It's (d)Evolved to This

My day job, increasingly, causes me to be less and less interested in political conversations. Now that we are a bit over one month out from Election Day 2012, this is what passes for a political conversation in my house:

Me: But at least I get to see Gloria Steinem speak! I think everyone should see her once. It's something I'm glad to check off the life list.

John: How come?

Me: Because she is one of the mothers of feminism! She was there! She, like, helped start it!

John: I think feminism is a failed experiment. Like California.

*cue laughter*

*cue gratitude for a witty joke rather than any attempt at a serious discussion of 

feminist history in the U.S. over the last 40 years*

Lala Land Life Advice.

I got back from Southern California this week, and my oldest continuous friend shared some advice about, technically, how to make it in Hollywood... but it's also applicable to everything.

Keep your eyes on your own paper.

Isn't that nice? Isn't it refreshing and both totally simple and richly metaphoric? Don't compare, don't cheat, don't even see how far your neighbor is on the test. Just keep your eyes on your own paper and you'll do fine.

It reminds me of another great one from my mom. You know what the reward for living a spiritual life is?

Living a spiritual life.

I've been thinking this week a lot about how our insides, and our deepest personal experiences, can look an awful lot like a cliched outside. One person might go to college or finish a master's degree because it's expected, because they're scared of leaving academic life, and another might do it as a shocking new decision, with a specific goal for a specific job. And they might end up working next to each other in an office, looking quite the same from the outside, but what we can't see is how satisfied and driven one is, and how stifled and scared is the other. So I think they - and we - and I - am best off keeping our eyes on our own paper.

Good Thing Friday: Past and Future.

Since I missed last week, we get two today! The future Good Thing, I am dearly hoping, is tonight's dinner in California (where I am).

http://www.dintaifungusa.com/

I will report back and take pictures if needed. But a whole restaurant of dumplings and steam buns is basically heaven to me - and my hosts here in CA have been to one of the original locations of this place in Beijing, as well as this lone USA location, and say it's fantastic.

The Good Thing from the (uh, my) past this week is television. Oh, ho, ho, wait, what? Television!? Yup. I realized this week that I barely have time for all the work, cooking, socializing, DVDs and stuff in my life... and I think as I enter Year 4 without any kind of cable or broadcast television at home, I realize I have fully adjusted to the change.

So why is it, then, the Good Thing? Because now it has shifted into becoming dessert! It's maraschino cherries, it's a slice of cake swimming in spoonfuls of heavy cream, it's warm brownies at 10 PM. I can now gleefully watch it without fearing getting too attached, I can enjoy it on vacation or when traveling, and it's a Good Thing to space out to sometimes. All things in moderation, I know I know, and so I'm letting this week end with a little mental dessert. Hello, Oprah!