March really is the best month of the year in my life. I get at least one week off during Spring Break, it’s Staff Appreciation Month, and it’s my birth month!
My birthday was relaxing. We had a leisurely brunch at Crickles and Co., shopped in the afternoon for books and shoes (cue My Favorite Things), and had a great dinner at Greenhouse. If you are ever there – Mahi-Mahi tacos with mango relish. Do it.
I spent the first part of Spring Break at my parents’ farm. We mostly ate delicious things, some of which we picked right off the plant. This is the only acceptable reason for spring coming early this year.
Anyone else think Brussels sprouts look like a sea creature when they’re growing? No? Just me, then.
I also watched from afar while Mom fed the neighbor’s donkeys.
I tried to watch from a-near, but, well, you see the side-eye I’m getting from that one on the right. They don’t know me. That one still wasn’t too sure I wasn’t going to jump back up there and try to touch it again. That’s fine, donkey. I’ll just keep your treat.
I’ve been slowly watching a few shows. I read Year of Yes earlier this year, so I had to (HAD TO) watch Grey’s Anatomy. I don’t know why I resisted so long. I love this show. I love Christina and Bailey. And George. I love the characters so much that I find myself praying that their patients survive. On reruns of a TV show. This must be how atheists see praying all the time.
I’ve also been watching Alias and The X-Files for the first time. I have to watch them earlier in the evening before the sun goes down, though. I’m apparently easily spooked. Not enough to stop watching, of course.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading, but what I’ve been reading is Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking. You can do a lot of reading and still not be done with that book. It’s glorious. I need it for my very own. I’m also currently reading...a lot of things. I have books stashed everywhere.
Whew. It’s been a rough week for fandom. Saying goodbye to David Bowie was saying goodbye to part of my childhood. And Alan Rickman inspired me with his late-start-but-still-phenomenal career and as a person in general. I can’t even go on Facebook right now because I am at work and a damn professional, and I am mainly working very hard at not sobbing into my keyboard.
Yesterday, The Bloggess posted her tribute and thank yous in a beautiful way, and I want to do something similar here. There are a lot of people, like Bowie and Rickman, whom I will mourn along with the world when they pass. But there are roughly a dozen people whom I’ve never actually met whom I will mourn as if I have. Whoever my boss is when those terrible days come – be advised I will take a few days off. Trust me – you’ll be glad that I do.
I have a lot of fandoms, so it was difficult to narrow down the list to six, much less five. But here they are:
Bernadette Peters – I have loved her since I could barely even love anyone. She played Lily St. Regis in the 1982 Annie, and in my 7-year-old mind, she was so fancy. I love her grace and the way she just takes over the stage. My favorite thing she’s done was her performance as the witch in Into the Woods. When I saw the newer version last year, I missed her. I mean, Meryl Streep is awesome – would that we all developed and displayed our talents so brilliantly – but I missed Bernadette Peters in the role. In my mind, it will always be hers.
Michelle Pfeiffer – Confession: when I grow up, I kinda want to be Michelle Pfeiffer. From reenacting her rendition of “Cool Rider” in Grease 2 in front of my friend Ginger’s camcorder to her depiction of Catwoman to her marriage to David E. Kelley (lucky guy…and sure, also a fantastic writer and producer…who gets to be Michelle Pfeiffer’s husband), she has the sort of career/life I would want if I were an actress. She has an impressive body of work that I could gush about all day.
But seriously –
Peter MacNicol – He played my all-time favorite television character on my all-time favorite show. I can’t see him in anything without thinking of Ally McBeal‘s John Cage. He delivered my favorite lines and my favorite speeches from the show. When people ask what fictional character I relate to most, unlike most writers, who will name someone from literature, I name a character from television – John Cage. I will be inconsolable when anyone in the cast of Ally McBeal dies, but his death will be the hardest.
Michael Rosenbaum – I teared up even typing his name. He’s only a few years older than I am, and frankly, I hope I go first so I don’t ever have to deal with his death (after we’ve both lived long, happy lives, hopefully well into our late 90s, of course). Michael Rosenbaum played Lex Luthor on Smallville, and while he’s done many awesome things since then, that was his role that actually has had an impact on my personal life. I love his portrayal of Lex. I loved it so much that I joined his message board to talk about it with others who loved it as much as I did. And then I followed a lot of them to Livejournal to discuss it even more in-depth. Thus I began my first blog – my first regular writing practice. So when I become published, Michael Rosenbaum will be in the acknowledgements of people whose work was instrumental in getting me there.
Then I met some of the people whom I knew from the message board and from Livejournal, and I still keep in touch with a lot of them today. Some of them, I’ve never met in person but still consider good friends. Some of them, I have met in person and consider some of my best friends, like my friend Michelle. I can’t imagine not knowing these people, and I have Michael Rosenbaum to thank for that as well.
Nathan Fillion – Need I really explain this one? Firefly. Castle. Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog. Nathan Fillion’s awesomeness is pretty apparent. He makes an excellent TV boyfriend. I love him in everything he’s been in, but I might love his Twitter best of all. Some days, it’s the only reason I still have a Twitter.
I would join his message board so hard (if I were still in my twenties and had oodles of time to spend on the Internet. And if message boards were a thing people even did anymore).
And because five is not enough…
Lauren Graham – Lorelai can never die. Neither can Sarah Braverman. That’s the rule. You hear me, universe? I won’t stand for it.
After this week, I’m in serious need of a weekend of self-care, which specifically will consist of a vat of roasted veggie soup and Veronica Mars (oh, God. Kristen Bell. YOU BE GOOD, UNIVERSE!).
In no particular order, here are the highlights of my December.
1. Advent –
Quite possibly my favorite season of the liturgical year. Or maybe it’s just the only one I’m good at. I understand what it’s like to wait. Oh, how I understand waiting and all the complications that go with it. I put journal prompts in the pockets of my Advent calendar, and I got to go to mid-week services this year, which at least made the waiting less lonely.
2. A lesson in carols –
Our choir prepared extra songs for one of the services. It reminded me of being part of Christmas cantatas when I was younger. I didn’t even know I had missed doing that until this month.
3. Person of Interest –
I LOVE THIS SHOW. I have watched through Season 4. If I cave and get cable, this show might be the reason.
4. Holiday snacks –
Another great thing about this time of year is the delicious snacking. I have had a ridiculous amount of sugar this month.
5. A finals week without finals –
Finals week was pretty much just another week at work. It was a little busier with people handing in their keys before they left for the break, but no classes meant no grading, no constant barrage of emails from students who waited until the last possible moment to care about their grades, and no voice messages from the department secretary telling me that a student called because I hadn’t answered their email (that they sent an hour ago) and could I please call them back. It was such a peaceful week. I could get used to that.
My friend Steph got married! I am so happy for her and thrilled that I could be there for her special day.
8. Spending time with family –
Growing up, the picture you see above never would have happened at my parents’ house. Animals belonged outside, and if you wanted to play with them, you would just have to go outside, too. Now, Lola has her own special spots in the house where she likes to sit. Dad’s lap is one such spot.
I went shopping with Tammy yesterday and found all sorts of treasures (Christmas tree – $20!). Then we spent the evening watching Once Upon a Time. We’re almost through season three. I cannot handle how much I like this show.
9. Two weeks of vacation
I’ve had a restful (well…more restful. My neighborhood is loud and obnoxious) two weeks. Monday, I go back to work and have a little over a week to ease back into being there before the residents return.
10. Not putting up a Christmas tree –
Apparently, I used all my decorating energy on the Advent calendar, because I could not get motivated to put up a Christmas tree this year. About a week before Christmas, I finally admitted that it wasn’t going to happen. The candy canes on the curtain rods would just have to do.
I spent NaNoWriMo fleshing out a new story wherein the main character is a superhero who currently has telepathy and mad combat skills. Her powers are up in the air – I had a lot of fun writing different scenes where she has different powers and seeing how that would play out. In the end, my favorite scenes (or the ones that I can actually piece together and make into a story) will probably dictate what her powers will be. I only finished about 10,000 words, but I love her, so this will be a story I revisit.
Of course, this meant I watched a lot of Smallville. You know, for inspiration. And trips down fandom memory lane. And eye candy.
Thanksgiving was fun but seemed rushed. I took the whole week off last week so that I could have two days of getting-things-done and be able to relax when we went to see the parents on Wednesday instead of spending the holiday making lists of all the things I needed to remember to do when we got home Sunday. Of course, like a fool, I then told people I took the whole week off, and because I would much rather have dinner and hang out with people I miss than clean my nasty apartment…well…that’s how that went.
You’re right. I totally told them on purpose.
To-do list completely not done, we left around noon on Wednesday to travel to the parents’ house. This was my view:
Love that sky.
But I still managed to relax a little at Thanksgiving, although my lists on my phone are out of control now and I might never get them done. We had traditional fare and lots of dessert. I ate four different kinds of pie (over the course of the weekend, to be clear). There was coconut cream pie and chocolate meringue pie and lemon pudding pie and because that went so well (and so quickly), a chocolate pudding pie. There was also a pecan pie, but I am not a fan, so I left that one to others.
I really love pie, y’all.
The weather is finally exactly how I like it. Cold. And not the “cold” that some people start complaining about in late October when it dips slightly below 70. Like…ice has formed. I mean, not here. But at my parents’ house –
Ice on the kitchen window.
Frozen vines and icicles on the trellis in the backyard.
I didn’t read a lot this month, but it definitely had a theme to it. Holidays apparently make me want to look at my relationship with food. I picked Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi for my memoir/biography discussion for book club. She already had me at this:
This is the best, rawest, most honest capture of what it’s like to have an eating disorder that I’ve ever read. Sometimes, it was like reading pages out of my own journals from my late teens/early twenties. It would be tempting to write a memoir on this subject from a heavy now-looking-back perspective – to rush to lessons learned and mountains moved. But she didn’t do that, and that’s why this book is so important. She takes you through the details of her thoughts and feelings, which, if you’ve ever thought and felt similar things, doesn’t give you the chance to say, “Well, that’s not me.” It hits you in the gut and makes you deal with it. I cannot recommend this book enough.
I also read a lot of Mireille Guiliano. I loved the food philosophy (i.e., common sense) of French Women Don’t Get Fat, so I tried French Women for All Seasons (I liked it…and found it charming that she included sections on how to tie scarves in each season…but otherwise meh) and Women, Work, and the Art of Savoir Faire (I found some parts very useful and some parts very baffling). She reminds me a little of my mother.
So that’s what I’ve been into this month. What have you been doing/eating/reading?
I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer – click the button below and join us!
As mentioned in my previous post, my dear friend Michelle visited this weekend. We watched a lot of TV, as per our custom.
One of the many shelves of my TV collection
We watched one episode of The Newsroom and many episodes of Firefly. After she left, I watched more Firefly and Gilmore Girls while knitting.
I love TV. I love it much more than I like movies, because it allows me to get to know the characters. It’s difficult in a two-hour movie for me to attach to a character enough to care what happens to them. I mean, it’s sad when they die in the general sense that I recognize death as a sad experience for the survivors and thus experience some generic human empathy, but the character deaths that really affect me are the ones in TV shows. It’s been over a decade, and I’m still not over Serenity.
Many writers might not share this experience, but I think that watching TV and participating in fandom have made me a better writer.
I often say that Elmore Leonard taught me to write dialogue, and that’s true, but I also learned a lot from Joss Whedon and Aaron Sorkin and Amy Sherman-Palladino (and Shonda Rhimes and David E. Kelley). Television rewired my brain so that dialogue doesn’t stay flat on the page; when I’m writing it, I’m imagining it in action. This also helps me visualize my characters better and write character-driven plots.
Being an active member of fandom (and by that, I do mean “one who reads and writes fanfiction,” although that is not the only way to be active) also helped my writing. Writing and sharing fanfiction taught me to receive and give constructive feedback. It also taught me to recognize feedback that wasn’t helpful and learn to disregard it without wasting emotion on it. Most of all, though, writing stories with someone else’s characters taught me how to stay true to a character (because diehard fans will definitely let you know if you get it wrong or if it seems a little off). This skill has been invaluable when writing with the characters I’ve created.
So while I don’t recommend a regular four-hour-a-day habit, letting yourself get involved in the world and the characters of your favorite TV shows can improve your skills, too.
What TV shows/characters do you love? What fuels your creativity?
This was the sort of pic where a tripod or a selfie stick would have come in handy. Alas, I had neither. But I think it’s cute anyway. Also, I made Michelle put on her Superman hoodie for the shot, and you can’t even see our clothes. I was just so excited to get a picture I could use with both of us and the shelves in the background that wasn’t fuzzy from our laughing or my inability to take this picture.
Michelle came to visit this weekend! We ate glorious, terrible food and drink, and we watched glorious and terrible things.
But first, before the liberal libations started flowing, we had to take a picture that I think captures the essence of our friendship.
I met Michelle on the Michael Rosenbaum Message Board (the MRMB, for those in the know). It was the youth of our Smallville fandom – the early seasons when Clark and Lex fell in love were also beginning their legendary friendship. And we bonded over our fascination with how this series characterized Lex (and also by our fascination with the fellow who played him). We traveled to fan gatherings together, we spent hours on the message board, dissecting every nuanced glance, and we got to know each other outside our TV interests as well.
But TV was what brought us together.
Our plan for Friday evening was to drink until we were tipsy enough not to notice how terrible Magic Mike is when we watched it (we had been warned).
Friends, there is not enough alcohol in the world.
And when I had no words to express how truly awful an experience that movie was, it was our fandom background that helped me express it.
“You know, I once spent the weekend with MRMB fans in New York, and we watched 1999. Then we were so angry at Michael Rosenbaum for making that terrible movie. It was the worst movie I had ever seen. UNTIL NOW.”
And she understood. And she understands why, despite this experience, we must someday watch the second one because Matt Bomer sings in it.
Fandom is not rational, but it is wonderful and is made more so by friends who share it.
I am participating in Susannah Conway‘s August Break 2015 on Instagram, and today’s prompt was “five facts about me.” So, ever the overachiever, I decided to narrow my five facts down to random things that I collect or have collected.
I have an unholy obsession with ramekins. I have at least four different sets. I am not even sorry because 1) they’re cute, 2) they serve as both cookware and serving pieces, and 3) they make individual portions. I have a whole drawer that’s just ramekins and cookie cutters. I hardly ever open this drawer without making some sort of appreciative squeaky noise at the cuteness that it contains.
I collect coffee mugs from various cities. Pictured here are my New York mug and my New Orleans mug (well, one of them). If friends go on trips and feel the need to bring me a gift, that’s my favorite gift to get. And don’t get fancy – I like standard-sized mugs.
I am working on a patchwork blanket made up of knitted squares that I will eventually weave together. This started out as “I’m going to make lots of dishrags” and quickly evolved into “I don’t need that many dishrags – that’s ridiculous.” So…blanket it is!
My favorite wine stopper is a crystal pig. I bought it when I was a member of P.I.G.s, the Performance Interest Group of the Communication Studies department at UNT. I had a brief period of collecting pigs, but that didn’t last long. This is one of the few remaining items from the collection.
And last but not least – the Smallville collection. Or, rather – the Lex collection. One of my first online communities was the Smallville fandom. I participated pretty frequently. I read and wrote fanfiction. I was a member of the Michael Rosenbaum Message Board (MRMB, for short). Best of all, I traveled to meet other fans in person whom I had met online. Some of them actually became pretty close friends. *waves* I don’t have all my Lex paraphernalia, but the Ty Nant bottle (Lex’s water of choice) and my Lex action figure are two of the pieces that have survived.
This is going to be short and sweet. I’m not that into July. Because OMG hot. I’m into July being over.
Y’all. Y’ALL. You know how much I love Nina Simone.
Well. WELL:
Here, there was originally a great video of Lauryn Hill singing Feelin’ Good on the Tonight Show, but it has been taken down. If you haven’t seen it, you’re going to want to Google it. If you have seen it, you know you’re going to want to Google it again.
God bless Lauryn Hill. I need that album. NEED.
(I will make real sentences soon.)
To watch (other than that video, of course):
My sister and I have been watching White Collar. I just love this show. My heart cannot accept that it was canceled.
I blame the charm of Neal Caffrey for my sudden need to watch old Robert Redford/Paul Newman movies (think The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) this month.
To read:
My favorite thing I’ve read this month is Tiny, Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. If I were to be an advice columnist, this is exactly the advice I would give. I have never agreed so fully and adamantly with pretty much everything someone said in a book as I did with this one.
To do:
It’s been a busy month, but I’ve been into the usual things – book clubs, supper club, random outings with friends. I did make time to enjoy this glorious thing:
It’s a cold brew from Harvest House with a little vanilla bourbon tucked inside. HAPPY.
Grieving injustice. Fighting the patriarchy. Talking to the kids about issues, ideas, and intersectionality.
You know – the usual.
Another April down. That’s a relief. I gave it the good college try with the April Love Instagram challenge, but I have missed the last week or so. I sure do have a lot of pictures of blankets on my Instagram. My MeMaw would be so proud.
Words
It was a slow reading month but a good writing month. I finished the books for two of my three book clubs – Nora Webster and Unbroken – and I read Tara Owens’s Embracing the Body and Lauren Winner’s Mudhouse Sabbath. I enjoyed them all, especially the latter two. I wrote almost 35,000 words on Feast, which was not as many as I wanted, but I’m satisfied and still on schedule to finish in May!
Part of the reason that I wrote more slowly than planned is that I am at the stage of writing where I usually start getting better ideas for titles, which is to say that I’m having a lot more fun with it. What started as simply “Feast” has finally taken on its personality. I am currently sitting at “From Fret to Feast: Entertaining for the Socially Awkward.”
I’ve hosted a couple of people for my Invitation to the Table series, and I would love to host more. Submissions are still open!
Wellness
This week has been consumed with Nepal and Baltimore. There is so much &%^#%@ in the world. I am grieved and angry and anxious and restless, and so is my body. I need to find a way to engage and listen and process and still be able to sleep and keep food down. Haven’t done that very well this month.
Watching
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Hilarious. And awful. But awesome. I’m not sure how I would feel about it if I had escaped from a cult myself. But I watched the whole season in one sitting.
And last, but certainly not least, there’s this weird thing. I’m not saying that I would actually text a goat picture to someone. Nor am I suggesting that anyone else do such a ridiculous thing. But if I were to get a message with a goat picture and a caption that said something like “Have a goat day,” I would not be sad about it.
…
Please don’t text me goat pictures. It would be funny the first time (okay – the first ten times. I really do enjoy goats.). But I can see it going into overkill very quickly.
Well, it’s here. Spring. My nemesis. And I feel bad talking about how much I despise it, because:
1) People are so happy, and while none of them cared to spare my feelings when they were endlessly (soul-crushingly, tediously) whining about my beautiful winter, I just can’t bring myself to do the same (most of the time, that is, because clearly, I’m having no problem doing so right now).
2) I literally feel bad. Spring brings out all my allergies, so working up a nice rant uses too much energy – energy better spent trying to breathe and stop itching.
I have the good drugs, though, so at least there’s that.
And at least it’s not summer. Yet.
But rather than focus on what I’m not into, let’s talk about what I am into.
My favorite thing I did this month was turn 40.
The weather was nice (and by “nice,” I do mean rainy, overcast, and mid-50s), so that was my birthday present from Jesus. We tried out a new breakfast place – Crickles and Co. – and it was amazing. Everyone basically purred through the whole meal (the biscuits – omg, get the biscuits!). After a very leisurely breakfast, a few of us went to Barnes and Noble and browsed for a while. Then I went home and spent the afternoon my favorite way – reading and napping. I woke up refreshed and ready for my birthday dinner at Greenhouse. Then we went to my sister and brother-in-law’s house for cake and coffee. The cake was coconut and pineapple, and the coffee was strong. And Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer came on the music mix right as we were about to cut the cake, so they sang the chorus instead of the traditional happy birthday song. Tammy’s explanation: “It fits. You’re halfway there. Halfway to death,” which was hilarious and pretty much my favorite thing anyone said all day. We then watched The Whole Nine Yards while everyone recovered from/embraced their food coma.
It was a great day.
What made it even more enjoyable is that I didn’t worry about the planning. Rather than try to make it this huge event, I picked a couple of places I wanted to go and limited the guest list to people who had asked what I was doing for my birthday or who regularly include me on invitations to theirs (and I kept adding people all week, because I am old and forgetful – an excuse I plan on using a lot from now on). So the group stayed small enough that I didn’t have to make special arrangements or reservations. It was relaxing in both planning and execution.
And then, of course, I have enjoyed spending time on other days with people who couldn’t make it. I have had outings and been treated to so many dinners. I love March.
Another fun thing I did this month is the Wicked Wine Run. Or rather, the Wicked Wine 1K mosey, in my case. It took place at the Lost Oak Winery in Burleson, and we had a lot of fun. Two of us dressed up like Pikachu and a unicorn. I wore a headband and funky socks (not pictured).
That’s my way to race – with four wine-tasting stops. Actually, the energy of the race atmosphere makes me want to train for an upcoming 5K, so starting on April 26, I begin my training, and I am actually excited about it. We’ll see how that goes.
In entertainment/arts news:
I’ve been binge-watching The Mindy Project. So many people have recommended it, and I finally heeded their recommendations. It did not disappoint. I love this show.
The Angry Women Blog. This blog understands me. I will be submitting posts to it within the next few months.
I tried watching Entourage. Meh. I am four episodes in, and I can’t decide if I’m actually bored with it or if, after hearing the HBO sound, I’m just disappointed that The Newsroom doesn’t start. But after four episodes, I still can’t think of a single moment that got any sort of enjoyment reaction from me. So I might have to throw in the towel on this one.
This has been a good reading month. My top three recommendations are The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy (I’m about to start #3) by Laini Taylor. So good.
My favorite thing I made to eat was lasagna with spinach and goat cheese (instead of ricotta. DO IT.). It looked like a bad accident:
…but it tasted so good.
And my favorite non-coffee thing to drink was this tea:
It might actually replace Earl Grey as my favorite. It’s that good.
M. Suzanne Terry 