Does anybody really like February? It’s the shortest month, and it drags on and on. A varmint reminds us that winter’s still not over, no matter what. There’s Valentine’s Day, which most people either hate outright or feel the need to make tired observations about. (Oh, you wrote a blog post about how expressing your love shouldn’t only happen one day a year? How original!) Every four years, people born on Feb. 29 get a real birthday, which probably feels kinda weird for them.
For me, February has generally been about dreams unfulfilled. Promises broken, in emo terms. A boyfriend who gave me fake flowers for the holiday and came out of the closet two weeks later. A high school classmate whose life ended pointlessly and far too soon. Other family members who passed away when we’d hoped they would hang on a little longer. Two rounds of Luke’s grad school anxiety. Last year, massive protests in my home state against a terrible bill that ended up passing anyway. Glimpses of spring followed by blizzards. (To be fair, growing up in Wisconsin, that also happened in March. And April. Sometimes the first weekend of May.)
This year, aided by mild weather and a workload that makes the days fly by, I’m trying to turn it around by working toward some future dreams. Half marathon training. Some continuing education efforts.* Getting more financially stable. Putting myself out there and trying to make friends.
Maybe it’s just best to focus on the future during February, rather than expecting awesome things to happen during the month itself.
*This means I read free how-to guides about Web stuff occasionally. Don’t get too excited.
I wrote a thing for A-Line Magazine (based here in Cincinnati) last month about being new in a town that isn’t always especially welcoming to newbies.
And Chomu Press is publishing Luke’s fiction collectionI Am a Magical Teenage Princess later this year. I have been appointed publicity director. If you’re reading this and know anything about setting up author events, sending books to bloggers, etc., please let me know. I need all the help I can get. And I only read YA book blogs, which, despite the book’s title, are not exactly its target audience.
I have a love/hate relationship with the listicle. Mostly hate. A little love because I’m a lazy millennial whose attention span is perfect for such a thing. Lots of hate because it bugs me that hard-working reporters get laid off while lazy millennial “lifestyle” writers get paid to create them. Especially this time of year, when end-of-year listicles are everywhere, many of them rehashing the same things we already read about when they first happened. (Please, entertainment writers, we’re aware you all liked Bridesmaids a lot.)
But, let’s face it — I’m a lazy millennial blogger, so an end-of-year list is just my style. But I’m going to be extra lazy about it. Here are some things I liked this year. A bonus for you is that you may not know about them yet.
“My Jeans” by Jenna Rose — I happened to see this on YouTube about a week before the whole Rebecca Black thing blew up. When I first read about “Friday,” I was like, “Oh yeah, it’s like the jeans song.” This one is just as quotable, if less relatable; I mean, we’ve all looked forward to the weekend, but not everyone has seen a picture of Ashley Tisdale wearing his/her jeans. We can dream, though.
Mormon fashion blogs — Yeah, it’s a real thing. I think that if you don’t live near a heavy Mormon population, all you might know about them is Prop 8, “garments” and Mitt Romney, and that’s a little scary. At least for me. But then I found this genre of bloggers and was pleasantly surprised to discover that they’re regular, funny, open-minded ladies, just like the other women I know. I’ve stepped away from the style-blogging thing myself, but I’m glad I was involved in that world for awhile if only because of this discovery.
Orofluido — I am now the kind of person who buys fancy hair oils, thanks to my Birchbox subscription. (That’s a referral link. Listicles don’t pay the bills, y’all.) Seriously, though, this is good stuff. I’m trying to do that grownup thing where you spend a little more money on great things instead of less money on crap you don’t like as much. The fancy hair oil is a baby step in that direction.
East Walnut Hills — I’m convinced I live in Cincinnati’s most underrated neighborhood. But I want to keep it that way so it doesn’t get overpriced and gentrified (looking at you, OTR!). You should come hang out here, though. We need some more nightlife before things really get in gear around here, but I have faith it’ll happen.
What will I like in 2012?! The possibilities are endless! Stay tuned to this blog, where I probably won’t write about any of them until this time next year.
Guys, I’m sorry, but The Wonder Years is not very good.
Here are some reasons why:
Most of it doesn’t actually take place in the 1960s. The show begins in 1968, so the majority of the seasons depict the ’70s. And who wants to watch that? Everyone knows all the best nostalgia comes from the ’60s. Plus, during the last season, the costume department gets way lazy and the kids look suspiciously ’90s.
There are no B stories, at least up until the last season. Each episode has just one plot. If the plot is bad, that’s a long 23 minutes.
And some of the plots are pretty bad. Kevin’s mom worries about him playing too-rough football? For 23 minutes?
The heavy-handed narration by Future Kevin means the actors do all these long pauses while he’s talking, where they sort of have to emote without moving. It distracts from the otherwise-pretty-good acting.
Winnie’s kind of annoying.
Most of the better plots can be seen again a few years later on Boy Meets World.
Where the hell is Paul for most of the last season?
But it’s not all bad. A few highlights:
One of Wayne’s pet names for his little brother is “scrot.” You couldn’t get away with that on TV these days!
The so-obviously-Snuffy-Walden theme that plays every time Winnie appears on screen.
Excellent guest turns by the likes of John Corbett, David Schwimmer, Alicia Silverstone and Juliette Lewis.
Teenage friendships and relationships are portrayed somewhat schizophrenically, which is good because that’s how they really are. One day you’re up, the next you’re down, the next your best friend is at country day school and then he’s back and then he just kinda disappears. Hey, it happens.