But I wish every LJ "early adopter" well, in the same way I wish kind people, trilobites and the city of Normal, Illinois well. Assuming that my sense of bashfulness at participating in this bit of public musical comedy continues to remain sedated by the thrill of knowing each of you, I assume I will someday have to listen to early adopters explain how LiveJournal is not what it used to be, many decades ago. But now, I'm a'hopin' and a'prayin' and a'wishin'for the things beneath the cut.
First, a word from our sponsors about how this meme works:
Step 1. Make a post to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
- If you wish for real life things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it'll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.
Step Two
- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:
- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.
You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call. There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.
The List
I preface my list by saying that things somewhat oppress me right now. I am more in need of giving away things than of receiving them. I want a few material things, but they are all of the "it's easier to buy them than ask for them" variety. I must dispense with many things to clear the way for a few things. My wishes are all going to be a bit ephemeral, but I hope I do not sound too much like a contestant in a pageant.
1. I wish for time with those I care about. I wish for time to stand almost still for the people I care about and who care about me. I have learned during these past two years a valuable set of lessons about the transitory nature of things. I do not expect eternities, but I ask for a dollop of time.
2. I wish for connection. I find as time goes on that I want to reach out more, and to connect with people better. I'm fortunate, in that I have a great family, and good friends. But I can be better at
connecting with people than I am.
3. I wish to live more simply in some ways. When I started law school, I cleared away everything in my life but studies. I focused so hard on the tasks at hand. During that first year of law school, I achieved things I had never achieved before. I am a polymath by nature--a bit good at all things, not much good at anything. But I wish for a bit of simple focus on the things that matter in my life.
4. I wish to live life more vividly in some ways. I have a thousand plans and devices, but the plans I like the best are the ones I see through to fruition.
5. I wish for the discipline to pursue my profession and still have time for a few, well-chosen avocational things.
6. I wish to take hiking and fishing trips to scenic places along with a young nephew or niece or two.
7. I wish to follow through to meet more LiveJournal friends. I have been pretty good about this, but I could be better.
8. I wish to edit my novel into final form, and take the nearly-finished cover design and get it self-published. In a similar vein, I wish to write more poetry for submission, and follow through on my goal of writing a short story. I wish to write a legal article for a law review or seminar as well.
9. I wish for air in my bicycle tires, as the modern air valves are beyond me. Then I wish to drive up into the high plains, and ride the 60 mile Caprock Canyon trail.
10. I wish to figure out how to upload pictures from my digital camera into my computer. The wires don't seem to work out right.
In my mind, there is some great project to which I should point, and for which I should wish. But it has not crystallized for me yet. I'll therefore live content with these smaller wishes, and see what I can do to live them all.