Lord of Procrastination (for ever, and ever)

The most effective form of procrastination is that which artfully masquerades as 'preparation'.

For me, this will often take the form of:

- finding some appropriate study attire: I want a big warm jumper, thick socks: after all, I'm going to be effectively studying for quite some time!

- music: I can't just study in sterile silence! No, no, that would never do...so I'll find some..no, that's too noisy, it'll distract me, and I can't have that....yes, there we go, that's nice background...I'll turn it up a bit...there.

- should I have a cup of tea? I pretty much never drink tea but a lot of my learned friends who study lots speak of tea-filled study sessions. Yeah, better put the kettle on...

...and so much time is spent setting the scene for an idealised painting, perhaps titled "Sedulous Study 2: Autumn" or somesuch, so that I get very little done.

The worst thing is when I start to document my procrastination in blog form.

Fair Enough

It seems that there is no shortage of applications for this versatile phrase. Some of the ones I encounter commonly include:

Acquaintance with whom conversation is strictly bound by 'what're you doing, how's that going, uh huh' parameters: So, what're you doing at uni?

Me: Yeah, I'm doing Professional Communications, it's this course which is a combination of Journalism, Public Relations and Media

Acquaintance: Fair enough.

Here the acquaintance has used 'fair enough' to give their nod of approval to the direction in which I am governing my life. They accept and validate my choices the way that only someone who is entirely distant in my life can.

Customer: So how does the food...how... (trails off, looking hopefully at me, pleading with their eyes for me to explain the complex system of ordering, payment and collection that is required in order to gain life-giving sustenance)

Me: Well, all the hot food you order at the grill there, and they give you a docket, and then you go back and collect it in 10-15 minutes. With tea, coffee, milkshakes, scones, and all those things, it's just one trip through the tearoom.

Customer: Fair enough.

Here the person has offered their positive appraisal of a system which does not ask for any kind of external feedback.

Me: And so because I didn't back up the files, I had to go through and re-do it all, which took ages. So that was pretty annoying.

Person: Fair enough.

This particular brand assesses a logical chain of events which are beyond human control or influence, and attempts to give them the impotent tick of approval and semblance of control 'fair enough' can offer.