Making a lot of lists lately. Not just the ubiquitous to-do today lists and the unconquerable to-do eventually lists, but ambitious-yet-almost-useless lists like: every book I have ever read. Every movie I remember seeing. Every art exhibition. And so on.

My lists are open-ended, and compiled over time - I begin one in a flurry of memory, then append randomly as I remember. Starting a new list opens a floodgate in my head, then diminishes to drips as the easy memories are used up. I find myself mining my memory, occasionally digging up things I thought I'd forgotten about. The name of that fantasy book I'd read and reread as a kid, with the wolf on the cover (The Hero From Otherwhere, by Jay Williams). Or all those shows I helped install while working at the art gallery. I find them out, fill them in, feel satisfied afterwards. Pieces of a puzzle, or a scrapbook, or a map.

Chronological. A life broken down into nouns. Books, music, movies... games, too, and food (have tried / have enjoyed / should try). Recently I started people (everyone I have ever met). Why not? It's a lot, but it's a finite list. I might never remember them all, but each name jotted down is one less bit of data cluttering up my head, making the others easier to find. There's a certain release in writing everything down. Tidying my mind, making room for new things, and not having to worry about forgetting something once it's committed to paper (or a .txt file).

Amending on both ends, past and present - now when I finish a book, for instance, it's immediately added to the list. In this way, the sooner I start a list, the better. Making a list of every movie I have ever seen is easier now than it will be in 5 years, when there will be more movies to remember. The question becomes what to make lists of.

A list of lists (* = haven't started yet)

*possessions (everything i own or have owned)
*events (everything significant that has happened)
people (everyone i have met)
art (exhibitions i have seen / art i like / art to look into)
places (have visited / to visit / to revisit)
games (have played / have enjoyed / have finished)
food (have tried / have enjoyed / to try tasting / to try cooking)
movies (have seen / have enjoyed / to see)
music (have heard / have enjoyed / to hear)
books (have read / have enjoyed / to read)
things to do (today / tomorrow / ten years / twenty)