![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Quote of the day, from my Latin prof: "If any of you wishes to offer a word of prayer, I challenge you to use the correct sequence of tenses."
(Specifically, he was discussing the use of "might" instead of "may" in the present tense, in terms of phrasing he hears from people doing public prayer. I think it's a reasonable request to make, really.)
Staring at my stack of homework once again--Greek translation due tomorrow, Latin composition due Tuesday but best done today so I can go over it during office hours tomorrow with the prof, studying for two upcoming midterms, reading for Ancient Egypt--I am once again reminded of the spoon theory. Except... I don't have a disability that reduces my spoon count for the day (unless the ADD lack of focus is relevant, which I don't think it entirely is in this case), so much as I have a cutlery count, and my problem is often not having the right piece of silverware left.
The problem for me is usually not one of time--I have a great deal of free time--or even of energy, in the abstract general sense. It's more that I have different reserves of different types of energy--here's my silverware metaphor--and if I run out of one type, employing another only works so well.
If doing my homework takes spoons, and doing chores takes forks, and going climbing takes knives, all goes well if I stay within the reserves for each. It's one reason why I love climbing; it doesn't use up any of the other silverware, and really, I only go through so many knives a day in standard walking. But "translate this Greek into English" and "translate this English into Latin" both take up spoons, and "now write this short story!" and "now read and critique this novel!" take up spoons too, and "now go play on this MUSH!" also takes spoons, and...I end up with a handful of forks and knives at the end of the day, wondering how the hell I'm unable to get any writing done when I have so much free time and I'm not really physically tired.
Possibly I just need to learn how to eat soup with a fork.
(Specifically, he was discussing the use of "might" instead of "may" in the present tense, in terms of phrasing he hears from people doing public prayer. I think it's a reasonable request to make, really.)
Staring at my stack of homework once again--Greek translation due tomorrow, Latin composition due Tuesday but best done today so I can go over it during office hours tomorrow with the prof, studying for two upcoming midterms, reading for Ancient Egypt--I am once again reminded of the spoon theory. Except... I don't have a disability that reduces my spoon count for the day (unless the ADD lack of focus is relevant, which I don't think it entirely is in this case), so much as I have a cutlery count, and my problem is often not having the right piece of silverware left.
The problem for me is usually not one of time--I have a great deal of free time--or even of energy, in the abstract general sense. It's more that I have different reserves of different types of energy--here's my silverware metaphor--and if I run out of one type, employing another only works so well.
If doing my homework takes spoons, and doing chores takes forks, and going climbing takes knives, all goes well if I stay within the reserves for each. It's one reason why I love climbing; it doesn't use up any of the other silverware, and really, I only go through so many knives a day in standard walking. But "translate this Greek into English" and "translate this English into Latin" both take up spoons, and "now write this short story!" and "now read and critique this novel!" take up spoons too, and "now go play on this MUSH!" also takes spoons, and...I end up with a handful of forks and knives at the end of the day, wondering how the hell I'm unable to get any writing done when I have so much free time and I'm not really physically tired.
Possibly I just need to learn how to eat soup with a fork.