Like Lockers but Smarter

 I am fascinated by two things that people have: tattoos and stickers on laptops.  I want both of those and am always curious to see what people choose and why.

I know what tattoo I want and where I want it.  I just have to go do it.  I had set a tentative deadline for my fiftieth birthday but then the pandemic hit so not so much.  Now I just have to do it.  Knowing me, I'll just wake up one day and decide to go.

Meanwhile, less invasive: There's an envelope in my desk where I've been hoarding stickers for a while. Stickers for my laptop.

Wait, so my Canadian friends say "decals" instead of stickers.  They EYE ROLL SO HARD at the word "stickers"  And it's pronounced "deck-all" not "dee-Cal".  I am going to use the colloquial "stickers" here even though it makes me wince every single time.

I  just couldn't quite commit to using these stickers though. I was raised that you don't decorate anything important like books, windows, etc. (weird rules in that house, lemmetellyou)  In tiny rebellion, I have decorated all of my refrigerators though since I left that house. 

Most of my laptops have been either from work or laptops that we shared or used for the racecar.  Now we each have newish laptops so there's nothing stopping me now from using those stickers.  Except for over-thinking.  Kevin, meanwhile, didn't realize you could put stickers on a laptop and was ALL UP IN THAT shortly after that discovery.

When my BFF K sent me a snap of the progress of decorating her laptop, I was compelled. I took out that envelope with excitement and encouragement.  There were less stickers than I remembered, which makes me wonder what exactly I was remembering or if they just made their way to the refrigerator instead.

I had stickers from The Bloggess Book Club and the Human Rights Campaign and the Titus Podcast plus two Doctor Who stickers. Clearly, that is not enough.  Then I discovered more Doctor Who stickers on the etsy.  I ordered a batch of those.  Then once they arrived, I ordered another batch because I loved them so much.  I ordered some sunflower stickers and some tiny bees in honor of Swistle.  

Work has been GAH because it's the end of the school year and the advocates - without fail - wait to the literal last hour to finish up stuff.  So with that and waiting for my "extra" stickers delivery, I've been toe-tapping for the time to work on this project.  

Why, yes again, I am still absolutely over-thinking this.  I feel like I have to have All The Stickers in order to begin.  But I keep ordering more and we all know how that's going to turn out.

Friday was a challenging day, full of errands and a stop at my old office which never fails to depress me.  Once I finally finished late in the afternoon, I pulled out all of my stickers and began arranging them.  A treat for persevering through the week.

Now I have too many stickers.  

Then I remembered that I really really wanted one that featured Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Finish Each Day".  Well, predictably, that added a few more stickers to my order.  (society6 is an amazing site, btw) This is, obviously, the solution to the above stated problem.

These stickers arrived today, much to my delight and excitement. Now I can call this project done...probably.  I just need to not browse for any stickers. Like, ever. #unlikely

This is a lot of melodrama for so few stickers

Now returning back to the general direction of the opening paragraphs.  While thinking about the stickers and the process of which to choose and which to save, it occurred to me.  Decorating laptops has become the Grown Up Version of High School Lockers.  Some people don't decorate at all, some people put minimal effort into it, and some put everything into it.

Like high school, I am in the middle category.  My locker is the third one from the left.

Actual 1987 senior-year
high school lockers