LIGHTWEIGHT LIFTOFF

I find when a ‘lightweight’ version of a product is released, it generally either falls flat or shows thoughtful, improved design and fills a niche left by its larger counterpart. So I was happy to find the new range of Lightweight Totes from Threadless did the latter, especially considering my slightly irrational dislike of the originals.

While still embracing the fact that they are totes, they didn’t resemble their clunky full-size brothers in the slightest. Bright colours, quirky designs, and super-duper handy, I’ve decided this ‘Apple A Day’ tote is a must – and I’m keeping my eye on the Tree Town design [shown below, one of a set of three] as well.

 

Did I mention it’s collapsible and comes with a “little bag to store the bag, so you can throw it in your bag”. Cute, handy, and it gets my groceries home without excess plastic – yes please!

PSYCHOSOMATIC

Took me half a day to remember the word for what I’d been thinking about.

Things in your head causing things in your body to go on the blink – I’ll bet you can think of examples. Stress and anxiety are frustratingly good at adding to our daily worries in the form of health problems. When you’re fretting and fussing and generally freaking out, it can put stress on your organs and immune system, often manifesting as chronic pain of some sort. Of course, staying on top of these things stresses you out more and the vicious wee circle completes.

NOTE: Psychosomatics, if I remember correctly, pertains to when medical conditions originate not from a bodily cause, but from a psychological stress or trauma.

SELF-EXPLANATORY

I always want to tell more about how something came about, my ideas and art especially. I find it difficult sometimes not to over-explain things. In that regard, how’s this for a mid-year resolution; the day I consider myself an artist will be the day I put everything I want to describe in what I’ve created.

Brian. Or What’s With All The Post It’s.

My life requires Post It’s. That is, as I have recently discovered, fact. To explain, I shall first throw a few more facts at you.

I am scatter-brained. If you’ve known me more than half an hour, you’ll be aware I have the memory of a goldfish.

If you’ve known me more than a week, you’ll know I like names and titles.

Now to expand. For the sake of brevity I’ll start with the latter. [Who am I kidding, nothing I write is brief.]

The keyboard on my laptop is small, and at times my fingers simply take on a life of their own. The delete key is probably used at the same rate as the space bar. Frantic typing over Skype when I get excited does not help this problem.

That is how, once upon a time, and on a number of occasions thereafter, I mistyped ‘brain’ as ‘brian’.  This was not good.

Being slightly obsessed with aspects of psychology, and having a similarly fascinated friend, I found myself typing and mistyping that word rather often. I became familiar with referring to that thing in my head as ‘brian’ and the moment I made the mistake of capitalising it, the name stuck.

I consider Brian a good fellow, and we get along, despite him regularly misplacing all those darn thoughts I need most direly kept in order, or at least somewhere in the back of my mind.

Conflict began, and I attempted to start writing lists. To-do lists, lists of plans, ideas, inspirations. Big, small, in-your-face and gone-before-you-know-it’s. It was ridiculous. I couldn’t get used to it and I couldn’t keep it up. I couldn’t stand it at all, really. Brian wouldn’t abide by it either, he became a recluse, and even when I gave up on the lists he had a hard time seeing straight. Then I found the Post It’s.

It turns out the sticky yellow squares [and their smaller rectangular cousins] were the perfect home for my dear Brian. Highly visible, portable, non-edible [though that issue never really came up], readily available and discarded, they proved to be the ideal, most me-proof things to rely on for the safe-keeping of my ideas, priorities, life, and the general crazy that comes gift-wrapped with me.

Frankly, I’d be lost without my Post It’s. I’m not even exaggerating – last week when did in fact manage to lose both my Post It’s and my back-up Post It’s I began wandering aimlessly around the house for hours, purpose regained when I finally found the darn things.

My Brian’s on those sticky yellow squares, and a great deal of my life too. So thank you, dear Post It’s, for so faithfully and dutifully keeping my life as sane and minimally chaotic as ever it will be. I wonder how long it will last.