suspectclass | Entries tagged with lists

Don't read other people's archived entries if you've just met them in real life. You wouldn't want them to judge you by what sort of ridiculous state you were in a few years ago, would you?

Don't make that bitchy post public and pretend you don't want the subject to see it. It'll feel good for about 30 minutes, and when you realize what a bad idea it was, you'll probably be away from your computer unable to close it for half a day, or they'll have seen it the minute you posted it (you're not the only one who spends too much time on the internet) and will have copied and pasted it to their entire email list. Use your journal for good, or if you must, memes and quizzes, do not use it to perpetuate your drama and then complain about drama in your life for the subsequent three posts.

Witty nicknames are good. Vague references that are so unclear that you yourself won't know what you were talking about in a couple of months are not good.

Make a decision about whether your journal (or even a specific post) is of the "I have an online diary" variety, or the "I have a blog and a readership and wish to be read" variety. If it is the latter, copy-edit the fucker. You know what? Copy-edit it anyway. Small errors are fine, but you should strive to have 99% painlessly readable content.

If you know that your ex, or your so's ex, or your ex's so, or your ex's so's ex, or whoever you feel really insecure about has a livejournal, do yourself a favor and don't read it. Especially when drunk. Or lonely. And if you do, you have no one to blame for what you find but yourself.

If you ignore the above advice and read hir journal anyway, for the love of god don't comment.

Don't make an open post that you wouldn't be okay with your most easily offended computer-literate relative finding.

And most of all:

Don't hate yourself for what you posted 6 months ago now that you're older and wiser.

*NB: Many of these are things I myself have done. Some of them, fortunately, I have not done, but have been the unfortunate witness to.

Tags:

lists

Poetry, particularly Anna Ahkmatova and Osip Mandelstam at the moment.
Flowers, even dying and sad ones.
The picture on my desk of me at Valaam in Russia.
Good music.
Thinking about living in Germany.
Connie & Lauren, separately and together.
The friends I've had for ten years that I'm still in touch with.
Ben Harper and Sinead O'Connor singing about God.
My bed.
Being warm.
Knowing I'll fall in deep love again, if I can just be patient.
Skeefe.
Puppies.
iTunes.

Current Mood: blessed

Tags:

lists

Life through mixes. Here's the breakup mix, interestingly composed before I knew about the new girl:

Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone -- Bill Withers
Jesus, Etc. -- Wilco
You Made Me Forget My Dreams -- Belle & Sebastian
Wild Horses -- The Rolling Stones
I Can't Make You Love Me -- Bonnie Raitt
Fight Test -- The Flaming Lips
Mr.Brightside -- The Killers
Pictures of You -- The Cure
The Jeep Song -- The Dresden Dolls
Hurt -- Johnny Cash
Hallelujah -- Rufus Wainwright
Total Eclipse of the Heart -- Bonnie Tyler
What It Takes -- Aerosmith
Red Right Ankle -- The Decemberists

This is a cheat. The only ones that are really appropriate are the Wilco, B&S and Bonnie Raitt. Oh and The Killers, hardcore. The second half are just songs I really like to sing. The more I look at this, the less appropriate it seems to this break up.

How about this one, I call it "You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Mix Is About You." I'm so clever.

Jesus Etc. -- Wilco
You Made Me Forget My Dreams -- Belle & Sebastian
I Can't Make You Love Me -- Bonnie Raitt
Please Me Like You Want To -- Ben Harper
Chain of Fools -- Aretha Franklin
Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) -- Janis Joplin
Walking On Broken Glass -- Annie Lennox
Mr. Brightside -- The Killers
I'm Not Okay (I Promise) -- My Chemical Romance
Happy Birthday to Me -- Bright Eyes
Girlfriends Don't Keep -- Bratmobile
You're So Vain -- Carly Simon
It's Too Late -- Carole King
Faith -- George Michael

iTunes: Cheaper than therapy.

Current Mood: whoop whoop
Current Music: On the highway I do above 90!