Last weekend, to celebrate my sister’s birthday, four of us went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, an oceanside old-fashion amusement park with two roller coasters and a lot of rides with names like “Rock n Roll,” “Cyclone,” “Hurricane,” and “Tornado” (they all seemed to be natural disasters, only, this being the Bay Area, none were called “Earthquake”). We were all nervous that we would be too old for the rides. I had distinct memories of my father being doubled over on a bench at Rocky Point, the rinky dink amusement park in Rhode Island, and I feared that would be my fate. Genetically destined for post-ride nausea.

We had the exact opposite experience. Bethany, Ali, and I rode the CRAZIEST rides, and often, we were the only non-teenagers. The roller coaster threw out my neck a little bit, but for the most part, we found the rides exhilarating. But what was most curious to me was our common reaction. We found the rides bizarrely soothing. We stepped off rides that turned us upside down or simulated handgliding with a common refrain: “Wow, that was so . . . relaxing.” The crazy weird sensation of spinning around at such a fast velocity made us scream and had a way of cleaning out our mental insides in a way that yoga can’t quite accomplish. We wondered, should the amusement park be the new spa? Granted this was not Disney World. There were no lines. But seriously. . . I felt more relaxed (though exhausted) than I have at yoga retreats. If you’re looking for weirdly relaxing thrills, and you live in the Bay Area, go.


My favorite topic of all time (after eyebrow waxing and threading) may be the challenge of consistent, daily flossing. Now that I am launching this website I’m adding to my essays archive from writing of yore. Here’s one of my favorite essays–ostensibly about flossing, but really about so much more! The piece was originally published in To-Do List magazine where the quirkyalone concept got started.

My new book To-Do List, a collection of 100 real, handwritten lists and the stories behind them, will be out in a week! I want to let you know I’m doing a cool promotion with Powell’s, the coolest INDEPENDENT bookseller online, to offer signed copies of To-Do List.

If you order from Powell’s from now until November 19, you can get a SIGNED copy for virtually the same price as on Amazon. Not that I am opposed to Amazon, but it’s nice to support the independent bookstore, and this way, you get a book with a very personal touch. Perfect for you or any of the listmakers in your life.

Order a signed copy here. Because I love raffles. . . here’s an extra bonus. Send the receipt for your Powell’s purchase to todolistblog at gmail.com and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a limited-edition copy of To-Do List magazine, number three. To-Do List is where the quirkyalone and to-do list concepts got started.

Just a reminder: The release party is Saturday, November 10, in San Francisco at Cafe Royale. Hope to see you there!

To-Do List is a collection of 100 handwritten lists and the stories behind them. It’s full color, which means you get to see the lists in all their crossed-out, tactile glory. Really, they’re more than just to-do lists, they’re an inside view into who we are and what we want, from the meaningful to the mundane. They’re the bullet-point version of a diary.

Here’s how happy your friends and family will be when you give them a copy. . .

What is the appropriate age for baristas, video store clerks, and waitresses to start calling a woman “ma’am”? Please tell me, because I would like to know. I have become semi-obsessed with this question over the last couple of months. It’s possible that people have been calling me “ma’am” for years and I never really noticed, but all of a sudden, this summer when I was on the East Coast I started to feel middle-aged when every service professional addressed me in this (now) most dreaded way. I decided that this was perhaps an East Coast suburbia thing, that in Rhode Island, at age 34, I am presumed to be a mother when I’m out shopping at the grocery store or running errands, and therefore “matronly.” If there’s anything I don’t want to be, it’s “matronly.”

I haven’t been keeping count exactly of what I’m being called, perhaps a good sign, that this self-conscious obsession is waning. I can say unscientifically that since coming home to San Francisco I’ve been called “miss” a couple times, “young lady” a few, but mostly “ma’am.” My friend Sara tried to convince me that being called “ma’am” is a sign of respect, entirely appropriate for someone of my age. I guess at the core I have some resistance to my age, then. But for some reason it’s not bothering me as much lately. I would like to say that it’s because I’m becoming even more supremely self-confident and not vain. I don’t think so. I think it’s something about SF. That I can be “ma’am” and still a kid here, in a way that is not possible in a place where 34 means settled down and with child. Not that I’m opposed to that state, but that’s not where I am right now.

I just want to be clear, too, that I’m not opposed to all language indicating the adult state of a female human being. In fact, I like the word “woman,” and even prefer it to “girl.” I just really don’t want to be “ma’am.” “Ms.”–that would be weird, it’s not going to work as a form of address. “Lady” sounds a little rude and weird. What else is there? Suggestions, ideas? Am I the only one who feels this “ma’am” revulsion?

Here’s a quick interview I did with the Raleigh News Observer earlier this week. This is just a bit of advance buzz, the To-Do List book will be out soon–November 6!

Saturday, November 10, 8 pm
Cafe Royale
San Francisco
800 Post Street (a close walk from Powell BART)

Please join me to celebrate the release of To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us. A collection of 100 real, handwritten lists and the stories behind them, To-Do List provides a rare—and often hilarious—look into other people’s everyday lives.

Bring your list and participate in the List Slam. Think poetry slam but instead of poetry we’ll read lists. Or tack your list up on the List Shrine. There will also be a raffle—with chances to win pen, notepads, and signed copies of To-Do List.

Win the raffle, and I, Dr. Sasha, the world’s leading todolistologist, will analyze your list. My good friend Cameron Tuttle, author of the Bad Girl’s Guide series, who also happens to be the world’s leading todontlistologist, will analyze one winner’s to-don’t list.

Books, Inc. will sell signed copies of To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us—get them as gifts for all the listmakers in your life, including yourself. . .

Soon after the official launch party, there will be another chance to share your list and find out what other people are “to-doing. . . ” Come mingle with your fellow listmakers Friday, November 16, at Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley (close to campus). Hey, it will be a Friday night, what better to-do than share your to-do list with your fellow listmakers. Bring a list to read or share.

Mrs. Dalloway’s
Friday, November 16, 7:30pm
2904 College Avenue
Berkeley, CA

I’m excited to announce that I, Dr. Sasha, todolistologist, am participating in the authors@google series. Everyone at the Mountain View campus of Google is invited to bring their own list to a special talk Monday, December 3, at noon.

I’ll talk about some of my favorite lists and give you tips on how to analyze your own and those of your friends. Google is kind enough to post videos of their author talks on YouTube, so I’ll be sure to link to it when it’s posted. Bring a list to read or share.