Finally took down the Christmas tree. Managed to get it to the curb by tossing it off of my balcony.
(It's ok, I'm only about 10-12 feet above the sidewalk so it's not as if I tossed it from 4 stories up! Plus I then ran down to place it by the other trees for mulching.)
Things Today:
+Labeled bags to start gathering items for Housing Works thrift. +Replaced the battery in my smoke/gas alarm +Removed the burnt out bulb from my ceiling fan/light fixture (get replacement bulb tomorrow) +Organized and partially packed Christmas ornaments for storage
Doing a physical, emotional, and studio cleansing today. I'm feeling rather disgusted and disappointed with a lot of things and people in my life recently and I want to get rid of those horrid feelings.
Trying to get rid of all the toxins in my life and start anew: changing my diet for the better, taking vitamins, throwing out broken electronic equipment that I haven't used in 3+ years, going through clothing and other ephemera and donating the stuff for Housing Works. It's amazing how much one can cram into a studio loft.
I'll try and do some laundry tomorrow, too. (I hope the laundromat is open tomorrow.)
Oh yeah, and I'm finally taking my Christmas tree down. It's a live tree. Or at least it was.
So I'm getting rid of the deadwood and sordid emotional vines that have been choking the life out of me.
I'm actually going to rig up a spreadsheet of daily and weekly goals. It works amazingly well for me at work, why not apply it to my personal life? I need to start new, good behaviors and maintain them. Hopefully a spreadsheet will hold me to it.
I feel I've lacked any structure since I've moved to NYC. I guess that part of the whole "it takes three years to get accustomed to city living" vibe.
*****
Good Things:
+pedicure with toe nail polish the color of ripe plums +walks around Soho +Housing Works cafe and thrift on Crosby Street +Midge Ure (yes, I'm back to my obsession again.) +Listening to (somewhat)new music: St. Vincent, Neko Case, Lady Gaga, Girl Talk, Glen Hansard +day off tomorrow +seeing Swell Season at Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday +donating to Haiti +donating to the Loews Theatre in Jersey City (Busby Berekley and William Powell films next weekend, Wheee!) +the Red Shoes coming back to Film Forum in February +reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night." The writing is sooooo good.
*****
I just want a good, healthy, happy life. I just want to get my shit together.
I never, ever had a fancy name designer bag. Quite frankly I never really wanted one. Not wanting to be a billboard, etc. But I really, really liked this Betsey Johnson bag I saw in Filene's Basement on Monday:
And I've always like Betsey Johnson as a designer. I appreciate the fact that she's a female business owner. Her dresses seem a little young for me (plus the few Betsey Johnson dresses I found in the thrift shop over the years were always XS) but I really like her couture line.
Plus, I had just received some Christmas money in the mail from my Dad the week before (I'm 41 and my dad still sends me Christmas money!)
So, I bought it.
I almost wound up returning it since my buyer's guilt was so bad. It took me two days before I finally cut the tags off.
After a little research I discovered I had bought it at a price 60% less than the original price. I found the same bag on Ebay and the price I had paid was still almost 20 dollars less than the Ebay seller price.
So yes, it may seem a little materialistic, but I bought a really cool, Betsey Johnson bag. And it wasn't crazy expensive. And I like it. And It makes me happy.
It took a while for it to get started, but wowie zowie we now have a full out BLIZZARD in NYC!
It's snowing so hard I can't even see across the street.
Planned my day accordingly in anticipation of the impending blanketing of white: did two loads of laundry, bought (and later decorated) my Christmas tree, ran to the grocery to buy soup, cold cuts, bread, milk, and juice, decorated the mantle, and washed dishes.
Tomorrow will be devoted to coffee drinking, hair dying, present wrapping, getting out some Christmas cards in the post, and catching up on bills and correspondence.
But for now I'm just sitting on the sofa, keeping warm with a cup of tea, basking in the glow of my Christmas tree and watching the snow swirl outside.
Feeling a little blue, but overall it was a pretty darn good week. One of those weeks where I'm soooo thankful to be living in NYC.
Case in point, this week I:
+Met Stephen Fry +Saw the Velvet Underground +Am making Art +May go see the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the Whitney (although I may go next Friday and take advantage of "pay what you can" Friday)
Speaking of art and making art, Ann Wood posted this lovely and seemingly easy patter and guide on how to make a paper-mache boat:
Do you think society puts too much pressure on people to be in relationships and/or have children? Do you think this ostracizes people who would be perfectly content to remain single and/or child-free? Is this pressure worse around the holidays?
Absolutely. American society (and I only cite America since I've only lived in America) is built around "baby culture" and "dating."
Let's look to reality TV for examples such as "Kate Plus Eight" the Duggar family, and now the "Octomom." Breeders are glorified (despite the fact in two of these three cases their progeny were partially engineered due to in vitro fertilization). Breeders are rewarded with baby showers, and those who marry with bridal showers.
What ritual, ceremonial, or cultural celebrations are there that are celebrated and practiced widely that glorify the individual?
And it's not just a case of breeders vs. non-breeders; even among some breeders there is a competition about who is more appropriate or justified to be a mother or father.
Look at what is going on now in the house and senate with health care. Why is it that certain methods of controlling reproduction are being questioned as valid or even moral. To paraphrase Margaret Sanger, "Motherhood should neither be accident or enslavement."
Frowned upon are the individuals who decide to not reproduce. One can look metaphorically at the double-stroller; that the parent is staking his/her claim to the territory and pushing aside any individual.
Granted, not all parents look at single folks with disdain, fear, animosity, or suspicion. I've been lucky in that my closest friends who are married, with children, or are in committed relationships treat me with respect and love. But the message that I receive from media outlets and politics is that society rewards those who marry and reproduce.
But am I the only one who finds it interesting that Santa and Mrs. Clause never had children??? Why hasn't anyone questioned Santa and his motivations for giving present to the world's children?
To the parents out there, I'd love to hear what you think about Mr. Clause and his "child-free" lifestyle.
Jude the Obscure-Thomas Hardy: I'm drawn to books about class struggle. I also like that Jude is a stone mason which is the same occupation as my father's. Very sad, tragic in fact, but this novel is an example of some amazing writing.
Beast- Donna Jo Napoli: The most incredible retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale from the point of view of the Beast. No Disney musical here. Set in Persia, a prince knowingly sacrifices an unclean animal and is transformed into a lion as punishment. The first person observation of the "beast" becoming cognizant of his transformation into an animal is riveting.
The Passion Dream Book- Whitney Otto: More "literary" than her previous venture "How to Make an American Quit." The Post-modern story weaves together events from 1920s Harlem Renaissance and Renaissance Italy. It's about a white woman struggling to define herself as an artist to the chagrin of her parents. She falls in love with a black photographer. In order to live and work with him at his studio in Harlem, she passes herself off as black. There are also chapters devoted to Michelangelo and a mysterious stone "curl" which Otto uses as a running metaphor throughout the novel to connect the two historical settings.
Worst:
The Witching Hour- Anne Rice: I basically like Anne Rice and her wonderful Paris/New Orleans settings and use of imagery, but I just remember this story going on far too long and exhausting her metaphors and plot line. I think I had 1-2 chapters to go and I put the book down. I just couldn't finish it.
Eat, Pray, Love- (Can't remember the author): Trite and cliched. I like bildungroman tales, but one was far too predictable and simplistically written.
Various auto/biographies- These can be hit or miss considering the individual. Unfortunately the more infamous the person the better the book. The nicer the person, the story is rather dull.
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