Archive for the ‘me me me’ Category
If They’re Pleasures, They’re Never Guilty
happy day by kool skatkat on Flickr
I read a great post at A Child of the Universe (now defunct) that I’d like to share. Dana wrote about an interview by designer Sohiny Das of New Delhi.
One question presented in the interview was:
Guilty pleasure?
Her answer:
No guilt in pleasures.
Tell me you don’t love that.
Why shouldn’t we accept, appreciate, and embrace every single thing that gives us pleasure?
Or as Dana so eloquently wrote, “There is absolutely no reason to feel guilt for things that make us happy or give us pleasure, with the caveat of course, that we receive pleasure from something that doesn’t hurt anyone else. Other than that, the sky’s the limit I think.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been surrounded by quite a bit of stress lately. Nothing horrible, but enough that my mind wanders from issue to issue even as I’m dozing off at night. So I think it’s time to remind myself of some not-so-guilty pleasures that really, truly make me happy in order to combat some of the negative energy I’m feeling around me.
And just in case you’re in the same frame of mind, I thought I’d share some of my pleasures to get you thinking about yours. A lot of my pleasures revolve around doing not much of anything at all, which may be just what I need to clear my head:
- Sleeping in with P on a rainy weekend morning–when even the doggies don’t stir before we get up.
- Lounging around in pajamas as I lazily make coffee and ease into the day.
- Yoga on the balcony in the morning sunshine.
- A morning in giro by myself, enjoying a cappuccino and a ciambella in my favorite bar with new magazines from the news stand to keep me company.
- Long walks with the doggies into the mountains, watching them race each other, play, and chase anything that moves.
- Sunday afternoons on the couch, under a blankie, with a mug of steaming tea and a stack of English-language magazines and/or a great book.
- Marathons of any number of American series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, The Gilmore Girls.
- Afternoons with P in the garden.
- An entire morning reading my favorite blogs.
- Treating myself to a fabulous bouquet of flowers, whether hand-picked or purchased.
- A long bubble bath by candlelight followed by putting on clean, fleecy clothes (only in the colder months, of course).
What are your (not-so-guilty) pleasures?
meet the newest about.com guide!
When my mom came to visit in June, she brought my “good” jewelry that I had left behind. One item was my law school ring, pictured at left, which I actually only got because my grandmother begged me to let her buy it for me as a graduation gift.
I told her I wouldn’t wear it much, but she didn’t care. She just wanted me to have it.
So I agreed, and then I saw how much they cost. Yikes!
I couldn’t possibly let her spend that much on a ring (think law school ring versus household bills for a couple months–on a fixed income), so I told her the price was half of what it was, and I chipped in the rest. By the way, she passed away two weeks after I found out that I had passed the bar exam in October of that year, and I’ve always felt she waited to hear the good news (which, incidentally, arrived on my 25th birthday) before leaving us.
When I saw the ring this summer, I was reminded of all that surrounded it–my grandmother; her love, support, and generosity; my many years of hard work; and lots and lots of stress overcome–so I decided to wear it. Seeing it there on my hand every day reminds me of where I’ve been, the love and support I’ve had and continue to have, and also what I’ve accomplished.
And it feels darn good.
A couple weeks after I started wearing it this summer, I saw an opening at About.com for the Guide to Law School. Ah, law school . . . been there, done that, and confident that I could write about it and help others like me who had *zero* frame of reference for what they were about to encounter, I applied.
Literally a few hours later, I was thrust into the About.com “training,” which is really a several-week long interview process during which applicants put together a site hoping to be chosen at the end.
Well they picked me! You’re now reading the personal blog of the About.com Guide to Law School.
And yes, I continue to wear my ring. Since my grandmother passed away, I’ve thought of her every day anyway, but now I feel just a little bit closer too.
Do you have a good luck charm?
four things to do this friday
I. Enter Alex’s La Cucina Italiana Contest
(for which I will be a recipe tester):
II. American cooking is back!
Check out Mary’s Potato Salad at Flavors of Abruzzo:
III. Celebrate Susan’s One-Year Blogiversary at
Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy:
IV. Tell me about all the fabulous things you will or won’t do this weekend!
Me?
After a very full work week, I plan on reading, writing (old NaNo novel!),
and generally relaxing with P and the pooches.
Buon weekend!
Whatever You Do, Don’t Eat the Free Figs
The other day I came home and found this on my doorstep:
When P came home, I told him, but we still didn’t know the identity of our Fig Fairy even though I had asked around the neighbors.
P told me: “Don’t eat the figs!”
Because, um, we live in medieval times in which our nemici might foil our dastardly plans with tainted figs left outside our house? Please.
Needless to say, I ignored him and ate three of them later that evening.
And then was awake most of the night with a stomachache. Gah!
I pretended like I had no idea what I could’ve eaten to cause the discomfort as I certainly couldn’t tell P I ate the figs.
Thankfully, the pain passed and the next morning, before I discarded the figs, I ran into a woman who owned up to being our Fig Fairy. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as she’s certainly one of the nicest signore around–yet another one of my nonne in the village.
And only then did I tell P the full tale of the figs, which he, of course, found hilarious.
I’m thinking I’ll just listen to him next time — just in case.
what and how do you write?
Over the past couple years, quite a few readers have asked me to talk, er, write more upon my writing process.
There’s really nothing magical about it, I don’t think, but I do promise that I’ll write something more in-depth sometime soon to give you an idea of how I work on both freelancing assignments as well as budding novels.
In the meantime, though, I’ve filled in this writing style meme from Janie’s Colloqium, and if you’re so inspired, please do the same, and let me know you did so in the comments!
1. Do you write fiction or non-fiction? Or both?
Non-fiction to pay the bills right now, but I dabble in fiction on the side. Remember NaNoWriMo? I’ll be doing it again this year. Paul of Crazy Like Whoa has jumped the starting gun by a few months, but won’t you join me in November?
2. Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?
I have many journals from over the years, dating back to when I was, oh, probably 14 years old or so. I don’t write in my journal nearly as much as I should though.
As for a notebook, I keep a little one in my bag at all times just in case things strike my fancy, but in all honestly, I’m a scrap of paper kind of gal. Mostly backs of bus tickets. Have tons of them. All over the place.
I do, though, use regular-sized notebooks to write down all my research for nonfiction projects–I don’t rip anything out to file it, so I have several notebooks full of research for assignments over the years. Kind of a professional journal, I guess.
3. If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? Do you find books on plotting useful or harmful?
I would say I know some of those things some of the time, but never all of those things. I usually have a basic plot in mind, but, as happens with many fiction writers, my characters often surprise me. I find plotting ahead of the time can be helpful, but not necessary and definitely changeable.
4. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
Ooh, I’d have to say procrastinator considering that I’ve started a few novels now and haven’t finished any. Lots of ideas though! In my head, on paper, everywhere but, you know, in the computer.
With my work assignments, I’m much more disciplined. Thank goodness.
5. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
Both have happened, and both are lovely and well-received.
6. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
I’m much more productive in the morning than in the afternoon, which is why I hate when I have to run errands in the morning. It’s *very* difficult for me to get my concentration back after going “in giro” all morning.
I’m also great later in the evening, from 9 pm on, but since that’s when P and I have time to hang out, I don’t usually write then unless he’s out with the boys or extra tired.
7. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
I usually have the TV or music on, but I can work just as well in silence. Idle chatter, though, annoys me, and I’m not sure I could write in a cafe. I used to have a horrible time trying to study among people in college and law school, if that was any indication.
8. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
Mostly, nearly all computer, but if I’m out and about and the mood strikes, I’ll longhand it.
9. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One? Or do you let the story evolve as you write?
So far I haven’t known any of the endings, and perhaps that’s part of my problem….
10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
In my nonfiction writing, of course, because I do a lot of topical stuff. For fiction, I write what I feel like and I figure I’ll let my (as yet to be found) agent sort it all out.
11. Editing/Revision – love it or hate it?
Honestly? Kind of love it. I rather enjoy perfecting things in general, so it’s not surprising to me how much I enjoy perfecting my words. I find it challenging, exhilarating even, to pinpoint exactly the way I want to express what I’m trying to say. The pleasure I find in finding the right word is really indescribable. How’s that for irony?
So, what and how do you write?
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
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