Need decent advice

Because I have seen many of you intelligent Southperrican's out there, I thought I'd make this topic here because quite honestly, it was the only place that made sense. I didn't really figure the Angry Dome was the right place because I'm not ranting, I'm simply posing a problem I have in hopes that one of you guys that have overcome this could lend a hand. This could even be a general thread to intelligently discuss different types of issues relating to this problem. Either way, a mod can make the call as to whether or not I placed this topic in the right place. Anyway, moving on.

You see, this is my problem.

First of all, if you read the time stamp of this topic, it'll further reinforce what I'm speaking about. For one, I'm sick of staying up this late. I am at my wit's end with myself, simply put. I stay up late, telling myself that I'll study and I don't. I've been blessed with the uncanny gift of making A's and B's without doing all the work that's required. And that's not to degrade the university I'm at either. I do all my assignments and take all the tests. But what bothers me the most is how well I could have done on a test if I had put forth the effort. Point in case, I have a test on Thursday that I really need to make good on, and I've done one section of the homework and studied a little. I tell myself I'll study, and I have the hardest time sitting down in front of the book. I guess you could say this is pretty normal for a lot of students, but for me, it's a character flaw that really bothers me and I haven't the foggiest clue where to start as to working toward a fix.

Second of all is just the staying up late part by itself. I stay up playing Paper Mario 2, Just Cause 2, chatting on IRC, and doing other random, pointless things when in all reality, I should be going to bed before 11pm. And as many of my fellow IRCers know, I'm happily engaged to be married in just a little over a year. Which brings me to the biggest concern of my night-owl tendencies. Once I get done with school in a month, I plan on looking for a job to support me and my better half, and hopefully a child somewhere in the near future. And if I plan on holding a real job, this 2am shit has got to stop at some point. The typical work day doesn't start at 12pm-2pm, it starts at the asscrack of dawn, which is the way it should be. And you see, I attribute a lot of this to not having a job right now while I finish my graduate program, and being fool enough to put all my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. While that may leave Bec and I tons of time to see each other, when she's not around, I basically have two days a week where I do shit that matters, which is class. Staying up late isn't a bad thing, per se, but when you constantly bed down at 2am-3am every night and wake up at 1:30pm on the days you don't have class, therein lies a problem; a rather large problem at that. Who the hell wants to sleep until 1:30pm? In a mere six hours, the sun already starts to set, and then you realize that half of your day is already gone. I guess one could say that I'm just ready to man-up a little more. I mean, I've got a fantastic work ethic, good grades (why not fantastic grades? @_@), and a great life. I'm a 26 year old man who still has some maturing to do, as do we all. But, I guess the problem lies in the fact that I have so much free time on my hands, and I simply can't stand it. I think about this crap every night when I lay down to bed and feel like I haven't accompllished anything throughout the day, and that my friends, is a disgusting feeling. When I lay down and think about the day, which most of the time starts at around 12 noon, and all I've done is either play video games or watch movies, I feel like a totally unworthy human being as far as being able to take care of someone goes. Sure things will change drastically when I get a job, because I'll be working 8 hours a day, hopefully.

And on top of everything else, I'm not the most physically fit person ever, either. I'm not fat, but I'm not skinny either. I could afford to drop twenty pounds or so. The vicious cycle of procrastination and laziness repeat itself. I can't even stick to a decent workout routine anymore. I do workout decently, but sometimes I Just skip it because I don't feel like doing it. <_>

The only difference tonight is, I actually felt like sitting down and pouring out a little of myself here in this topic, because I know I have a lot of friends here who might be facing some of the same obstacles as me, and quite honestly, I'm ready for some fucking change. This isn't really a cry for help or anything, it's just more like a "What would you do in this situation?" Times are changing for me, and I need to kick it into high gear so I don't get left behind.

Welcome to my plight. much in the same situation you're in, save for a few details, this is my problem too.

some things ive found that work for me when i want to go to bed early is find something to do that just irritates me and thoroughly pisses me off, but not in an angry way, more it just makes me feel like pomegranate. see/read as "Play 5 matches of MW2." I sit through 5 round of listening to idiots and moronic kids, angsty teens, and overly serious adults, that it just ruins the experience for me, then i just say f'uck it, shut the console off, and just go to bed. to that end id say make yourself do something you detest, something that will drain you mentally and emotionally. when you cant even bother to deal with other human idiots you just have to sleep it away and await for a new day.

another idea that i have come up with for staying up so late but not wanting to, took months of willpower to muster; just go to sleep at 1. normally im in bed by 2/3 anyways, but im up late listening to that CERN sh'it. that isnt always going to work, but one method i found to work for me is to give yourself an incentive to go to bed early. i found that when i do go to bed around 1/2, sometimes even earlier, i wake up incredibly hungry, whereas if i stay up later before going to bed im not as hungry when i wake up; despite my not even eating anything after 11 as a standard habit. i get to enjoy a bowl of cereal in the morning instead of just having lunch/dinner at 6 at night.

about the grades... well, i cant offer any advice sadly. when i did try to put an effort into my own schooling i overtaxed myself with work and school scheduling, so i ended up flunking all of my classes that i even stuck with and attended til the end. Though i will say actually talking to people and making friends to study with greatly helped. it might or might not work for you, but look around for people that are in study groups that take it seriously, or if possible start one. with no job theres plenty of time, as you've said. you could put up flyers around your campus, send out emails to classmates, talk to your teachers/supervisors (advice i myself should follow but choose not to), and just get out there and involve yourself with others in your class. that may be the one regret i have most from the last time i went to college, that despite my making some strides socially, i didn't do nearly as well as i should have, nor as well as i could have.

though, not having a job is both a blessing and a curse. its a blessing in that it gives one all the time in the world to pursue ones goals, but a curse in that too much time is taken for granted by those who procrastinate, or for my case, arent always motivated. one idea to try and get around that: volunteer groups, clubs/activities, if applicable for you- fraternaties, or just a simple life-style change. you could try only accessing the computer at your campus, and not using it at home save for important school work. go out and explore the world; by that i mean take walks in the woods, ride a bike down the street to the next few towns over, take up a hobby. i myself have a few dozen poems and a short story written ive never put anywhere online, and they're just sitting in my notebook. try finding a small, part-time or seasonal gig. sure it might not be a great thing, but its a source of income, and its something to occupy your time. just state days you cant work and most employers will understand given that youre a student.

best of luck trying to sort sh'it out.

[color="#000080"] Well, I have the same problem. Kinda. Until I started college at night again, I would always go to sleep at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am and so forth. I like living at night, believe me, but is true that the day starts at the ''asscrack of dawn''. However, who dictates you can't live a prosper life going to bed at 3 am everyday and getting up at 1 pm? That's the problem. Society is made in a way the right thing to do is to get up at 8 am. I don't believe it to be this way. As long as you don't fail in your goals, live how the hell you want. Also, I've noticed a pattern in correcting sleep time after you get to 27-28 years.

As for staying in shape, you should move or do something. It happened to me that I dropped college for a year for work and I would work 5 hours and then scratch my ass all day. That wasn't funny. I gained like, 7 kgs.

Oh, best of luck trying to sort sh'it out. (seconding Tobias here).[/color]

Well then, we both have the same problems. I can sit down and attempt to study, and tell myself "Gotta study tonight.", but I never get down to it. Overall, I lie to myself, and pretend that I did study when I know I did not. This is why I don't get good grades in High School, and even now, at college. I'm only passing classes with C's and low B's because of the fact that I pay attention in classes, that is it.

If you procrastinate as much as I do, lock away the games and everything else that you normally enjoy doing while you procrastinate. If you have friends and go drinking, or hang-out often, tell them you're busy (this is hard). Not having a job can be a good thing or a bad thing, as others have stated. Some times, I wish I didn't have a job. I'd have so much free time and can sit on my ass and sleep all day, like how I used to do back in High School. Now that I do, I'm constantly busy with that along with school. However, I get money to spend on food, clothes, games, and of course... booze.

Once you get a full-time job, I'm sure you'll be so busy that you might not even bother staying up til 2 AM. I know when I worked 40 hours every week last Summer, I was so tired that every night when I came home at 11 PM, I'd hurry up and eat dinner, then headed straight for my bed. At times, I'd lie on my sofa and just ...fell asleep because I was that tired.

Theres a couple things at work here.

1. Natural Sleep Cycle - Your natural sleep cycle happens to be a late sleep cycle - just because we're supposed to go to bed by 12 and be up by 8 doesn't mean everyone can fit into that category. You can accept it, and depending on your chosen field find a job that has 2nd, 3rd shift hours. In IT this is a normal shift particularly those that support a business that is country/worldwide.
2. Adjusted sleep cycle - you can easily train yourself to shift your sleep cycle earlier/later. It requires a little willpower, and i've found the easiest way to do it is go to bed when you're tired but force yourself to get out of bed at x AM. doing this will tire your out and make you go to bed earlier and earlier until you shift your bedtime to where it's desired.
3. Training your body - I had severe insomnia when I was in college. I would go to sleep at 4-5 am and wake up at 8 am for classes. And I would rinse and repeat. By the weekend i was so stupidly exhausted that i'd spend 75% of it sleeping. It was a waste of weekend time, and my roommate hated me for it . So when I asked my dr about it, i learned quite a few things. One, college dorm living is pretty much the worst thing you can do for a sleep cycle. in a dorm room, and most apartments, you tend to spend all of your time in your bedroom. You live on your bed, do homework on your bed, snack on your bed, you spend most of your time in your bedroom, doing things other than sleeping. This at least to me trained my body that my bed served all of these functions, so when i'd go to bed, my mind wasnt trained to just sleep. It was trained to do 897265789715 thousand other things and oh yeah maybe doze off a bit. Adjust the habit. If possible, move the computer out of the bedroom. Take out the tv. Only get on your bed to sleep, only go in your room to sleep. This will eventually train your mind that when you get in bed, and you lay down, it's time to shut off. (similar to how whenever i get in the car for a long ride as a passenger im passed out in 15 minutes).

Where i once spent 2-3 or more hours trying to fall asleep at night, now if im not asleep within 15 minutes of going to bed, i know i had my last cup of coffee too late.

Additional sugestions - limit sugar, caffeine and food intake. Dont drink caffeinated beverages after noon. Don't drink sugar or eat a lot of food within a couple hours of your desired sleep time.

An attempt at regulating your schedule will train your body to shift it's sleep schedule, however keep in mind it does require willpower. Also, once you graduate, and get a job, you will no longer have homework and studying to procrastinate. This allows you to have play time when you want it, and you don't have to juggle studying in the mix anymore. With less demands on your time, and more time to do what you want, you'll be more willing to go to bed when you need to.

Like many above said (i think), it would be wise to set yourself a limit to when you should start and end your sleep cycle. I do the same as well and should do more studying instead of random interwebz. However, I limit myself to a 1 am bedtime, no ands ifs or buts for me. The only reason i will stay up longer is for: MAJOR project due the next day and i haven't finished, Midterm(s) the following day and i need to study, it's the weekend and i don't care. Even then, i'll only usually stay up to 2 am, 3 at the very latest. I also wake up at the same time EVERYDAY; no more, no less. This helps LOTS. Whereas my friends (who do what you do) are dead tired everyday, I'm pretty much well rested (for the most part) and have more energy during the day to do what i need to do.

Of course there are those who can function on 3-4 hours of sleep (hell i know people who can pull 3 all-nighters in a row and still function). This is against what I grew up doing (my parents gave me a bed time; I only just recently got to set my own bedtime- Senior year of HS[I'm a freshman in college now]).

From what i can see, you lack a little bit of willpower(as mentioned slightly above). To be able to do all you want to do (i.e. stop procrastinating, sleeping earlier, losing weight, etc.) you need to be able to tell yourself When you will do it and actually execute said action. If you can't do that, it isn't a lost cause entirely. Start with the small stuff like going to sleep earlier everyday even if it's 1 or 2 minutes earlier. eventually you'll get to a goal. I find it's important to set small goals first, then slowly reach for the bigger goals you have in life.

Of course, i find the major factor that distracts me is the computer. to even slightly accomplish some of these goals, it is also important to get rid of the cause of distraction/procrastination. This past spring break, i was without a computer for 8 days, meaning i had all the time in the world to study (minus the vacation that i was taking). At the end of the day, i could study for more than an hour, something i'd never have done before due to the TV and Computer always being on. This also takes willpower, but not as much, since you can basically go to another room with no distractions in it (or the library).

Goodluck in your endeavors!

You are correct to say that I have little willpower. It's hard for me to admit that, but it seems to be just the lack of willpower in scholastic activites. I do not intend to give a false representation of myself. I'm not lazy, I am neat, I love my life, and I do have a great work ethic. The heart of my problem is just not being motivated enough to bed down at a decent hour or take my schooling as serious as I should. I love playing video games and I love participating in forum communities and IRC. I enjoy them so much, that sometimes I will literally sit down and chat on other IRC channels with friends for hours, and completely lose track of time. The same holds true when I'm playing my console/PC games. Since I started a new runthrough in Paper Mario 2, I love to sit down and play. The problem with that is, I always tell myself, "Oh, I'll study after I'm done." Well, "when I'm done" usually happens around 2am when I'm much to tired to even think about school. But, to make things a little better, I have quit Maple and haven't missed it for even a second. That used to take up 75% of my day when I wasn't doing some homework or in class. If there's anything I really shouldn not give a shit about, it's Maple.

Anyway, you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the replies thusfar. Believe me, you've helped. You really have.

You are correct to say that I have little willpower. It's hard for me to admit that, but it seems to be just the lack of willpower in scholastic activites. I do not intend to give a false representation of myself. I'm not lazy

I'm not lazy, I pass all my classes.
I'm not lazy, I got a B in all my classes.
I'm not lazy, I got an a A in all my classes.
I'm not lazy, I got an A and held down a job while taking classes.
I'm not lazy, I got an A and did research, volunteer service, and held down a job at the same time.

You're not hard enough on yourself. You're in a masters program and this is your last year. Suck it up. The better you do now, the more money you can ask in four-six months from employers. Better academic scores does not always correlate with financial success. But there is a reason why you decided to master in Computer Science and it wasn't so you could do nothing and play videogames.

I am neat, I love my life, and I do have a great work ethic. The heart of my problem is just not being motivated enough to bed down at a decent hour or take my schooling as serious as I should. I love playing video games and I love participating in forum communities and IRC. I enjoy them so much, that sometimes I will literally sit down and chat on other IRC channels with friends for hours, and completely lose track of time. The same holds true when I'm playing my console/PC games. Since I started a new runthrough in Paper Mario 2, I love to sit down and play. The problem with that is, I always tell myself, "Oh, I'll study after I'm done." Well, "when I'm done" usually happens around 2am when I'm much to tired to even think about school. But, to make things a little better, I have quit Maple and haven't missed it for even a second. That used to take up 75% of my day when I wasn't doing some homework or in class. If there's anything I really shouldn not give a shit about, it's Maple.

How fucking old are you? Five? Everyone on this forum board likes to play video games and wasting time posting useless crap to strangers they have never met in real life. Good things don't come in life without sacrifice. The world isn't handed to you on a silver platter. Everyone is competing to get ahead in life. There is a reason why you are getting a masters in computer science isn't it? There is a reason why you wasted that butt-load of money to continue your education instead of investing that money in a business or an industry. YOU are a product of investment and you are wasting all that money by not harvesting your academic potential. Many people get sick of their studies after awhile. I don't love EVERY aspect of my major. The only reason why I stick with it is because I'm getting a lot of financial aid money from it and I'm learning technical skills that I couldn't have gotten from any other major. In the end of the day I would prefer playing videogames and doing nothing all day. I wouldn't mind being a janitor, cleaning nasty poop and mopping up floors all day. I really wouldn't care. But people depend on me. Who is going to take care of my parents financially when they get old? Who is going to provide funding when my two cousins who are academic drop-outs are unable to make ends meet? Do you still want your parents to pay your rent when you're in your 30s? I don't. That's why I make investments and go the full mile even though I'm not infatuated with my area of study. People don't like the jobs they work but they understand that they've got to pay the bills.

First of all, if you read the time stamp of this topic, it'll further reinforce what I'm speaking about. For one, I'm sick of staying up this late. I am at my wit's end with myself, simply put. I stay up late, telling myself that I'll study and I don't. I've been blessed with the uncanny gift of making A's and B's without doing all the work that's required. And that's not to degrade the university I'm at either. I do all my assignments and take all the tests. But what bothers me the most is how well I could have done on a test if I had put forth the effort. Point in case, I have a test on Thursday that I really need to make good on, and I've done one section of the homework and studied a little. I tell myself I'll study, and I have the hardest time sitting down in front of the book. I guess you could say this is pretty normal for a lot of students, but for me, it's a character flaw that really bothers me and I haven't the foggiest clue where to start as to working toward a fix.

Why is this a problem? If you've been blessed with the ability to naturally get above average scores then why do you need to consider studying. Unless your gift isn't really as grand as you're making it out to be. I could have done great on a test? The question apparently doesn't drive home and hurt your conscience. It clearly doesn't make you feel guilty and wonder why you're such a waste. It doesn't rip you apart and make you physically grapple in the air trying to give shape to a future that has yet to come into existence. It doesn't make you pull an all-nighter when you feel like shit and deal with people you would have murdered if they were people walking on the street. I could have been this, I could have been that? It sounds like me when I was five years old and speculated being everything from President to Astronaut.

If you really want to change yourself then you'll stop bullshitting yourself about your "natural gifts" because they clearly aren't good enough to make you happy with how you're doing in your classes. And the only thing that should matter to you is being happy at the end of the day. You're infatuated by the short-term benefits that have been provided to you by financial loans and aren't looking at the long-term picture. The irony is that college is a long-term investment. A graduate program is an even more pronounced long-term investment. Losing sight of your investment now is getting rid of a very large down-payment that you could have used to invest in stock, go to Vegas and blow it all off on hookers, or set-up a sushi business or your own mom-and-pop shop.

How fucking old are you? Five? Everyone on this forum board likes to play video games and wasting time posting useless crap to strangers they have never met in real life.

Durr hurr. Thank you Captain Obvious.

Good things don't come in life without sacrifice. The world isn't handed to you on a silver platter. Everyone is competing to get ahead in life.

Because in my previous posts,I said I expected things for free, really.

There is a reason why you are getting a masters in computer science isn't it? There is a reason why you wasted that butt-load of money to continue your education instead of investing that money in a business or an industry. YOU are a product of investment and you are wasting all that money by not harvesting your academic potential.

Which is exactly what I said was bothering me in my first post. Thanks for repeating me.

Many people get sick of their studies after awhile. I don't love EVERY aspect of my major. The only reason why I stick with it is because I'm getting a lot of financial aid money from it and I'm learning technical skills that I couldn't have gotten from any other major. In the end of the day I would prefer playing videogames and doing nothing all day. I wouldn't mind being a janitor, cleaning nasty poop and mopping up floors all day. I really wouldn't care. But people depend on me. Who is going to take care of my parents financially when they get old? Who is going to provide funding when my two cousins who are academic drop-outs are unable to make ends meet? Do you still want your parents to pay your rent when you're in your 30s? I don't. That's why I make investments and go the full mile even though I'm not infatuated with my area of study. People don't like the jobs they work but they understand that they've got to pay the bills.

Thanks for clarifying this, because I was thinking of not paying the bills, since, you know, I'm engaged and all. You think I give a damn what you do with your life? All you've done in your pithy little rant here is double up on things I've already acknowledged to in my previous posts. Wanting to better myself by changing things up a bit so that I land a decent job and end up finishing my Master's program with a decent GPA is exactly why I posted this topic in the first place. So, let me extend a formal "thank you" for taking what I previously said, and making it more wordy than it needed to be.

Why is this a problem?

Oh gee, I don't really know. Why the hell wouldn't I want to make all A's if I know damn well I'm capable of doing so? If I know I can do something, and my own laziness prohibits it, yes my friend, it's a problem. But I'm glad to hear that you're satisfied with mediocrity though.

If you've been blessed with the ability to naturally get above average scores then why do you need to consider studying. Unless your gift isn't really as grand as you're making it out to be. I could have done great on a test? The question apparently doesn't drive home and hurt your conscience. It clearly doesn't make you feel guilty and wonder why you're such a waste. It doesn't rip you apart and make you physically grapple in the air trying to give shape to a future that has yet to come into existence. It doesn't make you pull an all-nighter when you feel like shit and deal with people you would have murdered if they were people walking on the street. I could have been this, I could have been that? It sounds like me when I was five years old and speculated being everything from President to Astronaut.

Wow, uh, thank you Dr. Phil. The reason I want to study more and harder is simply because I haven't been doing what I know I need to, and that bothers me. Once again, it's nice that you're satisfied with being mediocre, but not everyone is. So, as far as I'm concerned, you can take your self-righteous attitude and shove it up your ass.

If you really want to change yourself then you'll stop bullshitting yourself about your "natural gifts" because they clearly aren't good enough to make you happy with how you're doing in your classes.

Bullshitting myself? Yeah, I'm bullshitting myself alright. I think I'm just too cool for school. I'm the best there is, and that's why I made this topic. Could you be any further away from the truth? o_O

And the only thing that should matter to you is being happy at the end of the day.

It does, huh?

You're infatuated by the short-term benefits that have been provided to you by financial loans and aren't looking at the long-term picture.

Oh right, I forgot. I have a fiance that I plan to marry in a year. Then, I plan on settling down somewhere and having children shortly after, while I'm working a job that I plan on finding right after I graduate. But please forgive me, you're completely right. I'm not looking at the long-term picture. Silly me.

The irony is that college is a long-term investment. A graduate program is an even more pronounced long-term investment.

That's ironic? Why don't you look up the definition of the word "irony" and then get back to me. I've been in college for seven years, you twit, so don't preach to me about college being a long-term investment.

Losing sight of your investment now is getting rid of a very large down-payment that you could have used to invest in stock, go to Vegas and blow it all off on hookers, or set-up a sushi business or your own mom-and-pop shop.

Because I'm totally thinking about dropping out two weeks before graduation, really. Thanks for this completely irrelevant piece of information.
.....

Once again, I'd just like to take this time to extend a personal "thank you" for your ever-so-helpful post. You've enlightened me on so many things I seemed to be in the dark about. But, more seriously, as far as I care, you can take your mediocre self and go preach at someone who gives a damn about your pointless little rants and repetitive speeches. Moron.

Durr hurr. Thank you Captain Obvious. Because in my previous posts,I said I expected things for free, really. Which is exactly what I said was bothering me in my first post. Thanks for repeating me. Thanks for clarifying this, because I was thinking of not paying the bills, since, you know, I'm engaged and all. You think I give a damn what you do with your life? All you've done in your pithy little rant here is double up on things I've already acknowledged to in my previous posts. Wanting to better myself by changing things up a bit so that I land a decent job and end up finishing my Master's program with a decent GPA is exactly why I posted this topic in the first place. So, let me extend a formal "thank you" for taking what I previously said, and making it more wordy than it needed to be. Oh gee, I don't really know. Why the hell wouldn't I want to make all A's if I know damn well I'm capable of doing so? If I know I can do something, and my own laziness prohibits it, yes my friend, it's a problem. But I'm glad to hear that you're satisfied with mediocrity though. Wow, uh, thank you Dr. Phil. The reason I want to study more and harder is simply because I haven't been doing what I know I need to, and that bothers me. Once again, it's nice that you're satisfied with being mediocre, but not everyone is. So, as far as I'm concerned, you can take your self-righteous attitude and shove it up your ass. Bullshitting myself? Yeah, I'm bullshitting myself alright. I think I'm just too cool for school. I'm the best there is, and that's why I made this topic. Could you be any further away from the truth? o_O It does, huh? Oh right, I forgot. I have a fiance that I plan to marry in a year. Then, I plan on settling down somewhere and having children shortly after, while I'm working a job that I plan on finding right after I graduate. But please forgive me, you're completely right. I'm not looking at the long-term picture. Silly me. That's ironic? Why don't you look up the definition of the word "irony" and then get back to me. I've been in college for seven years, you twit, so don't preach to me about college being a long-term investment. Because I'm totally thinking about dropping out two weeks before graduation, really. Thanks for this completely irrelevant piece of information...... Once again, I'd just like to take this time to extend a personal "thank you" for your ever-so-helpful post. You've enlightened me on so many things I seemed to be in the dark about. But, more seriously, as far as I care, you can take your mediocre self and go preach at someone who gives a damn about your pointless little rants and repetitive speeches. Moron.

Hey look. I'm really sorry for being a jerk. I should have been more mature about the whole thing and shouldn't have posted at all. I'm sorry for being self-righteous and repeating everything you said. I hope that you can forgive me and that we can become friends. I just have been doing very mediocore in school and I took your post way too personally. I'm not that smart so I have to work hard for every single point that I get. I got jealous that you're so smart and are getting married. I'm sorry that I made a number of assumptions on your character and I'm glad that you exposed who I am as a person. I think it's great that you're thinking about having kids in the long run and I hope that they grow up to be just like you.

 This.

But, to make things a little better, I have quit Maple and haven't missed it for even a second. That used to take up 75% of my day when I wasn't doing some homework or in class. If there's anything I really shouldn not give a shit about, it's Maple.

Make it extend to

 this.

I love playing video games and I love participating in forum communities and IRC. I enjoy them so much, that sometimes I will literally sit down and chat on other IRC channels with friends for hours, and completely lose track of time. The same holds true when I'm playing my console/PC games. Since I started a new runthrough in Paper Mario 2, I love to sit down and play. The problem with that is, I always tell myself, "Oh, I'll study after I'm done." Well, "when I'm done" usually happens around 2am when I'm much to tired to even think about school.

[spoiler=Here's what it should be.]"But, to make things a little better, I have quit playing video games and participating in forum communities and IRC and haven't missed them for even a second. They used to take up 75% of my day when I wasn't doing some homework or in class. If there's anything I really shouldn not give a shit about, it's these unproductive activities."

"I love working. I enjoy working so much, that sometimes I will literally sit down and work for hours, and completely lose track of time. The same holds true when I'm with Bec. Since I met her, I've spent most of my spare time with her. The good thing about that is, I always tell myself, "Oh, I'll have time for other activities after I'm done." Well, "when I'm done" usually happens around 2am when I'm much to tired to even think about playing video games, participating in forum communities and IRC, or playing my console/PC games."[/spoiler]