Between Mrs. M and Mrs. P...

I am a phlegmatic melancholic person by nature. Melancholic - because I find joy and satisfaction in making lists AND schedules. And normally if something does not happen according to plan, I would just abandon the whole idea altogether, because to me a plan must be carried out to the letter, failing which, I might as well forget about the whole thing! (My phlegmatic pull has something to do with this, I think?!)

So, the melancholic part of me felt that I had to come up with a new timetable today because the old timetable has somewhat lost its relevance : I have not really been sticking to it as I should have. This was NOT just due to foreseen and unforeseen circumstances, but, also because the Phlegmatic part of me has taken over my whole being, and it has taken my Melancholic trait hostage! And as this ‘hostage drama’ unfolded itself in the last few weeks, Mrs. Phlegmatic (hereinafter referred to as “Mrs. P”) has been quite victorious : and I have been procrastinating on stuff which should have been done ages ago!!! Mrs. P kept on saying, ‘Just take it easy, take your time…It’ll be alright at the end of the day….’

HOWEVER, the glorious spring weather that we had today in Newcastle upon Tyne somehow jolted and woke Mrs. Melancholic (hereinafter referred to as “Mrs. M”) up, and I realized that I REALLY have to buck up because the longer daytime that we are having now means that Summer is just around the corner AND I have to tie all the loose ends in my thesis before the University breaks for Summer Vacation! Panic! Panic!

But, instead of coming up with a comprehensive hourly schedule which Mrs. M in me would have loved, a compromise was reached between Mrs. M and Mrs. P, and yours truly came up with a rather flexible timetable (to make sure that Mrs. M does not freak out in the crucial months ahead if Mrs. P decides to take the upper hand again!)

So, roughly – under the new regime, my day would start at 6:00a.m (or earlier, depending on when waktu Suboh ends nearing Summer) and ends at 12:00 midnight. I start my timetable with the word “UP”, and ends it with “Zzzzzzzzzz”. And in between, I have my SLOG, coffee, BLOG, Lunch, SLOG again, Tea, SLOG yet again, Dinner, BLOG and a final round of SLOG, before I hit the LOG with “Zzzzzzzzz”. (And I came to realize while drawing up the timetable that Blogging time is rather crucial to me as it would be the only thing that will keep me sane over the next couple of months here – hence, two daily slots for it! Hip Hip Hurrah!!!)

Mrs. M is quite pleased with the new timetable, and to make sure that Mrs. P is also happy with it, Yours Truly have decided to only follow it….starting….tomorrow. (Hey, I need to make sure everybody is happy, right?!)

So, to all of you out there who are drifting away because there is a conflict between the “more sensible you” and “the more impossible you”, wherever you are…maybe you need to do as I did – decide what you need to do, and try to reach an acceptable and reasonable compromise between the two. Insya Allah, it WILL be alright at the end of the day. All the best to ALL of us, eh?

Wassalam…