119 - Fighting against spontaneity

The greatest obstacle I have had to overcome since employing my brand new, to-the-half-hour, timetable is the phenomenon of spontaneity, in all things that just happen to happen to me throughout the course of my day without my preconception or any preparation. These things come in the form of friends asking me to go out to get drunk with them, waking up to a hangover, not waking up at all, and impetuously saturating feelings of boredom, hunger and tiredness, and unexpected urges to go meet up with someone and have a chat, and simply 'hang out' with them for hours.

These things can't be planned, and my time management skills have suffered a hit due to it.

There is also the problem of prioritizing in my head. Even though I allotted a time to finish this heap of work later today, I cannot do anything this morning or early afternoon, without worrying about what a heap it really is. I feel like I should probably ditch everything else and get straight to the work, finish it, and then I can go back to my schedule. After all, it's for university, it should take priority.

But after thinking about it, I think it would be better to fight that worry, and learn to let it go until it is the time I set aside for work. Because after all, blogging here, having an hour for lunch, having time to read, and go on Facebook, all of this that I've also set aside time for, is meant to help me achieve some sort of balance between my leisurely and working hours.

And what's stopping me from saying to myself, "Oh, my God, I really want to finish the rest of this book", or "The new episode is finally out, I've got to watch it now!" Those hasty impulses are no different from the work I have to do for university. In the same way, I would be prioritizing the way I want to prioritize it in that moment in time. And by taking that approach, I would then find myself in a situation where I managed to finish reading a book, but completely missed the deadline for my work. Or maybe a situation where I did do all of my work to the best of my ability, but then stayed up later that night to watch that new episode - only to find myself tired and sleepy when I have to get up the next morning.

And so the key to all of this is to just stick with the schedule. Always stick to the schedule that you, in your right mind, had planned for earlier in the weekend, knowing yourself, knowing the kind of person you are and the things you like to do, knowing how lazy you are on Monday evenings, knowing how hard-working you could be on Saturdays after lunch, knowing how much you like to sleep in on Sundays, knowing how long it sometimes takes for you to have dinner, or to log off Facebook once you go on it.

So here is my post for today. It said that I have to today. And now that I'm finished, I have half an hour free. Maybe I could go see what my friend is doing. Or I could get started on my lunch. Have a shower? Do some reading? Get some work done?

Before I even realize it, the schedule will get me to be so efficient that I will then free up a lot of time to actually do whatever, like going out to get drunk, or having a quick nap before a lecture. The golden rule of thumb, I think, is to always follow the schedule.

114 - Sans, Saints and Ports

 There's a game that I've played around seventy times - and the challenge of the game lies in naming all the countries you possibly can. For me, it no longer is about the number of countries I manage to get, but a race against the clock to try and beat my own record of guessing all 195 nations correctly in 4 minutes and 8 seconds. (If you'd like to try, here's a link.)

This winter holiday, I decided to take advantage of the extra time I have and learn all 195 capitals. (Again, if you'd like to try, a link) I only have around 15 African capitals left to memorize, and then I will have them all down. I am surprised at the number of countries that have a capital city beginning with 'B'. (Just to illustrate: Baghdad, Baku, Bamako, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Bangui, Banjul, Basseterre, Beijing, Beirut, Belfast, Belgrade, Belmopan, Berlin, Bishkek, Bissau, Bogotá, Brasília, Bratislava, Brazzaville, Bridgetown, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Bujumbura.) It annoys me greatly, as you can imagine.

My next venture will be to study a great number of the islands, rivers, lakes, seas, bays, streams, gorges, dams, volcanoes, mountain ranges, deserts, forests and rainforests in the world, then to memorize the three largest metropolitan cities of each and every country, then to familiarize myself with all the UNESCO sites around the world, and finally, to know the detailed geography of a handful of countries like the back of my hand, possibly just the G8, perhaps the G8+5, perchance the G20, maybe the G77 - Hell, maybe all of them.

Why do I want to do this?

I don't know. This is just one of those things that people do for no reason because it makes them feel good. Who knows whether one day this might come in handy on an everyday basis, or whether I will never implement this knowledge before the day I die.

Who cares?

It's fun to me.

71 - I got a Neno's Award.

An award, namely the Neno's Award, has been bestowed upon me by Argentum Vulgaris, creator of a number of blogs, including the less commonly advertised Beyond Bolivia and Things that are Not Normal. The award is given to and displayed on Do you hate it too?.


The award is:
- a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging
- a means of seeking the reasons behind why we all love blogging.

The aims of this award:

* As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
* To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
* Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
* Don't forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
* Answer the award's question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
* Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
* Don't forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

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On Do you hate it too?, I love to rant primarily, and I like to have people rant with me or rant against me. We use the word 'hate' so freely, and this applies to everybody, everywhere, at any given time, in a vast multitude of workplaces, public spaces and households, and I just like how widely I can stretch this theme across so many different things, while also providing a day-to-day update on my own life and learning about other people's experiences through their comments. It's also a very good medium to ventilate in, and it also helps me practice my writing. For me, there are so many reasons I love to blog.

There is one more reason that I reckon I must mention separately. Quite frankly, I love the attention. :)

I love the followers, the comments, the thousands of viewers I've had in the past six months. I'm an honest guy, and honestly, even though I did not expect this much readership when I first started out, it's now mainly what drives me the most to keep blogging - you, the readers, the fans, your consideration, your comments and your care.

I hope that sounded sweet, and not arrogant at all. I mean it - your care means a lot to me.

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I'd like to give the award to, and hear back from:
Eura from Thumbs Up, Feet On The Ground
Madame DeFarge from bateau de banane
Randa from 365 Days
Marcy from Tales of the Kids
Eugene from Solviter
Douglas from Boomer Musings
Tiffany from lipstick & poker chips
Chris O from My Cat ate my Brain
Jodi from The World According to J.J. In L.A.