I have had two separate friends point out / complain that I haven't been doing much writing lately, and specifically that I haven't updated This Unemployed Life in a while. It is sad, but true, and there is really no good reason for it. Thus, I attribute this lack of follow-through and creative drive to deadbeatery.
Urban Dictionary entry number 3 defines deadbeat as "A non-contributing adult." In our world (that of myself and my close friends), deadbeatery is the act of being a deadbeat, and a deadbeat is someone who is good-for-nothing, cannot be relied upon, and is basically useless. There is a whole lot of deadbeatery that goes on in the apartment where I currently reside. The deadbeat behavior is most commonly exhibited by my male roommate and dear friend, who has lovingly been named "King Deadbeat." Long live the King!
Apparently the deadbeatery has started to rub off on me. I have been here for over three weeks. I have probably spent about three hours of that time studying for the GRE, which I am allegedly taking in September. Not that I've registered for it or anything. I have probably updated This Unemployed Life two or three times, and have definitely written less iPinion articles than I should have. The one thing I have managed to do consistently is my weekly posts for the Saturday Poetry Series on As It Ought To Be, which have only occurred because I actually have a real-life deadline and my phone reminds me to meet this deadline every week.
This, my friends, is classic deadbeatery.
Remember a while back when I talked about the importance of routine? Well, I have that now, more or less, and apparently that's not enough. Apparently as a writer I need deadlines. And an editor breathing down my neck probably wouldn't hurt either... As for the GRE, I guess if I actually stopped being a deadbeat long enough to register for a specific test date that would (hopefully) put the necessary fire under me.
*sigh*
New York just has a lot to offer, a lot going on. There is yoga, happy hour, dinner with friends. There are nights out on the town, nights in recovering, and weekends away. There is work and there is play, and it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for extra curricular activities. Of course, to me, my writing life is not an extra-curricular activity. It's not paying my bills as of yet, but it is what I want to do with my life, what I love. So I should probably spend a little more time doing it and a little less time doing EVERYTHING else!
That's it for today. That's where I'm at. A deadbeat among deadbeats, with a nagging sensation somewhere deep inside me that I need to focus! I need to achieve my goals! I was worried when I planned to come to NY that my goals would fall to the wayside and living life would get in the way, and it has absolutely happened. New York, you are a seductive mistress. I have no power over you!
Sivan! Get with the program!!! You only have a few weeks till GRE and you may have to take it again! Put up the dough and take a Kaplan GRE class. If you don't do well on the GRE you may not get into grad school and if you don't get into grad school you will have to put your life on hold for another year and at this rate, it will be another year of DEADBEATERY!!! Don't make me have to slap you around during my visit.
Ha, it's funny, you're the first person to have this reaction. I got a lot of comments on this post on facebook and everyone was like, dude, relax, you're just living your life! I've decided not to stress or worry too much about it. All that is required for my programs is a 600 or higher on the verbal portion, so I'm studying vocab and I'm confident I'll do alright. But thanks for the push! : )
meh. i got 730 (or something like that) on the GRE's vocab section and i studied off a princeton review book on and off for a month or so and i didn't take a class. unfortunately, i needed that same score for math (much more important in my field) and i got something like 550. that's where a class would have come in handy. sigh. i think you'll be fine though if a 600 is all you need, especially since you are much more of a writer than i am. this girl can't even capitalize ;) it's still a very nerve-wracking test though so don't stop studying altogether of course.i think half of what messed up my math score was nerves and lack of sleep. whatever you do, don't study the day before, just relax. i was up half the night doing imaginary equations in my head because i couldn't turn my brain off. enjoy your time in nyc!