+ J and I have been into watching documentaries lately and we watched “Minimalism” on Netflix Saturday night. It was really good. I’d consider J a minimalist and while I have minimalist tendencies, I am definitely the “maximalist” in our relationship. One thing that the film emphasized though was the fact that minimalism doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t own “anything” at all, but that the things you own should have a purpose and/or bring you joy and I agree with that. (Still, time for another round of decluttering, me thinks).
+ The SOTU address. If you watched it, I don’t have to say anymore. We can conclude that a) DJT can now successfully read from a teleprompter and almost not sound like himself (at least, speech-wise, let’s not talk about content), b) makes up for that fact by throwing in some heavy breathing, smirks, and “beautifuls”, “incredibles”, and ‘I love yous”, and c) talk for an hour in an attempt to “unify the nation” and ending up as divisive as ever. Well done [\sarcasm off].
+ Best moment of the #SOTU:
+ Are you as excited as I am about a “cost-of-living adjustment” in the new year that is almost completely eaten up by increased healthcare premiums, and such? Yeah, me too. Well, I guess it’s not meant to be – or feel like – a “raise”. At least, it does cover increasing deductions from my paycheck (but I mean, it’s not like groceries, gas, etc. get any less expensive).
+ I’ve been trying to be a bit more active on Twitter, but it’s been a challenge trying to stay on top of my Twitter feed. I mean, if you don’t check in every 20 minutes, how do you even scroll back far enough to not miss anything? And then, I really appreciate when people re-tweet important stuff, but I have SO MUCH re-tweeted stuff in my feed that I can hardly see the people that I am actively following. How do you handle this? Do you work with lists? Do you mute stuff?
+ Another social media related question/observation: do you have a preferred font for reading blogs? I think there are a lot of great fonts out there for great blog layouts, but I tend to always read the blog entry in my Feedly reader (if the full text is available) and then click over to comment because I find the font (I chose “Sans Serif”) and font spacing so pleasing for the eye. Just me? (Also, let me see your whole blog post in Feedly, pretty please.)
+ My reading has suffered a bit, because my (almost brand-new) Amazon Fire died last week. I put it on the charger at 40% battery and when I went to unplug it, it was dead. Lovely. Tried to reset it. Nothing. I got on chat with Amazon Customer Service right away and they told me to return it. Either they know how to fix it or I get a replacement. In the grand scheme of things, no big deal… but I already miss having it for my bedtime reading. I hope to get it back/replaced in the next few days.
I am linking up again with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud.
I also agree with the concept that everything should have a purpose and if it hasn’t been used in a year or two it’s probably time to let go.
My belongings will be significantly reduced with this move and the house I’m moving into has only two bedrooms (plus a converted attic that could be used as a bedroom/office). I’m excited for less in my life.
Moving is always a good time to declutter and downsize! ;)
I have been going slightly nuts because I feel we are drowning in JUNK! Over the next weeks and months my plan is to DE-JUNK the whole house!
It feels so freeing!
I thought “Minimalism” was really interesting!
Yeah, it was! Lots of food for thought!
I hope you get your Amazon Fire back soon. I do love my Kindle Paperwhite for reading at night since it lights up. :)
I did not watch the SOTU. I pretty much never do, but definitely not with this guy…I just, cannot handle this voice. And anything he says pretty much. haha
Twitter can be tough to keep up with, but I do my best and try not to worry about it too much. I know some people make lists that might help some!
-Lauren
Oh right, lists will probably help a bit… thanks for the suggestion!
I love that you are talking about fonts in blogs! I can’t read blogs with small font, or with Comic Sans font.
I hope your kindle gets fixed soon!
Comic (and other handwritten fonts) are the worst!
I kind of abandoned twitter. I loved it so much but then nothin happened there anymore. Now I don’t even have the app on my phone anymore (and lets be honest it always was a disaster).
As for blog reading: I agree, blogs with terrible font are hard to read and I usually don’t read or follow them. I however always click through from my feedreader. I want to get the look and feel of the blog and and I wan the writer to see I have visited (aka spike their traffic). So I think it is a easy way to acknowledge all the work they put in to produce something. It is just one click…
Anyhow hope you get your kindle back fast. I get that it can mess up the entire habit of reading.
Happy Friday, Tobia
I always actually click through to the blog, especially when I want to comment on a blog post… but since I do a lot of reading on my lunch breaks, I prefer reading in my reader.
Have you read that book about the Japanese art of decluttering? I bought it and never read it, so now ironically the book is clutter!! Hahaha! I did not watch the SOTU but I did read about it. I just can’t stand to hear him talk.
I haven’t read the Marie Kondo book, but I’ve heard of it!
I mainly watched the SOTU to get riled up… LOL I really can’t stand to hear him talk, either.
Oh – I want to watch that show on Netflix! I , myself, doubt I could ever become a minimalist, but some of my friends have truly cut down on things.
It was really interesting. I doubt that I will ever be a real minimalist, but it had some good thought-provoking ideas.
I watched the SOTU mostly… but it drove me nuts and it just made me mostly angry. I also am sad that I missed Paul Ryan say that; it’s pretty epic lol.
I haven’t heard of “Minimalism” but it’s a lifestyle I’m really REALLY trying to adjust to. I grew up in a home with parents who kept EVERYTHING, and I love to declutter now as a result. Bryan, however, is the total opposite of me and he holds on to things and attaches sentiment to them, so it’s hard sometimes to convince him to get rid of stuffs. Anyway, we’ll have to sit down and watch this together. Maybe it’ll inspire him, ha!
Also I’m so sorry to hear about your Fire but hope you get it fixed soon! I’ve been reading more on mine and realized how much I’d miss it if I didn’t have it.
Hope you have a great weekend, San!!
I watched the SOTU mainly to get riled up… LOL I just can’t stand the guy, but I also wanted to see what kind of BS he’s going to say.
You should watch the documentary, really interesting stuff!
Oh my, the SOTU was so cringeworthy. I only saw clips as Twitter kept forcing the live feed open when I was checking the hashtag. To answer your question, I usually like easy-to-read fonts when I’m viewing blogs. So many bloggers are choosing frilly fonts or super light colored type and it makes it impossible to read what they’ve written.
That sucks that your kindle died! I have never heard of that happening to someone! I’ve had mine for 3+ years (mine is a paperwhite) and haven’t had any issues. I hope they can send you a new one fast! But how annoying to deal with!
I don’t have a preference on fonts, actually. I usually click over to the post and read it in the blog instead of feedly, unless it’s a blog I don’t religiously comment on.
I couldn’t even bring myself to listen to the SOTU. I just can’t stand hearing DJT’s voice.
I barely use Twitter anymore. I think I followed way too many political commentators so every time I go on Twitter, I get depressed about the state of our country. I have considered making a few lists to separate my political feeds from the non-political ones, but haven’t sat down to do that yet.
Ugh, didn’t watch the SOTU. I cannot handle his voice and I knew it would only raise my blood pressure.
That’s so frustrating about your Amazon Fire, but I’m glad they were quick to find a solution. I’ve always heard good things about Amazon’s customer service but have never had to personally use it. I was on a roll with reading in January and have definitely slowed down a bit this month, for absolutely no good reason.