Thursday, December 20, 2007

Cue End of Year Panic

Maven Lacey KayeWe had a lot of "Writer Life" posts this week, I notice. Here I was going to blog about goals but that seems boring in comparison. Maybe instead I will tangent into the mysterious, often terrifying world of Completing Those Nitpicky Tasks That Comprise 80% of the To Do List and Offer 20% of the Return.

Right? I mean, we don't get bragging rights for taking the trash out. Who but you cares if you finally vacuumed the floor mats in your car?

Man, I hate this nitpicky stuff. Things like moving websites over to hosts that don't suck or charge far too much for horrible, horrible service. (I'm looking at you, Netfirms.) Unexciting stuff like taking back 23 items to 27 different stores trying to return all the crap you promised yourself you'd return if it didn't fit/look good/work out/become necessary over the next three months. Really nail-biting issues like whether you can afford Christmas this year or if everyone should just get rocks, but then you decide rocks are actually pretty expensive when you think about it.

Chores like folding up folding tables and folding chairs. Watering plants that probably won't make it through New Year's. Cutting back cuticles. You know, the $%#^ we have to do to separate ourselves from the chimps.

Is anyone else scurrying to get things done over the holiday break? Or did you just say screw it, I'll get it next year? What's the one last thing you really, really want to do before Father Time pays a visit in, oh, a mere Twelve Days or so?

9 comments:

Marnee Bailey said...

Wow, I hadn't even thought about all that kinda stuff!!! Lacey, I was just starting to feel on top of baking/shopping, etc. Now I have to clip my cuticles. Sheesh....

(just kidding, I clipped my cuticles last night)

Bill Clark said...

Lacey, you crack me up! This is the funniest post I've read in a long while! Thanks for brightening my day!!

Carrie Ryan said...

Yes! I'm scrambling like mad, and remembering scrambling like mad last year and promising that I wouldn't do it again this year. Of course, I always say that. I blame my vacation for throwing my sense of timing off :)

I still have presents to buy, laundry to do and packing, and I also have to take care of JP who had surgery on Tues and is still all drugged. And did I mention this is the busiest time of year at work?

Right now I'm just head down, let me get through it. Not the kind of HOliday spirit I remember as a kid :)

Oh, and to top it off, if I want a big blow-out for my 30th birthday in Jan, I gotta start planning now...

lacey kaye said...

Marnee, so did I! You cannot defeat me, vile To Do List! muah ha ha ha

Bill, so glad to hear it! Who knew it was possible to be coherent AND funny at 4am?

Carrie, Happy Birthday! (Yeah, it's a little early, but I'll probably forget unless you remind us :-) You should probably get on planning that party...

Darcy Burke said...

How I hate the inane tasks of daily life. Hate, hate, hate. Returns are awful aren't they? Tuesday we went to Costco at which we needed two things: paper and something I couldn't remember. Once there, I remembered I was going to return something but of course left it at home. Grrrr! Made a special trip yesterday to return the darn thing. Then picked up my anniversary ring, which had to be repaired and I just got it last year. Total PITA.

I also hate making tough decisions like which preschool my son should go to. Gah! Chimps have it easy.

I'd like to retain my sanity in the next twelve days. That's a good goal, I think.

Bill Clark said...

Posted by lacey kaye at 12/20/2007 02:56:00 AM

Who knew it was possible to be coherent AND funny at 4am?

OK, Lace, now I'm *really* confused. This blog is timestamped in EST, and you're writing in PST, no? Unless Blogger timestamps your posts in PST, while timestamping your blog thread in EST? In that case, I guess you put up the post at 5:56 AM EST, having spent an hour and 56 minutes (or thereabouts) creating it.

Or maybe Maven Erica is playing with time and space along Einsteinian lines, making us all younger day by day and bringing us to our destination before we set out? I wouldn't put it past her...

lainey bancroft said...

12 Days!

Thanks for doing the counting, Lacey. I was trying to blissfully ignore it.

And ah, yeah, I think I'll just skip the separating part and become a chimp!

Hey, you scored a new Maven while I was AWOL. Cool.

Jackie Barbosa said...

Since I've barely scratched the surface of my Christmas shopping yet and it's four shopping days until then, let me just say that I do not wish to discuss holiday preparations (or lack thereof).

As to the one thing I'd really like to do before the end of the year, it would be to write another novella. But, um, it ain't gonna happen.

So I'll have to settle for clipping my cuticles. (Dang, I didn't even know people still did that, LOL.)

lacey kaye said...

Bill, you're too clever! Yes, I meant 3am, apparently. I went to sleep at 4am EST. But I fooled with this post for at least 20 minutes (as I always do, tweaking. Die inner editor, die!) and then did some other things. So close to 4...

Darcy! Similar story! Yesterday my mom and I spent a loooong time trying to return this thing to PETCO. When we finally did, she got something else that would probably have to be returned today. So I started to bring it in from the car, then thought better of it. I stuffed it under the front seat.

Today, we were on our way to PETCO. I said "Did you get that thing?" And she said no. And I said, "Well, we're really close to home; we should probably go get it." And she wouldn't let me turn around. And I was really unhappy, thinking I'd have to go back AGAIN. Imagine how happy I was to remember (very long after I'd snapped, of course) it was IN THE CAR!

Gotta run. Christmas guests!

Manuscript Mavens










Manuscript Mavens