Procrastination

I have a midterm at 6:50pm tonight, but instead I am blogging. This is fairly typical of me. I figure, I still have a good 6 hours before I have to take that test - that's plenty of time. Nevermind the fact that I still have to shower, I will want to eat dinner, and undoubtedly some various other things will continue to distract me, so that in the end I will have about 2 solid hours of studying - if I'm LUCKY - under my belt before the test comes.

The good news is that I am fairly comfortable with the information. The class is research methods, and I've done all the reading, been to all the classes, understood all the concepts. I've even taken the midterm already - my teacher gave us the midterm as a "pre-test" at the beginning of the semester, and without even learning any of the concepts I got a fairly good score (I forget the exact score but I think it was above a 70). So, I'm not that concerned. I say this mostly for my father, who occasionally reads my blog and always gets on me when I talk about procrastinating at school - Dad, though I have not put a lot of studying into this particular exam TODAY, I am familiar with the material because I have been studying it ALL SEMESTER. Please do not worry your pretty little head :-)

Onto more pressing matters. The Red Sox lost in the first round of the playoffs - they got SWEPT. Unbelieveable. I would be more upset except that I think it's been somewhat of a blessing being away from Boston and all the other people who would be upset. Though I was pretty mad that all the people in the bar I was at cheered when the Sox lost - damn Yankee fans. Your team didn't make it, either! It's probably good that the Sox lost, anyway, because now I don't have to be preoccupied with baseball for the entire month of October... not like Soxtober last year where I lived, ate, and breathed the Red Sox for a solid month - it was even supported, if not fueled by, both places where I worked. People who aren't from Boston don't understand the fever with which we are fans. You may think you are a fan of a team, and that's fine. You like them a lot, you cheer for them, you catch a game on TV and maybe occasionally make it to the stadium. That's normal, and that's okay. Not so in Boston, particularly with the Red Sox. You don't miss a game unless it's absolutely necessary. If you do miss a game, it's against Kansas City or the Devil Rays (though that's tough because despite being TB, they are still in our division) and you are probably looking for the score online or via text message from somebody, especially if you have an ace on the mound. Your mood fluctuates with winning and losing, if only temporarily. Your are Jimmy Fallon from Fever Pitch - I have been told this on countless occasions, and I admit that I am actually proud to be accused of such. People who aren't from Boston think that we're crazy, and maybe we are. But, for a town that thrives on three things - religion (particularly catholicism), politics, and sports - and don't EVER mix those three - being a fan takes on a whole new dimension. It's not a game, and it's not a pasttime. It's a passion. As I don't relate to catholicism all that much, I once equated my love of the Red Sox as my own religion (my mom would be proud). I said that, in my undying devotion to a team that brings me so much joy and so much anguish, I am giving myself to something that is much larger in me, something that I don't have any control over. The Pope, Theo Epstein, and his Cardinals John Henry and Tom Werner often make decisions affecting us in the Red Sox Nation, but agree or disagree, we are always devout. We know that in the end it is not in our hands or theirs either, but in some higher power - that faith and prayer may bring you to Eden, but that everything happens for a reason and you must also learn to deal with hardship and tough times.

Before I am labeled a heretic and burned in Salem, I will stop. Until next year, boys. For now, it's time to study.