Burt Bacharach was once quoted as saying “I have notes in my bathroom, yellow notes, and I stick ‘em on the mirror, things that happened that are uplifting boosters for me. Notes that say ‘Today is special, make today count’. And then I have one note on the mirror in the middle that says ‘Look at the other notes.’”
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I am a sticky note fan.
I place them in my office, all around the kitchen, even beside the TV to remind me of a program waiting to be watched…sometime in the future.
I once worked with a campus leader who was anal in the extreme.
He had sticky notes everywhere, very neatly stacked in order of importance. They were placed tidily around his desk, and because he was an A-type personality he was so organised he would never lose sight of the levels of importance and priority.
It was impressive to watch him daintily peeling off a sticky note, lips primly pursed, brow furrowed.
Imagine the organisation in his mind as he considered which sticky note to peel off next...makes me exhausted thinking about that!
On the other hand, I make it as difficult as possible for myself to work out which sticky note I should deal with, and what priority order I have in mind.
I will jot a phone number down on a sticky yellow paper and confidently tell myself I shall certainly remember that particular phone number, then promptly forget who or what it was about.
My diary is likewise. Checking through the diary’s notes for each day’s activity, I see the words ‘KAREN 11am’ on Monday next week. Who is Karen? I have no idea. Why have I put that appointment note in next Monday’s diary?
I know it’s not my hairdresser, my dentist or my water aerobics instructor. It could be my doctor.
With a little luck, I’ll wake in the middle of the night and remember. I hope I can still recall the purpose for the appointment when the morning comes.
My favourite sticky notes are the ones that remind me of a topic or quote I might to like to write about for a column.
A sticky note has the quote “Be here. Be present. Wherever you are, be there”. That could prompt an idea for a column.
People often suggest topics I might like to explore, although the ibis nesting in the middle of Lake Weeroona hasn’t exactly excited me sufficiently to research the topic.
It is clearly someone’s passion and I fully respect that, but not really mine.
I have a curiosity for politics and the workings of Canberra and Spring Street.
Equally enjoyable is following local council and decisions which affect our local communities.
There are sticky notes on my desk now prompting me to check information on a variety of topics around the politics of the day, be it federal, state or local.
Speaking of quotes, after a 60-year hiatus I returned to a MTC production of Macbeth, having studied it in Year 11.
The theatre was full of schoolies. It was a magnificent production, and the audience was spellbound.
Shakespeare’s words are as fresh today as they were 500 years ago.
The schoolies loved it as much as we did. When the words the witches chanted starting with ‘Double double toil and trouble’ began, I was chanting with them.
Some lines are unforgettable. That’s certainly how I remember Macbeth and Mrs. Plumb - my inspirational English teacher.
ANNIE YOUNG