Lists

I wouldn't say I'm a List Person, at least not in the way some people are List People, in that my life is not governed by lists (to-do lists, grocery lists, etc.). I promise I am not making value judgements about the use of lists to govern one's life. In fact, I'm sometimes envious of the kind of structure and organization that True List People manage to achieve with their lists. I have made a noble effort to maintain a planner for close to a decade and a half now, and have only recently become mildly successful. And I have a To Do virtual post-it on my computer's dashboard, but only sort of remember to pull up every few weeks or so. I've just never been able to use lists very effectively.

But I do really like the idea of lists. I am a List Person if my relationship with lists is allowed to be more aesthetic than practical. While I'm not so great at maintaining or following lists, I do feel a sort of natural inclination towards list-making. I used to keep a notebook (in the spirit of the Happy Board) of things that made me happy on a given day. On my computer I have a file folder specifically devoted to lists - lists of music to listen to, books to read, movies to watch, children's books I would like to have in my collection. Though I rarely update the lists, it doesn't stop me from creating them in the first place. And when I go running, if I am not mentally composing a blog post or contemplating whatever emotional drama I might be going through at the time, I will sometimes put together random lists in my mind, just for fun. Boys I Used to Have Crushes on was a list that kept me entertained when I was at BYU, but I've kind of lost interest in that one since I came to Michigan. I have also thought about lists like My Top Ten Favorite Books of All Time, or Foods I Really Enjoy Eating, or Subjects I Considered Majoring In During My Freshman Year of College. Sometimes I think it would be fun to keep a notebook just for lists, and I could actually write these things down. They say a lot about me, and I suspect that the way some of the lists change over time would say a lot about me as well. It is not, of course, true that everyone is all that interested in what these lists say about me. The notebook would just be for personal reference. Like a more fun and creative form of journal.

But blogs are one place where you can assume that anyone reading is at least mildly interested in knowing about you, or at least invested enough to read on the assumption that you are also reading their blog. So just for fun, since I didn't feel like I had much in the way of bloggable events this weekend, I'm going to be self-indulgent and post five lists of five things about me. I'm curious what kinds of lists other people might make for themselves.

List I: Five foods I dislike
Raisins
Shrimp
Blue cheese
Pez candy
Steak

List II: Five things that never fail to make me happy
Summertime
Visiting my grandma's house
Talking to my little sister
Playing Boggle
Baking cookies

List III: Five books I felt like I should read at at least two points in my life but could never get through
Wuthering Heights
Anne of Green Gables
The Wind in the Willows
Dune
Anna Karenina

List IV: Five states I don't really want to live in (no offense to anyone)
Florida
North Dakota
Alaska
Idaho
New Jersey

List V: Five things I used to do that I wish I could pick up again
Write poetry

Draw (especially in colored pencil and oil pastels)
Swim laps

Read the Cyrillic alphabet
Practice the organ