EDIT: The only really thing I've been trying to do that will keep me focused is trying to learn C better. Writing more elegant code, reading books like "Exper

EDIT: The only really thing I've been trying to do that will keep me focused is trying to learn C better. Writing more elegant code, reading books like "Expert C Programming", etc... but at times, I feel like this might be counter productive because it's not really helping me get work done, it's just helping me understand the code and refactor it in a better form. It doesn't necessarily boost my short-term productivity, but good for knowledge of C and long-term benefits. I am a language-junkie though, and still relatively young in academia world. I feel as though if I'm not reading papers published on SIGPLAN, reading RSS (reddit, news.yc), doing school-related work, doing research, talking to professors, etc... then I'm not that excited. Maybe software engineering isn't for me? Or is this project/company just too PHB-like and traditional? Thoughts? experiences? Thanks for the feedback because I've been wondering this for a while and always doubting myself, but I love CS... just would like to hear what other people have to say about this.