Ten Essentials

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, taken from The Little Prince

General Reference: http://men.style.com/fashion/10_essentials/090308?mbid=rss_msnf

While perusing the web version of GQ, I came across a section called 10 Essentials. I would have completely passed this over under normal circumstances, but the 10 Essentials that were being featured were from tennis legend Bjorn Borg. It was interesting to see what Borg considered essential or very enjoyable. Some were soul deep, and the others were completely superficial.

Over the past few weeks I've asked several people what they consider essential. It has become sort of a game over time with following ground rules: (1) People are not appropriate for this list; (2) Stores or any place that sells goods or services are eligible for consideration; (3) Experiences are applicable as well like "My weekly breakfast with Joe,"; (4) Concepts or general things like "the Internet," "email," "the Muni line" or "travel" are not applicable. It sounds a lot easier to come up with ten than it really is. With these things in mind, here are my ten essentials:

1. Sticky notes: Early on in my career I had a tendency to get overwhelmed with all the things that had to be done. It wasn't so much the work that scared me, it was more of the timing of the work and managing priorities appropriately. I don't know what triggered it, but one day I just reached for a sticky note, started writing down the tasks I had to do, and stopped when I ran out of space. It was just big enough to help me determine what needed to be done to make meaningful progress, but not too big that I felt overwhelmed. When my list is complete I make another list. I figure I go through a pad a week.

2. White Dress Shirts: My former employer was a much more formal work place than my current one. My signature style came to be dark slacks, white dress shirt. It was a simple combination. I always feel great wearing a pressed white dress shirt, cuff links optional. Right now I have about five that I rotate through.

3. iPod: I use it at work to drown out the background noise, and I will occasionally use it when I go on long runs. Right now I am listening to a lot of Van Morrison and Chris Isaak.

4. Coffee: I have a cup in the morning, and a cup in the afternoon during the work week. Back when I lived in San Francisco I would frequent local places like the Buena Vista Cafe, Tartine Bakery, and my video rental store to get my fix. I'd much rather have a real person benefit from my addiction than a massive corporation. Needless to say, I get the fix from Starbucks now.

5. Sperry Topsider Deck Shoes: As a little kid I always thought that you had to wear socks with shoes or else something horrible would happen--either your feet would smell really bad, or you would get a horrible rash. My uncle showed up one day wearing a pair of deck shoes, no socks. The whole afternoon I was fixated on his "socklessness." I got my first pair in 2005. I only own dress shoes, running shoes, and a pair of these. I guess that makes them my utility shoes.

6. The Barber Shop: Big surprise, huh? I also get my shoes shined there as well. It's relaxing and very 1950s masculine.

7. GQ Magazine: Over a year ago I was having a horrendous day, and needed a break. I walked across the street to Borders, and picked up the latest edition of this magazine. I sat outside my office building after work with a cup of coffee, and just lost myself in this semi-delusional world. How many people do you know in real life that spend $1,000 USD on a short-sleeve shirt? But the magazine has some good articles about people dealing with real issues, and killer stories about travel. If I can time a hair cut, a shoe shine, and picking up a copy of the new GQ I call this a "three star day."

8. TYR Goggles: Simple fact: chlorine burns. These goggles are the only ones that fit my face, and keep the burning sensation to a minimum.

9. Arnette Sunglasses: I am currently sporting the "Asylum" model--black frames with black polarized lenses.

10. Black Oxford cap toes: I have two pair in the rotation right now: one that I purchased in 2006 that has been resoled once, and another that I purchased this year. According to GQ, brown shoes add a certain pop. I would agree, but black cap toes are timeless and classic to the point that they are invisible. Maybe more importantly, black shoes shine up much nicer than brown shoes and the wear and tear on them is much less visible. People may not be taken by my shoes, but they will notice how well the shoes are shined, even the back of the shoe, compliments of my friends at the barber shop.