Being Neighborly

Learning to adjust to different types of people is somewhat of an artform one must master throughout their lifetime. We find ways to get along with family members, classmates, and strangers. Even with this large variety of people, it can still be challenging to find ways to deal with certain types. Neighbors, in particular, can be either blessing or a curse. Ranging from being cordial, to controlling, to just all around creepy, they are among the few from which you cannot escape.

Without a doubt, cordial neighbors are the best neighbors. They are the type of people that you would feel safe living next to, and might ask to house sit while you’re away. They are very reliable, meaning you can go to them for anything. Let’s say you are missing a key ingredient to your famous key lime pie. What do you do? Head on over to your neighbor’s house. They are sure to help out without you having to ask them twice.

Controlling neighbors are by far the most annoying type. They are always trying to persuade you to do things their way, for that is the “only way”. Nothing is ever good enough for them. They continue to make rude comments towards your home, and lifestyle. For example, a woman living in the house next door to me would call to have us get our toys out of the front yard, claiming they “looked ugly”. Also, if one of my family’s dogs wandered over to her yard, she threatened to call the police. Neighbors like that are what make farm life seem that much more appealing.

The most uncomfortable neighbors to encounter are those of the creepy nature. The phrase “Mind your own business” means nothing to them. They are always showing up unexpectedly and uninvited. If you’ve ever gotten the feeling that you are being watched, or are trying to decide whether your neighbor is diagnosed with a case of the “creepies”, proceed to the window nearest their house. If there is a person staring back at you, call your realtor right away. These people are not the kind you would want to find yourself surrounded by, literally.

Being neighborly is seen as a simple task, one that should come naturally to most people. But when living in a typical American suburb, one finds that this is not the case. People have minds of their own, and are not as considerate to each others property as one might hope. Categorizing the types of neighbors you have may help cope with their strange tendencies, and help you to live a more pleasant lifestyle.

Living Without Cable

Cable television and its effects on the national population are far greater than I can express in one essay. But let’s just say that the effects are huge. On the national population, that is. In my life, cable TV has almost no impact. I have never lived in a house where we had cable. When I was younger, I had no idea there were more channels out there aside from the usual network stations. A Saturday morning cartoon for me would consist of the classic PBS Kids shows such as “Cyber Chase” or “Arthur.” For me, these were enough. One day my sister and I were going to spend the night at my grandma’s. We get there in the evening and when I walked through the door I saw cartoons playing on the TV. Cartoons!? At night!? This seemed unreal to me. Its not even Saturday morning! I sat down and watched them all evening, enjoying every second. Looking back, I was a little bit too excited about these cartoons.

I later learned that this magical channel that was playing these cartoons was called Cartoon Network. I learned of other channels too. I discovered it was a common thing in most people’s homes. But not mine. I often wondered why my family had never bothered to install all of these magnificent channels. Who wouldn’t want thousands of shows available to you in your own home? Only then did I realize it costs extra money. Cable and satellite companies -- Directv, Time Warner, or Dish Network -- all cost an upwards of $80 per month, not to mention installation costs. “The cost outweighs the benefits,” my parents would always tell me. They were right.

In this day and age, technology has reached an all new level of accessibility and just use in general. Mobile phones, laptops, tablets, you name it and I can almost guarantee there is a way to watch videos. This being said, paying extra money for cable television is irrational when you can find and watch all TV episodes or movies online. You can find the current scores to a sporting event with the click of a button -- a tap of a finger. Netflix, an online video streaming company, allows access to thousands of TV shows and movies for a monthly fee that is under $10! There are many alternatives to cable, some of which may not cover all the capabilities of a little black box under the TV, or a satellite on the roof, but they sure do come close.

Life without cable has allowed me to become more productive. Maybe not so much with school work--procrastination on that particular area is inevitable--but on other things such as cleaning my room or even talking to my family.  I almost like being one of the few households without all the TV channels. People seem amazed when I tell them I don’t have cable, and that fascinates me because I always ask myself why I would need it. I don't find myself wanting cable or missing all these channels everyone else has. I am content with only having the network channels, and of course Netflix.

Social media helps me to keep up on things I might be missing with cable TV. When the season premier or the season finale of a popular show airs, it is simple to just look on Twitter and find out what’s happening at that very moment in the show. So basically, I am never out of the loop!

Not having cable has been something unique about my life ever since I was born. It seems silly, considering the fact of not having cable to be a defining characteristic. But in this modern society, it is rare. It’s as if my family and I have conquered the pressure to purchase the little black box. It has effected my life quite a bit, more than a materialistic thing such as this would. My Saturday morning cartoon memories will always be different than the other kids, and I don’t see a problem with that at all.

Procrastinating Effectively

It is 5 pm. I’ve just walked in from volleyball practice and am thrilled to look at the clock and see how much time I have for homework. I’ll be in bed by 10, I think to myself, this shouldn’t be too difficult. I shower, and then sit down at my desk and start at around 5:30. I grab my physics folder and begin the endless measurements and calculations necessary to find the direction a random boat is travelling and at what angle. My thoughts while doing this range from, “Why does any of this matter?”, to “I wonder what’s going to be for dinner.” I continue on with the homework, and let's be honest, I have no idea what I am doing. Eventually I feel as though I am just drawing random lines and just begin to estimate on the measurements. Eh, close enough, I think to myself.

Because I did such a wonderful job on my physics homework, I reward myself with a little Twitter and maybe a few levels on Candy Crush. That saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” also applies to “Time flies when you’re trying to do anything but homework.” By the time I was finished looking at my phone, it was about 6:30, and I still had about 5 assignments left to do. Oh no, I thought to myself as I practically threw my phone across the room, I need to focus.

I pull out my AP Stats binder and do some practice questions. Finding and interpreting the value of ‘r’ can be so repetitive and boring. My mind wanders to anything but my homework, Maybe music will help, I thought. Procrastination is most effective when one plays songs they know the words to. I turn all of my Pandora stations on shuffle and before I know it I am jamming out to the best variety of songs. Eventually, one of those obnoxious, moment-ruining commercials comes on and I look at the time. 7:15. Shoot.

I switch subjects, Psh, stats homework is optional anyway, I tell myself, Priorities, right? At this point I’ll convince myself of anything to get my work done faster. Time for the weekly English terminology. I start on one of the first assigned words. Diction. Hmm, diction, diction, dict--di, din, dinner! Suddenly, I come to a realization. I haven’t eaten dinner! As if on cue, my dad calls from the kitchen.

“Greta, dinner is ready!”

“Okay Dad, be there in a second!” I close my folder and race to the kitchen. I’ll take anything to get me away from that desk. Dinner consists of delicious chicken my dad cooked, and a lot of conversation. By the time we finish eating and do the dishes, it is definitely somewhere around 8 o’clock.

“Well,” I say to my parents, “I still have about 70 percent of my homework left to do.” They tell me to get crackin and shout words of encouragement at me as I race back to my room. Greta, do not check your phone. Don’t do it. I tell myself over and over again. You’ll just get more distracted and you’ll never finish your homework. I sit down at my desk. Oh, but what if there is a message that’s really important, or maybe a schoology notification! And now I’ve talked myself into it. I grab my phone thats on the opposite side of the room from my desk due to my previous attempt at trying to focus. I sit there for what must be a half-hour, doing absolutely nothing that is helping me with homework. Twitter is always way more interesting when there’s other work to be done. And you know you’re procrastinating when you check Facebook more than 3 times in than 10 minutes.  Facebook!? Really?

Anyways, by now it is definitely nearing 9 pm and I am nowhere near where I should be in terms of the amount of homework I need to finish. I pick up my AP European textbook and skim the assigned reading. I justify this by telling myself there won’t be a reading quiz and that I’ll be fine not knowing the material. Next is precalc, where I do about half the problems, not really having any clue if they’re right, and save the rest for study hall. That was quick. Its nearing 10, and I still have a few tests to study for. No biggie, I got this, I tell myself.

Accepting the fact that I will in no way be in bed by 10, I start to push the goal back. First to 10:30, then to 11. Before you know it, I am now shooting to be in bed by midnight, if I’m lucky. I study my Macro notes as well as I can. The little focus I had has now deteriorated to almost nothing. I’m reading the words on the page, but my mind is somewhere else. My eyes start to get heavy, and I close my notes and get ready for bed. No sense in studying while tired because honestly, how much can that really help you? I look at the clock. 12:10. Not bad, I think to myself, and I shut my eyes preparing to do it again tomorrow.

In order to procrastinate effectively, you must have the mentality that there is way more time available to you. In other words, always overestimate how much time you actually do have. It is never necessary to know what the actual time is, because while procrastinating, time is endless. Only once you get back to work does time seem to matter. Justifying every move you make is essential to the perfect procrastination technique. Try play some great music you know the words to. Or maybe even just stare at wall. It is different for everybody!  In order to perform this technique the best, you need to have a purpose for each thing you do. Talking yourself into it is definitely the best route to take. It helps to make it seem as if taking a little break--that may turn into a long break--is okay. With a little practice, procrastination is easy and can be mastered by any high school student, with little to no effort!