Avenue Q made it to our little corner of the world a couple weeks ago, so Jon and I splurged on tickets. I couldn't pass up the opportunity considering this is one of the few productions on my "must see" list.
In junior high/high school, I had a love affair with the music from "Les Miserables," "Phantom of the Opera," "Cats," and "Miss Saigon." I got to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" on stage in Detroit and...haters gonna hate...got to see a scantily clad Donnie Osmond in the flesh (though I had little appreciation for it at the time).
While I still like listening to the music, and I'd go see "Les Miz" or "Phantom" in a heartbeat if it came to the area, many of the things I liked then lack relevance for me. "Avenue Q," on the other hand, was all sorts of relevant to my life. I hated that feeling of being out of college, yet not in a career and having no idea what the heck I was going to do. I've been broke (still am at times), I've been lonely, I've found comfort in the internet (though maybe not in the same way Trekkie Monster finds comfort in the internet), and I've had that feeling that I'm "less" because I failed to live up to someone's expectations.
While the play is done in good, raunchy fun, it also makes valid points about life, and even though I'm past alot of the angst reflected in the show, it still reminded me that I'm not alone in what I went through and what I still sometimes go through. Alot of people have those times, and they don't really stop once you're out of your 20s.
Hard times come and go, and "Avenue Q" reminds us that the things we're going through are really and truly "just for now."
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
The “Fine” Art of One-Upping the Other Guy
The world is full of those people who, no matter what you’ve accomplished, have already done it and/or have done it better. One or two of these instances are generally overlooked, and it’s likely the person has no idea they’re doing it. But when it gets to the point when you can’t even have a conversation without feeling like nothing you do is good enough, it generally leads to a loss of communication, distance, and sometimes the end of friendship.
This trend is bad enough in real life, but I’ve noticed it online quite a bit recently, and while none of it is directed at me, I still find it annoying. Even if the offenders don’t actually mean anything by it, the only thing I read in their backhanded compliments is that they can’t stand that someone else might have done something better.
We all have our moments where we want recognition for what we did. I get in these moods where I’m all “Read my awesome writing because I’m awesome” (even though I know I’m not really all that awesome), and I like being recognized if I’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty to do something cool. But I can also congratulate others and share in their good news without having to feel the need to defend my place at the top of the –insert achievement here- dogpile.
Some people are raised different and to give them the benefit of the doubt, I’m sure they don’t realize they’re doing it. That's beside the point, however, when they’re coming across as self-absorbed and clueless.
There are certain times when it’s okay to bring your own story into the mix. In many friendly conversations I’ve had, the talk turns to a “you did this and I did this” discussion, but it’s rare that there’s any hostility or obvious attention whoring. Personal stories are a key in being empathetic to others. It’s not the “outdo” game, but a way to connect with someone else to let them know that you know how they feel.
Next time you feel yourself drawing someone else’s victory or accomplishment towards yourself, try to refrain and insert a simple “nice job” instead.
Final thought: If I tend to do this, I hope some of my readers will let me know. It’s always easier to note the annoying habits of others without seeing one’s own.
This trend is bad enough in real life, but I’ve noticed it online quite a bit recently, and while none of it is directed at me, I still find it annoying. Even if the offenders don’t actually mean anything by it, the only thing I read in their backhanded compliments is that they can’t stand that someone else might have done something better.
We all have our moments where we want recognition for what we did. I get in these moods where I’m all “Read my awesome writing because I’m awesome” (even though I know I’m not really all that awesome), and I like being recognized if I’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty to do something cool. But I can also congratulate others and share in their good news without having to feel the need to defend my place at the top of the –insert achievement here- dogpile.
Some people are raised different and to give them the benefit of the doubt, I’m sure they don’t realize they’re doing it. That's beside the point, however, when they’re coming across as self-absorbed and clueless.
There are certain times when it’s okay to bring your own story into the mix. In many friendly conversations I’ve had, the talk turns to a “you did this and I did this” discussion, but it’s rare that there’s any hostility or obvious attention whoring. Personal stories are a key in being empathetic to others. It’s not the “outdo” game, but a way to connect with someone else to let them know that you know how they feel.
Next time you feel yourself drawing someone else’s victory or accomplishment towards yourself, try to refrain and insert a simple “nice job” instead.
Final thought: If I tend to do this, I hope some of my readers will let me know. It’s always easier to note the annoying habits of others without seeing one’s own.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Productivity Vs. Depression
Sunday depression has normally been the conclusion of an otherwise pleasant weekend. I know it's back to work the next day and I dwell on what I didn't accomplish over the weekend.
Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing, which is good in theory. I, however, tend to over relax, then feel guilty because nothing was accomplished. Even though I'm lazy by nature, I still beat myself up about what I didn't get done.
These past couple weekends have brought forth no Sunday depression. If anything, I've been feeling good about Sunday. I'm not dreading Monday morning, nor am I lazing around wondering where the time went. In fact, the last couple Sundays have been pretty good to me.
The difference in my weekends is that I'm spending time on both days writing. Since I changed how I thought about it, I know feel like if I can get writing time in and articles submitted, I'm utilizing my time well. If I log several hours, I don't feel as if my weekend was wasted. I feel good and ready to tackle the coming week.
I wonder if this is a sign of being a workaholic, if people can't live without that sense of productivity. If maybe their depression is also linked to how much they do and so to avoid that depression altogether, they just never stop "doing."
For me, I don't think I'm to that phase. First off, I get joy out of writing, even when I have to research, revise, and take criticism. Second, I'm still lazy. I just took two nights off in a row to do nothing but watch movies and play video games...not a characteristic of a true workaholic.
As long as I have something that keeps the Sunday blues away, though, I'm going to continue to use it.
The extra income and notoriety are perks too.
Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing, which is good in theory. I, however, tend to over relax, then feel guilty because nothing was accomplished. Even though I'm lazy by nature, I still beat myself up about what I didn't get done.
These past couple weekends have brought forth no Sunday depression. If anything, I've been feeling good about Sunday. I'm not dreading Monday morning, nor am I lazing around wondering where the time went. In fact, the last couple Sundays have been pretty good to me.
The difference in my weekends is that I'm spending time on both days writing. Since I changed how I thought about it, I know feel like if I can get writing time in and articles submitted, I'm utilizing my time well. If I log several hours, I don't feel as if my weekend was wasted. I feel good and ready to tackle the coming week.
I wonder if this is a sign of being a workaholic, if people can't live without that sense of productivity. If maybe their depression is also linked to how much they do and so to avoid that depression altogether, they just never stop "doing."
For me, I don't think I'm to that phase. First off, I get joy out of writing, even when I have to research, revise, and take criticism. Second, I'm still lazy. I just took two nights off in a row to do nothing but watch movies and play video games...not a characteristic of a true workaholic.
As long as I have something that keeps the Sunday blues away, though, I'm going to continue to use it.
The extra income and notoriety are perks too.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Slowin' My Roll
I tend to get a little excited about things and take on more than I can handle. I remember doing this in high school and the first part of college. I'd fill my schedule then realize that I'd probably made a mistake in not scheduling a break here and there. Eventually I got lazy and stopped doing stuff, and now anyone who knows me knows I tend to be a homebody and don't always accept every invitation that comes my way. (I also call it laziness, but that's just semantics).
When it comes to hobbies, I've always been one to throw myself head first into them and gluttonize on whatever happens to hold my interest at that moment. I've gone through weekends where I'll do nothing but read for two days straight. Not long ago, I was having knitting marathons that left my hands swollen and sore at the end of the day. Back in college, I would do nothing but write, so much so that I'd be up all night long working on some story or another that I was feeling passionate about at the time.
The problem with turning writing into a part time job is that I can't immerse myself as completely all at one time. Because I burnout fast, I need to learn to pace myself or risk screwing up my chance to turn this into something lucrative. Take this past weekend for instance. I wrote all day Saturday, which I enjoyed. I got to sit at Hastings, drink coffee and write at my own pace. However, after submitting three articles, instead of holding off until I'd done my rewrites and knew I'd have to write the next weekend, I started claiming titles like a madwoman.
Two days later, I realized there was no way I was going to do nine articles in a week while working a full time day job, visiting with friends at least one night, and keeping my sanity with an off night or at least some down time in the evenings.
The phrase "slow my roll" occurred to me in actual context, rather than the snarky way Jon and I use it most of the time. Luckily, both of my writing platforms allow me to release assignments, so that was the first thing I did. This made the dreaded re-writes about ten times easier and they went easier than I'd anticipated. With that under my belt, I took a break and played a video game...without feeling guilty.
While extra income is nice, it's not really worth losing my sanity or my love of writing. I've used the excuse for years that I haven't tried to make writing a job because I don't want to end up hating it. Now that I've taken that step, I need to also take steps to keep enjoying it. Article writing may not be the big rollercoaster at the local amusement park, but I want to be able to do it with a certain amount of motivation and enjoyment for the work I produce.
Plus, it would be nice to keep up the momentum for longer than two weeks.
When it comes to hobbies, I've always been one to throw myself head first into them and gluttonize on whatever happens to hold my interest at that moment. I've gone through weekends where I'll do nothing but read for two days straight. Not long ago, I was having knitting marathons that left my hands swollen and sore at the end of the day. Back in college, I would do nothing but write, so much so that I'd be up all night long working on some story or another that I was feeling passionate about at the time.
The problem with turning writing into a part time job is that I can't immerse myself as completely all at one time. Because I burnout fast, I need to learn to pace myself or risk screwing up my chance to turn this into something lucrative. Take this past weekend for instance. I wrote all day Saturday, which I enjoyed. I got to sit at Hastings, drink coffee and write at my own pace. However, after submitting three articles, instead of holding off until I'd done my rewrites and knew I'd have to write the next weekend, I started claiming titles like a madwoman.
Two days later, I realized there was no way I was going to do nine articles in a week while working a full time day job, visiting with friends at least one night, and keeping my sanity with an off night or at least some down time in the evenings.
The phrase "slow my roll" occurred to me in actual context, rather than the snarky way Jon and I use it most of the time. Luckily, both of my writing platforms allow me to release assignments, so that was the first thing I did. This made the dreaded re-writes about ten times easier and they went easier than I'd anticipated. With that under my belt, I took a break and played a video game...without feeling guilty.
While extra income is nice, it's not really worth losing my sanity or my love of writing. I've used the excuse for years that I haven't tried to make writing a job because I don't want to end up hating it. Now that I've taken that step, I need to also take steps to keep enjoying it. Article writing may not be the big rollercoaster at the local amusement park, but I want to be able to do it with a certain amount of motivation and enjoyment for the work I produce.
Plus, it would be nice to keep up the momentum for longer than two weeks.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Giving Up Pop
I’m on another mission to give up pop/soda/sugary carbonated beverages that offer no nutritional value whatsoever. It’s hard though. At the time of writing this, I’m on my second pop-free day and I’m craving a Coke. Or a Diet Coke. Or a Diet Mountain Dew. Instead, I’m drinking coffee with only a little bit of creamer (eventually I’ll go back to drinking it black) and a bottle of water.
I know the healthier of the options is water, and I go through phases where I love water. I like the add-ins, I like it plain, I like it for tea. But I love my soda too. I’ve been told that you can’t be “addicted” to pop, but if it’s a matter of it all being in your head, then I’ll admit…it’s in mine.
I drank diet pop for a long time, disregarding anything people told me about it being bad for me. My mom drank it for years and had no issues, and I felt less guilty drinking it instead of regular pop. I knew it had the tendency to make people crave sugar, but when I was watching what I ate, it didn’t seem to matter.
Last year, I gave up pop altogether for about two months. During that time, I realized that I wasn’t hurting as much and it eventually clicked that I really did have a bad reaction to diet soda. Instead of being smart and just sticking to my no-soda plan, I started drinking regular. My intentions were good. I’d only have one a day and I’d watch it in reference to my calorie intake.
Unfortunately, I have some health issues that require I take into account more than calorie intake. No matter how good my intentions were, regular pop wasn’t any better. The sugar content has been messing with my system and within just a couple days of drinking it, I felt “puffy.” And yes, I’m puffy anyway, but this is sort of puffy that makes you feel like someone wrapped you in saran wrap (I’ve never been wrapped in saran wrap…I’m taking a guess).
I’m trying it again, because they say if you keep trying, you’re not really quitting. Or maybe I’m just saying that to help me feel better. There are a lot of things I love to drink that aren’t soda: juice, tea, Powerade, milk, coffee, and the occasional alcoholic beverage. So why the heck is it so hard to stay away from pop?
Just a couple days in and I’m feeling okay. I’m not 100% pain-free yet, but I’m working on it. A friend on Facebook said the first week was the hardest, so if I can just power through it, I might be okay.
Here’s to hoping.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Self Promotion Saturday
Happy Saturday, my little band of blog readers. Hope the week was good, that dreams were made, eggs were broken (for delicious french toast, of course), and life made the lemonade for you.
It was a fast week for me, though I have to admit I fluffed off more than I probably should have. I took two nights off in order to watch Tangled and play "Saw" on the XBox, which isn't going so well since I can't seem to manuever in the dark or get through crazy closing blades. But who doesn't need a night or two off, right?
"Sucker Punch": Sexy Images Make Up for Lack of Substance - We went and saw "Sucker Punch" last weekend. For a movie, it was just okay. Then again, maybe I was just tired since we went to the late showing. However, the scene with the giant Samurai set to Bjork's "Army of Me"? Epic.
Five Tips for Preparing for an Outdoor Wedding - I wrote this one around the time when I was actually planning for an outdoor wedding. I opted for the courthouse ceremony instead, but I think the tips are still valid. Maybe. Hopefully.
Six Sources for Creative Writing Material - Yesterday kicked off the start of Script Frenzy, so in honor of the 30 day event, this is an article I wrote a couple years ago when I was harnessing the power of my creative muse for some serious fiction. Or not so serious fiction, depending on how you look at it.
Also, Miss J. Peach was the winner of the Starbucks card! She doesn't have a Blogger account and so isn't a follwer here, but I lured her into my super scary cult of article followers. I plan to hold another drawing next month, so let me know if I can add you to the drawing bin.
It was a fast week for me, though I have to admit I fluffed off more than I probably should have. I took two nights off in order to watch Tangled and play "Saw" on the XBox, which isn't going so well since I can't seem to manuever in the dark or get through crazy closing blades. But who doesn't need a night or two off, right?
"Sucker Punch": Sexy Images Make Up for Lack of Substance - We went and saw "Sucker Punch" last weekend. For a movie, it was just okay. Then again, maybe I was just tired since we went to the late showing. However, the scene with the giant Samurai set to Bjork's "Army of Me"? Epic.
Five Tips for Preparing for an Outdoor Wedding - I wrote this one around the time when I was actually planning for an outdoor wedding. I opted for the courthouse ceremony instead, but I think the tips are still valid. Maybe. Hopefully.
Six Sources for Creative Writing Material - Yesterday kicked off the start of Script Frenzy, so in honor of the 30 day event, this is an article I wrote a couple years ago when I was harnessing the power of my creative muse for some serious fiction. Or not so serious fiction, depending on how you look at it.
Also, Miss J. Peach was the winner of the Starbucks card! She doesn't have a Blogger account and so isn't a follwer here, but I lured her into my super scary cult of article followers. I plan to hold another drawing next month, so let me know if I can add you to the drawing bin.
Friday, April 1, 2011
For the Love (or Lust) of Words
The inspiration for today's post came from a caller on one of my favorite podcasts, The Savage Lovecast. This podcast talks about sexuality in all its various forms, including fetishes. The caller today from the podcast (it was an old podcast since I'm still catching up), had a fetish for words. Certain long, not often used words gave her an erotic thrill, and she enjoyed it when her lover read to her from the dictionary and gave her prompts to find new words.
Weird or not, I can understand the love of good words. Now I don't always use them. In fact, I often go for quantity over quality because I tend to write like I talk (at least in the first draft). That doesn't mean I don't love the way certain words come together and flow off the tongue. I've always assumed this was something that writers and readers do, but thinking about it now, that thinking was a little narrow minded on my part.
Anyone can love words. It's this love that makes certain poems and lyrics appealing. It's what fuels many of us to quote movies and TV shows over and over again. Words are everything we are, yet because they're always there, we sometimes forget to appreciate them. It isn't until we hear a striking word or phrase that we remember just how beautiful words can be.
In the movie Donnie Darko, Drew Barrymore's character talks about how "cellar door" is perceived to be one of the most beautiful word combinations ever made. The lyrics of Tori Amos strike me as powerful and beautiful and memorable. Even single words can be lovely: zaftig, questionable, farther, and luminescent are all favorites of mine.
Not all of us take our love of words to the next level like the caller on the podcast, but "weird" or not (and in my world, "weird" is a very subjective descriptor), I find it oddly beautiful that someone out there can feel the beauty of our language so strongly. Or any language for that matter.
Whoo...now that I mention it, I feel the need to go read a book.
Weird or not, I can understand the love of good words. Now I don't always use them. In fact, I often go for quantity over quality because I tend to write like I talk (at least in the first draft). That doesn't mean I don't love the way certain words come together and flow off the tongue. I've always assumed this was something that writers and readers do, but thinking about it now, that thinking was a little narrow minded on my part.
Anyone can love words. It's this love that makes certain poems and lyrics appealing. It's what fuels many of us to quote movies and TV shows over and over again. Words are everything we are, yet because they're always there, we sometimes forget to appreciate them. It isn't until we hear a striking word or phrase that we remember just how beautiful words can be.
In the movie Donnie Darko, Drew Barrymore's character talks about how "cellar door" is perceived to be one of the most beautiful word combinations ever made. The lyrics of Tori Amos strike me as powerful and beautiful and memorable. Even single words can be lovely: zaftig, questionable, farther, and luminescent are all favorites of mine.
Not all of us take our love of words to the next level like the caller on the podcast, but "weird" or not (and in my world, "weird" is a very subjective descriptor), I find it oddly beautiful that someone out there can feel the beauty of our language so strongly. Or any language for that matter.
Whoo...now that I mention it, I feel the need to go read a book.
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