(no subject)

[serene]

It's a decadent day.



Stayed home from work for the first time (not counting the Monday of womboink, which was a planned absence). I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, and when I woke up, I couldn't put weight on the foot that's been bothering me, so I called in to work and went back to sleep. Woke up around ten and called Kaiser. They're going to see me right before my other appointment, so I have three hours in which I really don't have to do a darn thing. It's rare and lovely. *happysigh*

The herbs in my windowbox are competing for space. It's great to see.

A friend wrote in zir journal about how zie doesn't see these entries that talk about what we do all day as being very revealing of us as people. Zie implied that the laundry-list quality, the telling of the events of the day, or posting of quizzes, or whatever, is an avoidance of revealing oneself. I disagree. I think that the self is revealed not only in self-indulgent, rambling missives about the nature of humanity and one's place in the Universe, though that's one facet of self. I think that at least for me, the self is also revealed in: what makes me happy in the moment; what annoys and frustrates me; what I choose to put in my journal; what I do with a day that doesn't present any special challenge; what I decide to read or listen to; whose name comes up in conversation a lot; what scares me or makes me anxious; how I spend my idle time; how I spend my overly busy time; how I treat animals, people, and relationships, and what I choose to write about them here; etc.

This friend does a lot of talking about the nature of "us" -- that is, the nature of people-in-general. Sometimes I would just like to hear more about the details of zir day. This surprises me, because I have been dismissive of the "laundry-list" quality of LJ for a long time, and I feel like my feelings about it have taken a sea change as the result of reading a few people's journals in which they dismiss exactly what I've dismissed in the past.

I'm not sure any of that makes any sense, but see? the fact that I'm posting it anyway must say *something* about me. (As must the fact that I typoed "something" as "smooch".)

Comments

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I too like reading about what people do day-to-day, what annoys them, what they enjoy, etc. It is especially nice to read such things about people whom I don't see ftf very often, if ever--it gives me a sense that I am sharing their lives somehow. What we do with our time and what we write about tells us a lot about each other.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what you said. Mulling it over, I realize I really really like the philosophical/deep/whatever posts, too; it's just that my philosophical meanderings don't necessarily define me any more than my mundane moments, y'know?

[artemii.livejournal.com]

totally agreed.

i like a mix of both kinds of posts.

[firecat]

Zie implied that the laundry-list quality, the telling of the events of the day, or posting of quizzes, or whatever, is an avoidance of revealing oneself.

I've been on and off LiveJournal over the past year and a quarter, but I've been steadily keeping a private journal, and I notice a pattern of three or four days of laundry lists followed by some time navel-gazing and then some time attempting to plan goals.

So a combination of those things is part of what I am. Maybe I'm avoiding revealing myself to myself on the laundry-list days. In which case, such avoidance is also part of who I am. I do tend to like a lot of down-time.

[schillerium.livejournal.com]

Oh, please. The "laundry list" posts and "which smurf are you?" quizzes say tons about who a person is. Personality isn't only revealed in the existential moments when we ponder the human condition or our place in the universe -- just as much is revealed in the mundane, light day-to-day stuff. I am saying something about myself when I post a newspaper link, or fill in the "current music" field, or announce to the world that I'm Kermit the Frog. The small and amusing moments help to give a more rounded view of my personality.

And besides, a journal that was always strictly heavy stuff would get awfully tiring, wouldn't it?

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i sometimes feel like the gods (in whom i don't believe, *grin*) are just waiting for me to make a sweeping statement like "i don't care for smalltalk". then they take great delight in luring me into a situation where it slowly dawns on me after doing something for a period of time that i am doing, and enjoying, precisely what i once condemned.

i am not entirely sure that i've undergone a sea change regarding smalltalk, but after exchanging daily email with a friend for more than a year (starting as a sort of joke) i realized that some forms of smalltalk i do enjoy, and as a consequence i am now experimenting with a journal in which i put stuff without prejudging it a whole lot on its "worthiness" in the hope that it will reach a certain set of people in my life who've been getting short shrift.

i find i still don't care about smalltalk from strangers, unless it appeals to my funnybone or my sense of the ridiculous. but reading about the little moments in the lives of people i already know and like to some degree actually helps me to get to know them better overall, keeps us in touch especially at times when i don't feel like writing long, thoughtful email.

and yeah, of course those things say something about me; everything i do says something -- what it says is another question, but it's a tiny piece of information.

-piranha (waves at the serene babe)