*Kung Fu Panda. Because do we need MORE reinforcement of Asian stereotypes, especially those that perpetuate the connection of Asians with Panda bears and martial arts, and DAMN IT, this one has BOTH. Maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed if there were more Asian Americans on-screen just being, well, Asian American. Pumping gas at your local Shell station. Ringing up your groceries. Standing in line with you at the bus station. Asian American lead actors and actresses starring in dramas and comedies and sitcoms doing BORING things that ALL people do--not preparing sushi in the latest V8 commercial, not offering pithy phrases that sound like they came out of fortune cookies, not being silent or nearly silent side-kicks to the inevitable white male (sometimes female) lead.
*People who don't recycle. C'mon folks! We only have one planet! Reduce, reuse, recycle--a good mantra!
*Writer's block. I've been stuck with my book project and it's SO FRUSTRATING and I wish the writing demons would leave me alone--the ones that tell me I don't have an original thought in my head or that my writing is at the level of a senior thesis (this was an ACTUAL comment I got back from an anonymous reader report when I submitted something a while back to a journal that will remain unnamed. Suffice it to say, it did not seem like constructive feedback and was a bit like name-calling in the academic world, and while I've never dared to believe that my sentences were graceful and eloquent pieces of rhetoric, this comment seems to be mocking both myself and the wonderful senior theses that I have read. So "phlbephhhhh!!!!" to you Mr./Ms. anonymous reader! And STOP MESSING WITH MY HEAD!)
THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE:
*The thought of Barack Obama as our next President of the United States. YES WE CAN!
*Pictures of my grandparents and my best friends from college (the Gherkins--long story why we chose this silly nickname) that hang in my home office. I think it's important to have pictures of people you know love you unconditionally (or in the case of my now deceased grandparents, had loved me unconditionally). Good way to fight the inner demons.
*Today's New York Times Weddings and Celebrations page. I know you have to know someone or be someone to get placed here, but if you look on-line at who is featured (photo wise or profile wise) it does make me think we've come a long way baby from the kinds of couples that were featured 10, 20, 30 years ago. The mere fact that they now recognize same-sex unions is a cultural shift of monumental proportions. Because, at the end of the day, it's the small acts that count too--that start to send a message that it's really just commonplace to see two men or two women get married, as common place, one would hope, as seeing two people of two different "races" get married.
THINGS I STRUGGLE WITH:
*The fact that I still eat pork. Pork is BAD business--quite literally. Factory farming of pork is bad for the environment and bad labor practice. And eating pork is bad for your health (or can be). But I LOVE LOVE LOVE sausage and bacon and ribs--I make a mean rack of baby back ribs. And pork loin. And ham--I have a smoked ham recipe TO DIE FOR. I try to ease my guilt by buying locally produced/raised pork, but the truth is, I don't adhere to this 100% and I KNOW that the salad I ate the other day that had bacon bits on it probably didn't come from a place that is local.
*My consumerism. I buy. I spend. I succumb to marketing and the false belief that I NEED certain things. Even books. I justify it as being a professional expense, but I could check the book out from the library. Do I really need to own my own copy? Yes, I am keeping certain writers in business--and I suppose books aren't really as awful a consumer product choice as some other things. Like clothes or gadgets or handbags. But seriously, I need to take my mantra of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" to heart.
*Righteousness. On the one hand, I think there's a lot to be righteous about. Racism, sexism, homophobia, environmental issues, animal abuse, partner abuse, elderly abuse, poverty, mean people, etc. On the other hand, who made me the fairness police? What right do I have to stand on my soapbox and start to rail against the world? My friends joke that it's impossible for me to have a conversation with them that at some point doesn't evoke race. It's true. And there are times when really, no one wants to talk about race...when I don't want to talk about race. Or inequality. Or privilege. We just want to hang out at the pool and eat loco pops and play mah jong. Is that so bad?
WHAT I WANT RIGHT NOW:
*For everyone to have a lazy Sunday and for me to read the books I said I would read (I have daily goals and Sunday's goal is always to do a bit of reading) and to also relax and enjoy myself. After all, it is Sunday.
