Reactions

Lately, I feel like there have been a lot of reaction-provoking headlines in my news feed. Not my regular eye-rolling and head-shaking reactions, or "good to know" reactions--the kind of reactions I usually have to pandemic news or politics/world events. But snarky, inner-monologue reactions. Which, admittedly, I always have, but lately I've just been really aware of them. So, I present you with just a sample: 

"Is it worth tracking your carbon footprint?"

That sounds exhausting. Like, seriously. Not that I don't care about the environment, but I'm not sure me being insane will actually help matters.

"She came to the U.S. with only $300 and worked housekeeping jobs to pay for school. Now she's a flight director for NASA's Mars Perseverance."

That is so fantastic. Good for her. But, we do realize that this is an outlier story? 

"COVID-19: US high school band students rehearse in individual bubbles"

A bubble sounds kind of cool. But, playing an instrument in a small personal bubble? That sounds like a great way to pass out.

"China celebrates colourful Lantern Festival"

I could go for a colorful lantern festival. Yeah, totally. Bring on colorful lanterns!

"Frasier and Rugrats both set to return to TV"
Because we need more reboots? Or revivals? Or whatever? Who was begging for this?

"Cancer survivor joins first all-civilian space mission"
I mean, cool, but if I was an astronaut, I think I'd feel super frustrated. I train and train and get specialized knowledge, and now just any old person can do my job? That seems a little less cool.

"Texas train carrying fuel in flames after crossing collision"
Yikes. I like a good explosion as much as the next guy, but really? I feel like maybe Texas didn't need this right now. And the driver--s/he never needed it. 

"The Real Congress Is Kinder, Gentler Than What You See on TV"

That's good. But I would really appreciate more kindness on TV, too. I mean, why not? 

"How 30,000 elephant 'selfies' will help in conservation"

Wow! Selfies that might be useful!

"New fleece of life for Australian sheep with 35kg coat of wool"

That is SO MUCH FLEECE. 

If archivists could time travel

Most people, if they could time travel, would go back and buy stock in a successful company or kill Hitler, or otherwise try to right some wrong. Or they would be terrified to interfere at all, I guess. 

But if archivists went back in time, we wouldn't do any of that. We'd just go back and tell people to write dates on things.* Or to label their photos. Or to actually write stuff down! Or to keep things!

Scene: Eliza Hamilton is getting ready to burn all her letters. Fwoosh, a time traveler appears. "Eliza, wait! Don't do it! That is an important historical record and someday everyone is going to want to know what is in here!"

Okay, in fairness, I actually kind of support Eliza Hamilton burning her letters. They were her business, and she has a right to her privacy. So, bad example. But in the case of my however-many-greats-grandfather, I would definitely do some intervention. Like, get the guy to write down who his parents were, and his wife's name (with the right spelling, because we aren't sure and that's really causing problems). 

Scene: Joseph, probably out working on a farm? Fwoosh, time-traveling archivist (myself). "Joseph, what's up? I've got some paper here, I just have a couple of questions. Who are your parents? Excellent. Oh, I can meet them? Great. Siblings? Perfect. And your wife, is she around? Okay, great. Let's just write down all this info, and keep it safe so I can find it in a couple hundred years. Yeah, that will be nice."

The Spaniards who burned Aztec records? Definitely visiting them. The millions and millions of old photos of who knows who? Fix that. Maybe pop by and put a word in with Madison and his buddies to clarify some of the punctuation in the Constitution (can you imagine if all of the confusion around the 2nd amendment is really an ink drop or something?).  

Not to say that stopping Hitler isn't a noble cause or anything. I get it. But if I get access to a time machine, I'll be fixing the historical record.** You're welcome.

Getting shuteye

For the last couple of weeks, I just haven't been sleeping well. Okay, let's be real. It's way more like several years, but the last couple of weeks have been worse than usual. I feel like my brain has completely forgotten how this sleep thing is supposed to work. Instead of shutting off, like I do with my computer each night, it seems to be going into sleep mode and not really shutting down. (Which is ironic, because sleep mode for my computer is definitely NOT the equivalent of a sleep mode for my brain). 

And today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I had the chance to sleep in, and of course, I slept in later than I had planned on because it just felt so good. As a side note, why is my bed always the most comfortable just before I'm supposed to wake up? And why do I always sleep best in between my alarm and the snooze alarm? 

Clearly, my sleep habits need reform. It's a constant series of failed attempts, but I live in hope. 

In the meantime, if anyone knows how to retrain my brain in what it means to sleep, do let me know. 

More Icebreakers

What would be the worst mascot ever? The best?

What are the three non-human things that you love more than anything in the world?

If you could pick one fictional thing from any movie, TV show, or book to be real, what would it be?

Name your house. 

What is the best kind of apple?

What trend (toy, clothes, etc.) would you bring back from your childhood, and what would you send into a blackhole?

Homesick

 

Last week, I was at the grocery store and lo and behold, there were paczkis! No, I am not Polish. And, no, I don't celebrate Lent (although, it probably wouldn't hurt to give up a few things and establish some new habits). 

No, I was just really excited because it reminded me of home. Well, my home before where I live now. Which, I have almost been away from as long as I lived there, but honestly, once a home, always a home. And that particular home is very treasured in my heart. 

Ridiculously, I did not buy the paczkis, because I had another treat in my cart and was trying to at least pretend that I am a semi-responsible adult who knows how to make healthy food choices. And when I was at the store today, were there any paczkis? No. Of course not. But, it is a bit early in the season, and it was a Saturday evening, so I"m going to be optimistic that maybe I can find them on another trip. And even if I don't, I'm not too fussed, because really, it was just seeing a piece of home that I needed. Having a bite would just be the icing on the cake. 

Inner children

When my 4-year old nephew is unhappy about something, he clenches his fists and shrugs his shoulders and huffs "Humph" and has this adorable frowny face (which really just makes you want to hug him and make him smile, but he doesn't actually want that. Even 4-year olds deserve to have their feelings acknowledged). And sometimes, he will punch the seat of the couch. 

And, can I be honest? Sometimes I have an inner-self that feels just like that (or worse! I feel like punching the couch multiple times!). And I'm just so glad that now when I am feeling that frustrated, I can picture my nephew and visualize maybe a little of that frustration right on out of myself. 

Although, I'm not nearly as adorable as my nephew. 

Very much a first world problem

Why does civilization involve so much paperwork and upkeep and maintenance?

I was thinking about this because so much of my life seems to go to organizing piles of paper, weeding through stuff, and cleaning. 

I think the cleaning part probably transcends civilization. Maybe just a difference in scale. But there are so many piles of paper in my life. And so much stuff! Endless things. And as soon as you clear some out, more come creeping into your life. 

It seems to me that we "civilized" people might be doing something wrong. We invent stuff, which makes us civilized (or so it seems), and then we spend all of our time dealing with the stuff. And the paperwork generated by civilization--endless receipts and legal documents and insurance papers, and on and on.

I'm not saying that the lack of civilization is preferable. I love indoor plumbing, modern medicine, and not living in a cave or what have you. There are definitely some perks to human progress. But, I think maybe we mistook progress for the end? Instead of a means? I mean, it's easy to do. Things and stuff are so attractive. 

Or maybe I'm the only one with this problem and I personally need to be wiser with my resources. Not going to lie, that is highly likely. But some days, it feels like my first-world country is really not interested in helping me out with that. 

Yep, definitely a first world problem. I'll go be grateful now.