Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Procrastination....

When I was 17 I was talking with one of my young woman church advisors and mentioned to her how I had been scrambling the week before to finish a gigantic Engish project (1/4 of my grade for the whole school year). The computer or printer had died at my house. Since my dad was the bishop of our ward, at the time, I left work early one evening to get a ride with him up to the church where he had meetings. While Dad conducted meetings and interviews in the bishop's office I sat in the clerk's office typing frantically and struggling with a dot matrix printer. BUT--I got the assignment done--and I pulled off an 'A' on it.

My leader quietly told me that procrastinators are really just people who love excitement. "We, procrastinors, know the thrill of being fully fueled by pure adrenaline." That is not the words I expected to hear from my advisor! But, I think it's a little bit true.

Over the years I have done some serious procrastinating. I've had a few experiences where whatever I was working on ending up looking, smelling, or tasting like trash. BUT, for the most part, I pull it off...like magic...from an adrenaline junkie.

I don't know why I procrastinate. Okay, with all the psychology I studied, I do know why. But, I am still sickened with myself that I do it! The Lord needs to punish me for it more by not making me have so many successes when I do it. For instance....

9th grade...we spent a week working on writing assignments for the PTA's Reflections contest--and for a grade. I dillydallied. Most kids were taking their work home to work on it. Not me, though. On the final afternoon that it was due, I frantically began scribbling. I wrote a poem. It was turned in with all of my classmates' submissions. Guess who won the school, and later, district contests and was invited to read her poem at a special luncheon with the mayor and city council? Isn't that just wrong?!

College. My husband and I took one class together--Anthropolgy 101. Grading was simple enough--read two assigned books and 1 of your choice on various cultures around the world. Write 10 page paper on each. One morning I awoke early to finish my book of choice and to write the subsequent paper. Class started at 8am. My husband shook his head in disbelief as he got ready that morning, watching my frantic attempt at starting/finishing. He had finished writing his paper several days before. I begged him to wait a second and let me finish so that he could turn my paper in for me. I would not be going to class that morning--not all nasty-haired and unshowered. A few days later we received our graded papers back. He got an 'A'; I got an 'A-'. He couldn't believe it (and frankly, neither could I).

You don't want to know how many lessons, talks, baked goods, and such that I have had similar experiences/results, far more than I want to recount. It's like an addiction! One that I really need to kick. So, guess what my goal for 2010 is?

Hey, it's not even 2010 and I've already started working on my goal! Go me! Maybe there is hope for this adrenaline junkie!!!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Last day of school, 2009

In an hour the kiddies will be home for the rest of the year. Shocking!!!

My whole school year, thus far, has been pretty good with the exception of having an afternoon kindergartner. This has split my days in half and made a mundane task like getting the shopping done, awful! Either my child is cutting it close (or gets a tardy) or we leave with having visited half the stores I needed to go to (and later having to use more gas to turn around and go back to where I was shopping!) I had an afternoon kindergartner a few years ago but for some reason, this time around it is killing me!!!!! Just thought I'd vent to you....

I have, however, managed to buy the last Christmas item last week and almost everything is wrapped and hiding in the attic. Aw, bliss....

Hope your Christmas, preparing, partying, and presenting is going as planned.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Battle of the baristas

Seattle. When people hear that city's name they automatically start thinking of other things they associate with Seattle--rain and coffee--are amongst the top.

There are coffee drive-in shacks every half mile on our main roads. I think they look VERY tacky--all set up in a parking lot with their silly names and menus, "Cool Beans," "Big Foot Java," "Zipperdoodle," to name a few. They are drive-in style, like I mentioned. In the morning there are LONG, LONG, LONG lines of cars full of people with the pre-caffeine jitters. I know we are free to choose--so they are all free to choose their morning beverages. BUT, service is no longer good enough served with a smile. No, now many of these coffee shacks are sporting baristas.

Barista is an italian word for bartender. Baristas prepare and serve coffee with a smile. But now many of these baristas are serving coffee with hardly any clothes on!

I am married to a wonderful man. He told me about a new distraction on his way home from work. He was so disturbed by the outfit one woman was wearing (or hardly wearing) that he decided to not drive that way anymore. Her coffee shack was right up next to the street and the window faces traffic where everyone can see her. (I've driven past this place myself).

Yesterday my husband was talking with some of his employees. One of them is a single mom with four sons. She told everyone how embarrassed she was when she pulled in to one of the drive-ins with her 12- year-old and the lady walked over to take their order, and she was wearing a teeny negligee. The co-worker was shocked and tried to cover her son's eyes. She later told everyone that she had recently found a pornographic magazine in her house.

This led to further discussion on the matters of morality and my husband mentioned how much he didn't like all these baristas and that he'd even chosen to go a different route to and from work. Most of his co-workers are female and they thought he was so cute and sheltered. Oh, yes, a good little Mormon boy. My husband tried to explain to them the link between getting comfortable with viewing soft porn (baristas, for example) and that it's the same addicting path leading to stranger and more disgusting pornography (and actions).

They thought he was wrong, "Oh no!! Some people are just wired that way!" "You've lived a sheltered life," etc....

He disagreed. They expressed more opinions. He told me that they eventually ended the conversation, with everyone agreeing that they have differences, but that they are still considerate of each others' rights to their own opinions.

The scripture in 2 Nephi 28:21 reads, "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."

You may call us goodie-goodies. You can call me whatever you want. I will take all the name barraging you can throw at me because I am trying to avoid evil--in any form.