It's a familiar conundrum for me. Put me in a busy environment like Columbia where I feel a need to compete, and I will be one of the most involved people you'll meet. But place me in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the work ethic is less obviously displayed and where I, as a study abroad student, have few responsibilities, and the whole situation flips around. I've been so amazingly lazy; up till this point I've been enjoying myself, but now I'm starting to have my usual worries when I feel like I'm not doing enough to contribute to my future success and knowledge. I'm barely even thinking about my classes, I spent two mornings sitting in the kitchen with coffee reading all of the DaVinci Code, and I'm slowly working my way through David Copperfield. Oh, and of course I've been drinking a ridiculous amount of alcohol. Sounds like fun, no? Yet I'm starting to feel those familiar pangs of regret that I'm "wasting" my time doing nothing that looks good on a resume or contributes to my ability to perform jobs or functions.

The only moral victory I've achieved is dragging myself through the cold to the gym to work out and learn how to play squash--but no one would consider working out as being on par with getting a job or spending chunks of time in the library studying. Should I feel guilty? Or am I placing too much pressure on myself to constantly achieve, or at least create an illusion of action and progress?

Honestly, I don't think anyone knows how to overthink about a good experience as well as I do. Give me a great week of relaxation and I can turn it into a week where I'm at wits end over imagined work.

One thing I'm resolving to do is continue going out and wandering the city--the least I can do to fight guilt is keep learning new things about my home for the spring.

And by the way, Family Guy redebuts on May 1 on Fox, followed soon after by American Dad, a hilarious new cartoon from the same guy, Seth McFarlane. That is something worth wasting time over.