Wednesday, April 11, 2007

wherein a housing application reveals my failings

I just spent an hour and a half filling out a housing application. Doing so has made me feel like a total loser. I am not a very good keeper of information and they ask all these questions that I should know but don't. These are things I do not know:

  • My license plate number
  • The name/ number of my previous landlord
  • My savings account number
  • The telephone #/ address of several good friends
  • The address of my employer
  • My gross monthly income

Some of these things I can find out easily, some with more difficulty, some are lost forever. I should have a file or something labeled "Important Information." Alas, even if I did have such a file I would probably forget to file anything in it and the Important Information would be stacked in a pile on my desk somewhere. And it's not that I don't have a system at all. I have a way to get all of this information, but it's not very efficient. I used to call my dad repeatedly for phone numbers of family and friends; he would always tell me that I should get an address book. What he didn't understand is that I did have an address book--him. But I could tell I was annoying him, so I bought a book. And it is handy--when I can find it.

I have visions sometimes of me becoming an organized woman, of knowing where to find information when I need it. But I fear it will never happen. And this is what makes me feel like a loser. I imagine that if I were more organized, then I would be more together in all aspects of life. Luckily there is the Internet and a system that only requires four little numbers to access my money. Otherwise, I would probably be living in a shack with my money shoved under the mattress.

Well, here's hoping that my failure to keep track of all that Important Information will not stop me from getting to live at the swank new apartment.

5 comments:

Lisa B. said...

We should form a club of people like us. The "file it on your desk in some pile" club. I feel your pain.

>>I have visions sometimes of me becoming an organized woman

Sometimes this dream wakes me up in the middle of the night so I can feel bad about myself.

lis said...

And today, just to make things worse, I grabbed a file for an article for my children's lit class. I felt pretty please with myself, that at least my teaching materials were sort of organized and that I could quickly grab what I needed for class because I had clearly labeled a folder with the title of the article. I got to school, got ready to make copies, and what did I find in the folder? Not the article. Of course not, that would be too obvious. I found my taxes from 2005.

Dr. Write said...

Ha! That's a good story. I hope you get the swank apartment, because I want to visit you in it. I hope it has a deck or something.

middlebrow said...

Yes, Dr. Write and I are already anticipating the new swanky apartment party.

And remember, Middlebrow is an organizational consultant. I provide a discount to colleagues.

lis said...

there is a deck! and there will be parties! so cross your fingers.