does it make you happy?

for my comm class, i'm researching global media and happiness. i haven't really figured out what link i want to make yet (are advertisers manipulating our happiness to make us buy stuff? is google helping me find a good self help group to make me happier? is globalization in general making us happier?), but i'll get there. the deadline is coming up next tuesday, so of course i'm procrastinating. oh, technically it's not due until dec 14th, but i'll be in barcelona from nicki day (dec 12) to dec 14th, and i dont want to worry about a silly comm paper.

what's difficult about researching this specific topic is that when i do it, i really want to be happy. know what makes me more happy than looking up articles in online databases? like, everything. oh, sure, i'll run across an interesting article and get sucked in, but it takes me a while to get there.

getting good research done is like taking a shower. before the shower, i do lots of things to put it off...go on facebook, go for a run, read a chapter in my book, eat something, do yoga, call mom and dad...you know, everything. once i finally run out of things to do, i sigh and turn on the shower. ugh, dammit, shower time is here. once i'm in the shower, it's kind of a hassle to wash my hair and scrub under my armpits. then there's getting out! oh, the ordeal of getting out is almost more trouble than it's worth because i'm all wet and i have to wrap my hair in a turban and pick out an outfit and put on makeup and do my hair and OH LORDY so many things.

but once i'm clean...ahhhhhhh that's a great feeling. sometimes i'll just flop down on my bed, happy to bask in my cleanliness. what a feeling of accomplishment.


with research, it's irritating to log on to the ucsb site, figure out a good database, pick out the best words, read all those abstracts, download the full text PDFs, take notes, etc etc. but once i look at all my scribblings in my blog (yeah, i make research blogs, too...told you, i love the things), i get kind of excited at all the stuff i've managed to dig up, especially because i have this tendency to choose topics that don't have a lot of history/research to look at.


anyway, i'm glad i made that long and complicated connection between showering and researching, as i'm sure you are, too. i've got lots more reading/writing/researching to do, which also means i've got plenty of procrastinating to do, so you can expect more updates soon.