Resolved: You're not sunk. Yet.

If you're into making New Year's resolutions, the beginning of February is, historically-speaking, a time to pat yourself on the back or to sound the death knell on your dreams of a life transformed.

According to two really interesting blog posts (one is health related; one comes from the Harvard Business Review) I read today, you might want to hold off on declaring those resolutions dead if you're truly interested in transformation.

MizFit suggests that we take our Big Hairy Audacious Goals for the year and break them down into bite-size pieces. She points out that doing that makes them seem less scary and, thus, more attainable. She also lays out an example of how to do it.

The Harvard Business Review piece suggests that we think about our Big Hairy Audacious Goals more specifically. How exactly will we change that thing that needs changing and how will we know when our work is done? The piece also suggests that we use a technique called mental contrasting which, essentially, makes us all warm and fuzzy (what cool things can we expect as a result of reaching our goals?) while making us think realistically about what it will take for us to achieve our goals.

The New Year is a good time for making resolutions, but I know that not everybody does it that way. I feel like the concepts in these two pieces are good no matter when you decide to pursue a change in your life.

The two take-away points for me are this:
1. Just because you didn't make huge strides on your resolutions doesn't mean you can't regroup and start over. There's nothing wrong with adjusting your plans after figuring out why you haven't been able to make progress on your goals.

2. Good goals are concrete and measurable and have mini-milestones along the way. Knowing the ways in which you wish your life were different is a good starting point for change. As un-glamorous as it seems, building in markers for assessment makes it easier to figure out when you've met the goal and whether you're moving closer to it. Celebrating mini-milestones is one thing I need to be better about, especially when a goal will take a long time to achieve.

What about you? Are you doing well on keeping your New Year's resolutions? Got any tips?

The one where Mrs. Dude blogs about her "real life"

I realize that it's probably poor form to blog about therapy.

In the course of conversation, my therapist and I agreed that I have a hard time differentiating between choosing to take something on because it's what I want to do and when I take something on to be accepted.

2010 has been a year filled with really amazing highs and really crappy lows. I have been blessed, both personally and professionally, to have lots of awesome opportunities. Among other things, starting in January I'm spending six months in a leadership program put on by the American Library Association.

It seems to me that there are two problems with not being clear on why I choose to add things to my life:
1. I have a lot of things going on--some that I care deeply about and some that I don't. And it's hard to know which is which.
2. I end up not being able to give anything my full attention because I'm so busy doing everything. Doing everything half-assed is not as good as doing some things with my whole ass.

I have a sense of the things that drive me, give me personal satisfaction, and (to be cheesy) nurture me:
--creating: writing, crafting, cooking
--absorbing: reading, watching movies, listening to music
--learning: service to others, professional development, taking classes

I want 2011 to be about personal transformation. I want it to be about becoming clear on what's important to me and learning to say no to the things that I'm not passionate about.

Change is hard. Inertia is easy. But if you're not 100% happy with who you are and 100% satisfied with the life you lead, change is the only answer.

Look for more writing here in the coming year, both review-related and otherwise. And look forward to journeying with me and holding me accountable.

Question: What do you want 2011 to "be about" for you?

Music for running

I am constantly trying to craft the best playlist to run to. See...I don't like running very much.

Well, that's not entirely true.

I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishment I feel when I finish and run. And I like how running makes the numbers on the scale get smaller.

But when I run, I get bored. I am not one of those people who goes to some blissful, zen place when they run. I don't think through problems. I don't think *anything* beyond how quickly I want to be done running.

So I need music that is both upbeat and lyrically interesting so that I distract myself from how bored I am and focus on being in the moment.

My newest playlist:
Lisztomania--Phoenix
Daylight--Matt&Kim
Absolutely Still--BTE
Little Secrets--Passion Pit
Yeah Yeah--Matt&Kim
Sick Muse--Metric
Satellite Skin--Modest Mouse
Lasso--Phoenix
Good Ol'Fashioned Nightmare--Matt&Kim
Gold Guns Girls--Metric
Golden Age--TV on the Radio
Off That--Jay-Z feat. Jimmy (well..Drake--I refuse to call him that, though)
All in--BTE

I am going to take this for a test drive tonight and see how it works.

Flipping the script

One of my friends is feeling frustrated about something in her life. She is feeling this intense feeling of being stuck in a situation that she doesn't like and isn't sure how to change it.

Before we go any further, this isn't one of those stories where "My friend is" is actually code for "I am."

She wrote an email to a group of her friends that laid out all of things about this situation that frustrate her. Then she wrote another email that flipped the script, so to speak, and set out some short term (1-2 years) and long term (2-4 years) goals as well as what she ultimately wanted the situation to look like.

I was struck by how simple this re-framing was and yet how brilliant.

How often do I feel like a situation is both sucktastic and beyond my control? A lot. How often do I see how a situation can be changed and what I can do to change it? Not often.

As a related matter, in a meeting yesterday, a colleague spoke at length about "outcomes assessment" in which she discussed the concept of writing outcomes.

Outcomes, she stated, are desired changes in behavior, attitude, or skills.

The formula she presented for writing an outcome:

Verb/action phrase + "in order to" + Why = Outcome

An example:
Complete couch to 5K program in order to successfully run 3 miles.

So what do these two ideas have to do with one another?

I sometimes feel like I choose to believe that a situation is beyond my control instead of looking for ways I can change it. The next time I feel frustrated at how stuck I feel, I need to stop and consider what I want the situation to ultimately look like (using my handy-dandy outcome-writing skill) and then set short and long-term goals to get from where I am now to where I want to be.

What do you wish was different? How can you work to change it?

When it's time to change...

This one comes straight out of the 'keeping it real' file.

I did South Beach Diet for a while, but it's safe to assume I've fallen off that wagon.

I got tired of eating (and not eating) the same things all the time and I kept justifying my sneaks and treats. And, honestly, I bent the rules until they broke.

I'm not gaining any more weight, but I'm also not losing.

So, I figure I have two options:

1)Abandon SBD altogether and adhere strictly to a restricted-calorie diet.
2) Get back on the SBD wagon, starting with a 2-week Phase I "detox."

I'm trying to weigh my options pretty carefully (no pun intended).

I heard myself telling someone today that my change in lifestyle is about making choices and giving some things up to have other things. But I'm realistically starting to wonder what I'm giving up of late. It seems, more and more, like I've been justifying things more than giving them up.

As I see myself settling into a weight that is significantly higher than my goal weight, I know things have to change.

You, yes you...

We are fixed
We are fixed
We are fixed right where we stand
--The view, Modest Mouse

I have lost 30 pounds in the last 9 months. I've also gained a lot of perspective on how little power we, as people, think we have.

Today, someone who hadn't seen me since April said "you've lost a lot of weight. You look great."

My initial reaction was to think about how to deflect that compliment.

I'm not at my goal weight. I haven't been eating the way I should lately. I haven't been running as often as I should lately. And I've been in the 150s since March.

Instead, as if outside of my own body, I said "Thanks! I've lost 30 pounds since September."

The person's reply? "I wish I could do that."

I immediately said, "if I can do it, you can too. I'm not doing anything special. I'm just eating less and exercising more."

If someone had said this to me ten months ago, I wouldn't have believed them. 'It's too hard to change habits,' I would've thought, 'and I totally don't have that kind of willpower.'

There are a lot of legitimate things that stand in people's ways. I get that.

But can I tell you a secret?

90% of the time, you do have what it takes to make the change in your life you're longing to make.

I was a couch potato; now I'm a runner. But it didn't happen overnight. I started and quit Couch to 5K more times than I can count before it stuck.

I used to be an emotional eater...and still am. But I've found some non-eating coping mechanisms that work for me, so I'm less likely to reach for a box of cereal when I'm sad/bored/lonely.

I used to eat whatever I wanted with no regard for portion sizes; now I measure my portion of cereal and make choices about what I'm willing to not eat (hello, croutons!) in exchange for what I refuse to give up (hello, red velvet cupcakes!).

The point is, you (yes...you) have everything you need inside of you to be the person you want to be.

Exchange my weight loss for the one thing in your life that you wish was different. And know it's true when I say, "if I can do it, you can too."

Love,
Mrs. Dude

Odds and ends

I am too lazy to compose an entire blog post about any one thing, but I've been itching to tell you some things.

Part the First: Things I am digging right now
1. Mass transit
2. Running
3. Smoothies made with cottage cheese, chocolate soy milk, no-sugar added chocolate milk mix, Splenda, and ice
4. Southern Vampire novels (aka the Sookie Stackhouse books)
5. Visiting the public library

Part the Second: Things I have done
1. Seen The Hold Steady in concert
2. Visited the Tower Grove farmers market
3. Gone to the movies (I saw Disney's Earth)
4. Watched Casino Royale and decided I like Daniel Craig as Bond
5. Eaten bacon-wrapped meatloaf at Schlafly's Taproom

Part the Third: How I intend to spend my Summer Vacation
1. Turn 30
2. Meetup with friends in Vegas
3. Go to Chicago for ALA's annual conference
4. Try my hand at container gardening
5. Run at least 1 5K

I think that about covers it for now.

Mrs. Dude and the shame-induced pity party

I've been having a rough week. The "exercise and eating well" wagon are nowhere to be seen and I'm laying in the dust having a big, fat pity party.


So you know where I'm coming from, I've been on South Beach Diet (from this point forward referred to as "SBD") since September. Between following a regimented eating plan and exercising, I've lost 26 pounds.

But the past few weeks have seen me heading down a path where I'm just not sticking to my eating or my exercise. I've excused away some pretty half-hearted workouts and some off-plan snacks.

I'm at this weird place right now where I'm just ready to be done with it. Not to be at my goal weight, but ready to quit. Ready to stop watching what I eat and to stop going to the gym.

I feel really unmotivated. I know that if I want to succeed, my choice to follow SBD can't be a "diet," even though its name has the word "Diet" in its name. I have to be willing to accept that my choice is one to change my lifestyle and to agree to respect myself enough to stop putting crap in my body.

While were here, I also know that an active lifestyle won't stop for me when I reach a magic number. I fell in love with running. Yeah, it's hard, but it makes me feel good and strong and powerful.

So what's the deal?

I know it's probably all of the junk I've been eating over the past few days talking, but I just want to lay on my couch, eat cupcakes, and watch the newest 'Real World/Road Rules' challenge until my brain melts.

I was trying to hold all of these icky feelings inside. I was pretending that everything was okay while trying to convince myself that I could force myself back on track.

You ever have that moment? You know, the one where you just know you can will yourself to get your act together while, at the same pretending like you never had a moment while you're act wasn't together?

It's exhausting. And the shame of not having it all together and wanting to quit was weighing me down.


Why aren't I good enough to stick with it? What's wrong with me that I'm so weak?


The shame of not being perfect had me in its grips.

I was better, more together, more dedicated I could stick with it. I wanted this bad enough I wouldn't feel so frustrated.

You ever been there?

I decided enough is enough. I was done wallowing in my shame. I told a few of my friends how frustrated I am, and verbalizing that frustration robbed shame of its power over me.

My friends gave me the good advice and accountability I needed. Just saying the words, 'this is really frustrating' felt empowering. Acknowledging that I am nowhere near perfect and that shame was keeping me from doing what I knew what right meant more to me than any run or day of healthy eating ever could.

The "exercise and eating well" wagon is still out-of-sight, but I've picked myself off the ground.

The first step is throwing out all of the leftover junk that has creeped into my house. The second is making some good-for-me food. The third step is getting back into the gym by the week's end. I will run at least a mile--not because I have to do it, but because it brings me joy.

Mrs. Dude speaks seriously, but not smugly, about money

I was listening to someone interview Rachel Naomi Remen about the 'current economic crisis' when she said the most amazing thing:

"Money is the densest form of human energy."

I have heard Dr. Remen interviewed before, and found her to be unbelievably wise in the simple, straightforward way that wise people often are. Yet, I was taken aback by this simple, yet powerful, observation.

Money isn't just paper, she asserts, it's the physical embodiment of the work we have done in the world. And how we spend that money is a direct reflection of who we are as people--what we value, what we fear, who we are.

Later in the interview she says:
"If you want to find out who a person is (and you might be surprised at what you find out), follow them around and watch them spend their money."

I don't think it's news to anyone that as consumers we "vote with your pocketbook." That we, as people who believe things, owe it to ourselves to be educated about the places we most often spend our money. I think that's something that people have been concerned with since long before the 'economic downturn.'

What was, however, new to me was the idea that we tell our stories in how we spend our money. What are you most afraid of? What do you value? Who are you?

And how do the latte or new shoes you just bought reflect your story?

As right as Remen is, I don't think I would want people following me around and determining who I am based on the things I buy. I fear that I would be seen as shallow and self-absorbed, concerned only with how I appeared to people.

So how do we align our values and our spending? I think it requires hard work and some tough self-evaluation. And I think it demands that we tell our spoiled, petulant inner children "no" once in a while.

Let me tell you a story...

I used to spend a lot of money on books. I would go to a bookstore and spend a long time picking out a stack of books to take home with me. More often than not, most of the books in the stack never got read. The fun was in acquiring the books, though not necessarily in reading them.

If I think about what matters to me, acquiring books would make sense, right? I love to read.

I think that's a perfect valid and valuable way to look at it, especially if I read everything I bought before buying more books.

I came to the conclusion, though, that what I was really saying was that I valued amassing things. That I wanted to insulate myself from the world with good books. That I wanted to be able to say about the newest literary masterpiece, "oh, right, I picked that up but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet."

I decided in early January that I wasn't going to buy any new books unless I absolutely couldn't avoid it. If I wanted to read something, I thought, I'll go to the library.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done. For reals.

But, it's now April. And I have purchased just one book.

The point is that making "good" decisions about how to direct our money is hard. These hard economic times have made it necessary, but what happens if things get better? Will we go back to our 'old' ways of gluttonous consumption?

There are a lot of places where I still need to continue to 'take stock': My dining out habits, the number of cable channels we subscribe to, the magazines I get every month but never read. So please don't see this as smug virtue. It's not.

I just wanted to take a second to think about what Remen has to say. And to challenge you to think about how the direction of your money aligns itself with your story.

Because sometimes blogging is better than therapy

This started out as a post about R.E.M. I have 299 R.E.M. songs on my iPod and I've been listening to them for the past couple of days at work.

R.E.M. has been my favorite band since the mid-90s when I was a freshman in High School. I fell in love with them sometime between Automatic for the People and Monster.

At the same time I was falling in love with R.E.M., the show My So-Called Life debuted.

Somehow, in my mind, the two will always be inexplicably linked.

And this is where this post takes an wildly different turn than I originally intended it to...

Imagine being surrounded by kids who loved grunge or hip hop and telling them that you favorite band was a bunch of middle aged guys from Athens, Ga. My love for Michael's melancholy voice and nimble lyrics made me feel intellectually superior to my peers. In High School, I was invisible. Loving R.E.M. made me feel like I stood out.

I fancied myself a brunette Angela Chase--cool beyond words with a sweet, fragile sensibility. The truth is, I was a lot more like Brian Krakow--socially awkward, geeky, and pretending not to care what other people think while wanting desperately to be accepted.

Like every teenager ever, I struggled to identify who I was and to accept the parts of myself that made me feel different from my peers. I was bookish and quiet and didn't dress quite right. I didn't have perfect hair or social graces. I didn't go to football games or dances or to parties.

Honestly, I kind of carried my pain like a cross I had to bear. I got an almost sick amount of pleasure from being on the outside looking in. I felt intensely lonely sometimes, but I didn't do anything to change my situation. I could've cut my hair or bought new clothes. I could've gone to football games. I could've worked harder to "fit in." Instead, I reveled in my outcast-ness. But I wasn't even really an outcast, truthfully. An outcast would've been made fun of or treated poorly. Me? I was invisible to most of the people I went to school with. Just another body they bumped into in the hallway between math class and lunch.

R.E.M. spoke to me then, made me feel normal in much the same way that watching My So-Called Life did. Angela Chase and Brian Krakow made me feel like it was okay to want to be liked and to hurt when I not only wasn't like but also wasn't noticed. R.E.M. spoke to the quiet place in me that felt uncomfortable in my own skin like nothing else I had ever heard.

I don't actually remember what my point was. When I started writing, this was going to be an ode to R.E.M. Somewhere along the way, though, it became a blog post about me. It kind of feels like an ode to the 16-year old me who just wanted to be noticed.

In which Mrs. Dude discusses exercise

I hate "working out." I have never been athletically inclined, and I'm clumsy. Moreover, I would rather read a book or watch TV than go to the gym or play sports.

I like walking MollyB, my dog, but I feel like that doesn't count. I can't not walk her. I mean, I could, but I don't want to end up on an episode of Animal Cops or anything.

I am in the process of trying to lose weight though exercise and eating well. As a result, I go out to eat less and cook and exercise more.

To fulfill the "exercise" part of the plan, I choose to go to a gym.

I sometimes feel bad about it, since I could save money and just go running in my neighborhood instead of going to the gym and jogging on a treadmill.

Remember how I told you I would rather watch TV than exercise?

My dirty secret is that all of the cardio equipment in the gym I go to has TVs attached to them. And the TVs all have cable.

It feels sort of strange to go to the gym and watch TV. But it's the only way I can motivate my lazy self to exercise.

So 3 times per week I go to the gym, plug into a TV, and jog.

I've been doing the Couch to 5K program. It's a 9-week program, but I've been working on it for a year. I guess that tells you everything you need to know about my level of commitment.

I recently switched to exercising in the morning. My gym is overrun in the evening and I hate waiting to use a treadmill. It makes me not want to exercise, and I have a hard enough time getting to the gym without this extra layer of soul crushing complication.

It turns out that the majority of people who go to my gym don't want to get up early to work out. The place is dead in the morning--even less busy than when I've been there on a Friday night. It tells you something when more people would rather work out on a Friday night than get up early, right?

The moral of my story is this: if I can get up early and exercise, you can fit 30 minutes of physical activity into your day. Park far away from the store you're shopping in. Go for a walk with your dog or your kids or, alternately, to get away from your dog or your kids. Find a trail and go for a ride on your bike. Start a recreational kickball team. Go dancing.

Joining a gym isn't necessary to be successful. You might want to do it, but you don't have to.

Just choose to be active.

A blog post in vignette-form

I haven't been reading enough, or listening to enough music, or doing anything crafty lately.

I have "hobby block," I guess. Like writer's block, but with hobbies.
**

My blog would be significantly easier to write and much more interesting for you to read if it was written with fewer than 140 characters. Like Twitter. When I write my Tweets, the character limits force me to be so concise and so careful with my words.
**

Going to the gym at 6:30 a.m. is much nicer than going at 6:30 p.m. It's quiet and I never have to wait for a treadmill. Probably because nobody really wants to work out that early in the morning.
**

My musical tastes have changed over the past year. Over the past year I've grown to love female singers and alt-country.
**

The Kanye West song 'Heartless' is almost sad enough to make me not hate him. Almost.

AnonymousK: blogger extraordinaire

I have this friend, AnonymousK, who writes a blog. In fact, you might be visiting my blog from hers as I was lucky enough to be featured as one of her Valentines.

I read a lot of blogs, most of which are written by people I don't know. I especially like blogs whose authors "keep it real." I like people who are self-assured enough to tell the truth, even when it's ugly. I find people like that inspiring.

AnonymousK's is not only a blogger with the courage to speak the truth, she is also someone I could email and not be embarrassed or fan girl-y about it. See, AnonymousK and I used to know each other well. We were friends 'back in the day.' What this really means is that she knew me at my most awkward and, as a result, has ammunition a-plenty. We lost touch, though, but through the magic of the Interwebs we became reacquainted.

The nice thing is, now we know each other as grown ups. What this really means is that we have decided to not bring up those awkward years and, instead, choose to relate to each other as mature, has-it-together versions of the people we used to be.

AnonymousK totally keeps it real. She talks about her life and her family (as a side note, AnonymousK's husband, Mr. K., was a friend of mine for many years. We were in First Communion class together back when I was Catholic.) She talks about her joys and her struggles. And she does it with a grace and authenticity that make me green with envy.

So go give AnonymousK some love, y'all! You'll be glad you did.

Mrs. Dude and the 'orgy of overshare'

I have this ridiculous love-hate relationship with Facebook.

I enjoy Facebook because I can stalk people catch up with people that I might not otherwise have time to stalk connect with.

The people in my life who are my Facebook friends fall into two categories:
1.People I am currently acquainted with either virtually or "In Real Life."
2.People I was friends with at some point in the past but with whom I will probably not become reacquainted with more than superficially.

There are some people who started out in Category 2 who have moved to Category 1, and for that I am eternally grateful for Facebook.

My problem with social networking is--

Wait? You're tired of hearing people rant about social networking?

Humor me.

--something I'd like to call the 'orgy of over-share.'

The thing that made me aware of this 'orgy of over-share' that Facebook is facilitating was that '25 things' meme that every. single. person. on Facebook is doing.

The gist is this:
Get "tagged" by your friend, make a list of 25 things about yourself that nobody knows, tag 25 of your friends.

I have enjoyed learning more about the people I truly am interested in. I even came up with 25 facts about myself. All of them were true, and most of them were dreadfully boring.

But it's growing tiresome.

There is now a 100-question meme and a meme for mommies about the birth of one's first child.

There's an A-Z meme and an iPod shuffle meme.

It's 'meme madness' people!

This giant orgy of over-share is making me kind of want some time away from Facebook. I like you, but I really don't want to know that much about you.

And I posted a status message yesterday that said something about stopping the 'meme madness.'

In response, my awesome friend Amy sent me a link to this article that included the phrase "virtual narcissism."

And that, my friends, is where we get to the heart of my beef with social networking.

For all of the awesome ways in which social networking helps us connect to other people, it's still just another way for us to talk on and on about ourselves.

It reminds me of that thought in psychology that when you talk to someone, you spend more time formulating your next thought than you do paying attention to what they're saying.

I know that I sounds like a hypocritical Jerky JerkFace by saying all of that after having participated in the 'orgy of overshare' myself.

I guess I just wish that all of us, myself included, were a little bit better about self-censoring and not so keen to share so much about ourselves.

How Guitar Hero helped me embrace my inner gamer

The Dude and I have been eyeing Guitar Hero for a while now. We've talked about how much fun it would be to have our very own plastic guitar controllers and to rock out.

Over the weekend, we found a crazy good deal on Guitar Hero at one of the Big Box electronic stores. Apparently they're rotating out some of the old versions in favor of newer versions that aren't that much different from the old ones. It was cheaper for us to buy two older games that each came with a controller than it was for us to buy a bundled up new game that came with two controllers.

And, since we're ever the spendthrifts, we decided to go that route. And by "spendthrift," I mean grown ups who don't necessarily need the newest tricked-outest version of the game.

We decided to play the game in "career co-op" mode which allows both of us to play at the same time. For the record, our band name is "Achieve." The Dude picked it. For the record, I think DDC21, the band name I use on the Guitar Hero game I have for my DS is way more cleaver. But whatever...

After playing for about 3 hours between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, we have successfully completed the game on "Easy" and started the game on "Medium."

I complained that there was a huge difference between the skill required to play on "Easy" and the skill required for "Medium." And by "complained," I mean whined and cursed.

Just keeping it real, y'all.

What I learned is that I can't play lead guitar in co-op mode. I mean, I am physically able to do it. I just don't want to. The Dude is way better at it. I am more of a bass or rhythm guitar kind of woman. It works well for us, since he seems to prefer to play lead guitar.

I kind of feel like this could some sort of crazy video game-based metaphor for our marriage.

Speech after long silence...

...it is right.

My apologies to Mr. Yeats for taking his poetry grossly out of context.

I haven't been faithful to my blog in quite a while. I have found a hundred other things to occupy my time. But the part of me that likes to write hasn't feel very satisfied with the silence. And that nagging part of me that tries to ignore things long put-off kept nagging.

I have had a lot of trouble knowing how to set the bounds of my blog. I adopted this pseudo-pseudonym because I never wanted the blog to be about me--not really, anyway. I love blogs about people's lives, but I always wanted to let people into my life by showcasing things I liked. I wanted to share poems or books or music. I wanted you to see me through the lens of things that brought me joy.

I feel this need to let the blog change a little bit and not be so secretive and obtuse. I like the kinda sorta anonymity that comes from using "Mrs. Dude" instead of my real name. And honestly, I just really like using it. But I feel like the blog lacks a certain authenticity when it's about me but not really about me.

So, having gotten all of that off my chest, I feel like it's okay to start blogging again. And I aspire to write every day. Some days it may be about stuff I like. Some days it may just be something about me. I hope those of you who read when I was writing regularly will continue to read. I hope I give you things worth reading.

Voting

I don't care who you vote for.

Exercise your right to choose.

Make your voice heard.

Or, as Diddy said, "vote or die."

Stand up for your rights, both nationally and locally. Don't stop voting at the top of the ticket. Go all the way down--down to the local initiatives and propositions.

Stand in line. Wait as long as it takes.

Having a say is made of a lot of awesome.

Checking in

I haven't posted here in quite a while.

I haven't forgotten about you, faithful readers! Okay, so it isn't like I have an army of readers or anything. But still...I owe the five of you that read this quality content and I have been lacking in producing the quality content that you deserve.

I feel like late Summer found me feeling kind of 'meh' about it all. I haven't seen any new movies in a while. I haven't read anything worth blogging about lately either.

The only fall premiers I've watched so far are the Sunday night animated shows on Fox. The Simpsons premiere was pretty good. I didn't care for Family Guy. But man...American Dad killed it!

I've been watching The Rachel Maddow Show almost every night. She's been pretty awesome, too. Her show is smart and funny. And even though she's unabashedly liberal, it's not so off-putting that you'd be in a rush to change the channel.

I am hoping that the arrival of Fall will find me with a lot of books to talk about and music to review.

In the meantime, how did you spend your Summer Vacation? Did you read anything good? See any good movies? Go to any good concerts? Listen to any good albums?

I wrote you a concert review in my head...

...but then I forgot to type it.

The Dude moved Heaven and Earth to get tickets to the sold-out Tegan and Sara show that was Sunday night.

It was fantastic.

Australian band An Horse was good. We saw two songs, so I didn't get that much of an impression of their music. They could rock and Kate, the lead vocalist, had a nice voice. I get the impression that they're a nice up-and-coming band with a bright future on the Indie scene, such as it is.

Tegan and Sara put on a fabulous show. I'd searched online for set lists to get an idea of what they'd been playing recently, but darn if they didn't decided that Sunday was the day to start tweaking their setlist. The new setlist didn't deviate much from what they'd been playing, but they did present it in a slightly different order.

They played mostly music from their last two albums, The Con and So Jealous. I wish they'd played more tracks from the album before So Jealous, If it was you, but they didn't. And that was okay.

The set list seemed thoughtfully re-arranged and both Tegan and Sara got a decent amount of face time. I was shocked at how much better their voices seemed live than on their albums. It was amazing! Songs that I thought fell flat on the albums soared in real life.

The between-song banter, which Tegan and Sara pride themselves on, was the only part that I struggled with. It didn't seem scripted, which was nice, but there were times that the unscripted real-ness left me feeling...something. It seemed awkward at times, I think.

So, yeah...good times. :)

In which Mrs. Dude exposes her obsessive nature

When I find a band that I connect with, musically speaking, I get kind of obsessive. Okay...not kind of. Really.

Really obsessive.

It's just that I so rarely find music that I connect with. I like a particular song by this band or that artist, but I rarely find an artist or band whose music, as a whole, speaks to me.

When I find one, I obsess. I listen to the same songs over and over again.

It's like falling in love, I suppose. I want to surround myself with that music. I want to be enchanted, transported, rocked to the very core of my soul.

I want to find music that makes me never feel the same again.

I'm currently obsessing over Mike Doughty's music and also Tegan and Sara's music.

I have listened to Golden Delicious and If it was you so many times it's not even funny.

I am learning every word to every song. Not on purpose, to be one of those people who goes to a concert and sings every word of every song. I'm learning them as a side effect of immersing myself in the songs.

I can't explain why I'm drawn to either of these artists. I think it's their lyrical dexterity and earnestness.

Whatever the reason, I am a sad, lovesick fool.

Musically-speaking, that is.