Things I should not do: drink so much soda, sleep so little, wait a month to blog about a book.

The consequences of the first two are evident and possibly related.  The third one results in me not remotely remembering what to say about it.

This example comes courtesy of Tim Tharp’s “The Spectacular Now,” which while a good read did fall a tiny bit short of my expectations.  It follows the story of a SUPREMELY confident — at least outwardly — high school kid named Sutter who has a love for alcohol, himself and a girls who tire of his antics.

As the title suggests, his main focus in life is the present.  He acts accordingly with little forethought or consideration for what those actions might bring.  One afternoon he’s sitting on the hood of his car drinking with his best friend and notes how the day’s nice weather probably means a hot summer is coming, but that he’s not worrying about that.

“I was never big on the future,” Sutter says.  “I admire people who are, but it just never was my thing.”

This is the only section I actually remember highlighting.  I’m not present-focused like Sutter, but I’m also not someone who has peered far into the future with a blueprint for how it’s all going to play out.  I’ve never had a five- or 10-year plan.  I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.  I don’t have a bucket list or a piece of paper listing my life goals.  I have plenty of friends who do all of these things, but whenever I think about them, all I can picture is the last five or 10 years and how utterly unpredictable most of it would have been.

What I do know about the future is that I won’t wait so long next time so that I have more to say.  To make up for it now, enjoy this picture of some ducks: