Seven Things
The always insightful f4f3 gave me seven things to write about. If you are so inclined, leave a comment and I'll come up with seven things for you.
1. New York
I have wanted to live in New York since I was a little girl. It's where things happen in books. Understanding New York was always part of becoming a "real" adult in my mind. I don't know as how I expected to stay here forever, but I knew I wanted to immerse myself in it enough to own it for myself.
The choice of New York is specific to me, but the idea of leaving home is something I grew up with. My parents met in Washington DC in the 1950s; he was a Californian and she came from Indiana. She had no desire to return to the Midwest, and has happily lived in California for more than 50 years. I definitely have a sort of patriotism about my California heritage (fifth generation, and a Cal grad), but I think after 20 years maybe I have become more of a New Yorker than I ever anticipated. Since getting married, I feel as though I experience less of the city itself, because I have human company instead. But my husband has been away for a few weeks, and spring is upon us, and I feel as though I am discovering Manhattan all over again. Sweet.
2. Florida
I mentioned my husband is away. He is spending time with his family in Florida. I'll go join him at the end of next week. When I give it some thought, I realize that it was terribly clever of me to choose in-laws who live a few miles from one of America's great beaches. They live on the Gulf side, which feels much more natural to me. The sun should set over the water, darn it. (That is a part of California I will never shake.) Besides the family in Sarasota, my Floridian experiences are mostly limited to the Space Coast and a day at Disney. Oh, I once took a short vacation to Sanibel. But I have not really experienced any of the larger cities. I've had dinner out in Tampa, and changed planes in Miami, but I'd like to get a better feel for the more cosmopolitan aspects of the state. I think there are many different Floridas left for me to discover.
3. Cocktails
I like wine, but I've never invested the time and money to understand it really well. In the last few years I have learned quite a lot about beer, and found some I really appreciate. But when it comes to real Drinking with a capital D, I loves me some cocktails. Once in a while I want something floofy and fruity from a blender, but mostly I have been enjoying the revival of classic cocktail culture. Sidecars, old-fashioneds, high balls, Manhattans -- they are all wonderful. But my true love is still the martini. My ideal is served at a headache-inducing icy temperature, strained into a pointy glass, and made with Hendricks gin and just a whiff of dry vermouth. My concession to modernity (and maybe being just a little girly) is to have it served dirty, with a few extra olives. I have one friend who always makes a point of applying vivid red lipstick before drinking a martini, just so she can leave her mark on the glass. I just might have to steal that move.
4. Feminism in the States
I wish this question were not so timely. My mind boggles at all the hateful legislation that is coming out this year. Backlash is everywhere. The latest is the Catholic bishops' crackdown on the nuns. It breaks my heart that there is still so much to do after all we have worked and fought for. I think the internet is very good for feminism, though. As the Occupy folks have discovered, it offers a direct voice for the little people, and there are some really brilliant and courageous feminist blogs and Twitter-feeds out there. The one I have been spending a lot of time at lately is Shakesville. Melissa McEwan has a really developed point of view, and expresses herself with both sincerity and wit. For starters, try her Feminism 101.
5. Fashions in the publishing world
I'm not even sure where to start on this one. For one thing, I am not in the fashionable part of the publishing world. But even for my own little corner where it's all about college textbooks, we have to make sure we have all the latest electronic platforms covered. It's not a fashion issue per se, but intellectual property concepts are evolving very quickly, and content creators are becoming appropriately zealous about protecting their work fairly. Some are overshooting ($50 dollars a month for the NY Times online???) and some are still giving away more than they should. I think there are two things that must evolve to stabilize the system. The first is some sort of standard for e-Books, the mp3 of reading, if you will. Right now there are still many competing formats, so that producing usable e-Books becomes a numbers game for no useful reason. Once a universal file type emerges to dominate the market, it will be easier to just make and export books and not to complain about it so much. This will inevitably happen as a normal marketplace correction. The other thing we need is still waiting for someone to invent it. That is, an effective system of micropayment that lets user download (and possibly save) content on an individual basis, without having to commit to subscription models. I don't know enough about money to understand how to make that happen, though.
6. NYC bookshops
A short entry. Very few are left. I still treasure The Strand. It reminds me of Moe's Books on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley when I was a student. Big piles of old, new, and exotic books, and a basement full of half-price reviewers' copies. "Eight miles of books" is their slogan. Long may they reign.
7. Being not single
In many ways, this is the oddest topic of all. I lived alone for 20 years before I met my husband. I had always wanted to get married, but not at the cost of losing my identity and beliefs. First off, I want to tell him how brave he was to take a gamble on living with me after my extended track record. But mostly I really like the company and the security. It's nice to make long-term plans, and know I have a ready companion for most of the things I want to do. It's really, really nice to be able to share decision-making about the big choices in life. I really value having the chance to bounce ideas off of someone who knows me well. And I really enjoy the physical closeness. I think it keeps me centered better than anything else I do. These past few weeks on my own, I have resurrected some old interests that I hope to keep going, now that they have returned from the brink. But it's lonelier than I remembered.
1. New York
I have wanted to live in New York since I was a little girl. It's where things happen in books. Understanding New York was always part of becoming a "real" adult in my mind. I don't know as how I expected to stay here forever, but I knew I wanted to immerse myself in it enough to own it for myself.
The choice of New York is specific to me, but the idea of leaving home is something I grew up with. My parents met in Washington DC in the 1950s; he was a Californian and she came from Indiana. She had no desire to return to the Midwest, and has happily lived in California for more than 50 years. I definitely have a sort of patriotism about my California heritage (fifth generation, and a Cal grad), but I think after 20 years maybe I have become more of a New Yorker than I ever anticipated. Since getting married, I feel as though I experience less of the city itself, because I have human company instead. But my husband has been away for a few weeks, and spring is upon us, and I feel as though I am discovering Manhattan all over again. Sweet.
2. Florida
I mentioned my husband is away. He is spending time with his family in Florida. I'll go join him at the end of next week. When I give it some thought, I realize that it was terribly clever of me to choose in-laws who live a few miles from one of America's great beaches. They live on the Gulf side, which feels much more natural to me. The sun should set over the water, darn it. (That is a part of California I will never shake.) Besides the family in Sarasota, my Floridian experiences are mostly limited to the Space Coast and a day at Disney. Oh, I once took a short vacation to Sanibel. But I have not really experienced any of the larger cities. I've had dinner out in Tampa, and changed planes in Miami, but I'd like to get a better feel for the more cosmopolitan aspects of the state. I think there are many different Floridas left for me to discover.
3. Cocktails
I like wine, but I've never invested the time and money to understand it really well. In the last few years I have learned quite a lot about beer, and found some I really appreciate. But when it comes to real Drinking with a capital D, I loves me some cocktails. Once in a while I want something floofy and fruity from a blender, but mostly I have been enjoying the revival of classic cocktail culture. Sidecars, old-fashioneds, high balls, Manhattans -- they are all wonderful. But my true love is still the martini. My ideal is served at a headache-inducing icy temperature, strained into a pointy glass, and made with Hendricks gin and just a whiff of dry vermouth. My concession to modernity (and maybe being just a little girly) is to have it served dirty, with a few extra olives. I have one friend who always makes a point of applying vivid red lipstick before drinking a martini, just so she can leave her mark on the glass. I just might have to steal that move.
4. Feminism in the States
I wish this question were not so timely. My mind boggles at all the hateful legislation that is coming out this year. Backlash is everywhere. The latest is the Catholic bishops' crackdown on the nuns. It breaks my heart that there is still so much to do after all we have worked and fought for. I think the internet is very good for feminism, though. As the Occupy folks have discovered, it offers a direct voice for the little people, and there are some really brilliant and courageous feminist blogs and Twitter-feeds out there. The one I have been spending a lot of time at lately is Shakesville. Melissa McEwan has a really developed point of view, and expresses herself with both sincerity and wit. For starters, try her Feminism 101.
5. Fashions in the publishing world
I'm not even sure where to start on this one. For one thing, I am not in the fashionable part of the publishing world. But even for my own little corner where it's all about college textbooks, we have to make sure we have all the latest electronic platforms covered. It's not a fashion issue per se, but intellectual property concepts are evolving very quickly, and content creators are becoming appropriately zealous about protecting their work fairly. Some are overshooting ($50 dollars a month for the NY Times online???) and some are still giving away more than they should. I think there are two things that must evolve to stabilize the system. The first is some sort of standard for e-Books, the mp3 of reading, if you will. Right now there are still many competing formats, so that producing usable e-Books becomes a numbers game for no useful reason. Once a universal file type emerges to dominate the market, it will be easier to just make and export books and not to complain about it so much. This will inevitably happen as a normal marketplace correction. The other thing we need is still waiting for someone to invent it. That is, an effective system of micropayment that lets user download (and possibly save) content on an individual basis, without having to commit to subscription models. I don't know enough about money to understand how to make that happen, though.
6. NYC bookshops
A short entry. Very few are left. I still treasure The Strand. It reminds me of Moe's Books on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley when I was a student. Big piles of old, new, and exotic books, and a basement full of half-price reviewers' copies. "Eight miles of books" is their slogan. Long may they reign.
7. Being not single
In many ways, this is the oddest topic of all. I lived alone for 20 years before I met my husband. I had always wanted to get married, but not at the cost of losing my identity and beliefs. First off, I want to tell him how brave he was to take a gamble on living with me after my extended track record. But mostly I really like the company and the security. It's nice to make long-term plans, and know I have a ready companion for most of the things I want to do. It's really, really nice to be able to share decision-making about the big choices in life. I really value having the chance to bounce ideas off of someone who knows me well. And I really enjoy the physical closeness. I think it keeps me centered better than anything else I do. These past few weeks on my own, I have resurrected some old interests that I hope to keep going, now that they have returned from the brink. But it's lonelier than I remembered.