Saturday, August 21, 2010

Day 249

I think I've lost a fundamental battle in the ongoing war between order and disarray. I just can't seem to keep my life neat and tidy anymore. I spent this morning sorting through a large stack of papers marked "save for later." Most of the papers contained scribbled phone numbers or notes about some work project I finished months ago. I had no idea why I had saved any of this. Half of the names I wrote down I didn't even recognize. I remember that whenever I used to make a new contact, I would immediately write down all the information on a Rolodex card or enter it in a day planner. Now I'll just scribble something cryptic on whatever is handy and move on. There just isn't time to be methodical and organized anymore.

Sometimes I wonder what is the point of having an office full of time saving equipment and software. Since everyone thinks this stuff makes my life easy, budgets have gotten tighter and deadlines have gotten much shorter. Everyone wants immediate gratification now. The net result is that I'm busier than I've ever been, but only making half as much money as I was in the days before the Internet. I used to wish that life would return to normal and then I realized that this is normal. Normal has changed. I can't turn back the clock, but I can throw away the big pile of "save for later" paper. No point in saving it any longer. I don't even know what it all means.

When I was watering plants while the dogs were sunning themselves after lunch, I noticed that all the plants we had put outside to "get some sun" were turning brown and dying. I guess this plan didn't work. It's just too hot. Later, when I got the vacuum cleaner out to clean the carpets, I discovered that vacuum cleaner bags were what I was trying to remember this morning when I made my list for the grocery store. I found lots of old shopping bags from the mall in the utility room, but no vacuum cleaner bags.  I don't know what has happened to me. For the first thirty years of my life I led a pristine, zen-like existence. Now, everything has turned to dust and clutter. I went ahead and watered the brown plants baking on the back porch and vacuumed the house with a dust filled bag. What else can you do?

Dalmatian of the Day

    Watch of the Day