Lists

I make lists. If you're reading this, you probably know me and possibly even know that about me. I love making lists. I love checking things off the lists and then re-writing the list so that it doesn't include anything that's previously been checked off and then starting again. I love having the lists be written with the same pen, be in the same font and fit onto one piece of paper. If the lists need to be amended, I love doing so with post-it notes of various sizes - with any amendments being written with the same pen, of course.

My lists typically ignore the space-time continuum, in a sense. They will include things that need to be done sometime in the next two months, or tomorrow, or that have no time frame whatsoever, but really just something that I should probably do, something that would make me feel as though I were working on self-improvement, or something that would be nice to do for someone at some point, should they have a birthday.

I just quit (sorta) my job. The plan right now is to go back to school in the fall, to shift gears, change hats, move on up, etc. Or, procrastinate going, again, into the world of full time employment, commuting, and lunches at Cosi. Anyway, the point is that I have the summer off. Or, mostly off. I'll be working a bit for my old job, doing some writing and database creation. I anticipate that being a good thing, working from the comfort of my own home or a coffee shop in Portland in August, getting a little bit of money but mostly keeping my freedom. I was briefly concerned that I might be bored or have too much time on my hands. So, I made a list.

Yesterday the list had 53 items on it. I had completed 7, but 1 was "apply for 2 jobs", so that took awhile. Today the list has most of its items checked off because things like "buy cat food" and "do laundry" do not take as much time as "apply for 2 jobs". See? The list I'm currently working on (seriously, I'm staring at it now, its on 1 page of a notebook, in red pen with hand drawn checkboxes next to each item; 2 columns) varies in scope, time, and importance. I had to call the financial aid office, find last years tax return, and water the plants. But, now I'm working on other things - like starting my blog. Yeah, it was on the list. I've been wanting to do this for a while, I'm not sure if I can specify why. Something was holding me back (like Angela Chase's hair color) but now its time because I'm starting something new. I'm about to jump off a cliff into the world of underemployment, a week with my family, and a trip to the west coast. I figure I'll have lots of things to write about and lots of time to do it. Stay tuned...