Procrastination

With so many distractions these days, how is it even possible for teenagers to actually do their school work? In a world filled with movies, video games, Ipods and television, it feels like almost a miracle that teenagers can get anything done at all, because who wants to do an essay when its much more easier and much more fun to play Guitar Hero? Back in the old days before computers or any of that, there weren't as many distractions to deter teenagers from their school work but it was also not as difficult to be what you wanted to be when you get older- not as much schooling. So as the difficulty of schooling gets higher, so does the distractions and so does teenagers' efforts to work harder to be all they can be.

The dictionary describes procrastination as being: “A type of avoidance behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time.” Which basically means, “I'll just do it later.” Especially in a school gearing up for summer, most students minds are already on vacation and it makes it even harder for them to get things done.

“Well most students, by the time when final exams roll around, aren't even in 'school mode' anymore, they just want to get it done as fast as possible so they can go on vacation.” says Dr. Pierre Bourgeois, a general psychologist who has to deal with some students suffering from something known as the “Student Syndrome.” According to Dr. Bourgeois, the “Student Syndrome” is a term for a special sort of procrastination in school work, it basically refers to students who only begin to do an assignment, or study for an exam right before they have a deadline to meet.

“It's actually a very common thing, students think that they will get just as good of a mark if they only apply themselves right before something is due, and then do whatever until that time comes up.” Dr. Bourgeois went on to say.

In 1992, a study showed that 52 % of students (in the sample group) indicated having a high problem of procrastination and that they needed help to try and get them out of that stage that they are preset on. Many students that do procrastinate are what psychologists sometimes call, a “genius procrastinator.” This type of procrastinator is very successful at school and normally waits till right before a deadline to work on it, but is still able to get a good grade because they are smart, they also work well under pressure. “Being a 'genius procrastinator' is also a very common thing as well, since they're so smart then tend to relax more and keep waiting until the last minute to do their assignments but remarkably, are still able to produce a competent assignment. Imagine what they would produce if they would actually use their time productively and work on their assignments then just at the last minute.” remarked Dr. Bourgeois.

Thomas Hunt is one of these so called “genius procrastinators,” even admitting it himself. “Well I don't know, I was always smart but when I got to high school, everything changed. I still do well though but I do it all like the day before.” said Hunt, who is a second year student at Champlain College in Longueuil. Thomas is in Pure and Applied sciences, which is a tough course to stay in, and he says that he manages to do everything but it's hard doing it all last minute. “I don't want to leave everything last minute but it just happens that way I guess. There's so many other things I can do, and if I still do good with leaving it last minute, then that's what I'll do.” commented Thomas.

According to Dr. Bourgeois, that's the problem with “genius procrastinators.” If they think they can still get good grades, even though they know they could get better ones, and still do the things they love to do, then they won't want to stop procrastinating, they don't really see a point to it. “Although it is sad, they normally get over it on their own when the work gets to hard to procrastinate all the time, and it better then the alternative, which is an 'overwhelmed procrastinator.'” said Dr. Bourgeois. An 'overwhelmed procrastinator' is a student who will just stop doing their work because they feel overwhelmed with pressure.

Especially in the CEGEP and University level, some programs such as Health Science, Pure and Applied Sciences or Liberal Arts, the pressure could be almost unbearable for some. “Near midterms or the end of the semester everything just piles up,” said Josh Wilken, a Health Science student, “and even though you know you have to do it, you feel like you have to stop before you explode.”

Although waiting until the last minute can get you in hot water, some students don't think that there is anything wrong with it. “I don't really feel bad about it [procrastinating],” said Joe Esteves, a 2^nd year Dawson student, “I still get to do what I like to do and still get my homework done. I feel confident that when the time comes and things get harder, that I can snap out of it.”

Of course, there will be consequences in one's procrastination, your mark would surely be affected by your decision. The more it develops, the more you do it in every day life, not just at school but everywhere, generating bad outcomes for your present and future. “I'm not scared, I can get out of it when I want, I just don't have to right now,” said Esteves.

Another type of procrastination some students would suffer from is a lack of motivation in school, they can never find anything academic interesting, so they don't bother to do it. Patrick Dunphy, a 19 year old Liberal Arts student, sometimes has this problem. “On a couple of occasions I just don't feel like doing an essay so I won't do it until I absolutely have to, instead I'll go out with friends or play Guitar Hero.”

Dr. Bourgeois says that most teenagers develop this state of mind in high school, where, for most teens, it's not that hard to get through it especially if you're a “genius.” But since you're already in this state of mind, once one gets to the college level, it gets a lot more difficult. “If you're still doing it in CEGEP, it's not an easy thing to get out of,” he says, “but if you want to get out of it, what I can suggest is, primarily, to do the work when it comes in, a bit at a time, that way, it'll be done before you know it.”

Dawson, other CEGEPs, and other institutions also hold workshops on how to get of procrastination. You can also visit a counselor for help in this area.

Blue Man Group

The show started with the stunning artistic talents of David Garibaldi who used his energetic talent to hype everyone up for the Blue Men Group. What Garibaldi would due is draw an almost instant portrait of a music icon (Jimi Hendrix, Bono, Mic Jagger) while dancing to the music of the particular artist that he is drawing. His method worked since the crowd was yelling and cheering wilder then when he had started.
Now, the theme of the concert was called “How To Be A Megastar Tour 2.1,” which means exactly what it sounds. Throughout the concert, the Blue Men order a DVD information video, with a member of the audience's credit card (not really, obviously), and do what the DVD tells them to do. This leads to a whole bunch of funny and visual stunning acts that they perform over the course of two hours.
The Blue Man Group aren't alone on stage though, they have a full band in the back of them, doing most of the music for them, besides making noise with small to large poles or their world famous drums. Since the Blue Man Group doesn't sing, they had vocalist Adrian Hartley sing the songs that they performed.
They also did a lot of interactivity with the crowd, bringing up two people at around the mid-point of the show, giving one a painted shirt that they drew on the shirt while it was on him. For the other person they gave her a baseball cap with a marshmallow sculpture on top of it. Near the end of the show, they had another woman from the crowd come on stage to introduce the members of the band who does the music as well. The first row were actually given plastic ponchos to wear just in case they might get paint splattered on them.
The variety of what the Blue Man Group accomplishes is simply stunning, using video, sound and acting. It doesn't leave any time for a dull moment, having a giant smile on your face the whole time watching it. An example of this would be one of the funniest jokes they are known for, which is how they put T.V. screens on their heads and mess around with each other.
They closed the show with a nice interpretation of The Who's Baba O'Riley with Hartley singing it while the Blue Men played little melodic tubes with their orange drum sticks. Even though it still cost 91.60$ to see them, it is still something that everyone should see at least once because it is a fantastic show.

Hooters

Forty tables. Four of them filled with a two or three people at the bar. This is a normal Sunday night at Hooters to the dismay of the managers and the employees. This is surprising considering the theme and popularity of a regular Hooters restaurant. Most people don't even know that there is a Hooters so close to them that opened last September and that is due to many reasons.

As you walk in, you can tell that Hooters has a very distinct and different atmosphere then other restaurants that you're used to. Around the world Hooters is known for it's fried chicken wings and beautiful girls, but not a lot of people go for the chicken wings.

While waiting to sit at a table, you can look around for 5 seconds and know what kind of restaurant it is, it's a place to watch sports and hang out with your buddies. Not ideal for going out with your significant other for a romantic evening but just by the name one can tell that it isn't.

So why is it doing so empty on most nights? For starters, the choice of location (Greenfield Park on the South Shore) is not the most ideal place to set up a restaurant like this. Greenfield Park is a suburb, so most people will go there sometimes, but a suburb isn't the best place to set up a booming business. Montreal would be more ideal, because there, you would get a lot of business because of the loads of people and the consumerism atmosphere.

Since they don't get a lot of business nowadays, so they're doing a lot of things just to get anyone to come in. They've recently come out with a menu for kids and a bike night on Mondays. They try and advertise this on the radio sometimes but it's only once in awhile. They had a tremendous turn-out for the Super Bowl as well but that was because it's the biggest most watched sporting event in all of North America so very sports restaurant is bound to be packed.

There wasn't any hockey during the summer so that is when they've implemented these new things like the kids menu. Just the principle of the kids menu can be seen as being rediculous since Hooters is not known for being a sort of family atmosphere.

Yet that is what they're trying to turn it into to get some clients in. It's not as if the restaurant is hidden and hard to find, on the contrary it is on the main boulevard in Greenfield Park but the choice of location is still poor which may be the reason that not many people know about it.

Another reason for why there is not a lot of business is the lack of advertisement since there has been little to none at all. It wouldn't hurt to try and get out there to radio stations to try and get the message out to let people know that it's out there.

The people in the community that know about it do try and help to get the message out, hockey season is also coming back so that should get the restaurant filled up again. They have specials on beer for the hockey nights so that helps get business flowing as well.

As for the food itself, the chicken wings are generic but the curly fries are different and delicious. They have a burger and seafood part of the menu too but the burgers aren't very good and their really expensive while the seafood is not expensive but it's easy to spot why since it also isn't very good.

But it's still a great atmosphere just to relax after a day of work and to have a beer so you should still check it out if you're in the neighboorhood. It's on Taschereau in Greenfield Park right near the Jacques Cartier bridge.