Wednesday, December 21, 2005
More on lists
I bow to the list-meister. Falstaff, you do know your stuff. However, I'd like to defend myelf. I am not a complete novice, and actually do some of the things you talk about. Having said that, I did expose my greenness by not having thought the post through before publishing. (Reminder to self - make a list of what you want to cover before you publish a post, then publish the post.)
1) Losing lists - don't do it with all my lists - just the shopping lists. At any point, I have at least 7 different WIP-shopping lists - on my person, in my bag, the car, on the computer, etc. Yet, every single one of these magically disappears the minute I enter a store / mall. Things to be bought at Indian grocery stores are particularly hard to locate, and emerge days or seconds afterwards from the weirdest of places – like my person, my bag, the car or my computer. It’s a complete mystery.
2) Using the list as a way of making yourself feel spontaneous. Brilliant idea. Situations like the one with the eggs you describe have happened only by accident, but clearly, there’s way to systematize these serendipitous events. And what you say about the big ticket items – I had tears in my eyes as I read that. That’s the way to deal with life. Thank you!
3) Revising lists: My masochism hasn’t proceeded thus far, yet. I have no list-buddy I can conveniently blame / laugh at. It’s a purely solo activity, and now that I know what to do about ‘get into a relationship’ items, it is likely to remain that way. I can barely bring myself to take a re-look a list as it is – let alone revise it over & over again. All that reiteration of how wastefully I spend the one life I have would be too painful. Perhaps that is the solution – revising that one-life philosophy. If I start believing in multiple lives, AND eliminate the karma component, list-revising could become my favorite pastime, after reading and watching movies.
4) Higher order lists. I already have higher order lists of lists I have, but see the advantage in planning super-lists of lists I don’t have yet, or don’t intend to make.
5) Lists as security blankets. Spontaneity sucks, especially in areas that matter to me. Walking into Blockbuster without a plan is one of the most painful experiences in life. Unlike books, I prefer to order movies online, & the Netflix Queue is manna from heaven. That is one list I love revising. And as much as I love browsing in book stores & libraries, I rarely act impulsively. Browsing is essentially list-making, performed into order equip myself with a conscience-proof reason to visit to the store / library again.
Make a list of what you want to cover before you publish a post, then publish the post. Check. Oh sweet heaven, does that feel good!
But I had no paper, no pen. Thats when I decided I had to get one of them Palm Pilot thingies that people use in meetings all the time, writing down everything important. So I started dropping hints, and got one for my birthday. Guess what, writing anything on these things is next to impossible... and that went nowhere.
I don't really learn, because I bought a cool Dell Axim with wireless internet - the idea is you can look at a book you like, and order it immediately. Hah! I will let you know how that goes.
BTW, which Stephenson did you buy? Cryptonomicon would be my choice (or Snow Crash or Diamond Age). And please, keep your expectations down...
: Wed Dec 21, 06:52:00 PM PST Just to clarify - I don't have a list buddy either, but that doesn't stop me. I take the fundamentally Heraclitean perspective that the me who made the last list no longer exists and can therefore safely be made fun of by the me who's revising the list.
Abt Stephenson – borrowed The Confusion – book 2 from the Baroque Cycle. They didn’t have Quicksilver - & I thought plunging straight into the second one might spice things up a bit. I did see Cryptonomicon. But I have no powers of resistance against ‘period’ pieces, the older the better – so felt compelled to pick pilots in sail-boats to code breakers. I will keep my expectations realistic - if I don’t get ‘Confusion’, will go back to the library & get Cryptonomicon.
Falstaff: Thank you for the warm welcome, and for clarifying your list-buddy status. And, don’t bother with the members' rights. I’d have thought that ‘novices to make their own lists with no guidance from senior members’ would’ve been the first item on that list. This clearly begs a heavy dose of list-revision. I’ll take care of it.
: Fri Dec 23, 01:03:00 AM PST << Home
