sometimes, the group bursts into applause when they make the decision

All anxious, self-deprecating humor aside, I really love my part-time job at this bridal shop.

I love it because I love listening to people talk about their style and/or observing people’s style choices and wondering about how they came to them.  I could wonder about that shit all day.  (I once wrote a paper about how exactly the literature on popular culture helps to explain the visceral joy I get from reading amateur fashion blogs.  My professor told me it was “moving,” and I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud.)

I also really like weddings.  For real, I think most of the dresses we sell are heinously expensive and actually just kinda nasty, and I think that if I got a closer look at more of the wedding industry, I’d be even a little more queasy about all that.  (I tried on one of the dresses the other day, and besides the out-of-body weirdness of it, I was struck by how seriously difficult it was to walk in it.  Always with the constriction of women’s bodies…).  But weddings.  I love the idea of blurring the public and the intimate, of standing there, bolstered by the support of all of the people who have made you who you are, and saying, “Okay, let’s make your people my people.”  It’s beautiful. 

Plus, this place is all women all the time.  I love working in all-women contexts.  So much.  I really feel like there’s an unspoken solidarity all up in there.  Maybe I’m just sentimental (I am.).  Women (the other staff all call them “brides,” but that gives me the willies a little bit) come in with their mothers, their sisters, their grandmothers, their in-laws, their friends, their cousins.  It’s fascinating, and sort of an honor really, to get to stand so close to those relationships as they work through this particular style decision, laden as it is with sentiment and body image stuff and $$$ concerns.  I keep thinking that I should write about this part of the job, getting into the gorgeous little details that make up the wide range of relating that I get to see.  But I suppose it’s not very nice to write about strangers without their permission.

hott

Why yes, that is a zebra-print snuggie.

Could I BE having a better Sunday morning?

1. Ani DiFranco Pandora station (forgot how much I love her)
2. productivity on grad school application and district funding application
3. fresh pot of coffee since I cleaned the mold out of the machine yesterday afternoon
4. windows open and air cool enough to be able to wear a sweatshirt and pants
5. good lesson plans written for the week
6. grocery shopping done
7. up early enough to do all of this and still be able to get over to church for the first time in a long time
8. little brother coming to visit esta noche
9. Alex and Jessica coming back today, too

The answer is definitively no. This morning could not be any better.
Man, I used to hate Sundays in college.

"Hey guy, nice pajamas."

"They're O.R. scubs."

"O.R. they?"

Takes all kinds.

Wiki-FuckingWithia

In response to a really cool presentation on using wikis in the classroom by one of the other teachers in my class, I added myself to McAuley's wikipedia page. Wonder how long it will last.

always been a fan of boring

With Jess and Kasey and Alex out of town this weekend, I've taken some time, predictably, to get some work done. I met with a student to catch her up on missing classwork, did some grading and planning, read a book on language and grammar instruction, cleaned the apartment, did some laundry, contemplated working out but didn't, went to church for the first time in a while, and watched some really crappy movies.

Right now, I'm watching Mona Lisa Smile. I've never seen it, but I read the book. The book that's based on the movie. It's craptastic, but I can't get enough of Julia Stiles application to Yale law school despite the pressure put on her to "just get married." Earlier this weekend I watched In Her Shoes, and totally identified with the lawyer sister with the poor dating skills. When the fun sister opened her closet and tried on all her shoes, despite the lawyer sister's notes telling her not to do so, my blood boiled.

The thing is, I'm a sucker for a story with a sensible woman at its center. As a little kid, my favorite movies were Mary Poppins and Sleeping With the Enemy. Though seemingly unrelated, both movies feature a woman who assesses a problematic situation, and then does something about it. They get shit done, if you will. My favorite books were those in Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series. These books, set in a girls' boarding school in England, tell the stories of all kinds of silly girls, but its protagonist is Darrell, one with a good head on her shoulders who makes mistakes but learns from them.

I love Natalie Portman, except for the her silliness in Closer, before the ending when you find out she's actually incredibly complicated and thoughtful. I'm absolutely convinced that Philip Seymour Hoffman is guilty in Doubt, but I could have told you that from watching the previews. Whatever you say, Meryl Streep. Don't get me started on Emma Thompson in Love Actually and Laura Linney in that and everything else, but especially Kinsey. Miranda Hobbes? Yes, please. I feel emotionally torn at the end of Grease because even though I love the "We Go Together" thang, it annoys me that Sandy changes everything for Danny. No backbone, and no good, sensible friends to speak of.

The other day in a meeting with some English teachers, one of them told us about a short-story unit she does using Kohlberg's theory of moral development. They learn the stages and then apply them to the decisions made in the stories they read. Finally, they write about the degree to which literature shapes our morals. Sort of interesting. It made me think about to what extent I am drawn to these characters because of who I am and what I bring to a book I read or movie I watch. Or maybe my repetitive reading and watching of these stories, set up to make the reader or watcher identify with the protagonist, shaped the way I understand what a "good" woman is. I don't know.

What a lovely day.

Things I did:

cleaned the apartment with music blasting
left all the windows open
ironed all of my clothes for the week
walked to the grocery store to do my shopping for the week
talked to Melissa on the phone for a while
booked a train ticket to Chicago for spring break
wasted time on my sweet new MacBook
walked over to the high school and got myself set up for tomorrow
finalized the plans for this week's Social Justice Committee meeting
caught up on my email (1 left in my personal and 3 in my work!)
made delicious red beans and rice for dinner
checked this out

Things I'm about to do:
write my reflection notes for last week's lessons
book a flight somewhere for the week after school gets out
walk over to Paradiso to finish Player Piano
be in bed by 10



All jokes aside, my life rules.

wanted:

Kasey, Jess, and I have come to the realization that we really need an intern.

Seeking Unpaid Intern

Job Requirements:

• Male.
• For-profit.
• Single, but not looking AND/OR happily married with a cool wife.
• Not douchey.
• Common decency.

Highly Preferred:

• Not White Liberal.
• Bachelor’s Degree.
• Boring.

Job Decription:

• Make sure the shower is hot.
• Talk to (an unspecified) my mom.
• Check (an unspecified) my ass.
• Talk to boring people.
• Talk to interesting people when they are being boring.
• Get us fondue supplies, salad stuff, and orange juice when we don’t want to.
• Jump Alex’s car AND/OR find Jessica’ s battery.
• Ensure Jordan’s life as necessary.
• Go to Blockbuster, sucka!
• Identify all possible locations where Combos are available for purchase.
• Make Ellen’s copies.

Uniform:

• Snuggie.

*We are equal-opportunity, non-paying employers. But we seriously don't want a female intern because she'd probably just turn into our friend.

the view from where I'm at

This has pretty much been what I've been looking at for the last three days:


I've watched Along Came Polly (Tad bit painful -- I don't like watching the protagonist get shat on throughout the whole movie.), The Dark Knight (Not my first time. Not as scary, nor as entertaining, this time around.), Step Brothers (Not even a little bit funny.), The Women (Moderately interesting.), Christmas Vacation ("Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass. Happy Hanukkah."), The Bucket List (How can it be possible for Morgan Freedman Jack Nicholson to be boring? Probably the biggest disappointment of the weekend.), and The Incredible Hulk (Truthfully, I saw about three minutes of this.). Or at least I've watched bits and pieces of each, since I've also seen a lot of the inside of my eyelids. Yesterday I had cheese fries for lunch.