M. Suzanne Terry

Unpopular Opinion #322 – I Hate Hashtags

July 17, 2014 by Suzanne

Shocking, isn’t it? Controversial? Yes. But it’s true.

I hate hashtags (and I am DELIGHTED that WordPress doesn’t recognize it as a word. I mean, WordPress also doesn’t recognize “WordPress” as a word, so it’s a small or possible even imaginary victory, but still).

Now, before you pull our your pointy lecturing finger, I concede that I get it. I understand how useful they are. They are community-builders, and that is why, almost every Saturday, I happily put aside my personal feelings and post pictures on the Instagram with the tags #jointhestory and #storygrams. If I had a cat, half my posts there would be tagged #catsofinstagram (it’s possible that said cat would probably also have his or her own Facebook page, so…grain of salt), because have you clicked on that hashtag? It will lead you to adorable and hilarious things. Hashtags are also essential when it comes to social media marketing. An added #amreading or #amwriting or #writing added to a link to a post will multiply traffic to said post. At least 75% (an estimate – and probably a conservative one) of my followers on Twitter, where all of my blog post links automatically go, found me via a hashtag. I have had people tell me that they followed me based on my frequent (if by frequent, one means once or twice a month) use of #idowhatiwant.

So I get it. I KNOW. And I will use them – sparingly – in the manner in which they were intended to be used. I will market myself on social media. I recognize self-promotion as a necessary ~~evil~~ part of the getting-people-to-read process.

But.

I still hate hashtags. They are the sole reason I was so slow to warm up to Twitter. And now, they’re friggin’ everywhere. I cannot escape them. Oh, Twitter – what hast thou wrought?!

First of all, they’re shady. They’re fake words pretending to be real words, and they promote laziness. I have the same disgruntled feelings about hashtags that I have about the use of “u” in place of “you” – or worse – “ur” in place of “you’re” or “your” (LEARN THE DIFFERENCE – IT’S NOT HARD. /mini-rant). It’s the chance to say one more thing without having to waste one of the precious 140 characters one is allowed on Twitter on a space. It’s also the chance to avoid editing and choosing one’s words wisely so that they will actually fit into a succinct, 140-character message. One thing that Twitter lets me practice is getting across my message in fewer words – a practice one might argue I desperately need. And I suspect other people would benefit from such practice, too. So here’s a challenge – if your initial draft is 154 characters, instead of copping out by using shortcuts, Hemingway that shit so that you can use real words and still get your point across.

Second, instead of helping the message, hashtags actually distract me from the person sending it. I have lost count of the times I have been scrolling through Instagram and see a large block of text under a beautiful picture taken by my friend Horatia (fake name – conglomerate prototype of multiple beloved friends). I say to myself, “Hey, self, let’s go see what gorgeous words Horatia has chosen to caption this stunning photograph,” only to discover upon first glance, that only five words of the caption actually came from my brilliant friend. The rest is a sea of hashtags pressuring me to go elsewhere and see other people’s pictures and words. And here’s the thing – if I gave a damn about those other pictures and words, I would be following the people who posted them. I’m not. I am, however, following Horatia because her pictures and her words are important to me. I specifically chose to follow her because what she has to say has struck a chord with me, and when I see her name, I get excited about what she has to offer. And that’s what I want to see.

And again – I get it. I understand that those hashtags are a way for other people to find her easily and see the glory of what Horatia has to offer the world. I support self-promotion, particularly for artists of all kinds and particularly for women, because we have been socialized to support others (particularly men) first and ourselves second (or third…or fiftieth…), and I’m all for breaking that ridiculous cycle. But if I see more content promotion than content creation, I will eventually lose interest in the content, no matter how much I love and respect the person as a friend.

Third, I find hashtags aesthetically unpleasant. I know – I’m an old woman. I mean, I’m not. At all. I’m 39, which puts me in what Jill Conner Browne of Sweet Potato Queens fame (point of reference – for those who have ever enjoyed my margaritas, she’s where I got the recipe) terms the larval stage of my development as a human. But as someone who has vivid, adult-ish memories of life and reading before the Internet (point of reference – Google.com was registered as a domain name three months before I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree), in Internet terms, I am a dinosaur. And like all damn kids who need to get off my lawn, the Internet likes to screw with my expectations of how things are to be capitalized and spaced. In this regard, hashtags are a visual nightmare. I recognize that there’s probably some legitimate, computer-codey reason why the spaces need to be left out to create a link. But I need hashtags to evolve linguistically, because I also can’t help but notice that proper computer code stays backstage, out of sight, so as not to ruin the effect of the presentation. Take note, hashtags.

And finally, let’s call hashtags what they are – advertising.They are the billboards of the intrawebs. And like billboards, they are effective. They are great at directing attention to a specific corner of a saturated market. But for those of us who are acutely aware of and thus hypersensitive to the CONSTANT bombardment of people trying to sell us something, hashtags – like billboards – can really ruin the landscape. If this post hasn’t tipped you off, let me go ahead and spell it out – I am easily overstimulated. The Las Vegas Strip and Disney World? Not so much examples of my ideal vacation spot as they are examples of what I imagine Hell must be like. And I am not alone. We might be the minority, but for those of us hindered by this affliction, repeat advertising (and the nature of hashtags is inherently repetitive) actually has the exact opposite of the intended effect. It all becomes noise, and we tend to go to great lengths to shut out noise.

So friends – please – do this old curmudgeon a favor – use hashtags, but use them sparingly.I want to hear what you have to say. I’m probably even interested in buying what you’re selling. I will do both these things willingly. You don’t have to kick my cane out from under me and steal my purse.

Posted in Rants, Story Sessions | 5 Comments »

The Light Between Us – Interview with Beth Morey

July 16, 2014 by Suzanne

(Originally posted at Story Sessions)

I pre-ordered a copy of Beth Morey’s new book The Light Between Us. Then, because I just couldn’t wait for it to get to me, I grabbed the ebook the day it was free on Amazon. Whether you read the paperback or ebook – this book will delight. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, follow these instructions:

1. Buy this book.
2. Find a large, uninterrupted block of time, because once you start, you’re not going to want to put it down. Have to work? Two words – personal day. Have kids? One more word – babysitter.
3. Spend the day inhaling this book (on a beach with a cabana boy who brings you umbrella drinks, if at all possible).

The Light Between Us is the perfect beach read. It’s fun and full of romantic angst, and some of the scenes will definitely steam up your sunglasses.

And now, I bring you Beth Morey:

1. As an indie author, you had a longer task list than the average author to get this book to print. What was the most challenging part of the process? What was your favorite part of the process?

The most challenging part was editing. And then realizing that I hadn’t edited nearly well enough before I released my book. That was, um, painful. But also educational. I still hate editing, though.

My favorite part was writing, and watching the story unfurl. I have never felt so full of soul purpose, so in line with how I am made. It was (and is) a very powerful experience. I also loved picking out my cover. The thrill that gave me was possibly embarrassingly strong, but I’ll own it.

2. You have mentioned that The Light Between Us was a romance, but not necessarily a Christian Romance. Why is it important to make this distinction?

I kept having this curious experience. I’d say that I was writing a romance, and then the person I was talking with would say, “Oh, I love Christian romances!” But my book is not a Christian romance; The Light Between Us shares none of those standard Christian romance genre characteristics. It is more explicit sexually and in terms of language, and the values of the characters are not at all what a reader would expect from a Christian novel. Faith is barely mentioned. So I felt I needed to make this distinction to be fair to my readers. I didn’t want them to feel misled. If I hadn’t been [LS1] such an openly Christian blogger, I don’t think I would have felt the need to delineate this.

3. What is the most surprising thing that has happened since The Light Between Us was released?

I have been able to not take on some seriously negative reviews of my book. I am a person who has a deep (and unrealistic) need to be well-liked by everyone. And writing a book and putting it out there for all the world to consume? Yikes. I had a coaching call with Elora a few weeks prior to my book’s release, and dealing with negative reviews was one of the three things I wanted to talk with her about.

That said, I think I’ve dealt surprisingly well with the negative reviews. I have been able to find some distance, to take what’s constructive and leave the rest. It has actually been a deeply growing experience. I feel like I am maturing both as a writer and a woman through this experience.

4. Tell us about your new project. What are you working on now?

I am working on a contemporary fantasy that is based loosely upon Celtic myth, starring a main character named Eveleen. It might be Young Adult, but I’m not sure yet. In any case, it’s something completely different from The Light Between Us! It’s also feeling a good bit longer than The Light Between Us. My romance novel was a short novel, about 66,000 words long. Eveleen’s story is currently 30,000 words long, and I’m feeling like the story is only just ramping up.

5. Who are your favorite writers? Why?

Neil Gaiman, Audrey Niffenegger, Anne Lamott, Mary Oliver, Rainer Maria Rilke, Rumi, Terry Tempest Williams. They write with texture, grit. It is a visceral experience to read them. I feel as if I am almost literally chewing, tasting, and swallowing their words. Also, they tend to write on multiple levels; a bird is never just a bird, a laugh is never just a laugh. I long to write with this power.

6. If you could be a character in any story that you’ve ever read, what story would you want to join? Why?

Oh wow. What a question! How can I choose? Perhaps I could be Bastian of The Neverending Story, stealing away to a musty tumble of blankets in his school’s attic to literally fall into the book he was reading. Or Lucy of The Chronicles of Narnia, with her courage and goodness and faith, not to mention all her adventures.

7. Finally, for the writers who have an idea for a book or have started the book or have even finished a manuscript…and now they’re stuck – what advice do you have for them?

Get help. I could never have finished The Light Between Us without the support of dear friends. I had a few friends who welcomed my daily emails bearing the new words I’d typed into being. I didn’t need them to read these words, only to expect them, to receive them, and to come back with a resounding “you can do this; you are doing this!” At about 30,000 words into The Light Between Us, I was ready to quit. Their support rallied me, assuaged my doubt, and gave me strength to continue writing into the unknown.

You don’t have to work in a vacuum. In fact, I think you should consider avoiding doing so. Find a kindred or two that you trust, and ask them to walk with you. Life begets life.

Beth writes, paints, and dreams in Montana. She is the author of The Light Between Us, a new adult romance, and the creative healing workbook Life After Eating Disorder, and is also the owner of Epiphany Art Studio. Her words and art have appeared in various publications, such as Somerset Studio, to linger on hot coals, Still Standing Magazine, Wild Goslings, and Disney’s Family Fun. In addition to her quirky little family and their three naughty dogs, Beth is in love with luscious color, moon-gazing, and dancing wild. She writes soul into flesh at her blog, and is saving the world at Act Small, Think Big.

Posted in Books, Story Sessions | Leave a Comment »

Real Talk Tuesday – Who’s your “we?”

July 15, 2014 by Suzanne

The word “we” makes me anxious.

My gut reaction to “we” is to feel left out. I’ve been part of that magical twosome, whether romantic or otherwise, that gives me a rant-listener, a breakfast partner, a perpetual plus-one, and a person who will call me out when I’m siding with the melodrama in my head. I also know what it’s like to go from “we” to “just me…again.” It’s not pretty, even when it’s for a good reason or for the best. That transition makes me want to make friends with more of these:

But then I breathe and look across the table.

And there’s Marvia and Alison and Kati Rose and Miah.

There’s always a new “we,” and if I don’t remember to say that, I am only telling half the story. God always gives me a new “we.”

I am a textbook introvert. Read any list on how to approach those who need solitude to recharge their energy, and you’re pretty much reading a manual on how to get along with me. But I also have a pesky characteristic called connectedness. I see patterns in everything, and I see how they work together. Give me a minute, and I can tell you how everyone’s actions affect everyone else. This can make me annoying at parties (or at work…or to the unfortunate soul sitting next to me on the bus when I first read the article that is going to piss me off that day…). I was once given an actual soapbox as a gift – partially as a nod to my fondness for standing upon them and partially as a jab at my physical shortness (to which I replied, “I don’t need height – I have minions.”). Connectedness is inherently communal. So while community may not exactly energize me, it does seem to be a habitual, necessary occurrence in my life.

I have a lot of “we’s” –

Online writer communities – I can never get away with not writing, not with Story Sessions and Andilit on the prowl.
Supper Club – Bonded by our love of food, reading, and TV, this is a group who is not afraid to hear what I really think and is not afraid to tell me what they really think.
Christ the Servant Lutheran Church – I’m new to them, so we’re still figuring each other out. But they couldn’t be kinder or more welcoming, and I am learning a lot. It’s nice to find a place where I feel both safe and challenged. Also, they let me be on their outreach team. My first task? Taking inventory of our current coffee supplies and figuring out a budget for us to move toward being more intentional with fair trade purchases. And when I said no to working with the children (I love many specific children individually, but in packs or running about in public, they kinda freak me out. I blame working daycare.), they listened. The first time. I’m so happy.
Various friends I met through Christ Fellowship and The-Church-Formerly-Known-As-Normal-Street (after all this time, I still don’t know the current name of the group. Wow.) – Even though I am no longer meeting with them on Sundays, these are still the people I would call in an emergency. When I think of my very best friends, in Denton and beyond, I can trace almost all of them back to one (or both – love you, Steph) of these groups.
Maggie and Michelle – They get their own space. They are often my first sounding board and my first readers. If you looked at the text messages on my phone, you would see that over half the total messages I send are to one or both of them. If I ever become obnoxiously wealthy, the first thing I’m going to do is pay off my student loan. The second thing I’m going to do is buy each of them a house and hire Maggie as my personal assistant and Michelle as my social media coordinator so that they can move back to Denton. So, start making plans, you two.
My family – This is the part where I get weepy with gratitude. My family is my greatest support. My family is the reason I can’t say mean things about Republicans in general (even though the loud, extreme ones in the media really have it coming). My conservative parents, sister, and brother-in-law are the most generous, most helpful, most supportive, most responsible, kindest, bravest, funniest, and just all around BEST people I know. I am who I am because of them, and I will be who I’m becoming because of them. I am lucky, lucky, lucky.

I might not have a plus-one right now, but that’s okay. Because I have a plus-twenty.

I have the community I need.

Who’s your “we?” I’m linking up with Marvia’s Real Talk Tuesday – join us!

Posted in Andilit, Denton, Real Talk Tuesday, Story Sessions, Thanks | 7 Comments »

Getting It Together – Breathe

July 14, 2014 by Suzanne

I can do many things. I’m not great at multitasking, but I am crazy efficient. I can get more things done – even doing them one at a time – in one hour than many people can get done all day. I take great pride in this ability. I am not a person who requires others telling me how awesome I am (because please – I already know), but I love it when people notice how much I can get done in a short amount of time. Because I KNOW, right?! Recognize.

I tell you this so that you can understand how much I do not want to admit that I cannot complete my Getting It Together project according to my original timeline.

But here I am. Admitting it.

I could blame the sudden acquisition of a summer class that left me with two fewer evenings every week than I had budgeted. Speaking of budgets, I could blame my lack of adequate funding for feeling like I am always waiting on the money to pour in before I can move forward. I could even blame my writing schedule – which I’ve actually been following pretty well this summer – and the two writing classes I’m taking – which are kicking my ass in all the right ways. There are a lot of things – many cases of “and then…” and “if only..” and “but when…” – lots of caveats, limitations, and warnings to others that I could set apart with dashes. I could write a whole post on just these things.

But these things, factual as they may be, do not change the unfortunate truth that there are only so many hours in a week, and that’s not enough hours to do what I had planned to do. I can get into a weekly routine of cleaning (check), and I can get into the habit of cooking so that I have food at home and thus feel less compelled to drive through Whataburger every night (check), but I can’t do that and deep clean and shop and reorganize and write and work and see people occasionally and sleep.

So here’s what I AM going to do.

Step 1: Breathe. Just calm the hell down. Focus on finishing Fishbowl and reading and having a proper summer. Eat more snow cones. Paint my toenails.

Step 2: Recognize what I have accomplished (see: weekly routine and cooking habit). This is how my living room looked last night (filter applied because the sun was down and the filter brightened it up):

Not perfect, but not bad for just your average Sunday when no guests were expected. Behold, the power of routine.

Step 3: Revamp. Later this week, I will post my new plan. There will be an ultimate (soft) deadline, because I can’t bring myself to let it drag on forever, but beyond that there are no time constraints. I have learned that some areas will take longer than others, and that’s okay. Each room will just take however long it takes. And I am happy to let it take its time, because I want to make the apartment home, not just the place where my stuff lives. Well, really I want to move. But while I’m there, I want to be pleased with it instead of having my current reaction, which is something like, “Oh. That mess again,” every time I walk in. Ideally, my new projected deadline will coincide with my December cookie party, but we’ll see.

Step 4: Invite friends and readers (hey – that’s you!) to hold me to this.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some breathing to do.

Posted in Getting It Together | 1 Comment »

Belong – Five Minute Friday

July 11, 2014 by Suzanne

This week has been a cornucopia of madness, so today’s post is accomplishing several goals.

Last week’s assignment from Story 101 was to write something out of your comfort zone. I chose form poetry, because my poetry doesn’t generally like to follow the rules. My sonnet is giving me fits. So hello, haiku.
One of my goals made with the online writing group with Andilit was to post two blog posts this week. This makes two. Done!
And I am linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday, hosted this week by Crystal Stine. Join us and add your two cents (or rather, five minutes). The prompt is “belong.”

And go:

You belong with me

Like cats curled together warm

Even in summer

Sky plummets to earth

Horizon fights off the wind

Somehow they belong

A sea of people

Often I wonder – will I

Ever belong here?

Clouds burst; rain comes; lush

I breathe in the rooted ground,

Belonging to it.

And because I just can’t help myself…

Whirr, boil, brew, inhale

My heart belongs to coffee.

Bearable morning

Posted in Andilit, Five Minute Friday, Poetry, Story Sessions | 2 Comments »

Week of Rest

July 7, 2014 by Suzanne

My original schedule for Getting It Together had this week being Adorn – the week I clean out the closet. I decided, however, to switch it with Rest because:

It’s our week of silence in Story 101. We are to have a daily practice of silence – whatever that looks like for us. Traditionally, I would use the week to be off Facebook and Twitter, but that’s not feasible for my work week (both at the workplaces I get paid a salary and my writing/other pursuits). My week of silence will be spent devoting at least 15 minutes every day to each of these restful practices – being quiet and still, reading (this one’s so going longer than 15 minutes), stretching or doing Pilates, writing poetry, and dancing. I’ve put aside specific times every day for these practices. If we’re being totally honest here – this is my favorite week in Story 101.
Life has been stressful lately, and freakishly so, given how easy my summer was meant to have been. Life is really barreling over me. I need relief now.
My bedroom is so full that I can’t really clear out a space around the closet to clean it anyway. It will all be easier and will require less cursing if I just do the bedroom first.
I’ve stopped going to church. Well, not officially. I still mean to go. I really do mean to go, sometime right up to the moment that it’s time to walk out the door. Then I stop. This doesn’t have anything to do with them. They’re wonderful. But my hiatus from church has taught me Sabbath. It has taught me what a day of rest really looks like, and now I require it. I need a day of rest. Before summer started and I began to move things around (read: into the bedroom), I could go to church in the morning and still come home and rejuvenate. My room is in chaos, though, so being home isn’t so restful. I end up stacking or moving or feverishly cleaning. Or I avoid stacking and moving and cleaning but spend the day with the knowledge – that all those things I need to do are lurking right behind that closed bedroom door – hovering over me like a cloud. This, too, is exhausting. I don’t have time for my weekly rest to require more time than it already does. I need to nest.

So this week is Rest. The plan for the bedroom is twofold, because honestly – if I can just get the room clean and organized this week, it will be a miracle. So some of the fancier things I want to do will have to wait their turn.

Short-term goals:

Clear out. Go through all the boxes (some still packed from the last time I moved…two years ago) and get rid of everything that I don’t need or can’t realistically expect to use within the next year.
Organize. Put whatever is left after I have cleared everything out to place. If it doesn’t seem to have a place, reconsider if it’s really something I need to keep.
Clean. Dust and vacuum. Control the allergens that make me wake up stuffy every morning.

Long-term goals:

Make curtains out of the blue sheet set.
Make a headboard, covered with the material from the fitted sheet of that set. I thought about making it to fit in the holes that my dad left in the platform frame, but after searching for DIY instructions on the subject, I ran across this gem. I like the way it looks, and it seems to be a lot simpler to make than one that actually fits the bed frame. So for my first foray into headboard-making, this is the one I’m going to go with. I also like that it includes instructions on how to make your own piping, because I’m totally doing that with an old, holey blanket that I was just going to throw out.
Rearrange so that there is room for my little blue chair somewhere in the room.
Possibly get a chest (more drawers?) to hold linens to put at the end of the bed.
Put up coat rack behind door.

Whew. I could have spent the whole summer just on my room, it seems. We’ll see how this goes.

Posted in Church, Getting It Together, Simplify, Story Sessions | 1 Comment »

What I’m Into – June 2014

July 3, 2014 by Suzanne

Oh, June. I’m into you. I didn’t expect to be. Maybe the surprise of it is what makes it so mesmerizing.

The snow cones don’t hurt, either.

Words:

Poetry, food, and friends. Even with two jobs in full swing, June demands vacation reading. I moved my reading lamp to the bedroom, so I have been drenching myself in the poetry collections I keep on my bedside table every night and every morning. Suddenly, waking up isn’t so hard to do.

Chocolat – Long-time lover of the movie (because Johnny Depp. And chocolate. But mostly Johnny Depp), I knew I’d love the book as well. This book will make you hungry…in so many ways.

Ruth Reichl’s debut novel Delicious! was wonderful. I am biased, because having collected most of her other books and tried most of the recipes within them, I love her and sort of want to be her when I grow up, but Reichl knows how to tell a story. Also – don’t worry – the gingerbread recipe is at the back of the book.

And my friend Beth Morey’s The Light Between Us was launched this month. I ordered a paper copy but I couldn’t wait for it to get to me, so I grabbed an e-copy as well. It’s a fast read, because you don’t want to put it down. This book + beach + mai tai = perfect day.

Friends:

June was full of fun.

Our Supper Club went to Wine Squared for Sumptuous Sundays on Father’s Day. We enjoyed a wonderful three-course meal with wine pairings for each course which included the most glorious pork loin I’ve ever eaten and a port I actually enjoyed. We, of course, hastily signed up for their wine club. We’re hooked.

Summer seems to be the time for transitions. Several friends have moved/are moving/got new jobs, so I got to celebrate with them. My old boss Dennis got a job at another school, so the Dean of Students office (where he worked at UNT) had a farewell party for him. Lisa from my book club moved back to the east coast, so we had a special book club meeting (read: night of wine and Texas-themed food/presents) to send her off. And Jayne and Connor are moving to Juneau soon, so I got to see her last week and will see her again at their garage sale on Saturday. Added bonus – I bought this adorable thing from them, which is the perfect cabinet for my liquor:

Dear Savvy turned two. What she’s into? Daniel Tiger and butterflies.

(And cake. And Daddy.)

Because none of us could make the in-person Story Sessions retreat in Austin, the DFW Story Sisters decided to have our own party. Adela hosted us for an evening of wine, food, and conversation, and it was a balm to my soul.

Products:

Um, who knew about Arbonne and failed to tell me? Kim lured me to a party one Friday with the promise of wine (pretty much the only reason I’ll ever leave my house on a Friday evening), and I’m so glad she did. I tried all the things, and I AM NOT ALLERGIC TO ANY OF THEM. This never happens. I ordered the daily face regime for sensitive skin and the deodorant, but I want to buy everything. I’m having a party in August, and I’m at least going to sign up to be a preferred customer.

Equal Exchange’s Red Cherry Challenge -in addition to their already stellar business practices that ensure a livable wage and a workable business model for coffee farmers, Equal Exchange is donating ten cents for every pound of coffee purchased this year to the Red Cherry Fund, a grant program for farmers in El Salvador and Guatamala, where climate change has wreaked havoc on their businesses. I pledged to buy five pounds of coffee a month (which is actually a pretty conservative estimate for me). Will you join the challenge?

TV/Movies:

The first weekend of the month, I did a little dogsitting, which means I also did a lot of Netflixing. In one weekend, I watched Season 3 of Sherlock (!!!) and both seasons of Orange is the New Black (also !!!). The dogs were incredibly calm, aside from during that pesky storm incident, and I like to think it had something to do with my good taste in programming.

Well, I say they were calm. This is the look you get from Maddie when you suggest that she “go outside” during OITNB:

No one gives side eye like Maddie.

I also watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I liked it, but I don’t know if I would have liked it as much as I did if I hadn’t been chatting about it via Facebook with the Story Sessions while watching it. It was clever. You should see it.

The Internet:

– Women ignoring men as art

– June 4 was National Hug Your Cat Day, and The Bloggess encouraged all of us to celebrate.

– This was followed two days later by National Donut Day. Mmmm….donut….*salivates*

– Addie Zierman wrote The Non-Blogger’s Guide to Blogging series. This is the first blogging series that hasn’t made me want to throw my hands up in the air (and wave them like I just don’t care) and erase everything I’ve ever done online because why bother if I’m not going to be perfect at it. If you want to improve your blog but can’t stand advice on how to improve your blog, go give it a read.

So you can see why I have such a crush on June this year. Link up with us over at Leigh Kramer’s blog to let us know what you were into in June!

Posted in Books, Story Sessions, What I'm Into, Work, Writing | Leave a Comment »

Renew

July 2, 2014 by Suzanne

I originally planned to call this week of Getting It Together Cleanse, but that reminds me too much of funky temporary diets that make my sweat smell odd. Renew is a better word for what I want to accomplish in the targeted spaces – the bathroom and the laundry closet – for this week. These two areas generally stay well-organized, but I still want to make some minor improvements.

I say “generally,” because they are a terrible mess right now. The picture of the flower on the bathroom counter (which, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit died weeks ago and thus is not even there anymore) is the only picture I’m willing to share with you right now.

In the laundry closet:

I want to put up a bar where I can hang clothes straight from the dryer.
I need to take the recycling that has taken over the top of the machines (where I usually stack clothes as I fold them) to the recycling center so that I have a place to fold (on top of dryer) and a place to store my ample collection of coolers (on top of the washer).

My original plan for the bathroom was a new color scheme. It was going to be plum and silver, with varying shades of gray as a backdrop. Two problems arose:

When at all possible, I like to make choices that exhibit ethical consumerism and good stewardship of resources. This isn’t always possible. Sometimes, need + budget restrictions = compromise. I can’t justify that excuse here, though. I don’t need new towels. I already have more towels than I have space to store them, and they’re in good shape. Having matching bathroom linens and fixtures would be nice, but it’s unnecessary. It would be frivolous spending. Now, I’m a fan of frivolity, but I’m also working on becoming less of an asshole, so if I’m going to engage in rampant, needless consumerism, the very least I can do is engage in it ethically. After more hours than I care to admit of searching for four sets of bathroom linens that 1) are the color I want, 2) are ethically sourced (i.e., fairly traded, sweatshop-free, made from sustainable materials, etc.), and 3) are within even the most liberal stretches of my budget, I am sad to report that no such items exist IN THE WORLD.
I don’t own the apartment I live in. So even if I changed everything I could to make a new color scheme in the bathroom, I would still be stuck with cheap tan flooring, brass-colored doorknobs and light fixtures, and plain white walls. This would significantly diminish the effect, which gives me a big case of the why-bothers.

All of that to say…I won’t be buying new towels.

So let’s move on to what I will be doing:

Cleaning and organizing the cabinet under the sink, the medicine cabinet, and the small storage buckets on the counter. This includes getting rid of all expired items and making a list of what needs to be replaced.
Finally putting up the towel rack that I bought the first month I moved in.
Deep cleaning the whole room, especially the shower. I need to clean up as much of the rust from the air conditioner overflow as possible (ongoing saga – the short version is that the cheap bastards refuse to fix it despite it being reported as a problem several times – one of which was a report from the outside contractor whom they had to call to completely replace it because, according to said HVAC professional, the same problem that causes the overflow/leak situation was what also caused the old unit to rust and fall apart) and try to figure out a way to channel the apparently inevitable leak in order to minimize the extent to which it compromises the structural integrity of the property, thus also hopefully minimizing the likelihood that someday I will fall, naked and wet, into the apartment below me.
Replacing the plastic shower curtain liner with a new, rust-free one and dyeing the current shower curtain to mask the rust stain that appeared when the current liner tore. *sigh*

That’s a lot of work for such a small amount of square footage. I need a nap just thinking about it.

Posted in Getting It Together | 3 Comments »

Nostalgia is a Liar

July 1, 2014 by Suzanne

When I went through my mom’s recipe collection in order to find things to make, I told her, “I want a variety of things – comfort food, desserts, main courses, side items, etc.” I came across the recipe for Western Salad, and I remarked, “Oh – Western Salad – good! This gives me a healthy option, too!”

She gave me the oddest look. I was confused at first, but then I read the recipe.

It started well:

1 head of lettuce
1 cup chopped onions
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 can ranch-style beans

But it derailed from there:

2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup Catalina dressing
bag of corn chips

You mix everything except the chips. The chips are added as you serve, to avoid sogginess. And you end up with this:

I did leave out the onions, because when there are raw onions in something, that’s all I can taste, and I doubled the amount of tomatoes. But I followed the rest of the recipe exactly.

Calling it a salad is an exercise in willing suspension of disbelief. I can picture the creator of this marvelous foodstuff debating whether or not s/he could actually call it salad and get away with it, finally ending with the deciding factor – “Does it have lettuce? Yes! Okay, then – salad, it is!”

So I’m giving in to my nostalgia, deceptive as it might be, and sticking to the name Western Salad. Just nod along, everybody. Be cool.

My memory of this dish is that it was light and healthy. The reality of this dish is that it is the sort of thing one might buy from a concession stand. This explains why Mom never actually served it as a meal but as a decadent side item in an otherwise healthy, balanced dinner.

As I have mentioned before, I am not my mother. Totally ate a large bowl of Western Salad as a meal.

I regret nothing.

Posted in Food, Getting It Together, Roots | 3 Comments »

Two things

July 1, 2014 by Suzanne

Okay, two things regarding the SCOTUS decision, then I’ll get back to talking about food, coffee, and the ridiculous amount of possessions I have shoved into my tiny, tiny apartment.

First, since I still don’t have nice words, I am going to direct you to someone else. This article sums up my disappointment nicely. The only time I ever took medicine traditionally used for contraceptive purposes, it was not for contraceptive purposes. I had abnormally large cysts on my ovaries that exploded every month. They were not cancerous, but every month they just kept getting bigger. And exploding. The last month it happened, I landed in the emergency room because we thought something vital had ruptured. The impact so distressed the inner workings of my abdomen that I was on a mostly liquid diet (on good days, I could keep down vegetable soup) for six months. My doctor prescribed a hormone therapy drug because it regulated the hormone imbalance that was causing the abnormal growth. It probably saved my life. This decision denies that life-saving opportunity to others. I take this personally because it is personal to me.

(I could also make the argument that birth control used as birth control is also life-affirming and life-saving, but I won’t. Oops. Guess I just did. But you can pretend you didn’t see this, if it makes you feel better.)

Second, this is a minor annoyance, but still…I’m annoyed that we keep referring to the money the company pays to insurance as the company’s money. Frankly, I’m shocked that my highly conservative Facebook feed is doing so, given their usual proclivity to jump on the get-out-of-my-pocketbook train. This is a not a case of a company using its resources to engage in unethical practices (like sweatshop labor, for example. But if it were such a case…*cue pointed glance*…but I digress). This is not a case of a company using its resources to encourage certain behavior. This is not a case of a company using its resources for anything. Dear Hobby Lobby, when someone works for you, the money you pay in insurance? THE EMPLOYEE’S MONEY. Not yours. THEIRS. Payment – in the form of benefits, sure, but part of the compensation package all the same – that they EARNED by working for you. You know how you can tell it’s theirs? If you would stop providing it when they stop working for you, it falls in the category of payment for services rendered. It’s theirs. No corporation – regardless of their tax status – should have any more right to tell employees what to do with their benefits than they do to tell employees what to do with their paycheck.

Okay. We now return to our regular programming.