Justification

Anastomosis - a scientific term for the interconnection between two entities, such as vessels, channels, or cavities. Also applied to the folding of one word between parts of another, as in Joyce's "underdarkneath" in Ulysses or a vernacular phrase such as "my own self." Extended to mean the interrelation, interconnection intercommunication or intersubjectivity or persons - used thus in J. Hillis Miller's Ariadne's Thread (1992).
(Harmon and Holman, A Handbook to Literature)


I am henceforth going to be literarily correct in using anastomosis in the phrase "a whole nother thing". Good to know. Up to this point, I've just been using it ironically.

Hello, Thirty.

Hello, Thirty,

I didn't realize you would arrive so soon, and, to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to seeing you. Now that you're almost here, though, I'm delighted to admit that it's not a devastating thing. You see, Twenty was a bit selfish and Twenty-five was a bit pushy, and you, Thirty, seem to be the perfect blend of forgiveness and hope.

In honor of you, I will try to redeem the mistakes I've made with Twenty and Twenty-five. I hereby swear off the tanning bed and dieting, and, instead, commit to drinking only the good wine and making a real effort to get out for a walk once in a while.

Here's to you, Thirty.
Now let's not &%$ this up.

Kisses!
Leah

Guilty Pleasures

I love it when Leisure Girl posts about her love of YA books or teen TV, because it gives me respite from the shame I usually carry.

I'm surrounded by cool people: people who listen to bands I've never heard of and watch movies that depress me, people who only read books that educate them or push boundaries of social acceptability, people who would totally mock me if they knew I was going to the New Kids on the Block concert next week. From time to time, I harbor some shame that I enjoy pop music, movies with happy endings (old, new, kitschy, whatev!), read books generally reserved for the pubescent populus, and, dare I say it, play video games, but, dammit, I will no longer be ashamed!

I am ever so aware that these are choices I make for a reason. If you notice, I like the things that are easy to come by, positive in nature and free from the over-analytical self-awareness that weigh down the everyday. I am aware of the world around me and of the world within me, but I've already taken the time to measure the lack. I want to be fancy free and to wear my contentedness like a lapel pin.

Please, feel free to do the same, even if your happiness rests in Sufjan Stevens or Chuck Polohniak (or Palahniuk, if you wanna be a big nerd about it - John!).

Biggest Potential Shames:
Jane Austen (books & movies)
Meg Cabot
Twilight
boy bands
Murder, She Wrote re-runs
Pushing Daisies
Wicked & Phantom of the Opera
choreographed dances to Michael Jackson songs
Movie Soundtracks (Thomas Newman!)
Nick & Nora
Fred & Ginger