I didn’t know what to write for today.

I’ve been sitting here for two hours now, going through the typical internet activity that starts my day – checking e-mails, going through websites, doing some searches… all the while in the back of my mind has been a question: what should I write about in my blog today?  And as of yet, I have not been able to come up with a good answer.  So instead, I decided that I will address this peculiarity of mine.  It’s not that I don’t have topics that I want to talk about; in fact, I have a whole list of them.  I even have a couple of drafts started, waiting to be finished up and posted.  So why not use one of those brilliant ideas I currently have laying dormant?  Well, because I am very particular about how I do things.  For my blogging, that means that I must only write of things that I am “in the mood” to write about.  And currently (also unfortunately), there is nothing on that list that I am interested in exploring at the moment.

photo credit: wendy usually wanders

It’s not exactly writer’s block, though I guess you could consider it a breed of it, if you must.  I have also noticed, as I typed this, that my pinky finger on my right hand gets very little action.  In fact, I’m not sure I really use it for more than the occasional apostrophe, colon, semi-colon, quotation mark, question mark, or entering.  (Which means I’ve used it a total of fifteen times in this post so far.)  I use my fourth finger to backspace purely because it is longer and I have to move my hand less to reach it.  I also know that I tend to use my right thumb to press the spacebar.  When I tried to switch to my left thumb, my typing slowed significantly.  This could be a good exercise for my dexterity and force me to use the other side of my brain more.  I have always been slightly ambidexterous, using different hands for different things – my right hand writes and draws, my left hand colors; my right hand uses chopsticks and knives, my left hand uses spoons and forks; both hands throw balls about the same; I bat left-handed and kick right-footed; I brush my teeth and hair with my left hand; I text with my right hand.

photo credit: adirondack guitar

I am a big fan of symmetry (except in artistic cases), so I’m always trying to use the other hand for these tasks, but I think that my toothbrushing is not as effective with my weaker right hand.  I’ve also had some trouble slinging my purse over my left shoulder, which somehow does not seem to know how to support it quite as well as my right shoulder.  As with all things though, I suppose it just comes down to practice and habit.  So I’m slowly working to make left-handed spacebar-ing and right-handed brushing more common in my life.  I also considered learning the guitar, but left-handed ones are hard to find and I think I’d be more comfortable with that kind, rather than a standard one.  The significance of a simple flip flop like that can be greater than people may expect, as I was surprised to find when I was reading the Emergenetics text and found this on page 10:

“Before you begin to read, you can boost your brain activity with two simple exercises.  These will help you stay alert, understand what you are reading, and remember it longer.

1. Cross-Crawls.  With your right hand, touch your left ankle.  Now with yourleft hand, touch your right ankle.  This is most effective done standing up, but it works sitting down, too.  This exercise is thought to integrate the right and left hemispheres of your brain.  And by clearing the potassium and sodium that builds up in your brain when you concentrate, it will help you read faster and comprehend more.

2. Crazy Eights.  Make big “eights” horizontally in the air with your right hand.  Without moving your head, follow your thumb with your eyes.  Make the eights as big as your peripheral vision will allow.  Now do the same thing with your left hand.  This may help integrate both sides of your body.”

So there you go.  My stream of consciousness.