1/30: Structure

[darkemeralds]

The one-year mark in the don't-work-no-more phase of my career has come and gone, and I find that I want some structure back in my life. I feel ready to emerge from my cave a little and reconnect, too.

So maybe I can do a post a day for a month.

Boy, am I rusty. Whew. Let's see... [self-censor kicks into high gear: "No, that's unoriginal. No, that would be whiny. No, that sounds like a commercial..."]



Unoriginal: Graydie says "Must you?" while trying to continue her 20-hour nap on the abandoned chair with the heating pad inside it, on my porch.



Whiny: Lacking the commute to work that used to provide me with an hour's good exercise a day (and having all this free time to practice my hobby of eating), I've regained a portion of the weight I lost. I'm having a hell of a time finding a new, life-relevant way of losing it again. I might not care at all, except that I don't want to buy a bunch of new clothes. Because of said weight gain, my retirement wardrobe has consisted of two pairs of black jeans, one pair of Dansko shoes, and ten hoodies, and I miss dressing a little nicer.

Commercial: I've been watching and loving Last Tango in Halifax. If you don't know it, it's a British family comedy-drama written and produced by women, and centered very much on women characters. The scripts are exquisite and the acting positively sublime, and although I generally shy away from realistic family dramas, I'm loving this one.

The first two series are streaming on Netflix, and the third is just finishing up on UK television next week and might pop up in some of the usual places. Highly recommended.

Comments

[darkemeralds]

Hi there! How're you keeping in the storm?

Fannish spaces have taught me a lot about what should outrage me, and it's been very salutary. I can guess what fandom objected to in Last Tango. I registered it--and with some displeasure--but I'm afraid it didn't spoil my personal enjoyment of the rest of the show. I decided I didn't want to feel guilty about that.

I certainly get my money's worth out of Netflix Streaming: my sister, two of her kids, and I all enjoy it for $7.99 a month. Hardly any A-List movies, and of course you have to wait for the full-season DVD release of a show you're following, but you can't beat it for commercial-free binge-watching. They have a rather good selection of documentaries, too.

I'm not aware of a Portland charity used book sale, but the Little Free Library concept seems to have taken off dramatically here in the last couple of years, and I'm seeing them on every block. But tell me more about your charity bookstore!

As to the weekly pilgrimage concept, that's been my only salvation. I make a point of getting just a few things at the grocery store each time so that I have to go back tomorrow, and I've cultivated, if not sublime goat cheese, at least local brand of frozen raw cat food that Her Highness prefers and is only available at a store three miles away at the top of the ridge. But that consistent daily hour is really hard to do without the exogenous goad of WORK, especially in bad weather.

[executrix]

I wasn't thinking "you have to be outraged!" so much as "they might let you down."

I got fired (is "creative differences" a Thing in charity used bookstores?) but it was every Sunday, at a local church. The church built bookcases, and every Sunday people donated books, which we sold for 50 cents for paperbacks, $1 hardcover. The Achilles' heel was that there were always more coming in than going out, which could have been handled by having a Better World Books box, because Better World comes and *takes* the damn things. The church ended up getting about $7,000 a year, which was a good chunk of its budget.

We don't have Little Free Libraries! We also don't have Stop'n'Swaps, which New York City's estimable GrowNYC recycling/farmer's market agency does--they're like rummage sales with no money changing hands.

WRT wardrobe I'd suggest getting some Eileen Fisher-style tops that fit your current profile--and then become floaty tops or belted tops once the extra weight has been lost.

[darkemeralds]

Well, it's true that the character trait that makes me overly susceptible to other people's outrage also makes me too easily swayed by other people's opinion: it all comes down to, "Oh dear, maybe I shouldn't be liking this thing that I was liking." Either way, I've learned to stay out of Amazon reviews and fannish spaces alike when I want to enjoy something, unswayed.

I'm sorry they fired you from your charitable work. How dare they!

[executrix]

I used to be a huge spoiler whore but now I find reading reviews saying "And in that episode Character X does That Thing" tends to reduce my enjoyment because I find myself saying "But that's stupid! If X does that, X is a ninny!" whereas I might have enjoyed the episode unspoiled.

I suppose it all works out, for several months a year I'm working seven pretty long days a week, and I'd *never* get finished if I had to spend five hours at Book Sale every Sunday. Also, now that I don't get free books anymore...several flat surfaces do not have heaps of books!

[darkemeralds]

Yeah, I've found that even slight spoilers tend to ruin my enjoyment of a piece more often than they whet my appetite. Though I'll say this: fannish spoilers of the sort that fly by on Twitter on show night can actually help me appreciate little nuances that I might not otherwise notice when it comes time for me to watch the show on the west coast.

Forgive my being so out of touch with my journal reading: is seven long days a week your normal work schedule, or are you on a special project?

[executrix]

I have to re-write two books each year, so the last six weeks or so before submitting each ms. gets pretty hectic, and then when the files come back for proofreading and review I have to rewrite them *again* but on a shorter schedule (although with fewer developments to incorporate).