This is me...blogging

And it feels weird....

You know all those lame, awful, ridiculous things people say when they break up? The whole "its not you, its me..." genre? Or, better yet, "We're the two right people but at the wrong time..." That's what I feel like saying to my blog.

I just can't get it together. Let's be honest, it isn't the blog's fault. Last week I actually said the words "I guess I'll go to Target today since I got dressed." Since. I. Got. Dressed. I've turned into one of those stay at home moms with the wild hair and crazy eyes desperate for contact with the outside world. But instead of nurturing a small child, I'm nurturing my dissertation. And it is slowly sucking the life out of me...but in a good way. As if that makes sense. I'm in a routine. A routine that doesn't really include thinking about anything other than the media representation of Muslim women. A routine that doesn't, obviously, include blogging. This is the point where I should apologize for being a bad friend about not returning phone calls...or sending holiday mail...or having anything to say when we talk.

But perhaps the real reason I don't blog is that I feel guilty. I feel guilty for feeling like I have nothing to say. I feel guilty for being silent. It is a privilege to stay at home and write. It is a privilege to get paid to think. It is a privilege not to have to wait in line for unemployment payment. It is a privilege to be removed from reality.

I don't fool myself. I know you don't look here for insight or knowledge so you aren't expecting the great American blog post. But I also know you don't look here for completely self-absorbed posts about my writing and whining.

But hopefully you look here for memes because I've got one coming up*....

hugs...

*thanks, slightly

8 Things

Thanks, Slightly!

8 TV shows that I watch:
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. Dirty Sexy Money
3. Top Chef
4. College Football
5. Paula Deen
6. Rachel Maddow Show
7. Meet The Press
8. What Not To Wear

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Farm 255
2. Five and Ten
3. Casa Mia
4. Big City Bread
5. The Lady and Sons
6. Mongolian BBQ
7. Siri Thai
8. West End Cafe

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Read a couple papers written by friends and gave feedback
2. Made Toad in a Hole for breakfast
3. Laughed
4. Took a liking to french babies who tell stories with great flair and charm
5. Dissertated
6. Worried
7. Drank some good wine while we lingered over dinner
8. Read for pleasure

8 Things That I am Looking Forward To:
1. Visiting San Diego
2. Seeing family over the holidays
3. Getting a job
4. Seeing what will happen
5. Defending the dissertation
6. Obama's Presidency
7. Receiving the jeans that I ordered
8. My friends having babies

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. Anything from Le Creuset in Cobalt or Kiwi
2. A Job
3. Vintage drinkware
4. A puppy that doesn't shed, bark or have accidents inside the house
5. These boots
6. Patience
7. A new laptop
8. Unlimited (free) airfare to visit the people I miss

8 Things I Love:
1. Books
2. Soup
3. NPR
4. Curly Hair
5. Spicy Food
6. Champagne
7. Long dinners with wine, friends and music
8. Sunday mornings in bed with a paper and coffee

8 Things I Can’t Stand:
1. Unacknowledged privilege
2. Using war to solve problems rather than diplomacy and understanding
3. Mushrooms
4. Poverty
5. Gender norms
6. Clutter
7. Loud music
8. Bad cell phone etiquette

I don't think there are 8 people that read anymore...I'm a bad blogger...but if you're reading this, I want to know your 8 things.

Tagged!

Quaker Dave tagged me on this meme. Since the blogging inspiration has been thin lately, this is the perfect thing to get my mind going.

1. List these rules on your blog. (check)

2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog. (check)

3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Fact #1: I hate being in cold water. I love to swim but hate that chill you feel when you first enter the water. And I'm too impatient to wait through the adjustment moments when your body gets used to the temperature. This past week, I was on vacation with my family. It was 90+ degrees out and I sat in the hot tub. I loved every minute of it.

Fact #2: The first time I got in "trouble" for talking in school was in the first grade. I was asked to sit in the hall and told that my teacher liked "quiet little girls." The talking has continued. As has my inability to get along with people who like "quiet girls."

Fact #3: I play the clarinet. Technically I played the clarinet. I haven't picked one up in about 10 years but I played for a really long time and was actually pretty good. What's funny is that now I hate the sound of clarinet(s) in music. Luckily not many artists whip out their clarinet to accompany their singing.

Fact #4: There are quite a few major movie series that I've never seen. Where to begin.....Star Wars, Rocky, Terminator, Die Hard, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Lethal Weapon, Harry Potter, Jaws, Silence of the Lambs, Nightmare on Elm. And I'm okay with each and every one. Some of them I started to watch and ended up stopping. Others I never even tried.

Fact #5: I had a long-term pen pal for most of my childhood. We met through the Disney magazine and exchanged letters for more than 10 years. We even met in person one time. I still love to write letters although I don't send them nearly enough.

Fact #6: I feel like I'm the only one in America who doesn't browse Youtube regularly, think McSweeney's is funny, enjoy Seinfeld, consider Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a good book, and desire an Iphone. Also? I don't like funnel cakes, apple pie, yogurt with fruit in it, chocolate ice cream, pudding or nacho cheese Doritos. And for the sake of full disclosure, I haven't read a single Jody Picoult book and I think John Grisham is overrated. No offense to these lovely individuals.

Fact #7: I drink champagne even when it isn't a special occasion and I like bloody mary's even when it isn't morning.

Ok. I'm not going to tag 7 people but I will tag Maeve and Kourt. I'd love for others to do it as well but I know that they won't. So I won't even tag them. I hate rejection. But let me know in the comments if you participate!

Jumping in

As if I need to procrastinate even more....

I've joined Twitter. You should as well. I'm still a little scared of it. People are funny. How can people be funny in 140 letters or less? I need to figure this out.

http://twitter.com/klementine

The Summer of Rafa!

In what I can only describe as the best tennis match I've ever seen....Rafael Nadal stripped Roger Federer of his Wimbledon crown. The demolition comes one month after a complete face crush of Federer in the final of the French Open.

While I don't dislike Federer, I adore Rafa. I'm a happy girl!

Wherein I remember I have a blog

And I write things....

While I generally don't like to apologize for slacking on projects that are optional (like this blog), I do regret my lengthy absence. I've had a conference to attend, a home state to return to, a dissertation to write, and leisure to enjoy. Really, I'm spent. But I have found some blogging motivation. Aren't we all excited?

A couple things.....

1. I adore this charming post over at Paper Cuts about things found in books. They report on the things booksellers have discovered in books, from a letter by C.S. Lewis to a baby’s tooth to Mickey Mantle’s rookie baseball card to thousand dollar bills. I just use a plain ole bookmark and post-it tabs. I'm practical and boring. I'm also poor.

2. MSNBC is doing a Veepstakes. They have picked the 32 most likely VP candidates for each party, seeded them, and we get to pick our bracket. Drew and I are LOVING this. The first round of the Democratic Party is up but don't get too excited, you have to wait a week for the next round. Very fun. Plus, it gives you lots of names to research and talk about in your political circles.

3. Great op-ed from the NYT last week about "Hillary's Next Campaign." Anna Holmes argues (quite persuasively) that it should be actively working against sexism and racism. I've been complaining for quite some time that I would have liked to have seen Clinton really address some of the double binds she faced. Don't only use sex/gender as a talking point when it serves you well. Use sex/gender when it doesn't and openly confront the sexism, patriarchy and misogyny that exists. Obama should do that as well but that's another post.

4. I've been doing quite a bit of reading. You should become my Goodreads friend and check it out.

The one in which I become that woman...

...The crazy woman.

8:59 am. Grocery store. Morning breath and hair. On the conveyor belt? Two boxes of brownie mix, some red wine and stamps. My nice southern clerk tilts her head and asks:

are you okay today?

I'm pretty sure there is an emergency prayer meeting in the break room right now.

You Probably Didn't Know....

Inspired by this one and this one. Also? A desperate attempt to prove I'm not as cliche as this one makes me sound....

...Live concerts unnerve me because music is played in a different order than one finds on the cd. It normally takes me until the first chorus to stop humming the song my memory tells me is supposed to be playing.

I'm desperate to find myself on the pages of a novel, the canvas of a painting or the lyrics of a song. A muse of sorts. But I know I'd secretly feel betrayed by the violation of my privacy.

In a perfect example of my impatience, I've burnt rings in the bottom of my dutch oven because I turned the heat up too high. The instructions clearly told me not to cook above medium heat. It gives it character, says Drew. It gives it my character, says me.

I can't stand the red and green color combination. I decorate for the Christmas season in silver and blue. In fact, most holiday color combinations are hideous. People lose all sense when it comes to holidays.

I like the way people look when they have their hands in their pockets. It charms me.

I can drink hot drinks year round but only eat ice cream when its warm outside. I eat ice any chance I get. It is a horrible habit.

I'm beginning to like Jon and Kate Plus 8 more than LA Ink. TLC programming is perhaps linked to stages of life. Just a new theory Drew and I are working on....

I don't like socks, tight shoes, or carpet. I can't think when my feet are restricted. I'm skeptical of people who wear socks to bed. It seems they're just asking for a night of taunted sleep.

I obsess about the color of my lips. I over-exfoliate, use more than a dime-size of moisturizer, shampoo everyday and don't floss enough. I'm okay with that.

I like to talk to strangers. It always makes me think of my grandfather.

Happy (Fake) Love Day..tomorrow

As most of you know, I think Valentine's Day is a large bunch of ridiculousness. I posted about it last year resulting in some controversy. I like love. I like romance. I just don't like those things occurring on a designated day. And I don't enjoy holidays that reek of heterosexual conditioning. But whateves. To each their own. I'm willing to meet you half way....

So if you want a little romance in your life tomorrow, you should pick up this book. Other people's love letters?!?! Count me in.

Fevered notes scribbled on napkins after first dates. Titillating text messages. It's-not-you-it's-me relationship-enders. In Other People’s Love Letters, Bill Shapiro has searched America’s attics, closets, and cigar boxes and found actual letters–unflinchingly honest missives full of lust, provocation, guilt, and vulnerability–written only for a lover’s eyes. Modern love, of course, is not all bliss, and in these pages you’ll find the full range of a relationship, with its whispered promises as well as its heartache. But what at first appears to be a deliciously voyeuristic peek into other people’s most passionate moments, will ultimately reawaken your own desires and tenderness…because when you read these letters, you’ll find the heart you’re looking into is actually your own.

Letters on napkins? That is romance. Lust, provocation, guilt? Romance for sure.

I'm reading My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams right now. It combines two of my favorite things--being nosy and following politics.

A charming review can be found here of Shapiro's Love Letter book.

The year I become a morning person

I've mentioned before how I feel about mornings (not fond) and how well Drew and I function in the early hours (not well). Every year Drew and I resolve to "be better in the morning." We will get up. We will be nice. We will read the news like civilized beings. We will! We will! We will! But then we don't. And we know we won't. Until this year. Yes, folks, 2008 is the year of the mornings. But we can't take all the credit, we have help. We have the Krups Grinder-Coffee Maker. And it is magical. Behold....


One of the nicer things in our kitchen, the coffee maker is making mornings a teeny bit easier. We've been morning functional for about a week now. We utilize the aroma feature and every morning we hear the faint sound of the grinder and smell a little bit of very fresh cocoa bean heaven float up the stairs. Yesterday at dinner Drew actually said he (get ready) liked the morning routine so far. Who can blame him? We begin the day like civilized adults. 2008 is one crazy year.

Students doing good work!

The environmental communication class here at UGA did an interesting project for their class final. In order to raise awareness about how wasteful (and unnecessary) bottled water is, they built an igloo out of non-recycled water bottles and used the igloo to attract a crowd of people to educate.

I love it.

They've put together a documentary about their campaign. Watch it! It is great!



Listen hard and you can hear the Modern Skirts!

Great video and great project! I'm proud of the SPCM students!

You know you've had a good weekend when...

...you have tan lines where you smile...

This weekend my beloved Central Michigan played Clemson University. Since I now reside in the southern half of the US, I could easily make it to this game...and I did. Along with about 400 other alum (including my college roomies Maeve and Aaron), Drew and I watched the Chips get pounded by the Clemson Tigers. Even though the score was 70 to 14 (I wish I was exaggerating), we had a blast and I smiled the whole day. I smiled so much that when I got home after the (very) long day in the sun, the only white skin on my face was within the folds of my smile.

That, folks, is a good weekend.

And we're already planning the next one. In a weekend that will surely be titled "when schools collide," CMU plays UGA on September 6, 2008. WATCH OUT WORLD.

One of the few times CMU got to the end zone

Maeve and I were all smiles pretty much all day

Trenday Thursday

*giggle*

So I was going to tell you about all these trendy things that I love. But then I remembered I'm not really all that trendy.

But I do love stuff.

Some stuff I'm loving right now? Well thanks for asking....

These freaking Pretzel Crisp things. They are all natural, non fattening, flattened pretzels. Healthy and delish. Right now we have the garlic flavor and I cannot get enough of them.

Cheap-ass glasses. I haven't gotten glasses since my senior year of college. Yes, that was a long time ago. I recently got a new prescription so I've been in search for a good site. And um.....I FOUND IT. Zenni Optical is so cheap I might actually get two pairs! And the glasses are awesome and cute. I have a hard time buying glasses because I have all these hold over self-esteem issues from when I was in second grade and had these enormous plastic frames and people made fun of me hated them. It was not a good look for me. (It should also be noted that I resisted capri's for a long time because they made me flash back to junior high when my pants were always just a little too short for my gangly, weird legs.)

Have you been watching that Dirty, Sexy, Money show? We caught this show last night and LOVED it. So we may be regular watchers. I recommend it. The best part is that they have a transsexual as a regular/main character who isn't a joke! That's right. A serious storyline about someone who defies the gender binary. In general, the characters on this show are super interesting.

Gap has these wide leg pants that are absolutely amazing if you have gangly, weird legs like me. I wish I could wear them everyday. But I don't. But I do wear them a lot. I look snazzy.

Last...and I'm hesitant to mention this one for fear of judgment from my dear internets readers. I. Love. *ahem* Sienna Miller. *cough* I have recently watched Factory Girl and Interview. Miller is in both. And she is fantastic. Especially in Factory Girl. Yes, yes I know she needs to gain about 20+ pounds. And I know that she called Pittsburgh Shitsburgh. But she is very talented. At times she is a bit over the top in Interview but I think that is the result of the movie being a 2 hour dialogue between two people. A very demanding script. WOW. But I cut her some slack because Factory Girl is a little slice of brilliant and I wanted to give her lots of hugs after I watched it.

Ok. You're caught up now.

America At Home

I never considered myself a homebody. In high school, college and the first couple years of graduate school I loved going out. Meeting people. Spending weekends out and about. Traveling. Exploring. A night in was almost a punishment.

As I've gotten older, those tendencies have decreased. I still love going out and do it a good deal (as my shutterfly account will show). But now I also enjoy being home. Relish the weekends when Drew and I can enjoy our routine. A reward to me is staying in, reading in bed, and relaxing in our home. A movie in rather than out. Breakfast made in our own kitchen and eaten while in our pajamas. I'm not sure when the change started. Or exactly why.

But the theme of this project really resonates with me.

The co-creator of the best-selling A Day in the Life and America 24/7 book series invites you to participate in America at Home, a nationwide photo project, September 17 to 23, 2007. For seven days, everyone in America is invited to join 100 of the nation's leading photojournalists to capture "the emotions of home." The goal of the project is to capture the extraordinary diversity that makes up American family life, representing a broad range of economic, geographic, racial, political, and socially diverse lifestyles.

The Daily Assignments range from Bedtime Rituals and Your Sanctuary. There are some photos on the site and more to come in a book

I'm a danger

Stolen from my friend Cagney.....

Things I love that maybe you shouldn't-

* Eating food that is way, way too hot to swallow
* Speaking my mind. Always. No matter the audience
* The smell of gasoline, Sharpies, White-Out and scotch tape
* Very hot showers
* Speaking in public
* Aggressive driving
* Making inappropriate jokes because I trust that people know I'm joking
* Karaoke
* Vodka and champagne and gin (often in the same night but rarely in the same drink)

Some words about enlightenment

As an avid list-maker, you can be sure I friggin lurve this article.

The New York Times talks about different people and different goals on their life lists. They claim that lists are becoming widely popular among the "harried masses." Oh the snobby Times. How I love thee.

I have multiple life lists. I have a list of things to do before I'm 30 for my own personal fulfillment. Every year Drew and I make a list of things we want to do together that includes traveling, reading, cooking, etc. I have a career list with hopes that it will keep me focused and progressing.

Check out the article--especially the comment section. Lots of people have posted their personal lists. Totally fascinating. I can't believe how many people have "write a book" on their list. Many people also have "fall madly in love." It doesn't get more "harried masses" than that.

Some words about judging and being judged

As you know, I spend a lot of time in coffee shops. I do work, spy on people, judge coffee orders of fellow patrons. The usual. I become enraged by one or more of the following things: when people refer to the man/woman behind the counter as a barista--aloud, order anything with soy, ask to see the size of the cup before making a decision, and/or refuse to let others order ahead of them even though they clearly do not know what they want. Rage. I also get very angry when the workers at "my" coffee shop act like they don't know my order. But that is a completely different post.

In short, I dislike high maintenance coffee shop patrons. Which makes this quiz even more funny. Oh the Oracle of Starbucks, you funny, funny little sh*t.

My rating:
Personality type: High Maintenance

You pride yourself on being assertive and direct; everyone else thinks you're bossy and arrogant. You're constantly running your mouth about topics that only you would find interesting. Your capacity for wasting other people's time is limitless. Your friends find you intolerable, that's why they're plotting to kill you.

Also drinks: Water. Bottled, chilled, with four ice cubes, a twist of lemon, in a crystal glass.

Can also be found at: Trendy martini bars

Now, I don't go to Starbucks. I go to local places. Local places that probably don't offer their employees insurance. I'm okay with that because those employees don't remember my order. My very high maintenance order.

I'll let you guess the drink. You probably already know the bossy, assertive, arrogant thing.

Some words about singing

I'm not sure how you all are going to feel about what I'm going to say.

*nervous cough*

I. Really. Really. Likekaraoke.

Yes. Karaoke.

I always have. I received my first karaoke machine when I was in jr. high. I used to costume my friends and we would perform for my family. Parties, family game nights, after dinner. Didn't matter the time, you could count on some singing. At that time, my favorite tune was Garth Brooks Two of a Kind. I could belt out some Garth Brooks. I've always loved to sing. In my dance class when I was 6, my teacher yelled at me (in front of the whole class) for "singing more than I danced." Whatever.

I still love to sing. I've been a regular karaoke'er since my junior year of college. I had a group of people that I regularly sang with. I moved up from Garth to Four Non Blondes and Neil Diamond. I fancied myself quite good. I even remember a few nights that my friend Maeve and I would drunkingly heckle the other singers for not being up to snuff. See, it isn't that I'm a good singer. I'm really not. Rather, I throw myself body and soul into the performance. I have a good time. I get the crowd involved.

Case in point. A couple years ago, I returned to my (very small) hometown. I went to the ONE bar in town on karaoke night. I ran into people I had not seen since high school. It was awkward. It is safe to say that I was a bit of an outcast in my tiny, conservative town. Still am, I guess. But nothing a few drinks couldn't fix. It got to be the end of the night. I hadn't sang all night. I grabbed my sister, a couple friends, and gave Drew the camera. It was legendary. Me+Journey+shots=yelling at the crowd to put their hands together. Me+Journey+shots+not enough crowd participation=screaming at the crowd as I approached their seats demanding they put their hands together. Most people did.

It is all in the performance.

Karaoke is really getting popular now-a-days. There is a video game. There is this internet service. There are tv shows (which I watch religiously). There is a new bar in the ATH that offers karaoke Japanese style. Oh yeah. Just like Lost in Translation. You and a bunch of friends rent a room and sing your hearts out while strange Korean videos play on a screen. It is brilliant. Needless to say, I LOVE IT.

What's that? You want pictures? If you insist.

* More pictures worthy of some viewing at my shutterfly

Words about Words

When I was in elementary school, I was in a club called "Word Masters." While I shudder at the title now, the group was a lot of fun and it helped me kick ass* on one section of the GRE. We learned new vocabulary words, did analogies and other fun word puzzles. I loved it. (Lest, you think I was a complete nerd in those days, it was school sponsored and I was invited to join by my teacher--this was not something I put together myself and *ahem* mastered alone. I was far too busy organizing groups called "The Nifty Niners" and "Girls Who Like Sports.")

I've always liked words, their origins and definitions. I just don't like spelling the words. Words=good. Spelling=bad. I'm also pretty bad at the pronunciation. I think it is because I do so much silent reading (or because I'm actually NOT a word master), but I often say words aloud (like while I'm teaching, perhaps) and think to myself "Is that how you say that word? Crap, did I just say the wrong word?" Other times, Drew gives me a blank stare and says, "What word is that?" and I realize that I made it up.

I did pretty well at THIS. American Heritage Dictionary has put out a list of 100 words every high school graduate (and their parents) should know. Fun!


*By "kick ass," I mean "do average" but do WAY better than I did on the math section**.

** And by "math section," I mean "the part of the test that made me feel like the dumbest person on the face of the planet.

A Little Hope...

Recently a couple of friends recommended we watch Cash Cab--a game show on the Discovery Channel that takes place in a New York City cab and involves asking the randomly selected passengers trivia questions for money.

I'm addicted. You should watch it. Seriously.

The best part is that I've seen some VERY smart people on the show. Impressive people. People who give me hope that our country isn't as dumb as I thought.

I love t.v. that boosts morale.