Ya know, I really need to write in here on a regular basis. I hate having to wait so long between posts. I pledge to make an effort to post on a more regular basis.I wrote a poem. Do you want to "hear" it? Of course you do. Roses are red . . . No, no, that's not it. Let me start again.
The poem is called,
A Pointless Poem
Cat prints on the wall,
Shattering every aspect of reality.
Everything we know is just an illusion.
Stare at the cat prints on the wall.
Observe the pattern.
Meow!
I wrote it on a piece of notebook paper. I was playing around with a gift I have - writing words from the right to the left (starting with the last letter in a word or sentence and moving backward to the first letter). Every once in a while, usually in the classroom, I write one or two words from right to left on the board. A few weeks ago, for example, I wrote the reading course and section number on the board for my students to write on their syllabus. I had forgotten to write "Course Information:" in front of the course name/section number, so I wrote the words, starting with the colon to the left of the course name and wrote the words. That is, I wrote the n to the left of the colon, the o to the left of the n, the i to the left of the o, the t, the a, the m, the r, the o, the f, the n, the (capital) i(I). Then, I wrote, after allowing for a space, the e to the left of the I, the s, the r, the u, the o, the (capital) c (C). When I finished, I had written Course Information:.
If I practiced this technique every day, I'd be able to do it without much thought. I don't do it every day because average people do not write their words from right to left, well, not in the U.S. anyway. I only do it when I need to add information to the left of something already written on the whiteboard (or Smartboard) or because I want a sentence or phrase to stay on one line and go to the end of the board's right side. For the latter, I start at the board's right end and work my way backwards. I usually only write the first line that way. Lines two and on are written from left to right.
Aw, heck, this little ditty is just a form of procrastination. I'm supposed to be cleaning my humble abode. I'm a packrat, and if I don't clear out some of the junk in my home, I won't have a place to sit or room to walk. [The photo is of my couch and desk at home.] I confess. I'm a clutterer. I came to the realization after the occurrence of two incidents: I lost my book, Dreamweaver for Dummies, and my best friend threatened to come visit me. The former is something I need to help me navigate through Dreamweaver without getting too bogged down by the technical jargon. The latter should scare me into cleaning because my friend is a neat-freak, the total opposite of me and my way of living. It's hard to believe we're even friends.
When I start to misplace stuff, it's a sign I
need to clean and become more organized. Don't misinterpret me; I am organized, and I do have certain routines to which I strictly adhere. Some things I own have their distinct places (e.g. keys on the hook, cell phone in the plastic bowl on a shelf in the coffee table, frozen drink glasses in the freezer's door, etc.). However, not everything has a place to call its own. I need to get rid of the old junk and make room for new junk (what I like to call necessities).The other week, I found about a dozen novels I still haven't read yet. I put them in a box and put them by the chair. I can't put them on a bookshelf because the shelves I have are currently full and, I don't have another bookshelf (yet). I can't buy another bookshelf until I clear out the stuff in my master bedroom (which I've deemed as my extra large storage room). I will probably take half of those dozen "homeless" books on vacation with me.
So, what do I need to do? I need to clear out the stuff I haven't used in two or more years. I need to take the work stuff (folders, master copies, extra copies, etc.) back to work. Some of it has already been taken to the office, but I cannot take all of it until my new desk arrives (my boss ordered a new L-shaped desk for me in April, and it will take another month to arrive). When the desk arrives, I can file the papers that are sitting on the bookshelves in the office. Then, and only then, I can remove the rest of the work stuff from my home and put it where it belongs.The problem is mostly mental - I start sorting and then think I can't live without my stuff. Then, I begin to ask myself, who am I doing this for? Me? My friends? My friends seem to think I have too much stuff. Most of the time, I don't see it that way. I'm perfectly content with what I have. Occasionally, I think, Wow! I have way too much stuff, and I need to get rid of some of it.
Sometimes, I go hog-wild on the organizing thing and read up on the evils of packratting, but then I realize the books and articles I've read on getting rid of clutter and putting more organization in my life are written by people who have never hoarded anything or never had clutter in their lives. Prove me wrong, people.
I vow, though, to get rid of some of the stuff.
I vow, too, to keep my readers posted on my clutter-filled packrat's life.
