During one of my classes today I discussed with some of my Latin students the concept of "mañana mañana", that being putting things off until the tomorrow which, of course, never actually comes. They were delighted to know that we have a word for it in English; procrastination.
pro·cras·ti·nate 
(prō-krăs′tə-nāt′, prə-)
(prō-krăs′tə-nāt′, prə-)v. pro·cras·ti·nat·ed, pro·cras·ti·nat·ing, pro·cras·ti·nates
v.intr.
To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.
v.tr.
To postpone or delay needlessly.
[Latin prōcrāstināre, prōcrāstināt- : prō-, forward; see pro-1 + crāstinus, of tomorrow (fromcrās, tomorrow).]
pro·cras′ti·na′tion n.
pro·cras′ti·na′tor n.
I'd love to be able to say that I'm not a slave to this dispicable affliction, but indeed this blog itself is often a means to waste time before doing a more pressing task. Over the course of this evening, I've made four cups of tea, taken a bath, watched two episodes of American Horror Story (my new favourite show), Masterchef, and the episode of Sabrina that inspired this post's title, as well as taking various toilet and tobacco breaks, all in the vain hope that the pile of marking that I've been periodically making my way through would somehow disappear whilst I was off doing something more interesting.
But of course it doesn't. I'd like to preach to you, dear reader, on the dangers of leaving things to the last minute, but in all honesty, I would be an utter hypocrite to do so. What I will say, however, is that those dishes aren't going to do themselves, those lesson plans are going to magically fill in, and not even owning a talking feline is going to get those exam papers marked. So sure, stick the telly on, get yourself a cup of tea, but the sooner it gets done, the sooner you can relinquish that little whisper of guilt in the back of your mind.
Learn from the Spanish; tomorrow never comes.
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