J-Blog: Writing Procrastination.

Who is this guy?

Jason Freyer is a youth pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA. He enjoys his job so much that he has decided to spend countless hours of his free time writing about it in the new modern medium of weblog, or blog. That brings us here. Welcome to the blog of J, or in its condensed version, J-Blog. Jason writes this blog to be by youth pastors, for youth pastors, but watch with amazement as he dives into other topics as worship leading, preaching, politics, the Pittsburgh sports scene, or whatever else happens to be on his mind. Jason lives with his wife Sarah and their two dogs Marley and Melvin. This is some of the finest third person writing he's done in a while.

I am choking on Chapter Two.
Well, probably not as bad as it is in my head, but this is always the hardest part of any writing project I've ever embarked on. I start out of the gate with such joy and enthusiasm, such a love for the topic at hand, that chapter one comes fluidly and easily. But then I get bogged down in self doubt. Maybe the stuff I'm writing isn't good. Maybe no one really wants to read this stuff. Maybe I should write a book about theology instead. You mean I have to do MORE research to get this chapter finished? UGH!

I'm going to keep going, I promise. I started this project on May 25th, and by the end of August it's going to be written darn it. But for tonight, since I don't think I can write any more on this subject, and because I'm not quite tired enough to go to sleep, here are my top 5 procrastination exercises while writing:

5. Ridiculous Rubik's Cubes.

Where to begin? Jake sent me along to this website tonight, and I have to say I'm intregued. Who has the kind of time required to come up with this stuff? How much money did it cost to make that? (Did you see how much it sold for? Close to $4,000!) These people have earned my respect.

4. Not doing the dishes.

There are dishes piled up in the kitchen. I have set up my temporary office in the dining room adjacent. They are mocking me from a distance! They want to be washed, but the air conditioning does not reach to that room. Plus it's my birthday! Who does dishes on their birthday? Not me I tell ya!

3. Making Tea because the Coffee Maker is covered up by the dishes.

On a more serious note, I was given a box of Malawian tea by Abussa Nassiyaya while he was in town last September. It was all we drank while we were in Malawi, and so even though I would probably prefer a cup of high octane coffee right now, the smells and tastes of Malawi are filling my concious and reminding me of the great time I had there. Related to this exercise might be looking through my old photographs.