I loved this book, but it also infuriated me. Two years ago, when I was 25, I wrote 80 pages of a pseudo-memoir about how I was 25 and had so far avoided having an actual boyfriend. Now Katie Heaney does the same thing, and SO MUCH BETTER. I’m over my jealousy – this girl is hilarious and we are kindred spirits. Her every observation (whether about 90s kid culture, junior high horror, or college friendships) is so accurate. Her personality, like mine, is perfectly suited to obsessions and inaction. Which is why she’s 25 and hasn’t had a date.
“I just don’t know how anyone ever knows what to do with their bodies. I catch myself worrying about what my arms are doing when I’m walking alone, and that is just walking. Alone.
So I am a basket case, generally, and picky, and have almost always had crushes on people who usually don’t have crushes on me, and it’s rare that I’m so attracted to a stranger that I could imagine having sex with him at that exact moment. And even when that has been true, I am only able to talk about thinking about it, from a safe distance. I have no idea what I’d actually do about it. But generally speaking, I’d like to date someone, at least a little, first. Add all this to my somewhat looming height, an unintentional bracing hostility toward people I don’t know well, and an end to the era in my life when I might have felt the need to do something for the first time to get it over with, and it’s not hard to end up with a twenty-five-year-old who hasn’t had sex. I put practically no effort into it at all.”
Today marks the beginning of my month-long roadtrip! I’ll be visiting old friends, seeing new sights, and making the most of my free time before moving to Greece.
Because my schedule will be so unpredictable, I am ignoring regularly planned blog posts (although I will continue to post book reviews every four to five days). I’ll update when I can, but I don’t promise daily posts. And instead of writing essay-type blogs, I’m going back to my roots: stream-of-consciousness posts about my day!
Follow my adventures on Instagram with #32DaysInMyCar.
My #32DaysInMyCar roadtrip begins tomorrow! I am so in love with organization that I truly enjoy packing. Luckily for me, the month of October will involve me living out of my car as I stay the night in eleven cities with multiple friends. I threw a wrench in my own plans by including a five day trip to Dallas, meaning I have to pack for a plane as well. The trickier the better!
I’m packing a small suitcase as my main luggage, which I’ll take into people’s homes. I’m a fan of rolling clothes, and putting as many things (toiletries, socks, makeup, etc) in individual bags. When traveling, I always take a white laundry bag to keep my dirty clothes separate from the clean ones. And since October should hopefully get chilly, I have two scarves (one bright, one subdued) for fashion and for warmth.
The nice thing about this trip is that I will be staying with different people every couple days. That means I can pack fewer clothes and not care about people seeing me in the same outfit twice. Of course, the Internet will have documentation of my fashion apathy, but….the Internet knows a lot of embarrassing things about me. What’s one more? Continue reading →
I’m trying something different! Instead of my StumbleUpon Sunday series, I’m going to branch out and talk about anything that has caught my attention on the Internet over the previous week. If anyone else wants to do it, grab the picture and link back to ItIsTrish.
Articles
1| Harry Potter Post-It Notes
#PotterItForward Fans of Harry Potter are leaving post-it notes in the HP books to future generations, briefly sharing the impact of the series on their lives and wishing new readers well. This is…so cute. My heart hurts.
2| Review of Ryan Adams’ 1989 Cover
The Atlantic helped me sort through my feelings about Ryan Adams’ cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. I like his album, I’m glad it gives me an excuse to listen to her songs for ANOTHER year without stopping, but it’s missing some of Taylor’s magic.
The general trend on the album is for tracks that once communicated confidence in the face of uncertainty—Swift’s big, brash pep rallies for the soul—to become tentative and sad and wistful….
Another example: “Out of the Woods,” stretched here to six minutes and adorned in REM-ish guitar chiming. It presents the lyrics’ desire for stability as passive pining—moving and relatable, yes, but the kind of emotion we’ve heard in rock ballads for decades. The original, though, was truly weird: booming gated drums, stentorian backup chanting, Swift’s jumbled, repetitious chorus, all of which conveyed a blend of hope and neuroticism—the feeling that bliss is so close yet so elusive that you can’t stop thinking about it. Next to that, Adam’s campfire profundity feels generic. Maybe that’s why she left the likes of it behind.
3| A Spiritual Discussion of Busyness
Sometimes being an American Christian feels like a whirlwind life busy with ministry, service, and no free time. Relevant’s article insists that this is a wrong way of living, and encourages us to imitate Jesus’s slower pace, because
Jesus was never rushed. He wasn’t overwhelmed by life, even though He had an enormous mission to complete in a very short period of time.
Fëanor is now High King and, more because his jewels were stolen than that his father was killed, he goes into a rage. He blames the Valar for Morgoth’s deeds, which is convenient since one could just as easily argue that if he hadn’t been such a paranoid, covetous douchecanoe, it would have been a lot harder for Morgoth to manipulate him and get his hands on them jewels. In any case, Fëanor rallies a great deal of the Noldorian elves to go to Middle Earth to get back three rocks he refuses to share with anyone. So it had to have been some speech.
If you don’t want to read The Silmarillion after these recaps, you’re a lost cause.
Videos
This music video from Lady Gaga and director Catherine Hardwicke is SO IMPORTANT. It’s hard to watch, not shying away from college sexual violence, but internalized messages (made external with markered messages scrawled on their bodies) transforming from damning to empowering is so beautiful. Kudos to Gaga for taking on such a hard topic, addressing it with sensitivity, and offering hope in a dark situation.
I am an Apple girl, but this Windows 10 commercial (as seen repeatedly on Hulu) is perfection. The inclusiveness of this video astounding, both in showing children from all over the world and in showing talents from a wide range of skills. I am in love with the scene of the girl deciding not to jump off the diving board while the narrator talks about future leaders, reminding us that bravery doesn’t come all at once. And I LOVE the deliberate choice to have the narrator say, “We just need to make sure she has what she needs.” Male pronouns as the default are subtly limiting, and I love that little girls might see the commerical and imagine themselves as “the ones who will do great things.”
It’s impossible for me to talk about this movie without comparing it to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is unfortunate, because Hector loses every time. Although it’s a perfectly fine movie about a man locked into his normal life finding broader purpose and encouragement through travel so that the can return home more appreciative of what he has, it’s….just not great. Partly I was annoyed because one of the very first things Hector does on his search for international happiness is sleep with a woman other than his girlfriend. I wanted to throw myself around, moaning, “UGH men, is this SERIOUSLY their first impulse?” But primarily, it just felt like it was missing the gentle magic of Walter Mitty (although I REALLY liked the scene when he’s first flying away from home bedecked in every article of travel clothing imaginable).
Welcome to Me
I adore Kristen Wiig in dramatic comedies, and Welcome to Me continues her pattern of slipping into complex roles of mentally disabled women who feel both fascinatingly strange and oddly normal. Alice Klieg has borderline personality disorder, one of the more difficult disorders to describe and understand (at least for me in my Abnormal Psychology class). The movie should be shown to all budding psychologists and counselors; Wiig portrays the emotional manipulation, narcissism, and mood swings with subtlety but honestly. Not to say this is a made-for-school movie. I LOVED it, and I loved that Alice’s disorder is clearly shown as something that needs medication and counseling to manage, but without ever devaluing Alice herself as a person with desires, relationships, and fears. I loved it. Continue reading →
It’s another round of the Oh Hey, Friday! link-up from September Farm! If you want to join in, just:
1 | grab this here snazzy summer-themed button and link back to Sept. Farm. 2 | link up your post at the bottom of this post. 3 | tell all your friends + have a fantastic friday.
TODAY’S FIVE
1| Sashayed’s Fall Playlist
I follow tumblr blogger Sashayed religiously, since she is clever, funny, has the cutest cat, and is horrified to find herself a 30-year-old One Direction fan. She very occasionally creates playlists on 8tracks, including an awesome Pop Maenads series. She just recently posted a second fall mix, Watch for Deer at Dawn, full of hipster lilting melodies, banjos, and the smell of cold in the air.
2| Wedding
Tomorrow my high school friend Hope is getting married! As a 27-year-old single person, I inevitably have mixed feelings about going. On the one hand, I am super into celebrating life events with the people I love. And a day full of fancy outfits, food, drinks, and dancing? Obviously I’m into it. But…oh joy, one more person getting married before me. And also, I’m not complaining about taking my dear friend Emily as my plus one, but…I guess I’m complaining a little, because none of my guy friends are single anymore. 90% of the time I love my life, but it’s times like these that I just want a boyfriend to be my date to a wedding. Continue reading →
Rainy Thursdays has been doing a Disney Challenge, so I thought I would give it a go! All at once though, because why not?
Your Favorite Character
This is impossible to answer with just one person, but I’ll say Tom Sawyer in Tom and Huck, as played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas at the height of my love for him. He’s a troublemaker with a heart of gold, which….has always been my weakness.
Your Favorite Princess
Belle! It was so cool for child-Tricia to see a brunette girl who loved to read saving the day, turning down handsome jerks and learning to love the unlovable. I saw the best version of myself in her.
Your Favorite Heroine
I really liked Rapunzel for her naivete and optimism. She has had a literally sheltered life, but she uses her pain to create art and dream of a better future. And I adore the scene when she first leaves the tower, alternating between ecstasy and fear. Very accurate, very funny.
Your Favorite Prince
Probably Aladdin. He’s a smart-aleck, street-wise sweetheart. He takes care of his friends, has a pet monkey, and takes Jasmine on a carpet ride through the clouds. All the things I look for in a man.
Your Favorite Hero
I’ll go with a literal (Greek) hero: Hercules! Really I just want to include this movie in the list, because it’s so much fun, from the singing Muses to sassy Megara to sassier Hades. Continue reading →
When I planned to move back to my hometown for several months before moving to Greece, I knew I wanted to spend more time with my grandparents. Although I’m committed to staying in Greece for just one year, I’m acting as though it will be forever. That means I want to soak up as much time with the people I love as possible. I wrote about how much I admire their love for each other during my Valentine’s Week series, and I will repeat myself: my grandparents are two of my very favorite people.
What’s the easiest way to spend time with someone? Move in with them, obviously. (Plus, while there is a stigma against 27-year-olds living with their parents, I don’t think society has decided to judge people who live with their grandparents.) As anyone who has moved in with their best friend knows, living with someone can make or break a relationship. And while I’m committed to loving my grandparents forever, I wasn’t sure if I would wind up liking them by the end of our two months together. Haha, just kidding, it was fine. In fact, it was great! Continue reading →
I’ve been a fan of Felicia’s from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog to her YouTube gaming show with Ryon Day, Co-Optitude. It was inevitable that I would read her memoir, though now that I’ve read it, I regret letting….one whole month pass. I should have read this the second it was released! Continue reading →
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature started on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog via the link up. You can grab the image above or create your own, just please make sure you link back to IART as the host for this meme.
How to participate: Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions: 1. What’s the name of your current read? 2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences. 3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
1. What’s the name of your current read?
You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
“I AM covered in the ‘What superpower would you wish for?’ area. I’ve been asked that question a million times, because, you know, the nerd thing. I would want to be able to speak all languages. I don’t even know ONE other language outside of key menu items like ‘tamale’ and ‘fondue,’ but whenever I hear a tourist who can’t speak English struggling to get directions, I dream of being able to step in, no matter what the language, but especially German because it’s emphatic, and fix the problem.”
This was MY answer every time Ketan asked me the superpower question, and he always responded, “Ugh, Miss Trish, that’s boring.” “But practical,” I would say snootily.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
A world where Felicia Day exists? Of course! Her specific childhood….not so much.
It Is Trish 