Since I work from home right now (hello, have i mentioned that before? oh! i have. that's right) and have large amounts of time to complete a large amount of work, i am obsessed with finding the perfect writing routine. I've played around with different writing locations, schedules, ideas....I've settled into a pretty good rhythm but I'm still obsessed with this blog Daily Routines which chronicles how writers and artists manage their time. The entries range from Emily Dickinson to Thomas Friedman and my favorite entry is Jonathan Safran Foer. But that's just because he's dreamy.
Are you in the mood for some guitar, piano and banjo music? How about ridiculously strong vocals and awesome lyrics? Yes?
You must download some Avett Brothers ASAP, then.
I had heard some Avett Brothers stuff before this year but I wasn't always the biggest fan. They were a bit too heavy for me. Noisy like. However, their two most recent albums are so fantastic and different and awesome that I can't stop listening to them. We saw them live in October and they put on an incredible show which made me like them even more. They are dreamy. In a rugged, alt country, folk kinda way.
You need to start clicking away on itunes and buy Emotionalism and The Second Gleam. Too much?
Well, download these.... I Would Be Sad Die, Die, Die Weight of Lies Murder in the City
And you'll like them so much you'll be back for more. Guarantee it.
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*....
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 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.
I rang in the victory with some really great people last night. When the call came in at exactly 11:00, we were in the middle of an intense round of presidential trivia. It took about 1.2 seconds for the news to sink in. In unison we started screaming, high-fiving, crying, and embracing. We were so happy. And proud. And relieved. Admittedly we were a little slap happy and alcohol-flushed but we couldn't help but remark that we would remember the night for the rest of our lives. To be honest, I can't stop getting choked up. As I re-watch the tender moment between Michelle and the President elect, the tears slip out and down the cheeks. As I re-listen to the narrative at the end of Obama's speech, the nose starts running.
For me, the night signals a change. A change that I have been hoping for since the night I didn't sleep in 2000. A change in the way Washington approaches issues... A change in the way the American people will view sacrifice, responsibility, and democracy. Obama won, in record numbers, the votes of young voters and racial minorities. People who have often felt left out of the two-party system. It speaks volumes of what Obama signals.
Of course, I can't help but reflect on the areas we still have to "win." California values livestock more than (gay) humans. Turn out was pretty low in key states like Ohio. These things still signal that lefties have a lot of work to do. But we're ready. We're inspired. We have a leader we trust.
I can't wait to see how the next 4 years turn out!
* I trust women and I want to see them healthy and happy. I believe in a woman's right to choose and that women's health should never be put in air quotes. 19 million women are uninsured in this country and women are more likely than men to go without care in order to cut costs. I favor health care that is available for all and comprehensive. Birth control and contraceptive methods should be affordable and prevalent. Obama has fought to maintain funding for the Centers of Excellence in Women's Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. He also supports legislation to encourage research that will examine gender and health disparities. The same legislation would establish community outreach programs in underserved areas to help women access health care and maintain healthy lifestyles. Obama supports the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods.
* I am middle class and fiscally responsible. Obama will not raise my taxes. I am not an oil company nor in a household making over 200K a year. I don't own a business which exports all my labor over seas. If I was, I might consider McCain. To vote against my economic interests is...in a nutshell... stupid. Inherent in the idea that I'm fiscally responsible is the notion that tax dollars should be used for the good of all. I do not subscribe to tokin'ism. So I believe the Oprah Winfreys, Bill Gates, and Horatio Algers of the world are the exception. Until it is the rule that all people (regardless of race, gender, geographic location, and luck of the birth draw) have a fair shake, I will continue to vote for people who support pooling resources for the good of the many rather than the few. This means I see it as beneficial to financially support things like universal health care and public schools. Despite being communitarian in nature, it is fiscally responsible. It saves the US money in the long run and makes us more competitive world-wide. To be fiscally responsible means to vote democratic.
* I am anti-war.
* I am pro-environment. I believe that global warming is person-made--just as solutions should be. Obama will invest money in green-collar jobs. He supports alternate energy.
* I trust Joe Biden more than I trust Sarah Palin. McCain himself said he "might have to rely on a vice president" for expertise on economic issues. Sarah Palin has none. In these economic times, we need a president with a plan and with good people surrounding him.
