NaNoWriMo: The Plan (Again)

Here we go. I won't be awake to welcome the return of NaNoWriMo in a couple hours, but at some point on November 1st I'll dive in and start writing.

My plan again this year is to post my first and last sentences of the day--maybe a couple more sentences if context is required--typos, nonsense, and all. This plan may devolve as the month goes on, but that's where we'll be starting, anyway. I hope reading along is fun for you. (At least they're guaranteed to be short posts!)

Are you a Wrimo? Let's be buddies.

You Know What to Do

Just a reminder that Sunday posts are reserved for spiritual and Christianity-related topics. If that's not your thing, skip this one & come back another day.

Yesterday, I rented a U-Haul to get my stuff from my temporary space to my new apartment (oh, by the way, I got a job offer and a new place to live within a couple days of each other. It's been quite a week here in Su-Land) and pick up some essentials from my storage unit. It was one of the smaller U-Hauls, a cargo van instead of the boxy trucks, but still--driving a massive vehicle around a metro area is a thing this Su has never done before.

So in my moment of chuffedness (and while parked, obvs) I texted friend and recurring guest blogger Bill to share my triumph, and he immediately dubbed it the "Su-Haul." Y'all, I have awesome friends.

Anyway. I was sitting bolt upright in the seat, white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, adhering strictly to the speed limit (and annoying every other driver in Cincinnati, because apparently we don't do that here) while navigating city streets. And then I had to pull onto the interstate, and on my way up the on-ramp, I said, "Dear God... well, you know what to do."

This, basically. Source: Christophe Libert
on freeimages.com.

And that pretty much sums up my week. Job interview last Monday? You know what to do. Promising follow-up conversation on Tuesday? You know what to do. Frantic apartment search after receiving the job offer? You know what to do. Driving a vehicle I'm super-uncomfortable with around a city for which I have no mental map? Same.

Anne Lamott says the three essential prayers are Help, Thanks, Wow, and I agree. And I think the next essential prayer is this handy combination of all three: "You know what to do." Because goodness knows I don't. This week has been a whirlwind of new things and getting stuff done at high speed and meeting a whole bunch of new folks (I tried a new church this morning, too!) and basically holding it all together for just another day. And so at the center of the madness, I just keep doing the stuff I need to do, tell God "You know what to do," and then hang on to see what happens next.

And if next week is half as interesting as this one, it'll still be quite a ride.

In Daylights, in Sunsets, in Midnights, in Cups of Coffee

When I heard that the Rent 20th anniversary tour was happening, I was pretty happy. When I found out that it was launching in Bloomington, Indiana, just a 90-minute drive from my hometown, I was, well, over the moon.

So my sister-in-law and I plotted to head down to see Rent just a couple days after we returned from our grand Wicked adventure, taking along my niece and two of her friends. They were a mite excited, too. At the last minute, my sister-in-law fell ill, leaving it to my hapless brother to drive three teenage girls and me to Bloomington to see a show he was not that excited about in the first place. He's a good sport, my brother.

We ended up in the balcony with a decent view of the stage, and the cast did not disappoint. Seeing the girls enjoy the show so much would have been worth driving a lot farther (although I did tell them that they can't sing along in live theatre, no matter how badly they want to)--living in a little town in the middle of Indiana isn't the worst thing in the world, but it does put certain limitations on how often one gets to see live professional theatre. The set is gorgeous and the cast is fantastic, although if I had to pick a pair of favourites it would be Aaron Harrington (Tom Collins) and David Merino (Angel).

If the tour is coming to you, it's definitely worth seeing. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one for kids, since it has some pretty heavy themes, but if your kids are ready for it, then on you go (the three girls with us were by no means the youngest people in the theatre in Bloomington). It's a beautiful show with great music. No day but today, y'all.

Underwhelmed

Right now, here in Su-Land, we're considering options of where to live from a wide array that includes:

• Close to work, but not walkable or bikeable to anything else
• Walkable but not near a useful bus line
• Walkable and bus-able, but expensive
• Cheap but with no other redeeming qualities
• Practically perfect in all ways except no car-free ways to get to work
• A compromise that makes everywhere equally difficult to get to

You can understand why this has my brain shooting steam into the atmosphere and my eyes spinning round in my head. The lack of truly good options is underwhelming.

Like this. On all the streets. NOW.
Source: Joe Zlomek on freeimages.com.

And I'm hardly the only person with this problem. Everyone has to balance transportation vs convenience vs amenities when choosing where to live. And it may be that the trade-off I choose is that I get a car because my commute is otherwise impossible, a choice that many lower-income folks don't get to make, which makes me one of the privileged ones.

Not for the first time (or the last), I wish that US cities would try just a bit harder to make active transportation a practical reality for more people. Not just people who live downtown, or in a university district, or in gentrifying neighbourhoods (it's a common refrain in Austin that low-income and non-white neighbourhoods only get sidewalks when white people move in), but everywhere. I'll even wait on bike lanes if we can just get a sidewalk network built out. Come on, y'all, get with the program.

And in the meantime, I'm seeing how the puzzle pieces fit together best for me.

Bringing Life to the Streets

A couple months back, I read Janette Sadik-Khan's Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution, which describes her tenure as NYC's transportation commissioner and the incredible things that happened for transit, bicycling, and walking in New York with her at the helm. This isn't a review so much as a fun place to put all my thoughts. And my first thought is: if you're any kind of an active transportation user or advocate, you can't go wrong reading this. And possibly sending a few copies to your city council.

Herald Square.
This used to be a through street at
at five-way intersection. Opening
it up for people not only offers a
place to stop and enjoy the city,
but it also made all the remaining
red light cycles shorter.

First things first: I'm so glad my initial visit to NYC was after these changes were implemented. As a bicycle advocate and an avid reader of Streetsblog, I knew these things were happening and read about the fights, but by the time I got to see them in person they were on the ground and a foregone conclusion. Part of me wishes I'd seen the "before" in person so I'd have mental images to compare it to, but... it's not like I've never experienced poorly designed streets before. Experiencing the "after" is pretty great.

Like this, for instance: the four squares connected by Broadway--Times Square, Herald Square, Madison Square, & Union Square--I've been to all of them. This was one of my goals on my second visit to NYC this summer, although I didn't know at the time that the four squares were all ones that had been transformed (or, for that matter, that they're all connected by Broadway). Madison Square is near the Flatiron Building, Herald Square is where Macy's is, and Union Square is the nearest subway stop to Strand Book Store, so that's how I ended up seeing them all. (Draw what conclusions about me that you will from that collection of landmarks.)

In Herald Square, Sadik-Khan's work is immediately apparent to anyone who knows about the changes in NYC in the last decade. The changes in Madison and Union Squares that she described in the book were a pleasant "Huh, what do you know?" when I read about them. All four work beautifully as places for people to gather and enjoy the city.

No prizes for guessing what catches
my eye in this photo every time
I look at it. 

Ms. Sadik-Khan was in Austin last year giving a great talk about the before and after in NYC. (I got tickets early and got to the venue early on the night, and only heard later that the waitlist line stretched around the block. It's not often I get in on high-demand events. Incidentally, I also got my boss a ticket when I got my own, or else he would have been standing in line, too.) I, of course, got very distracted from the on-the-ground changes she showed us during the slideshow--I just wanted to look at the Broadway billboards in all the Times Square photos and not the street. Many of the same pics are in the book and it turns out I still have that problem. Which is part of the reason a teeny tiny bit of me wishes I'd seen it in person before--it's such a great pedestrian plaza now that I have a hard time imagining it any other way. And apparently, so do people who've lived there the whole time.

This is huge: "Reporters started to figure out the counterintuitive fact that bike lanes and plazas were the budgetary equivalent of change found between the sofa cushions compared with our road infrastructure investment." Everyone who works in or reports on transportation needs to get this. Providing active transportation amenities is so cheap compared to building a lane of traffic for primarily car use, with the added benefit that bikes and pedestrians don't damage the infrastructure just by using it. (Yes, your car is heavy and does some damage to the road every time you drive on it, which is why roads require near-constant repair.)

Another thing that resonated with me: "But if you're on foot, small smartphone maps aren't as user friendly for exploring and getting the lay of the land as an old-fashioned map." YES. The paper tourist map I picked up at the airport turned out to be much more useful than my phone about 95% of the time, even for finding transit. The same is turning out to be true in Cincinnati, by the way, except the paper tourist maps in Cincy don't bother listing transit lines. This quote is in the context of NYC posting maps in kiosks around the city for wayfinding. Bonus: the maps are oriented the way you're facing, so no mental compass required.

And finally, I still can't believe I didn't coordinate my NYC trip to coincide with Summer Streets. It's not like I didn't know that it happens, and just up the street from the hotel I stayed in, to boot. I missed it by one week.

Basically, reading Streetfight made me appreciate all the more all of the the things I saw and experienced as a matter of course on my trips to NYC. I'm already looking forward to what I'll see next time.

#NaNoWriMo Prep: You Can Do This!

NaNoWriMo is almost here! I can't even remember if November was worth being excited about before I started doing NaNo. This is year #7 for me, my first in a new region (Cincinnati), and I have a fresh idea just waiting for me to do something terrible to it. In the meantime, here's my collected tips for getting the most out of your November.

Rule #1: You can do this. You can.
Whatever your life circumstance--full-time job, kids at home, triple major undergrad, high school student--lots of people just like you have done NaNoWriMo successfully before. That doesn't mean you won't face challenges, or even that NaNo is definitely the right thing for you to do this year. But if you want to NaNo, don't write yourself off without first considering strategies for facing your challenges head-on. (More specific advice for students below.)

Rule #2: If your social media accounts aren't helping you, they're off-limits.
Unless you have a supportive community who gets what NaNo is all about and shares inspiration instead of filling your timeline with whatever nonsense is in season, you don't have time to fritter away on social media. For me, it's best to keep Twitter and turn off everything else. Blogging may fall into this category, depending on if it helps you or not. Make your choices early and stick to your guns!

Rule #3: Commuting time is writing time.
Carpool or take the bus. It's valuable writing time. Bonus: you'll save gas and create less pollution. Plus, you can transcribe bizarre conversations directly into your novel. It's a win-win-win-win. Change the names of your carpool buddies in your novel before you get it published, though.

Rule #4: Minutes matter!
Sitting in the pickup/dropoff line? Five minutes between classes? Waiting for a work meeting to start? Have a little Word War with yourself and see how many words you can get in those few minutes. If you've never been able to write in short spurts before, NaNoWriMo is a great time to flex those dormant writing muscles and see what they can do for you. To make this work best, be sure you're syncing your novel across all your devices.

Rule #5 (for students only): Do your homework first.
Even better: you still have a whole bunch of October left to get ahead in as many classes as possible. But once November hits, you still should finish classwork before NaNo-ing. You're spending too much time, money, and effort on your education to slack off just because it's NaNoWriMo. Think of writing time as your reward.

Rule #6: Convenience foods are okay.
Obviously, you don't want to hit the drive-thru every day or you'll be both rounder and poorer once NaNo is over. But having some freezer meals, microwaveable foods, and ready-to-eat fruit and veg on hand will make your life a touch easier, especially if your kids can handle preparing those things on their own.

And most importantly...
Rule #7: You must always be doing something.
This one is also more geared for students, especially if you're early in your educational career and your time management skills aren't quite there yet. NaNo is a great time to give those a kick-start. The critical thing to remember in November is this: if you're awake, you're doing something. Keep your novel and any reading for class handy so you can grab one or the other when you have a couple free minutes. Make to-do lists so you don't forget things. Take time for your relationships, don't neglect your self-care, keep up with your life stuff so you don't get fired--but whatever you do, keep moving.

Don't be intimidated! NaNoWriMo is lots of fun and has launched bunches of great ideas for thousands of writers around the world, so don't be afraid to jump in. And while you're at it, let's be buddies.

Words Can

This one's been gnawing at me for a few days, so here goes. I keep seeing folks saying all over social media some variation of, "They're just words.* That's all."

No. "Just" words do not exist. Words have power. Words matter. Words can wound or heal (but it takes a lot more to heal than to wound, despite that stupid "sticks and stones" tripe). Words start wars. Words create relationships and rip them apart. I've cut people out of my life because of their words. People have cut me out of their lives because of my words. We've all heard of, and possibly have known, teens who committed suicide because of bullying--because of just words. Because they didn't see a way to go on through the wall of words assaulting them on a daily basis. Maybe because they didn't have anyone nearby to offer the right kind of words.

Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that any words are "just" words.

Words have weight, in this case quite literally.
Source: Daino_16 on freeimages.com.

Debate is healthy. Debate is a cornerstone of a free society. Debate is what happens when this many humans get together in one place and have to make decisions. Now, I wouldn't necessarily characterize a lot of what happens on Facebook as "debate" so much as "I need a drink," but at least I know it's not unprecedented: in his book Writing on the Wall: Social Media - The First 2,000 Years, Tom Standage describes the furious printing of pamphlets and taking sides that followed Martin Luther's 95 Theses and created the Reformation. My favourite bit of that story is someone sending Luther a heated personal attack, and his response was to tell the writer, "At least the last guy brought data." (That's my paraphrase. What he really said was much fancier.)

By the way, here's a little online debate tip to avoid that sort of scenario: Your first response to someone posting a thing you disagree with shouldn't be "You obviously think ____." First of all, no, you really can't determine what someone is thinking from a couple of statements. And even if you could (you can't), what does it matter? Your issue is what they've said, not every thought they've ever had. Make that the issue. Starting with something like, "Can you clarify what you mean by ____?" or "Do you have a source for ____?" is a better way to (possibly) get into a productive debate instead of (immediately) setting the place on fire. (Of course, getting into a disagreement on social media is pretty much a one-way ticket to a dumpster fire anyway, so proceed as you will.)

And finally: it's tempting to rant about the perceived others, even not in an election year--rival sports teams or disliked actors can also fall into this category. Please keep in mind that always giving "my team" a pass for bad behavior while ranting about the folks on the other side is not exactly cricket, and over time will diminish the chances of being taken seriously about anything. It's also a foundation of democracy to hold our own folks accountable.

Words matter. Words have power. Let's give words the seriousness they deserve.


*In case it's not abundantly clear, "mere words" are what is meant here, not other meanings of "just."

Also, if you've come by to tell me why I should support the candidate you support, please feel free to keep on moving. Why you're voting the way you're voting is your decision and none of my business.

Rolling Along, SORTA

Wednesday is (in theory) my usual transportation day here at Cheekyness, but my days are so messed up that it can't possibly matter. So, here we are.

Isn't the flower-ish logo totally adorable? Cutesy name,
cutesy logo--SORTA has it all! Source.

When I started researching Cincinnati, one of the first things I learned is that the local transit authority goes by the acronym SORTA, which inspires a lot more giggles than confidence. (SORTA = Southwestern Ohio Regional Transit Authority) Researching apartments reasonably near transit lines turned those giggles to apprehension in a hurry--this city has a bunch of bus lines that only run a few times per weekday, meaning lots of locations are unserved or underserved on evenings and weekends, which unfortunately happens to be the time that I usually like to go to a bookstore, or a theatre, or church. Or possibly to work, depending on what happens in the next couple of weeks.

That is a surmountable obstacle, probably, or at least a bridge I can figure out how to cross three or four miles down the road. In the meantime, I tried one of those limited service bus lines today, and dang, if it didn't get me home in less than half the usual time. I don't know how that bus wasn't more packed. If I had to choose, I'd choose service at more times over faster services at fewer times, but since it's not up to me, I plan to enjoy that limited express bus as often as possible.

Fares are also tricky here. Well, kinda. Lots of transit services have fares based on how far you're going, rather than a flat fare, but I've lived in flat-fare-land for the last 16 years and am having to readjust my mind to living in a place where more miles = more money. I bought a 30-day pass on the app covering both of the zones I travel through, so it's not really that complicated for me, but I do sit back in amazement at other people who do this every day without giving it a second thought. The last time I lived in a place with this kind of fare system, I gave it a second or third thought every day.

And lastly (for now), the app. I knew it was kind of a new thing, because one day it magically appeared on the website where there had been no mention of it before, but even if I hadn't known the reaction of the drivers would be enough to tip me off. First of all, the type on the app is WAY too small, so that every one of them has to squint to see what they're looking at. Secondly, they mostly act surprised that I have a mobile pass but then they remember me later, so I guess that's a plus. And thirdly, a couple of them have asked me how I like the app pass. So yeah, definitely a learning curve happening here. If Cincinnati Metro were to ask me, I'd tell them that the next update needs much bigger print, so the drivers and I can all read it.

And that's my first week with Cincinnati Metro. Don't worry; I'm sure there will be plenty more to share as this city and I get used to each other.

Reading Challenges Update: September

Here's what happened with my reading challenges in September. I completed the I Love Libraries challenge and thought about bumping up my level one final time, but... with moving and job hunting as my current reality, and NaNoWriMo on the horizon, maybe adding library books to the mix as one more thing to keep track of is not a good idea. Edit: I just noticed that my Mount TBR Challenge is supposed to be 24 books, not 20. Took me all the way until October to notice.

So my reading picked up a bit in September, and now that I'm back in the land of public transportation, I've gotten a LOT of reading done the last three days. I've read more in October than I read in August and September combined... but you'll have to wait a few weeks to hear more about that. (Or we can just be friends on Goodreads, and you can reader-stalk me in real time.)

Links are to and images are from Goodreads, where all my reviews are written.

I Love Libraries Challenge CHALLENGE COMPLETED (36/36 books)
M*A*S*H Goes to Montreal, Richard Hooker & William E. Butterworth III (I borrowed this one from a Little Free Library!)


Read It Again, Sam (3/4 books so far)


Woman Challenge CHALLENGE COMPLETED (34/20 books)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs
The Good Life, Jodie Beau
Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills (DIY), Raleigh Briggs
Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make, And Store Food, No Matter Where You Live, Robyn Jasko, Jennifer Biggs (Illustrations)


Mount TBR Challenge (13/24 books so far)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs
The Good Life, Jodie Beau
Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills (DIY), Raleigh Briggs
Tent of Blue, Rachael Preston (Note: I did not finish this book; it just wasn't for me. However, it is now off my TBR list, which is what's required for this challenge.)
Common Sense, Thomas Paine
Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make, And Store Food, No Matter Where You Live, Robyn Jasko, Jennifer Biggs (Illustrations)
Paradise Valley, Dale Cramer
Reinventing Mona, Jennifer Coburn (another DNF that's now off my to-read list)


Goodreads Challenge (55/100 books so far)
M*A*S*H Goes to Montreal, Richard Hooker & William E. Butterworth III
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs
Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling, Eben Weiss (BikeSnobNYC) & Christopher Koelle (Illustrations)
The Good Life, Jodie Beau
Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills (DIY), Raleigh Briggs
Common Sense, Thomas Paine
Homesweet Homegrown: How to Grow, Make, And Store Food, No Matter Where You Live, Robyn Jasko, Jennifer Biggs (Illustrations)
Paradise Valley, Dale Cramer


What are you reading this month?

A Note of Consequence

I've thought and written about transition and in-between a lot in these few months of trying to find my next step, but until that step finally materializes, I'll still be in this transition zone without a lot else to think about.

(Except tomorrow being Chadwick's birthday. I'm thinking about that a lot. Thank goodness for having a ton of free books pre-loaded on my Kindle so I have something else for my brain to do when it all gets to be too much.)

I got a couple of Anne Lamott books from the library yesterday--because who doesn't need more Anne Lamott in her life?--and started reading Small Victories, in which she began jumping up and down on my attention immediately. The prelude begins with her describing how dying friends remind you to get over yourself, not by saying so, but by "living and doing as much as they can, as well as they can, for as long as they can," and also "by being grateful for the day."

Yeah, okay. I'm listening. Not that I got far: she starts off the first chapter talking about the missing Book of Welcome that ought to be in the Bible, "the book that states unequivocally that you are wanted, even rejoiced in," and then says "We have to write that book ourselves."

Where my story began. And where I've taken a couple
of rest stops. But now my story has moved 100 miles
down the road.

Now I think a lot about living my own story, with all the energy and passion that I can, ever since I first read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, and geez, I wish that more talented writers than I would stop coming up with these things first so that I can occasionally think of brilliant things myself. But one of the reasons I've had so much to say about transition this summer is because I've not been living my story.

I've had moments. Spending time with grandparents is never wasted time, even on days when I had to retreat to my room because my grandma's well-meant fussing got to be too much: she is, after all, the only grandparent I have left. Getting to do a little bit of unfettered travelling was fantastic. Quality time with my niece and sister-in-law, which I've never really had even though they've been part of the family since 2009, has been fun time that I've treasured. Going out for a long bike ride every evening just for the sake of riding was a joy I've never partaken in before.

And even though I've finally landed in the city I've been wanting to land in for six months, residual anxiety not only remains but has been intensified: a job and a place to live for longer than a couple weeks are things I need. And in the midst of just getting up in the morning and going out to do the next thing that needs doing, sometimes I forget to be grateful for the day. I give up on writing my book and settle for scribbling a note of no consequence on a piece of scrap paper that will be tossed later.

In a few minutes, I'll head out my temporary door and into what I'm trying to make my permanent city. (For those who have been asking: Cincinnati has a growing bike culture, lots of theatre, and is not a terribly long drive to my hometown if I'm urgently needed. All things I was looking for in a new home.) I'll walk around downtown a bit, make a note of who is hiring, build a little more of my mental map. Hardly the stuff of legend, but all in a day's work of intentionally living my story, of being grateful for every day.

What part of your story are you living today?

Growing New Roots

Strawberry plants, in addition to producing yummy berries (when they're in the mood, anyway), produce something else: shoots with new plants on them.

So a few weeks ago, I stuck one of the shoots into a smaller plant pot filled with dirt nearby, without disconnecting it from the mother plant. It worked--kinda. The problem is, I know better. Plants don't work like that.

Plants are interested in their own survival, of course, but they're also super-into the survival of their species. When their lives are threatened, they do their best to reproduce (which is why when you cut a flower, it will look great for days--it's trying to attract pollinators and ensure the next generation of flowers), and if reproduction isn't possible, they'll start growing roots.

How I turned one strawberry plant into three.

How do you get a plant to grow roots, then? Freak it out by threatening its life. When I finally cut the connecting shoot, the new plant finally started to thrive instead of just existing. It produced its own shoot, which I also potted, and now I have three strawberry plants in various stages of growth, all going strong.

Humans don't work like that, either. I've tried. I've tried living in one spot while trying to put roots into another one. It hasn't worked. Maybe I've been unlucky, maybe I've been unimpressive in interviews, or maybe I'm just trying to do something that was never going to work.

So a few weeks back, I shifted my focus. Instead of just looking at jobs, I started looking at temporary places to live. Places I could land for a few weeks while I find something more permanent. Places to be so I can actually be a Cincinnati resident, instead of this in-between I've been doing.

Tomorrow, some of my belongings will roll down the road with me to Cincinnati. I have a room secured. I have jobs that I'm waiting to hear back from. I have Plans B, C, and D if I don't hear back right away. But whatever plan I end up going with for now, it's time to move on instead of sitting still.

I have new roots that are aching to grow.

Under-Muzzled

If you're not as into the world of live theatre as I am, you may not know about the kerfuffle around Cameron Mackintosh's latest fiat to his cast members in the UK: they're no longer allowed to share the performances when they are planning to be out or, or, in the case of understudies, when they'll be on in place of the principal actor.

Loved, loved, loved Aleks Pevec in
Something Rotten (not a Cam Mac
show). I'd definitely go see him again.
Guess what? He's an understudy.

The management company's concern seems to be that show news shouldn't be coming from the actors, but instead from the company themselves. Fair enough. Why aren't there calendars on the shows' websites with announcements about when principals will be out and understudies will be on? (I'm talking about planned days off, obviously, not surprise illnesses and whatnot.)

Then there's this line in the article linked above: "He conceded that the rapid expansion of social media had 'caught everybody by surprise'." What?? No. That excuse may have worked five-ish years ago, but you've had plenty of time to adjust to this reality. What makes that statement all the more frustrating (and hard to believe!) is that at least two of the affected shows in London-- Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera--are great examples of how a popular show should run its social media. I've gotten ideas from them fairly often in my work as a social media manager.

I'm not completely ignorant of the realities of having an understudy on vs. the principal performer--when I searched tickets for Les Misérables on Broadway last summer, it was obvious there were more unsold seats for Tuesday nights, when John Owen-Jones was out on vocal rest, than on other nights. However, this policy, as many have pointed out, just makes it sound like the company is trying to pull a fast one. Plus, it seems like they have no respect either for their performers or the audience. Another excellent article on The Stage points out that very thing:

Social media is readily conscripted by managements and marketers to promote their shows, but it seems counter-intuitive to try to control their most powerful agents – the actors themselves – in this way. It suggests the actors are not to be trusted with their own information, and that somehow an understudy notice would harm the show.

Some of my fave actors in Les Mis.
(Sorry about the photo quality;
believe me, I'm still cranky about that.)
All amazing, all understudies, all folks
I would buy a ticket to see in a heartbeat.
Clockwise: Jason Forbach, Joe
Spieldenner, Beth Kirkpatrick.

And what I really don't get is how the presence of this "problem" didn't alert the producers that this is instead an opportunity. Why do so many understudies tweet out the dates they'll be on? Because fans ask them to. (That's how this story broke--someone asked one of the ensemble in Les Mis when he'd be on next in the role he understudies.) These often less well-known but certainly no less hardworking actors have earned their social following, they have fans of their own no matter what show they're in, and when they can announce ahead of time they'll be on, fans will come to see them. No last-minute surprises for the audience, great opportunity for the actors and their fans, and the production company doesn't end up looking like colossal jerks. Win-win-win.

Which brings me back round to my earlier question--if you appreciate your audience, and you respect and trust your actors, but you simply must be the one to share show news: why not set up a system announcing when the principals are planning to be off and understudies will be on? Put it out with enough time that fans can plan when to attend, understudies can share the news with their fans, and principals can shout out their understudies before taking off (which they presently can't do, according to the news releases, despite what the linked tweet says). This is such an easy fix that wouldn't have the attendant bad press Cameron Mackintosh is currently getting.

The theatre world loves you, Cam Mac. Show us some love back, would you?

Banned Books Week 2016: Get Out There and Read

By some miracle, I remembered Banned Books Week on time this year. I'm so chuffed with myself. (Some of this is drawn from a previous banned books post, in case it sounds familiar.)

As with most things, my approach to Banned Books Week feels simple but turns out to be more complicated. The easy part is: I'm against banning books. We live in a free society, and one person's offence/dislike of a book should not govern my access to it. 

And then it gets complicated, like the petition to have books removed from Amazon because they read more like rape manuals. There's no part of me that wants those books in the wild, which tests my commitment to a ban-free world. (Although a petition by customers asking a company to remove something is absolutely the right way for a book to be challenged, IMO.) Then there's the question of what books belong in what school libraries, since age-appropriateness is frequently used to challenge a book. Some things are obvious: a primary school library can probably skip shelving The Grapes of Wrath or Beloved and leave them to the higher grades. What's less obvious is when it's appropriate for those books to be available, possibly over the objections of parents, and that's when fights tend to break out.

For what it's worth, I read whatever I wanted to read for my entire childhood, and I think my parents' hands-off approach when I was young and read in a whole bunch of genres was incredibly helpful in letting me shape my own taste and preferences, as well as developing a sense of when I wasn't ready for a particular book. It never occurred to me as a kid that I didn't have blanket permission to read anything I wanted. Is this the right approach for every kid? Of course not--hardly anything is the right approach for all people all the time, but I do hope that most of my friends are embracing the value of saying yes more than they say no when it comes to reading. (BTW, my book recommendations to friends for their kids almost always come with "she should only read this if she's ready for ____" or "you should be prepared to discuss ____".)

And to be quite blunt--if your kids are within a couple years of college age and you still don't trust them to choose their own reading material, you have bigger problems on your hands than whether or not that book has profanity in it. If you don't want to see it or don't want to risk younger kids getting their hands on something, saying "Please don't bring that book into the house," is completely different from "You're not allowed to read that." What's even better? Start the conversation very early on about how what you take in affects who you are, and maybe some things you'd like your kids to consider when choosing what to read. 

Bottom line: Banning books outright has no place in a free society. Whatever someone's reasons may be for not reading a book, that person has no right to force that view upon others. And my West Wing quote-o-matic has the perfect selection for this occasion: 

This is exactly the sort of thing that should be celebrated by First Amendment advocates! ... Why aren't you standing up saying, 'See? It works. You don't need to ban movies like Prince of New York! You just have to choose not to watch them.'

Sam Seaborn has this one absolutely right. You don't want to read a book? Fine. Put it down and move on. You don't want me to read that book? How about instead of a harangue about how bad it is, you just recommend a book that you really enjoy and let me make up my own mind?

Banning books is unnecessary, closed-minded, and potentially damaging to free speech. We already have the right ingredients for looking after ourselves: Free society. Responsible citizens. Discerning minds. We can do this.

Reading Challenges Update: August

Here's what happened with my reading challenges in August. The short version is: not a lot. I may have to lower my Goodreads Challenge for the year if this keeps up. Which would be sad.

Links are to and images are from Goodreads, where all my reviews are written.

I Love Libraries Challenge (35/36 books so far)


Read It Again, Sam (3/4 books so far)


Woman Challenge CHALLENGE COMPLETED (20 books)
New York Then and Now, Marcia Reiss & Evan Joseph
Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution, Janette Sadik-Khan & Seth Solomonow


Mount TBR Challenge (6/20 books so far)


Goodreads Challenge (47/100 books so far)
Paper Towns, John Green
New York Then and Now, Marcia Reiss & Evan Joseph
Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution, Janette Sadik-Khan & Seth Solomonow


What are you reading this month?

Get Your Feet Out of Those Shoes: Wicked

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned that I've never seen Wicked? This weekend, I was finally able to remedy that.

The North American tour is swinging through the Midwest right now, and this is the closest it's getting to me for the next year, so I rounded up one willing sister-in-law (Jennie) and we made the drive to Columbus, Ohio to catch the show before 1) it moves on to a new city this week, and 2) some major cast changes happen, also this week.

After the show ends. From our Saturday night
balcony seats.

It turns out, thanks to all the meme-reading and Pinteresting and cast-album-listening that I do, that I had a pretty good handle on what happens in Act I. Act II was another story. It was a fun adventure of discovery and "oh, that makes sense now" as the show rolled along Saturday evening.

And then we went to stage door, and that's where things got really interesting. We overheard some other folks talking about the lottery, which I hadn't thought much about since we bought our tickets anyway. Jennie, on the other hand, doesn't follow show news quite as closely as I do and so she asked Stuart Zagnit (The Wizard) what he meant by the lottery. He explained how it works, and on the way back to the hotel we decided to go to the theatre on Sunday morning and try our luck.

WE WON THE FINAL PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE WICKED LOTTERY FOR THE SUNDAY MATINEE. And since Stuart Zagnit was the one who told us about it, we basically WENT TO OZ AND THE WIZARD GRANTED OUR WISH. There was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down when they drew my name. I'm still in shock. Our seats on Sunday were much closer to the stage, and I heard (and saw) a whole bunch of things that I had missed on Saturday night. And, of course, fulfilled one of the fundamental truths in my own theatre experience: the closer I am to the stage, the more crying I do. Every time.

Some highlights:

View from my round 2 seat.

Emily Koch (Elphaba): All hail Queen Emily! I didn't know there were people who can talk as fast as I do and still be understood until she spoke her first lines. Wow! She's absolutely spectacular, and exactly what I've always imagined Elphaba to be like. At stage door, the folks ahead of us asked her, "So how much time do I have to save up money?" i.e., for her next project. She said, "Four months," but wasn't allowed to say anything else. I'm pretty sure Jennie put an alert on her phone for four months from now before the ink from Ms. Koch's signature was even dry on her playbill. And one more thing: after the Sunday matinee, she came out to stage door with wig cap and traces of green makeup still on, not because she was leaving the theatre, but just to greet fans--she went straight back in after she'd signed playbills and posed for pics. So generous with her time on her last day with the show.

Amanda Jane Cooper (Glinda): Absolute perfection. As the perky, popular Galinda, she's a delight. Glinda is the character who does the most growing over the course of the show, and by the end is the one who is left all alone to lead Oz (I started to say she's the one who loses the most, but of course that's not true; Elphaba suffers tremendous loss, too). Ms. Cooper takes her from goofy student to serious leader so beautifully. Her "Popular" is absolutely hysterical.

Garett Hawe (Boq): Is actually the understudy for Boq, and he was on Saturday night. Another one who exactly matched the character I've had in my imagination all this time. Holy smokes, he totally blew me away with his range of emotion... right up until he lost his heart, and then the only emotion left was anger. Fantastically well done. (Although the Tin Man has long been my favourite in The Wizard of Oz, and now I kind of hate him. Oops...)

Jeremy Woodard (Fiyero): What a gorgeous voice, especially in "As Long As You're Mine." Dang. And I'm really glad that we got to see the show a second time, because I didn't catch much of the scene with the lion cub leading up to "I'm Not That Girl" on Saturday (e.g., I had no idea why Fiyero told Elphaba, "And don't get mad at me!"). I had to see it a second time for my brain to kick in with what was happening. Also, I haven't finished reading the book (still), but why doesn't stage Fiyero have blue tattoos? It's not like this show doesn't already have fancy makeup.

Megan Masako Haley (Nessarose): I usually don't expect even one character on stage to match up to what's in my head, let alone three. Ms. Haley hits the sweetness of Nessa in Act I just as I'd imagined, which made Act II when she goes sour so much more surprising. I had no idea what was coming next with Nessa until it happened, and I was in such shock throughout that scene.

The touring company of Wicked.

The Ensemble, again: I have so much affection for the folks in the ensemble, always. And this ensemble is fantastic.

"Dancing Through Life": After falling in love so hard with "One Day More" the first time I saw Les Misérables, I always keep an open mind for a song that may surprise me when I see a show for the first time. That song in this show is "Dancing Through Life," which I liked before but didn't love until I saw it staged. However, having said that...

"Defying Gravity" & "For Good": I didn't change my mind about my favourite songs from the show. (Aren't these everybody's favourites? So amazing.) I told Amanda Jane Cooper at stage door, "I've cried less at Les Mis than I did during "For Good." She said, "Oh, me too." Nothing not to love about these songs.

There you have it! Two short days in the Emerald City. I can safely say this was a first-- I've seen shows more than once, sometimes pretty close together, but until this weekend I've never seen the same show two days in a row. It seems to have had less of an adverse affect on my brain than the time I saw three different shows in 24 hours.

Have you Wicked? What's your favourite thing?

Life is Short

I've been planning this post for a while, just went back and re-read the message string that inspired me to begin with, and laughed really hard all over again, which is as good a sign as any that I should share. (The person in question did get fair warning that I would be writing this, although admittedly that was two months ago.)

A long, long time ago, in a Cheeky blog near you, I wrote about a high school classmate who I called "Alex" (not even close to her real name). We're Facebook friends these days, although I have at least seen her in person once since being back in town this summer. 

Alex is a loyal fan of a particular country music superstar (not actually a secret. It's Garth), going to his concerts whenever he's within reasonable driving distance, and occasionally taking a long weekend to see him twice. After her last such long weekend, she posted a fantastic video of Garth seeing her song request sign in the audience and chatting with her for a second, up to and including calling her "Gorgeous" (so at least we know there's nothing wrong with his eyesight) and asking if they'd met before.

So I ooohed and aaahed over the video, as you do, and then a few days later bought my own tickets for an adventure to see that show that I shall not be naming today because I've gushed over it enough for one week. And then I messaged Alex to tell her that I was going to NYC after being inspired by her. She sent back:

Indeed. Sorry about the language; there weren't any G-rated
versions of this image on Google.

And then the conversation went sideways, as conversations that include me are wont to do.

Alex: I hope you have as incredible an experience as I had! And I hope your favorite actor calls you gorgeous and sings your favorite song right to you!
Me: I have a front-row ticket, so maybe he'll wink at me.
Alex: I don't advise bringing a sign with a song request on it. Yes for Garth shows, no for Broadway.
Me:  Okay. Good tip.
Alex: I've never actually seen a Broadway production. I'm just guessing fan-girling with giant neon posterboard is frowned upon.
Me: They'd be like, "We'll get to that one at the end of Act 1 like every other freaking night, lady, now put the sign down!"

And then when I told her this is a great way to get mentioned on my blog again, she offered to sign autographs. So there you have it, everybody who knows who I'm talking about--send autograph requests directly to her Facebook page. (Or just wait until our class reunion in a few weeks.)

Of course, after the show ended, I posted a follow-up on Alex's wall (from inside the Shake Shack where I was re-fueling after an emotionally exhausting evening, natch): "They don't take requests on Broadway, the jerks, but one of my favourite actors remembered my name at stage door so I'm kind of floating around a few feet off the ground." And she agreed that was pretty awesome.

My niece and I rave a lot about fandom friends being fabulous friends, but friends who get what it's like to be a fan, even if it's not of the same thing, are equally to be treasured. 

A Flame that Never Dies

Last one, y'all. It really is. (See what it's like being on the front row here, and many of my favourite things about the show here.) But before I lay this to rest, here's a little thing I did after seeing Les Misérables:

(That was supposed to be "as awkward," but I was in a post-show, met-people-I-usually-only-admire-from-afar, walking-three-feet-off-the-ground fog, and also was headed for Shake Shack, so I didn't proofread very carefully before tweeting.)

Here's how it all went down. Chadwick and I saw Les Misérables on stage twice, once on either side of the 25th anniversary re-orchestrating & other changes to the show (i.e., we saw it once with the turntable, once without). That first viewing was when I realised how great of a character Enjolras is, and how I'd been wasting way too much of my fan-ness on Marius when there were Barricade Boys to be excited about. And just for sake of comparison to how he's staged now: Grantaire in that first show we saw was more or less just comic relief, and I mainly remember him because he sat at a table drinking all through the battle scene, didn't bother fighting, and was finally shot mid-drink.

Fast forward to the most recent national tour--I was excited to see it again on stage, and Chadwick had already sworn that he was not going to Les Mis ever again. This was going to be our last time seeing it together, he insisted. And of course it was, but for the worst possible reason.

Who's my favourite Enjolras? This one. 
From that time I convinced him we should cosplay my OTP,
Enjolras+Eponine. That's a tiny red flag he's holding.

We were both blown away, me by how different Grantaire was from what we'd seen before, and Chadwick by a phenomenal Enjolras. On the way home, all he wanted to talk about was how amazing Enjolras was--my usual thing, just not this day--and I kept trying to break in with "but did you see when Grantaire...?" Never, ever, in all our theatregoing years, did Chadwick ever want to talk about an actor all the way home as much as he did that day.

Last summer, after I saw Les Mis on Broadway and met Jason Forbach at stage door and got his autograph but was really more excited to meet the next person in line, my favourite Grantaire, I went back home and finally read the playbill days later with a little more care, and nearly fell over.

Jason Forbach was Chadwick's favourite Enjolras, and he was standing there right in front of me, and I didn't know it because I didn't bother reading the playbill in the theatre.

So I waited a year to finally get to tell Mr. Forbach how much my non-Les-Mis-loving husband loved his Enjolras, and how Chadwick's final time seeing Les Mis was made much more spectacular as a result, and how much I cherish that. By some miracle, I got it all out without getting even a little bit teary. And for all I had a long list of reasons for wanting to see Les Misérables again on Broadway before it closed, this was a big one--I wanted to thank Mr. Forbach in person.

So, that was the first one, and fortunately I had a few minutes to collect all the emotions again before John Owen-Jones came round. Chadwick was a huge JOJ fan, even more so than me--he may be the one celebrity that Chadwick tweeted to with any kind of regularity (he even got an answer from time to time, making me a bit jealous). So what I had to tell Mr. Owen-Jones, after explaining that my deceased husband was a big fan, was "Somewhere in the afterlife, he is sick with jealousy right now that I'm here and he's not." And we both laughed--no tears required.

Chadwick would have enjoyed seeing Les Misérables on Broadway, if I had been able to convince him to let go of the "never again" and go have fun with me. He probably would have been hoping to meet Adam Monley, the actor playing his own favourite character (the Bishop of Digne), at stage door. But since we couldn't share this, I could at least a little bit see and hear and speak for him. And I imagine that as I heard the people sing, he could hear the distant drums.

Post title is from the finale of Les Mis; the line is, "For the wretched of the earth, there is a flame that never dies. Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."

Teaser Tuesday #45

My reading this month... erm... yeah. Not so much, which is bumming me out. So! This one is a bit of an unusual Teaser Tuesday, since it's a photo book and I can't share the usual teaser sentences.

New York Then and Now, Marcia Reiss and Evan Joseph

This was my Strand Bookstore purchase on my most recent New York visit. They didn't have the Much Ado About Nothing that I was hoping to get, so I decided to get something New York-y instead.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

No Doubt in Our Hearts

I have about five pics
of this phrase as a
result of (unsuccessfully)
trying to get a pic of
John Owen-Jones
on the marquee. FINE.

Les Misérables post #2! (Here's #1, aka "things you can see/hear from the front row.") I was in full-on hey-look-there-goes-my-adrenaline-without-me mode even more so than usual when I arrived at the Imperial Theatre, especially since I'd just gotten tweets back from some of the cast in response to my queries about whether they would be doing stage door that night. It's kind of amazing I was even able to walk in a straightish line.

The first usher I met inside looked at my ticket, sighed with happiness, and said, "That is a very good seat." It's a good sign when the ushers are happy just seeing where you'll be sitting. All the folks sitting around me were grinning as much as I was, because we were IN THE FRONT ROW AT LES MISÉRABLES, Y'ALL.

There have been a bunch of cast changes since the last time I saw the show, and all of the principal cast members apart from Marius were ones I hadn't seen before. They've also tweaked a few things here and there in the staging, and some of the actors have changed up how they deliver some lines. So it was kind of like seeing old friends who'd redecorated the living room since I last visited.

The curtain over the stage before the show starts. 

A few highlights (not nearly all of them, because OMG this show):

John Owen-Jones (Jean Valjean): I knew he was going to be amazing, having seen him on my TV often enough, but it's always extra-special to see someone in person after having been a fan from a distance.

Hayden Tee (Javert): I have a Twitter friend who's worked with him in Australia and speaks of him quite highly, so I had serious expectations going in. Y'all, I may have a new favourite Javert. First time I've ever listened to "Stars" without wanting the actor to hurry it up a bit.

Alison Luff (Fantine): I gotta say, they do get through the Fantines at Les Mis. But when they're all this spectacular, well, who's complaining? Her "I Dreamed a Dream" is gorgeous, of course, but watching her downward spiral during "Lovely Ladies" was what tore me apart. Hearts lying on the floor in pieces just shouldn't be allowed that early in any show.

Rachel Izen (Madame Thénardier): I loathe the Thénardiers. A lot. Every time I see the show or read the book, I hate the Thénardiers a bit more, comic relief or not. However! Rachel Izen is absolutely perfect, and so delightful to watch, so I was totally giggling through my hate. A confusing combination of emotions, to be sure, but that's basically my life now anyway.

Mark Uhre (Enjolras): Every time I see a new-to-me person as Enjolras, I think, "This one. This one is the best." Enjolras is my favourite Les Mis character, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon, and certainly not as long as such talented gents keep playing him. Loved, loved, loved Mr. Uhre's "Do You Hear the People Sing?" (I follow him on Instagram, and you should too, because his illustrations are fantastic.)

The Entire Freaking Ensemble: This visit to Les Misérables was all about the ensemble for me, because most of my favourite folks in the show are in the ensemble rather than the principal cast, so that's who I was really watching. Y'all, I tried counting their costume changes. I tried counting how many different characters a couple of them played. Could not do it. I don't know how long it is from the start of the show to the Paris scenes--an hour, maybe?--but for that entire early part of the show, ensemble members are onstage for about two minutes, leave, change clothes in about 30 seconds, come back on stage for another two minutes, rinse and repeat. It's a huge cast, but it seems even huger when the wings practically have revolving doors installed. No wonder they're all always so tired once the show is over.

And speaking of some of my favourites:

The playbill before these lovely
people signed it. Stage door pics
did not come out well at all, alas,
so those photos are buried
in a folder labeled "bitter regret."

Beth Kirkpatrick: I've now seen her twice, because she was on the 25th anniversary tour that came through Austin, but of course my seats in Austin are so far from the stage that the actors may as well not have faces. It would be more fair to say that I'm a Twitter fan of Ms. Kirkpatrick, but since I do follow her, she was one of the few ladies in the ensemble who I recognized on sight. And she's fantastic. Can't wait to see her in whatever she does next.

Joe Spieldenner: I did a ton of gushing about his Grantaire last week and basically every other time I've mentioned Grantaire in the past year, but I would be remiss not to say that his Major Domo is fantastically hilarious and I wish he had more than about five minutes on stage. Major Domo also hates the Thénardiers, which here in Su-Land is just a bonus. I've now seen Mr. Spieldenner as Major Domo three times and didn't even realise it the first two times. Front row FTW!

Jason Forbach: I was totally counting how many times he came on stage carrying a torch in the first 30 minutes. I would tell you, except that I eventually lost count and had to let it go. Maybe there's a different torch for every costume. Anyway, his Factory Foreman is so excellent that he fills me with a deep loathing. It's slightly terrifying that someone who is otherwise so engaging on stage incites these feelings of rage and murder so early in the show.

Joshua Morgan: Another person I'm technically a Twitter fan of, but he had me giggling through the whole show. He plays Joly, for whom I have a considerable soft spot in my heart (thank you, fanfiction!), but Mr. Morgan is also one of the ones I was watching in awe as he went from one character to the next at what is surely superhuman speed. Unbelievable, and yet totally believable every time he came on stage.

Two trips to NYC, three attempts to
get a decent pic of these billboards
in Times Square. I'm REALLY not so
great with the picture-taking.

"One Day More": Why on earth they can't sing this song more than once I'll never understand. One thing I love about this song is that it's great for listening to, but about 24601% better when you see it performed. It wasn't my favourite Les Mis song until the first time I saw the whole show live, and I'm not exaggerating when I say my mouth was hanging open the entire time (this was back in the days of the turntable, which I admit I miss a lot when this song comes up). When the lights went up for intermission that first time, I turned to Chadwick and asked, "Did you see that?? It was incredible!" and he of course said something like, "Yeah, honey, I was sitting right here." It just gets better every time I see it, although I'd swear it also gets shorter every time. Love, love, love.

Okay, okay, I'll stop! For today. But one more thing before I go: I really want to see a genderbent Les Mis someday just so I have more gushing to do about the women in the cast, who are harder to remember since they mostly don't have character names. That's the thing I really dislike about this show.

Post title is one of Enjolras' lines, just before "Do You Hear the People Sing?" begins. Because Enjolras.

What Not to Wear

Hello there, yes, it's the rare Sunday Cheeky post about church-y things. If that's not your thing, I will not be offended if you skip this one. (Be warned-- tomorrow is more Les Misérables. You may like today better.)

The churchy blogosphere has kindly spilled thousands of pixels telling us all* what's appropriate attire† when we go to church on Sunday morning. I'm not going to link to them all, or indeed any of them, because how exhausting is that? I wasn't planning to add my voice to the cacophony, either, until a chance conversation with my grandmother reminded me that even my nearest and dearest can get a bit caught up in the minutia of life, and since I have this space for words, here goes.

Somebody took a picture of my feet
walking to church! Source: sanja
 gjenero on freeimages.com.

So here's a little story. I've worn jeans and t-shirts to church basically since the day I moved out of my parents' house and was no longer subject to their rules.** Sometimes I wear a skirt. Often I wear a nice shirt with my jeans instead of a t-shirt. In the summer, I usually wear shorts, because I get to church via bike/bus/my own feet and it's hot outside. 

Many, many years ago, I decided one week to dress up a little bit nicer than usual for church and wore a dress. That very Sunday, we had visitors sitting near us wearing t-shirts and shorts, and fortunately my husband's attire kept them from being the only ones in our vicinity dressed like that. The next week, I wore a dress again, and once again visitors (not the same ones) wearing more casual clothes sat nearby. When we got home that afternoon, I said to Chadwick, "Never again," and he agreed that twice in a row was as good a sign as we were going to get that we who feel comfortable dressing down should do it, if only for the sake of others who might be uncomfortable otherwise.

Now, I've heard the sermons and the lectures and the "but you shoulds" about why dressing up for church is giving our best to God, to which I say: baloney. If the best I have to offer God is a dress instead of a clean pair of shorts when I go visit him on Sunday morning, then my Christian walk is a sad story indeed. There's a lot more to me and my relationship with God than what I put on my body (or, indeed, than just Sunday mornings).

Do I have a problem with people who choose to dress up for church? Of course not. My grandmother, for instance, is from a generation that would never think of even wearing slacks to church, never mind jeans or shorts. It's never bothered me, nor do I plan to let it start. 

Here's my personal bottom line: wear what makes you feel comfortable worshipping God with your church family. If you need to dress up to feel like you're properly approaching Jesus, on you go. If you need to wear a t-shirt so you can concentrate on why you're there instead of what you're wearing, please do that. If you're so focused on what other people are wearing that you just can't pay attention to anything happening in the church service, take yourself out to the hall, put yourself in time out, and spend some time refocusing your thoughts on why you're in the building. If you're an adult and you're that distracted, your own thoughts are the problem, not what everyone else is doing. YOU are in charge of your mind. No, seriously. You are. 

Let's remember what our gathering together is about, y'all.

*women

†basically neck-high, floor-length, shapeless sacks that are as unattractive as possible‡

‡unless you're a married woman, because your husband needs you to be attractive for him in public so he can brag about his hot wife§

§no, not that attractive, you're making other men lust; don't you have any respect for your husband at all? (I wish I were making these up. As it is, I'm not even exaggerating.)

**A reminder for the potentially confused, from a dear friend who is also a parent: Rebellion would have been refusing to follow the rules when I lived at home, not making my own once I was out. Keep that in mind if you have a kid who's just moved out and is forging his or her own identity right now.