| As we speak, I am doing something unprecedented. Unheard of. Wild and crazy. I have begun an entry *without a title*. Gasp. The horror. The shame. The slightly guilty satisfaction of going against conformity. The realization that my analocity has achieved new and greater heights. I am *such* a creature of routine (and hang on, to contradict that, I just thought of the title for this entry and am editing appropriately...). In getting ready for work, I do the exact same things in the exact same order. In cooking, no matter what the dish, I find all the pots/pans/utensils and lay them out, lay out all the ingredients, chop whatever needs chopping, measure whatever needs measuring, and systematically put things away as I use them. At work, I check my e-mail, check my calendar, check my voicemail, get a cup of coffee, and read a few journals. In that order. If anything happens to disrupt my routine, I feel "off" for the rest of the day. I am a shining example of patheticism. With a heaping dose of Big Whiney Baby in there, to boot. I really should change the conviction that an entry must start with a title. More often than not I have no idea what I'm going to write about until I actually start typing - and this entry is a shining example. I was going to start off bitching about how very, very much CompuServe sucks ass (I have several e-mails which I wish to comment on here (and respond to) but I can't get into my effing effing e-mail), but I couldn't think of an appropriate title, so I ended up doing this quasi stream of consciousness thing. And eating M+M's (somebody fill me in on how to put an ampersand into text?). Yes, at 9:19 in the morning. I was frustrated with CompuServe, and started to feel my morning go downhill. Solution? Chocolate. Oh yes indeedy. It's the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it. Dragging myself back to the topic at hand, one should not be afraid to change something just because "that's the way it's always been done". Case in point, I am in charge of a program at AcronymCo. The program has been in place for many years, and has evolved in process, procedure, and scope, with the times. It got to the point where the program name didn't really match the program intent, but the powers that be were reluctant to change the name because "That's what it's always been called." (drag... drag...) SO! Wouldn't it be more logical to write the title of the entry *after* writing the entry itself? The title would write itself, then. No more agonizing "I have to title this thing so I'll know what to write about." No, now it's gonna be "I'll write this thing about whatever the hell I want, and the title will come." It's a small, unnoticed detail for the end user (that'd be you...), but a significant one that impacts the flow of this website. Hah! I have liberated myself from the chains of unchanging routine! Lordy, whatever, Laura. Okay, enough of this foolishness. Now, onto other foolishness... This is way cool. Remember my New Zealand reference in yesterday's entry? Well, Jo of Regular Jo is a fan from Sweden. Honest to God, it doesn't get much cooler than that. And based on the tone of her e-mail, she's great (and insists that Sweden is much better than New Zealand. I'll have to take her word for it, since I've never been to either). I shall read through her archives forthwith. Glee! I've gotten quite a bit of feedback, fan mail, and participation in the Missions this week. I gotta tell you guys, I'm lovin' this stuff. I mean, just look at the "Mission Box" today! It's stuffed! You guys are the best damned readers a journaler could hope for. I could kiss you. MMMMMWWWAH! Awww, how cute, you're blushing! ~grin~ |
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Your Mission, should you choose to accept it...
Today's Mission is suggested by Viv. "Ask your oldest living relative to tell you their earliest memory. Don't let them get away with waving their hand at you to make you go away, be interested enough to pursue it a little. If they've remembered it this long, it is bound to be interesting." Now, this is a GREAT suggestion. I shall leave this one up for a few days, I think. It's important to get to know the older generations in your family. I never did that with my grandmother before her faculties failed her, and it's a huge regret. No regrets! Just *talk* to them!
Results From Yesterday's Mission Last night was Monday Night Football (go, Dennis!), followed by Ally McBeal (go, Robert!), so no movie watching for me. I'm sure I'll have ample opportunity this week, though, since I'm off tomorrow through to next Monday. A surefire cure for the holiday-itis I'm presently suffering from. And I have no lack of suggestions from my *kick ass readers*... Archibael just purchased a boxed set of such classics as "Carousel", "Sound of Music", "State Fair", "South Pacific", "The King And I", and "Oklahoma!" But then, he's a theater freak. A musical freak, to be exact. He was in one or two of these (or some other musicals, I forget - Ooh! Wait, one of 'em was "Lil' Abner") in highschool. We talked a little bit about it here. Viv recommends "The Third Man" and pronounces it "astoundingly wonderful". She also fulfilled the mission on the 18th by giving lunch to an "upsettingly homeless guy", and contributes regularly to her company's food drives. I swear, I have such fantastic readers. Jared, who found me via the much touted ThreeWay Action, recommends a horror/sci-fi flick ca. 1954, called "Them!". It's gotta be good - it's apparently about giant ants. Yeah, baby, yeah! Jared is also the significant other of Hope Wavers' Esperanca (which "is and is not" her name). I've heard about this journal before, but haven't had the pleasure of perusing it. I believe I'll remedy that. Keep it up, guys! This is great stuff! I grabbed the design idea for the box thingy from Anna.
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