Versatile Blogging

The Laughing Mom

If you haven't checked out The Laughing Mom yet, you should. She is sort of David Sedaris' blonde, maternal, straight, blogging counterpart. Don't know what I'm talking about? You definitely need to find out who David Sedaris is, then, and I assure you you'll never board another plane without one of his many gems tucked into your carry-on. Ms. Laughing Mom (a.k.a. Terri, right) is a highly respected blogger friend, so I was super stoked to discover she recently kicked the Versatile Blogger award to me when she named Life Flipping one of her three favorite blogs. The informal expectations associated with its receipt are to:

   1) Thank and link to the person who nominated you. (Check.)
   2) Share seven random facts about yourself. (Wait for iiit...)
   3) Pass the award along to 15 new-found blogging buddies.
      (Hopefully seven will suffice!)
   4) Contact those buddies to congratulate them. (We'll see. I am
       pretty sure my comment would get lost amongst those from Wil
       Wheaton's 1.8 million-ish other followers.)

7 Random, Unabashed Facts About Me

1) I have worn many professional hats. Amongst a few other roles, I have worked construction (my dad let me get my hands dirty for his company one summer) and as a restaurant hostess, a waitress (got my hands dirty again), bartender, preschool teacher, nanny (for a family with a set of twins AND a set of triplets), university VA department auditor, special education program assistant and case manager, child welfare case manager, coffee shop barista (mmmm, free coffeeee), airline communications coordinator (wrote the newsletter for US Airway’s PHX Hub for a few months) and higher education ESL and math tutor. Phew! Just reviewing the list, I am ready for a vacation!

2) I create art. Note that I didn’t say “I am an artist,” because that might imply I am more of one than the next person. I believe art is an important part of the human experience, and that creating it is an enriching activity that we too often think of as being intended for people with particular artistic “talent” or education, of which I have very little. We all have things to say in ways that no one else can. So artistic expression is an element of my attempts at a well-rounded life.

3) I am passionate about civil rights and diversity issues. I think one of the most important features of our society is the promise of equal opportunity, regardless of our sex/gender and ethnicity and income level and sexual orientation and mobility, etc. I also think that a diversity of cultures, religions, ethnicity and other perspectives enriches our lives. The notion that there is one, Right way for everyone to live undermines and dulls the broad, rich complexity of humanity. I would like to think my convictions naturally stem from compassion and reason. However, my southern-raised mom marched for civil rights in the sixties. She also refused to have a wedding, opting instead for a small, family-only ceremony without other guests, after her parents (who we loved dearly nonetheless) insisted she not invite her African American girlfriends in order to uphold some sort of twisted social code.  So I have been well-influenced. I count my blessings.

4) I love, love, love wintertime. I guess I described this affinity pretty thoroughly, and then some, in Merry Holidays! Enough said.

5) I am a big Science Fiction fan. Mostly, I am an avid reader, and not generally of sci-fi.  But I am also a math and science enthusiast, and so fiction that delves realistically into these realms and projects their applications onto hypothetical future contexts is way too fun for the nerd in me. While I normally take my fiction via the written word, I tend to consume sci-fi through television or film (the giant exception being the novel Anathem by Neal Stephenson, which holds a strong place on my short list - there is a long list, too - of favorite books). For example, Randy and I recently finished watching each episode of Star Trek TOS chronologically and are currently making our way through The X-Files. He also introduced me to the series Battlestar Galactica, which was extremely cool. My sci-fi caveat is that I generally avoid anything violent, but if the plot is otherwise terrific I will deal with it, like with the Alien or Terminator movies... so awesome.

6) I won my school’s spelling bee in the sixth grade. Our challenge words included 'quarter,' 'spaghetti' and 'hammock,' so please don’t think I was Scripps National Spelling Bee material. (Those kids are legendary.) When I went on to the regional spelling bee later that year, I was eliminated almost immediately after quickly misspelling the word 'semolina' (a wheat product, apparently, that I had never heard of and will certainly never misspell again). The day of the regional spelling bee was one of the most valuable of my life, though. (Wonder Years moment!) I learned the terrific lesson that “smart” is an elusive, nearly fictional concept. Practice and effort are the things that really set the successful apart from others. I had thought that maybe I was inherently a good speller. I learned otherwise, and to invest actual time into the things I really want.

7) I have moved 900 times since I turned eighteen. Well, that’s a rough approximation. The precise number is… (I am counting…) ...okay, got it: I have moved nineteen times in the last twelve years and now, for the first time since becoming an adult, I have lived in one place for longer than two years. It feels really nice.

And The Versatile Blogging Awards Go To...
(along with a little critical review)

· 101 Cookbooks
  All-natural, vegetarian recipes presented with fun pinches of
  meaningful personal context and generous sprinkles of obvious
  joie de vivre.

· Penning Photography Daily
  Lovely, simple, thought provoking photographic journal

· The Elegant Variation
   Literary blog. Maybe I will end up finding one more finely-tuned to
   my palette, but it is good for now. Really good.

· The Laughing Mom
   Self-deprecating wit and everyday humor. The self-deprecation is
   entirely unfounded, but we all can relate... and it is comforting to
   laugh about it.

· The Drunken Scoundrel
   Music blog/internet radio station, paired with potent shots of
   relevant politics and personal ethics in its accompanying blog,
   The Vexatious Monkey.

· Where there's a Will, there's a way
   Local environmental activist. I so appreciate the work he does
   fighting the good fight, shedding light on corporate crimes against
   nature.

· WIL WHEATON dot NET: in exile
   Fellow sci-fi fans likely know who this guy is. His Tweets and
   blogs, mostly unrelated thereto, are solidly clever and interesting...
   and thoroughly addictive.

· Zen Habits
  The difference between Leo Babauta and me is that he is super
  fit... and wildly successful... and terrifically wealthy... etc. ad
  infinitum, almost. But we are both simplification bloggers of sorts.
  His ponderings consistently serve up good, outside-of-the-box-of-
  overly-processed food for thought.

- Sarah

Addendum

(Posted July 28, 2011)

My good friend John Clay - an honorary member of our Arizona Phillips Family, a multi-decade radio professional of many stripes, and the World's best amateur dessert chef - sent a terrific personal response to my Versatile Blogging post. Not previously aware that I am a Sci-Fi and Wil Wheaton fan, after reading the post he sent some really fun pictures from back in the day.

The backstory: Circa 1988 Universal Studios opened a Star Trek "ride" in a theater with a stage replica of the Enterprise bridge. They filled up the theater, selected some audience members to dress in Star Trek uniforms and participate, then taped a scene using the new bridge crew. John was assigned by his San Diego radio station to attend the attraction's grand opening, after which he participated in interviews and a private party with Star Trek cast members, thus getting his picture taken with a few of them. (John is the handsome one.)

Thanks, John! 

- Sarah

Luckily, Scotty didn't beam him up! I don't think that technology has been fine-tuned yet.

Anyone Want Our Lawn?

When we moved into this house three years ago, we were both intimidated by the huge grass lawn. Neither of us are fans of the insensible American tradition of expending limited natural resources (including those of personal time and energy!) to maintain squares of grass simply because that is what decent people are supposed to do. But it is true that something has to be done with the yard and, because our focus has been on renovating the house to make it liveable and not on landscaping, we have not made much progress in the grass arena. Randy keeps the lawn mowed, and we have slowly but surely planted some flowers and created a couple of seating spaces.

Wouldn't a vegetable garden be prettier, anyway?

But watching Randy head out this morning at 9am into the muggy, already 90-degree weather reminded me of my original, if perhaps naive, ideal for our land in the spirit of Food, Not Lawns. However, we have found that we cannot realistically develop and maintain nearly an acre of produce gardens at this point in our lives. But surely there are aspiring produce growers who simply do not have land available to them... Ah, I could feel a symbiotic relationship in the works. I did some Googling and, as I had hoped, I am not the first to have conceived of such a thing. Apparently, land sharing is a growing trend.

So I have posted our yard as being available for produce gardening on yours2share. I would be thrilled if we could eliminate our environmentally unsustainable practice of lawn mowing, free up some of Randy's precious weekend hours for activities of his choice (well, within reason), help out some local food growers, and score some fresh produce for ourselves in the meantime.

- Sarah

He does a great job, though!

One Tough Cookie

Now-Secretary Clinton offered an ill-worded response way back when to a question about motherhood, that of course she wasn’t just going to “stay home and bake cookies.” As an amateur baker and a full-time parent, recalling that stereotype now makes the feminist in me cringe. Although the statement was dismissive and insensitive, it doesn't personally bother me much, but it is a bit surreal that from a distance and in a simplified, generalized way her description fits the latest Me pretty well. Oh, well. Go Hilary! Go Bakers! Go Parents of various professional and domestic vocations! Because here is the latest recipe that turned out great in this cookie's kitchen.

Chocolate Walnut Chunk Cookies

1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

1 stick butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks, frozen
½ cup or so very finely chopped/ground walnuts

In a small bowl, combine flour with baking soda and salt.
In a separate, larger bowl, cream both portions of brown sugar with softened butter. (In the original recipe, the 1/3 cup was white sugar, but all brown is better!) Mix in egg and vanilla.
Combine flour mixture with butter mixture. Stir in ground walnuts and frozen chocolates. (These cookies are better if the chocolate doesn't end up too melt-y.)

Bake at 350 degree for about 11 minutes. Makes 12 large cookies. Enjoy and share.

- Sarah

An Introvert in the Information Age

(A.K.A. Too Much Information Runnin’ ‘Round My Head)

I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test a couple of years ago, and found the results to be uncannily personalized. The main insight that helped me to better understand myself at the time, and frequently since, was that I am an “introvert.” Although the conventional use of the word implies a shy demeanor, in this context it refers to one’s source of energy. Extraverts recharge their energy from being with people, whereas introverts energize by spending time alone. An extravert would feel batty after a few solitary days; I do if I haven't had time by myself. Actually, about a day and a half would suffice… and often does. The quiet monologue in my head – the books I read, my ideas, the way I organize my thoughts, etc. - is my reality. My husband, Randy, is mostly an extravert. He can spend time alone, but really thrives off of interaction with others.

 

For a Full Sensory Experience While You Read

This is an over-generalization of a single aspect of the Myers-Briggs personality framework, but it has to do with my thoughts on how this difference plays out in our living arrangements. I have realized a recurring issue in our house has this introversion/extraversion contrast at its core:

Randy is almost always tapped in to his communities. He is an early adapter, and not just of technological gadgets. He is the first to check out new online tools, trends, social media, etc. (He invited me to Facebook way back when, before I had heard of it. Hard to imagine now there was ever a time without it, right?) He keeps up with nearly every aspect of current events and popular culture on a daily basis. On road trips, he gets uncomfortable after listening to a CD for an hour – he needs to hear live radio to be connected to the collective.

My priority, on the other hand, is the quality of my environment. While I do care about being literate about politics, world events and social issues, I need to keep up with such things in a compartmentalized manner. I may choose to read a news magazine for an hour or listen to public radio for the afternoon. But regardless of the medium, I consume information in a very measured, deliberate way that doesn’t tend to be tangled up with the other events or experiences of my day. I don’t like the sense that outside information is invading my personal bubble; it is only welcome when I have chosen to invite it in! I create a time and a place to deal with the happenings of the world, but find the nature of most of them too intense to deal with twenty-four hours a day. I consider home a space that should be restorative - a little haven from the rest of the world - so you won’t find the television, radio, computer/internet, or smart phone on or nearby me during the better part of each day.

There is no right or wrong way to function in this regard, of course. But I do think it is important to “Know thyself” (Socrates?). Considering this information lifestyle difference between Randy and me with our respective introvert/extravert statuses in mind has helped me to understand us better. I can respect that life feels and flows best for Randy when there is a radio in each bathroom, an internet connection in each room, the days’ paper and most current news magazines within reach, and an iPhone app set to send him a text message at any time of the day or night that a newsworthy event has taken place. Because if he is at home for a weekend and not clued in to what is happening out there, he starts to feel suffocated. He draws energy from others and the outside world and needs to spend most of his time logged in to it. I appreciate people, the world, and the latest popular information, but Randy has learned that if it infringes too much on my ability to clear my head by myself, I will start to suffocate, because the restoration of my energy depends on spending most of my time quietly and independently.

KAOS v. CONTROL, Which Will Win?

So when the world’s news is hunting me down in the shower, being analyzed during our Sunday drive, telling me of its latest tragedies while I am trying to wind down with my husband on a Friday night, or pinging text message alerts to us during dinner, I get agitated and energy depleted. It all adds up to a chronic case of TMI for this INTJ/INFJ.

The solution? In progress. But the most important thing seems to be to make sure we both get plenty of what we need and spend some time in the other’s territory, too. Like watching a show or two in the evening together, before I go to bed early with my mug of tea and Jane Austen novel so Randy can get his really heavy news junkie fix all by himself. We all have find some relaxation each day, and to each her own, right?

- Sarah

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