for the first time in my life, i am spreadsheeting.

if you didn't think i was a nerd before, you ... probably might now.

i don't know, i'm generally pretty disorganized when it comes to my personal life. if i have an office or a project to do for work, it's all very organized and laid out perfectly - in fact, i get pretty OCD about it. but if you know me, you'd probably say most of the time i have no clue if i'm coming or going. i'm working on getting better about it. maybe this all was all sparked a few weeks ago when i was watching "wife swap" on halloween and one of the mothers was talking about how she can't get anything done in her life without having it all laid out on a spreadsheet. so the past few weeks i've been using iCal and Excel to ridiculous lengths.

preparing for the holidays is always complicated for me, as i have limited funds and yet so many people i want to send things to. while i'd rather just show up at each of their doors, that's obviously not going to happen, as i can't afford to buy a plane ticket and/or drive from here to california and several other places in between. most years i just kind of jot things down in a notebook, fill out some cards, and then something massive comes along and i forget to send out the cards, and then they get packed away in a box while i'm cleaning and next thing you know it's june and i'm cursing myself because holiday cards in june are asinine.

but this year, with any luck, the Excel Gods will make that not the case. we shall see.

in other news, i'm trying to figure out which set of programs will help me in said Cause to Become More Organized™. as i said a few lines back, i'm using a combo system of iCal and Excel, but i also use Apple Mail as my default mail program. recently, while rooting through my applications folder for no particular reason, i have discovered that i have the full version of Microsoft Entourage 2004. i'm considering switching my iCal events and Apple Mail settings / emails over to Entourage, but the trouble is...

a) it's been rumoured that i may come into possession of an iPod touch sometime in the near future, and i want to be able to sync my events onto that, as it's a much more effective planner than the system i have now; and
b) while i like the ability to combine my calendar and email into one program, i wonder if there's a more stable and secure program out there that DOESN'T involve microsoft.

ideas?