EXPEDIT
Saturday July 6, 2013
My life is well ordered, some assembly required . . .
First though – his weekend of re-sizing, re-alizing, re-organizing and transition, he’ll system-ize! – one meeting, one errand, then one piece of furniture to assemble.
He won’t tremble, step-by-stumblin’ step, no time for ringing phones, no time for too many moving parts and no time for people who don’t do what I want them to do when I want them to do it. And, for those who find me, occasionally illogical and irrational as my inner petulant 2 yr. old, beware of organized man, be ready to step up, step aside or get out of my way – I’m new, I’m improved and coming soon to a venue near you.
Assembly, since I don’t operate a garage, basement or workshop, will involve considerable re-shaping my living room/dining room – an assembly area to resemble that easy to follow drawing inside those soon to be emptied cartons that barely fit in my car.
Barring interruption or unexpected circumstances, my day ahead. As I see it, an organized logical solution should work for all things – and mitigate my many procrastination processes through better organization. Right? Right!
Common sense, like one foot in front of the other, logical, unraveling complexities with rational organization.
This kind of re-org, de rigueur in corporate corridors – makes sense to me for many things, whether I am cramming 3 things into my freezer where only 1 should go or fitting 18 things into my day where only 1 should go.
These principles in mind, yesterday I returned to IKEA (yikes, twice in that maze in two days – I feel like a Swedish rat still looking for the cheese) to pick up my next organizational solution [EXPEDIT], my twice measured, once purchased and yet-to-be-assembled solution. Bookcase/shelf organizer – still in two boxes totaling 137 pounds cost $135.45 (not counting assembly time or the left over mystery parts).
This project will tax whatever brain cells I have left for assembly while reading schematic drawings in multiple languages; part of my ‘get off the treadmill’ organizational plan. I know it sound ridiculous to rely on a piece of furniture, however functional, to solve an intellectual problem, I figure after having braved the maze that store represents is worth a reward. And I’m tired of spreading out my things to do on the floor. Or maybe I’ve just run out of floor . . .
Every time I’ve re-org-ed, re-jigged and re-arranged my working cockpit I’ve found it exhilarating (and a dusting opportunity!), almost as if the re-arranging of things helps me re-arrange things in my head.
I’ve been doing some of that lately – in my head – with mixed reviews. I’ve articulated some clarity yet confused others. Making my focus narrower, more effective and simplified will not straighten my bent-psyche. Some things need to stay a little bent, crooked or random . . .
Maybe on Sunday I’ll de-clutter my freezer, take a long bike ride or get on a cleaning-jag, but rest assured, you won’t find me at IKEA.
It’s a cloudy day.
I am fixing to solve ’tings.
Already – finding a new home for a desk, downstairs to support the big-screen, moving two tables upstairs to replace a coffee table that never fit, it was always an interim solution, working up a sweat and displacing plenty of dust already. It will be a weekend without a road-trip, without a road-map, no doubts, no quandary, no parts left over, no solution insured but some of the problem solved, some parts identified, some things apologized for but not completely.
Re-ordering lives is not an overnight solution, but for now I will try to expedited my EXPEDIT and I’ll report results tomorrow expeditiously.
Mark Kolke
294,412
P.S.: last night – more flooding Sunnyside from that big rain, High River is still sorting out just how bad it really is as armies of volunteers, bushels of financial aid and government snag-fugal plays out, as it has across southern Alberta – this week has been a mix of new connections, old ones surfacing, new business, cleaning up old business, watching our city rise above slime and grime after that horrible flood to commence Stampede, boastfully rootin’, tootin’ and hollerin’. I’m sure I’ll get to the grounds sometime this week, but for now I’m going to follow my well organized day plan.
Column written/ published from Calgary
morning walk: 11C / 51F, overcast and very damp from last night’s thunderstorm, streets are idle, caffeine inspired sprint up the hill – Gusta came back soggy, feeling her process expedited without her permission
Comments Received:
HI Mark: You say in your column "WHOLE" that "Telling truth ... isn't as simple as saying yes or no. It should be." Sorry, but in this instance I can't join you in what you think should be. Why? Because of what your column both said and confirmed for me: nothing is that simple. We all live in a challenging, fluid, complex, demanding, and exciting world. At the best of times this world is defined by perpetually changing mixtures of opaque words, confused meanings and unclear thoughts. Sometimes we are lucky and we have both moments and experiences of thinking, receiving and sending with authentic clarity -- but that can be rare. There are blended costs, benefits and unknowns -- always changing -- to navigating all of this as best we can. To navigate well in what we hope will be the most productive and least damaging ways possible that also help those around us who (whether we like it or not) are all with us in the same boat, we have some basic operating rules. Rule #1 is: magical thinking, delusion and denial that underpin certainty are fatally toxic (First corollary: we should always avoid things that are toxic; second corollary: question everything). Rule #2: always learn from your external and internal environments and whatever you think and do with them, especially mistakes -- which we should do our absolute best to never repeat (corollary: always try to make lots of new mistakes). Rule #3: be vigilant and alert, and always be one with your built-in crap detector -- both externally and internally. Rule #4: always assume your built-in crap detector is not perfect (First corollary: you will regularly imbibe, ingest, and regurgitate awful crap; plus you will often believe this crap -- not all the time, but particularly when you think you couldn't possibly do that sort of thing; second corollary: you will also generate brand-new crap of your own, especially when you think that is just downright impossible -- so it CAN'T be crap, right?). Rule #5: through our lives, we can't ever know the whole story (corollary: although it looks like we know some things, not much that we think we know is certain, which is actually a very good thing; see Rule #1). Rule #6: always guide everything you do in life by being both externally and internally as honest as you can be (see all preceding rules). Rule #7: you are guaranteed to be right and you will also be wrong, but do the best you can to always let your conscience and your best reasoning to be your guide. Rule #8: remember the principle of "inference to the best explanation" (C. S. Peirce); therefore, do not assume this set or any other set of rules guarantee any conclusion (see all preceding rules). Thanks for a thought-provoking column, Mark! Cheers, BE, exploring the nether regions of the West
