Write the night away, and dream the day away…

It’s that time of year again. When the days are getting longer, sunnier, and warmer, and all I want to do is roam, free as a bird, and take in the atmosphere of an approaching summer.

Then there are the exams. And essays. Those big bullies. They force me to remain inside, locked up in my room, or behind big glass windows in the library, laughing at me as I longingly look out on the sun-bathed city and harbour.

This year, another bully has joined the others. A bigger and badder bully than the rest. His name is Rugby World Cup. And he teases me with the prospect of drinking and partying all night long, and having a lazy as day the next day.

But my brain, bullied and beaten, recoils from its dark corner, and tells me that no matter how tempting it is to give in to the bullies’ taunts and bad influence, I must focus on my assignments first and foremost. And so I try to do that.

On the first day I wrote 1,100 words on a 2,500-2,800 word film essay. On the second day I added another 1,000 words. On the third day I decided to try a different approach and started all over again; 660 words on the third day. On the fourth day the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, were playing Australia in the world cup semi-final. Words written: 0. Beers consumed: roughly 7.

I can’t know the meaning of self-discipline unless I cave in once or twice, right?

On the fifth day, I woke up at 11am and then spent almost 4 hours reading Harry Potter. Word count so far: 281. On assignment: Zero.

Time to turn the day upside down and live out my fantasies while I’m awake and spend the dark hours writing without interruption…

Race Against the Clock

Yesterday I had my final tutorial for trimester 1. All that remains to do now are my final assignments, and then I’m officially halfway through my BA.

So today I’m spending roughly 6 hours working on one of my essays, which is due on the 13th of June. The essay draft is over 2,500 words long, and the essay is supposed to be between 2,000 and 2,500 words, so I feel like I’ve got the hang of this.

At some point this afternoon/evening I’m catching the train to Upper Hutt to spend the weekend with Nathan at his mum’s place. Of course I’ll be bringing my notebook and stuff with me, but I suspect that might be more just so that I can feel good about myself…

Anyway, I’ve still got two more essays to write, and one of them has to be between 2,000 and 2,500 words, and the other has to be between 2,500 and 2,800 words. I haven’t started writing those two yet, and they’re due on the 14th and 16th of June. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m sure it’ll involve copious amounts of coffee, wine, and tears. And swearing.

I do, however, have the best motivation possible. Nathan. He’s got a week off work after his course finishes next Friday, and he’ll be in the Wellington/Upper Hutt area for that week, catching up with his mates, seeing his mum, and spending time with me. Of course I want to be able to spend as much time with him as possible, and that motivates me to work my butt off before his course finishes, so that I won’t have to do (too many) all-nighters when he’s free. Also, that’s the week before I go back to Norway for three weeks, so it better be good.

I hope everyone understands that this blog entry is just me procrastinating. I want the time to fly by – the sooner I get to go and see Nathan, the better – but at the same time I die a little bit every time I cast a glance at the clock and realise that another hour has gone by, and I’ve only written 300 words on the proper version of my essay. Better get back to it, eh.

Hard at Work (Yeah, Right)

 

I’m still procrastinating. I’m a little pleased that I’m able to find other ways (besides Facebook) of procrastinating, though. I just tried this whole ‘enter-your-name-and-let-me-tell-you-everything-about-you’ thing, just for fun, and then I nearly choked on my wine when I read the result. It’s like reading my own thoughts out loud! Here’s what I got:

(leaving out my name for privacy reasons)

There are 30 letters in your name.
Those 30 letters total to 146
There are 10 vowels and 20 consonants in your name.
What your first name means:

Norse
Female
Lovely goddess.

Your number is: 11

The characteristics of #11 are: High spiritual plane, intuitive, illumination, idealist, a dreamer.

The expression or destiny for #11:
Your Expression number is 11. The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts and rather spiritual issues. Accordingly, it is a number with potentials that are somewhat more difficult to live up to. You have the capacity to be inspirational, and the ability to lead merely by your own example. An inborn inner strength and awareness can make you an excellent teacher, social worker, philosopher, or advisor. No matter what area of work you pursue, you are very aware and sensitive to the highest sense of your environment. Your intuition is very strong; in fact, many psychic people and those involved in occult studies have the number 11 expression. You possess a good mind with keen analytical ability. Because of this you can probably succeed in most lines of work, however, you will do better and be happier outside of the business world. Oddly enough, even here you generally succeed, owing to your often original and unusual approach. Nonetheless, you are more content working with your ideals, rather than dollars and cents.

The positive aspect of the number 11 expression is an always idealistic attitude. Your thinking is long term, and you are able to grasp the far-reaching effects of actions and plans. You are disappointed by the shortsighted views of many of your contemporaries. You are deeply concerned and supportive of art, music, or of beauty in any form.

The negative attitudes associated with the number 11 expression include a continuous sense of nervous tension; you may be too sensitive and temperamental. You tend to dream a lot and may be more of a dreamer than a doer. Fantasy and reality sometimes become intermingled and you are sometimes very impractical. You tend to want to spread the illumination of your knowledge to others irrespective of their desire or need.

Your Soul Urge number is: 5

A Soul Urge number of 5 means:
The 5 soul urge or motivation would like to follow a life of freedom, excitement, adventure and unexpected happening. The idea of travel and freedom to roam intrigues you. You are very much the adventurer at heart. Not particularly concerned about your future or about getting ahead, you can seem superficial and unmotivated.

In a positive sense, the energies of the number 5 make you very adaptable and versatile. You have a natural resourcefulness and enthusiasm that may mark you as a progressive with a good mind and active imagination. You seem to have a natural inclination to be a pace-setter. You are attracted to the unusual and the fast paced.

You may be overly restless and impatient at times. You may dislike the routine work that you are engaged in, and tend to jump from activity to activity, without ever finishing anything. You may have difficulty with responsibility. You don't want to be tied down to a relationship, and it may be hard to commit to one person.

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http://www.paulsadowski.org/Numbers.asp – the website, if you want to have a go. Seriously, I’m a little freaked out now. But also pleased that my parents clearly gave me my right name.

 

On a side note, I have pretty much finished my film essay. At least I’ve finally cracked the 3,000 words mark – I’m now over the maximum limit, in fact. But I’ll do some pruning today and tomorrow. It’s easier to cut back on words than it is to conjure up new sentences…

Something I’m really looking forward to tomorrow though is going to the rally to support filming of The Hobbit in New Zealand. Hoping to catch a glimpse of some of them Weta people…

I thought I just heard some fireworks go off down the road. Hmm, am I hearing things? Too much wine, perhaps.