Travis Smith: my resume, bio and photos back to the main blog page

15 Short Minutes

posted at 12:01 pm
on Jul. 24, 2003

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So, I’ve got a new plan for organizing my life.  I’m going to do everything in 15 minute intervals.  That way, I can stay focused, get more done, put things off less, etc.  For example, I do this Daily Trojan alumni site.  I’m way behind on updating it, but that’s because it’s so intimidating to open up that full and backlogged box of emails.  But if I tell myself, I’m going to work on this for 15 minutes only, well, that’s not so hard, is it?

Ditto for writing this journal, cleaning my desk, doing Quicken, showering, etc.  It become a little harder when applied to watching a TV show or going to the bathroom, both of which are difficult to fit into, or stretch out to, 15 minutes.  But we’ll see.

My mom recently discovered that my Web site contains more columns than exist in email.  Do check out the site if you haven’t in a while.  You’ll find.a photo gallery of my recent trip to Vancouver for a wedding of a high-school (OK, Boy Scout) friend of mine.

I recently had my teeth cleaned.  I was late for the appointment, and my clinic has an interesting technique for making sure you’re not late—they torture you if you are.  Wish I’d known that in advance.

The dental hygienist, I’ll call her Olga, kept saying things like “Your gums, they, how you say, bleed easily,” and “We have vays of making you floss.”

At one point—and I know I have a tendency to exaggerate for comedic effect, but if you could see the scars, you’d believe me—Olga got out a sterile package like the kind around a Band-Aid, and pulled out a strip of perforated metal that looked like part of the mechanism in a combine harvester. I asked her what it was called and she smiled and said, “The Scraper.” I remember very little after that.

But it was nice to have clean teeth, because I’ve been on the summer party beat recently.  I went to two last night, full of dolled-up, suave-looking L.A. agents and public relations people.

At every L.A. party there are a couple of women who look like they wandered out of the “strip club” scene of a cop movie, who seem oblivious to the fact that everyone around them is wearing clothes while they are wearing bedroom accessories.  One woman last night had on a dress tied to her body with long thin shoelaces.  It was made of one solid, and I use that word advisedly, piece of leather that had come from an anemic, and I think quite sexy, cow.  There was a crowd around her of men with taut neck muscles trying to maintain eye contact.

I also met the most flirtatious woman who has ever talked to me.  She was quite cute, and seemed genuine.  It would have been even nicer if it hadn’t been her husband who introduced us… Susie said it was just that I seem really nice, and was wearing my one snazzy jacket.  I really like that jacket.

15 minutes up, gotta go!



 
 

 

Previous entry:
Filing System

Next entry:
Moving Debbie and Tracy

Overheard

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”

...who said it?

“Almost every American I know does trade large portions of his life for entertainment, hour by weeknight hour, binge by Saturday binge, Facebook check by Facebook check. I’m one of them. In the course of writing this I’ve watched all 13 episodes of House of Cards and who knows how many more West Wing episodes, and I’ve spent any number of blurred hours falling down internet rabbit holes. All instead of reading, or writing, or working, or spending real time with people I love.”

...who said it?

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

...who said it?

“I play with variables constantly.”

...who said it?

“Only the person who has learned Continual Love coming from a heart of Gratitude/Worship can effectively deal with the problem of loneliness.”

...who said it?

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