April 16, 2009

Five Things That I Can Successfully Accomplish in Five Minutes

Like so many others, I find myself jobless in these trying, uncertain, turbulent, listless, unsettled times. Really, for the first time. For the first time since I have had an actual necessity for a job.

I have observed that my unemployed days go by in a general blur. Officially unemployed, it is not as though I nothing to otherwise employ my time, occupy my mind. Or should it be employ my mind and occupy my time?

Days are marked by my son's school schedule and whatever meager social plans are on the books. Shopping is out. No job- no new shoes. Not that I NEED new shoes. Is it about needing. Really? Haha I am okay with it- truly. Changing old habits is all. Staying home more.

Actuality isn't all it's cracked up to be. On a sunshiny day though-I find a new perspective refreshing. A motivation for reevaluating- sometimes reinventing. Strange as it may be however, this unexpected free time leaves me much more restless, than bored. There is always something captivating and distracting to ward off boredom. This restlessness finds me constantly trying to find innovative, interesting, yet constructive ways to break up the day.

So meet the brain baby of Restlessness...For now I am calling her...Eva- as in am I Eva going to figure it all out? Deep down, I hope not... But sometimes it seems that uncomplicated is pleasant albeit personally unattainable.

And so I try to be constructive.. Clean a little-cook (even I am laughing) and maybe even organize. Hahaha..,( laughing uncontrollably now- tears rolling down my face...)TRY is the operative word. Actually I have refined skills at alphabetizing, color coding... Organizing by style- it is the steps leading up to that point that I don't adore- correction- chemically resist.

Without further adieu ( or blah, blah, blah) here are five tasks that I can successfully accomplish in five minutes. Little micro- increments of day. Keep in mind that I am not speedy by any means. I am a take it in, take my sweet time savorer. I am a strong believer in anything worthwhile is worth waiting for and unless you are the actual boss of me- that you are not the boss of me.

I am banking on being worthwhile. Cross your fingers for me and hope that works out.

1. Decisions are tricky for me. Especially the insignificant ones. Also I thrive on variety... Does that make me fickle? Noncommittal? Indecisive? Whatever. Really doesn't matter. It is what it is. So- In five minutes... I can successfully select an outfit, choose a lip gloss, coordinate the shoes, grab a scarf and dig out a matching pair of earrings. This time constraint does not obviously include putting them into place. Be reasonable. I do of course realize that this is not particularly impressive, but it is practically a festivus miracle for me that developed with years of practice and fine tuning. Keep in mind that this involves two flights of stairs and some serious selective skills.

2. I can choose and discard action verbs for my resume like no body's business. Resumes seem so hokey to me. Understand why they are necessary. I just find them... restrictive. The process makes me feel like I am talking about myself in the third person...btw I hate when people do that. How significant can you really be?!- Did you see the Seinfeld about that? Think the guy's name was Jimmy. And "Jimmy liked Elaine"-only she thought he was talking about someone else- not himself. So anyway-here is my current top five action verbs that describe me... Heehee. You be the judge. Thirty second impression. Ready? Here goes...
1. Challenging 2. Innovative 3.Accessorizing? 4. Um... Mildly entertaining
5.Whimsical?-Creative.
I am hardworking and dedicated... But that is so cliche.

How marketable am I? Really?
Not very- true story. I have this unbridled optimism that allows me to believe that perfect fits exist in every aspect of life. Realistically however, I know that our humanity and selfish ambitions often blind us to and separate us from the serendipitous, coveted hand in glove relationships in life.

I can use the same five minutes on a different day to make up jobs and titles for which I am perfectly suited. Many of them don't ACTUALLY exist- but if they did- I would be the PERFECT girl for them. Minor technicalities. I will save that for another blog.

3. I can think of twenty seemingly unrelated things that are linkable in my own interpretation of reality. I take great pride in being able to trace the connection should I be thinking out loud and should anyone be listening and call me on the seeming randomness- ramdomitity? of my thought processes. Sometimes I trace the mind journey for myself. I know there is a connection- but it is not always immediately traceable. A bit of a self indulgent challenge... This cyclical process that is occasionally responsible for keeping my weary eyes open when my heavy head is cradled soothingly by my vanilla lavender infused pillow. One thought begets another, befriends another, embraces yet another, tempts another, screams in fury at one- contradicts another, interprets the next...chases the monstrous ones back under the brain bed..I find that I write a lot about my busied mind. Sorry...analytical- maybe. Inquisitive- more likely. Unsettled- mostly. I can remember early on in school wishing I could zone out- mind nowhere- like the kids with their heads leaning on their arm eyes glazed over. Temporarily vacant.

4. I can make the perfect cup of coffee. My perfect cup. Something rich and dark- maybe flavored. Had cherry coffee recently. Steamy, dreamy deliciousness. Splenda and enough flavored creamer to turn it the color of the Statue of David. You can tell me how to make your perfect cup one day. Confident I can craft it with my own two little hands in five minutes or less. Not a barista, but I have the soul of an artist nonetheless.

I think that personal preference, coffee, tea- iced or hot... What you take in yours- be it naked (meaning your coffee wears nothing- I.e. black) vanilla, cinnamon, honey, raw sugar, splenda, pink stuff- no matter...I think it is interesting- revealing even. I DO find people fascinating. I like learning new things, experiencing new people. Some more than others. Another blog, another day- I know...

5. Dance it out or sing it out. Preferably a concoction of the two. Temporarily therapeutic and cleansing. I already inflicted a whole blog on you describing the art of dancing it out. I am not particularly discerning when it comes to the music that inspires this process...whatever is on the radio will do. It helps if the song is familiar- comforting- like a favorite perfectly worn sweater. Even better if you know at least eighty percent of the words. Mandatory to the process though, is that you fully commit. Go all out- put some heart into it. No rules as long as you feel it. Otherwise it doesn't work it's magic- will leave you feeling more pent up and repressed than liberated and cleansed. That is a bad thing. SO not what we are going for here.

So that's pretty much it... I can make much more out of ten minutes. I realized while I was coming up with this list that my day is comprised of long spaces and short bursts of energy and productivity broken up by lulls of nothing special.

What can you successfully accomplish in a mere five minutes?

Greatness?

Take my breath away...

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