thoughts, on Twilight

I've been struggling to articulate my thoughts on this subject, because it seems to inspire so many passionate responses from a variety of perspectives.  But, as New Moon premieres tomorrow, and my unemployed self actually has people to spend time with and a reason to leave the house more than once this week, I can't help but be excited.

I know people hate Twilight, just as much as people love Twilight.  Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

And I know that the books aren't going to win any awards for gramatical correctness or deeply brilliant writing.  But, they are books. 70 million books. And people are reading them. People who may not have been inspired to read anything else.  And from my standpoint, that is a good thing - because those 13 year old girls (or middle aged women, for that matter) may be further inspired to read other things.

The negativity bothers me, because for all intents and purposes, it is a very innocent obsession.  Older women may see Bella as a weak character, a poor role model for growing girls, but there is a lesson to be gleaned from that as well. 

I'm somewhat amused by the people who mock me for being *obsessed* with Twilight, simply because they don't really know me.  They haven't seen the boxes of Buffy memorabilia sitting in my basement - the collector's dolls and unopened boxes of limited edition fruit snacks.  They never saw my room in highschool, my fangirl sanctuary plastered in photos of Gwen Stefani and AFI posters, where I spent all my time studying and reading and avoiding the outside world. My 23 year old self is a much more subdued fan, when you consider that I own nothing of Twilight but the four books my sister gifted me for Christmas last year and a sparkly t-shirt gifted to me by the bff.

I'm enjoying this fangirl experience, because at 16, I was a very serious teenager. I spent my Friday nights in the library, never dated, watched Buffy and geeked out over historical fiction. I wasn't silly, I didn't gush over cute boys, I didn't dress up to see a movie at midnight - I was too focused on school and grades and extracurricular activities.  But over the last few years, I've learned to enjoy being young.  I immerse myself in a lot of things that make me happy, because life is hard sometimes - I'm unemployed, living at home, with a tiny handful of friends.  I don't see people regularly, I rarely leave the house, I have no idea what I want to do with myself.  So, when something comes along that can hold my attention, and for a few hours perk me up from the overwhelming solitude and FAIL of my life, then I'm going to embrace it.  Sometimes my brain just needs a break from the shelves of Jane Austen, Tolstoy, and Henry Miller that surround me now. 

I'm not going to mock people that watch soap operas, because I spend an hour a day reading fanfiction.  I'm not going to insult those that read romance novels, because "robsten," "r.pattz," and "k.stew" have become part of my regular vocabulary. Everyone has their guilty pleasures, and that's exactly what Twilight is for most people. 

I'm tired of people being rude, implying I'm stupid for liking poorly written teen fiction, or that I'm insane for thinking Kristen Stewart is a good actress (go watch The Cake Eaters and get back to me). Because, right now, it's one of few things keeping my head above water through the very depressing days of unemployment, grad school essays, GRE prep, and dead end job applications.

And on a good day, I can be excited that The Fandom Gives Back raised nearly $17,000 to fight childhood cancer (read more and donate here) in only three days. I can be happy to have spent an evening with (new!) people who get where I'm coming from, decorating tshirts and talking about life. And I can look forward to being silly for a few hours tomorrow night.

So, there's my soapbox, I'm stepping off now.

~RLM

Not having access to my laptop is not helping my already waning enthusiasm for NaBloPoMo.  Although, I did get quite a bit more done today, seeing as how distractions didn't come quite as easily.

Caitlin needed a model for part of her photography project, and the neighbor's tree is just so perfect right now.

And then I spent the afternoon baking bread and began working my way through that 30 pound pile of apples.  The crockpot is simmering away with cider butter, while juice strains overnight to make jelly.  I'm hoping to turn the rest into sauce or preserves, before I drive down to Kentucky Friday morning.

The sky was gorgeous tonight, as I stood by the kitchen window, peeling and chopping.  I kept rushing out the back door to capture the clouds and light.

I'm making my escape, for a few days, need to clear my head.  I baked a loaf of banana bread on Saturday and left out 1.5 cups of sugar. It took an entire day of pecking at that disgustingly bland loaf to figure out that I'd forgotten the second main ingredient.  Trivial as it may be, I never forget things like that, and it's a sure sign that I need change.  I need to get out of this house, find something to do, get my life back.

~RLM

slightly problematic

The power cord to my laptop snapped in two today, the little electric wires that keep things working all frayed and broken.

And now I'm dreaming more than ever of a lovely little Mac with MagSafe power connectors and a battery life greater than my IBM's measly 43 minute endurance.

~RLM

My brain doesn't seem to be working right now, so I'm blaming daylight savings time and leaving a photo instead of trying to write anything remotely interesting.

~RLM

NaBloPoMo, year three

While Socktoberfest was an epic fail on my part - I didn't even make it through the second clue of the myster sock - NaBloPoMo is too much of a tradition now to back out of. 

And I need to get back in this space, need to get back in the habit of writing again.  The words are still there, floating around in my head, I just need to force them into some semblance of coherent thought.

But that attempt will have to wait until tomorrow - DLST is doing a number on my brain today, and nothing I say will make much sense.

For now, a list of November goodness will have to suffice...

• There's a Vestvember movement going on amongst the knitterly peeps, I've got a pile of blue Malabrigo destined to become something adorable.
• A roadtrip to Kentucky and Tennessee to see some of my favorite people is in the works :)
• Grad school applications are due in a few weeks
• the new Vanity Fair hits stands on the 10th.  I might have to frame it. (the twifans will understand)
• A fresh stack from the library - cookbooks and Louisa May Alcott
• A friendly Twilight party and the New Moon premiere (my inner fangirl can't wait)
• Thanksgiving, golden holiday for the food obsessed
• Another round of block party fabric to work with
• A day spent in the kitchen with 30 pounds of apples and two dozen canning jars

~RLM

complete

One year + one week after the start date, my first 365 project is complete! 

I have to say, despite the absolute insanity of this past year, it was incredibly good.

And out of all the photos, I think that last one just might be my favorite. 

Year two starts today :)

~RLM