Why?

While it's been hard to find something to write about every day (especially something that I think others would find interesting), I've liked writing every day.  And, in a perfect bit of serendipity, this post is the end of NaBloPoMo and my 200th blog post (cue confetti!).  But why do I really like blogging?  Here are some possible reasons:

(1) Blogging is very different from what I do on a day-to-day basis.  It's a lot more creative and extemporaneous than writing work emails and memos.  Similar to baking, blogging is just a different skill set than tax accounting.

(2) It's a non-confrontational way to express myself.  I generally don't like to argue with people, so blogging is a way to share my opinions, which are strongly felt, but I rarely share them in person because I don't want to offend others. This may be the reason that one of my clients thinks I'm a Republican (I've never contradicted her, which just shows how spineless I am).

(3) Writing gives me a chance to think about why I believe what I do.  By writing out my ideas and thoughts, they seem to acquire more definitive contours and I'm able to consider an argument - how to structure it, how to appeal to people who may disagree with me.  Writing it all down hopefully makes my Liberalism at least a little bit more rational.  I much prefer writing to conversation (anti-social, I know - see #2 above).  Perhaps writing is the other side of my passion for reading.

(4) Blogging gives me the illusion of importance without bothering other people and blathering all day long. I have a secret fear that inside the quiet me there is the REALLY ANNOYING ME that won't ever shut up.  You know, the person at a party who thinks they are SO interesting when in fact all they want to talk about is how awesome they are (spoiler alert: they are not actually awesome).  You may be able to tell that I don't like people like that.  So, a blog is a way that the audience can be self selecting.  I won't have to intrude my opinions or thoughts where they are not wanted.  I'm pretty sure that the only regular reader of this blog is my brother, but that's okay.  This girl can still nourish the secret, laughable dream that someday someone somewhere will make a movie about my blog (could Meryl Streep be me?  Please?).

(5) Two words: punching bag.  Blogging is great stress relief - even if I don't really blog about the stuff that's bothering me (because, along with #4, I'm kind of paranoid about strangers learning my secrets - the internets is forever).

(6) Love of Routine, or maybe I'm OCD?  My daily routine is very structured and I like to do everything in a certain order.  So blogging every day becomes a part of the routine that is fun and non-accounting related (see #1).

So, this is the end!  Or, is it?  I may be blogging in December too...just for the sheer joy of it :)

This does not really relate to this post, but I have LOVED my calendar's picture for November.  Just makes you want to walk down that lane, doesn't it?

Cider, a warm sweater, and a cute dog are all this picture really needs.
Anyone want to vacation with me in Oregon to find this road?

Silly Goose

I really don't have the energy for a deep or meaningful post.  This has been a long, long week.  Instead, enjoy the coconut scene from Monthy Python and the Holy Grail:

ISMS!

I may have blogged, like, a few billion times about how much I love West Wing.  Aaron Sorkin is the screenwriter behind a lot of the greatest episodes.  I was reminded of this video below tonight, which combines the brilliant Sorkin's many riffs on himself.  Enjoy!

"Sorkinisms"

Got a Pedestal?

Pedestal: Noun.  (1) the base or support upon which a statue, obelisk, or column is mounted. (2) A position in which one is greatly or uncritically admired.

So, this article happened this week.  If you weren't an angry feminist before reading it, you might be afterwards.  There have been some good responses (here and here for satire).  My response is simply that I don't want to be on a pedestal as something pretty to be looked at, and I don't want a man who thinks I belong on one.  I have not been raised to think of men as the enemy, but as equals.  There ain't nothing wrong with that.  Sitting at home knitting doilies is not going to attract the kind of men I would find interesting anyway.

The woman who wrote the original article seems to be thinking that life is a zero-sum game - if women gain something, men have lost something.  I refuse to believe that's true.  I think when both genders have equal rights, EVERYONE benefits, not just women.  Children of single mothers have a better shot in life if their mothers are paid equally with men (for just one example).

Perhaps the first definition of pedestal does have something that we all can look to as a goal.  I DO want to be a base of support - for others and for myself.  I want to be a strong, independent woman (and I feel like I need to be, as a Daughter of God) who can bear burdens and help others in her turn.  This doesn't mean I view men as the enemy to be cowed and defeated, but that I view them as Sons of God and co-equals.  When we view each other as having a spark of divinity, we are able to walk together into a better day.

Should we have debate about men and women?  Of course, it's fair game.  Are all men and women the same?  Absolutely not!  Is marriage an important goal?  Definitely.  But let's not use straw (wo)man arguments to tear down an angry feminist stereotype that doesn't exist.  Feminists don't hate all men, just the ones telling us to get back in the kitchen.  Below is one of my favorite feminist songs by Peggy Seeger:



I'll probably never be an engineer, but even if I'm never a mother, I can be a woman of faith, kindness, and courage in a world that needs all of these qualities - and I can seek to bring those characteristics into my career, whatever it is.  If men are intimidated by that, then good riddance.

Oh, yeah, blogging...

Sometimes a month of posts means a lame post.  This is one of those times.  Hopefully back tomorrow with a feminist post on pedastals and patriarchy!

Woody Sez

I went to a musical about the life of Woody Guthrie last night, it was great!  Here are some of the songs I really liked from the show:

Worried Man Blues by Woody Guthrie

Jackhammer Blues by Woody Guthrie

This Train is Bound for Glory by Lew Dite

And of course, This Land is Your Land (all the verses!)

Wish I had bought the soundtrack, but guess that means I'll be scouring iTunes and Amazon for good versions of all the songs.

Drive

I just finished reading "Drive," a book by Daniel H. Pink about what motivates us.  He argues that we are motivated less by extrinsic rewards (carrots and sticks) and more by intrinsic rewards (the joy/learning of certain tasks).  Sadly, when I took Pink's online quiz to determine what motivates me, I lean more towards the extrinsic rewards end of the spectrum.  Is this a bad thing?  Maybe.  Or maybe it is simply a function of what industry I work in.  It's not like working as a tax accountant encourages creativity all the time ("creative accounting" is generally a pejorative term).

So very true.  Motivation is a lot more than a slogan or poster.

But I think what I took away from the book is that we can have two baseline assumptions about people: (1) we can either assume people are lazy bums who will not work unless we micromanage them (call this "The Older Sister" mindset) or (2) we can assume that people desire to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labors.  This assumption about people changes how we treat them.

It's interesting that Mormonism combines these two views of people.  Mormons believe we can be motivated by what's called "carnal" desires or "the natural man" - the desire to be lazy, selfish, mean, and terrible.  Or we can be motivated by our "divine nature" to acquire the attributes of God - kindness, love, selflessness, and goodness.  I think what the book and Mormonism have in common is the belief that we can choose which assumption we tap into.  We can decide to view people as vile or virtuous.  But the truth is rarely "all-or-nothing" - sometimes I am motivated by carrots/sticks (i.e. I pay my credit card bill on time because I don't want to pay the late fee/interest) and sometimes I am motivated by a higher purpose (I volunteer because I want to help people).

This is expressed well, as always, by Shel Silverstein.  As the poet once said:
I asked the Zebra,
are you black with white stripes?
Or white with black stripes?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with some sad days?
Or are you sad with some happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on and on and on he went.
I’ll never ask a zebra about stripes...again.

Are we good with bad parts or bad with good parts?  A little bit of both, I think.  What do you think motivates or drives you?

Now that I've finished the book I "have" to read, I'm going to spend the rest of the day reading Jane Austen fan-fiction.

Jane Knows All