Ecogeoman took me out to dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday. We had a coupon (coo-pon, q-pon?) for one of our favorite restuarants, which included a bottle of wine. That wine will explain any misspellings or irrational thoughts in this post (ha-ha, EGF wrote a drunk post!). Here's what's on my mind:
EGM and I went on a big long walk before dinner and I dominated our conversation with my anxiety over paper revisions. I'm feeling a little depressed about work, mainly because rethinking everything I wrote seems hard. Here's an insight into me: I tell horrible, long boring stories with anticlimactic endings. Every group of friends I have ever made has come to the same conclusion. So while EGM tells me every details of his work, I end up not talking about work stuff so much because I'm worried about being boring. But tonight I let loose and it helped me work out some ideas. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for rewriting. Also, I hate admitting that the revisions feel hard because I feel annoyed when other people whine (too much) about this sort of thing.
Why, oh why, do I feel like I'm getting bigger yet I continue to wear the same size pants? I've gained a few pounds, probably less than 10, since college. Yet, I periodically feel like my jeans get too tight and I phase them out. I buy new pairs, but they are the same size in the same brands! WTF? Do they shrink over time with multiple washings? Do the sizes vary pair-to-pair? Does the fashionable cut change over time such that what seems tight is actually just a little out of style? It's possible that the sizes are increasing (i.e, today's 6 is tomorrow's 8), but it seems unlikely over the 2-3 year period that I'm making observations. On the other hand, I don't think I used to have this muffin top. :(
It feels like spring is never going to arrive. There is still snow on the ground and more is forecast for Thursday. Jenny F., maybe you should reconsider the Midwest, because it really sucks this year, even though I was one of those people who said it was just great and winter is no big deal and you get to wear fun hats.
We learned this weekend that S4 is pregnant with her third kid. yay! But it means that my parent's house is going to be even more jam packed with people at holidays. I love our fun and chaotic gatherings, but boy are there a lot of people.
12 comments:
I'll totally whine with you about rewriting. I'm also feeling totally intimidated and discouraged by it. Blah.
I think rewriting is hard--I often get so used to looking at a project in a certain way that it takes some time to wrap my head around suggestions that I look at it in a completely different way. And there's always a bit of pride involved too: "What do you mean you don't like what I wrote?!" So don't get too down--it's hard for all of us...and we certainly all whine about it!
As for pants, I once bought two pairs of the exact same pants from a store, except they were in different colors. And they had to be different sizes to fit right.
Coo-pon, rather than q-pon - in the UK at least. And it's favoUrite ;-)
Jeans definitely shrink over time. I bought two identical pairs last year (I do that if something actually miraculously fits me) and designated one as the "nice" pair and one as the "scruffy" pair. I've washed the scruffy pair more often, and they are already noticeably smaller than the nice pair.
If you're putting your jeans in the dryer, they're definitely shrinking. I tend to wear my jeans several days at a time until they stretch out. Then I wash and dry them and they are magically back to the size they used to be!
I totally tell long boring stories with anticlimactic endings! Only I'm not very good at realizing it until I get to the end...
I'm the same way with jeans. However, if you do wear them for more than one day then they stay about the same size for at least two years (I do wash them if they get dirty, dirty-- eg. lab spills, food spills, etc.)
I, too, tell boring stories. My problem is that I get off on these tangents or get caught up figuring out some minute detail that's not all that too terribly relevant to the story and have to force myself to focus on the thread.
Good luck with the rewriting!!
My jeans definitely shrink over time. I will admit, though, that I've put on 10 lbs (mostly needed) since starting grad school.
All my stories are like that too! I try to cut them down in length but then they are still boring and don't make any sense.
Jeans totally shrink. I don't dry mine in the dryer for fear they will end up being too short.
You guys are great. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has trouble with jeans. I particularly like cae's evidence.
Do you boring storytellers find comfort in blogging? I like how I get to read it through to make sure there's an ending before I post it.
I think I've gotten better, though. For a while, some of my friends were grading my stories A-F. Though a little humiliating, I think that actually helped!
My jeans shrink, too. Mine in lenght, R's in width. No idea why this is different.
Good luck with the rewriting!
I do try to avoid the dryer (and I always wash in cold water), but sometimes you just need those jeans ASAP! It's funny, my jeans definitely get washed much less often than any of my other clothes. I wonder why it feels acceptable to wear 5-day old denim, but not other trousers?
Now, about your storytelling. Your way sounds better than my ex flat mate's, who thought she was way better than she actually was. She'd leave these incredibly long pauses - I think she thought they were for dramatic effect. At first my other flat mate and I would wait politely for her to resume, but eventually we'd insert entire other conversations into each pause. Once we planned an entire weekend away before turning back to her. She carried on like nothing had happened.
See, this story has no point either. Oh well.
My advice for stories- try to come up with a punchline.
I find my stories vary a lot depending on the audience. I have one friend who laughs at all my jokes, and somehow I'm able to tell her much funnier (objectively speaking I'm sure anyone would agree) versions of the same old stories, just because I know she'll appreciate the humor of the situation.
Anyway ranting is good, and can be particularly good for writing.
Blogs are good for that too.
Sizes are getting bigger. Jeans do shrink. You are discovering some deep truths about the universe.
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