It's an ongoing struggle for me trying to simplify my life while all the while more and more things need to get done and I am less and less able to do everything I want, simply due to working and meeting people and having fun.
How do you find a good balance between everything you need to do to stay sane and doing everything you want to do to stay happy?
Anyway, it's another beautiful day, the sun is shining, and I can see the Hollywood sign from my street. It may not be perfect, and everything's a struggle, but damn life is good.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Ongoing 2014 Projects
In January my plan was to get my living situation organized and manageable, and for the most part I succeeded.
My "major issue", my adoration for dinosaurs, was solved with setting up a little cabinet to house them, making them a curated collection instead of a jumble if figurines over all shelves.
I have arranged my furniture to a set up that I like, and what I am lacking I do not miss.
My January list of To Do's:
1) Scan all the cards I have kept over the years, then recycle the physical versions.
2) Paint the 3 canvases and stack of boards I have been toting around but avoiding. Give some away, hang the rest.
3) Declutter all closets.
4) Finish all the little art projects taking up space everywhere.
5) Mend my vest and stained pullover. (Did mend a blazer, donated pullover.)
6) Obtain:microwave, toaster, coffee maker, a good kitchen knife, and a sofa.
7) Hang the rest of my artwork that needs hangin'.
8) Put together my 10 gallon fishtank, give away my 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon. (Gave away 10 gallon and 5 gallon, turning 2.5 into a terrarium.)
9) Donate/throw away everything I don't need or want. (In progress.)
I have been making progress on all my written endeavors, and am planning my website. I have a job, friends I love, and a life I love.
No matter what else I do or don't do, I already feel accomplished.
My "major issue", my adoration for dinosaurs, was solved with setting up a little cabinet to house them, making them a curated collection instead of a jumble if figurines over all shelves.
I have arranged my furniture to a set up that I like, and what I am lacking I do not miss.
My January list of To Do's:
3) Declutter all closets.
5) Mend my vest
6) Obtain:
9) Donate/throw away everything I don't need or want. (In progress.)
I have been making progress on all my written endeavors, and am planning my website. I have a job, friends I love, and a life I love.
No matter what else I do or don't do, I already feel accomplished.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Earthquakes and Sidewalks
I experienced my first earthquakes over the last couple weeks, one in the 4's two weeks ago at 6:30 AM, the second a 5.1 last friday evening. This may seem strange, as most people I know are scared of earthquakes, but I found them to be delightful. It's easy to say when I had no damage and everything turned up fine, of course. The quakes could be much worse, and are worse in a lot of other places. (I'm lookin' at you, Japan.)
For me, I am not the sort to get scared at natural phenomena like that. I have a healthy amount of fear-respect for the destruction and toll they may wreak, especially tsunamis, which is more to do with my fear of drowning - because the physical phenomena of a tsunami fascinates me to no small extent.
I think it's the fact that really, there is nothing to be done about them. You can have your warning systems and prepare with survival kits and crouch in doorways or head to high ground, but that's treating the symptoms, as it were. There's not much to be done to stop the natural "disaster" itself. (I also hesitate to call them natural disasters, which is such a loaded term to me. They are disasters because we call them such, but in reality they are just things that happen in a world with plate tectonics -- worlds with water and atmosphere. It is tragic when people die but that is also the most normal thing in the world.
So, I think it's also that I am one of those people with horrible survival instincts that I am not scared of earthquakes, even the idea of "the big one." (This is also blame for how hard it is to startle me -- I have a really bad fight or flight mechanism. I just stand there thinking "yeah, sure, whatever." I would be dead right quick if I lived in the past.) If "the big one" hits Los Angeles, and it will, there's nothing I can do to stop it. I could move, but hell, I just got here. This is where I want to start the rest of my life. And really, everywhere has it's downsides. Floods, fires, tornadoes, bugs, vermin, drought, the list goes on and on. For me, there's no point being scared I want to just roll with it as it comes.
Which brings me to sidewalks in Los Angeles. I understand hardly anyone in this town walks anywhere, because, I don't know, they have dainty feet here or something, but seriously. These sidewalks are bad. Half the time they're closed for some building reconstruction with no where in sight to cross over, and the other half of the time they've been raised into frozen tsunamis by tree roots. I don't really mind. It makes a stroll to a coffee shop (the nearest one to me being about a mile away, in any given direction) feel a bit like a hike, aside from the cars and creepy old man stares and the fact that no cars here understand how NOT to stop IN THE CROSSWALK. People like to complain about cyclists on streets getting in cars ways, not following traffic laws...you know, some cyclists are like that, but if a single driver here followed every traffic law I'd die of surprise.
And, you know, considering how poorly people drive, nicely kept sidewalks would be much appreciated. Get on that, LA, for one of about a dozen people who walks around here.
(But poorly kept sidewalks are still a step ahead of my hometown, which had a total of no sidewalks whatsoever.)
For me, I am not the sort to get scared at natural phenomena like that. I have a healthy amount of fear-respect for the destruction and toll they may wreak, especially tsunamis, which is more to do with my fear of drowning - because the physical phenomena of a tsunami fascinates me to no small extent.
I think it's the fact that really, there is nothing to be done about them. You can have your warning systems and prepare with survival kits and crouch in doorways or head to high ground, but that's treating the symptoms, as it were. There's not much to be done to stop the natural "disaster" itself. (I also hesitate to call them natural disasters, which is such a loaded term to me. They are disasters because we call them such, but in reality they are just things that happen in a world with plate tectonics -- worlds with water and atmosphere. It is tragic when people die but that is also the most normal thing in the world.
So, I think it's also that I am one of those people with horrible survival instincts that I am not scared of earthquakes, even the idea of "the big one." (This is also blame for how hard it is to startle me -- I have a really bad fight or flight mechanism. I just stand there thinking "yeah, sure, whatever." I would be dead right quick if I lived in the past.) If "the big one" hits Los Angeles, and it will, there's nothing I can do to stop it. I could move, but hell, I just got here. This is where I want to start the rest of my life. And really, everywhere has it's downsides. Floods, fires, tornadoes, bugs, vermin, drought, the list goes on and on. For me, there's no point being scared I want to just roll with it as it comes.
Which brings me to sidewalks in Los Angeles. I understand hardly anyone in this town walks anywhere, because, I don't know, they have dainty feet here or something, but seriously. These sidewalks are bad. Half the time they're closed for some building reconstruction with no where in sight to cross over, and the other half of the time they've been raised into frozen tsunamis by tree roots. I don't really mind. It makes a stroll to a coffee shop (the nearest one to me being about a mile away, in any given direction) feel a bit like a hike, aside from the cars and creepy old man stares and the fact that no cars here understand how NOT to stop IN THE CROSSWALK. People like to complain about cyclists on streets getting in cars ways, not following traffic laws...you know, some cyclists are like that, but if a single driver here followed every traffic law I'd die of surprise.
And, you know, considering how poorly people drive, nicely kept sidewalks would be much appreciated. Get on that, LA, for one of about a dozen people who walks around here.
(But poorly kept sidewalks are still a step ahead of my hometown, which had a total of no sidewalks whatsoever.)
Friday, January 3, 2014
Decluttering and Digitizing
This month is my month to get my shit together. I am 26 years old and have yet to have a home that feels "adult," though not for a lack of trying!
One of the major issues, of course, is my slight obsession with dinosaurs, decorations with which can be hard to translate into "grown-up." I am also at odds with myself, between the clutter I adore and my desire to pare down and live more minimally. I have found that, at least for myself, there is a certain amount of excess I must have before I can convince myself to truly remove things from my habitat -- and at the moment I am in an "I need more things" phase, due to an apartment with a dearth of seating.
The feeling that I am lacking in Stuff leads to an over-purchasing of useless things that I may quickly get rid of. This is compounded by my attempt to adultify my wardrobe as well. Luckily, it is fairly easy for me to part with things I don't use, and it is becoming easier to get rid of things I am attached to but no longer need.
SO! I have a goal for the first two months of 2014: to turn my apartment into a home that I will be happy and comfortable in, and that feels like the 26-year-old me.
I have a list of To Do's:
1) Scan all the cards I have kept over the years, then recycle the physical versions.
2) Paint the 3 canvases and stack of boards I have been toting around but avoiding. Give some away, hang the rest.
3) Declutter all closets.
4) Finish all the little art projects taking up space everywhere.
5) Mend my vest and stained pullover.
6) Obtain: microwave, toaster, coffee maker, a good kitchen knife, and a sofa.
7) Hang the rest of my artwork that needs hangin'.
8) Put together my 10 gallon fishtank, give away my 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon.
9) Donate/throw away everything I don't need or want.
Additionally, my New Years resolution for 2014 is to complete a written project (or more)! I would love to finish my two most complete novels, as well as a pilot and a feature screenplay.
I will be getting started tonight. I am excited for 2014! Have a fantastic year, everyone.
One of the major issues, of course, is my slight obsession with dinosaurs, decorations with which can be hard to translate into "grown-up." I am also at odds with myself, between the clutter I adore and my desire to pare down and live more minimally. I have found that, at least for myself, there is a certain amount of excess I must have before I can convince myself to truly remove things from my habitat -- and at the moment I am in an "I need more things" phase, due to an apartment with a dearth of seating.
The feeling that I am lacking in Stuff leads to an over-purchasing of useless things that I may quickly get rid of. This is compounded by my attempt to adultify my wardrobe as well. Luckily, it is fairly easy for me to part with things I don't use, and it is becoming easier to get rid of things I am attached to but no longer need.
SO! I have a goal for the first two months of 2014: to turn my apartment into a home that I will be happy and comfortable in, and that feels like the 26-year-old me.
I have a list of To Do's:
1) Scan all the cards I have kept over the years, then recycle the physical versions.
2) Paint the 3 canvases and stack of boards I have been toting around but avoiding. Give some away, hang the rest.
3) Declutter all closets.
4) Finish all the little art projects taking up space everywhere.
5) Mend my vest and stained pullover.
6) Obtain: microwave, toaster, coffee maker, a good kitchen knife, and a sofa.
7) Hang the rest of my artwork that needs hangin'.
8) Put together my 10 gallon fishtank, give away my 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon.
9) Donate/throw away everything I don't need or want.
Additionally, my New Years resolution for 2014 is to complete a written project (or more)! I would love to finish my two most complete novels, as well as a pilot and a feature screenplay.
I will be getting started tonight. I am excited for 2014! Have a fantastic year, everyone.
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