dare you! and by you I mean me.

I've had this one in my drafts for a while. I've been afraid to commit. I get like that. Afraid. Of commitment. Don't tell husband.

ANYWAY - it's been in my drafts for so long that I can't remember where I found the link to begin with, I THINK it was from Liz. Seems like a Liz thing. And I mean that with the craziest amount of respect possible. Leave me a comment if you also linked to this site so my 12 readers will know who else rocks my world in the creativity department.

so.

Here's the thing. I like lists. I am trying to get my crafty on because I need even more distractions from my laundry (sarcasm) and I also feel like my brain is going (abso-fucking-lutely true). This list is perfect because it's A) a list, B) crafty and C) inspiring. It should totally keep my brain going for a bit... And by publishing it here, out loud, I am committing to doing these things. right? I think I will do them in order. hmm. Except that walking is SUPER boring. Hmmm. maybe I will do them in reverse order? No. IN ORDER. 1 per week. How hard is that right? I. Can.Do.It.

1 per week. Starting next week because walking is boring. Also, I don't really like poetry. So week 5 is gunna be tough. Also, this list is 100 things long. So I am making a 2 year commitment. sigh. See the first sentence. I.CAN.DO.IT. Also, when it says "draw" I probably won't draw. I suck at drawing. Maybe YOU can do some of the things on here, write about it, email it to me and I will post it on your behalf. We'll get through the list super fast. Just don't do any of the ones I want. Do the (hard) drawing ones. And the walking ones. Email to insufficientfocus at gmail dot com.

i can do it?

The List. by Keri Smith. Author. Illustrator. Guerilla Artist.

1. Go for a walk. Draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk. 2. Write a letter to yourself in the future. 3. Buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create, (new pen, a tea cup, journal). Use it everyday. 4. Draw your dinner. 5. Find a piece of poetry you respond to. Rewrite it and glue it into your journal. 6. Glue an envelope into your journal. For one week collect items you find on the street. 7. Expose yourself to a new artist, (go to a gallery, or in a book.) Write about what moves you about it. 8. Find a photo of a person you do not know. Write a brief bio about them. 9. Spend a day drawing only red things. 10. Draw your bike. 11. Make a list of everything you buy in the next week. 12. Make a map of everywhere you went in one day. 13. Draw a map of the creases on your hand, (knuckles, palm) 14. Trace your footsteps with chalk. 15. Record an overheard conversation. 16. Trace the path of the moon in relation to where you live. 17. Go to a paint store. Collect 'chips' of all your favorite colors. 18. Draw your favorite tree. 19. Take 15 minutes to eat an orange. 20. Write a haiku. 21. Hang upside down for five minutes. 22. Hang found objects from tree branches. 23. Make a puppet. 24. Create an outdoor room from things you find in nature. 25. Read a book in one day. 26. Illustrate your grocery list. 27. Read a story out loud to a friend. 28. Write a letter to someone you admire. 29. Study the face of someone you do not like. 30. Make a meal based on a color theme. (i.e. all white). 31. Creat a museum of very small things. 32. List the smells in your neighborhood. 33. List 100 uses for a tin can. 34. Fill an entire page in your jounral with small circles. Color them in. 35. Give away something you love. 36. Choose an object, draw the side you can't see. 37. List all of the places you've ever lived. 38. Describe your favourite room in detail. 39. Write about your relationship with your washing machine. 40. Draw all of the things in your purse/bag. 41. Make a mini book based on the theme, "my grocery list". 42. Create a character based on someone you know. Write a list of personality traits. 43. Recall your favorite childhood game. 44. Put postcards of art pieces/painting on the inside of your kitchen cupboard doors, so you can see them everyday (but not become deaf to them.) 45. Draw the same object every day for a week. 46. Write in your journal using a different medium (brush & ink, charcoal, old typewriter, crayons, fat markers. 47. Draw the individual items of your favorite outfit. 48. Make a useful item using only paper & tape. 49. Research a celebration or ritual from another culture. 50. Do a temporary art installation using a pad of post it notes & a pen. 51. Draw a map of your favorite sitting spots in your town/city. (photocopy it and give it to someone you like.) 52. Record all of the sounds you hear in the course of one hours. 53. Using a grid, collect various textures from magazine and play them off of each other. 54. Cut out all media for one day. Write about the effects. 55. Make pencil rubbings of six different surfaces. 56. Draw your garbage. 57. Do a morning collage. 58. List your ten most important things, (not including animals or people.) 59. List ten things you would like to do every day. 60. Glue a photo of yourself as a child into your journal. 61. Trasform some garbage. 62. Write an entry in your journal in really LARGE letters. 63. Collect some 'flat' things in nature (leaves, flowers). Glue or tape them into your journal. 64. Physically alter a page. (i.e. cut a hole, pour tea on it, burn it, fold it, etc.) 65. Find several color combinations you respond to in public. Document them using swatches, write where you found them. 66. Write a journal entry describing something "secret". Cut it up into several pieces and glue them back in scrambled. 67. Record descriptions or definitions of subjects or words you are interested in, found in encyclopedias or dictionaries. 68. Draw the outline of an object without looking at the page. (contour drawing). 69. What were you thinking just now? write it down. 70. Do nothing. 71. Write a list of ten things you could to do. Do the last thing on the list. 72. Create an image using dots. 73. Do 3 drawings at different speeds. 74. Put a small object in your left pocket (or in a bag), Put your left hand in the pocket. Draw it by feel. 75. Create a graph documenting or measuring something in your life. 76. Draw the sun. 77. Create instructions for a simple everyday task. 78. Make prints using food. (fruit and vegetables cut in half, fish, etc.) 79. Find a photo. Alter it by drawing over it. 80. Write a letter using an unconventional medium. 81. Draw one object for twenty minutes. 82. Combine two activities that have not been combined before. 83. Write about your day in an encyclopedic fashion. (i.e. organize by subject.) 84. Write a list of all the things you do to escape. 85. Cut a random shape out of several layers of a magazine. Make a collage out of the results. 86. Write an entry in code. 87. Make a painting using tools from the bathroom. 88. Work with a medium that is subtractive. 89. Write about or draw some of the doors in your life. 90. Make a postcard that has some kind of activity on it. 91. Divise a journal entry using "layers". 92. Divise an entry using "layers". 93. Write your own definition of one of the following concepts, sitting, waiting, sleeping (without using the actual word.) 94. List 10 of your habits. 95. Illustrate the concept of "simplicity".

shit, I don't know what subtractive means.

Things I did not complain about today

My slow computer
My sore foot*
My sore back*
My extremely full inbox
The printer
The smell in the bathroom
The good ol boys laughing and ass slapping going on
Never being able to find information that I need in all of our systems
Asking for one thing (that I should have been able to find) and getting something else

*Shoot - I totally forgot and complained about these - but it was really more of an explanation. It was suggested that I frolic and I had to explain why I couldn't.

Music - 2008 favorites

So, as I mentioned, I really don't make best of/top 10 lists. But this year, why the hell not right? I listened to a lot of new music this year and these were the ones I found myself constantly returning to. Here it is.

The Black Keys, Attack & Release
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple
Gossip, Live in Liverpool
The Kills, Midnight Boom
King Khan and The Shrines, The Supreme Genius…
Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones
Jay Reatard, Matador Singles '08
Times New Viking, Rip It Off
TV on the Radio, Dear Science

These came out in 07 but I am lovin em in 08. It's my list, I make the rules.
The Black Lips, Good Bad Not Evil
Kanye West, Graduation

There were a few songs that I absolutely COULD NOT get enough of this year:
Gnarls Barkley - "Little Better" from The Odd Couple (some day I will write about how this song totally and completely describes me)
Magnetic Fields - "California Girls" from Distortion
Jay Reatard - "An Ugly Death" from Matador Singles '08
Tilly and the Wall - "Too Excited" from O

live favorites:
Black Lips @ Detour fest
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ The Hollywood Bowl.
Ray Lamontagne @ The Wiltern (have never been to a show in LA at a venue so big that stayed so quiet)
Jay Reatard @ Echo
Spiritualized @ The Hollywood Bowl (technically this was the same show as Nick but they were so.fucking.amazing that they get a separate listing)
TV on the Radio @ the Wiltern
Kanye West @ Nokia

2009 To Do List

ok, so I didn't exactly complete everything on my '08 to do list. But I did not do too bad either. So, I have a lot that needs to be done, might as well make a list for '09 right?

• Finish the living room. (buy a chair, rug and do up the south wall)
• Complete 4 classes (I've already signed up for 3, now I just need to take and finish them plus one more)
  
• Photo Albums (need to do one per month)
  
• Finish the dining room (get a new hutch dealy and west wall)
• Start the bedroom (everything - if you want to donate anything let me know)
• 12 new restaurants
• 12 books (that sounds easy but it's been really difficult to get much read the last couple of years) (or I guess you could think that sounds really hard in which case I love you)
• Find myself Los Angeles print or t-shirt (this is left over from my old list and I don't have any room for anymore t-shirts so I think it needs to be a print)
• new tattoo.
• not gain back any of the weight I lost, if you don't count the last two weeks of '08.
• hydrate
  

It's kind of a daunting list actually. Will have to baby step it . No problem!

Before I die:
Have some will power and say no to things that I know are bad for me - it's a long slow process

Stop multitasking and just do things one at a time - I actually think I am making some improvements here

baby steps update

Update - ok it's been two months since I made my baby steps list. And one of my problems is that I do things for now. I have a hard time committing things to memory and actually acting on my goals. So, in other words, I made the list and forgot all about it. Let's recap the list and see if I got anything done.

Before Dec 31 2008
Finish the living room art project - CHECK! and I love the way it looks. Bought most of the items on Etsy and received one donation from a friend. thanks friend.

Go to the gym for 11 straight days - no. BUT. I am THINKING about going tomorrow.

Go 3 weeks without coffee (hah! only 4 more days and I am there!) - check. more or less. It's been like 3 months since I officially gave up coffee and have 2 -3 cups a week now. better!

Maintain or improve my current weight. (ok, obs I want that number to be lower. baby steps) - That's a CHECK motherfuckers! hah.


Before Sep 28 2009
Find an awesome Los Angeles TShirt or Print - hmmm.. man so glad that I gave myself a year for that one. It's not easy.

Get a new tattoo - working on some ideas and stashing away a dollar here and a dollar there so when the time comes it won't seem like a major expense.


Before I die
Have some will power and say no to things that I know are bad for me - it's a long slow process

Stop multitasking and just do things one at a time - I actually think I am making some improvements here

not too bad.

Firsts - a beginning

hey I know! I'll start another list. I do like lists. What OCDADDDYSLEXICEASILYDISTRACTED35YEAROLDWOMAN doesn't? This one will also help the problem of not being motivated (I would think). It's actually something I started a long time ago. And by started I mean I wrote two entries, never posted them then forgot all about them.

The first time I ever thought about writing:
I was sitting on the floor (facing the tv, much like now)
My grandmother's typewriter was on the coffee table (much like now)
I was probably 7, MAYBE 8.
Writing an autobiography.

I can literally remember wanting to write, getting excited, turning on the tv, setting up the typewriter, sitting down and not having a single clue what to write. (much like....)
I do remember that I wrote something about my dad not being able to keep a job and my Uncle Al being an alcoholic. I think I got maybe 3 sentences in before giving up. Or maybe Solid Gold was about to start. Either way, that autobiography never happened. It's never too late to write about your family's failures though right? Maybe tomorrow.

Music

Update: another good reason not to make top 10 lists, I made the original WIP list back in July and half those bands I don't even listen to now. huh.


Since I was ridiculed many years for only putting 1 album on my "top 10" list I have not made another list. I felt totally justified in proclaiming that Sophtware Slump was so good that it woulda been THAT much better than whatever I could have made 2 - 10. I felt it was a strong statement. Other people, my husband, didn't agree. So whatever. I figure no one gives a shit what is on someone else's top 10, they just want a reason to tell you what's on theirs. The only reason I ever look at someone's list is to make judgements (come on, we're being honest right?) and (less likely) look for new music. If I see something on a lot of lists I may seek it out...

but today as I was rocking out in the car, I figured that since I have a whole tag for "lists" I should use it! And if I make an evolving top 10 list during the year come January I won't have to struggle to remember what I liked and I will already have my list so that you can judge me.

here it is... (I think I was just inspired to make another list; reasons why I have comments disabled)

in alphabetical order by the second letter in the first word:

Jay Reatard, Matador Singles '08
Kanye West, Graduation… it came out in 07, but whatev. I’m lovin it in 08.
The Black Keys, Attack & Release
Gossip, Live in Liverpool
The Kills, Midnight Boom
Times New Viking, Rip It Off
King Khan and The Shrines, The Supreme Genius…
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple
Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones
newest addition in bold

huh, couldn't come up with 10. I'm sure I forgot some. Don't hate. It's my list. You don't have to listen.

the list will evolve assuming something else I like comes out this year, updates in bold. I have high expectations for the Jay Reatard Singles, Clinic and, Spiritualized

At the end of the blog...

The other day I was listening to a friend at work talk about how annoyed he gets when people say "at the end of the day" - I added that I also didn't like when people said "When all is said and done" - I'm watching some terrible reality show right now and someone said "At the end of the day you have to look out for number 1" I just decided I hate "look out for number one" more than the other two.

I have some others that really get under my skin and annoy the shit out of me, usually when I am sitting in a meeting listening to people who like to hear themselves talk.

- get under my skin
- look at something "holistically"
- at the eleventh hour
- FRANKLY (that one usually gets said with a snippy tone or elevated voice
- ANYthing sports related. We're not a football team for fuck's sake
- once in a blue moon

whatever.

Countdown to Road Trip

updated!

Leaving with SASTC in a few days for Detroit and then driving to NY. It's all work but I think we'll have a good time... Especially on the drive to NY, it will only take a few hours but I have high expectations for those hours - I should go online and see if there is anything we can stop and be goofy at - like world's biggest cupcake display or something. BETTER YET! You should look it up for me and let me know!

[note to self - print itinerary and directions to all stops!]

So much to do before we leave, feeling a little overwhelmed. Saturday's plans got postponed which is probably a good thing.

Cause I like to make lists:
Pedicure - nope. no time. it's ok though. It was a nice to have, not a have to have
Hair Salon yes. lots of brown!
Breakfast with the girls good company, cold eggs
Pictionary
Pack (7 days worth of clothes into a carry-on. yikes) have the clothes laid out, we'll see if they fit into the carry-on!
Wireless card thanks to BS and AL for the loan
Clean out my email had to go in on Saturday to do it but it's done!
File everything I got behind on filing this week CHECK!
Finish unpacking my desk CHECK!
Chiropractor crack check!
Not stress - minor success.
Charge camera
Play with new kitten - ongoing
Play with old cats - boring
Quality time with husband. - not enough!
Set DVR (living room) and TiVo (bedroom) for all the new shows that will start next week (yes, I do it in both rooms. I like options)
Update the Zune (that damn software crashes my computer)
Buy an airplane book. Black Dahlia book recommendation from AL
Email this list to my phone so that I can have it on me!
Make some lists, check them twice, forget something. already remembered two things I forgot, luckily I already forgot them again

Once we get there:
Yell at JB from BS on behalf of HW.
Baseball game with the Mulligans - Tigers v Angels - GO TIGERS!
Look for world's biggest cupcake display
Wine taste
Time with boss, friends and others at the HW event.
Meet MM's dad MM.
work. hmmph.
Post lots of pics to blog and FB. I can never decide which to send where...


Time for Project RunwaySUSHI!!

Still? Really? Things that make me say "Still? Really?"

Apologies in advance if you support these things in any way. This is my list - you can make your own list and put Crow tattoos in position numero one.

Things I think are sort of tired and don't really need to see/hear/smell anymore....

• Smoking. sorry to any friends that smoke. It doesn't bother me when you do it. Only when randoms are reeky
• seeing the rendering of a proposed NFL stadium in LA and/or listening to people debate about it. How many years do we need to do this... get your shit together, figure it out. Everyone knows that there needs to be a team here and I don't care where they play cause I'm probably never gonna go - and I don't care if it's a relocated team or a new team cause they're gonna suck anyway like all other LA teams (except the Lakers). So just make it happen so we can stop being a Raiders city staring lovingly at renderings. booyah.
• "staycations" --- for fuck's suck. why does something need a name before people think it's a good idea.
• complaining about real estate and gas prices. yeh - we know. they suck
• Pepsi
• U2 - I just read they have a new album this year... seriously? wasn't it just like 6 months ago that we had to see their mugs everywhere and hear the hype about the stupid ipod...So basically we're gonna go from the overplayed Coldplay (see below) ipod commericial to another U2 commercial. ARGH. yay for TiVo. And remotes so I can change the channel.
• midriffs - unless you're 12.
• belly button piercings
• white shoes - duh. white pants are a close second
• The Sundays/Coldplay. Are you happy Chris Martin - you are now on par with the Sundays in my head! Sure, you're probaby not on Muzak yet - but it's only a matter of time before a last minute and only in extreme desperation induced trip to my local drugstore forces me to hear one of your ear piercing songs. (Sundays heard 6/18 11:35 am Bed Bath and Beyond, Sepulveda)
  
  
  

this is an ongoing list - updates will be in bold.

Right Now!

1. i am STOKED over getting the news about a new TVOTR cd- FINALLY! even though honestly I am still not tired of the last one
2. can hear Guy making dinner and am flip flopping between feeling like the luckiest girl alive and guilty cause i'm in here fuckin around
3. thinks picasa rules, and really only needs it to be wireless to make me that much happier
4. i kinda sorta kinda want an iphone. don't tell Guy. i love gadgets. and their apps look awesome. gonna try and wait it out to see what BlackBerry comes up with. damnit.
5. i have 1 night till i have to geek out with the nerds and am sooooo overwhelmed with shit i need to do at work and home. bah.
6. loves the Dodgers right now. 12-2 in the 4th. hah! (err, not loving the error just now...might just want to delete number 6 before I even publish this---BAH, 12-3)
7. feels bad that Guy has to go to jury duty tomorrow but thinks the plan of wearing one of my t-shirts, reading Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, while carrying a disposable camera in one hand and an oversized rubber ducky with a rainhat in the other hand should be a good way to not get placed on a jury
8. realizes that she's writing these the same way she writes her Facebook status and that needs to stop

THIS is what Muzak should sound like!

So I had a dentist appointment that involved drilling and "cracking sounds" so I decided to listen to the sound of my music instead of the sound of teeth cracking. I put it on shuffle and below is what I was given... I don't know the names of any songs, just artists....oh and I gotta say this is a genius way to get through a dentist appointment - it wasn't so much the music, that was actually sort of a pain in the ass, since I had to keep asking him to repeat himself when he said anything, but it was a great distraction having to remember all the bands before I could type them out...

A Tribe Called Quest (awesome way to start)
Placebo
Gossip (My new favorite)
Outkast
Black Keys
Headcoats
Marcy Playground
The Hives (note to self, delete the Hives)
Arab strap
Sts9
Jeremy Jay
Galaxie 500
Oasis (see The Hives above, unless it's Definitely Maybe)
Doves (booooring, sorry fans of Doves)
Converge (mmmm, I don't know... Andy suggested this one - better for when I am angry at work I think)
Kiss (oh - we're almost done and this is a perfect way to end, shutting down)

To Do

Here's my list - I gave it order so you I can see what I need to do. Why is it so short yet I feel so overwhelmed by it! I need to take charge of my to-do!

- clean out closet, hallway closet, hallway shelves, then...
- drop off stuff at Out of the Closet
- make Fla and TX photo albums
- oh maybe I'll think about a new paint color in the bathroom

- Go see Wall-E
- eat crabs, drink beers
- go to the post office
- go to the atm
- have ramen with Guy
- organize photos
--- make photo albums
--- decide which to print/frame and order them there totally were not any worth printing
- clean up desk (not as easy as those 3 little words would imply)
- make 2 returns
- go to Doctor's appt.
--- do not fill prescribed medications and instead research alternatives that do not involve prescription drugs. bah - nevermind. I just need to drink water.
- pack toys
- sell some books -- give away some books!
old news:
Update: It's Sunday and I feel pretty good about what I accomplished this week!
Update: It's Thursday. totally getting shit done.
Update: It's Wednesday and I did nothing today. Well I had lunch with Guy. that's TOTALLY something, but it's not on the list. oh - wait... look, it magically appeared!
Update: It's Tuesday and I cleaned the desk. yay.
Update: It's Monday and I didn't do anything on my list today but I realized that I also have Thursday since Guy isn't fortunate enough to have a 4 day weekend.

So I may be sitting on the couch right now and maybe I didn't do anything today and maybe I won't do anything tomorrow but starting Monday you better believe shit is getting done! I took next week off work just to get caught up on stuff at home - so that means I have Mon, Tue and Wed before the long holiday weekend where I won't do anything except eat and drink.

Spell check?

I consider myself to have fairly excellent spelling abilities* and there are just some words that I can not spell - ever... like Hummous - like that could be right, but I have no idea. This can be an ongoing list of those words and a reminder to myself to not just give up on my spelling dreams... it's probably not too late to win my grade school spelling bee. right?

• sandwich. sandwiche?
• Nauseaus... I usually spell it so wrong spell check doesn't know wtf I'm attempting
• Tomatoe/Tomato/Potato/Potatoe/I used to know how to spell these, before Dan Qualye/Quail
• Hummous?
  
  

*if you get an email from me with lots of typos it's because I can't type, not because I can't spell. Also, I am too lazy to use punctuation or capital letters. usually.
Newest word shown in bold.

That's annoying!

My worst critic is myself! - no, really. You think you've thought all kinds of bad things about me? Well believe me, get in line mother fucker. if you would like to add to the list by letting me know all the ways that I annoy you, too bad, it's my list. Make your own. But really, that wouldn't be very nice now would it?

Ways I annoy myself - in no particular order:

• I make piles. Instead of just putting shit away, I put it in a pile and eventually it gets put away
• I always pick the slowest checkout lane. It could be the longest or the shortest line in a 56 lane Target and if I pick you don't wanna follow me.
• I eavesdrop in public places - I don't mean to (usually) but I pick up bits and pieces and then I get sucked in trying to figure them out. The CIA could totally use me.
• I don't drink enough water - like, seriously, hardly any at all.
• I can't remember details from movies, books or tv shows. But I can tell you that SASTC's security gate code is #3090 and I have only been there two times in the last 2 years.
• I type too fast, which would be great if I had any accuracy and didn't have to keep hitting the backspace key.
• I overshare. just ask Guy.
• I am too punctual. Even when I try and arrive late (and sometimes that IS appropriate) I get there early or on time. This does not mean that if I am ever waiting for you that it's ok to be late. It's not.
• It makes me happy that I know what the F12 key does. (F5 too, but I don't want to brag)
• I make lists of ways I annoy myself