that we all take an online version of the Meyers-Briggs Personality Test (which any of you should take if you haven't yet, and I'd love to hear what you test as) and share our results with one another. Now of course, I'm a huge proponent of this test, so the mere suggestion of using it was enough to give me great excitement about the living situation for next year. But more promising yet, as the results filter in, our personalities are all similar enough that it looks like we'll be seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things, while remaining different enough to promise variety in the household as well. Crazily, there are three of us INFJs, even though that's one of the most rare of the 16 types, forming under 2% of the general population, and everyone else is within 1 or 2 letters of that type in various directions. That is, we have, so far, 3 INFJs, an INTJ, an ISFJ, an ENFJ, and an ESFJ. All Js, which bodes well for house cleanliness... :) The woman in charge of the house is also an INFJ. It's almost eerily coincidental... But very cool.

I've also been made acutely aware over the past week of how fortunate I have been in the people I have come to know and befriend over here, through my flat and the Meeting House. It has been their support and general wonderfulness that has made my study abroad experience so exciting and enlightening, and I'll be incredibly sad to have to part with them all. At the same time, the passing of the half-way mark of my time away from home also has me looking forward eagerly to seeing once more the much-missed faces of my family and friends back in the States. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your own approaching summers (especially any UPSers with a few short weeks until finals), and are well aware of how much I miss and appreciate you. Love always!