Burning the Midnight Oil

Yes, as the title implies, my work backlog is still there, feeling as overwhelming as it did last week, despite my recent attempts to get my schedule back under control.

In fact, I am so tempted to skip choir rehearsals tomorrow night just to gain back three hours of productive time because I need to focus on more urgent items. When I first joined the choir at my current church (which I don't regret -- let me just get that on the record), I really didn't expect that we would need two nights of rehearsals each week.

But that's been the case so far whenever a special event is in the works. And you know how it is in the Christian calendar... there's always a special event just waiting to pounce on you. If it's not the Church Anniversary, then it'll be Easter, or Missions, or Christmas (the crowd favorite). Right now, it appears that our next special event is Praise Night.

Under normal circumstances, I actually don't mind since I love singing (it's therapeutic!) and I generally enjoy our song selections. But right now, I've got one thing that's really hanging over my head (like the proverbial Sword of Damocles) -- the October issue of the IDQ Newsletter, which I would have released more than a week ago if not for the disruption caused by typhoon Milenyo.

So why am I blogging about the work that I have to do instead of just buckling down and actually doing the work itself? Well, frankly, I needed the break. Just finished working on one article, and I find myself dreading the thought of diving into the next one (which from experience will probably take me an hour and a half to go through).

Hay... God, please grant me the discipline, patience, and concentration I need to finish this tonight.

Path with Branches

One of the recurring thoughts that I've had this week is the notion that your life can be completely different depending on who you end up marrying. Meaning, you can be completely compatible with two different people, but your life will be completely different (and happy in a completely different way) depending on which person you end up being with.

Or you could end up marrying someone totally wrong for you. :-(

And that's the scary part, I think. How do you know that the person you choose is the right person? How do you know that you won't actually be happier, living a completely different life with someone else?

It's a lot like walking along a path and finding at some point that it branches off in different directions. Once you've chosen one of the branches, the way back is closed forever, and now your universe of options has shrunk to what's left of the path that you've chosen.

I sometimes think this is why people are so afraid of making commitments. It's the fear that you may choose the wrong path, then spend the rest of your life wondering where the other path(s) could have taken you.

Life is so much simpler when you have less opportunities and less options. When circumstances limit you to a simple, single path, no further thought or reflection is required. You simply go with the flow. No angst. No drama. No big decisions to make.

Having said all that, I still prefer a path with branches, though. Life seems richer that way, despite (or perhaps because of) the tough decisions that have to be made every time the road branches.

Sentinel

Finally got around to watching The Sentinel today, which I had purchased on VCD more than two weeks ago. Typhoon Milenyo had a way of putting so many of my plans on hold. hehe.

It was fun to watch! The story is straightforward and the plot reminds me a bit of The Fugitive (i.e., one good guy chasing another good guy while the latter is trying to prove his innocence without getting caught).

I'm so comfortable now seeing Kiefer Sutherland in this type of role (thanks to 24) that he seemed perfect for the role of David Breckinridge. Eva Longoria's role could have been a little more meaty, but at least she was slightly more than just mere eye candy on the movie.

Anyway, it turns out the movie is based on a book by Gerald Petievich. I'd never heard of the author or his writing before. The reviews of the original book aren't particularly good on Amazon, but the plot is certainly interesting enough. Guess I now have another name to watch out for the next time I visit the bookstore.