Part IV of Not-Studying, Effectively

Wednesday the 20th…Again, I'm

confronted with the status of my priorities. My roommate and I have been talking about watching the movie Paradise Now for months now. Neither of us have had the time, or at least had time at the same time. Wednesday night though, we were both sitting on the couch trying not to do homework with it in front of us.
I was working on Arabic, one of my four classes on Tuesday/Thursday. Paradise Now follows the events of two Palestinians after they decide to become suicide bombers, claimed martyrs, in Tel-Aviv, Israel. In line with the precedent I had set recently, I voted for the movie over hw. Nathan seconded that motion.
It was a heavy movie, not one that is conducive to interruptions…which is exactly what we had through the whole thing. Another roommate and friends were filming a short movie and our house was the main location. Inevitably, they were coming through the living room clanging equipment or discussing the last scene they shot as Nathan and I strained to hear the bomber’s taped confession of faith.
We realized that to finish our movie, they had to finish filming theirs. So, when they asked us to help, we were more than happy to oblige.
It was a cool scene and they did well. We got to finish our movie, and I am excited to see the final product of the one we helped finish.

Part III Not-Studying Effectively

Tuesday April 19, I again had a “to study or not to study” decision to make. Mondays are characteristically long, tough nights, since I go to four classes (usually all requiring hw) after work. This particular Monday was no exception.
Come two o’clock though, I began to see it differently. I got a text from a friend saying that their intramural softball team was down a few players and needed a hand. In that moment I realized for the umpteenth time that life is a series of smart and dumb decisions, and most of the dumb ones can be remedied by hard work.
I texted the guy back saying I’d be there, knowing that I was gunna have to stay up an hour or so later. I decided that if you aren’t developing relationships, you have no one to share your smart decisions with. I made a pre-emptive dumb decision…maybe that’s a stretch.
The game was close for the first few innings, but we pulled away in the last two winning by five or six.
I finished my homework that night, and life went on…plus our team made the playoffs!

Part II of Not Studying Effectively

Saturday April 16 was the annual Presidential Concert that Baylor University choirs put present in honor of the current president of the university. I knew that I had to go to that concert for credit in Music Appreciation, which meant I had to get the rest of my homework done early that afternoon. I woke up at 11 am to a text message from a friend asking if I wanted to play soccer at two. Not really a question. Soccer is way more enjoyable than reading for Brit. Lit! …not to insult Joseph Conrad or anything, but its just not really a contest.
I show up at the BSB fields to find out my friend had cancelled, and only four people showed up. Not only that, but the ROTC was hosting a state-wide ROTC event on the BSB fields…all of them.
Not willing to give up just yet we decide to move to “Edge Field” where the band practices and call two other people. So we play three on three on a small field for

a while, then the ROTC moves over to the field we were on! We just could catch a break.
Their event on “Edge Field” was just running in a simulated track … i.e. chalk lines on grass. That being the case we kept playing in the infield of their track.
That was alotta fun. Much more fun than trying to read Heart of Darkness on such a beautiful, sunshiny day!

4 Ways Not to Study

I swam across the Brazos and back this Saturday.

This weekend I had grand illusions of spending all Saturday preparing for a test on Monday, leaving Sunday to prepare for my Tuesday classes. I began the morning eating a hearty Rudy’s breakfast of steak, egg, cheese, and refried beans with a few friends, a meal heavy enough to begin a days worth of serious study.

After breakfast and a quick look at the King James Bible exhibit in the Mayborn Museum, I went to Cameron Park to study in the beautiful sunshine. Sadly, even though glorious spring days should not be spent inside, studying should never be done inside.

After about thirty…fifteen minutes of serious studying, the call of the water was too loud to ignore. Three friends and I could no longer deny the challenge of the opposing shore. We swam across the river. It was rough. We came back, and I lay out on the side of the shore. I lay there for 45 minutes trying to recuperate from my first long swim this spring.

Over all I spent four hours in Cameron Park, and maybe a total of thirty minutes studying. Beautiful spring days are not meant for studying.