Would you like to play a game?

The little things in life are so much more enjoyable when you’re procrastinating.

I have just summed up my life in the above sentence. You can probably relate seeing as how you’re reading a blog about vices.

That’s right. I know you. I’m one of you.

You like to put off assignments until the very last minute because other things are just so much more enjoyable to do. Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, StumbleUpon, anything that will keep you from typing up that paper that’s due in eight hours.

Oh wait, that was seven hours ago. FOCUS!

Whenever I’m bored with nothing to do, I’ll probably check the old Facebook to see what’s new while I open up a new tab to see if any of my YouTube subscriptions has updated. I usually have a brief session of the Internets when I want to waste time.

However…

When I find myself at a computer for an assignment, I’ll be on the Internets to waste time. I start reverting back to websites that I have not been on since my sophomore year of high school. I’m talking about online flash games. AddictingGames, Kongregate, and Newgrounds are all casual online gamer staples.

Unlike many such gamers, I’m not one to play the games on Facebook. Aside from getting pointless notifications, spam, and the inevitable lagging, I just don’t find the games very enjoyable. According this graph, there are many people that would disagree with my gaming taste.

If you want a taste of my taste, I have listed some of the standout games that I have played in recent memory in no particular order:

Infectonator: World Dominator
This game is all about creating the ultimate virus that causes those who become infected to become zombies. Its retro pixely graphics only make the game more enjoyable. Beware: this game is hard to stop playing.




Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 3
It’s the third installment of the Guitar Hero-like series and it’s definitely harder than the first two. Be perseverant! Your frustrations will be worth the sweet victories in the end!



Afro-Ninja Escape Series
These 1st person games force you to strategically think outside of the box… and drive you to click on every single pixel on the screen. In all honesty, these games are interesting and fun. Once you beat one, you’ll find yourself starting another one.



Coma
This very nice looking game is one that will make you think about life. The graphics make me think of Tim Burton, and the story is pretty emotionally involved. You’ll want to play this one through just on curiosity alone.



Age of War 2
This follow-up to a simple strategic war game is an interesting one. It is your base against an enemy base in battles that evolve through the ages from cavemen to futuristic warfare.




These are just a few games that I have been sucked into thanks to my avoidance of work. If you liked these, tell your grades and your boss that I apologize for your future distractions.

By the way, the title was a Saw reference. I know, lame. Don't judge me.

Scary Theatre

I am addicted to weird shows.  I guess you could call them Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror genre shows.  I love them all.

There are old ones:  The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Star Trek (Original), Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica...

There are old/new ones:  Star Trek (Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Enterprise), V, Outer Limits (Remake)...

There are new ones:  Lost, The Event, Fringe...

I love them all.  I even (I'm embarrassed to admit this, so please don't tell anyone else) sometimes love watching those old B-Horror flicks (or are they C or D flicks?).  You know the ones.  Black and White movies interrupted by badly costumed people with little or no acting skills, who are themselves interrupted by scenes of theatre crowd heads with belching, farting, nose picking crude and rude dudes.

Okay, so that's the part where I go burn popcorn in the microwave.

But sometimes, those old silly, can't possibly happen, Giant Blob-vs-Giant Bat movies are the perfect thing for a rainy or snowy, cold or damp, dark or dismal, afternoon or evening... curled up under a warm blanket on the couch, with a sympathetic dog or cat - or both.

Just the thing to make me forget, for a little while, that I have a paper due and I can't think of a thing to write for it.

I love trying to figure out the puzzles of the good ones.  And the bad ones?  Sometimes it's nice to be able to see something someone else published and think, "Criminy!  I can do better than that!"

Lazy Sunday...Sort Of.

I have a Sunday routine. My roommate and I get up. Go to church. Go to lunch. Go back to our room. Turn on whatever football game is on at the moment [preferably Colts or Bears (<--her choice, NOT mine)]. Pull up my live Fantasy Football Fantasy Cast on espn.com. Yell at the television and computer screen like a crotchety old man. Do homework. And then, my shameful vice, check Post Secret. Now, besides the first on the list, none of these activities occur at a specific time any given Sunday, however, they always happen. Same thing. Every Sunday.

Ever since my discovery of Post Secret last year, I have been checking it almost every Sunday. I'm not sure what this says about me. Do I feed off of others' drama and secrets? I hate people like that! I hate people that need drama in their lives to be happy. I'm definitely not one of those people. However, I think that Post Secret provides for people (whether they're brave enough to send in their own secret or not) an opportunity to know they're not alone in whatever trials or tribulations they're experiencing. An opportunity to laugh hysterically, get a bit choked up, or blush in front of your parents.

It's like a giant support group. With pictures.

Post Secret is a vice, but also an inspiration. I feel more connected to people that I don't even know. It makes me think about things, people, and situations differently - more deeply.

It is yet another way in which technology gives us the opportunity to become smarter, think outside the box, and possibly develop an overall passion for the human race!

GO FRANK!

You're not too busy to read this. Trust me.

Busy,

busy,

busy...

As a college student, I feel like I'm always busy. When I'm not busy, it's because I forgot about something that would keep me busy. Being busy is essential to becoming successful. If you’re not busy, you are either unemployed or deceased. The word “busy” starts to look funny the more you stare at it. If I said “busy” one more time, that’s ten times I’ve said “busy” thus far. My favorite color is red, and I only like you as a friend.

I’m sorry. I’m so busy that I forgot to make sense.

If you thought that was bad, I’m willing to bet that you were too busy to notice that October 24th was Take Back Your Time Day. It’s a holiday that was created to combat the effects of being overworked and to give time to the most important parts of our lives: our health, families, relationships, communities, and environment. These are many of the things that we tend to forget about with our endless schoolwork, merciless jobs, and backbreaking chores. It’s enough to bring you down to your knees and make you curse the heavens and the universe in anguish for only giving us 24 hours in a day.

HEY!!! Pull your self together! It’s not your fault!

I’m sure you’ve heard the sayings, “idle hands are the Devil’s workshop,” and “hard work is the key to success.” Their meanings are deep-seated within the heart of America’s culture, all the way back to the days of our European ancestors who first settled in this country. These brave pioneers had to work nonstop just to survive brutal winters every year (I’m sure you learned all about the Puritans in history class, so I’ll spare you the details). As a society, we inherited the Puritan belief of work ethic: hard work is good, and laziness is bad. This is one of the reasons why we feel so guilty when we procrastinate, and why we look down upon those who don’t have a job. The worst part is that many of us forgot that life isn’t just about work.

We forgot how to care. I know I did. It cost me something that I could never get back.

Back in middle school, I always hung out with my best friend, Marc. After classes were done, I would go over to his house and play video games and watch some quality pro wrestling on TV. We talked about which girls we thought were hot and how we would ask them out on a date. We never did. We were like brothers. In fact, I introduced him to my older brother, and he introduced me to his older stepbrother, and we would all hang out together. We were pretty inseparable. Then high school happened.

I was tired of being the quiet kid. I came out of my shell and started talking to more people. I made tons of new friends that I hung out with more and more. I never forgot about Marc; after all, we are best friends. I just couldn’t help but spend less time with him with all the time I was giving to other important things. Things like joining wrestling, being involved in JROTC, and having a girlfriend can really take time away from a guy. I found myself being extremely busy all the time, and I just slowly drifted away from Marc. Then he had his first seizure.

Marc had brain tumors, and it required treatment right away. I was shocked. His mom told me that the doctors would take care of it and he will hopefully be fine. We prayed for him.

High school still kept me busy with thoughts of college coming up. The next time I saw Marc, it was during our senior year. His head was bald from the therapy he went through, but he looked healthy. In fact, he lost weight the previous summer because he spent so much time outside. He told me that he had been seeing a therapist about his shyness. I was so happy that he was doing well. He told me that he missed hanging out with me, and that we should again some time. We never did; I was too busy and forgot. He had more seizures. He didn’t come back to school for a while.

I just kept telling myself that he’s going to be okay. He’s been through this before, and he’ll get through it again. I was sitting in class one day when one of my teachers announced that Marc’s surgery was successful and that we were going to make him “get well” cards to let him know that we were thinking about him. I knew he could do it.

He never came back to school for our senior year. We graduated.

Over the summer, my brother visited Marc to check up on him. I was too busy with my landscaping job to go, and I lived about 50 minutes away with my mom. My brother told me that he’s different now. He can’t be exposed to bright lights or loud sounds because of the risk of getting a seizure. He would not be able to get his license for a long time. However, he was going to finish up high school the next semester to get his diploma. I felt bad for him. I kept telling myself that I would visit him.

I never did.

I went to college. It was the beginning of the semester, and I still needed to turn some forms in. I went to visit my dad to pick something up. Across the street, I saw Marc and his grandma walking into her house. I stopped what I was doing to visit. I sat down and talked to Marc. My brother was right; he was different. The surgeries and treatments took a toll on my best friend. It broke my heart. His speech was slower, he had problems writing my phone number down, and his sense of humor wasn’t there. His grandma told me that he would be doing better from now on. He was finally going to live his life again. I was happy, but at the same time, I felt so guilty for not being there for him when he needed me. It was time for me to be a better friend. Before I left, I told him that I would keep in better contact with him. I was really happy that I ran into him that day. I still am.

A couple of weeks later, I was getting ready to go to bed when I got a text message. It was from a high school friend of mine that I haven’t talked to since graduation. I thought it was strange. I heart froze when I read it. Marc passed away. I cried.

During the funeral, I spent time talking to his parents. I said that I was sorry that I wasn’t there for him. His mother said that it was okay. I was busy with life. Everybody is. She said that Marc understood. She told me that she loved me and that everything was okay. She also told me that I could come visit them anytime. I told her that I loved her too, and that I would.

That was a year ago. I still haven’t found the time to do it.

Please learn something from this story. I know what it’s like to be too busy. Don’t let yourself forget the most important things about life. It’s those things that you take for granted the most, although you don’t realize it. If you missed Take Back Your Time Day, don’t wait till next year to try it out. Try it out today or tomorrow. You’re not going to fall behind in anything.

I love you, Marc.

Climbtime

Last night, after my office hours ended at 5:30, I headed home, made a quick change, and biked over to the climbing gym.

I didn't eat dinner until 9:00. But that's not the problem.

The problem is that I spend too much time watching climbing videos when I could be doing other things, like research, or grading...

last night, i was stumbling...

stumbleupon.

go there. now. download the browser bar.
and brace yourself for yet another reason to waste time on the internet.
or is it really wasteful?

stumbleupon allows users to browse the internet specific to their own personal interests. this website provides a LONG list (complete with checkable boxes) of topics/interests/genres/themes/things that you can choose to narrow down your search. if after a day of stumbling, you decided that you're sick of cats (you wouldn't even believe how much cat stuff is on the internet), you can go back and uncheck that box!


and after making your interests known to the lovely people/machines/technology at stumbleupon...let the addiction begin.

with the click of a button ("Stumble!"), you're off! warning: this may end up being a few hours.

several (cough cough, carr) would argue that the internet is negatively impacting our generation, and generations to come. however, stumbleupon gives everyone with access to the internet, the opportunity to stimulate their mind, and perhaps discover new things about areas they're interested in...or not (hence, the thumb's down button). i've discovered things and places on the internet that i had no idea existed; nor would i have ever figured out without the help of this website.

a very minuscule selection of my stumbling results over the last few days:

sharpie decor
historic facebook
faraway places
buying things dressed as a bank robber!
SUPER COOL!


although this website is somewhat of an addiction and a vice, what i find on stumbleupon inspires me to travel. to be a better person. take pictures. cook. laugh. create. it never ceases to be intriguing, and sometimes, surprisingly educational. go see for yourself.

Ideas Ideas Everywhere

For many college students, and students of all ages, one of the greatest struggles is knowing what to write. Knowing where to get ideas can seem like a herculean odyssey. I often don't know where to start. That was, until I saw this diagram on Frank Chimero's blog.

Questions about where and how to start can make the paper writing process wrought with anxiety. This stress can manifest in very physical ways. Perhaps the two most common "side effects" are headaches and nausea, with tiredness as a close third contender. However, in extreme cases it can manifest as vomiting, and racing of the heart [aka you feel like your heart is going to flop out of your chest it's pounding so hard].

Seriously scary isn't it?

I personally usually feel like this...




I know I should get started early. Procrastination is not a vice I enjoy having. I mean, I do my best..

'Cause, who really wants to face those messy physical side effects?