Okay, so far messages from thesis island aren't exactly regular...much like my periods of thesis productivity! In fact, I've actually been busy writing, in preparation for an imminent trip back to Old Blighty, complete with a side trip to Amsterdam to deliver a conference paper. I sent off my latest 25-page attempt at coherence earlier this week...now I just need to turn it into a 15 minute talk, and later make it work as a thesis chapter. As usual I pushed the deadline to its breaking point. One of these days I will figure out how to write regularly when my back isn't against the wall! Sigh.
Anyhow, since I will be travelling for the next few weeks, I hope to have new inspiration for the VVR. Perhaps I'll conduct an experiment to see how I write after going across 8 time zones on a 14 hour flight...
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration Day
On November 4 , 1980 I was eight years old and in the 4th grade, and Ronald Reagan got elected. I was hopping mad. I don't remember watching his inauguration, but I probably refused to watch it in protest. I didn't warm up to him, or to his successor, Bush 41, over the next 12 years.
On November 3, 1992 I was a 20 year old college student and Bill Clinton got elected. I watched his inaugural the following January with mixed but positive emotions. I was grateful to see the back of Republican rule, I had great hopes for the future, and I was idealistic in the way that only newly enfranchised college students can be. My political cynicism set in right about the same time "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" kicked in, and by the time reforming health care crashed and burned, I was feeling pretty grim about the future of the Democratic party. I voted for Nader in 1996 in protest (but not four years later). And then we had the last eight years. And it all got so much worse.
But today, watching the inaugural, I feel hope again. Obama wasn't my first primary choice, or even my second (Edwards, then Clinton, for those who were wondering). He has more centrist views than I, and I was seriously annoyed at Rick Warren being picked for the invocation. And of course we all know the country is a total mess, and it is a mess that will take a long hard slog to clean up. But I am impressed with what Obama has done so far, and for the first time since 1993 I feel hope about our political future. Long may it continue.
So, to celebrate the return of hope, I will borrow a construct from my friend J--- over at Very Well Then, and list a few of my favorite things on this Inauguration Day:
- The site of the helicopter leaving the Capitol, with the Bushes safely ensconced inside. That bird was lifted into the air by the collective exhalation of millions of people around the world heaving a sigh of relief. (Seeing Cheney get wheeled away didn't hurt my heart much either.)
- The view from the Capitol steps out across the mall, as around 2 million people crowded to watch Obama take the oath of office, and the feeling as Obama spoke. Millions of people all over the world were together in that moment, watching one individual, but connected by hope. Not something one gets to feel every day, is it?
- That whatever else happens, my sometimes backward, intolerant nation managed to elect an intelligent, thoughtful, articulate person with integrity to its highest office at a time when such qualities are most needed. Oh, and did anyone else notice that he's black?
P.S. - the image above was created using Obamiconme.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The sweetest goodbye
Whatever you may feel about our incoming president, it is a fair bet that you'll be pretty pleased to see the back of George W. Bush. (And if the door hits him on the way out, so much the better.) Tomorrow is Barack Obama's day, and I join with the multitudes that hope tomorrow will mark the first step toward positive change. Today, however, I offer the following in tribute to the last full day of Bush 43's presidency - to those of us who have survived it, and in memory of those who have not.
Back in November, as the election night euphoria began to fade, it occurred to me that the months between election and inauguration would be a little like the end of a complicated, dysfunctional relationship. I thought of the unfortunate couples who decide to separate or divorce, but must live together for a few months afterward, until one person can save enough to move out. I imagined coming home every day to such a household, where every annoyance would be magnified at the same time your tolerance for the ex's behavior was at its lowest ebb. Where even the best day would end with your deadbeat ex sleeping on your sofa, or leaving dirty dishes in the sink. Where the only solace would come from being one day closer to your freedom - and no matter how much you'd lost, you would at least have the chance to start again.
I've found this idea fairly useful in the past several weeks, and so I share with you this song, never performed publicly, and soon to become an unknown relic of a particular political moment, with a bluesy melody that you'll have to imagine for yourself.
The Sweetest Goodbye (written by RVR, 2008)
Don't know how I ever let you into my life
Don't know how it came to be
Thought I had you kicked to the curb once
But now it seems like you'll never leave
Your smug little smile makes me crazy
Your words make me madder than hell
I think its time you head for the door now
You and your little friends as well
Chorus
Cuz now you're going, going, gone
It won't be easy, it will take far too long
You won't go gently, time it won't fly
But I'll have the sweetest, the sweetest goodbye
Don't know how we got into this mess
You sure made a wreck of this place
All these years, so little left standing
You're a national disgrace
There's no justice for people like you
And so there's no justice for me
You'll take what you can on your way out the door
And I'll just be glad to be free
Chorus
Cuz you are going, going, gone
It won't be easy, it will take far too long
You won't go gently, time it won't fly
But we'll have the sweetest, the sweetest goodbye
Back in November, as the election night euphoria began to fade, it occurred to me that the months between election and inauguration would be a little like the end of a complicated, dysfunctional relationship. I thought of the unfortunate couples who decide to separate or divorce, but must live together for a few months afterward, until one person can save enough to move out. I imagined coming home every day to such a household, where every annoyance would be magnified at the same time your tolerance for the ex's behavior was at its lowest ebb. Where even the best day would end with your deadbeat ex sleeping on your sofa, or leaving dirty dishes in the sink. Where the only solace would come from being one day closer to your freedom - and no matter how much you'd lost, you would at least have the chance to start again.
I've found this idea fairly useful in the past several weeks, and so I share with you this song, never performed publicly, and soon to become an unknown relic of a particular political moment, with a bluesy melody that you'll have to imagine for yourself.
The Sweetest Goodbye (written by RVR, 2008)
Don't know how I ever let you into my life
Don't know how it came to be
Thought I had you kicked to the curb once
But now it seems like you'll never leave
Your smug little smile makes me crazy
Your words make me madder than hell
I think its time you head for the door now
You and your little friends as well
Chorus
Cuz now you're going, going, gone
It won't be easy, it will take far too long
You won't go gently, time it won't fly
But I'll have the sweetest, the sweetest goodbye
Don't know how we got into this mess
You sure made a wreck of this place
All these years, so little left standing
You're a national disgrace
There's no justice for people like you
And so there's no justice for me
You'll take what you can on your way out the door
And I'll just be glad to be free
Chorus
Cuz you are going, going, gone
It won't be easy, it will take far too long
You won't go gently, time it won't fly
But we'll have the sweetest, the sweetest goodbye
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Upon further reflection...
In the past couple of days since I set up this site on a whim, I've been wondering why I did it. Why follow up this particular impulse? I've never been particularly tempted to blog (oh, odious-word-that-is-now-a-verb) before now. I didn't have a problem with it, I just didn't really see the point - I'm not reporting from within a totalitarian regime/humanitarian disaster, don't live a particularly exotic life, am only moderately well-informed and have never managed to keep a diary for longer than a few months. I figured that others just had more to say than I, or were more willing to subject their daily tediums to scrutiny, even with the fig leaf of internet anonymity.
There are millions of blogs on the ol' internet these days, and the musings of middle-class, 30-something American gals are not exactly in short supply. But perhaps the ubiquity is part of the answer to "why now?". The fact that there are so many people talking somehow makes it easier to create this little drop in the bucket. After all, what's the likelihood that it will get noticed? So, I can legitimately assume that no one's paying much attention, and use this little space for my own cogitations, even if they aren't particularly original or exciting ones.
Upon further reflection, I envision the Vroom Vroom Room as an occasional series of messages in a bottle, sent out from my isolated Thesis Island. They are really written for me, to remember that I have a voice, and any audience they find is entirely up to the winds and currents of Google. I spend a lot of time alone these days, struggling with the twin demons of procrastination and perfectionism, which together make a lovely recipe for writers' block. I need writing to be enjoyable again. With any luck, it will be enjoyable for readers as well - all three of you.
There are millions of blogs on the ol' internet these days, and the musings of middle-class, 30-something American gals are not exactly in short supply. But perhaps the ubiquity is part of the answer to "why now?". The fact that there are so many people talking somehow makes it easier to create this little drop in the bucket. After all, what's the likelihood that it will get noticed? So, I can legitimately assume that no one's paying much attention, and use this little space for my own cogitations, even if they aren't particularly original or exciting ones.
Upon further reflection, I envision the Vroom Vroom Room as an occasional series of messages in a bottle, sent out from my isolated Thesis Island. They are really written for me, to remember that I have a voice, and any audience they find is entirely up to the winds and currents of Google. I spend a lot of time alone these days, struggling with the twin demons of procrastination and perfectionism, which together make a lovely recipe for writers' block. I need writing to be enjoyable again. With any luck, it will be enjoyable for readers as well - all three of you.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Welcome to the Vroom Vroom Room
Welcome to my very first blog post. I should state at the outset that this blog will have very little to do with cars - Vroom is a reference to my initials - although I did grow up around cars and auto racing. Alas, I have no mechanical skill to speak of, or really any interest in how cars work - the only remnants of my automotive childhood are a liking for offbeat vintage cars and a tendency to fall asleep at the sound of continuous roaring engines. So if you are hoping for ongoing conversations about cam shafts and carburetors, move right along!
I'm not really sure why I've decided to start a blog - god knows I'm late to this particular game. I spend most of my time "working" from home on my PhD thesis, so perhaps it is a plea for connection to the outside world. Or perhaps this will spur me to do a bit more writing of the observational/creative/political kind. We'll just see how it goes.
I'm not really sure why I've decided to start a blog - god knows I'm late to this particular game. I spend most of my time "working" from home on my PhD thesis, so perhaps it is a plea for connection to the outside world. Or perhaps this will spur me to do a bit more writing of the observational/creative/political kind. We'll just see how it goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
