I'm not too good with scheduling. I understand that most people like to plan activities out and organize their time well, but my own thinking is that if I surround myself with people who do follow a schedule, then I got some of the benefits without any of the work. I can just piggyback onto their schedule, which usually works well for me.
It's not fool-proof, however. Proof of that is the last weekend of August. For a long time now, Diddy, CB, Klynch, and I have been planning a trip to New York that weekend to see the first 2 days of the US Open. Well, there's more to it than that.
Basic checklist for that trip:
1) Become blood brothers with Roger Federer.
2) See Ground Zero.
3) Eat some pizza.
4) Find that scary hostel I stayed at last time in NYC with the chicken wire roof, encourage lodgers there to padlock their door securely before turning in for the night.
5) Terrify the locals, while evading the authorities.
It's going to be a great trip and we've been talking this up for a while now.
At the same time, I've been vaguely aware of my own high school reunion. Now, I could go either way on my reunion. If Facebook has taught me anything, it's that I don't have a great, great deal in common with some of my former classmates. Anyone who sends me 15 requests to take the "Which brand of body scrub are you?!?" quiz is probably not my BFF. Still, I had a lot of great friends that I'd like to see again, so there was some allure to the reunion.
I had these two events looming at some point in the future, but I didn't know exactly when. I was aware that the US Open was at the end of August, as there are airline tickets involved. As for the reunion, I seemed to recall a distinct September or October vibe. I committed to both, thinking it'd be no problem to hit each one. And then, after Laura asked for the 13th time just when the reunion was, I looked at the website and realized they were both on the same day.
This kind of thing happens to me all the time, and I don't see it as an argument in favor of keeping a schedule. Even if I'm keeping a schedule, they both happen the same weekend. Isn't it better that I commit to going to both and get everyone excited rather than say no and break the hearts and spirits of America?
I'm going to New York and skipping the reunion. I've only spent 3 days with the people of New York in my life, while I spent 13 consecutive years with the people at the reunion. Based only on the numbers, it'd be selfish to do otherwise. I expect you'll hear a lot of "Where's that handsome devil, something-Powell?" around the streets of Dallas on August 28. Just point towards New York, Roger Federer will, at that very moment, be giving me a piggy back ride.
Posted by Cody at August 17, 2009 7:46 PM