I'm taking an Arabic class. I've wanted to do this for years. The potential benefits include getting in touch with my ethnic background, being able to impress my family and practice with them, getting CEUs for my continuing education, possibly become trilingual. Isn't it amazing what we come up with as reasons to change the course of action in our lazy lives? As if one of these reasons wasn't good enough, no; I needed 4 full fledged reasons to sign up for this class. And, it's great! Better than I expected! I like the teacher, the room has plenty of natural lighting, the pace is almost slow enough for me.

Why then can't I do my homework? Here are some actual benefits that result from continuing education: what one accomplishes in the midst of daily procrastination.

I tell myself I will stay in to do my homework. I tell myself when I get home, I will have to do it since I have been out. When I go to work, I say, "I could be doing homework" and when the job cancels and I have a paid day off, instead of practicing I do the following:

1. Make more clocks. When that is done, make more clock labels for bags, organize clock photos, advertise clocks.
2. Schedule a yoga class. Get mysteriously hungry before class. Oops, just ate a whole meal and won't digest in time. Skip yoga and skip homework, too.
3. Plan to nap, never actually lay down.
4. Email! One never runs out of chores related to email.
5. Remove and reapply nail polish to toes. Clean stove while toes dry.
6. Hulu TV. As if I can't watch it any other time.
7. Clean.
8. Phone calls that could be made while walking to yoga were I also not procrastinating that activity also.
9. Typing up invoices earlier than needed.
10. Writing this blog posting.

Well, I guess it has worked, because it is now 3:33 and I can do a half-hour of homework then get to 4:30 yoga and there is nothing else I could try to do today but nap and even I accept that it's impossible at this point. Beside I invited my dad to class this Saturday and how would it look when I'm called on and don't know the answer.