I lied

[susandennis]

Turns out I do have New Year stuff.

One of my LJ friends talked about kindness for 2022 - it's a locked entry so no link but I'm copying. I wish I had learned kindness from the getgo. And practiced it. But I got to 72 and 9/12's years old without much in the way of kindness skills. I'm going to try something new.

I'm going to see if I can give the benefit of the doubt to everyone. It probably won't work but I'm going to give it a shot. Everyone has stuff in their life daily baggage that influences that they say and do. I'm going to try and be extra mindful of that for everyone.

And two more things. Another LJ friend (and another locked entry so no dets) talked about logging books and tv/movies. I've never really understood the numerical tally of books read - goals or accomplishments but I do like to know what people are reading and what people are watching.

I end each day with TV and a book and write my LJ posts (well the first one of the day anyway) in the morning so... for a while anyway, I'm going to end each entry with what I watched and read last night.

In other news... Washington State starts some new laws today but one very interesting one is that all real estate listings must now include information on internet access. I'm guessing this is residential only but maybe not. It's to include availability and even the service last used at the address. TOTALLY cool. I just checked a few listings and see that compliance has already started.

No plans for today - for me or Biggie. He spent much of last night tipping over things and knocking stuff off of closet shelves. This morning he's back on bird watch.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do beyond work on the temperature blanket. I'd love to get at least all the squares done and an idea of what the border will be. But, also there will be laundry.

Watched: Stay Close (Netflix) (2 eps in)
Listen/read: The Dentist by Tim Sullivan (40 mins left)

Comments

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

I didn't understand the Internet info law. But I think it is because I'm a techy. I'd not pay attention to anything someone who wasn't in the business told me anyway. I'm clearly in the minority here.

[susandennis]

It's verification that there is service available. Some states require you to add the electric company that services the building. And water service. etc. It is just verification that there is service available. It is in no way a requirement for you to purchase. If you don't want electricity, fine. If you don't want internet, fine. But, if you do...

ALSO if there is no internet service available at that house, you know it going in.

[roasted-beets.livejournal.com]

When we built our house in '97, I was barely aware of internet service but soon had dialup and then DSL. There are roads not far from me that still have NO INTERNET. I would never live anywhere now where I couldn't get service and would ask about it probably before anything else.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

I've had friends buy houses, or buy land on a road to build a house on, without checking whether there's broadband available, or what the cell signal is like. "What do you mean I can't have cable in my new house in the boonies?" I can't even imagine!

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Kind of like buying a house with no road leading to it. I'd kind of notice on the front end of the research. But knowing my previous customers I can see people being surprised.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Or no municipal water or sewer lines. People who've never experienced areas without all of these amenities must just take it all for granted that it's all everywhere, and a new homeowner just has to flip a switch to enjoy it.

[sleepybadger.livejournal.com]

at work, we call giving the benefit of the doubt to everyone 'assuming goodwill'. Easier said than done but I do find it helps me be a bit less frustrated by my colleagues.

[susandennis]

Assuming goodwill is a good way to think about it.

[onelargecat.livejournal.com]

For me, the benefit of tracking the number of books read is that it encourages me to read more. I started setting a goal number after a year a few years ago when I read very few books. I like prioritizing reading, so even just having a modest goal (3/mo, or 36/yr) is enough to keep me picking up the next one.

[susandennis]

i guess i kind of get that but it seems like it makes reading such a chore. if you have to force (encourage) yourself, seems like the time could be spent doing something more fun for you. so maybe still don't get it :) i hated homework so much and vowed that once i got out of school, i'd never again read anything i didn't wanna so my starting point is clearly different!

[onelargecat.livejournal.com]

I definitely don't read anything I don't want to read. And I will put down a book if it's not good, which doesn't happen to me too often b/c I vet my to-read list pretty carefully because I only have so much time. No point in reading a book that I don't care for.

I'm not sure I think of reading as self-improvement. Maybe self-care? I highly value pleasure and relaxing. So making sure to carve out time to read is important, but for me, it's easy to get out of that habit...there are always (in my life) at least a half-dozen other things that are begging for my attention. Once I'm into a book, I don't want to put it down. But when I'm between books, it's easy to get distracted by all the other things I should be doing, instead of picking up the next book.

Once I got back into the habit of reading regularly (after that year when I barely read any books), I probably could have stopped tracking, but since I mark them all on Goodreads anyway, it's easy enough to keep track of the number (since it happens automatically), so I have continued to set the 36-book goal for each year.

[susandennis]

ahhhh again... i've got about .01 % of the life distractions you do so this explanation makes even more sense. thanks for helping me get it!

[onelargecat.livejournal.com]

It's interesting b/c I do track number of books read and number of miles hiked, both of which are things I love doing, but I don't track number of times I've gone in the hot tub or sauna, which are also things I love doing.

[susandennis]

That is interesting... hmmmm

[susandennis]

So now, after having chewed on this for a while, it occurs to me that you might consider reading as self improvement. This makes total sense. I've never thought of it this way. But, that's because the books I read are not at all for self improvement — really just for entertainment. But, this self improvement angle makes books counting/encouraging — even work — all make more sense.

[liminal-space.livejournal.com]

I have found that giving the benefit of the doubt and trying hard to be empathetic has reduced my annoyance at people tremendously. Good for you! And good luck -- it can be hard. lol <3

[fauxklore]

Re: kindness, my long-term motto has been " never attribute to malice what can be explained by ineptitude."

I am not interested in merely tracking books and movies/plays. But I keep a paper journal where I write anything from one paragraph to a few pages about every book I read. I have a similar journal for movies, theatre, and concerts. Though, oddly, I don't write about storytelling shows unless they're one or two person shows. There's a third journal for restaurant meals (which does not include take out meals). All of this is intended to make me more thoughtful about my entertainment. I have a shelf of these journals going back over 20 years.

[susandennis]

until recently, i kept a 1/2 sentence list of every book I read going about 30 years because i kept buying the same books over and over again. i transferred it to goodreads and then learned to hate goodreads so i transferred it to library thing and learned to hate library thing so this past year i just gave up.

being more thoughtful about entertainment — especially as much as you do/have — seems very smart

[fauxklore]

I use Library Thing to track what books I own ( and which ones I've gotten rid of). Somehow, despite that, I still manage to buy duplicates now and then.

[siobhan63.livejournal.com]

That's one thing I appreciate about Kobo — from where I buy my ebooks. More than once I've gone to add a book to my wishlist and it tells me "You already own this book". It would be impossible to buy the same book twice with them (thankfully!).

[susandennis]

that is a very handy thing. i'm pretty sure kindle is the same but i source my books from the library and from audible and neither do that. alas...

[stainsteelrat.livejournal.com]

I used to use LiveJournal (via the search function of LJArchive) to figure out whether I watched a film, but set myself a challenge 2-3 years ago to watch 365 films in a year, and then I had to get more careful about logging for my own sanity. I liked the easy reference, so have kept up an annual spreadsheet since, and added in TV and games. Music I track via LastFM and iTunes, and it's easy to spot in iTunes if an album was added in a particular year.

[susandennis]

that lj archive search function is a beast. creative use for sure

[stainsteelrat.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming that LiveJournal still haven't introduced any journal search function, plus with the backup as well... ljArchive is awesome.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Is your LJ name a reference to the Harry Harrison character?!

Searching LJArchive to see what you've watched is clever, if you're that reliably posting about your movies. The spreadsheet makes sense if you're watching lots more.

I pretty reliably tweet a quote and a title hashtag when I watch a movie or TV show, so I was able to search my tweets a couple of times recently to see how many episodes of a given show I've watched and easily pick up where I left off, after a gap of months.

[stainsteelrat.livejournal.com]

Yes, sadly only 15 characters possible.

I always add a date suffix to films, so if I want to know which 2021 films I've watched I just search for "(2021)". My spreadsheet has essentially superseded that, but I still carry on the tradition.

Tweets are also a good method. Letterboxd and IMDB are other favourites over on a film forum that I frequent, but I don't trust these services to evaporate or fundamentally change, and so far the spreadsheet works for me.

[stainsteelrat.livejournal.com]

Hey, mind if I add you? Great first name (another Mark here). I work at a school, but run the IT (I don't teach).

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Not at all! Welcome, Mark! I used to be in IT, until I was laid off, and now I'm in higher ed communications, including web and social media.

[susandennis]

Look at me! A Mark match maker!!

[siglinde99.livejournal.com]

I think that kindness and trying to see things from other perspectives are worthy goals. I have been trying to do some of that as a result of coaching training I took a few years ago. Learning to be kinder to myself has been harder.

[kindmemory.livejournal.com]

There should be some sort of a belt thing, where a cat can knock something off at intervals, and it powers itself.

Then you should be able to hook it to something that will actually get energy out of it and store it or be able to send it back to the grid for a little profit.

Fun for kitties and we can recharge the phone even if the electricity goes out...