{"id":3479,"date":"2014-01-15T06:05:35","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T14:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michellejolin.com\/wordpress\/?p=3479"},"modified":"2014-01-15T21:15:26","modified_gmt":"2014-01-16T05:15:26","slug":"a-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=3479","title":{"rendered":"To do and to don’t"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why do you have to say that there’s always someone
\nwho can do it better than I can?
\nBut don’t you think that I know that walking on the water
\nwon’t make me a miracle man?
\n–Elvis Costello\/Miracle Man<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now that everyone has finished with their resolutions for the new year, I am considering my own plans for continued self improvement. I’ve been doing really well on increasing my tequila intake, but it seemed like there might be a few other areas in which I am less than optimal. Here is what I have come up with so far:<\/p>\n

1. Stop expecting people to act the way you think they should<\/p>\n

2. Eat more veggies<\/p>\n

3. Don’t be a nutcase too often<\/p>\n

4. Take people at face value<\/p>\n

5. Be more coherent. <\/p>\n

6. Call your mother more often<\/p>\n

7. Be succinct. <\/p>\n

8. When you fail at being succinct, at least try not to be boring<\/p>\n

9. Do something different on a regular basis<\/p>\n

10. Learn when to cut your losses and bail<\/p>\n

11. Don’t be afraid to be a freak<\/p>\n

12. Be less attached to your comfort zone at work<\/p>\n

13. Learn to cook some new stuff<\/p>\n

14. Write more. Actually, just write better<\/p>\n

15. If you can’t manage better, keep writing anyway<\/p>\n

16. Maybe stop writing long enough to get some exercise now and then<\/p>\n

17. Learn to ice skate<\/p>\n

18. Get more tattoos<\/p>\n

19. Stop referring to yourself as a dumbass. Yes, motherfucking dumbass also counts<\/p>\n

20. You need another pair of boots<\/p>\n

21. Love people more<\/p>\n

22. Even the dumbfucks <\/p>\n

23. Yes, that is really hard<\/p>\n

24. Make sure you always have plenty of black eyeliner<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As you can see, I am not backing away from the really hard emotional work. I’ve had trouble with dumbfucks for my whole life. I may not be successful with everything on the list, but I am going to give it a try. Right after I have a cocktail. <\/p>\n

Cheers, y’all!<\/p>\n

\"20140114-192622.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Special thanks and a very happy birthday to Kelly for giving me the gift of Elvis back in the ninth grade. Love you, KelBel!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why do you have to say that there’s always someone who can do it better than I can? But don’t you think that I know that walking on the water won’t make me a miracle man? –Elvis Costello\/Miracle Man Now that everyone has finished with their resolutions for the new year, I am considering my … Continue reading To do and to don’t<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-words"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/michellejolin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/20140114-192622.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7lr3R-U7","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8186,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=8186","url_meta":{"origin":3479,"position":0},"title":"Keeping it simple","author":"Michelle","date":"November 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This will be succinct. Stop laughing, it really will. I had a rough night the other night. I had a bad dream--not a nightmare, just an overly realistic dream about getting dumped. I woke up angry and tearful in the middle of the night, couldn't get back to sleep, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Words"","block_context":{"text":"Words","link":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":350,"url":"https:\/\/michellejolin.com\/?p=350","url_meta":{"origin":3479,"position":1},"title":"Red Shoe Diary","author":"Michelle","date":"July 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh I used to be disgusted Now I try to be amused. -- Elvis (the One True Elvis) Costello \u00a0 Some of us have a special talent for being disgusted and\/or amused by\u00a0 Life, the Universe and Everything. (Oh, why's that?) I have both talents. 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