I write a lot of notes to myself, on scraps of paper, covering a lot
of subjects. I find them everywhere. Sometimes the notes are important. Sometimes not.
Sometimes they make no sense whatsoever. Sometimes they are very interesting,
or very useful. Sometimes not. (But I must have thought they were
interesting or important at the time, right?)
During the day, I put the notes in my pockets. If it's important, I
put the note in my breast pocket where it will crackle and not get
totally forgotten. (I always clean out breast pockets when I take
off a shirt.) Less important notes are put in my pants pocket.
(I usually don't find those until I'm changing my pants, transferring
the contents of my pockets.) If the note has something to do with
work, or with projects I'm working on, I put it in the work bag I
carry. (I may not look at those until the next time I'm at work, and
then only if I remember that I had previously put notes in
there, or accidently because I'm looking for something else.
Sometimes notes accumulate in the bottom of my bag, not to be
found until I clean the thing out.)
Once found, I don't always know what to do with the notes-- the
one that haven't "expired," I mean. Those I toss out. But some require
action, and some are informational.
If it's a really important note requiring action, I usually hang it
with my
keys on the paperclip on the front door so that I'll see it the next time I'm
leaving the house. (Which doesn't mean I'll take any action, but
at least I'm be aware of whatever it is, and can feel guilty about
ignoring whatever it is I ought to be doing.)
Some notes don't require immediate action, so
I put them aside and they pile up on tables, or counters, or my work
desk, awaiting disposition. (They remain there until I either do something about them or
they "expire." Then I toss them.)
The notes containing useful or interesting information pose the
greatest problem because I haven't got any way of filing and cross-
referencing them. These notes remain in piles scattered througout the
house. I am loathe to chuck them out because I know I'll
want the information sooner or later (otherwise I wouldn't have
written it down). Sometimes, I transcribe the
information into my paper journal. But there's no way of me being
able to look it up later (unless I want to read through reams and
reams of drivel)-- that's if I even remember that there was something
I wanted to look up. If I don't remember that I ever had
whatever the information was, well, it's as lost at the Knowledge of
the Ancients.
Tonight, changing, I found two notes in my breast pocket:
Note 1 (requiring action):
"Windows 98 -- TWEAKUI: tools/reskit/powertoy"
I e-mailed that information to my brother I recently helped him
restore a clean version of Windows 95, which allowed him to upgrade
to a working version of Windows 98. But his verson of TWEAKUI which
he downloaded from somewhere or other
wouldn't work in '98.
The tech mavin from work told me TWEAKUI comes with '98 and even
told me exactly where to find the file.
Note 2 (informational & interesting):
TEQUILA: "Blue Agave Blanco "silver"
Reposadas = aged 1 yr
Añejos = "brandy"
1/2 jigger sweet vermouth
1/2 jigger dry vermouth
1/2 jigger Campari
1 jigger añejos tequila
dash of bitters
Serve over crushed ice with a lemon twist."
The recipe and info about tequila was in the current issue of GQ
which I was reading while I minded the stand tonight. (Someone
gave my cousin Peter a subscription.) I don't drink
hard liquor often,
and I've only had Margaritas twice I can remember-- I mean, I think I only
have had them twice: I wouldn't remember times
when I had them if I had forgotten, would I?-- and they were okay, but
nothing to write home about. And I hate the smell of tequila. I
suppose that's why I've always wondered why some people like
tequila so much-- my cousin Peter loves Margaritas. I wrote the
notes & the recipe down thinking that,
perhaps, the "silver" or the Reposadas or the Añejos will taste
better to me... I like Armanac, after all. Next time I'm over at the
liquor store, I'll check to see if
they've got any of the "good" stuff...
Looking over the second note I wonder: Why a lemon, not a
key lime? And, What the heck is tequila made from, anyway?