local distractions

After a Riversless day spent with a sleepless Harper and an awesome Costa Rican karaoke show on local TV, I am officially unmotivated to write my thesis proposal. Theorizing on effects of the new media is far too much for my tired mind to process, especially with the impressively tone-deaf voices assaulting my quiet house. Sure, I could just turn off the tube and be left in peace, but the anti-melodic tunes somehow make me feel better about myself. And also, Rivers is running in an international 10km race today and I'm waiting to see the results on the news. I don't know what time Costa Ricans watch the news, but so far, I do know that they can't sing.

The hardest part about writing a long paper is starting. I sit down at the computer, try to tune-out the ten year old girl and her accordian, and my mind is blank. I bite my nails, scratch my head and take a sip of the precious Diet Dr. Pepper I bought at a high-scale grocery store designed for people like me-gringos pretending to love the rustic, "ethnic" lifestyle of Central America and then, when no one's looking, sneak out of their little rural village, get on the freeway and feel a calming sense of familiarity as they walk through sliding doors and into an air-conditioned store filled with all the guilty luxuries they've professed to be better-off without. Yeah, that's me. What a poser.

Where am I going with this? (Oh wow-a translated version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Yes, it's even better in Spanish.) Anyways, I'm obviously just trying to avoid the fact that one way or another, this paper has to be written.

Okay, back to work, I guess. Or I might just give up on homework for the night and cozy-up to the sweet, sweet sounds of Costa Rican falsetto. Tempting...