My Two Cents: Horizontal Time
I need a good horizontal time to parallel play to perpendicular play ratio. It’s key. Otherwise, I wind up angry at the world by 8:07 am on a Monday morning. The thing about being angry at the world is it doesn’t really do much for you. As much as I can yell, “Come down and face me, you coward!” to the world – she rarely listens. So instead I opt for the latter where I pull my ass out of bed and trudge to class. (Unless of course I’m taking a personal day, which is a topic for another time.)
I suppose I should rewind – what is horizontal time – you ask? Lay-down time. Nap-time. Don’t talk to me time. Plain and simple, exactly what it sounds like. And parallel play? It's an ideal style of hangout– like if errand-hangout’s and a time-managment guru had a baby. You sit there, I sit here, and we do our own thing in quiescent company – occasionally breaking silence, but only on occasion. I try to fill my week with an adequate amount of horizontal time, and a fair amount of parallel playtime. Then comes the time for perpendicular play -- where we do socialize and engage. You probably get enough perpendicular play if you engage with people around you and hang out with your friends when you feel like it. This is good because if you cut out perpendicular play, your friends will probably forget about you and start spreading rumors you that fell off the face of the earth. (And if that's what you're going for, by all means, scratch perpendicular play. But I kind of want my friends to remember me so they'll still buy me birthday gifts.) However, too much perpendicular play will wear you out and take its toll on you -- even the most extroverted of Iron will eventually rust. That's when you result to one of the other trifecta parts.
It’s extremely important to find your own personal horizontal time to parallel play to perpendicular play ratio. This ratio is essential to keeping your sanity; it’s a Time-Allocation Trifecta. I use to allocate the majority of my time toward perpendicular play, finding it the most appealing. Though I do still enjoy extraverted activity, I now find the parallel play/errand-hangout style much more appealing. And regardless of those two, I need a lot of fucking horizontal time. Perhaps too much horizontal time. But ratios shift just as do seasons, so as long as you have yours intact and fine-tuned – you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
But let me emphasize again that if I don’t get enough horizontal time I will need 500+ mg of caffeine injected intravenously to compensate. And if I have a lack thereof, I will instead run myself over with my car.
Kate
