Saturday, January 24, 2009

A little of this, A LOT of that.

I was tagged on a 25 things meme by my friend, Mary, and I haven't done one in a while, so I thought I'd maybe do some, though I'm not sure I can commit to 25 seeing as Jack would really, really love for me to not type right now, and I think he is T minus 20 seconds away from bypassing the crawling milestone so that he can immediately learn to walk, swagger over to me, and close the lid on this lap-top so that I'll pay attention to him instead. At least he's not spoiled, though. But OK, here are some things:

* Last Friday we held our biannual Temporary Utopia party for the release of our literary magazine, In the Margins. We held the party at a tiny art gallery called The Upstairs Gallery, which was absolutely perfect for our soiree. The staff was adorable, performing beautifully at what was, for most of them, their first cocktail(less) party, all dressed up in black and white and glitter. It was lovely.



* As a result of our recent publication, I have a giant mixed medium (collage and oil paint) canvas I lovingly call "Not Andy Warhol" sitting on the hearth of my fireplace. Actually, it's a huge painting of Woody Allen. And I really like it. But it sparked some awkward conversations with my staff.. I suppose it's just the type of dialogue Woody Allen would want. It's not mine to keep, and I'm pretty sure having a huge portrait of Woody Allen on your hearth is something akin to having a closet Mussolini in your bedroom. I'm not exactly sure how, but the comparison seems right.




* On the drive to Temp U, I realized that for the first time in a really long time, I felt happy. I think it was because I was thinking about a million things, especially the responsibility of hosting a magazine launch and hoping that everyone did his or her part, and at the same time trusting that they did - going through lists in my head, making sure we covered our bases, but also feeling OK with the thought that even if it wasn't perfect, it would be brilliant because it would be what it would be. Also, I felt like I had picked the right outfit, had the right hair style, etc. It's amazing what a little bit of self-confidence can do. Plus, the stars were aligning a little bit. Finally.

* I am not culturally compatible with where I live. I'm not sure if that means I should leave here for somewhere more in-line with my ideals, or if I should try to effect change here. The latter is definitely the harder road, and I'm not sure if I can do harder at the moment.

* I've decided that I stink at being a stay-at-home mom, as in I hate staying home. I want to be out and about, even if that means going to the park. If I stay at home, I feel an overwhelming need to tidy-up the space around me. That means I am constantly doing chores. Or homework. All that stuff that never gets finished - I'm doing that and am cohabiting with the overwhelming sense of being "unfinished." I can't let it go. Jack is very well behaved in public, so why not go out?
* After my super fun girls' week-end with Anne and Lisa, I realized that I need to listen to more music. I love music, but since Jack was born I've been reluctant to do anything that might involve not paying attention to him, reading and listening to music included. I need to dump my MP3 player and start over. There's something cathartic about that, I think.

* And I will read those magazines that are currently collecting dust under my coffee table.. After I dust the coffee table.. Some habits die hard.

* I drink too much coffee. You know you're addicted when you don't care if the coffee is stale. Just add more flavored creamer and it's fine, right? But then you note that more than half of your mug is creamer. Something is not right.

* I think Rush Limbaugh is a treasonous ass hat. He wants our "president to fail". Even when I was ashamed of our former president, I never hoped he would fail. That would mean our country would fail - our country that is made up of people. Our people. Would fail. That's not OK. I can't think of any rationale that would make it OK. How hateful.

* I'm not sure I understand what it means to be internationally minded, exactly. I think we get caught up in being "tolerant," which is the wrong term to use because it places a value judgement on people. I don't want to be tolerant. I want to be enthusiastically curious about people and their cultures. But I don't think I want to be more globalized - as in I don't want those cultures to disintegrate or conform. I want us to be internationally minded as in being mindful of other cultures while keeping our own, not being fearful that our culture is disappearing. And I want that sentiment to be reciprocated.

* I'm living a lot in my brain these days, but at the same time, I can't stop talking. Shhh. :)

That's enough for now. Each of these ought to be its own post, but here we are. Maybe I'll say more another time. Or not.

6 comments:

Amy said...

Glad to here that you want to do more things for you. Being a Mom can be hard at times and you just want to do everything for your little one. Now that my little one is walking, and tends to have time to play by herself I can do other things. It sounds like you had a fun girls night out. That is something I need to do. I have to wait though my friend is kind of down. She just had surgery on her foot. So when she gets better we will be out for sure.

Jen said...

I can't even begin to tell you how this post warmed my heart! Reading that you are happy makes ME happy!! I also love seeing you write again! It seems like it's been awhile! Glad you girls had a great weekend! I was wondering if ya'll got together! No one had written about it!

Know I love you! Keep writing I've been missing my Ginger girl!

Jen said...

I am SO excited you want to play!! Because I love you I'll give an easy Letter.......J!

Happy Fun Pants said...

I love this list.

And also? Is it just me, or is my shirt a little off center? :)

JointheLiving said...

In the Margins is beautiful. Love the cover shot. And the cocktail(less) party. Wonderful!

Ginger said...

Amy - Sorry about your friend. Girls' night was really fun!

Jen - I'll get to the game when I can.. And thanks for being my friend.

Anne - What? Your shirt is fine. When are you coming back?

Carol (I think) - Thanks! You're very kind!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

A little of this, A LOT of that.

I was tagged on a 25 things meme by my friend, Mary, and I haven't done one in a while, so I thought I'd maybe do some, though I'm not sure I can commit to 25 seeing as Jack would really, really love for me to not type right now, and I think he is T minus 20 seconds away from bypassing the crawling milestone so that he can immediately learn to walk, swagger over to me, and close the lid on this lap-top so that I'll pay attention to him instead. At least he's not spoiled, though. But OK, here are some things:

* Last Friday we held our biannual Temporary Utopia party for the release of our literary magazine, In the Margins. We held the party at a tiny art gallery called The Upstairs Gallery, which was absolutely perfect for our soiree. The staff was adorable, performing beautifully at what was, for most of them, their first cocktail(less) party, all dressed up in black and white and glitter. It was lovely.



* As a result of our recent publication, I have a giant mixed medium (collage and oil paint) canvas I lovingly call "Not Andy Warhol" sitting on the hearth of my fireplace. Actually, it's a huge painting of Woody Allen. And I really like it. But it sparked some awkward conversations with my staff.. I suppose it's just the type of dialogue Woody Allen would want. It's not mine to keep, and I'm pretty sure having a huge portrait of Woody Allen on your hearth is something akin to having a closet Mussolini in your bedroom. I'm not exactly sure how, but the comparison seems right.




* On the drive to Temp U, I realized that for the first time in a really long time, I felt happy. I think it was because I was thinking about a million things, especially the responsibility of hosting a magazine launch and hoping that everyone did his or her part, and at the same time trusting that they did - going through lists in my head, making sure we covered our bases, but also feeling OK with the thought that even if it wasn't perfect, it would be brilliant because it would be what it would be. Also, I felt like I had picked the right outfit, had the right hair style, etc. It's amazing what a little bit of self-confidence can do. Plus, the stars were aligning a little bit. Finally.

* I am not culturally compatible with where I live. I'm not sure if that means I should leave here for somewhere more in-line with my ideals, or if I should try to effect change here. The latter is definitely the harder road, and I'm not sure if I can do harder at the moment.

* I've decided that I stink at being a stay-at-home mom, as in I hate staying home. I want to be out and about, even if that means going to the park. If I stay at home, I feel an overwhelming need to tidy-up the space around me. That means I am constantly doing chores. Or homework. All that stuff that never gets finished - I'm doing that and am cohabiting with the overwhelming sense of being "unfinished." I can't let it go. Jack is very well behaved in public, so why not go out?
* After my super fun girls' week-end with Anne and Lisa, I realized that I need to listen to more music. I love music, but since Jack was born I've been reluctant to do anything that might involve not paying attention to him, reading and listening to music included. I need to dump my MP3 player and start over. There's something cathartic about that, I think.

* And I will read those magazines that are currently collecting dust under my coffee table.. After I dust the coffee table.. Some habits die hard.

* I drink too much coffee. You know you're addicted when you don't care if the coffee is stale. Just add more flavored creamer and it's fine, right? But then you note that more than half of your mug is creamer. Something is not right.

* I think Rush Limbaugh is a treasonous ass hat. He wants our "president to fail". Even when I was ashamed of our former president, I never hoped he would fail. That would mean our country would fail - our country that is made up of people. Our people. Would fail. That's not OK. I can't think of any rationale that would make it OK. How hateful.

* I'm not sure I understand what it means to be internationally minded, exactly. I think we get caught up in being "tolerant," which is the wrong term to use because it places a value judgement on people. I don't want to be tolerant. I want to be enthusiastically curious about people and their cultures. But I don't think I want to be more globalized - as in I don't want those cultures to disintegrate or conform. I want us to be internationally minded as in being mindful of other cultures while keeping our own, not being fearful that our culture is disappearing. And I want that sentiment to be reciprocated.

* I'm living a lot in my brain these days, but at the same time, I can't stop talking. Shhh. :)

That's enough for now. Each of these ought to be its own post, but here we are. Maybe I'll say more another time. Or not.

6 comments:

Amy said...

Glad to here that you want to do more things for you. Being a Mom can be hard at times and you just want to do everything for your little one. Now that my little one is walking, and tends to have time to play by herself I can do other things. It sounds like you had a fun girls night out. That is something I need to do. I have to wait though my friend is kind of down. She just had surgery on her foot. So when she gets better we will be out for sure.

Jen said...

I can't even begin to tell you how this post warmed my heart! Reading that you are happy makes ME happy!! I also love seeing you write again! It seems like it's been awhile! Glad you girls had a great weekend! I was wondering if ya'll got together! No one had written about it!

Know I love you! Keep writing I've been missing my Ginger girl!

Jen said...

I am SO excited you want to play!! Because I love you I'll give an easy Letter.......J!

Happy Fun Pants said...

I love this list.

And also? Is it just me, or is my shirt a little off center? :)

JointheLiving said...

In the Margins is beautiful. Love the cover shot. And the cocktail(less) party. Wonderful!

Ginger said...

Amy - Sorry about your friend. Girls' night was really fun!

Jen - I'll get to the game when I can.. And thanks for being my friend.

Anne - What? Your shirt is fine. When are you coming back?

Carol (I think) - Thanks! You're very kind!