I responded to my setback in the worst possible (and probably predictable for a long-time gamer) way: escapism.

Seeing how Mass Effect 2 is coming out in January '10, I might as well square away a good save game file with a hero to import, right? So that was my Thursday, Friday, Saturday, reinstalling and playing Mass Effect. I probably would have finished the game if I didn't start over a few times.

Now I'm sitting here on Sunday feeling not unlike I've a hangover. I probably spent even less time gaming than I did on forums. My week of vacation off is over, and it's like sand through my fingers. What a waste of time the later half of this week has been.

You know what? Screw this noise. It's time to set priorities where I want them to be instead of where I think they aught to be.

1. I'm not terribly happy with this school grind I've been doing, and I'm thinking I was mistaken to try to prioritize school first. I'll just put the bare minimum effort towards passing and, I wouldn't be surprised to discover, I might end up doing even better than wracking my brain at it.
   
2. Gaming falls fairly low on my priority list too because, really, I'm bored of the typical game. There's so much over-commercialized crap these days - I really prefer to try to get back to the basics that made this hobby great to begin with.
   
3. Making games (and getting my fat kester on a treadmill every once in awhile simply so my physical inactivity doesn't make me feel like crap) should be my top priority. Not because I've an imaginary picture of being a great game designer in my head, but because the process of creation is probably one of the few true joys I have left in life.

So that's how it's going to be over the last couple weeks of school for this semester. With any luck, I'll end up wasting a lot less time on forums, because any time I'm on a forum is just idling in the face of cognitive dissonance, and this plan I'm outlining here is the opposite: going with the flow.