residuetiger.com

Lists

It's so satisfying when you run across another blog that speaks to you. You get a real sense that you're not the only one experiencing the things you're experiencing; not the only one with your particular set of quirks and foibles. It's comforting to see ideas and thoughts in written form that you yourself might have spelled out if only you could have found the words to do so.

That's why I was pleased to stumble on Penelope Trunk's blog, Brazen Careerist. The main thrust of the blog is, of course, career advice, but often Ms. Trunk shares stories and insights from her own life, and it is these honest, and sometimes vulnerable accounts to which I relate so well.

Recently she posted on Getting Unstuck in life and to-do lists, which is great because I often feel stuck, and I am a consummate list-maker, especially to-do lists. Thing is I get stressed over to-do list implementation. Do I write it out on paper or use some nifty app for the iPhone (you know, in the interest of using technology and keeping everything in one place)? I break a lot of the rules on her list, like making more than one list and forgetting it somewhere then making a new, new one to replace the two or three already lost. I mean what good does it do to write up to-do lists if you can't keep track of them?

My problem is I'm a tad absentminded. That and at the most inopportune moments (read: all the time) I have trouble with focus. I'll begin working on something then suddenly I'm thinking hey this other thing looks more pressing, maybe I'm wasting time working on this right now. You have no idea how frustrating and...unproductive this can be. Actually, if you're reading this then maybe you do know, and if so you have my sympathies. Trunk talks about getting distracted as well, so at least I'm in good company.

In those rare moments when I can follow through on a list it is very gratifying; there is a certain sense of accomplishment when you can put a little check by an item on that to do list, whatever form it takes. But as Trunk states, it takes self discipline which for many is a notoriously difficult thing to foster, myself included.

I have found that if I have a 'project' that I'm working on then I am usually much better at getting things done, and as progress is made, I feel a growing sense of accomplishment and satisfaction which can further bolster my efforts and desire to continue. The project could be something as simple as running some major maintenance on my desktop computer: defragging, deleting files, cleaning folders and such. Or something grander like finally building that web page I've only talked about building for God knows how long. I'm sure there's some well known underlying psychological mechanism at work here, but giving particular tasks the label of 'Project' seems to lend them some sort of legitimacy for me. A form of externalization I suppose.

Are you a list maker? Is that an effective way of managing your day? Let me know!

P.S. And if you do happen to have a recommendation for a really good productivity iPhone app please share! I mean, hey, technology's supposed to make our lives easier right?

New Year Fail

So I hate new year's resolutions anyway, right? Which is why I'm not really(lie) that put out by screwing one up as early as February. I was supposed to post more regularly in here in 2010(where's my flying car, btw?), and as you can plainly see...I have failed. There, I said it. I admitted it, I failed and I am a bad man. Truth is though, this failure comes with a bit of good news,  and an excuse if you look at it just right.

While it's true I haven't been posting regularly, I have been doing some freelance writing on the side! Can you believe it? You can congratulate me in the comments section, I won't mind. So yeah, a little freelancing on the side and it's been taking up a little more time than I expected; my fiction writing has suffered as well and I'm scrambling to batten down the hatches and secure some loose lines so the sailing is a little more smooth and efficient. If you have tips on managing multiple writing assignments, I'd love to hear them by the way. Seriously, I mean I can't pay you for them or anything but I can give you my undying gratitude. Would that work?

As I've said before the words just don't come easily for me. That and I sometimes get all panicky when I sit down to write. I'll sit down at my desk, staring at that damnable blinking cursor and the waves of panic just start rolling in like the tide on Neurosis Beach. Please tell me this happens to someone else? Anybody?I'm going to go take a Xanax.

Ah, the Holidays

Well I don't know about the rest of you but I simply cannot believe it's only five days until Christmas. Since becoming an adult—I use the term loosely—I believe I've said this every year in regard to the stealthy approach of the Yule-tide and every year it continues to amaze me, each time catching me seemingly unaware that the most wonderful time of the year has arrived once again. I guess I should count my blessings that I can still spot it coming instead of waking up, like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning realizing I almost missed the whole darn thing.

Each year though, Christmas seems to lose some of its luster. The hustle and bustle are seen through less wonder filled eyes, and are experienced as an epic struggle with masses of less than pleasant, hurried people convinced that what they're about is the hottest thing going, and if you don't get out of their way they will stab you. In the eye. Ah yes, Merry Christmas to one and all.

Oh and speaking of Season's Greetings, lately that seems to be yet another way to generate ire, and wither the old holly and the ivy right there on the vine. In case you hadn't heard—or perhaps just didn't care—there's a 'war' on Christmas being fought right here in our own back yards and store fronts and mall parking lots! I don't know when it started; it could have been going on for years. This year it seems to be lurking just around every corner and behind every link you click. It's the whole thing about people getting upset if you say Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings instead of Merry Christmas, because if you don't say Merry Christmas then you're in with those liberal bastards that hide underneath our childrens' beds and behind the robes of our judges and in Tom Hanks' closet and they're all trying to take Christ out of Christmas and God and religion out of our public discourse, our schools and our government. [Side note: Though he may be liberal(honestly I don't know), I am in no way suggesting that Tom Hanks cavorts with the particularly insidious and feral species of under-bed-hiding, surreptitious rumor-mongering liberal. I merely wanted to choose a wholesome, undeniably good and likable(I love Tom Hanks, and really, who doesn't?) counterpoint to the nasty depiction of your run of the mill, dastardly liberal.]

Here it is in a nutshell: People are getting upset because some folks choose to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Wow, saying it twice in a row makes it even more ridiculous. The argument is that Christmas is a Christian holiday, by God, and nobody's going to forget that  so stop trying to take the 'Christ' out of Christmas and say it like you mean it! This letter to the editor of the Casper Star Tribune, an online news site in Wyoming, really captures the essence of the whole thing in one shot. There are so many places I could go with this, it's tempting, but I want to keep this post manageable, not turn it into a dissertation. Since when did we—and I mean Americans—become so sensitive and, well, ridiculous? It's fucking Christmas people! It's not like folks are going around this season saying, 'Hello, I hate you and hope you die of cancer.' They're still wishing you well. Whether you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or Festivus for the rest of us, what difference does it make? It's not a conspiracy against Christ or the the Christian religion and not part of a liberal campaign to subvert Christianity! Relax.

Which brings me to another point: these people run around claiming everybody needs to say Merry Christmas. Well what about the folks who don't celebrate Christmas? You know folks who like, oh I don't know, might be Jewish, or pagan, or maybe just not originally from the Western hemisphere(in places like Saudi Arabia, China, and Japan, Christmas isn't a formal holiday, though it is increasingly celebrated all over the world, even by non-Christians. Gasp!)  [via Wikipedia]And just to make it clear I'm not all hatin on the Christians, let me say this: It's called a Christmas tree, because that's what it is. It's been called a Christmas tree for hundreds of years, why change that when the phrase itself conjures up images in your head of...a Christmas tree! I don't tell my Jewish friends that no sir, that is not a menorah, it's a nine-pronged candelabra used for ceremonial purposes, and in turn my Jewish friends don't hit me on the head with their menorahs. 

I don't want to cut into that whole other ball of wax about Christmas being a wholeheartedly Christian holiday—it doesn't take a lot of searching to find that our beloved Christmas has a ton of pagan and other influences—and America being founded on Christian ideals because, briefly, it isn't and it wasn't.

It's Christmas, how about just trying to spread some of that good will towards others instead of worrying about whether that good will is being spread in the name of your God, or someone else's.

Happy Holidays

Well, at least I'm not crazy.....

Just the other day my girlfriend Shannon made an observation that really tripped me up, made me sit up and take notice you could say. She said that it was a little ironic that I have been blogging about social media on the shared blog of some friends of mine, when I hadn't written for my own blog in a while, or been much involved in social media of late(specifically Facebook and Twitter). Well, let me tell you, that was a slap in the face!And though it stings, it's true, I haven't posted here since the end of October. Now it's not that I haven't been writing, I've actually been working on a notoriously difficult short story, and also trying to set up a regular writing schedule, and also trying not to think of clever and outlandish ways to kill myself. Alright, that was over the line, I admit it. In truth, I've been struggling with some mysterious 'other' health issues, and a bout of depression, from which I have suffered for many years now(and it's entirely possible the two are related). It's not really something I've touched on much here, if at all, but it has occurred to me that writing about it might help. I might do that one day. The problem with doing things when you're depressed is...well, you just don't feel like it. I mean, sometimes I do well to remain conscious; I'm sure you're aware—perhaps you're not— that a depressed person can sleep, a lot. Well, that's because the brief oblivion of unconsciousness that sleep delivers is sometimes preferable to facing the real world. (Interesting bit of information there, but I'm not sure why I brought it up because I don't really have that problem; I guess it's more along the lines that I often wish for unconsciousness to spontaneously overtake me, which could mean I want to be diagnosed with narcolepsy. Go figure.)I know what you're thinking, I can hear the wheels turning. I'm not looking for pity here, and if you've read this far and are starting to think, 'Oh Gawd, this is turning into a sob story, it's time to head over to the fail blog.' , fear not I will only trouble you with my infirmities for a brief moment. Although, having said that, I certainly wouldn't object to a deluge of nice, supportive comments down below here! I believe what I'm really trying to do here is apologize for being a blog bum. A blogum? A blum? A deadbeat blogger—no wait, that's Perez Hilton. I really, really, really am going to try harder to get regular, and without the aid of fiber. Tell you what, I'll go on record right now: My next post will be on Monday, December 21, one week from today! I'm gonna be smart and use some of that fancy 'head science' on myself. I'll see you next week, and just an FYI, I'm a guy, but feel free to send me some chocolate to help me feel better(wink, wink)!

Time for a Cool Change

                The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.

                                                                                                                                          Maimonides

I am turning the page onto a new chapter in my life. Friday I walked away from a job of five years. A job which has been slowly eroding away the joy in my life, and drying my soul up into an emotionless husk. I turned my back on it willingly and my leaving was on good terms. I burned no bridges; I've never been the type for that. I merely took an exit off of the featureless—or would it be futureless—route I'd been traveling on, stopping long enough to take a look around me in the hope that I might spot a new direction in which to travel.

Of course there is hesitation, and the common friend of travellers seeking new ways, doubt. Doubt about making the right decision. But it occurs to me that, more often than not, we must make decisions in our lives not knowing the right or the wrong of our choices until, after some significant time has passed, we are able to look back on them with knowledge unavailable to us at the time as we face the consequences of our choosing. It seems a very backward way to go about things.

Unfortunately that's how it appears to work, and all too often indecision, and the fear of uncertainty can paralyze, causing our lives to shudder to a crawl while, in our fear of making the wrong move, we make no move at all. In my experience, this numbing state of no-change is a type of death in which we can wander for months, or even years.

Much more preferable then, is the bold step into the mists of a future lived fully.

res