The Encroaching Horror of Clutter (Junk Journal Update #3)

I try so hard to not let the the general clutter of my apartment get to me.  "After all," I say to myself dutifully, "You have a child now and that means sometimes your home will get a bit untidy.  Everyone in the world experiences that, so it's no biggie.  Just deal with it."

Thanks for your lack of understanding brain.  This is exactly why I am writing the Junk Journals in the first place.

The problem is when I'm trying to work, trying to be creative, or even trying to do edits for my book on de-junking I get easily distracted when the clutter reaches a certain point.  I've spent months not only getting material for my Junk Journal book, but doing actual de-cluttering and cleaning as well.  However, with all of the cleaning has come an unforeseen consequence.  No, I'm not turning into a neat freak.  Perish the thought!  Rather, I've reached a new low-level of tolerance for paper piles, out-of-place knick-knacks, and dirty dishes.  Yes, this means when I straighten up things tend to look a whole world better than they did just a year ago; that doesn't mean I don't annoyed by it though.

How it looks...

How it feels

Truthfully, I feel like...well when I see a mess that's growing out of hand I feel like....

like....

KHAAAAAAAAAANNNN'T TAKE THIS MESS!

Pretty much.  I know it seems like I've gone to the dark side if that's my reaction to clutter.  Fear not though my fair followers of the type B path.  I think you know what I'm talking about when it comes to clutter that makes me reach a breaking point.  We may say that we are okay with a little bit of mess, or joke that our piles are "organized how we want them."  Truth is though we'll be heading to the coffee shops and libraries in a heartbeat to get out creative work done if those piles make the fatal mistake of getting too big or getting too unorganized.  

In fact, this has happened so many times, even after all the de-junking that I'll likely make a chapter in the book on how to deal with day to day clutter that occurs after the great-clean up in your own home takes place.  As it stands now though, for me general clutter is like an encroaching horror like something out of a Boris Karloff movie.  I get filled with a sense of looming dread as things stack up and piles appear.  I know they must be dealt with, I know that I need to take care of them and put them in the tomb--file folders and boxes I mean--that they belong to.  For now though, even after doing a thorough cleaning, I just want to escape when clutter rears its ugly head.

What's that you say?  

Why don't I just spend some time picking up the mess?

What a type A thing to say...oh, and...

Hahahah...

*catches breath*

That's a good one!  Ya got any more jokes like that?

How to Feel Terrible: When a Client Disappears Edition

What do you make of it in the world of freelance writing when a client goes from enthusiastic communication loving your work and wanting more....

to total radio silence, so-to-speak?


Panic

Obviously you did something wrong and they hate you now.  They probably spend hours throwing darts at pictures they imagine look like you rather than do a quick check in to say what is going on and if they are going to continue to use your work.  Make sure you have a stack of paper lunch sacks nearby to hyperventilate into.  Likely you'll blow through a few of them while you decide your next move.  Maybe you should contact them five or six times in the next hour, just to let them know how much you love working for them.  If you need to cry, don't do it on the keyboard as it could short out.


Obsess Over the Details of the Last Thing You Gave Them

Did you have spelling errors?  Probably.  Could that one sentence have been more tightly written? Definitely.  Remember, everything can be done better, especially your last project.  It may be too late to turn in a new version, but that doesn't mean the worrying and obsessing about what has been done should stop.  In fact, it's time to ramp those doubts up to ten on the worry scale!  Stop being satisfied that you did your best and start really considering what it means to fail.  The closing ideas you had for a review?  That was probably terrible.  You transitions from one point to the next?  Those were also likely abysmal.  Don't even get started thinking about your usage of commas.  Not only did you more than likely screw that up, but the client is likely sharing your travesty of comma use around the office and with total strangers.


Count Your Failures

The age old adage about "Counting your blessings" is a lie, and you know it.  So why not count up your failures instead?  No, I'm not talking about that last assignment or job offer you tried out for.  I am talking about everything that you can possibly remember that you failed at.  Your choice to have spaghetti the other day was a disaster from the get go and you know it.  That time you thought about leaving your "safe" Joe job to pursue your dreams?  What a mistake that turned out to be, right?  In high school, yes, they really were  all looking at you and wondering why another human being would comb their hair and dress that way.    That time in kindergarten when you colored outside the lines? Yes, even that can be counted against you when it comes to the failure tally.  You need to dig deep when it comes to this one.  Think hard now, do you remember those first steps you took as a baby?  You can be pretty sure your parents hung their heads in shame when your diapered duff hit the floor before you even managed to plant one foot in front of the other.


Right about now you should be in the fetal position sucking your thumb.

Never Try Anything Ever Again

Don't do anything ever again.  No, not don't do anything new.  Tons of people never do anything new each and every day.  It's time to consider total inertia as an option for your future.  Doubtless your client's failure to respond mean that think a rock could have done a better job writing what you turn in, and maybe it is time to stop thinking of all you can accomplish and time to start thinking of how living as a solid state block of matter can help you avoid future disappointments.


Remember, you can't do well all the time.  So embrace the mediocrity and failure that has come to pass.

 Unless the client just made simple mistake and still loves your work, but didn't have time to get back to you.  In which case, you're totally fine and can ignore the advice previously given.

Of Junk Journaling and Musing Thoughts

So, to make a long story short, it's late and I'm tired.  But I think I need to get some writing done. If in no other format than this one at least.  Not that I'm putting down this particular blog of mine, just that I've been working on freelance writing applications and blog article submissions this evening, so I need to some time to write, some time to stretch, so to speak.

I know that I don't plan on doing much writing right now.  I already did a bit earlier today.  I had some thoughts coalescing about some stuff a friend and I have been talking about.  I know, I know.  Pretty vague jabber for a writer, but I am a bit tired and don't know how to say what I was going to gabble about.  Sufficed to say I don't want to screw up the way I write what I am writing.

Anywho, it got late on me and I am suddenly too tired to continue this particular blog. Night all!

Hollywood Hates My Childhood Part 2: The '1' Joke take 1

So, for a while now, I actually thought about researching this particular topic in depth. Maybe I will one day. Truth be told though, I can't remember the first time I saw it, but I want to say it was in the movie "The Mask" starring Jim Carey. There was a villain character, clearly aimed at kids with his goofball antics, getting peed on by a dog for laughs. But I wasn't laughing. Oh sure, it was the next 'logical' step down from the burps and gass passing that had started to crop up, but I have never cared for those either. Now, I know that the first thing a person might think if they are reading this, is that I'm a prude and not with the times are so other stupid, snarky thought. Let me give you a little insight into me briefly.

I grew up watching the "Disney Afternoon," so a chunk of my childhood was made up of the likes of Ducktales, Rescue Rangers, and Talespin. I think occasionally on those shows, either Dale or Baloo would belch noisely, but that was the worst of it. Furthermore, after they burped, one of the other characters would usually chastize them for their lack of decor. So, it wasn't really acceptable to even belch without a quick "excuse me." Now, again, before you might think you're oh so clever variation on the "ha ha you're old," garbage, ask yourself this. How does it help a scene in a kids show or a show that is based a kids show to depict something impolite as a source for laughs? What damage does it do to the people watching it? I think it is horrible for a person to think that the best they can do for laughs is a joke about bodily functions. You should expect more from both show, and from yourself.

To that end, I think the current crop of writers in Hollywood think very little of the average movie goer. Not only that, but when a possible franchise opportunity in the form of a beloved children's show comes across their desk, they think that they have to reach into the same bag of tricks. And it is a very old bag.

Without having seen the movie, I knew that the Smurfs based film would have a few jokes about farting and burping, and this was based on the fact that the movie was coming out. Same with the Inspector Gadget movie, Richie Rich, and others. Why does my childhood need to be ruined by the inclusion of some insipid gag that wasn’t funny the first time, let alone the hundredth or so time it was told? It’s like Hollywood had a memory problem and refuses to believe the public when they say that they are tired of garbage like that. There response seems to be, “No, you are stupid masses, we know that you like this stuff, besides, I think that this show is stupid, so I will kill off franchise potential by making the movie unwatchable.”
Sorry to sound so rant like. I will do better tomorrow. I’m trying to get a good quota of words in, but all I can think about is how tired I am from my monthly blood test followed up by an 8 hour shift. A person doesn’t become a writer simply by saying “I feel too tired to do this tonight.” I would like to do this line of thought a better bit of justice, and I think I could hit upon what I would like to say with a bit more rest and a bit more thought. I will revisit the topic of the gross jokes in kid franchises later.
For now, maybe I should just mention the fact that I am tired of my retail job taking so much from me, both mentally as well as physically. I want to crank out a creative bit of writing soon, but even the shortest shift at work leaves me feeling so drained and so tired that I just want to veg-out and do nothing. I don’t know what I can do to combat this. I keep coming up to this problem.
I think it is showing something though that I’m trying to plow through, even if it isn’t something as profound as I would like. I have to fight for every inch of ground that I gain in the war against my own apathy. It would be so easy just to give up, and not write anything more tonight. I want to quit, but I’ve done that enough already.