Friday, January 30, 2009

Self-Improvement 101

In the library this week I noticed that the cover story of one of our national magazines is 50 Things You Can Do to Make Your Life Better in 2009. Or something like that. Expecting an in-depth article to go with the headline that took up most of the magazine's cover, I was surprised to find a numbered list that fit on one page. Of course, some of the items on the list brought comments to mind. And a few questions.

#1 Bike to work. I have a 45-minute commute at 45 to 65 mph. I don't think so.

#3 Move to Vermont. I wonder what Indigo Bunting has to say about this.

#6 Get paid for good health. What does that mean?

#10 Add some obstacles to your jog. My what?

#14 Be a microblogger. What's a microblogger? Is that what I'm doing? I kind of like a variation: micrologger. Small person who harvests twigs.

#19 Learn to speak Russian. I'd have to make #20 Find someone to speak it with.

#20 Keep a simple diary. As opposed to a complicated diary? Or as opposed to, throw out a simple diary?

#23 Watch TV free online. And this makes our lives better how?

#24 Unscrew a bottle of wine. And then? And then??

#25 Build your own brand. Of what? Wine?

#28 Stow your money in a safer account. Oh, thanks. In order to move your money out of the stock market, for instance, you'd have to sell the current stock, thereby taking a loss. And if enough people follow this advice and sell, it'll pull the market down even further. Who wrote this list, anyway? And how much did they get paid for it?

#29 Try out your new home for a night. WTF???

#32 Eat your own spinach. As opposed to raiding your neighbor's garden?

#33 Line dry your laundry. Oh, cripes—I've been doing that since 2007, and it hasn't improved my life one iota.

#35 Don't drive distracted. What a concept!

#36 Help others and yourself. That's a tad broad, don't you think?

#37 Swap paper for screens. Why is it that the meaning of so many of these is lost on me?

#40 Try to hypermiledrive. See #37.

#42 Geotag your trip pics. See #37 and #40. But if it's gonna improve my life, I hope someone will explain it to me.

#45 Listen to Kind of Blue. Yes. I can do that. I can do that really well.

7 comments:

crystal said...

I was actually hopeful until I started reading them.

Bike to work .... First I'd need a bike and a job :)

Helen said...

Very odd. I've been trying over the past hour to think of how learning Russian might improve my life, but so far, nothing. Now Italian, that's a different story. At least if I learn that language I can converse with the pool boy at the villa I hope to eventually rent in Tuscany.

Indigo Bunting said...

Oh, thank god for #45. And #3? Well, some people should. Of course, if everyone does, it will no longer be Vermont.

Believe me, I have no idea what some of these things are either.

crystal said...

Hey Susan,

Do you know how to feed hummingbirds? I've never done it but I was thinking about giving it a try.

Susan said...

You buy a hummingbird feeder (nothing fancy, not expensive) and then you make your own syrup to fill it: Bring four cups of water to a boil, and stir in one cup of sugar (no more, no less). When the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and cool before filling the feeder. Store leftover syrup in the fridge, covered.

The syrup is prone to deteriorating in hot wweather, so you'll probably have to empty the feeder and wash it out before the birds have emptied it themselves.

They are great fun to watch--very smart, aggressive, and playful.

Or were you asking about hand-feeding hummingbirds? That can be done, too, but I haven't tried it. I've only hand-tamed songbirds.

IB, Facebook is taking over my life. This is not good. Helen, why aren't you on Facebook?

crystal said...

I did mean with a feeder - thanks for the info! :)

Helen said...

I'm too busy watching Lost and The Office (supplied to me by my favourite coworker dealer)...