Procrastination at its Finest

I've just one question: what did I do to procrastinate writing papers in college...before the blogging age? I can't remember. It was too long ago.

This post is brought to you by the letters P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N and the number 7 (remember that from Sesame Street? Why did they do that? Granted, they didn't spell out 5 syllable words...if they had, we might all be smarter for it!).

All right, here's the deal. I go to Harvard. Actually, Havahd. That's right, folks. I'm a student at one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in America. What I am always quick to add is that I go to what is essentially Harvard Community College. That pretty much took all the prestige out of my Ivy League-ness, didn't it?

Harvard has what they call the Harvard Extension School. I like to think that they are the same professors, same classes, same difficulty...just offered to the Average Jane. There's no application, just enroll in the classes, pay tuition, and you can start earning undergrad or graduate credits with a Harvard sticker on it. Not too bad! I'm taking an Art History course on two American painters from the late 19th-century: James McNeill Whistler (Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother, right) and John Singer Sargeant (The Daughters of Edward D. Boit, below) (apparently, back in the late-1800s it was en vogue to have three names...maybe I'll bring it back. Just call me Amy Rebecca B****). The course material has been fascinating. The field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (note the three names again) was spectacular. My professor is interesting and well-read. All good things.

It has been slightly over 5 years since I graduated from the BYU. I've matured, become more responsible, adopted adult behaviors, etc. I thought at the beginning of the semester, I would for sure get on top of writing the paper that is due at the last class. I would write an outline, seek peer review, talk the subject matter over with my professor, engage in serious study and research, discover hidden gems of knowledge, and basically write the most incredible paper of my academic career. After all, I am 5 years older and wiser and have most definitely kicked my procrastination habit of yesteryear.

Hmmm....maybe I should outline that procrastination habit. It's a term familiar with many of the 18-24 crowd: the all-nighter. Yes, friends, I was the queen of nocturnal genius. I would procrastinate and stress for 4 months and then, finally, when the fear of failure and (Heaven forbid!) a grade lower than a B- threatened to embarrass me and my GPA, I would set to work.

My wonderful boss at the ORCA office would let me stay late. I would gear up with a 16-0z. Cherry Coke (most definitely bought off-campus) and all the books I could possibly find from the library remotely related to my topic and head to the 2nd floor of the ASB. I would spread out all my sources and start scouring. Going through, roughly, 2 pads of sticky notes, I would mark all relevant passages in between swigs of Cherry Coke and a quick run to the basement vending machines (which--in the dark building, at night, and all by myself--totally creeped me out) for Peanut M&Ms. Sometime around midnight, my brother, Brian, would call me up and see how I was doing. He was always good like that.

I would work tirelessly, melding quotes and paraphrased ideas into workable thoughts. I delighted in using the thesaurus to find interesting words that, while still sounding like my own "voice," would make me also sound like a scholar (sure fooled them!). I'd experiment with various fonts and letter spacing to make 2 measly 3-sentence paragraphs (double-spaced) fill the entire page, along with strategically placed images that had been carefully resized to be as large as possible without looking fuzzy. Yes, I had mastered the art of all-night paper writing.

Sometime around 7am, my boss would show up. Bleary-eyed and haggard, I would smile at him and say good morning. He learned to not be surprised to find me there the next morning. My late-night paper writing became a normal thing because I repeated the process every semester for the 3 1/2 years I worked at ORCA.

I would then head off to class, hoping to make it on time to turn my paper in. And, I may be bragging a touch, but I don't recall ever getting a grade lower than an A- on my research papers. I was pretty good at pressure-writing.

But, a lot can change in 5 years. As we've already established: I still procrastinate. Now, my fear is that I a) won't have the stamina to pull an all-nighter and b) have lost the nocturnal research-paper-writing genius that carried me through college. What if part of growing up is losing that seemingly innate ability to wordsmith and compose intelligent-sounding phrases out of the thin, 3am air??

If so, I'm sunk.

The paper is due Monday evening. I'll almost definitely be consulting sources in a frenzy and prying my eyelids open around 2am that morning. Hmmm...after a five-year all-nighter hiatus, maybe I'd better make it a 2-liter Cherry Coke.

Can it be?? A post?!

Oh friends...I wish I could say, "For all of you who still check my blog with some frequency (because you haven't discovered Google Reader yet), I'm going to reward you with a juicy post full of exciting adventures!"

Yep. I *wish* I could say that.

So, here's the latest: It's almost April. The last time I posted was in November. Early-November. Yikes. I think it is high time I catch you all up on the adventures of a Bostonian-in-the-making.

Shortly after my last post in November, I took a position working for Fidelity Investments in their Real Estate division. I am [sigh] a peon. I work for the Design and Architecture group and it seemed kinda cushy and easy.

Until recently.

I am now working a TON, always busy, and slowly going crazy. I guess in a good way...if that's possible! I work with nice people and am busy. Though I feel that I am smarter than my job, it pays the bills and there are definitely opportunities to progress within Fidelity if I so choose. That is a nice thought.

Throughout the past 6 months, I have made a number of fabulous friends. It's difficult to put into words how incredible the people are here. I have met genuine friends who are wonderful, fun, down-to-Earth and really exceptional. And probably more amazing is that I continue to meet stellar people on a weekly basis! Just this weekend I have gotten to know more fantastic friends and I couldn't feel more blessed. I don't mean to offend Mom and Dad, but I haven't been homesick for even a moment here in Boston.

The holidays were very fun. My fantastic sister and brother-in-law, Jen and Mike, drove from Detroit, MI to Boston with my adorable niece, Taryn to spend Thanksgiving with me. My dear friend, Neal, came in from Washington DC, too. It was a blast to have family and close friends to share my *first* Thanksgiving dinner! It was a real rite of passage for me. I cooked the turkey and everything! My dear mother coached me through every step and made sure to have her phone on her at all times should any turkey-crisis arise.

December was spent surviving the cold in Boston and then off to Utah for a very short (I had no vacation time accrued yet) and very sick (we all got the stomach flu) Christmas holiday. It was absolutely miserable to travel from Boston to Utah and back. I was so happy to be with my family, but next year, I'm going to Bermuda!

The New Year came in with a bang! I had a visit from my good friend, Luke, and started 2008 off right by celebrating my birthday with so many of my amazing friends! 27 is looking to be an extremely good year.

A week later, off to NYC for a weekend adventure with my amazing and forever-friend, Tiffany! Friends since high school, folks! And still going strong! She was wonderful and did a number of "touristy" things with me, fed me, let me sleep in her roommates bed (don't tell the roommate!) and introduced me to a number of her good friends! This woman is definitely the hostess with the mostess! I adore her.

I still have so much to say. Considering the frequency with which I post, however, you can expect that one to come sometime around 2010.

I'm not dead yet...

Due to my inability to regularly blog, few people even know I'm on the North American continent. SO, this is for all of you who have checked my blog within the last six months and been annoyed that there is nothing new!

When I returned to Kansas City from my fantastic trip to Chile and Peru (April 2007), I went back to my recruiting job in Overland Park. I was living with Mom and Dad--ultra-comfortable--and trying, desperately, to figure out where I wanted to be. I was too comfortable. And if you ever get to the point where you're too comfortable and it's starting to bug you, you know you need to seriously shake up your life.

I worked through the summer and tried to avoid being offered a permanent job as a recruiter. I worked with nice people, however, 50-60 hours a week recruiting and interviewing and doing all that jazz really got old fast. I was planning on moving somewhere but wanted to keep my job until the moving actually was a reality. So, I worked hard and a lot of hours, but did my best to avoid any talk about hiring me on permanently.

The plan all along had been to move to Washington DC. I know people there, love the city, and just needed to be around other young professionals. I was tired of feeling "old" in my social circles. I am, for the record, not old and was getting tired of the wide-eyed looks I occasionally received from the 20 and under crowd when I told them that not only had I graduated from college, but I'd also served a mission and worked for over two years!! With those quick high school math skills they hadn't had time to lose, they realized very fast that all that means Amy=old.

So, plunging myself into a young professionals atmosphere seemed like the right thing! Of course, being an adept waffler, I wasn't sure what to do. Jen put a little bug in my ear for Boston. I remember saying, "Sure, Jen. Right!" But, as I thought more and more on it, I thought why not. I definitely knew fewer people in Boston and was excited for an opportunity to spread my wings a little further. There's safety and comfort in going where you know people. I needed to get uncomfortable!

As I thought more on Boston, it seemed like a good option. And I am SO glad that I chose it! It has been one of the best changes of my life. Growing up, I hated changed. Loathed it. Now, I kind of relish it! I love meeting new people and having new experiences. I will try to be better about posting and let you know how my adventures in Boston go. Again, most of you know me...and well, let's just say "Don't hold your breath." :)