Itching For Immersion

I've got that urge again: the constant, nagging desire to dive into something complicated, something that will take up a lot of my time. It's a desire to insulate myself from boredom and banality by doing something *interesting* to excess, and it's bothersome. I've got stuff I need to be doing! Responsabilities, and such! I can't afford to start making masks (again) or invent a game from scratch (again) or even decide to master Sudoku (again).

At its worst, it's a deadly combination of poor impulse control, a short attention span, and escapist motivations. Generally, when it's gotten out of control before, the result has been a half-assed unfinished stab at something, which (left by the wayside) never fully takes form, and thus isn't even something I can show off later. It's not like I can get into something *good* for me (like actually getting some excersize), because that's boring.

I heard Douglas Adams (of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) had similar problems. His procrastination increased exponentially as deadlines approached, and his preferred means of procrastinating were taking baths and making sandwiches. The day before a draft was due saw five baths taken and two dozen sandwiches made, so the story goes. this, needless to say, did not make his editors happy.

Now, it's not like my life has editors breathing down my neck, saying "get off your ass - the ratings for you life stink!" But I'm not sure I couldn't use those. Maybe a dash of Celestial Drill Sergeant would be good for me, in the long run. In the mean time, I need to find something more productive to do with my time.

Maybe I should stop writing this post and find something more productive to do... Like playing Sudoku...