slowing

Busy, busy, busy.

Far too busy.

Even now, when I'm trying to slow down, there's the persistent canned cheering of NBA 2K9 in the background, which somehow makes me feel rushed.

Yes, the Celtics are beating the Magic in Jake's simulated basketball world.

Anyhow, I intentionally tried to slow down today.

I took my time getting ready for church.

I folded clothes.

I played the oboe. That sound isn't necessarily calming, per se, but that's not the point.

I wore sweats all afternoon, for crying out loud.

And yet here I am, still feeling rushed.

You see, it's been a very, very cram-packed weekend.

I'm headed to State with two of my speaking events (one of which is my original oratory).

So that's wonderful! And I'm excited.

But I was running around so much this weekend trying to get there.

And that has made me incredibly tired.

So, slowing down is necessary.

As a result, let's think about calm things, shall we?

Here are five things I believe best demonstrate what I've been doing throughout my absence here in the blogosphere:

• I discovered Etsy. Oh. My. I think I'm in love. Here's one cute artist who inspires me to get a job, just so I can have money to buy her stuff.

• Have you ever seen The Romantics? If you haven't, don't. If you have, I feel your pain. Incredibly unsatisfying and strange, not to mention it sported the worst character development I've ever seen.

• As stated earlier, I competed in speech and debate districts. And also, as stated earlier, they went extremely well. If you happen to be looking for a wonderful children's story, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is the best. It's treated me very well in storytelling this year.

• My high school had Homecoming. And I *sigh* went to the actual dance after the game. I sigh because I spent the entire evening selling soda in the concession stand. It might sound pathetic, but truthfully, I had a far better time bobbing my head with those folks rather than "dancing" out there.

• Rehearsals for the spring play are headed into high gear. Ever heard of Faith County? Neither had I. But it's funny, I get to be sarcastic the whole time, and there's a Porta Potty on the stage, so all is well.

• Emily Dickinson, I discovered, is great. This is coming from me. The poetry rebel. I checked out the 50-pound book of her entire collection of poetry. Though I was supposed to be writing an essay about her, I started losing track of time in that book. Those spastic dashes and lack of capitalization fascinate me. A Dickinson post is in order, I believe.

Yes, it seems that things are a bit less hectic now. Slowing down a tad.

Please don't forget to stop every once in awhile. Please.

Ah! My laundry is clean! Something else to do that's calming.

So, see you for the Dickinson post later this week?

Sounds fabulous. It's a date.