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It's strange that someone as opinionated as I am could also be so indecisive, but there it is anyway: I hate making decisions. Should I cut my hair or leave it long? Go to that concert or save my money? E-mail that boy or let things play out on their own? Buy these shoes or the ones over there? I really just cannot decide.
D, then, is for decisions. More specifically, my lack of any ability to confidently make them.
It's not even just the big, important decisions I'm talking about. I could sort of justify hemming and hawing for a while considering a job offer, or choosing where to live or what car to buy. But I've been nearly incapacitated by the most mundane and trivial decisions--the small ones that could not matter less in the very grand scheme of things. I can decide to paint my bedroom purple, but I'll stare at color swatches taped to my walls for two weeks before deciding just which shade of purple is perfect. I'll choose a piece of artwork to hang, but I'll stand in the frames aisle holding one frame in my left hand and another in my right, unable to decide which would look best surrounding that art.
Merriam-Webster actually has a name for this ailment, which gives me at least some small comfort, I think. I'm not just annoyingly indecisive; I have a legitimate and self-diagnosed problem! I am abulic! I can't help it!
My solution, of course, is to let other people make decisions for me. Sometimes it's Google; sometimes it's Clara, my tiny little Unazukin doll. Sometimes, it's the Internet at large. I do what I have to do, obviously.
Incidentally, at the moment, D could also be for dry skin. It seems that this weekend, along with switching from Daylight to Standard time, we also switched from Normal to Sandpaper time. We've entered those horrible six solid months when no matter how much lotion I rub into my hands, my knuckles could still serve as a fine-gauge sandpaper for light woodworking jobs. Ouch.
Also, it snowed today. Only for a few minutes, and not with any accumulation, but still. Winter, bugger off. I'm not ready for you just yet.
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19 comments:
I don't know why, but I walked to work today and when it started to snow it made me happy. I probably won't feel this same way in the dead of January, but for now it's good.
And decisions? Holy crap you should see me at the grocery store. Left to my own devices, each trip would take 4.5 hours.
I am the opposite! i live in fear of the deliberation process, so I make snap decisions for everything. I'm not sure which is worse...
Hey, I'm abulic, too! I love that it has a name; I feel so fancy now. :)
Hello, my name is Stefanie and I am abulic.
Hello, Stefanie!
Maybe it's something about our name? I am EXACTLY the same way with decisions. Major decisions I can handle with grace and speed, but you will find me standing in the toiletries aisle for at least forty minutes as I read the small print and select that ever-important tube of lotion.
And I will MEET your two-week-old purple paint chips and RAISE you a set of rusts and greens which have been taped to various walls of my home now for SEVENTEEN MONTHS. Because I'd rather live with mismatched wallpaper featuring tiny floral prints than risk choosing anything less than the perfect shade of sage, you know.
Oh my God, my hands have been so dry for the past week too! And I saw some snowflakes today and (silently) freaked out!
I am super quick about some decisions and take freaking forever for others. Really, there is no rhyme or reason as to the speed of my decision-making process.
1. CUT it! I think it would be super cute.
2. Have you tried Eucerin? Nectar of the hand lotion gods. Well, as much as you can get when you can but it at just regular old grocery stores. But it totally helps. Like totally. Dude.
P.S. I love Clara. I'll never forget seeing her on your blog way back when.
you can BUY it. Not but it. wow. I need to go to sleepytime NOW. zzzz
Snow! Holy crap! Have you thought about Deciding to move somewhere else?
That first snowfall used to put me in a depression headlock, then a bummed-out bodyslam. I don't miss that one bit, nosiree.
Ugh. The dry hand thing. My knuckles aren't quite bleeding yet, but give it time. I've been trying to put lotion on after each handwashing, but every time I forget, I pay.
I used to breeze through every decision, not really caring about the outcome so much. Which is probably why I have such outrageous student loans and a boyfriend who was long distance for a year. But it always seemed to work out. The more time I spend with Chris though, it seems his absolute inability to just decide something and DO IT starts to affect me. Now I find myself staring at clothes and shoes like I've never seen such things in my entire life. It's terrible. I'm going back to easy, breezy NPW.
There have been some interesting articles in mainstream media sources recently about how we as a culture are now overloaded with choices. We have too many options and it's incapacitating us. Apparently, this impacts women especially.
I'm like -r-. I either make snap decisions or I belabor them. I'm sporadically abulic, I guess.
And oh, I feel you with the dry skin. There's not a lotion made that can moisturize me in the winter. You know what does help some, though? Shower only every other day. Doesn't help your hands, though, if you're a scrupulous hand-washer. And this winter, with MRSA abounding, my hand-washing's going to be out of control. Ugh.
I am not physically or mentally prepared for winter. No snow here, but we have a freeze warning tonight. Double ugh.
Um, I can't decide whether I am indecisive or not. So I suppose that answers my question.
As for the dry skin, my hands are ridiculous right now. I'm digging the Eucerin Dry Skin Therapy Plus Intensive Repair Hand Creme, if for not other reason than the fact that it has a gazillion words in its name.
Wow, I knew I liked your blog for a reason... I have a purple bedroom too! And the same problem in deciding on the shade.
SO, not to be creepy, but what color is your home office? (if you have one?) Because right now, I've got the swatches up on the office walls... and again, have that same indecision!
First off- amen to your anti-snow statement. We are going to have this stuff til about mid-April. It does not need to get here just yet.
And decisions- once you make the decision are you happy with it, or are you filled with regret? Happy? Then your method works! Bullocks to the naysayers.
WM--Yeah, I'll admit one tiny little part deep inside of me was a little bit charmed by the snow, but the great big rest of me was glad it didn't last.
L Sass--Grass is always greener, I suppose. I'm trying to make more snap decisions for some things. I figure it's good practice.
Metalia--Glad to be of service.
VermontStefanie--Ugh; exactly!! I spent a solid five minutes contemplating all the different Tylenol and generic Tylenol options on Sunday, and another five trying to discern the difference between two almost identically-named hair products. It's madness.
R--Apparently Paisley and Lara have a hand lotion recommendation for us. If you try it first, let me know how it works out.
Paisley--But H said I should keep it long! Do I listen to a boy or to you? Hmm...
Noelle--Says the girl who lives on a Christmas tree farm. Surely you're no stranger to snow either, right?
Steve--Yeah, enjoy your bright sunny new life, buddy.
3Cs--What I can't understand is why it's only the knuckles on my RIGHT hand, and only the upper set, not the ones on my fingers. (Wait. Are those both called knuckles, or does one part have a different name? Now I've forgotten all about my dry skin because I'm thinking about basic biology questions...)
NPW--It's a bummer when we pick up people's annoying traits and not just their good ones, isn't it?
Jess--Yay! I love any excuse to blame society instead of myself.
Liz--If I showered only every other day, you don't want to know what my hair would look like. Maybe if I take Paisley's advice and cut it all off...
Lara--So that's two votes for the Eucerin. Perhaps I should add it to the shopping list.
Babs--Yay! And that's not creepy at all. If it helps you at all, my home office (if you can call it that) is rust-colored. Here's my paint-picking secret. Once I have it narrowed down to two or three shades that logically, I know will be equally fine, I pick the one with the more interesting name. That's how I ended up with "Spicy Curry" in my office and how the exterior of my house became "Blustery Day." :-)
Monkey--I love a good rationale for my insanity almost as much as I love blaming it on society. Thanks!
I get it on both hands, but worse on my right. Hubby claims that's because I use it more, being right handed.
I've learned in the past few weeks that after work, I completely lack the ability to make a decision. If I have one or two errands to run, and I'm kind of hungry and kind of want to go the gym, I cannot come up with a coherent plan to accomplish not all, but just ONE, of those things. I end up driving around town in circles and then heading straight for my couch.
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