It's My TV….It's My Peanut Butter

So, I have a shit-ton of things I need to do.  All the stuff I’ve put off while on the project from hell, plus the every-day b.s. of laundry and housework.  So this week, I get the bright idea to start a to-do list.  That’s supposed to be the key to  GTD (Getting Things Done) right?  Right.

I was going to go with a paper list, because while I detest the idea of having to use paper in my work life, in my personal life, I am all about the dead trees.  BUT, then I thought about how much more helpful it might be if I didn’t have to look to the list for what to do.  How about I use the schnaztasticness of my phone?  Surely there’s a widget of a to-do list that has all manner of annoying alarms to remind me to fold socks and take the box with the nativity scene down to the basement, right?

And that’s when the first time vampire was spawned.  There are several different options available for my phone in the line of to-do lists with alarms.  And I didn’t want to choose one that wasn’t spot-on-awesome, right?  So I had to do my research.  Look up ratings.  Download and testdrive.

You’re seeing the minutes ticking away, right?

Finally, I have the ideal candidate.  I feel semi-confident after 2 hours of playing with other options that this is the list-maker for moi.  Perfect.  Now all I had to do was start listing tasks and setting priorities and deadlines.

And that’s when the time vampire had a whole list of babies.

Just figuring out what I had to get done was a lengthy exercise itself.  Then I realized that some of what I listed really had sub-steps involved, and shouldn’t I list each sub-step toward completion?  Of course I should.  Delete the first one and break it down to all 11 steps.  Ah, better!  Now about those priorities.  Clearly folding socks is more important than moving around chairs in the living room.  But where do I put dusting the bookshelf in the living room?  More or less important?  And the deadlines.  Hmmm, do I really think I can get all the laundry done by Tuesday?  Should I set a weekly alarm for that?

5 hours later, I have a very thorough list of things to do.  My phone is happy to display a little icon at me.  Alarm chime merrily from time to time.  I look down at the little screen, frown…..and clear the alarm before going back to the book I was reading.

So much for that plan.

To start:  Yes, I’m missing a lot of posts.  That is due to a work-related time vampire that I am just not going to discuss because it’s entirely too suck-tastic.

And now that I’m here thanks to the wonder of one of the few holidays we haven’t destroyed completely in this country*…..

Except that I’m here later than I expected because, it’s officially post-Thanksgiving-meal-consumption for me, which is my stated prerequisite for starting up Christmas music.  And I wanted friggin’ holiday cheer blaring before I started typing.  So, I sit down at ye olde PC…..about 2-3 hours ago.

Trouble is, I had hell getting MP3s loaded.  To own the truth, I am still playing them ones-y, two-sy.

In the off-season, when I’m shifting files around on computers to make space, or set up a new drive, the first thing to get shuffled aside in a less-than-orderly fashion, are the Christmas MP3s.  It’s generally done because, well, I won’t need them until after Thanksgiving, and of COURSE I’ll get them organized again before then.

Except I don’t.

So, here I am, ready to start rockin’ to my Danish Santa Rap, Juleman, and….where the hell was that file?

First there’s the consolidation into one location, then there’s dumb-ass iTunes and it’s molasses-in-January loading process (although, I suppose I shouldn’t blame iTunes totally….I have fairly extensive collection of holiday tune-age.  By-product of being a practically-Christmas-baby).  During this process, I get fed up and start my internet search for the killer-app to replace this nightmare that we call iTunes.  Download a few.  Install.  Realize they won’t fit the bill, go back to loading iTunes.  And here I sit, just now attempting to get this thing posted while a folder sits open next to this window so I can right click on a Christmas song and tell it to play in Winamp so as not to disturb the goings-on of iTunes (why don’t I just use Winamp?!?!?!)

Then again, the real time vampire in this is probably my own lack of organization….

*Though we’re working on it–I mean, whatever meaning it had, racist or not, is pretty much gone–but so far it’s still a mandatory day off.  Except for those poor SOBs in retail.  And because of that, the slippery slope is in place to make this into another work-day for the rest of us where only those with vacation time and forgiving superiors can manage to take the day.

This entry less-than-thoughtfully composed to the following soundtrack: “Kaj i kanen” - Kølig Kaj; “Podsafe Christmas Song” – Jonathan Coulton; “Es Wird Scho Glei Dumpa” – Stefanie Hertel & Stefan Mross; “Christmas Wishes” – Anne Murray; “Throw The Yule Log On, Uncle John” – The Christopher Wren Singers; “Wenn ein neues Jahr geboren wird” – Claudia Jung.