|
that_lit_chick
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: christine
Interests: Becoming more interesting...
Expertise: based on the papers i've had to write: fetishes, Jesus in modern art, 16th c Protestant Propaganda, Medea on Roman sarcophagi, lipstick as a feminist movement, American funerals
Occupation: grad school
Industry: nerd-dom
Message: message me
Member Since:
6/22/2005
|
|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| I'm trying to give up coffee. Can you believe it? I've been reading "Rebecca" recently, which, if you haven't already read it, is a delightfully dramatic novel about an English estate and a dead chick. The characters drink tea. A lot. Almost as many times as grizzled detectives in noir mysteries light up a cigarette. Anyway, I'm trying to be better about budgeting, etc, and it suddenly occurred to me that I like tea, tea is cheaper than coffee, but it still has caffeine. As of right now, I am two days in to my great experiment of swapping Twinning's Irish Breakfast Tea for a Lavazza Americano, and I'm thrilled that I have managed to avoid my drug of choice for TWO WHOLE DAYS.
Oddly enough, part of me worries about losing my identity. Coffee is a thing I like, as some women emphasize the role of chocolate in their life or some men wind up getting golf-related items every Christmas. Generally I hate kitschy decorating themes, but if someone has a painting labeled "cafe latte" I tend to think it's kind of cute. I love discovering that a travel buddy makes as many Starbucks stops as I do. I like having something to look forward to every morning, a tiny comfortable ritual that makes work not seem so grim. I like being recognized at a coffeeshop, and teased about how I'm still getting my Americanos iced even though the Christmas decorations have gone up. All that money I'm saving will be worth it when I get two spend two weeks in Europe, or whatever, but mornings are a little bleak. The tea helps.
I'm having coffee this Saturday, I think, waking up and listening to the radio for a while before I do all things I have to do. I'm hoping I can turn my addiction on and off like that. We will see.
| | |
| So i have this terrible, terrible habit that I need to work on not indulging. Everyone is familiar with the concept of money laundering, right? Taking nasty things like drug money and funneling it through a legitimate business so that everyone can feel okay about using it? (Not exactly a legal definition, but work with me here.) Years ago when Princess Diana died, someone mentioned photo laundering---major news organizations pretended to agree with the public that it was terrible that journalists took pictures of the crash, but then they showed the pictures. It was a way of catering to the public's sensationalist appetite while pretending to keep their integrity intact. "It was terrible that they took these pictures. Look at them. Yuck. Keep looking."
I'm noticing I do the same with complaining about people. I think venting your frustrations is a good thing, but it's been hard lately to figure out the line between venting as a coping mechanism and, well, bitching needlessly and gossiping. And I think it is as a result of this discomfort that I have a tendency to say things like, "well, I know I shouldn't say this, but..." or "I mean, she's a lovely person, but..." or telling a story that, verbally, is completely innocent but is designed to elicit a response that will imitate the exasperation I felt in experiencing it. The Bible is full of advice on controlling your tongue and speaking things that only edify the hearer and NOT GOSSIPING. I try to pretend that prefacing my statements with something nice or at least self-aware makes it all okay. But it really doesn't. Ugh.
| | |
| "The idea of a promise ring originated centuries ago as lovers promised each other they'd get engaged to wed one day. This romantic tradition lives on at Robbins Brothers in the form of these beautiful promise rings that symbolize loyalty and commitment before engagement, during a relationship or as a vow to a loved one." So many logical fallacies, so little time. If you've known me for any length of time you've probably already heard me rant about how ridiculous i think promise rings are. This particular rant is inspired by the fact that Facebook decided to change up the weight-loss ads they're sending me with a few for promise rings. Promise rings are ontologically ridiculous. What exactly are you promising that doesn't fall under the job description of "significant other" or "fiance"? Maybe i lack subtlety but i can't see any discernible difference between promising to get engaged and being engaged, other than perhaps a little less pressure to pick a date. It seems cowardly, though; as if you want to lock something down but aren't actually willing to make a committment. Besides, there are way cheaper old-school ways to show you belong to your lover. A lock of hair comes to mind. Another option is peeling an apple and carrying it under your armpit for a few days then passing it off to your lover. It's called a love apple. Seriously. Besides, 80% (i actually did the math) of the couples i know who involved promise rings broke up eventually. Maybe promise rings are cursed. Watch out. | | |
| Mom came and visited last week--it was nice, but anyway, it reminded me of a rant i've been wanting to go on for a long time. Now that i'm in post-graduate-keep-writing-unless-i-atrophy-panic mode (either that or i just don't know what else to do) i'll indulge. Because really, what else is a blog for? Mother's Day drives me crazy. i know pretty much all holidays as we know them are rife with capitalistic commodity fetishism and don't mean a whole heck of a lot but usually, i can see at least some redeeming value--and maybe a little joy--in celebrating them. Not Mother's Day. That holiday only forcibly reminds me of a)what a bad child i so often am and b)why i don't want to be a mother. Have you ever noticed that a woman's personhood gets totally subsumed under her identity as mother? For example, a few years ago i was driving by the local mall sometime in May and the readerboard outside proclaimed "Shop Mom's favorite store--Gadgets and Goodies!" It's a kitchen store, and the assumptions they were making made me angry. For one thing, why does a kitchen store have to be mom's favorite? Moms feed their children out of necessity; and I'm sure many enjoy cooking, but really, isn't that a bit selfish of me to get my Mom a tool she can use to continue serving me? "Here's a bundt pan, Mom. Bake me a cake." I know my mom likes having nice things to cook with, but i'm pretty sure that there are at least five other things she'd rather do. Amazingly enough, some of those activities probably have more to do with her personality and taste than with the fact that she is a Mother. I guess you could argue that Mother's Day is designed for celebrating her identity as your mother, and her birthday is for celebrating her personhood. I don't know. I just think that lots of mothers probably wind up with stuff that means little to them because we as their children are too lazy to pay attention to which exhibit at the museum she spent the most time in, or whatever. Father's Day, on the other hand, seems to have Dads pretty well pegged--likes golfing and fishing, impossible to shop for. Handy eh? | | |
| The library closes in one hour. i'm twelve sources and 20 pages away from finishing the last paper of my graduate career. i keep trying to blog but it's not really working out at the moment. Sometime soon i'll manage. | | |
|
