To Do Lists and other Musings

On my drive home from San Diego I was listening to the news. I heard a clip about how Obama popped in on a press briefing at the Whitehouse quite unannounced and talked about how he just got off the phone with Souter and how he's going to retire. I'm not sure if Obama mentioned that on his list now is to fill the upcoming vacancy or whether I thought it but.....
It got me thinking. What does his to do list look like? I see a yellow pad on that big desk in the oval office. In neat penmanship is his list of things to do. Below is what I see:

 Announce Chief Justice Souter’s retirement
 Get troops out of Iraq, make a plan
 Swine flu outbreak, try to comfort public
 Stimulate economy so the unemployment rate doesn’t plummet to 12%
 Deal with torture issue
 Close Guantanamo Bay
 Meet with credit card company executives to stop fee gouging

I would imagine that he felt so excited that there was something he could write on his list and cross off right away that he had to run out to the press corps and tell them. I know I would. I get a sense of accomplishment when I cross things off. Below is my list:

 Fix the leak on the back house faucet
 Decide on a contractor the kitchen remodel
 Take vitamins so I don’t get moody
 Try to get Flex Health Pay plan raised for 2009 with payroll
 Work out with trainer
 Weed garden
 Deposit checks to joint before we get hit with the $ 35 overdraft fee

I've already done 4 of them today. I can't imagine having things on my list that take years to accomplish. I suppose that's the difference between great people and the rest of us. There to do lists take longer....