'Life is just one damned thing after another'

I thought this quote was by Winston Churchill though apparently it's from Elbert Hubbard. Not that this sentiment hasn't been expressed by just about every person on the planet at some point.

I've been in DC for four days and am leaving for Kenya tomorrow. In the past four days I've had to deal with getting a visa for Mozambique, putting together an application for a research permit in Kenya, going to a travel clinic for updated immunization shots and malaria medicine, calling my insurance to get a three-month supply of prescriptions, dealing with GW bureaucracy to get reimbursed for travel expenses, going to the dentist, making doctor's appointments for when I come back, meeting at the Smithsonian with my dissertation co-chairs, organizing my research for Kenya and South Africa, making hotel reservations and other travel plans, registering with the US embassies abroad, seeing friends, trying to squeeze in yoga classes, etc etc etc. Today, as I was running around, it really hit me that it is never going to end. I've chosen to have an active life, I'm a 'doer', and things will probably never. slow. down. for. me. If I wasn't traveling I'm sure I'd be running around doing something else. So, it's time for me to stop waiting for things to calm down and instead find a way to not let the business in my life overtake me.

I really think that for the next few months, perhaps the next year, I need to do some major simplification of my life. Finishing my dissertation, yoga/meditation, friendships, and preparing for the next phase of my life. And that's it.