Neat Little Folders All in a Row
Just to be clear, I am quite certain the only reason I am still with my Significant Other is that he likes running errands and I loathe them. That is enough of a reason. I am quite serious. LOATHE is too light a word for it. I would rather poke my own eyes out. There is no fate worse than running errands with a Demon Baby in tow. Suffice it to say, today I descended into Dante's Third Circle of Hell.
Back-to-school shopping.
You know, in the Bible, God tells Eve as punishment for eating the apple, he is going to make childbirth more painful. No. God invented back-to-school shopping as punishment.
Store #1. Kohl's . . . to buy Oldest Son cool T-shirts with things like "Spider Pig" and The Simpsons' sayings on them. Add one Led Zeppelin (rock on!) sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, a backpack, a backpack for Demon Baby, a pack of Sponge Bob underwear for Demon Baby (I am still hoping that the Naked Strike will end soon), and I was $170 poorer. I was also "thisclose" to a nervous breakdown as Demon Baby likes to play hide 'n' seek in the clothes racks. He also took off his shoes.
Store #2. The shoe store. I bought Demon Baby shoes, but he continued his barefoot state. Add one pair of sneakers for Oldest Boy who seems to grow a few inches a month . . . and a second pair of Demon Baby shoes . . . $95 poorer.
Store #3. The Pantheon of Back-to-School Hell . . . the office supplies store. Demon Baby by now was shrieking. He also decided to try high jumping from various shelves.
Which brings me to writing. You see, part of going to the office supplies store was the idea that Oldest Son wants to be more organized this year. So from binder to pencils to calculator, we bought things designed to color-code by class. He's a brilliant kid taking honors physics and so on this year. But organization stumps him. Have you met his mother?
Which brings me to . . . INSPIRATION. Something about office supplies just makes me think I am going to reinvigorate the writing process, be more organized in my office, and this will increase my productivity a thousand-fold. It's like I drink the effing Kool-Aid every time I enter an office supplies store, mesmerized by folders and notebooks and pens and white boards.
It's a sickness.
Anyone else have Office Supply Disease? Do share? Or what other writing gadgets get you all hot and bothered?
23 comments:
Sounds about right. I took the boys to Office Max yesterday for back-to-school shopping and walked out with $104 of crap for them and about $112 for me (paper, paper and paper, plus notebooks to put various research newsletters in and oh yes, laser printer toner).
The real killer for oldest son was also toner for his computer printer, although I was getting frustrated with youngest son because his teacher gave a list and it would say: 4 glue sticks, ream of colored printer paper, colored sharpie markers...
And you'd go to Office Max and they sell glue sticks in package of 2 with Elmer's Glue, or packages of 6 or packages of 24, colored sharpie markers, packages of 14 for $12.95, etc.
On the other hand, I LIKE errands and I LIKE shopping at office supply stores. Seems like there's so much potential there and it makes me feel like an actual businessman rather than some guy who works in his basement in his bare feet (a point my wife is rather jealous of and has said so repeatedly recently).
It's not the office supply store that does it for me, even in terms of organization and writing. It's the grocery store. If the meals are determined and there are plenty of snacks on hand, if the pickin's are healthy and the variety is massive, then I never worry about what's for dinner. It's amazing how that frees my day and my mind. I feel organized and like I'm best darn-tootin' do-it-all and know-it-all around. When I resort to the blue box dinner, I end up feeling like I should have been doing something besides writing my book and reading blogs.
LOL, Rock on DB!
I'm also free as a bird when I have Food in the house. I can be behind on laundry, dust-bunnies galore, but the food thing closes the deal. Guess seeing hubby reach for the peanut butter and jelly stings a little.
Hey, I love the office store too, but the food in the fridge makes me feel invincible! And I love your bible story translation. Ain't it the truth!
hahaha @ "What other writing gadgets get you all hot and bothered." Eh, not really a writing gadget girl.
But I know what you mean about running errands. I am a home body and as long as I get out of the house just to get out of it a couple times a week I'm cool.
Mark:
Aligning exactly what the teachers want is a nightmare. Someone should investigate packagin and THEN make the list. Worse, Baby Girl had a need for "blue index cards"--I went to three stores . . . can't find 'em. It's MADNESS, I say. MADNESS!
E
Amy:
WOW! You are such a good mom to think of NOURSIHING the family. We are rather haphazard around here, because I hate the grocery store with Demon Baby most of all.
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ladonna:
The first two weeks of September are always killer.
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Hi Zoe:
If I could NEVER leave my home, I wouldn't. Ever.
Ever.
E
I successfully resisted the urge to buy a 24-pack of gel pens that whispered to me how much better my note-making would be if I could use one color for each story element in each of six stories (or something like that). I was very, very proud of myself.
Then I bought four notebooks. One for each active project. Hey, got to keep them all straight....
hahaha. I think I leave more out of obligation than anything, like I think I need to sometimes, like it's probably a good idea, but if I'm stuck too long, I do get somewhat stir crazy, so maybe I do need a little bit of away time. But not as much as some people seem to need.
Some people are always running. I'm a nester.
Sharp pencils and crisp new Pee Chees used to rock my world . . .and while I'm always looking for the silver bullet that's gonna pull it all together-- so far it's managed to elude me as every new idea has a corresponding file full of little bits of paper covered with note taking so cryptic I can barely decipher it. But the fact that it's actually FILED gives the illusion of organization --so I'm sticking with that!
LOVING the Led Zepplin T-shirt!!!!
Oh, Christa, markers and gel pens . . . now you're making me want to go buy some!
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Zoe:
I'm a total nester, too.
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alyson:
I
m so behind on filing, it's a sickness.
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Office Supplies! That's what I need! I spent the last two days building myself a writing room in my (unfinished) basement. (Pictures on my blog! I'm so proud.)
I loved back to school shopping when I was young. The possibilities, the fresh start, the shiny new folders.
I HATE every single other errand. HATE. They take me two days a week since DH is gone. Such a waste of precious time!
You know my sickness isn't Supply store specific. I can go down an aisle with pens, paper, notebooks, post-its and the like and my palms get sweaty.
You know like I NEED another freaking pen, notebook or post-it. But wait, I don't have those small color-coded index cards...
Hi Spy:
Glad I have good company in the "loathe errands" category.
xo
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melissa:
I have such a "think" for . . . markers and pens . . . and white boards . . . and day planners . . . because I have not swung over to a Palm Pilot yet.
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melissa:
I have such a "think" for . . . markers and pens . . . and white boards . . . and day planners . . . because I have not swung over to a Palm Pilot yet.
E
Ooh, I LURVE my PDA... especially after I switched from a Palm to a PocketPC. It doesn't work as a wireless device (probably a good thing!) but I do get quite a bit of writing done on it, and all I have to do is sync it to my PC to upload it... I can write anywhere AND be organized! (It still doesn't beat longhand for some things, but it has certainly changed my process for the better.)
OMG! I went to Office Max while we were in Acapulco and I didn't want to leave. I only bought pens (and ice cream) but it was heavenly.
christa:
My significant other keeps trying to get me to switch. But when I WRITE something in my Daytimer, it gets committed to memory, so . . . I don't know. Maybe I am afraid of change! LOL!
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Melanie:
It's a bit like Nirvana.
:-)
E
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