Life Beyond The List » leisure

Turn off the TV, improve your life

loulala — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:29:46 +0000

Rick and I were at dinner with friends last week, and halfway through a very fun evening, I glanced around their living room and realized there was something missing. No TV. Now, i’m a TV lover, I’ll admit, but even I have never gotten over the disappointment of moving to a land that gives you 400 channels as standard, yet rarely anything good to watch. Back in the UK, we grew up with three main channels, slowly expanding to five over the years (i know, crazy, right?), and even when cable became de rigeur, most people still just watched those five channels. With so little choice, the programming quality somehow seemed to be a lot higher, and there was always something good to watch.

Recently, it seems to have gotten even worse in the States. Apart from my top shows Lost and Top Chef (plus a few others that i’ll enjoy if they’re on, but don’t call ‘appointment viewing’), there’s nothing worth watching. So, why did I recently find myself delaying my Sunday by watching repeats of repeats of bad, cheesy shows? I had no idea, but i knew i didn’t feel good about it. Not when there’s so much in life that needs living! Rick kind of agrees, apart from his beloved sports of course…

So, we have a new rule that we’re going to try and stick to. The TV doesn’t go on, ever, by default. If there’s something we want to watch, that’s great. But if not, and the only option is a Lifetime movie starring a z-list actor, we’ll pass! It might be hard to go without the comforting background buzz at first, but we got excited by all the other things we might do if the tube stayed blank. Here’s our starter list:

Go to the gym
Take a walk together, and with Sophie
Take a dance class
Go to the movies
Cook together
Go out with friends
Go to dinner
Finish decorating our apartment
Read more books
Start writing our own books!
Watch a great Netflix film or documentary (yep, this counts!)
Get more sleep
Take an evening class

Sounds like a pretty great list, huh? Of course, we do these things now, it’s just that the TV has a nasty habit of becoming a convenient excuse for being sloth-like. No more! Let’s see how we do, and hope i don’t get withdrawal symptoms…

Ok, my favorite TV show. Ever. (copyright: BBC/Adult Swim)

Where life took me in 2009

loulala — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:12:44 +0000

So, inspired by one of my favorite lifestyle bloggers, Anh Minh, here’s my year in cities during 2009. It definitely tells a story for me, this year, one of love and new family, and new experiences, book-ended by plenty of time in my home country of England. And no, it doesn’t include my lovely current residence of San Francisco (although outliers are included!) Here it is:

Denver, CO
Bachelor Gulch, CO (hmm, not really a city, but a destination nonetheless!)
London, England
Wolverhampton, England (and I’m disputing this claim by the way!)
Orlando, FL
Boston, MA
White Plains, NY
New York City, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Maui, HI
Sonoma, CA
Napa, CA
Half Moon Bay, CA ( again, not sure if this is really a city?)
Calistoga, CA
New York, NY
Manchester, NH
London, England
Wolverhampton, England

Pretty good I think! Represents plenty of both work and play, and of course, lots of family time too. And let’s just say, we definitely enjoyed the full breadth of Wine Country! On the wish list for next year? Rome and Positano for our belated honeymoon, perhaps a little more ski-ing if we’re lucky, and Minnesota to visit Rick’s family. Oh, and Chicago – has to be done! Let’s see how I do.

On the need to improvise your life: truly beyond the list

loulala — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:11:07 +0000

I always find a nice gentle irony in the fact that my blog is called “Life Beyond The List”, yet I pretty much live my life through lists. At work, i’m the queen of the to-do list, and at home, it’s pretty much the same. Only lately, that irony hasn’t felt so nice and gentle. It’s felt downright irritating and uncomfortable.

When did i become incapable of spontaneity? I used to be capable of it, pretty sure about that. In fact, I used to be really darn good at it! But recently, anything “off plan”, whether it’s a food item on a menu, a trip somewhere, or even a drink with the girls, has become a chore, another thing on the list, something that requires its own mini plan of how to get there and enjoy it. And that can be fraught with anxiety, much like the type that Gen Y blogger, Rebecca Thorman describes over at Modite. Just like her, i find myself ‘nesting’ my way out of anxiety, staying home or ducking out to avoid the stress related with erm, having fun. Just like her, i’m a highly productive member of the workforce, can be counted on to do the right things by my friends (remember, i always have a plan!), and I’m sure I’m enriching my life by ticking off things on the big, fat to do list. Only, it would be nice if sometimes i could switch off the list making freak in my brain, and just chill out.

The problem came home to roost last night, at mine and Rick’s Lindy Hop class. The class last night was all about improvisation. The art of letting go and doing something off-plan, off-message, off the beat, whatever! Just going with the flow and seeing where your feet, and the music, took you. Well, hands up for guessing who found that a problem? I pride myself on being able to follow choreography well. Not so good when the choreography is non-existent! Even my inherent dancing skills couldn’t save me from my very English reticence and control-freakery terror of not knowing what to do next! In the end, I managed to let go, and even, gasp, enjoy myself. But it was a long road!

I took a good lesson away from dance class last night. And no, it wasn’t just the belly slide move, although that was a good one! It was to try and re-train my brain in the art of thinking off-plan. Even just some of the time. I think it would re-energize my creative juices and enable me to get back to the person i was in my 20s. Without the mini skirts and caked on bronzer. Ahem.