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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Confession Tuesday

It's Tuesday and that means confession time. Let's start with me putzing around for almost two hours Monday night surfing (my rationale was I was hoping to get inspired) and not being able to decide just what I wanted to blog about. Worse, let me confess I had a few ideas but I felt inadequate about my ability to write a good piece so I kept abandoning meatier topics I'd like to talk about.

Moving on- reviews. I love, love, love reading. And I love talking about my latest good read. Reviewing- don't love that so much. What's insane is that I spend whole days writing in my head what I would say in a review. Does anyone else do this? I've read no less that four really good books recently and by now you know not to ask how many of them I've reviewed. I feel pathetic but not enough to do exactly what would eradicate my guilt. Maude help me.

I wish I could afford therapy. Then again, if I could bend a therapist's ear, my resistance and fear of getting the reviews out of my head and onto the screen wouldn't exactly be at the top of my priority list.

Let's move on to what I have accomplished. Tonight I met with my new trainer. This chica is not waiting for the New Year. I'm fat now and my new gig reimburses employees who make an effort to get fit so off to the gym I went. My trainer, Robyn is a young woman who was fat no so long ago, too, and she's a teacher. She so works for me.

DQ made the cheer team today and wants to run track. After learning that I have to pay for her to participate, you can believe she will be sticking these latest interests out for the remainder of the school year. I'm still light-headed not from my workout but at the idea of me having to pay (no small amount either) for my kid to participate in school sports.

Okay, so nothing brilliant or sage here, still I'm feeling good. How was your day?

9 comments:

Bonnie Jacobs said...

As you saw from my "review" of Blueberry Girl, I've been slowly moving in a new direction for writing about books. In order to "get the reviews out of my head," as you put it, I've been leaning more toward writing about what the book means to me. Making it personal seems easier, somehow. Rather than get all academic about themes and what changes the protagonist has managed to achieve by the end of a novel, for instance, I pick up on whatever idea spoke to me and go with that instead. You can see what I mean with the review I posted today as my first book in the Women Unbound reading challenge:

http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/11/pull-of-moon-by-elizabeth-berg-1996.html

Maybe it's an idea that would work for you. I so know that feeling of needing a therapist to tell me why I play online games or start a new book or go eat something (yeah, like I need to add calories to my waistline) rather than put the words one after the other on paper (or screen) and be done with it. The thing is that I nearly always feel so great once I've finished a book review and gotten it posted. Why can't I use that as the carrot spurring me on?

rhapsodyinbooks said...

Good for you for starting in with a trainer! I wish I were similarly inspired, but I am trying to work up to it!

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Okay, I had to come back and ask. I'm fascinated by your comment: "Maude help me." Tell me about that, how you came up with it, what it means to you. I love it and may have to borrow it from you, but first I'd like to know some background. Here's my email address, if you don't want to comment here:

emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo DOT com

Unknown said...

i discover your words, very powerfull, my day was a battle between me and my heart

susan said...

Thanks Jill and Lilia.

Bonnie, I say Maude instead of "Jesus Christ"! One of those things growing up about taking Christ's name in vain. I also like to think of God in the feminine and somehow Maude came to me.

Jessie Carty said...

paying to participate in sports? that is just annoying!

congrats on getting in with the trainer. i'm doing the - i'll start tomorrow- that's my confession :)

i feel a duty to do a certain amount of reviews but they really make me tired and i prefer to just comment on them rather than right a full fledged academic style review.

January said...

Congrats on the trainer. Sometimes you need a little push to help you stay motivated. Same with writing. That's why reading blogs is such a guilty pleasure.

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Susan, it's taken me this long to remember to come back to see if you answered my question. I grew up with the same prohibition, so I understand -- and kinda figured that was why -- but I love it that you think of God in the feminine. You and I will have to figure out a way to work that into our book reviews, or something, so maybe it will draw some interesting comments.

Patriarchy apparently pushed out worship of the Great Mother (who was known by many different names), leaving us with monotheistic religions that not only favor men, but blame women for everything from Eve's bringing sin into the world to women tempting the poor men into raping them.

Have you read The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd? The sub-title is "A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine." You can read what I wrote about the book, here:
http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/fifteen-books-10.html

susan said...

Hey Bonnie,

I attended Quaker service this morning and I was way overdue (see my Sunday Salon Post at Color Online. Our current clerk is a woman and the last 3 clerks have been women. I attend Meeting in Ann Arbor . Makes for a wonderful mix of academics, activists and religious folk coming together with common ideas and mindsets.