sam: mouse detective and exercise partner

Lest you think that I don't have a son (or that I don't like to blog about him), I thought I would post some recent Sam videos. Besides, I'm sure many people who check this blog really are only interested in Sam updates. And hey, I don't blame you. He's much more interesting (and cute) than me.

This first video was taken a few weeks ago, when we were battling our mice problem. We think that they are all gone - we haven't seen any evidence for over a week, and our traps have remained empty. I hope we've killed/scared them off. I'm tired of disinfecting my living space over and over.



This second video was taken to showcase Sam's newly-acquired exercise skills. He likes to exercise with me when I do my lil' Jillian Michaels workout video (which actually, is not so "lil'" in terms of physical exertion. Wow. The first time I did this video, I wanted to pass out at the end of the workout session. I remember that at one point I was doing push-ups, staring at the ground and crying out, "Nooo!" when Jillian said I still had a couple more sets to do. The workouts aren't as difficult for me now, but they still kick my trash.)

Anyhow, Sam likes to exercise with me. It's cute to have him trying to do all of the moves, and I especially love when he lies down on the floor to do sit-ups with me. Sam also makes sure that I use my handweights when Jillian pulls her set out - he never lets me cheat, the little stinker.

are you a feminist?

I've been thinking a lot about feminism lately. Next quarter my students will be reading several chapters from Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany, and I've been reading that book in preparation for class. And then this evening my friend ixoj's post (and the linked article) made me think about my own stance in relation to feminism. Am I am feminist? I definitely am interested in feminist and gender issues, especially when it comes to art history. But I also know that my interest in feminism is largely because I studied underneath two dedicated feminist art historians. So I understand feminist theory and think it's fascinating. But does understanding and liking feminist theory make me a feminist too?

Don't get me wrong - I definitely don't think that there is anything wrong with being labeled a feminist, and I'm not trying to evade a label for myself if its appropriate. I'm just trying to classify myself. Sometimes I think that I'm not really a feminist, but rather a product of the 21st century. I think a lot of people within my generation accept gender equality, even expect gender equality. In this sense, I think that the term "feminism" seems a little passé and dated.

I think feminist issues become rather sticky in terms of Mormonism and Mormon culture. For example, would I be considered a feminist because I work outside of the home? But I'm not working in order to make a statement about gender equality (at least, not consciously). I work because I like to work. So does liking to work make me a feminist? I don't think so, but perhaps the people who see the breadwinner role as inherently male would disagree. But since I think other women should work if they want to, does that make me a feminist? Perhaps?

I don't want to delve into all the sticky issues of Mormonism and feminism. Although some aspects are interesting to me, there are some major issues that I don't really care about (e.g. I have no interest in holding the priesthood. So maybe I'm not a feminist?). But J brought up a good point tonight: I don't make decisions based on feminism, but a lot of the things that I think (and do) are common among feminists. Hmm. So maybe I'm a feminist groupie.

How would you classify yourself? Are you a feminist? Why do you (or don't you) label yourself as one?

P.S. I hoped to link a great "Are You a Feminist?" quiz to this post, but I only found two lame quizzes (see here and here). Some of the questions are so dumb, that I couldn't finish taking either quiz. But some of the other questions are rather amusing. It's worth taking a look, even if you don't take the quizzes.

the alchemist

During my last book group meeting, one of the group members asked if anyone had read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I knew that I owned the book, but I couldn't remember if I had actually read it. So I pulled out my copy last week and started to read.

The story became progressively familiar as I read, and after the first twenty or thirty pages, I finally remembered that I actually had read the book at least once (perhaps twice). I couldn't remember reading the book before because it's such a short, quick read; I think it's easy to forget that you've read a short book, especially if you didn't spend much time with the book in your hands.

This book is about a young shepherd who goes off to the Egyptian pyramids in search of treasure. Along the way, the shepherd boy learns a lot about himself and life. I especially like the conversation that the boy has with his heart while traveling across the unchanging desert scape (p. 128-130 in my HarperSanFrancisco edition, 1998). The heart gives reasons for why people need to listen to their hearts, which caused me to reflect a little bit. I know that I need to spend more time meditating and "listening to my heart," but often I opt to fill my time with more trivial things. Maybe it's because I'd rather not face the things that my heart would like to say. Or maybe I think "heart listening" will be too time-consuming or emotionally taxing. I'm not sure exactly why. But I know I should make a change.

This is a good book, especially for people who like philosophical thoughts about life and relationships with people. Next time I read this, I'd like to read the original edition in Portuguese.

mice = argh! ew! blech!

I feel like I've been in a frenzied state since Friday morning. J left for a camping trip early that morning, and after breakfast I noticed mice droppings in our oven drawer. I had discovered mice droppings underneath our kitchen sink the week before - and I had hoped that we had taken care of the problem back then, since we didn't catch anything in the traps. Anyhow, Friday's revelation in the oven drawer was the beginning of several more disgusting mice revelations...and this weekend quickly became more and more unpleasant. Last night I spent 6 1/2 hours cleaning and disinfecting our stuffed-to-the-brim pantry.

I could complain more about the rest of my weekend: how I escaped the disinfecting for a few hours to hike Cave Hole Trail, but the hike was disappointing (I had high hopes to see a lot of cool sinkholes and caves, but we only saw two holes along the fairly steep trail); how the exterminator didn't show up today; how Sam whined all day long (he was hot but we couldn't leave the house because I thought the exterminator would still come - and there was no way I was going to take Sam in the cool basement: J saw a mouse down there). I could elaborate even further, but I think I'll stop. The point is: I had a bad weekend, for a multiplicity of reasons. And my frustration and stress level just increase my intolerance for these pesky mice. I want them DEAD AND GONE.

I have to admit that things have been better, since J came back from his lil' camping excursion this evening. We went out to eat tonight (there's no way I'm cooking in Kitchen o' Mouse Haven) and had a fun time with Sam afterward at an air-conditioned play area. And J helped me finish the disinfecting/poison-laying/repelling tonight. I just noticed another dropping-laden area in our basement, but I'm too tired to attack that room right now. I'd rather stay up in our bedroom (two floors above the basement, one floor above the kitchen), and hope that they can't come up here.

Ew. Ew. Ew.

bed intruder song

If you haven't seen the news clip about the bed intruder, watch this (and it goes without saying that you should pay attention to the brother's interview around 1:00). Hil-ar-i-ous. I love that guy's attitude.

Then watch/listen to the Bed Intruder Song. Jeremy and I have been listening to it for the past fifteen minutes, and we can't stop chuckling. The song gets stuck in your head, though, so be careful!

literary last words

I almost decided not to write this post, because right now I don't like thinking about death. Anything related to death makes me sad, because I instantly think of my mom (and now, since this past month, also my grandpa). So I prefer to not think about death or people dying. My brain, though, falls back on those subjects somewhat often, which I suppose is normal for someone who has lost a loved one recently. But I don't want to think about death, and I'd rather push those thoughts away. Right now I'm trying to focus on life.

That being said, this slideshow on the Guardian is just too interesting to leave unnoticed. The slideshow is a compilation of the last words spoken by several different literary figures, including Samuel Johnson, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, and Emily Dickinson. The slides also include some historical information regarding the deathbed events for these great figures, which is quite interesting. Many of the entries were quite moving.

grocery shopping

I'm not quite sure why, but I have really detested grocery shopping as of late. Maybe it's the summery, warm(ish) weather: I'd rather spend time at a park with Sam, than basking in the florescent lights of Fred Meyer. Or maybe it's because I don't feel like being creative and planning dinner menus. I'd rather use my creative energy to plan outings or work on my art history lectures.

Whatever the reason, my grocery shopping has become rather sporadic lately. I'll quickly dash in a store to buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk, but I'll never venture to buy more than a few items. (Which in some ways is rather fun - the small shopping errands make me feel a little European and Brazilian.) I just can't bring myself to stay in the store for longer than a few minutes. J has been a good sport about the whole thing; he has yet to complain that we've been eating way too much pasta from our pantry.

Has anyone else gotten into a similar rut? I almost wanted to look into Amazon Fresh today, just so I could avoid going to the store this morning. Sigh. I should just suck it up and go...