Tales from the Steppes

2004-02-12

12:26 p.m.
And over here, I want the extra-thick bars for a vertical accent

In my life, it is a truism that when it rains it pours. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more hectic, I open my email to find several other major timesucks demanding my attention. Apparently I am being required to participate in a weekend-long charette next weekend. This was not in my plans and will now require the mad scramble to get babysitter coverage so that I can fulfill this apparent obligation while not screwing up everyone else's plans. (A charette is a very concentrated design problem-solving session, usually done in teams.) I really enjoy charettes, so the only hardship is that it is consuming three days out of my oh-so-packed schedule.

The other major timesuck is the playground renovation/installation project I have been working on. I have been informed that I must use up all of my allocated funds by the end of the school year. And a trip to Rome is apparently out of the question. So now, I will have to order stuff, coordinate schedules, round up volunteers, and do all of that crap in order to orchestrate a successful completion. Hours and hours and hours, flowing down the drain that is my life.

It always amuses me how we construct our own prisons. The only person responsible for my current overly comitted, time-challenged situation is me. I could use the magic word - "No", but I really don't like to. Did I have to stay up until 1:30 making rice krispy treats? No, I could have just bought stuff and sent an apologetic note. No one is forcing me to work. Or go to graduate school either, for that matter. I could be sitting at home, eating bon bons on the futon watching daytime tv, if I so desired. But this is what I have chosen, though perhaps I was not envisioning all of my committments becoming so demanding at the same time. For true completion (and for irony's sake), there needs to be an increased demand on me from home. A sick husband or a child that needs extra attention.

The thing about these prisons we construct is that usually we can get out of them. But choose not to. Sometimes it is these very choices we make that define who we are.

In my case, I have decided that the key to my salvation is to become an overly organized person, with microschedules detailing exactly what I have to accomplish each day. This is the only way I can see to get it all done without getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of work. And I have set myself a deadline with a major reward at the end. I must have my thesis written, maybe not defended, but at least completed before Pensic. And if I accomplish this, which I will not that I have decided to, I will have a big party at Pensic. Maybe even with a theme.....

Because I am usually an open ended person, I can whittle away the months, doing research and exploring concepts. But this is a goal I can live with, and quite frankly unless I meet it, I don't think I can actually go to Pensic. So now I have some additional motivation.