A rambling blog about Listography and me realizing that I'm just not the kind of person who can enjoy it (even though I love to make lists) and my fondness for 101 things in 1001 days and the good things I found from Listography...
I've had a tab open on my Safari browser for a couple of weeks for the site, Listography, I saw the site a while ago, and when I came across the book at Urban Outfitters I didn't know they were one and the same. I never bought the book, because I didn't like the idea of writing in something, even in pencil the beauty of the paper is always tainted after you erase it, and I didn't want to jot things down until I had them absolutely set in stone, and since it took more than two years to get two aspects of want I want to do with my life (career and education-wise), the book would remain empty for a really long time.
An investment, you say.
A waste of money, says I.... and that putting pen to paper almost always dirties the dream anyway, so why put it on anything pretty?
So I stumbled back to Listography, probably from Tumblr, and I decided to have a look around. I wandered through the featured users and the new users, the lists they had on the front page, the example lists and their own ideas for users and I just couldn't bring myself to join. I just don't really like the idea of it. It seems like a beautiful way to procrastinate to me and I would probably forget to come back to it for lists that could be used later... It's a great site, sure, and people are really creative with it. I think I just don't want another thing to remember to update. I have a hard enough time reminding myself to record my dreams, days, count down how many times I've done something (Yoga) or what movies I've seen (Yes, those are the things I like to record.) in my notebooks... and I like those more because I like to hold my thoughts in my hands. Thus the reason I don't update that much.
I guess I already partake in the art of "Listography" and don't really think making them pretty and public will be of any use to me. Maybe I'll change my mind when my head feels to cluttered.
I feel like I already made a list of my likes (music, film and television-wise) on Facebook and MySpace, and I am already keeping a record of what I've read (recently) and my favourite books (Facebook) and I already know exactly what I have to do when it comes to my passions...
Why is this a blog, Caitlin? Let's face it, YOU JUST DON'T WANNA. That's okay. Okay.
I do like that 101 things to do in 1001 days site, I think that's great because its an actual goal, while lists on listography can just sit there and rot... turning your life into bullet points, ugh...
I started writing my 101 things to do in 1001 days on a word document because I didn't think I could finish it on a website without getting fed up and clicking off, but now that I'm reminded of it and now that I'm more realistic that my goals might take longer, so they are worth writing down - and now, I'm more confident of my ability to work hard for what I want to be a part of in my future, so I can be more bold with my lists... So yeah, that site is the way to go, check it out. Link me to your lists, so we can egg each other on! I'll blog my list later...
One good thing (other than the neat-o lists some people have created... Oh, those crazy up-to-date, busy-bee people making me feel all lazy-like!) is the list of ideas they give you to start making lists...
Since I just sort of poked the website incessantly with a spoon just now, maybe I could use some of these ideas as blog topics, to discuss further and not just list blindly... and link back to site as if to say, hey, I'm sorry I don't really like you, but you did good here...
What, to kitschy? Where's the Brady Bunch? Yeah... well, I played with puppets today so I'm feeling a wee bit kitschy. My thoughts after the ***
- Autobio: List your memorable outdoor adventures so far.
- Music: List the bands/performers you've seen live. ***This will be a sad and confusing blog... so small, such mockable choices.
- Snapshots: List everything you did in a day and why you loved it. Build a collection of snapshot lists over time in your archive. ***I'm already trying to do this over at Tumblr, with a snapshot by someone else to go with it...
- Family: Create a tribute list to a family member listing everything you know and love about them. ***I should just write more letters.
- Travel: List a travel packing list as an easy go-to tool for your next adventures ***This will never work for me.
- Activism: List your environmentally friendly living goals. Do some research and share your list with others. earth justice, earth 911, treehugger, are just a few starting points...
- List Tip: Bookmark your "to do" list page in your web browser so you can easily access your main to do list and cross off or add things. ***My bookmarks are already a "To Do" list
- About You: List the changes you'd like to see in the world. Don't forget to register to vote. ***Registered back home and would vote if my family would remind me when I had to so I don't get fined, grr.
- About You: List your favorite smells, sights, sounds, things to touch or taste.
- Gifts: List your wishlist. Share with your friends/family ...you can get creative by asking for baked or knitted items, or donations made on your behalf, etc... ***That's already on my Amazon Wishlist, teehee... it's to the left of this blog : )
- About You: List the things you are most thankful for. ***Really need to write those letters...
- Autobio: List your memories from the past year (include best music, films, etc). ***I've been meaning to finish that blog for 2008 too! It will come and it will be irrelevant!
- Autobio: List memories from childhood: kids you knew, games you played, traditions you experienced, movies that were popular. ***That I should really do for my future-therapist...
- Activism: List causes and organizations you favor.
- Autobio: List phenomena in nature you've witnessed and maybe a memory associated with it: hurricanes, avalanches, earthquakes, storms, etc...
- Friends/Family: List all the things you love about someone in particular. Email your list as a little gift of appreciation. ***LETTERS!!!
- Autobio: List all the things you don't ever want to do (i.e. bungee jumping, breaking up a relationship, eating snails, etc). ***I don't think that's a good idea... mine would be too morbid and hey, never say never :)
- Autobio: List all the baby stories your family likes to tell about you... ***That's my Grandpa's job at Christmas Dinner and it's embarrassing.
- Autobio: List all the things you've done for your birthdays and keep it up for future birthdays. ***A good, depressing, possibly funny future blog... maybe I can do this for my 22nd... OMG. Twenty-two!!!
- Work: List jobs you think you might like or be good at...handy thing to keep in case you ever want to reinvent yourself...
- To Do: List all the things you want to do this spring and summer.
- Activism: List how can you shift your daily routine a little to help out mother earth?
- Film: List your favorite comic books turned film. ***Ha. Funny.
- Autobio: List things you have lost and things you have found (symbolically &/or literally) ***What a sad thing to do... I'll get depressed if I have to think of my lucky little elephant... where are you???
- To Do: List all the things you want to do this summer!
- Autobio: List which girl scout or boy scout badges you might have earned in life so far. ***Aww, I just competed for trophies for ballet... I don't know how to tie knots... or survive the Zombie Apocalypse :(
- Music: List the music that reminds you of childhood or the music you remember your parents listening to. Music Listography comes out this Fall.
- Movies: List your favorite movies from the 80s!!
- Music: List your best soundtrack for fireworks. ***Anything they played at the 2008 Bastille Day Fireworks Celebration in Paris. The most wonderful orchestration of fireworks to music I've ever seen.
- TV: List your favorite television shows.
- Autobio: List your biggest moments of indulgence or extravagance. ***Oooh, this will be good as some sort of cleansing/you-have-a-problem-reminder blog when I have money again after paying off my tax debt.
- Autobio: List the strangest things you've witnessed in public or seen on the streets. ***That's Twitter's job!
- Music: List your favorite male and female vocalists of all time
- Wishlists: The time of year to let friends and family know where your holiday list might be found. Try a fun/creative/budget conscious gift ideas list too.
- To Do: What's in store for 2010 lists...happy new year! ***I already have most of this down on paper, I want it to stay there for a while until I'm comfortable with sharing my plans with the internet...
- Autobio: List all of the professions that exist in your family tree.
- Autobio: List all the things you wanted to be when you were growing up. ***A short rant, ahem... I could't make the bulletin points stop!
- I can never do this... because I don't like the pretense, "wanted"... I still WANT...
- Well, I'm comfortable with saying at one point I wanted to be a ballerina, an architect, an archaeologist and an interior designer, because...
- I have made my peace with ballet and it taught me great lessons and I've decided to continue training and hopefully will use dance for my future goals AND...
- I never ever explored what an architect, archaeologist or an interior designer would have to learn to practice that profession after the age of 12... I just liked the sound of it in primary school.
Oh, now the bullet points go away... geez. I do like knowing my dear, funny friend Hugh (watch his funny videos) though, he's an archaeologist. I'm really proud of him. Maybe one day I'll know an architect and an interior designer... Who knows?
If you're on listography, link me, I'll check it out. Maybe you'll inspire me to join...
6 comments:
This could have been edited a few more times before posting, but I really didn't want to take any more time on something already rather pointless...
Wow, lists as a full time job!
Actually, some of these things look like fun, interesting and creative ways even if only to get to know someone.
So many lists, so much ambition, so thorough. Have at it! I'll read your lists! :)
"I'm really proud of [Hughsnews]"
You sound like his Mum. ;-)
Weirdest Captcha I'v ever seen: blogravi
"How Not Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better" Now this must be for someone else. I mean, you want to look ten years old?!
As for architects, they just procrastinate, like everyone else.
I used to not like writing things down on paper once if I was writing a story. I just didn't like the idea of writing something and then having to rewrite it in case I didn't get it exactly how I wanted it, which also led to occasionally taking 10 minutes just thinking through how I'd word a paragraph in an in class essay before writing it, making some of them very short. So I would always try to type my stories on a computer, which unfortunately also led to many distractions like internet, youtube, facebook, video games so it wasn't really helping my creativity. Then one day I forced myself to grab a pen and paper and catch the train from one end of the line all the way down to the other and back. It gave me nearly 3 hours of free time to think uninterrupted thinking and writing and it turned out quite well. Getting outside of the rut of watching TV and checking twitter and basically not doing things is so uplifting.
So good luck with achieving your goals! I know you can do it :)
@Bilby P. Dalgyte This is what I love about long train or plane rides, the lack of distractions can leave you with so much creativity and so much time to do something with it.I definitely like this idea. If train rides weren't so expensive, I would do this at least once a month just to sort out my head! : )
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