I'm going to attempt to do this memey thing called 30 Days of Song. I will not post this every day, because oh-my-pants-I'm-bored-already. Instead I'll post once or twice a week, as I feel like. So there. I am unrepentantly stealing this from Jen O. at My Tornado Alley. She rocks. I'm not sure if she stole it from somewhere, but here we go.
A Song I Used to Love but Now Hate
This is hard for me. For one thing, once I love something, I tend to keep loving it. It's just who I am. I may get worn out on something, but give me a long enough break and I can go back to almost anything. So, I think the worst songs for me are the ones with bad memories. "Wonderful Tonight," makes me stabby. Every time. But today, we're going to talk about "Drops of Jupiter."
First of all, I love Train. Unrepentantly. Secondly, this song is so sweet and pretty and perfect. It was my wedding song. The Ex and I danced our first married dance to this song. It was our song. To be clear, we had about a million songs and most of them are still fine in my book, but most of them were weird. This was our song - for reallies. And now, it's just a song.
Day 1 - Your Favorite Song - White Blank Page
Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song - Barbie Girl
Day 3 - A Song that Makes You Happy - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Day 4 - A Song that Makes You Sad - Anna Begins
Day 5 - A Song that Reminds you of Someone - Friend of the Devil
Day 6 - A Song that Reminds you of Somewhere - Least Complicated
Day 7 - A Song that Reminds You of a Certain Event - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
Day 8 - A Song that You Know All the Words To - It's the End of the World as We Know It
Day 9 - A Song that You Can Dance to - Some Nights
Day 10 - A Song that Makes you Fall Asleep - Ice Cream
Day 11 - A Song from your Favorite Band - Later On
Day 12 - A Song from a band you Hate - Life is a Highway
Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure - Loving You is the Dumbest Thing
Day 14 - A Song that No One Would Expect you to Love - Mean
Day 15 - A Song that Describes You - She Don't Want Nobody Near
Day 16 - A Song that You Used to Love but Now Hate - Drops of Jupiter (today)
Day 17 - A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
Day 18 - A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
Day 19 - A Song from your Favorite Album
Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Angry
Day 21 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Happy
Day 22 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Sad
Day 23 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Wedding
Day 24 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Funeral
Day 25 - A Song that Makes you Laugh
Day 26 - A Song that you Can Play on an Instrument
Day 27 - A Song that you Wish you Could Play
Day 28 - A Song that Makes you Feel Guilty
Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood
Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at this Time Last Year
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Let's Chat About Comics
I didn't grow up with comics. I have a vague memory of some sort of Archie thing, but I never had comics around. I didn't have friends or family that read comics. It just never crossed my experience in any way.
Until college. I was dating this guy and we went to his house for a long weekend. I forgot to bring a book for when I finished the book I was reading, and knowing my guy was a reader, I wandered up to his room and began looking around. Nothing. To this day, I've never figured out where he kept his books. What I did find was three long white boxes of comics. I dug around a little and found some issues of The Maxx. I don't know if you remember this, but that was an MTV cartoon back in the day. I read them, loved them, and then promptly forgot all about it.
Until Joss Whedon announced (years) later that he would be continuing Buffy's story via comic. I believe my first thought was, "I don't care if you scrawl it on napkins and tie them to the legs of carrier pigeons, I'm in."
Since that fateful day, standing in Barnes and Noble with the first trade paperback in my hand (only I called it a compendium, because I didn't know any better), I've read a handful of graphic novels and comics.
And here's the thing: I like them. I like them a lot. I love the idea of story telling through this mash-up of words and art. I love the built in drama. I genuinely enjoy them. And I'd like to read more, but it's hard.
Why?
Well, I'm so glad you asked. First of all, it's difficult to break in. I've had a few kind and friendly guys help me out and suggest what I should read and where I should shop. I've had more roll their eyes at my ignorance and make me feel stupid. A couple of years ago, I went to every comic shop in the city nearest me in search of one particular novel. After being ignored, blown off and in one case, openly mocked by the staff of these stores, I gave up. I still haven't read it.
Secondly, I'm a girl. Take everything in that last paragraph and double it, because no one wants to take me seriously.
Thirdly, you have to keep up. If you don't buy a book or trade paperback within a few weeks of its release, it seems to disappear. Sure, you can go to the publisher's website or some internet book stores, but keeping up is hard for me. That's why I have a DVR.
Fourthly, the knowledge bank is ridiculous. I just don't even touch the superhero thing. Because if I started now, I might, right before I die manage to get caught up with one hero and all the different adventures, villains, loves, weaknesses and alternate realities that inform each and every story. And yeah, I know, universe reset button, but seriously, don't you think that all those old stories are still informing the new ones?
And all this is to say this: I'm not sure why people who are into comics don't want to make it easier for more people to get into comics. It seems to me, as an experienced geek, that while constantly dealing with people who have no idea what they are talking about might be annoying, bringing more people into the fold is good for the industry.
I can tell you right now, I don't love Twilight. I liked the books, hated the movies. The whole "Team Whoever" thing is more than annoying. But, no matter what I think about Twilight, Twihards have been good for vampires, and those of us who loved vampires before they were doused in glitter. There are more movies, TV shows, books and whatever else you might want that include vampires because Twilight made a shipload of money.
That's what I call - a good thing.
The Walking Dead is, in my opinion, one of the finest things on television. But look around at what it's done for zombies. Seriously. Zombies everywhere. Good zombies, fast zombies, science zombies, magic zombies, funny zombies. Zombie Bill Murray. We are living in a zombie wonderland and I think that rocks. As long as this stuff sells, more of it will pop up. Some of it will suck. Some of it will be awesome, but all of it will exist because there are more people interested in zombies than there were a decade ago.
I wanna be part of this world. But for today, I'll settle for checking Sin City out of the library.
Until college. I was dating this guy and we went to his house for a long weekend. I forgot to bring a book for when I finished the book I was reading, and knowing my guy was a reader, I wandered up to his room and began looking around. Nothing. To this day, I've never figured out where he kept his books. What I did find was three long white boxes of comics. I dug around a little and found some issues of The Maxx. I don't know if you remember this, but that was an MTV cartoon back in the day. I read them, loved them, and then promptly forgot all about it.
Until Joss Whedon announced (years) later that he would be continuing Buffy's story via comic. I believe my first thought was, "I don't care if you scrawl it on napkins and tie them to the legs of carrier pigeons, I'm in."
Since that fateful day, standing in Barnes and Noble with the first trade paperback in my hand (only I called it a compendium, because I didn't know any better), I've read a handful of graphic novels and comics.
And here's the thing: I like them. I like them a lot. I love the idea of story telling through this mash-up of words and art. I love the built in drama. I genuinely enjoy them. And I'd like to read more, but it's hard.
Why?
Well, I'm so glad you asked. First of all, it's difficult to break in. I've had a few kind and friendly guys help me out and suggest what I should read and where I should shop. I've had more roll their eyes at my ignorance and make me feel stupid. A couple of years ago, I went to every comic shop in the city nearest me in search of one particular novel. After being ignored, blown off and in one case, openly mocked by the staff of these stores, I gave up. I still haven't read it.
Secondly, I'm a girl. Take everything in that last paragraph and double it, because no one wants to take me seriously.
Thirdly, you have to keep up. If you don't buy a book or trade paperback within a few weeks of its release, it seems to disappear. Sure, you can go to the publisher's website or some internet book stores, but keeping up is hard for me. That's why I have a DVR.
Fourthly, the knowledge bank is ridiculous. I just don't even touch the superhero thing. Because if I started now, I might, right before I die manage to get caught up with one hero and all the different adventures, villains, loves, weaknesses and alternate realities that inform each and every story. And yeah, I know, universe reset button, but seriously, don't you think that all those old stories are still informing the new ones?
And all this is to say this: I'm not sure why people who are into comics don't want to make it easier for more people to get into comics. It seems to me, as an experienced geek, that while constantly dealing with people who have no idea what they are talking about might be annoying, bringing more people into the fold is good for the industry.
I can tell you right now, I don't love Twilight. I liked the books, hated the movies. The whole "Team Whoever" thing is more than annoying. But, no matter what I think about Twilight, Twihards have been good for vampires, and those of us who loved vampires before they were doused in glitter. There are more movies, TV shows, books and whatever else you might want that include vampires because Twilight made a shipload of money.
That's what I call - a good thing.
The Walking Dead is, in my opinion, one of the finest things on television. But look around at what it's done for zombies. Seriously. Zombies everywhere. Good zombies, fast zombies, science zombies, magic zombies, funny zombies. Zombie Bill Murray. We are living in a zombie wonderland and I think that rocks. As long as this stuff sells, more of it will pop up. Some of it will suck. Some of it will be awesome, but all of it will exist because there are more people interested in zombies than there were a decade ago.
I wanna be part of this world. But for today, I'll settle for checking Sin City out of the library.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
How Much is Too Much
I seriously want to know, so please, please tell me. How much do you do? In an outside the house/work kind of way.
I am on Maren's school's board and I serve on four committees of the Board, which is two too many, so I know that at least. I go to church and I do churchy things, although I have eliminated a lot of my volunteer responsibility church-wise. I help with the girls' Girl Scout troop. I grocery shop for my grandparents. I'm in a bookclub. It doesn't sound like that much.
And yet, I am never home. Some of that is because I love to hang out at my mom's house and I have a hard time leaving. I know that. But, I really feel like I get in this pattern where I have something to do every night and I will never see my house again. I dread the first week of the month like the plague, because that is the week of all the things.
I feel overwhelmed and I'm not sure if I should be. What I want, more than just about anything else, is to have a schedule where running around until ten minutes before bedtime is the exception rather than the rule.
What I want is to cook at home. And clean before the kids are in bed. I want to catch up on my DVR and read curled up in my favorite chair. I want to reclaim my life.
But, I look at that list up there and I can't tell you what I want to get rid of. I want to be involved with my kids' stuff and I want to do churchy things and I'm not giving up bookclub until I'm a corpse. I keep running back into: it doesn't sound like that much.
So, what about it? What do you do? Help me feel less guilty for drawing some more lines.
I am on Maren's school's board and I serve on four committees of the Board, which is two too many, so I know that at least. I go to church and I do churchy things, although I have eliminated a lot of my volunteer responsibility church-wise. I help with the girls' Girl Scout troop. I grocery shop for my grandparents. I'm in a bookclub. It doesn't sound like that much.
And yet, I am never home. Some of that is because I love to hang out at my mom's house and I have a hard time leaving. I know that. But, I really feel like I get in this pattern where I have something to do every night and I will never see my house again. I dread the first week of the month like the plague, because that is the week of all the things.
I feel overwhelmed and I'm not sure if I should be. What I want, more than just about anything else, is to have a schedule where running around until ten minutes before bedtime is the exception rather than the rule.
What I want is to cook at home. And clean before the kids are in bed. I want to catch up on my DVR and read curled up in my favorite chair. I want to reclaim my life.
But, I look at that list up there and I can't tell you what I want to get rid of. I want to be involved with my kids' stuff and I want to do churchy things and I'm not giving up bookclub until I'm a corpse. I keep running back into: it doesn't sound like that much.
So, what about it? What do you do? Help me feel less guilty for drawing some more lines.
Monday, January 28, 2013
African Sleeping Sickness
A funny thing happened this weekend. Saturday, I woke up. At 11:45 a.m. Not only did I sleep approximately 2 and a half hours past my ultimate latest sleep ever anymore. But then I couldn't get out of bed. I didn't feel bad, just really, really tired. I watched some TV and played on my phone, but I couldn't even muster the energy to read.
Finally, at about 2:00 pm, I dragged myself out of bed, showered and headed to town, thanking the powers that be that my kids had spent the night with my mom.
I was a little freaked out about it, but then I got to talking to my mom and I realized a few things:
Finally, at about 2:00 pm, I dragged myself out of bed, showered and headed to town, thanking the powers that be that my kids had spent the night with my mom.
I was a little freaked out about it, but then I got to talking to my mom and I realized a few things:
- I've actually had trouble getting out of bed all last week and even slept through my alarm once for the first time in forever, I think.
- Twice last week, I took a "nap" in car line.
- I've literally dragged my kids kicking and screaming out of bed all last week while they complained that it was still night.
- Brynna had collapsed a little bit before bedtime for the previous three nights, even willingly foregoing bedtime stories one night.
- Maren has been a pain in my hiney lately. I've got no explanation for this, as she is supposed to be happy-go-lucky and a delight.
So, my current theory is that we were all suffering from some sort of sleeping bug? Does such a thing exist? Maren has had a raspy voice and runny nose, but otherwise we've had no symptoms of anything else between the three of us. Just extreme exhaustion and sleepiness. Dr. Google thinks I should get more sleep, drink more water and exercise more. Considering that all three of us had these symptoms for about a week, and are now starting to move away from them (I cleaned the kitchen last night and didn't go to bed until eleven, but I slept through the alarm for a while this morning), I kinda think that's not the whole story.
What do you think? Sleepy time bug? Or just crazy pants blogger?
Friday, January 25, 2013
Five Things on Friday - Warm Me Up Edition
 |
| This is how I feel. And how I would look if I had mittens. |
Additionally, the roads, sidewalks and anything standing still for longer than 30 seconds is coated with a thin sheen of ice. In short, winter is here, friends and neighbors.
And I am cold. This is rare. I don't really get cold. I am almost always hot. Burning up hot. To the point where I don't own many sweaters despite my absolute love of anything sweatery.
So, here are Five Things I Need to Warm Me Up (Complete with Pins):
1. Hot Cocoa - I love cocoa. It is absolutely one of my favorite things in the world. I always think I am going to make something amazing like the pin here, but ultimately, I always microwave milk, stir in a packet of mix and plop down a dollop of whipped cream. You know what? Still amazing. Such is the nature of cocoa.
2. Potato Soup - Truth: I could eat potato soup every night for the rest of my life. Another truth: I've never made it from scratch. I think about it a lot, but there's this mix stuff you can get in the grocery and it is amazing. I sprinkle on some shredded cheese and bacon and a little sour cream and oh, heaven.
3. Couch Blankets - My house has three humans living in it. My living room has seven couch blankets. That is more than two blankets per human. Why? Because we are curl up with a blanket people. Well, maybe I'm curl up with a blanket people.
4. Socks - Not normal socks. Fuzzy socks. Wooly socks. Socks with toes or with bears on them. Rainbow striped socks or Hello Kitty knee socks I've borrowed from my kid. I don't even know why weird socks make me feel warmer and happier, but they do.
As a side note, the four above combined with a book makes the best day ever. Seriously.
5. Turquoise Water - I don't even like the beach. I don't like the sand or water that other animals swim in. I don't like hot sun or seashells stabbing the bottom of my flipflops. I don't like bathing suits, shorts or tank tops. Seriously, the beach and I are not friends. And yet, every year, I have this absolute longing for a deserted tropical island.
Are you cold, too? What do you need to warm you up?
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Forget the Stars, Ikea Makes me Feel Tiny
I went to Ikea this weekend.
I know, I know, I'm just about the last person in America to visit Ikea. In my defense, it's about an hour and half away. Also, I've been on the website and seen a catalog.
But nothing - I repeat, nothing - prepared me for the madness that is that store. In the first place, I didn't know it was possible for a single retail establishment to inhabit that much square footage. I've seriously been to smaller malls.
In the second place, I was there for less than a half hour before I became so overwhelmed that I couldn't even operate anymore. I wandered listlessly from one display to another wondering if I needed a giant paper light fixture or a lime green desk.
I took one of those little list papers and a tiny pencil and wrote exactly nothing on it. I went for curtains and I bought curtains (among other things) so I suppose it was a win, but I'm not sure I really remember much of went on in there.
I'm a small town girl, but I've traveled. I've been to a lot of places: New York, London, Waikiki Beach... And never, ever have I felt so small. Or country.
Or, let's face it, in love. I'd like to redecorate my whole house in Ikea, now. I'm a convert. Albeit, a small, mousey, scared convert.
I know, I know, I'm just about the last person in America to visit Ikea. In my defense, it's about an hour and half away. Also, I've been on the website and seen a catalog.
But nothing - I repeat, nothing - prepared me for the madness that is that store. In the first place, I didn't know it was possible for a single retail establishment to inhabit that much square footage. I've seriously been to smaller malls.
In the second place, I was there for less than a half hour before I became so overwhelmed that I couldn't even operate anymore. I wandered listlessly from one display to another wondering if I needed a giant paper light fixture or a lime green desk.
I took one of those little list papers and a tiny pencil and wrote exactly nothing on it. I went for curtains and I bought curtains (among other things) so I suppose it was a win, but I'm not sure I really remember much of went on in there.
I'm a small town girl, but I've traveled. I've been to a lot of places: New York, London, Waikiki Beach... And never, ever have I felt so small. Or country.
Or, let's face it, in love. I'd like to redecorate my whole house in Ikea, now. I'm a convert. Albeit, a small, mousey, scared convert.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
A Song That Describes Me
I'm going to attempt to do this memey thing called 30 Days of Song. I will not post this every day, because oh-my-pants-I'm-bored-already. Instead I'll post once or twice a week, as I feel like. So there. I am unrepentantly stealing this from Jen O. at My Tornado Alley. She rocks. I'm not sure if she stole it from somewhere, but here we go.
A Song that Describes Me
I think this is sort of self-explanatory: Adam Duritz is secretly in love with me and wrote this song about me. That is all. Except: Adam, honey, put your arms down.
Day 1 - Your Favorite Song - White Blank Page
Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song - Barbie Girl
Day 3 - A Song that Makes You Happy - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Day 4 - A Song that Makes You Sad - Anna Begins
Day 5 - A Song that Reminds you of Someone - Friend of the Devil
Day 6 - A Song that Reminds you of Somewhere - Least Complicated
Day 7 - A Song that Reminds You of a Certain Event - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
Day 8 - A Song that You Know All the Words To - It's the End of the World as We Know It
Day 9 - A Song that You Can Dance to - Some Nights
Day 10 - A Song that Makes you Fall Asleep - Ice Cream
Day 11 - A Song from your Favorite Band - Later On
Day 12 - A Song from a band you Hate - Life is a Highway
Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure - Loving You is the Dumbest Thing
Day 14 - A Song that No One Would Expect you to Love - Mean
Day 15 - A Song that Describes You - She Don't Want Nobody Near (today)
Day 16 - A Song that You Used to Love but Now Hate
Day 17 - A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
Day 18 - A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
Day 19 - A Song from your Favorite Album
Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Angry
Day 21 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Happy
Day 22 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Sad
Day 23 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Wedding
Day 24 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Funeral
Day 25 - A Song that Makes you Laugh
Day 26 - A Song that you Can Play on an Instrument
Day 27 - A Song that you Wish you Could Play
Day 28 - A Song that Makes you Feel Guilty
Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood
Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at this Time Last Year
A Song that Describes Me
I think this is sort of self-explanatory: Adam Duritz is secretly in love with me and wrote this song about me. That is all. Except: Adam, honey, put your arms down.
Day 1 - Your Favorite Song - White Blank Page
Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song - Barbie Girl
Day 3 - A Song that Makes You Happy - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Day 4 - A Song that Makes You Sad - Anna Begins
Day 5 - A Song that Reminds you of Someone - Friend of the Devil
Day 6 - A Song that Reminds you of Somewhere - Least Complicated
Day 7 - A Song that Reminds You of a Certain Event - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
Day 8 - A Song that You Know All the Words To - It's the End of the World as We Know It
Day 9 - A Song that You Can Dance to - Some Nights
Day 10 - A Song that Makes you Fall Asleep - Ice Cream
Day 11 - A Song from your Favorite Band - Later On
Day 12 - A Song from a band you Hate - Life is a Highway
Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure - Loving You is the Dumbest Thing
Day 14 - A Song that No One Would Expect you to Love - Mean
Day 15 - A Song that Describes You - She Don't Want Nobody Near (today)
Day 16 - A Song that You Used to Love but Now Hate
Day 17 - A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
Day 18 - A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
Day 19 - A Song from your Favorite Album
Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Angry
Day 21 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Happy
Day 22 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Sad
Day 23 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Wedding
Day 24 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Funeral
Day 25 - A Song that Makes you Laugh
Day 26 - A Song that you Can Play on an Instrument
Day 27 - A Song that you Wish you Could Play
Day 28 - A Song that Makes you Feel Guilty
Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood
Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at this Time Last Year
Thursday, January 17, 2013
In Which Seanan McGuire Emails Me Because I'm Spiffy
I'm a letter writer. I write my congressmen and companies and all manner of people to complain about things. I wrote to Rush Limbaugh once. And the Southern Baptist Convention. And Sally Jessie Raphael.
I've gotten a bit immune to the letters I receive in return. They are typically form letters on nice stock, with logos embossed. The text basically says that "I read your letter and here's how I feel about the issue you mentioned." It doesn't actually address what I said or the fact that the person whose signature is down there did not, indeed, read anything. Some intern or lackey did and then used some stock language to build three to five paragraphs and stick an automated signature on the bottom.
In all of this letter writing, though, I have never written a piece of fan mail. And I am a fan. Of many, many things and people. But I never told them for two reasons:
I've gotten a bit immune to the letters I receive in return. They are typically form letters on nice stock, with logos embossed. The text basically says that "I read your letter and here's how I feel about the issue you mentioned." It doesn't actually address what I said or the fact that the person whose signature is down there did not, indeed, read anything. Some intern or lackey did and then used some stock language to build three to five paragraphs and stick an automated signature on the bottom.
In all of this letter writing, though, I have never written a piece of fan mail. And I am a fan. Of many, many things and people. But I never told them for two reasons:
- Why should they care? Millions of people think they are spiffy and me telling them of their spiffiness should not really matter in the least.
- Quit reading my damn letter and write something!
Enter Seanan McGuire.
Seanan writes the October Daye series, the In Cryptid series, the Velveteen short stories, and the Newsflesh series (under the name Mira Grant). She also sings, makes art and blogs. Oh, and none of this is her full time job. The woman does all of this amazing while holding down a day job.
So, basically, she's my hero.
In her blog recently, she wrote about a question she had received from a reader and the reader's "threat" to quit reading if the character didn't do what they wanted her to.
This infuriates me for a couple of reason. First of all, you could crowd-source a book, but why would you? The artist needs to follow whatever method and creativity she normally does. Taking "requests" is for call-in radio shows, not authors. Secondly, I don't understand why readers think that threatening to quit reading is such a great motivator. You are one reader. Get over it and quit acting like you are, single-handedly keeping an author in business.
So, I wrote to her. And I told her I loved her. I told her that I named my Jeep October. I told her that she and Georgia (Newsflesh) and October saved me when I all but quit reading. I told her how much her works means to me.
And, she wrote me back. Just to say thanks.
It wasn't a long email or one that said anything particularly earth-shattering, but I gotta tell you, opening up my email and seeing her name in my list made my little day.
But it also taught me a valuable lesson, or I guess, reminded me of one. Tell people you love them. They need to hear it. They appreciate hearing it. And they don't hear it enough. Tell your favorite author or your favorite band or your favorite movie star that they are your favorite. But, also, tell the really good bag boy at the grocery that he rocks and you really appreciate that he never crushes your bread. Tell the secretary at your dentist's office that her pleasant voice makes your reminder calls less scary. Tell the cop directing traffic outside your kids' school that you appreciate him freezing his butt off.
People need to know that they are good at what they do. And that people see them and appreciate them.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Five Things on Friday - 2013 Reading List
I've got what I call "The Backlog." The Backlog is a running list of things that I want to read and will someday get around to. For about nine years, The Lord of the Rings was on my backlog. I finally figured out that I just didn't want to read it. That was liberating.
In any case, one of the many useful side effects of having a raging addiction to Pinterest is that I've finally started to get The Backlog out of my head and somewhere I have a better shot at remembering what's on it. Since this is just an issue of "I pin it when it pops into my head," it's not nearly complete, but it's a good start anyway.
And because it's the beginning of the year, I still have some gift card cash to burn and I've been thinking a lot about what to read next, I thought I'd share:
5 Books I'll be Reading in 2013
1. Locke and Key - by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez - Some day I'm gonna talk about comics. Today, I'm not. Sorry. But, know it's coming. Because I've been reading more than I've ever read and I have Things To Be Said. In the meantime, let me tell you about Locke and Key and why I want to read it. First of all, Joe Hill. Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King and if you're getting a "daddy's boy" vibe here, just drop it. Because it should be a "chip off the old block" vibe. Hill's debut, Heart Shaped Box is one of my all-time favorite books. 20th Century Ghosts, a short story book, was terrific, and despite the corny concept of Horns, it was gripping and amazing. What I'm saying here, is "Hey. Mr. Hill. Joe. I'm recently divorced, totally cute, into horror and I think you should marry me." Last year, I picked up the first volume of Locke and Key and I absolutely loved it. It is the gory, scary, creepy, amazing story of a magical house, Key House, and it's hold in the Locke family. And I want more. But, I hadn't really decided how I felt about e-comics and some other things, so I put it off. But no more. Creepy keys, here I come.
2. Cold Days - by Jim Butcher - Cold Days is the fifteenth in the Dresden Files series. Yes, I said FIFTEENTH. I don't think I've ever made it 15 novels into a series before. I usually get bored way before then. But, I do so love Harry. It helps that the books are the opposite of formulaic. Sometimes ending on a cliffhanger and sometimes seeming to wrap everything up forever, the Dresden books are about a young wizard trying to save Chicago. But more than that, they are about a huge and complicated cast of characters ranging from cops to vampires; from assassins to soldiers; from white knights to demons; from gangsters to fairy godmothers. And the bad guys are usually just as wonderful as the good guys. Cold Days should be full of nice Fae politics which is oddly fun for me. I can't wait.
3. A Wind Through the Key Hole - by Stephen King - It's no secret that SK is my absolute hero. And I have this whole theory about The Dark Tower series and it's import to the body of King's work. So, why didn't I read this unexpected volume the second it hit the shelves. Well... Because. Because it's structure (a story within a story) hearkens most closely to Wizard and Glass, my least favorite of the series. And because I was worried it would be an apology. King took a lot of flack over the last three novels of the series. He seemed to struggle with writing them and readers seemed to struggle with accepting them. And I'll admit that I had my issues, too. But for the most part, I loved the story and I was willing to go wherever it dragged me. And drag me it did, between worlds, between characters and between the love of a character and the love of the story. In short, I don't it messed with. But the time has come. I need to read the story. I need to file it away and accept that if King, in his near infinite wisdom, says the story needs to be told, then the story needs to be heard.
4. Fever Crumb - by Philip Reeve - You know how you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover? Yeah, I do that all the time. Case in point, Philip Reeve. I fell in love with a cover and started digging through to decide what to read first. His covers are so beautifully steampunk and there is just something there that sucks me in. Fever Crumb is a story about a young girl leaving home and discovering that there is more to her than she ever believed. I think. You know, I haven't read it. But the plot synopses for the whole series (oh what, you thought maybe something on this list wasn't a series?) sounds sort of like a fever dream: wild, weird and a little scary.
5. The Tale of Halcyon Crane - by Wendy Webb - This book is:
In any case, one of the many useful side effects of having a raging addiction to Pinterest is that I've finally started to get The Backlog out of my head and somewhere I have a better shot at remembering what's on it. Since this is just an issue of "I pin it when it pops into my head," it's not nearly complete, but it's a good start anyway.
And because it's the beginning of the year, I still have some gift card cash to burn and I've been thinking a lot about what to read next, I thought I'd share:
5 Books I'll be Reading in 2013
1. Locke and Key - by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez - Some day I'm gonna talk about comics. Today, I'm not. Sorry. But, know it's coming. Because I've been reading more than I've ever read and I have Things To Be Said. In the meantime, let me tell you about Locke and Key and why I want to read it. First of all, Joe Hill. Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King and if you're getting a "daddy's boy" vibe here, just drop it. Because it should be a "chip off the old block" vibe. Hill's debut, Heart Shaped Box is one of my all-time favorite books. 20th Century Ghosts, a short story book, was terrific, and despite the corny concept of Horns, it was gripping and amazing. What I'm saying here, is "Hey. Mr. Hill. Joe. I'm recently divorced, totally cute, into horror and I think you should marry me." Last year, I picked up the first volume of Locke and Key and I absolutely loved it. It is the gory, scary, creepy, amazing story of a magical house, Key House, and it's hold in the Locke family. And I want more. But, I hadn't really decided how I felt about e-comics and some other things, so I put it off. But no more. Creepy keys, here I come.
2. Cold Days - by Jim Butcher - Cold Days is the fifteenth in the Dresden Files series. Yes, I said FIFTEENTH. I don't think I've ever made it 15 novels into a series before. I usually get bored way before then. But, I do so love Harry. It helps that the books are the opposite of formulaic. Sometimes ending on a cliffhanger and sometimes seeming to wrap everything up forever, the Dresden books are about a young wizard trying to save Chicago. But more than that, they are about a huge and complicated cast of characters ranging from cops to vampires; from assassins to soldiers; from white knights to demons; from gangsters to fairy godmothers. And the bad guys are usually just as wonderful as the good guys. Cold Days should be full of nice Fae politics which is oddly fun for me. I can't wait.
3. A Wind Through the Key Hole - by Stephen King - It's no secret that SK is my absolute hero. And I have this whole theory about The Dark Tower series and it's import to the body of King's work. So, why didn't I read this unexpected volume the second it hit the shelves. Well... Because. Because it's structure (a story within a story) hearkens most closely to Wizard and Glass, my least favorite of the series. And because I was worried it would be an apology. King took a lot of flack over the last three novels of the series. He seemed to struggle with writing them and readers seemed to struggle with accepting them. And I'll admit that I had my issues, too. But for the most part, I loved the story and I was willing to go wherever it dragged me. And drag me it did, between worlds, between characters and between the love of a character and the love of the story. In short, I don't it messed with. But the time has come. I need to read the story. I need to file it away and accept that if King, in his near infinite wisdom, says the story needs to be told, then the story needs to be heard.
4. Fever Crumb - by Philip Reeve - You know how you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover? Yeah, I do that all the time. Case in point, Philip Reeve. I fell in love with a cover and started digging through to decide what to read first. His covers are so beautifully steampunk and there is just something there that sucks me in. Fever Crumb is a story about a young girl leaving home and discovering that there is more to her than she ever believed. I think. You know, I haven't read it. But the plot synopses for the whole series (oh what, you thought maybe something on this list wasn't a series?) sounds sort of like a fever dream: wild, weird and a little scary.
5. The Tale of Halcyon Crane - by Wendy Webb - This book is:- A ghost story
- not a series
- written for adults.
Which puts it outside the realm of what I've been reading for the last couple of years. But it sounds good. It has mostly good reviews and even the bad reviews don't say it's a terrible book, just not a particularly great one. So, I'm going out on a limb for this one.
So, a couple of questions for you... What are you planning on reading this year? What should be on my list that isn't above?
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Blurring the Lines
For a long time after the Ex moved out and we had decided that divorce was the way to go, I didn't say anything about it here. In truth, I didn't say anything about it anywhere for a long time. When I finally decided that I was going to have to pony up and talk about this thing, I was worried.
Not just about the vulnerability of seeing those words in black and white. I worried about the fact that I have never been secretive about this space. I've never been anonymous. People know this is me and when I meet people, I tell them where to find me online. I've always been proud of my work here. (Even when it's terrible, I'm proud that I'm keepin' at it.)
So. People would see what I had to say. People who know him. His family. His friends. And, well, him. He never read my blog before (which was always a little bit of a blow) but he could. I wasn't sure how to talk about things. How to say what I really thought and what I really felt without saying something that could hurt anyone else.
It's a kind of nightmare when part of who you are is the person who rips her heart out in public.
Eventually, I decided that my guiding light would be the kids. See, at some point, they are going to catch onto the idea of googling themselves and everyone they've ever met. And when they do, they are probably going to find this space. It might not even come to that. They may know that this is here right now and just not have any interest in reading it (or, you know, reading ability in Maren's case). And so everything I write, I write with them in mind. How will this feel to my girls in five years? What will they think of me if they read that?
Sometimes it's stifling, but mostly everyone needs accountability.
So, that's been my rule. WWTKT? (What would the kids think?)
I talk about my depression because I want them to see me seeing a problem and attacking it, even when the problem itself makes me feel like I can't. And it will not always be easy and sometimes I will fail, but they will always see me get back up again.
I talk about my reactions to the divorce because they need to know that it's okay to feel what you feel, not what people think you should be feeling.
I don't talk about their dad. Because... He'll always be their dad. No matter what went down between us. No matter what I feel or think. No matter what.
And that's usually a comfortable line for me. I don't really want to dwell on what was anyway. Especially not when I'm enjoying what is so very, very much.
But some days, days like today, I have a very blurry line. Where what I want to talk about is my feelings about something, my struggle with something. My life and my words and my world inside. But to talk about it, I have to put down some more scary words and these words are as much about the Ex as they are about me.
It's not something I can do today. Maybe next week or next month or next year. It's a story that needs to be told, and so someday I'll tell it. But it's not something I can do right now. But the story I can tell today is about a girl who can't decide which rule is the most important and knows she has to break one.
Don't talk about other people? Open up your heart and bear what's inside? Which one wins out?
Not just about the vulnerability of seeing those words in black and white. I worried about the fact that I have never been secretive about this space. I've never been anonymous. People know this is me and when I meet people, I tell them where to find me online. I've always been proud of my work here. (Even when it's terrible, I'm proud that I'm keepin' at it.)
So. People would see what I had to say. People who know him. His family. His friends. And, well, him. He never read my blog before (which was always a little bit of a blow) but he could. I wasn't sure how to talk about things. How to say what I really thought and what I really felt without saying something that could hurt anyone else.
It's a kind of nightmare when part of who you are is the person who rips her heart out in public.
Eventually, I decided that my guiding light would be the kids. See, at some point, they are going to catch onto the idea of googling themselves and everyone they've ever met. And when they do, they are probably going to find this space. It might not even come to that. They may know that this is here right now and just not have any interest in reading it (or, you know, reading ability in Maren's case). And so everything I write, I write with them in mind. How will this feel to my girls in five years? What will they think of me if they read that?
Sometimes it's stifling, but mostly everyone needs accountability.
So, that's been my rule. WWTKT? (What would the kids think?)
I talk about my depression because I want them to see me seeing a problem and attacking it, even when the problem itself makes me feel like I can't. And it will not always be easy and sometimes I will fail, but they will always see me get back up again.
I talk about my reactions to the divorce because they need to know that it's okay to feel what you feel, not what people think you should be feeling.
I don't talk about their dad. Because... He'll always be their dad. No matter what went down between us. No matter what I feel or think. No matter what.
And that's usually a comfortable line for me. I don't really want to dwell on what was anyway. Especially not when I'm enjoying what is so very, very much.
But some days, days like today, I have a very blurry line. Where what I want to talk about is my feelings about something, my struggle with something. My life and my words and my world inside. But to talk about it, I have to put down some more scary words and these words are as much about the Ex as they are about me.
It's not something I can do today. Maybe next week or next month or next year. It's a story that needs to be told, and so someday I'll tell it. But it's not something I can do right now. But the story I can tell today is about a girl who can't decide which rule is the most important and knows she has to break one.
Don't talk about other people? Open up your heart and bear what's inside? Which one wins out?
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A Song No One Would Expect Me to Like
I'm going to attempt to do this memey thing called 30 Days of Song. I will not post this every day, because oh-my-pants-I'm-bored-already. Instead I'll post once or twice a week, as I feel like. So there. I am unrepentantly stealing this from Jen O. at My Tornado Alley. She rocks. I'm not sure if she stole it from somewhere, but here we go.
A Song that No One Would Expect Me to Like
I like to think that I have a little bit of a rep. I mean, not like street cred, but still. I'm still holding onto grunge. I still believe that alternative is a thing. I'm indie. Ish. Anyway, I'm not the pop princess type, is what I'm saying here.
So, here's the thing... I really love Taylor Swift. And wait, before the yelling starts, let me say a few things. First of all, as a mom, I think it's hard not to love Taylor. She sings clean songs and wears clothes that cover her butt. She's not trampy or trashy or in and out of trouble. She's sort of the always-in-love girl, but you know what, so was I when I was her age. She'll grow out of it.
But even as an adult, I find her stuff sort of... refreshing. It's just kinda straight forward happy-making stuff. (And, okay, I'll admit it. I really want her to read Romeo and Juliet, because there is no way that she understands that everyone dies in the end. Or that they were 14. Or that it's basically a really screwed-up suicide pact.) But anyway. Love her.
Day 1 - Your Favorite Song - White Blank Page
Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song - Barbie Girl
Day 3 - A Song that Makes You Happy - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Day 4 - A Song that Makes You Sad - Anna Begins
Day 5 - A Song that Reminds you of Someone - Friend of the Devil
Day 6 - A Song that Reminds you of Somewhere - Least Complicated
Day 7 - A Song that Reminds You of a Certain Event - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
Day 8 - A Song that You Know All the Words To - It's the End of the World as We Know It
Day 9 - A Song that You Can Dance to - Some Nights
Day 10 - A Song that Makes you Fall Asleep - Ice Cream
Day 11 - A Song from your Favorite Band - Later On
Day 12 - A Song from a band you Hate - Life is a Highway
Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure - Loving You is the Dumbest Thing
Day 14 - A Song that No One Would Expect you to Love (today) - Mean
Day 15 - A Song that Describes You
Day 16 - A Song that You Used to Love but Now Hate
Day 17 - A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
Day 18 - A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
Day 19 - A Song from your Favorite Album
Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Angry
Day 21 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Happy
Day 22 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Sad
Day 23 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Wedding
Day 24 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Funeral
Day 25 - A Song that Makes you Laugh
Day 26 - A Song that you Can Play on an Instrument
Day 27 - A Song that you Wish you Could Play
Day 28 - A Song that Makes you Feel Guilty
Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood
Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at this Time Last Year
A Song that No One Would Expect Me to Like
I like to think that I have a little bit of a rep. I mean, not like street cred, but still. I'm still holding onto grunge. I still believe that alternative is a thing. I'm indie. Ish. Anyway, I'm not the pop princess type, is what I'm saying here.
So, here's the thing... I really love Taylor Swift. And wait, before the yelling starts, let me say a few things. First of all, as a mom, I think it's hard not to love Taylor. She sings clean songs and wears clothes that cover her butt. She's not trampy or trashy or in and out of trouble. She's sort of the always-in-love girl, but you know what, so was I when I was her age. She'll grow out of it.
But even as an adult, I find her stuff sort of... refreshing. It's just kinda straight forward happy-making stuff. (And, okay, I'll admit it. I really want her to read Romeo and Juliet, because there is no way that she understands that everyone dies in the end. Or that they were 14. Or that it's basically a really screwed-up suicide pact.) But anyway. Love her.
Day 1 - Your Favorite Song - White Blank Page
Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song - Barbie Girl
Day 3 - A Song that Makes You Happy - Birdhouse in Your Soul
Day 4 - A Song that Makes You Sad - Anna Begins
Day 5 - A Song that Reminds you of Someone - Friend of the Devil
Day 6 - A Song that Reminds you of Somewhere - Least Complicated
Day 7 - A Song that Reminds You of a Certain Event - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
Day 8 - A Song that You Know All the Words To - It's the End of the World as We Know It
Day 9 - A Song that You Can Dance to - Some Nights
Day 10 - A Song that Makes you Fall Asleep - Ice Cream
Day 11 - A Song from your Favorite Band - Later On
Day 12 - A Song from a band you Hate - Life is a Highway
Day 13 - A Song that is a Guilty Pleasure - Loving You is the Dumbest Thing
Day 14 - A Song that No One Would Expect you to Love (today) - Mean
Day 15 - A Song that Describes You
Day 16 - A Song that You Used to Love but Now Hate
Day 17 - A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
Day 18 - A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
Day 19 - A Song from your Favorite Album
Day 20 - A Song that You Listen to When You're Angry
Day 21 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Happy
Day 22 - A Song that you Listen to when You're Sad
Day 23 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Wedding
Day 24 - A Song that you Want to Play at your Funeral
Day 25 - A Song that Makes you Laugh
Day 26 - A Song that you Can Play on an Instrument
Day 27 - A Song that you Wish you Could Play
Day 28 - A Song that Makes you Feel Guilty
Day 29 - A Song from Your Childhood
Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at this Time Last Year
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Like Harrison Ford I'm Feeling Frantic
This morning when I woke up, peacefully and quietly, without the blare of the alarm, I immediately knew something was wrong. There was too much light. Too much time had passed since I convinced Maren at 5:15 to lay back down for a half hour. I couldn't remember setting the alarm.
It is in these moments that I am most amazed at what I can accomplish. At 7:00, I leaped from bed and ran to Brynna's room. "Car line starts at TEN minutes," I yelled around my toothbrush, already moving. Walking back to my room, I yanked the pajama top off Maren's head, got myself dressed, paused to help her get the dress over head and stuck earrings in my pocket.
Into the kitchen, I had lunch packed in record time and didn't even pause to consider what to do when I realized we were out of carrots. (Add pineapple. Two fruits instead of a fruit and a vegetable is still better than crackers or cheese or something.)
Within 15 minutes, the windshield was scraped, and my clothed, clean and prepared children were in the car and we were heading toward town. (Let's not talk about hair. None of us remembered to brush our hair.)
We were 15 minutes late to Brynna's school, but Maren made car line and I was still five minutes early to work. Not a bad start for someone who woke up a full hour and fifteen minutes late.
The thing about that rush, that crazy, don't look back, don't stop moving, just keep going at all costs rush, though is that it's hard to turn off. Pulling up in front of Montessori, I practically tossed Maren out of the car door, breaking protocol and rules because I forgot where I was. I tore up the Interstate on the way to work, even though I knew by then I had plenty of time. And I ran around the office like a crazy person flipping on lights and unlocking doors and generally acting like an idiot, even after I knew that I was early.
This. This is the story of my life, right now. I feel like I haven't stopped in weeks. The truth is that just a few, short days ago, I slept until 11:00 a.m. Just this past weekend, I spent a lazy Saturday shopping and then catching up on my DVR. And yet, here I am just a few days later and I feel like I've been going nonstop for weeks.
Why is that?
It's because I'm letting it get to me. We're moving the office at Small NonProfit. I'm waiting on budget approval for a bunch of expenditures. I'm trying to be as great as my new boss thinks I am. And that's just at work. At home, I've got things scheduled LITERALLY every night this week. My house is a wreck and my cats don't remember what I look like.
The stress may kill me. I just keep trying to remind myself that if it does, it's because I let it.
It is in these moments that I am most amazed at what I can accomplish. At 7:00, I leaped from bed and ran to Brynna's room. "Car line starts at TEN minutes," I yelled around my toothbrush, already moving. Walking back to my room, I yanked the pajama top off Maren's head, got myself dressed, paused to help her get the dress over head and stuck earrings in my pocket.
Into the kitchen, I had lunch packed in record time and didn't even pause to consider what to do when I realized we were out of carrots. (Add pineapple. Two fruits instead of a fruit and a vegetable is still better than crackers or cheese or something.)
Within 15 minutes, the windshield was scraped, and my clothed, clean and prepared children were in the car and we were heading toward town. (Let's not talk about hair. None of us remembered to brush our hair.)
We were 15 minutes late to Brynna's school, but Maren made car line and I was still five minutes early to work. Not a bad start for someone who woke up a full hour and fifteen minutes late.
The thing about that rush, that crazy, don't look back, don't stop moving, just keep going at all costs rush, though is that it's hard to turn off. Pulling up in front of Montessori, I practically tossed Maren out of the car door, breaking protocol and rules because I forgot where I was. I tore up the Interstate on the way to work, even though I knew by then I had plenty of time. And I ran around the office like a crazy person flipping on lights and unlocking doors and generally acting like an idiot, even after I knew that I was early.
This. This is the story of my life, right now. I feel like I haven't stopped in weeks. The truth is that just a few, short days ago, I slept until 11:00 a.m. Just this past weekend, I spent a lazy Saturday shopping and then catching up on my DVR. And yet, here I am just a few days later and I feel like I've been going nonstop for weeks.
Why is that?
It's because I'm letting it get to me. We're moving the office at Small NonProfit. I'm waiting on budget approval for a bunch of expenditures. I'm trying to be as great as my new boss thinks I am. And that's just at work. At home, I've got things scheduled LITERALLY every night this week. My house is a wreck and my cats don't remember what I look like.
The stress may kill me. I just keep trying to remind myself that if it does, it's because I let it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)