a friday night song

Something new is breaking
like hope gone underground
outlasting all its enemies
and coming up again

I don't know what to say
And not sure what I'll see
It's a good thing
this doesn't depend on me

on the way

Chapter 36

Concerning how our young hero plots his escape from the undisciplined life

Today I took a step in the right direction. Charlotta graciously offered to help me plan out my assignments for the next few weeks and block out my weekly schedule. Seeing classes and meetings charted out on paper gives me such a better idea of how much time there is(n't) in a week. I sectioned off a few blocks for my independent study.
Something about scheduling out the week down to the quarter hour sounds terribly appealing and practical to me, yet when I meet the reality of things, I'd rather leave it loose. By default, I let myself believe that time goes on hold while I sit down to relax, that the important things will somehow get done. It will be a love-hate struggle toward discipline.
For now, I'm off to the library to research. Maybe I'll go to the bookstore first to get a folding file to keep my research in. Saturday is good for making up for lost time.
I went into town today for two purposes: to mail a package, and to get my hair cut. Both were stifled: the barber's and the post office were closed. I'd better schedule some time on Monday to try again.

writing

Thinking these days about walking into the academic planning office and saying, "hi--I've been here for three years and I'd like to have some help figuring out how to get my work done." I think I'll give it another week before that.

Here's something I ran across doing reading for a class today.

"Writing is thinking that can be stopped and tinkered with. It is a way of making thought hold still long enough to examine its structures, its possibilities, its flaws. The road to a clearer understanding of one's own thoughts is travelled on paper. It is through the attempt to find words for ourselves, and to find patterns for ourselves in which to express related ideas, that we often come to discover exactly what we think."

From "Why Write?" by John T. Gage.

I like that, because I'm not a fast thinker. I like being able to make a thought with just the right shape and flow that I want. And yes, when I finally spend the time to write something I learn whether or not I acrually think it.

In other news:
Classes are well. Chinese exam today was a success. Economics 100 feels worthwhile. Fires need lighting under my senior independent study. The weather has gotten cold. My sore throat hasn't come back. I am still waking up with enough time for some study and prayer. InterVarsity feels alive. The dining hall is making Asian food on Mondays. The Lord is still good.