I'm Buying a Planner

this, i understand, may appear to be the least adventurous or chaotic choice i have ever made in my life. but it is, without a doubt, to ensure that i still have time in my schedule to enjoy chaos. it makes a lot more sense than you'd thing. and it also makes no sense at all.

but that's chaos for ya, now isn't it?

this whole working-at-home-while-working-at-work-while-causing-trouble-on-my-"spare"-time-and-blogging-here-somewhere-in-between experience has started the same way billy madison started-- with nudie magazines and imaginary penguins and beer and norm macdonald. it's a lot like any movie that adam sandler has ever been in actually. but the fun-loving idiot is always forced into a situation which requires him to learn a skill he is entirely unfit for. in my case, that's not re-entering the third grade. it's working 55 hours a week while trying to be sure not to lose my personal life, and also attempting to double (or triple) as an at-home illustrator.

and so i will be welcoming a new type of moleskine into my life and blazer pocket: a planner.


it won't be a rule-maker, determining where i am and what i'm doing every day-- rather a guideline of possibilities. it won't even have plans. it will just have options.

the other day i realized i couldn't join a little mermaid sing-along because i had triple-booked a day without realizing it. and i felt like an idiot.

i need to at least have a physical pad that reminds me what is happening on what days so i have the option of not missing out on another fantastic little mermaid event where they give out free fish noisemakers and tiaras.

see, at this point i've recognized that i will never hold a normal job if i allow it to take over my life. unfortunately, the way i was raised almost lines me up to do nothing but work, drink, and then bitch about how i need to quit both only before repeating the two of them again. and on one particularly colorful day, my creative-mind will grow sick of being ignored and act out like a middle child with a shotgun-- annihilating everything and everyone that prevented it from being noticed for what it's capable of.

perhaps a job with consistent ten-hour shifts is not the best way to begin realizing this about myself-- but it certainly is more chaotic, and that's comforting.

i've been at the print shop nearly a month and i work over twenty hours of overtime per pay-period, go home and write here twice a day, and spend my weekends trying to do the most entertaining thing i can possibly find on short notice-- usually dedicating sundays to do art-related business with irene.

and, so far, i have not collapsed. my rib-cage is a bit sore-- sort of like a day after a night of a major cocaine binge-- and i'm sure my heart is unhappy about how hard i've been asking it to play lately.

but it's worth it. that's just the physical part of my heart complaining. the metaphorical part is orgasming everywhere. so it balances out, sort of.

and the planner should help me remember what's going on each week. and immense amounts of coffee should help me continue to make it to all the events, adventures, and early morning beach-cleanings that go down on weekends and fridays.

now it's just a matter of picking the right one.

PRESIDENT WISHNACK APPROVES OF THIS COMMERCIAL AND ITS ABILITY TO MAKE A PLANNER APPEAR ARTISTIC, TOO.

p.s. if you buy me the planner as a present, i'll put you down as the first plan i have on my first free day. we can go out and get a nice sea food dinner and talk about the kids.