I’m one of those freaks who obsesses over stupid shit. For example, getting the above picture to stay centered and not cause a text-break meltdown took a few days off my life. Does anyone but me care? Probably not. I obsess nonetheless.
Perfectionism: a lovely quality to some, a deadly shortcoming for others.
My clients love my attention to detail. They love that they can call me and say “I want the white thingy around my photo to be bigger,” and not only do I know what they mean, but it becomes a personal heart-mission. If I can’t fix it, it will drive me crazy. I will stay up all night and enlist the help of a small army of gurus if that’s what it takes to make the blog post not look like crap.
The trouble comes around 3 a.m., when I realize I’ve spent five hours obsessing about petty things — not just for my clients’ projects but for my own. Add 47 OCD “emergencies” to the roster, and I’m a day behind in jobs. I then become a procrastination whore on a mission to avoid my backlog at all cost. Caffeinated to the max, I sling my superhero cape aside and don a new costume: Idiot Girl.
Idiot Girl has no worries. She cares not that the Inbox spilleth over and that deadlines loometh. She is able to scale tall cities of blogs and message boards, and she has no censor button. She is wild and free. She leaves the grim prognosis of reality in her dust.
The next morning, all worlds crumble. Lost in the rubble of my own making, I ask myself Why? In the silence, a little voice whispers, “Take an hour off once in a while, and maybe you wouldn’t be such a moron.” (This isn’t a kind voice. She tells it like it is.)
So today, although I feel like I should be working, I am not. I will curl up in my warm cozy bed, turn the ringer off the phone, and ignore all emails that require any sort of thought process or action. I hope that tomorrow I will be more productive for it. And if not, I will blame schizophrenia.
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Hi Amy,
I’m still trying to figure out that picture-not-getting-a-stray-word-next-to-it thing down myself.
Some of the CSS stuff is simply not logical — or perhaps it’s just the way the thememaker designed it.
Yeah, 50 hour days — what planet do we need to be on to get that?
Nez’s last blog post..Dial ‘M’ for Blogger
Hey Nez - 50 hours a day would rock. Except then we’d probably need 75. And so on… LOL
Nez is a cool name. I’ve always wanted to change my name to Zelda or something, but I think Nez would be cool (’cause it’s zen backwards). Is that your real name?
That’s my blogging “pen” name, and yep, how you described it is exactly how I came up with it.
Plus, it means “nose” in French, but I would rather it mean “knows” — hehe.
Nez’s last blog post..Dial ‘M’ for Blogger
I don’t speak French, so I won’t tell…
Amy,
Rock on, Perfectionista!
Perfectionists keep the edges of the world from crumbling while lazy people watch. I try on some fronts, and give up on others. That’s how I strike what I call “balance.” It just means I am blind to some stuff so I don’t go crazy.
Perfectionism in work=Food in mouth. Always a good thing.
Days off, being “bummy”=Regeneration. An excellent thing. Plus planes tire people out, so you’ve got an excuse.
Nez,
It never occurred to me that might not be your real name. Very cool!
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: A Warning as You Walk Out the Door…
I have nothing intelligent to add here except, um, yeah. That would be me. I spend 72 hours doing everything perfectly — $15 web content articles seem to be my main target for perfectionism — and then spend the next 96 hiding under my duvet.
Naomi - If you weren’t married (and if I hadn’t already proposed to Harold this week), I’d ask for your hand. Alas, we’re soul-sisters of insanity+cussing anyway.
Kelly - See there. Ya didn’t get your linky link moderated that time. I figured out how to fix SOMETHING.
Amy - great post. For days like today, just borrow “the cook” and he’ll look after things for you…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the road ahead.
Yeah!! Kiss the cook! LOL
The cook has been kissed, and is sleeping soundly…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the road ahead.
The cook goes to bed too early. No wonder he wakes up before dawn!!!
I think he ate too much today, that’s why he’s so tired…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the road ahead.
LOL He will need to shop for his own groceries also.
Teach him what to buy, and he will cook you very healthy food too (I know you’d be a good teacher in that regard…
)
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the road ahead.
He’s the handiest boy ever.
Hi Amy,sorry that I have not been to visit lately.there are days that I don’t even fell like blogging let alone visit and make comments as I uselly do.I guess my bi-polar is getting the best of me.
mike golch’s last blog post..as I stated.
Hi Mike. Eerie, I was just thinking of you tonight. There is a poet whose work I love.. although his name escapes me at the moment…. One of his poems makes me think of you. It begins “at least once you should live with someone more medicated than yourself.” It reminds me of a poem you would write. I’m not sure why.
Stop by quittingsmokingblog.com (my latest blog) if you want to know how badly I can relate today.
I will be by to “lurk” at your blog shortly. Maybe even comment. LOL
Hi Amy,
So did the guy answer in the affirmitive? Congratulations, right?
Nez’s last blog post..Dial ‘M’ for Blogger
Nez, the proposal? All in good online humor. I only “marry” in cyberspace, as I am gay and unforunately, I don’t live in Canada (at least not yet). If that’s not what you meant… Then nevermind. LOL Despite my day of rest, my brain is still asleep.
yes, that’s what I meant — thanks for the clarification.
Nez’s last blog post..Dial ‘M’ for Blogger
Anytime. I should probably start passing out decoder rings at the door.
You can ask the cook to do that. He might keep a couple for himself, though… he likes those kinds of things
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the road ahead.
I want decoder rings, too, so “deadpan humor” will always come out right on a keyboard,
The problem is, little winks and smileys drive me bats, but if you don’t put them at the end of every sentence you risk being misunderstood, and I (arrogantly?) figure if you’re not getting that unless I’m leaving a serious add-to-the-conversation comment I’m practically always joking, then too bad. (Plus I’m funny, usually, mainly, or so I think…) Why should I have to put little cartoons all over?
Kelly is stubborn.
Kelly’s last blog post..Have You Googled Yourself Lately?
@Kelly: I hear you (err, I “read” you) - you are usually, mainly, funny, at least I think so. Yeah, we get what, 7 percent of the message via the words - so whenever I read something someone has written online, I try to imagine them smiling, or at least with 5 pints of Guinness behind them…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..why six weeks.
Proving once again, that you have very good taste, Brett.
(The dread emoticons reappear.)
Must go make money now.
Kelly’s last blog post..Have You Googled Yourself Lately?
Kelly, I am 78% water, 12% misunderstood. So I get you. I do like emoticons, but rings would be cool. And xray vision glasses…
Brett, kiss the blondies.
I’ll take a decoder ring, x-ray glasses, and a Mr. Fusion to power my car
The blondies have been kissed many times over today. The cook was very helpful today, he helped me make my lunch (put the mustard on my sandwich)… you’d love him, believe me!
Brett Legree’s last blog post..why six weeks.
@Brett: Remember, Mr. Fusion only powers the time circuits, including the flux capacitor. The DeLorean itself still needs to run on good ol’ gasoline.
Nez’s last blog post..Dial ‘M’ for Blogger
@Brett - I’m ready and waiting. Send the boy on over.
@Nez - Please pass the decoder ring. LOL
@ Nez: ’tis true, it is the ability to time travel that I seek…
(so that I can comment before Amy posts!)
@ Amy: the boy is fed and watered, I’ll put him on the bus with his PJ’s
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the bridge.
Err… I don’t think the boy should travel alone. He’s very short.
Don’t worry. If anybody tried to snatch him, they’d put him back on the bus after the first meal… he’s cute but he eats like an ox!
(I’ll send him with food, so he doesn’t eat you out of house and home…)
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the bridge.
As long as he’s willing to go on my vegetarian OCD diet, he’s welcome to my food stash. Otherwise, he’ll need to bring (and cook) his own. Quite a sweat-shop for 4-yr-olds I’m running. LOL
He’ll be eating like that soon enough, the longer I chat with you the closer I get to eating like you… seriously… and don’t worry about being a sweat shop, you should see how they shovel snow
Brett Legree’s last blog post..the bridge.
Oh no! LOL I won’t make them shovel. I promise. I live in an apartment, so we have someone who does that for us. We do frequently gather in the yard to make snowmen — even though some of us have no kids — so he will like that. I think winter weather may be almost over though. It was warm today and raining. Usually it snows here till sometime in May.
I know exactly how you feel
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