Adding Back in the FUN!

Introduction:
There are 24 hours in a day, eight of which I am hopefully sleeping. That leaves 16 hours. On an average day, 7 of the remaining hours are spent in class. That leaves nine hours. 3 hours for meals. Six hours then are left for homework, studying, and leisure. Since we are given copius amounts of work and studying to do, atleast three of these hours should be removed/set aside for that. Also, one hour should be removed for "zoning out", which we all do. That leaves two hours. Now i'm willing to bet the remaining two hours are spent in some way, shape, or form on relationships with males. We're either calling them, gabbing about them, trying not to call them, crying over them, trying to decide whether to answer when they call, spending time with them, wondering why they haven't called yet, getting all cute cause we think we might see them, wondering if they will EVER call.....AND there's more....
If we don't have one (a male) then we're scheming about how to get one, or making plans, or fantasizing about one we'll never have (aka "Dr. McDreamy"). And then there are those of you, you know who you are, for whom one, is never enough....and we should multiply the number of hours spent each day by the number of men hours are spent on...as you can imagine, this adds up.....
That my fellow female friends, is why this study was not only neccessary but imperative.

Data
(data was obtained over a nine hour period from 8am-5pm)
Quantitative:
# of times I was asked a question pertaining to relationships with males: 10
# of times I caught myself on the verge of mentioning a male/relationship without being cued: 8
Total # of possible conversations about males: 18
Qualitative:
(thoughts and comments generated as a result of experiment)

I think its pathetic because if you want to talk about someone, then do it, moderation is key"
~Christina

Basically, everyday I talk about school, wedding planning,a nd my family.
~Rebecca (aka Raw Dawg)

I wanna live in a place where soul meets body
~Laura

That sounds too much like school
~Rebecca (aka Raw Dawg)

You need to find a new hobby, something new to do with your time...something that no one else does..just you.
~Kara

Analysis:
Due to small sample size (me), results may not be reliable, but are however believed to be valid. Though not standardized, the experiment did serve its purpose, which was to explore and enlighten individuals (mainly me) concerning the amount of time and conversation devoted to and consumed by talk of relationships.

Conclusions:
I managed to survive a day "subtracting" relationships and, in fact, was in a rather amiable mood for most of the day. I avoided discussing relationships, managed to get quite a lot done, and I believe that subtracting relationships for a day was a good idea. However, considering all of this, I have arrived at the conclusion that it (amt of time spent discussing relationships) may be a manifestation or effect, rather than a cause in itself. I now hypothesize that perhaps, the problem should be addressed not from the standpoint of "subtracting" the relationships alone, but instead by "adding back in the fun". So, in continuing "research" I plan to "add back in the fun". Current plan follows (plan is tentative and may undergo several revisions)

Plan for "Adding Back In The Fun"

1. I plan to develop and cultivate atleast one NEW interest unrelated to relationships with males.

2. Each day I plan to select a "topic" for conversation that is not related to, dating, males, going out, weddings, school, also including all areas of medicine and occupational therapy.

3. I plan to learn atleast one new fact each day that does not fall into any categories stated above.

4. I plan to make a list of everything I'm interested in that has nothing to do with above mentioned categories.

5. I plan to look for NEW leisure/recreation activities other than eating, hanging out, or meeting people out while eating and hanging out.


Suggestions:
Having made these goals.... any suggestions for "topics" are welcome :-)

Further Studies:
If you would like to participate in future studies, please contact me at johnsoap@musc.edu.
Thank you for your interest and time.




If we are incapable of finding peace within ourselves, it is pointless to search elsewhere.
Francois de la Rouchefacauld