So, in browsing blogs I like, I discovered an interesting question that an interesting woman posed from an apparently interesting article:
American’s don’t know how to savor. They only know how to consume.
(this may have been a better stream of consciousness topic) I stand in a very uncomfortable position on this very issue. On the one hand, I wholeheartedly agree. On the other, I like to consume.
I’m constantly battling between wanting to go through the simple feng shui de-clutter everything and live very simply and then on the other hand, I want a Hogan bag and a Juicy smocked dress. And I’m not sure if I’m a sucker for the mass media and consumer society or if I really just like these nice things and also happen to really love reading about and experiencing the simple life.
I am very interested in the Slow Food Movement, for one. And I do my best to support the smaller gorgeous markets with gorgeous smaller market food items. I think that we should all be eating artisan breads and cheeses and local wine with local fruit and savor them in candlelight in stone cottages in big fields - you get the point.
And yet, I eat almost all of my meals (though they are home-cooked) sitting on the couch with a book open and something in the DVD player.
I’m working on the art of the single meal, eaten by candlelight (I do sometimes remember to light the triple wick as a mock fireplace) and savoring every bite and really focusing on eating what I’ve created with good quality ingredients and a fine glass of wine.
But then, the point of the getting the good ingredients is to “consume” from these smaller gourmet artisans and thereby support them. So the real question is, can I make the same argument for consuming haute couture?
So, I’m supposed to just write and not stop and write all the weird things that come to my head without stopping. And that’s sort of what I do anyway when I write, so I don’t know if it actually has the same effect as doing it in writing while sitting in a dirty subway or anything.
I’ve been sitting here all morning watching the second half of the fifth season of Sex and the City. It’s actually quite frustrating since the people who make the DVDs only put four episodes per DVD and so I don’t have any other episode to watch and I’ve now watched all of these twice. I should have been smarter and had more of them on hand. I think I’ll cry again when the season is over and I have no more Sex and the City to watch. I will start on a new show and I’m debating between Everwood (which I’ve seen a lot of) and The L Word (which I’ve seen one, but have rave reviews from lesbian and non-lesbian friends to back it up).
Yes, no cable. So I must watch old episodes and always be a bit behind. At least Sex and the City I’ve seen already and so I feel like I’m just revisiting an old friend. Although it’s just as frustrating, if not more, since I know how it all ends.
And now in my most recent bout with retail therapy, I am not sure whether or not I should take the plunge and buy a Juicy smock dress - in the cutest color called “Go” and a pair of 7 Jeans called “Dojo Rigid” which are very cute on the model on the Saks page. Of course, I live just a short train ride from the actual flagship Saks, and so it’s silly to pay 14 dollars in shipping to try on pants and send them back when I can just go to the store and save myself the 14 bucks. I’m just nervous that they won’t have the dress. But I guess there’s always the website.
And of course I want to go today, but I’m going to Barney’s with friends and while I could try on jeans with them, the glances when I go to spend three digits on denim on a student’s salary aren’t welcome. Even if they would do the same.
So, there, we go. Here is the most boring stream of consciousness I’ve ever written. I guess it’s different when I have something on my mind. And yes, I do count my shopping sagas to be something on my mind. I could go on and on about how nervous I am about finals, how frustrated I am with my boyfriend, or even more interestingly how the women on NPR (well Chicago Public Radio) were talking how the democratic system actutally has nothing to do with the advancement of women and may be detrimental in places like Afghanistan.
Actually, they made a very excellent point - the installation of democracy has to do with free market relations and a parliamentary election system (these are there words) and nothing to do with how a culture treats its women. And these women were the authors of two books which I am about to butcher - One was about Foucault and Islam and the other was about islamic identity and the feminist subject and I think they will make their way onto my reading list for the summer, although I do have a serious stack on my “To Read” table and some of them are quite hefty.
I’m actually getting a kick (can you say that about a book?) out of Hillary’s memoir because it brings up all of the things I want to do - travel around the world and work on women’s issues and advocate for children. Of course, my darling doesn’t have any interest in being the President of the United States, which is a shame and I may or may not be headed down that path myself (let’s be honest: there are no in front of the screen big stage politics in my future). So I have to find some way to work for Larry Lessig and forge new paths in the world of digital technology as well as advocate for women in Southeast Asia and South America.
And to get to South America, I’ve got to work on my Spanish, which I’ve been avoiding for no reason whatsoever.
And with that - ladies and gentlemen - I’m done. Not very creative. But a bit of my lame Saturday morning consciousness nonetheless….
