Stress and Distraction

I guess I am stressed out.

Why? I’m not really up to all that much. I have not started my Masters Project, although my adviser for that endeavor was MIA for so long that I had to email the dean about it. I have not started my Profile (for Art of the Profile), although I gave my subject choice some serious thought.

Basically this week I have to read for Friday, fix a mini-profile of a classmate and get a secondary source list for my big profile for Monday, work on this blog and possibly buy a webpage and write a story on education in Brighton Beach for Tuesday.

Hm, maybe this is the problem. I don’t know what to write about. I have contacted one possible subject and have just not been able to pick up the phone and call the other… …because I keep getting distracted. I have so many little things to do, like the source list and the various readings, that I almost don’t have time to get to the big assignment. My last for that class tanked for a number of reasons, which I will not get into here. If you know me, you know what’s up.

I should go running to help diffuse myself, but I have very little energy, too, and that’s time I could, in theory, be spending on my school work. It was a stretch to get myself to last night’s Annual Poliak First Amendment lecture, given by Ron Suskind (I’m glad I did). Suskind has a wonderful stage presence, is a very engaging speaker and gave just a great speech. More on him later.

You would think that after two years of essentially answering cold phone calls I would be able to make them, but no. I’m still working on it. As I’ve said, I am slowly becoming a reporter.

Oh, and I did think the sale of woodcarvings made by Christians in Bethlehem to Christians in Brooklyn was a better story than how a church now uses light bulb votive candles instead of real flames.

UPDATE 7:31 p.m.: COMING SOON…my very own website! It might not be up and running for a few days, but with some work and the help of an elf, I might have it ready. I’m waiting for WordPress to load right now. Now if only I could get some more good stories written!