Author Topic: Goddamn Hobbies (Read 5316 times)

DonQuixote · « **on:** November 17, 2011, 04:31:13 AM »

So, here I am. It's 4:20 AM, and I'm staring at a blank Word document. This was not supposed to happen.

So, here I am. November 23 is in six days, and I have four papers due then. This was not supposed to happen.

Well, what did happen? I'll answer in two parts.

Firstly, to address why it is currently 4:20 AM. I write my best papers at night. I was planning to start tonight's paper--an analysis of the Grand Inquisitor segment in The Brothers Karamazov--at about, oh, midnight.

I then proceeded to get distracted by homebrew. Not mine, mind you, but my roommate's. You see, Hanako has been ruminating on this idea for a while. It's a system of semi-casters called technicians. They draw their power from astrological phenomena, and other stuff. I don't have the fluff in front of me, but that's not the important part. The important part is that she's getting close to finishing the classes, which means she'll be starting on the techniques. There are three "icons" of techniques--associated with the Moon, the Stars, and the Sun. There are also three forms of techniques--bursts, edicts, and fortunes--and three levels (rather than nine).

Hanako went to bed after she and I had been talking about how to make sure that the powers were balanced between the icons. She doesn't want the sun and moon to be polar opposites, with the stars just sort of hanging out on the edge.

After she went to sleep, I proceeded to draft out three possible divisions of powers, complete with descriptions of what opposed what. I finally just e-mailed her my thoughts, after hours of combing through domains and spells and what have you.

Now, as to why I have four papers due in six days.

I homebrew. A lot. I've written a system of Tome of Battle-style casters, and am currently in the middle of my second content push. I haven't been paying attention or taking notes in class, I've been writing fluff. I have been formatting and adjusting and God knows what in my free time. I've also been planning future content. Every night I've tried to write a paper, I've gotten sucked in by my own homebrew--some of which doesn't even end up written, just conceived of in my brain.

Goddamn hobbies. Taking away my attention from actual work. It doesn't help that I'm not going to be able to work at all this weekend--my girlfriend wants me to come down to her part of the state to visit, and she's been stressed enough lately that I know she needs it. So, that takes away Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Meaning I have tonight, tomorrow night, Friday night, Monday night, and Tuesday night to write four papers. Except tonight's almost over, I have to run a session on Friday, and I theoretically need to sleep at some point.

I'm on ridiculous amounts of medication for my ADHD. Twenty-five milligrams of amphetamines every morning should be enough, especially with another ten milligrams every afternoon. And I know I can't up my dosage, since my heart rate already complains when I go up stairs too quickly. And, no, it's not because I'm out of shape--I'm 5'6" and roughly 120 lbs.

Goddamnit. It's 4:30 now. Argh.

bhu · « **Reply #1 on:** November 17, 2011, 05:43:22 AM »

Hugs in sympathy, cause ah know how you feels.

Agita · « **Reply #2 on:** November 17, 2011, 05:54:42 AM »

Amen. Hugs for Quixote.

DonQuixote · « **Reply #3 on:** November 17, 2011, 06:03:22 AM »

Okay, first paper is now done. Now to shower, shave, and make myself otherwise presentable for the world--it involves top hats, I shit you not--and sleep-walk my way through classes. Then, to take more amphetamines tomorrow...

...shit it's tonight, not tomorrow night. Right. Take more amphetamines tonight and write a paper on Beowulf, The Hobbit, or The Canterbury Tales.

I wonder if I could get away with citing the Player's Handbook in a paper on Tolkien's influence on modern fantasy...?

Bozwevial · « **Reply #4 on:** November 17, 2011, 02:54:39 PM »

Sympathetic hugs from this corner as well.

sirpercival · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2011, 09:00:42 PM »

I hear you... I know Skellum has been a big time-suck. :/ Thus, my sig.

Tshern · « **Reply #6 on:** November 21, 2011, 08:22:12 PM »

Long papers by any chance?

DonQuixote · « **Reply #7 on:** November 21, 2011, 08:56:14 PM »

Huzzah! I have now completed two papers. -_-

It's not that they're long, necessarily. I mean, ten pages isn't that much, relatively speaking. It's more just that my days tend to be somewhat full.

Tshern · « **Reply #8 on:** November 22, 2011, 12:13:10 PM »

Quote from: DonQuixote on November 21, 2011, 08:56:14 PM

Huzzah! I have now completed two papers. -_-

It's not that they're long, necessarily. I mean, ten pages isn't that much, relatively speaking. It's more just that my days tend to be somewhat full.

I was just afraid you would have to work on something like a dissertation and couple of superlong papers. Still a huge drag, but now you have a good chance of pulling through! Have strength.

(Working on an essay today as well.)

DonQuixote · « **Reply #9 on:** November 22, 2011, 02:55:08 PM »

All right. Three papers done. One left. Due tomorrow. Currently at thirty consecutive hours without sleep. Time to make shit happen.

DonQuixote · « **Reply #10 on:** November 23, 2011, 04:23:14 PM »

All papers done. Now, the most difficult task: spending four days with my family.

But, first. For the first real time since I started this thread. Sleep.

Amechra · « **Reply #11 on:** December 04, 2011, 06:50:21 PM »

Huzzah for sleep!

And I second you for sleep; I've found myself up nearly to five some mornings, looking up DnD stuff and generally scanning for homebrew (same thing where I do my best work when its late).

And I have an immovable wake-up time (damn high school, damn you!), which is... 6:30.

Luckily, sleep deprivation is more like alcohol consumption for me; my judgment gets severely impaired (I contacted someone vis a vis drawing a comic for them. I can't draw at any level of proficiency. This email was at around 3 in the morning.), and then the next day, I act hung over.

Hey, it's at least better than gradual insanity!

But yeah, huzzah!

Tshern · « **Reply #12 on:** December 05, 2011, 08:17:39 AM »

This is one reason I love the university here. Last year I had two days of school a week, now I have three. Usually starts at around noon, quite often a bit later than that. Sure, there is heaps I need to do every week, but I always work better when I can make my own timetables. That's the price of being a nocturnal animal...

Monotremeancer · « **Reply #13 on:** December 05, 2011, 09:20:58 AM »

My classes are from 8:15am to 4pm and it involves an hour or so of studying after class. Granted; it is just this course. Most courses involve lectures from 8am until 1pm (every day). Then again, I do not have to attend most of them (it helps though), so if I want to sleep in one day, I can usually catch up.

sirpercival · « **Reply #14 on:** December 05, 2011, 09:31:51 AM »

Gaaaah.... I feel your pain. This Ritual Homebrew stuff is taking over my mind. I keep having these IDEAS, and then I don't do WORK because I'm doing HOMEBREW.

DonQuixote · « **Reply #15 on:** December 05, 2011, 09:21:03 PM »

My favorite is when I spend all of class writing up some ideas, then end class by deleting the document because I decide that they aren't worth saving or using.

Very nice, brain. Very nice.

DonQuixote · « **Reply #16 on:** December 29, 2011, 08:51:14 PM »

Applying for internships, I am presented with the following prompt:

"Describe a time when you went above and beyond. Please limit your answer to 250 words."

The knowledge that I cannot talk about the three hundred pages of homebrew that I have written...well, that hurts.

Childe · « **Reply #17 on:** December 29, 2011, 09:01:03 PM »

Quote from: DonQuixote on December 29, 2011, 08:51:14 PM

Applying for internships, I am presented with the following prompt:

"Describe a time when you went above and beyond. Please limit your answer to 250 words."

The knowledge that I cannot talk about the three hundred pages of homebrew that I have written...well, that hurts.

If you didn't care about the internship, you could.

Or you could, still not caring about the internship, write 251 words and say you went above and beyond on your response. Or you could do the same thing using as few words as possible, saying you went above and beyond in respecting their request.

But, yes, it's one of the relics of anti-"nerd" culture that dies the hardest.

Kajhera · « **Reply #18 on:** January 13, 2012, 04:08:43 PM »

On the other hand, think of all the research you've done into cultures, philosophies, mythologies, and so on in order to produce that homebrew (run a game, design a character). Talking about your D&D experience might not be the most interesting to people, but talking about your fascination with the history of Hindu philosophy (or ... sorry I haven't looked at your homebrew yet, whatever you're working on) might lend a more useful angle.

DonQuixote · « **Reply #19 on:** January 13, 2012, 04:13:13 PM »

Unfortunately, it's not a campaign setting that weaves mythology from across the world. It's an alternative magic system based on the martial adept system introduced in Tome of Battle. Pretty much the only research I did was reading through every official 3.5 spell in existence, and I've already forgotten most of them.

Were they interested in my ability to process and synthesize mechanics, it would be a perfect example.

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Author Topic: Goddamn Hobbies (Read 5316 times)