Clutter! and Daydreaming 101

Good Afternoon, Don. Some of your relatives sound like me. As much as I love the advantages of technology, there are some days I wonder if life would be simpler. I know better. But, I do want to submit this thought – before technology over took my life, I think I was better at time management; I was better at creating and following a plan of action over a longer period of time.

Your grandmother reminds me of mine – idle hands are the devil at work. I enjoyed your Devils workshop and it got me to  thinking about what Daydreaming 101 would consist of. What kind of “supplies” would you need to have? A blanket? A towel for laying in the grass so you can look up at the sky to watch the clouds? Smells  - what kind of smells would it have to have? I’m fond of “pine” and rich deep just turned earth (spring garden smell). Tools – a pencil and a pad of unlined paper perhaps, maybe some crayons or colored pencils, paints and brushes as you’d want the clouds to have silver linings. Tastes - chocolate? Temperature should be "comfortable", light breeze. Sounds - birds? Maybe some crickets ... quiet music playing in the background - instrumental, no words.

Ah well, my daydreaming has been overrun by clutter. It is time to clean off my desk and table. Besides the volume of incoming papers (we’re at the end of the quarter), I’m also incorporating a new book into the Technical Writing course I’ll be teaching starting in October. That means I have lots of “ideas” spread out here and there, piled high. I’m playing my mom’s “pilot” game – pile it here, pile it there…

I read an article by Lee Dye about “Clutter is Good”. Really? Just the suggestion that a messy environment could be good for me makes me cringe! I don’t believe that my desk has to be spotless, but I should at least be able to find things! The thought that an untidy work surface might help me think outside the box makes me wonder if that isn’t lazy speaking!

The researchers did redeem themselves in the end: “a little clutter may bring out the freshest and most creative side of you…orderly environments encourage adherence to social convention and overall conservatism, whereas disorderly environments encourage  people to seek novelty and unconventional routes.”  I am not conservative nor do I adhere to social conventions without questioning it first.  I just want to be able to find my pencil and favorite pen!

There have been a lot of firsts for you, Don, since we started this conversation! The Hobbit and now The Harry Potter series! I’m impressed. But I hate to tell you, you need to pick up the pace a bit. Potter has been surpassed by Twilight; Hunger Games is just finishing its run with the next movies based on the books, and City of Bones series is just finding its audience. Young adult fiction is alive and well. I believe it is also one of the more competitive genres to write for.

As for riddles – a bass drum?! No wonder I missed it. I never even considered an instrument. And you’re right – a point and shot camera. I’d just finished consolidating the pictures for a scrapbook for my grandson’s “Most Excellent Day” book I’m building for him.

And thanks for taking the week off from riddles – I’m still looking at papers to grade before tomorrow’s classes. But, the research class came through as usual! Amazing topics – “clean eating” instead of dieting, PTSD, IEDs, the value of zoos … my students are helping to feed my curiosity!

Have a great week everyone!

Carolyn

 

All images downloaded from Google.com.

Fig 1 – Idle Hands retrieved from yipes5.com 

Fig 2 – Crayons retrieved from www.infinitezoom.com

Fig 3 – Witty Poster Cluttered desk retrieved from www.poster-street.com

Fig 4 – Mortal Instruments Canada retrieved from tmicanada.blogspot.com