Arghh!

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Personal, Literary, Omnia Vanitas, Random.

Once again, I am completely out of room for my books.  I’ve already got two huge boxes in my closet that never made it onto the shelves I put up, and now I’ve got six big piles on the floor.  I absolutely hate not having a place for them.  It’s simply . . . disheartening, I suppose.  I considered putting up another row around the room, but that’s just not feasible if I plan to keep my head attached to my shoulders.  I wonder if I could suspend some shelves from above, maybe using a chandelier approach or a grid-ed false ceiling?  Am I crazy? I gave myself a concussion last time, when I overestimated the strength of our house’s crappy walls (thank the builder who ran off to Barbados after constructing nice looking but shoddy homes!).  I guess I’m going to have to pick and choose what to keep and what to relegate to the hell that is our basement.  Poor books.  :(

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Rings Like Anchors

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal, Politics, Feminism, Omnia Vanitas, Meta-Fors, Sponsored Posts, Random.

So my 11th anniversary is coming up in July. Because we’re not married, we celebrate our relationship from the day we met, and since we do not plan to let the government tell us that our commitment matters, we probably will continue to do so until we die or implode, just like other couples, rings or not. But I think its impossible to be a girl in this society, and not feel the pressure surrounding the “Miss” or “Mrs.” divide (BTW, I’m a Ms., thank you very much). From pity to scorn, those of us not wearing diamond rings on our left hands get to experience the whole gamut of judgments from everyone around us. Just to be clear, while I understand the important role marriage plays in our society, I personally believe it is an antiquated tradition that is going to die out within a few generations, for a number of good and not-so-good reasons. I’ll blog more on that later. But I do believe that commitments for life should be recognized and celebrated by the couple, their family, and community. They should be personal and relevant to the people concerned. This is the primary reason I like PrimeStyle’s concept of how to buy jewelry. They state that:

Jewelry requires thought. It should fit your looks, personality and lifestyle. Personal style should be reflected in jewelry. It’s important to find the right piece for the right person. If you approach a jewelry store for something special, they’ll ask questions before showing jewelry, like “ask you what your job is, what your life is like” and try to learn all about you.

Recently, my boyfriend and I have been considering getting rings (okay, he doesn’t want to wear one, but I won’t if he doesn’t! :) ) for ourselves. Not diamonds, which we oppose on both moral and economic grounds, but something that represents us and our personal feelings of commitment to each other. PrimeStyle would probably be one of the places we’d look in our quest, although I’m pushing for iolite as previously mentioned. Rings, like tattoos, can serve as a reminder of the other half of your life when you’re apart. Like an anchor, a ring is meant to keep you grounded. How much more effective they are when they are special, meaningful, and not tarnished by the ugliness of the diamond trade!

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Sleep Schedule

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Random, Television.

Every time the season changes, my sleep schedule gets shot to hell. It’s 5 AM and I can’t even get my eyes to close. Part of my personal and long-accepted insanities. But somehow I can’t even manage to be productive in these morning hours, the way I used to be able to — my best work was usually done between 2 and 4 AM. I think I’ll need to do a round of Ambien or something to get myself right this time, but I wouldn’t even care if I could at least be using the time wisely. At least I read the novels for my class this week, which I guess is something . . . Now if only there was something good on TV! :)

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Love Letters

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal, Random.

My boyfriend is brilliant. Probably the smartest man living I know.  But he can’t write worth a dime.  His handwriting is better than mine, but he always does this crazy thing with his capital and lowercase letters, like in my name — GaiL BRemNeR — and it took him two years to even spell my last name right.  In anyone else, it would drive me nuts. Every card I’ve ever gotten has been written that way, and his “a” is the strangest line drawing I’ve ever seen.  But I cherish each and every pen mark.  Notes from him make me smile with glee at how gosh-darn adorable he is. I’ve kept every one he’s ever sent me, and I look at them from time to time when I’m feeling blue.  Ain’t love grand? :)

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