You've Got Mail

The title of this blog does not refer to the AOL term, but rather the 1998 major motion picture, written, produced, and directed by Nora Ephron.

Today has not been a good day. No, let me backtrack: the past 24 hours have not been kind to me. And not because of anyone else, but because I chose to be counterproductive and extremely lazy - almost to an unfathomable amount.

I knew I had 4 article reviews to write along with another 300-word story about kumquats. After slacking for about, oh, eight hours, I finally buckled down and wrote a little something. This began around 1:30 a.m. Why did I do this? I've been up for almost 20 hours already, and still do not have a solitary thing to show for it. I hadn't completed any of my work.

Well, after writing for a good half-hour, it was 2 a.m. and it was beyond my mental capability to work any longer. My mind kept hallucinating and losing focus, almost as if I had recently acquired vertigo and wasn't sure how to deal with it.

My head hit my pillow but, of course, it could not shut off because my work was still incomplete. My mind continued to race about how I could seriously pull this one off. And then, the next thing I knew, my alarm was going off at 7:45. My ride was picking me up at 8:30 a.m. And I still have 3 other article reviews to write...

I wrote one more review, decided I shouldn't look like such a hot mess, and took a quick shower. After getting somewhat ready for the day (meaning I still had mascara outlines and semi-dry hair) I continued to write. Somehow, it was 8:20, and I had 10 minutes to write two article reviews.

I don't know what happened in my mind, but somehow I was able to write two articles, start brewing coffee, put Pop Tarts in the toaster, and dry my hair the rest of the way. Those 10 minutes were quite a blur, I have to say.

I threw everything in my backpack, raced out the door with coffee in one hand and my Pop Tarts in the other. I made it to my 9:15 a.m. class with about 10 minutes to spare when my friend asks, "We have a test today, right?" I had no idea there was a test in this class. All of my work that I kept procrastinating was for a different class. My 9:15 a.m. class wasn't even on my radar... which showed... in my score on the test, that was a pop test, as far as I was concerned. The teacher had never talked about it in class, it was just on the syllabus. The same syllabus I've been avoiding since another class has taken my full attention (apart from my attention being focused on television, which is why I procrastinated in the first place).

So today wasn't so hot. And after my two classes that pretty much massacred what I had left of my alertness, I changed into pajamas and grabbed snacks. I brought my pillow out to the couch, and popped in my favorite feel-good movie: You've Got Mail. It solves any problem I ever could have. It's such a simple slice of serenity. The movie shows me that life can be that magical, at least that I would want to live Kathleen Kelly's life. It's such a seemingly plain life, but so optimistic at the same time. It gets me every time.

Snuggle. Watch your favorite movie, and drink something good while doing it. At least that's what I'm doing for the rest of today, until I kick my life into full throttle. Which I will do tomorrow.