37. You enjoy going to art museums 

Yes, but even more than museums, I like going to art galleries. Galleries are retail. In other words, they have to sell art in order to stay alive, which makes them much less prone to some of the stupidity found in the art world. Not immune….but at least less prone. Museums, for the most part, don’t worry about catering to retail tastes, since they aren’t selling the individual art pieces. Which means they can be a little more wrapped up in the BS. 

But I suppose I’m digressing into the politics of art, as opposed to just addressing the statement. I love looking at art. I love seeing what creative people do when they get turned loose on a field. One of my favorite places, though I haven’t gone there that many times, is the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts, where you can find all kinds of such things. I love seeing what creatives will do with furniture, jewelry, just about any kind of household item, as well as the usual art mediums like sculpture and paints. 

Going to galleries was one of the things I used to love when we’d go up to San Francisco.  

I should also mention that I’m pretty quick to gauge my interest in things. I can glance in a museum room, or gallery, and pretty much know in a few seconds whether I’ll be interested or not. Back in the beginning of 2018, we went to the Getty Villa with a group. One of the guys wanted to stop in every room and look at everything and read the little descriptions. I’ll look in a room and think, nah, and just move on.  

Kind of reminds me of when we used to go to the zoo. I’d blow past almost everything and go straight to the monkey cages, which were always the most fun for me. Now that I wrote that out, I’m pretty sure it’s irrelevant. We’ll put that in the bonus information category. 

In summary though, I love going places to see art. 

38. You often have a hard time understanding other people’s feelings 

I feel like I just discussed this in the section on empathizing with others. But that one was focused particularly on empathizing with others whose feelings are different from mine. As I mentioned there, I have a hard time relating to people who have problems I’ve not had. I’ll try, but it’s not easy for me. Is it easy for other people?  

As for people that I do have a common experience with, then I can relate to their feelings. 

The longer I exist on this planet, the more I experience, and therefore the more I can relate to people. I’ve been through some things now that I hadn’t been through when I was 40. Things that might have been more difficult for me to understand… well… I have lived it now. 

Do I ‘often’ have a hard time understanding other people’s feelings? I’d probably put this one at a 3, or one step from neutral towards Agree.  

39. You like to have a to-do list for each day 

No. Though I do keep a list of things to do for work. So, maybe I do. I certainly don’t have one for my life outside work, but even there I will occasionally write stuff down that I need to take care of. That’s mainly because I’m prone to forgetfulness, so writing it down right next to the computer will help remind me. I will occasionally set an alarm on my phone to go off at say 9:30a on monday morning to remind myself to call the roofer. Because my likelihood of forgetting to do that thing, if I try to just remember it, is pretty high. This forgetfulness is the root reason why I make lists, not any innate love of lists. I’ve just learned through time that it’s about the only way I’m going to remember to certain things. 

I’ve also had the experience at work where my boss comes in and tells me he wants X. 10 minutes later I’m like, what did he want me to do? At that point I’m going to have to go over to his office and ask him again what the thing was, because I didn’t bother to write it down at the time. So now I write it down. 

This forgetfulness is the same trait that causes me frequently to ask, when I’ve gotten to the grocery store, or home depot…. why are we here again?  

But surprisingly, over the years I think I’ve actually gotten better at remembering things than I used to be.