It seems that every summer and winter break between classes I sternly remind myself that the coming semester I'm going to avoid anything extra so I don't get stretched too thin—which is surprisingly easy to do between full-time course work, a full-time job, and many full-time passion projects and hobbies—and every semester by the second or third week of class I find myself volunteering for something that will do just that.

Its like, subconsciously, I can't allow the difficulty level of any semester drop below "very challenging," ever. I rationalize it by thinking its a deep down fear of boredom, but I don't let myself slow down long enough to really analyze it deeper than asking myself the question. Thankfully, I only volunteer for things that I truly enjoy doing. Otherwise, I might find myself questioning the motives of my subconscious mind—and you know what they say: just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean people aren't actually following you.

Thus far, all courses have met my expectations for standard of quality and level of difficulty—a couple have even exceeded that threshold, which is always a pleasant surprise.

Extracurricular Things & Stuff:

So, I almost broke the cycle this semester because I hadn't signed up for anything extra, except I was still obligated to finish the video promo project I had volunteered for the semester previous—darn you, integrity! The project had gone dormant, but then, with a new department chair, [and much to Professor Rosdail's dismay—but probably not his surprise—that I'm still re-checking out one of his fantastic Sony 4K video cameras] the whole thing would be revived almost immediately, green-lit for production, and fully backed with the new authority.

But in all seriousness, I really am wanting and needing to have this project done this semester. Too many projects have become side-projects and too many side-projects have become relics of my subconscious mind (which is probably planning my demise at this very moment). Which reminds me, wasn't I supposed to be analyzing something or other?

(Credit: Unknown, 2016)