Such a devoted creature, is ottoman-shaped dog.
190
3 years ago
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Devotion
A living room full of nine different people - all of whom might, if they had been inclined, have given a small dog a pat or a crumb - and yet ottoman-shaped dog chose to lie before the front door and await Herself when she stepped out briefly this evening to feed Cherished Friend's fish.
Such a devoted creature, is ottoman-shaped dog.
Such a devoted creature, is ottoman-shaped dog.
Spontaneity
Herself is no good at it.
Her in-laws are coming over tonight, rather than tomorrow as expected. They are lovely people, there's no doubt. Nevertheless, Herself likes to plan everything out in advance. (This is probably why she is terrible at conversation, particularly on the telephone. She never knows quite how it is going to go.)
The house is relatively clean. She did not have time to cook anything, much to her dismay, but what she has on hand will have to do. They will be gracious and consume everything regardless.
She desperately needs a day alone to herself to tidy the house, to do the filing, to tackle the laundry,to accomplish all the little things without anyone interrupting or needing anything.
She sighs, and off she goes to hostess.
Her in-laws are coming over tonight, rather than tomorrow as expected. They are lovely people, there's no doubt. Nevertheless, Herself likes to plan everything out in advance. (This is probably why she is terrible at conversation, particularly on the telephone. She never knows quite how it is going to go.)
The house is relatively clean. She did not have time to cook anything, much to her dismay, but what she has on hand will have to do. They will be gracious and consume everything regardless.
She desperately needs a day alone to herself to tidy the house, to do the filing, to tackle the laundry,to accomplish all the little things without anyone interrupting or needing anything.
She sighs, and off she goes to hostess.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Fruitless
Effort spent, stringing
Various words together
What is the result?
Maudlin poetry/
Angst. Am I a teenager?
Unpublishable.
I might need a nap
Or a respite from the world
Perhaps a hug, too.
Various words together
What is the result?
Maudlin poetry/
Angst. Am I a teenager?
Unpublishable.
I might need a nap
Or a respite from the world
Perhaps a hug, too.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
All The Little Things
Differences between yesterday and today:
Yesterday, Offspring the Third was still breaking out in hives associated with his bronchitis/walking pneumonia/garden variety middle school plague that he has had for nigh on two weeks now.
Yesterday, the washing machine was tempermentally refusing to drain/spin because of some odd problem with the timer (it apparently thinks: "Look, I'm done!" instead of "I need to drain and then rinse now.").
Yesterday, the computer was doing something odd. It has been heating up more quickly than usual, and when it was turned off yesterday, it tried to restart but could not load Windows, and then the repair program was unable to solve the problem. EGADS.
BUT:
Today, Offspring the Third awoke sounding less phlegmy than he has for a week, and actually consumed his usual minimum number of waffles (four) for breakfast.
Today, the washing machine remembers to drain and rinse properly.
Today, an inexpensive cooling pad has been installed under the computer, which kindly booted properly and without incident. Even as we write, backup copies of things like music and pictures and Writings are being put onto a Passport drive.
Huzzah!
And as an added bonus, a trip to the Brown & Scratchy Food Store has yielded dried fruits as well as certain nuts, which Herself will happily make into energy bars this afternoon.
It is most pleasant when all the little things are cooperating.
Yesterday, Offspring the Third was still breaking out in hives associated with his bronchitis/walking pneumonia/garden variety middle school plague that he has had for nigh on two weeks now.
Yesterday, the washing machine was tempermentally refusing to drain/spin because of some odd problem with the timer (it apparently thinks: "Look, I'm done!" instead of "I need to drain and then rinse now.").
Yesterday, the computer was doing something odd. It has been heating up more quickly than usual, and when it was turned off yesterday, it tried to restart but could not load Windows, and then the repair program was unable to solve the problem. EGADS.
BUT:
Today, Offspring the Third awoke sounding less phlegmy than he has for a week, and actually consumed his usual minimum number of waffles (four) for breakfast.
Today, the washing machine remembers to drain and rinse properly.
Today, an inexpensive cooling pad has been installed under the computer, which kindly booted properly and without incident. Even as we write, backup copies of things like music and pictures and Writings are being put onto a Passport drive.
Huzzah!
And as an added bonus, a trip to the Brown & Scratchy Food Store has yielded dried fruits as well as certain nuts, which Herself will happily make into energy bars this afternoon.
It is most pleasant when all the little things are cooperating.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Games (Hunger)
The movie, The Hunger Games, is currently rampaging through the theaters. Based on the first book in a trilogy by Suzanne Collins, it is a post-apocalyptic coming-of-age tale rife with social commentary and teen angst. It has been hyped almost as extensively as the Twilight series, and although it lacks the devoted following of the Harry Potter Universe, it does have a steadfast stream of readers and admirers.
After ages of encouragement from various individuals, Herself grudgingly picked up the Hunger Games book. She plowed through it diligently, and found it to be a mildly entertaining, if somewhat made-for-movie, story. There was one aspect to the plot, though, that annoyed her greatly, almost to the point where she was unwilling to finish reading the book.
**SPOILER ALERT: Though there's nothing revealed in the below discussion that one could not easily guess from the previews of the movie or any most basic conversation regarding the book, if you would like the book or movie to be as much of a surprise as possible, you should stop reading here.**
Are you still there? Onwards.
A brief synopsis for context: heroine of the book Katniss Everdeen is a sixteen-year-old girl whose best friend is Gale, a strapping young lad a couple of years older than she, with whom she has learned to hunt and has built a mutual strategy for survival of their respective families. She leaves him behind in her hometown when she volunteers as one of two 'tributes' from her district for the Hunger Games -- a nationwide televised spectacle in which male and female tributes from each district compete to the death for a single winner. The second tribute from her district is Peeta, another comely youth the same age as Katniss.
Early on in the story, Peeta reveals publicly that he has long harbored a crush on Katniss, who (under the duress of the Hunger Games) uses this information to her advantage, pretending to be enamored of Peeta in order to ensure her survival. The book describes Katniss's ambivalence toward Peeta as well as her deliberate actions to depict a budding love affair with him for the television audience. Ultimately (and after a few fairly predictable plot twists and turns), both Katniss and Peeta survive and return to their district, where Katniss must come to terms both with her deceit towards Peeta as well as her confused feelings towards Gale.
Curtain, DOWN, for The Hunger Games: the next book in the trilogy will presumably address such matters, among other things.
Argh.
What is it that disturbs Herself so?
It is the purposeful deception of Peeta by Katniss.
Intellectually, Herself can understand that the character of Katniss was solely doing what needed to be done to survive under extreme circumstances. Emotionally, though, she has tremendous difficulty with this scenario. It is so very wrong to mislead another in such a manner.
Would it have been less wrong somehow if Katniss's deception of Peeta was private - a quiet, desperate manipulation? Perhaps; but only a hair less wrong. The public nature of her deliberate, and untruthful, demonstrations of affection towards him does make her behavior all the more painful to observe. Either way, it's cruel to Peeta. It is wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Herself knows it's "just a book." And she knows, too (in a vague, philosophical way) that she's lucky she would never find herself in circumstances that might warrant employing such behavior. It's not worth overthinking. All things considered, though, she found this plot point so intolerable that she could barely finish reading the book.
She's not sure she can get through the other two books in the series. Or whether she even wants to try to do so. We shall see.
After ages of encouragement from various individuals, Herself grudgingly picked up the Hunger Games book. She plowed through it diligently, and found it to be a mildly entertaining, if somewhat made-for-movie, story. There was one aspect to the plot, though, that annoyed her greatly, almost to the point where she was unwilling to finish reading the book.
**SPOILER ALERT: Though there's nothing revealed in the below discussion that one could not easily guess from the previews of the movie or any most basic conversation regarding the book, if you would like the book or movie to be as much of a surprise as possible, you should stop reading here.**
Are you still there? Onwards.
A brief synopsis for context: heroine of the book Katniss Everdeen is a sixteen-year-old girl whose best friend is Gale, a strapping young lad a couple of years older than she, with whom she has learned to hunt and has built a mutual strategy for survival of their respective families. She leaves him behind in her hometown when she volunteers as one of two 'tributes' from her district for the Hunger Games -- a nationwide televised spectacle in which male and female tributes from each district compete to the death for a single winner. The second tribute from her district is Peeta, another comely youth the same age as Katniss.
Early on in the story, Peeta reveals publicly that he has long harbored a crush on Katniss, who (under the duress of the Hunger Games) uses this information to her advantage, pretending to be enamored of Peeta in order to ensure her survival. The book describes Katniss's ambivalence toward Peeta as well as her deliberate actions to depict a budding love affair with him for the television audience. Ultimately (and after a few fairly predictable plot twists and turns), both Katniss and Peeta survive and return to their district, where Katniss must come to terms both with her deceit towards Peeta as well as her confused feelings towards Gale.
Curtain, DOWN, for The Hunger Games: the next book in the trilogy will presumably address such matters, among other things.
Argh.
What is it that disturbs Herself so?
It is the purposeful deception of Peeta by Katniss.
Intellectually, Herself can understand that the character of Katniss was solely doing what needed to be done to survive under extreme circumstances. Emotionally, though, she has tremendous difficulty with this scenario. It is so very wrong to mislead another in such a manner.
Would it have been less wrong somehow if Katniss's deception of Peeta was private - a quiet, desperate manipulation? Perhaps; but only a hair less wrong. The public nature of her deliberate, and untruthful, demonstrations of affection towards him does make her behavior all the more painful to observe. Either way, it's cruel to Peeta. It is wrong.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Herself knows it's "just a book." And she knows, too (in a vague, philosophical way) that she's lucky she would never find herself in circumstances that might warrant employing such behavior. It's not worth overthinking. All things considered, though, she found this plot point so intolerable that she could barely finish reading the book.
She's not sure she can get through the other two books in the series. Or whether she even wants to try to do so. We shall see.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Subtlety
Dear Sir waiting in front of Herself in line at the pharmacy yesterday evening:
If you feel compelled to visually inspect a particular part of a stranger's anatomy (say, perhaps, her breasts), do try to be less obvious. For example, when you turn around, consider pretending you are looking for a shopping companion or at the display of humidifiers before your eyes fix (briefly, please) upon her assets. Or even -- imagine this -- speak a few words of polite conversation to her face ("The line is always so long here") before dropping your eyes and taking a quick peek at the body parts in question as you turn back around. She will appreciate your attempt at subtlety and will feel less like punching you in the kidneys.
Signed,
Crabby Woman worried about her ailing Offspring and not at all in the mood for blatant ogling
If you feel compelled to visually inspect a particular part of a stranger's anatomy (say, perhaps, her breasts), do try to be less obvious. For example, when you turn around, consider pretending you are looking for a shopping companion or at the display of humidifiers before your eyes fix (briefly, please) upon her assets. Or even -- imagine this -- speak a few words of polite conversation to her face ("The line is always so long here") before dropping your eyes and taking a quick peek at the body parts in question as you turn back around. She will appreciate your attempt at subtlety and will feel less like punching you in the kidneys.
Signed,
Crabby Woman worried about her ailing Offspring and not at all in the mood for blatant ogling
Monday, March 26, 2012
Hair
When Herself was little, she wore her hair in two braids, with bangs. People would tell her that she resembled Elizabeth from The Waltons. She did, actually.
In seventh grade, she gave up the pigtails of her youth, and had her hair cut in the style popularized by figure skater Dorothy Hamill in the late 1970's. That was likely a mistake. Herself was a late bloomer; a short haircut in an era in which boys tended to wear their hair slightly long rendered her rather androgynous. She endured an unfortunate year in which many people assumed she was a boy.
In her high school and college years, she experimented with her hair. She was never quite able to achieve the height or proper feathering of hairdos of the girls in the early 1980s, for her hair has always been incredibly straight, fine, and stubborn. Even perming it would only yield a slight curl and a bit more body that would quickly grow out and fade.
She gave up perming her hair and allowed it to grow in straight, long, and bangless in her early 20s. Once the children were born, though, she reverted to shorter hair, under the presupposition that shorter hair would be easier for a busy working mother. She kept it short for many years.
Around her 40th birthday, right at about the time she started taekwondo, she gave up cutting her hair short. In some ways, it was an outward expression of an inward change: she would no longer have the Mom Hairdo that was expected of her, just as she would no longer sit back and do exactly what was expected of her. She could have long hair, and she could learn taekwondo, even if women her age didn't normally do such things.
About a year ago, she briefly contemplated cutting her hair short once more. She was close to deciding to do so, and solicited advice from those close to her. She ultimately chose to leave her hair long, and is grateful that she did so. She would have missed it tremendously.
She loves the long hair. She finds the texture and the length to be soothing and comforting. It's like having Linus' security blanket with her always.
This past Saturday, Herself had her hair in a loose ponytail to keep it out of the way while assisting with the taekwondo belt test for the gym. One of her tasks was to keep the younger students contained -- belt testing can be long and tiresome for them, and she fielded questions from them regarding progress of the test, what to expect next, and whether they could be excused to visit the restroom. She very much likes working with "The Littles," as she thinks of them. They are lively and enthusiastic, even though they do not have full control of their bodies or comprehension of all that is asked of them.
One particularly tiny little boy spoke in such a soft voice that she had to lean way down to hear his question; when she did so, her ponytail dangled over her shoulder in between her and the boy. He paused, distracted. He then reached up and delicately touched the very end of her ponytail while slowly completing his sentence. It seemed to settle him. She found it endearing.
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In seventh grade, she gave up the pigtails of her youth, and had her hair cut in the style popularized by figure skater Dorothy Hamill in the late 1970's. That was likely a mistake. Herself was a late bloomer; a short haircut in an era in which boys tended to wear their hair slightly long rendered her rather androgynous. She endured an unfortunate year in which many people assumed she was a boy.
In her high school and college years, she experimented with her hair. She was never quite able to achieve the height or proper feathering of hairdos of the girls in the early 1980s, for her hair has always been incredibly straight, fine, and stubborn. Even perming it would only yield a slight curl and a bit more body that would quickly grow out and fade.
She gave up perming her hair and allowed it to grow in straight, long, and bangless in her early 20s. Once the children were born, though, she reverted to shorter hair, under the presupposition that shorter hair would be easier for a busy working mother. She kept it short for many years.
Around her 40th birthday, right at about the time she started taekwondo, she gave up cutting her hair short. In some ways, it was an outward expression of an inward change: she would no longer have the Mom Hairdo that was expected of her, just as she would no longer sit back and do exactly what was expected of her. She could have long hair, and she could learn taekwondo, even if women her age didn't normally do such things.
About a year ago, she briefly contemplated cutting her hair short once more. She was close to deciding to do so, and solicited advice from those close to her. She ultimately chose to leave her hair long, and is grateful that she did so. She would have missed it tremendously.
She loves the long hair. She finds the texture and the length to be soothing and comforting. It's like having Linus' security blanket with her always.
This past Saturday, Herself had her hair in a loose ponytail to keep it out of the way while assisting with the taekwondo belt test for the gym. One of her tasks was to keep the younger students contained -- belt testing can be long and tiresome for them, and she fielded questions from them regarding progress of the test, what to expect next, and whether they could be excused to visit the restroom. She very much likes working with "The Littles," as she thinks of them. They are lively and enthusiastic, even though they do not have full control of their bodies or comprehension of all that is asked of them.
One particularly tiny little boy spoke in such a soft voice that she had to lean way down to hear his question; when she did so, her ponytail dangled over her shoulder in between her and the boy. He paused, distracted. He then reached up and delicately touched the very end of her ponytail while slowly completing his sentence. It seemed to settle him. She found it endearing.
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