None of the things I should be doing (2010, Updated 2016)

This post was originally posted in September 2010. And it was awful. Updates [the commentary in brackets] and graphics were added 2/26/2016].

None of the things I should be doing are getting done. In fact, many of them are things that I sat down to do. Even propped up the old getting work done pillows. Put up my getting work done lap table thingy. Settled the computer mouse onto its comfy mouse pad. Ahhh... What!!?? Where did two hours go? The internet is a trap or the Lotus Hotel.

The Lotus Hotel is a Percy Jackson reference. If you haven't read it... Just Do It! Especially if you are into Young Adult fiction. But even if you really aren't. [But whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, see the movie. Just do not do it.]

Anyhoo. As is typical for me when I become motivated toward a new hobby, I have begun reading the blogs of others. Partly to inspire me about things to write about. Partly to kill time while I avoid other, more mandatory work. One conclusion that I have come to is that blogs are best done by people who have way too much damn time on their hands. But then, I guess that time and "doing things well" tend to go hand in hand. Perhaps one of my problems is that I engage in too many activities. So, then, I never have enough time to do any of them exceptionally. Is exceptional a goal? It seems that good enough has always been... well, good enough.

Speaking of hobbies. My book reading seems to have waned. [My goal for that year was to read 100 books, I only got to 96! So close, yet so far. Close only counts in horse grenades.] Which is disappointing because I have about 6 books checked out from the library that I actually want to read. I've started 3 of them.

The first is "The Things They Carried." Excellently written book about soldiers during the Vietnam War. I originally picked it up because its the Rochester Big Read book and there are several book groups reading it. But I'm pretty sure that all the groups I planned to attend are meeting on evenings where I'm booked for some child-related activity. Which really diminished my motivation to finish it. And it IS really good.

 

My second book likely to be abandoned is World War Z. A book recounting a Zombie war that threatened to wipe out mankind. I'm on page two. I really like it though or at least feel that I could really like it. [Update: I did actually abandon this book, which made me want to shoot myself after a while. I did not like the "oral history" account thing. I might actually see the movie, that's how much I didn't like the book. Serious.]

 

The 3rd book is Water for Elephants. I think I must have started it when the other two books were out of reach or something. I'm lazy enough to override my rule about starting more than one book at a time, apparently. The author has sucked me in. I really want to know what happens and how it ends. [Update: LOVED it, which obviously makes the movie OFF LIMITS. And is that Robert Pattenson. Urgh. No thanks.]

It would be awesome if the stories could just fly into my head. And speaking of fantasy, it would be great if that work would get done.


[book cover photos were taken from amazon pages. All other photos were found through general google search and may link to their sources.]