Better to Burn Out

There were days in this week on which I could not focus, or stay on one task without being distracted by another. My brain was like pudding. Everything felt off. Eventually, I made a list, and overcame my molasses mindset, but by then it was Friday, and I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked.

I'm definitely due for another mental health day. The last time I took a day off, I took my father to the hospital at 5 AM for a heart bypass operation. I can't remember the last time I had a me day, as selfish as that might sound. It's also getting to be the time of year when I have a parade or feast to play nearly every weekend, and a few weeknights and weekdays as we get into the middle of the Summer.

Sometimes, it's good to slow down. I notice that when running, that if I take it down to a walk for a few minutes, I can get a second wind and run further over a longer period of time. That's true with anything in life. It's all about pacing and planning. I just haven't had a good break in my work schedule, between various meetings, emergencies, and side projects, to schedule a day off. But I'm looking for one in the next couple of weeks.

I'm even getting burned out on television, which is normal this time of year. Smallville, as always, delivered a season finale that surpassed most of the other episodes this season, with a few notable exceptions. And it wasn't so much the episode itself, as what it teased for the future of the show. If I'm right, they're bringing in a MAJOR DC villain for season 10. I'm actually glad that show is coming back, which is not how I would have felt three or four years ago.

I'm also glad other shows are done. As much as I love LOST and 24, finally having closure will be nice, and I won't mind regaining two hours of my week. I'm not too happy that FlashForward got canceled already; I think the way networks measure ratings is horribly outdated and unfair. And I was just starting to get into Happy Town, but they yanked that after only three episodes, with plans to burn off the remaining ones over the Summer. It was just starting to go somewhere, and never got a chance. I am glad Human Target has been renewed, and I'm kind of surprised V is surviving where FlashForward didn't. I like it, but the CGI is distractingly bad at times and there are only four good actors/characters amid a collection of distractingly bad actors. They also aired fewer episodes and took a break after the first four until March. When that wraps next week, it will have had a total of 12 episodes in the first season, half of what FlashForward aired. I don't get it.

Maybe the television environment needs to change. Maybe serial dramas need to plan shorter arcs, so if a new show doesn't make it past the first season, at least we have closure. 24 did that, and I never expected a second season let alone nine. I remember thinking, “how is he going to have another day as bad as that?” But then, I also remember when I thought the monster on the island in LOST was the Bad Robot from the production logo at the end of the show. I was mostly joking when I first posited that; less so when I first saw the black smoke and thought it to be a collection of nanobots. It's funny how impressions change as we get more information.

So it's been a long week, and an even longer year, and I'm just glad it's Friday. I still have a few movies to watch and review, a few shows from the week I haven't seen yet, a procession to play, a lawn or two to mow, laundry to wash, and a BBQ to attend. Most of that is fun, but it won't help me rest. This is how lazy I am; even when I have time off, I need time off to recover from that.

Life: it's busy, but it sure beats the alternative.