I’m writing this at 4:35 in the morning. I started working the election as a poll worker for early voting last Wednesday. I was going to work a twelve hour shift three days a week, but I ended up being put on the schedule to work seven days a week, twelve hour shifts all the way through until election day. Yay! I’m doing my civic duty and helping make sure this election goes well in a very, very miniscule way.
I had lots of plans for the four days I wasn’t working the election for the next two weeks of October, but that’s obviously not happening now. Busy, busy, busy.
Take a bunch of content photos because I’m beyond behind. Oops. COVID has kept me at home. Oh, and so have the puppies.
Write all of the book reviews. Probably not all of them, but I was hoping to make a serious dent in the stack that is growing at an alarming rate next to my desk. Guess not.
Write a bunch of social justice pieces to remind the public that Trump is the worst and this country needs, quite frankly, anyone but that hot orange garbage pile of a human.
Bake. I was really in a baking mood and felt the fall spice fire burning in my soul. I’m too tired for that now.
Sleep. I am doing that, but not as much as I would like.
Not wake up at 5:00 am. This is always a goal, but I never thought I would write it in a listicle. I guess I do now. 5:00am is horrible. I quit corporate America almost solely because I hate early mornings — I also hated my job. The only time I like to be up before the sun is to catch a plane.
Go to the beach. I’m working by the beach. Unfortunately, I get to the election office before the sun rises and leave after the sun sets. Beach will wait until after November 3.
Post a few book reviews about how Trump and his administration is awful. Because… they are awful. Time to go. Bye.
See my dogs. I think they’re about to have a nervous break because they’re not used to mommy not being home. Right now, mommy is gone a whole fucking lot. I’m ready to be home again.
Really double down on some freelancing efforts. COVID hit freelancers and creatives hard. I’m definitely feeling it monetarily. I’m fine, but I’d like to get my income back up, up, up to where it was and even higher. So I was going to take some time to revamp some things and get back in the groove.
Pain my office… I’m working behind the bar in my house. Yes I have a bar in the living room, which has turned into my home office. The puppies have made it hard for me to get my office put together, but I was determined to have it done by Halloween. Well… no.
I’m so happy I’m working the election. That is far more important than accomplishing any of the above eleven. These are all goals I had, but they can all wait. I’m learning so much being out and around people who are voting. I’m definitely collecting stories from working the election during COVID, so stay tuned for that post coming your way eventually.
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Worth a Read Meh Length 432 Quick Review A fictional look into the tumultuous relationship between Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway as she grows from a talented young woman into a fearless writer.
Ernest Hemingway is one of the most revered writers. Martha Gellhorn is known as one of the greatest war correspondents. Yet one name is internationally renowned, and the other is recalled as the wife of the other if recalled at all – except in certain literary circles. These two remarkable humans met and fell in love, and their love story has been one of great interest. Paula McLain brings Martha to life in Love and Ruin.
Martha Gellhorn was an incredible woman and exceptional for her time. Born in 1908 in Saint Louis, she went to college but left to follow her dreams of becoming a war correspondent, which was unheard of at the time. She was a career woman with ambition, and that ambition caught the eye of Ernest Hemingway, an already great author, while she was on family vacation in 1936 in the Florida Keys. Assignments took them both to Spain, where they traveled and lived together. They began their relationship while he was still married to his second wife. It was a tumultuous time as wars raged on. Ernest was looking to stay put, but Marty was looking to stay in the action. She refused to let a brilliant man extinguish her ambition.
Throughout Love and RuinMarty Gellhorn is incredibly easy to relate to. She’s a free spirit, who wants to live life, make her own way, and be brilliant. She was a modern woman for her time, and people might even say she’s ahead of our current time. McLain creates an interesting and composed picture of the woman she was, torn by passion and purpose. One of the most moving moments was when Marty declares, “I wanted to say, when you fell in love with me you must also have been in love with my wings. Love them now. Love me. Love me, and let me go.” So many women have felt this way and, like Marty, never said it.
Ernest was just complicated enough to be interesting without taking the spotlight away from Martha. The entire novel, anyone in their right mind would be warning Martha away from the brilliant, narcissist he was. There was never any room in his life for another star, let alone another literary star. McLain allows him a few short chapters from his perspective, but Marty is the star in the relationship in a way she wasn’t in life.
Love and Ruin is a woman’s coming into her own story as much as it is a love story. She allows herself to fall in love, fall in life, and get back up. I’m not completely sure Love and Ruinis the appropriate title for this book. It implies to love Hemingway was to simultaneously be ruined. Yes, he did have a dramatic impact on the course of her life, but he in no way ruined her. She was an absolute success. She overcame so much to become one of the most important and insightful war correspondents of the 20th century, and she was a woman! Titling the book as such is a disservice to her memory even if the book is not.
It’s a lovely piece of historical fiction. Honestly, I would have liked a book that focused on Martha Gellhorn as a person rather than the period of her life that related to Hemingway. Choosing one of the most famous and most covered portions of her life is a little boring. She had fifty-four productive and incredible years of her life post-Hemingway. Those deserve attention as much if not more than her love affair and first marriage.
Memorable Quotes “Women were so rare at the front they might as well have been nonexistent.” “I had said yes. And yes always came with a price.”
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Title: Love and Ruin Author: Paula McLain Publisher: Ballantine Books Copyright: 2019 ISBN: 9781101967393
The recipe for this delicious salad is at the bottom of the article.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 marked the official start to fall in all its glory. I grew up in a place that had a bonafide fall season; though its length and strength changed from year to year or even day to day, there was a changing of the leaves, a crisp smell hanging in the air, and a reason to don sweaters and a jacket. I no longer live in a place filled with fall, but it’s still fueled with fall or at least the illusion of fall.
Houston is a crazy place where fall doesn’t exist in any kind of satisfying way. There are sweaters in stores with no reason to wear them for more than a month. Pumpkin spice is everywhere, but people get it iced to cool off from the 90° heat stroke. Leaves don’t so much as turn an array of colors as they turn brown and hang out on the ground.
Pretty much the most autumnal I can get around here are the solids and liquids I shove in my mouth on as regular basis as I can during the “fall” months, or as I like to call them in Houston: the slightly, less hot continuation of summer months.. So here are eleven fall foods and drinks I love to consume.
Apple Cider—I love apple cider so much. I have to go light on the cinnamon because it gives me migraines. Sometimes I throw caramel in there because I’m super fancy and I like calories. Houston doesn’t have apple orchards, so I don’t get to that cute crap. I’ll just drink apple cider and pretend.
Pumpkin Pie—It’s an autumnal staple for a reason. It’s delicious, and I love it. The smell fills the whole house as it’s baking. I hate store bought pumpkin pie, they never get the spices right. I will literally eat a whole pumpkin pie all by myself. You don’t even have to dare me.
Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, and Gravy—Maybe it’s because I’m from the Midwest and we thrive on meat and potatoes. But there is something positively homely about a house filled with the smell of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and all the yummy juices that will turn into gravy.
Hot Chocolate—Hot chocolate is the best. It’s the best thing about cold weather, especially when it’s topped with more marshmallows than a cup can physically hold. I make awesome hot chocolate in the French way.
Ginger Cookies—I use my great-grandma’s recipe. They are to die for. Soft in the middle, crisp around the edges, delightful all the way around. I start making them by the dozens this time of year.
Fall Salads—I can’t narrow it down to just one. I love fall salads. They’re heavy on the arugula and squash and warm, yummy goodness.
Red Beans and Rice—A Louisiana staple. I spent a lot of time in New Orleans growing up. This is one of my happy foods. It’s warm, filling, and delicious. It’s one of my favorite dishes to make for entertaining because I can make a huge batch. What doesn’t get used can be frozen to be enjoyed easier.
Sweet Potato/Squash Everything—These things make me so happy. Roasted, pureed, soup, sweet, savory, happiness. I love grabbing them from a farmer’s market or produce stand. They’re such humble ingredients that can be turned into really amazing dishes. I can’t choose; I love them all ways.
White Chili—I really… hate chili. Normal chili. The red, beefy chili. I find it gross. I don’t know why; I just do. However, I love white chili. It’s basically just a chicken, bean soup with lots of yummy goodness.
Cherry Pie with Crumble Topping—Crumble topping is the only way to go. I don’t know why, but a normal pie crust topping doesn’t cut it. The crumble is the best. Cherry pie literally tastes better in the fall. I only eat it in the fall. I love it and will eat it so enthusiastically.
Pecans in Baked Goods—Pecans reign supreme over all other nuts. Mixing them with butter and sugar and carbs makes them a complete mouth orgasm. I’m gonna go grab a handful now. I love them in a bourbon bread pudding, cookies, brownies, cake, everything, and all the things. So good. So, so, so good.
Basically, fall is the time to start eating as much sugar in any and every way possible. Gotta fluff up for the colder months. Fall foods are all about happiness for me. They just bring joy and comfort for me.
I started making the following salad over the summer. It’s not necessarily super fall, but it is perfect for the warmer fall we experience in the south. It’s cool and filling but hearty for fall. I love it as a side dish or as a light lunch or dinner. It keeps for up to a week in the fridge, so I make a big batch and eat away at it.
So much healthy yum in one bowl.
Ingredients
3 cups White Beans (canned or dry)
1 large Purple Onion
3 cloves Garlic
1 bunch Oregano (or whatever your favorite herb is)
3 lemons
Olive Oil
1 Red Pepper
1 Orange Pepper
1 Jalapeno
1 Cucumber
3 handfuls Grape Tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
Feta
Chives
Instructions
The hardest part of this recipe is cutting all of the ingredients to whatever size you want them to be, but cut them all up!
If you’re using dry beans, make sure to rehydrate and cook them. If you’re using canned beans, drain them and wash them in cold water.
Pour beans into a big mixing bowl.
Cut onions into as small or big as you want them to be. Put them into a small bowl and cover with water. This takes away their bite.
Chop the garlic and toss in the bowl with the beans.
Deseed and cut up the peppers, jalapenos, and cucumbers and toss them into the bowl with the beans.
Cut the grape tomatoes into quarters and toss in the bowl with the beans.
Chop the oregano (herb) and chives and toss in the bowl with the beans.
Add as much or as little feta as you want into the bowl.
Drain the purple onions of all water and toss in the bowl.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Drizzle with olive oil as much as you like.
Cut lemons in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl.
Mix the salad and let sit for a few hours before enjoying.
It’s a really, really easy salad to make. It takes a little time because you have to cut all the veggies into little pieces, but it’s healthy and so worth it.
I grew up watching Amy Poehler. She was the right kind of funny, smart, raunchy, and sweet for me. Her incredibly supportive, brilliant, fruitful, and genius relationship with Tina Fey was and is an inspiration for what female friendships can and should look like. I bought Yes Pleaseyears ago, and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. It’s real in the way you want memoirs to be; it’s funny in the way you hope a comic’s memoir is; and it’s raw in a way a strong woman who knows her own mind is.
Writing a book is hard. Poehler makes it absolutely clear from the moment you crack the spine that writing a book is hard, she even takes a short break to let Seth Meyers write a chapter so she doesn’t have to. It’s an incredibly poignant moment and a testament to the woman and friend she is. There’s a good chance that she’ll never pen another book again because it’s obvious the process is not her favorite. Poehler also brought on Mike Schurr, the co-creator of Parks & Rec, to annotate her chapter on Parks & Rec, which is heartwarming and funny. She has surrounded herself with brilliant and funny people.
Yes Please is a memoir-advice combo. She’s wise and gives pretty great advice. If I hadn’t learned most of it the hard way, I would have found it even more helpful. It’s a bright, colorful, and bold book filled with large fonts and pictures. It definitely appeals to the kid in me.
In an era of social media and more information is not enough, Amy Poehler is in the public eye and knows what it’s like not to have much privacy. There’s an overarching theme, which is quite explicitly stated, “Nothing is anyone’s business.” Her life motto should be adopted by more, or all, people, “Good for you, not for me.”
I love a quotable book, and this is an incredibly quotable one. Although Poehler is entrancing in interviews, on stage, and on the screen; she has an incredible way with the written word in the way of a brilliant comic. From the funny moments to the more serious moments, she has something to say. She knows when to be funny and when to hold the humor, “A person’s tragedy does not make up their entire life.” She can be serious and bring levity. It is never more evident than in her comparisons. Treat your career like a bad boyfriend, “Ambivalence is key.” Careers can come and go. They’re important, but they shouldn’t define life. Whereas creativity should be nurtured like a good boyfriend because that is important.
Poehler can sum up the entirety ofYes Pleasein her own words better than I can, “It is not about being a good girl; it is about being a real woman.” It’s not a clean book. There’s mess to it, and I love that about it. It’s a great book to make you laugh during these dark times.
Memorable Quotes “Writing a book is nothing like that. It is a small, slow crawl to the finish line.” “…I would stare out whatever window I was near and reminisce about experiences I hadn’t had. Is there a word for when you are young and pretending to have lived and loved a thousand lives? Is there a German word for that? Seems like there should be. Let’s say it is Schaufenfrieglasploit.” “There is nothing more depressing than a tired dominatrix.”
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Worth A Read Yes Length 224 Quick Review The reality of existing as an Asian American encapsulated into a collection of essays by the remarkable Cathy Park Hong.
Asians have been a part of the fabric of the United States for as long as the country has existed. They have played a vital part in the establishment, growth, expansion, history, progress, and culture of the US. Yet, they are overlooked and forgotten. When they are remembered they’re often touted as the good immigrants because of their excellent assimilation. Cathy Park Hong explores the nuance of being Asian and American; of being immigrant and citizen; of being and excluded in Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning.
Asia is an expansive and diverse area of the world, but America has one word for the people of the region: Asian. It is just one of many ways America sweeps over oppression and racism with an optimistic view that does not mirror the reality Asian Americans live with. Hong explores the truth of her own minor feelingsas a child and into adulthood.
Minor Feelingscuts to the core of racism and the inescapable psychological effects it has, “Racial self-hatred is seeing yourself the way the whites see you, which turns you into your own worst enemy. Your only defense is to be hard on yourself, which becomes compulsive, and therefore a comfort, to peck yourself to death.” Hong is acutely aware of existing as an Asian woman; her parents immigrated to the US from Korea. In her essays, she delves into her own feelings of shame and sadness while examining racial consciousness in America. Though the book is about the Asian experience in America, it speaks to the same feelings people of color experience on a daily basis.
Hong has a powerful command of language and uses it as more than a vessel for thoughts but as an art. By writing about racial consciousness, she helps empower generations of people who live with the same minor feelings as herself. Through lenses of history, art, psychology, femininity, friendship, and more, she creates a whole picture of being Asian in America. Her words can and should change hearts and minds by painting a picture of present and past realities.
I cannot begin to explain the impact of this small book. It is remarkable and moving. It hit close to home as I read it. One of my closest friends is Asian and does not fit what society believes Asian American women look like. I have watched her exist in a world that reacts mostly in confusion. She’s a pioneer just by being herself. As a white girl growing up in Iowa, I was acutely aware of the Asian stereotypes and racism because many of my friends were Asian, either immigrants themselves or first generation. They were all incredibly smart and driven and funny and fabulous in every way. Part of that was their nature and a large part of it was the pressures from society and their parents. They faced two options in society’s eyes: math and success or manicurist and an accent. There is often no in between. As children, these weren’t things we talked about outright or feelings we articulated, but they were a part of the fabric of our existence and friendship. We joked about ABC, the Asian parent grading scale, what being a “banana” meant, and a great many more things steeped in racial stereotypes. These were the beginnings of larger conversations I would have in college, in my future, and in my career. Reading Minor Feelings, I couldn’t help but think about each one of those friends and conversations.
The US is in the middle of an election, an election where immigration is in the spotlight. Though it is a front and center policy topic, there is an absence. Asians and Asian Americans are being neglected in conversation, which shouldn’t come as a surprise because they so often are. Hong addresses the dichotomy and oppression Asian Americans face in Minor Feelings, which is beautiful and heartbreaking. The collection of essays addresses the neglect, the oppression, the existence of Asian Americans. Hong is a brilliant writer, and I cannot recommend more.
Memorable Quotes “When I hear the phrase “Asians are next in line to be white,” I replace the word “white” with “disappear.” Asians are next in line to disappear.” “Patiently educating a clueless white person about race is draining. It takes all your powers of persuasion. Because it’s more than a chat about race. It’s ontological. It’s like explaining to a person why you exist, or why you feel pain, or why your reality is distinct from their reality. Except it’s even trickier than that. Because the person has all of Western history, politics, literature, and mass culture on their side, proving that you don’t exist.”
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Worth Reading Yes Length 225 Quick Review Trump governs one of the most powerful countries in the world. His niece, a clinical psychologist, posits he doesn’t deserve any of the praise he’s garnered for himself.
Mary L. Trump is the oldest of Fred Trump Jr.’s children and Donald Trump’s only niece. With a doctorate in clinical psychology from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies and a lifetime of anecdotal experience, Dr. Trump explores the complicated familial history that made the youngest Trump, an undiagnosed yet dangerous narcissist with complex pathologies, in her book Too Much and Never Enough; How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
Before becoming president, Donald lived a life of luxury, but that luxury masked a childhood and life filled with too much and not enough. Donald is one of five and the second youngest child of Frederick and Mary Anne Trump. He, like his four siblings, had a difficult childhood. Their father was cold, domineering, and manipulative, and their mother lacked warmth and had little role in the two youngest Trump’s lives. He, like his siblings, suffered from emotional neglect, causing a lifetime of irreparable damage.
Too Much and Never Enough is more than Donald’s story. It is the story of Dr. Trump’s family, her father, herself. She humanizes Donald by giving context to his inexplicable behavior. His personality, though outlandish and atrocious, is explainable. There is a reason Donald is the way he is, “Child abuse is, in some sense, the experience of “too much” or “not enough.”” Dr. Trump contextualizes childhood development and attachment and how everything went wrong in his particular situation, “…Donald suffered deprivations that would scar him for life.” Donald didn’t experience this abuse in a vacuum, it went back generations and existed for all the children in varying ways and was passed down to the next generation and experienced by Dr. Trump herself. As he grew older, Donald lashed out more and more as there was “… an increasing hostility to others and a seeming indifference to his mother’s absence and father’s neglect. … With appropriate care and attention, they might have been overcome. Unfortunately for Donald and everybody else on this planet, those behaviors became hardened into personality traits…” Into adolescence and adulthood, these traits would affect everyone in his orbit and eventually the globe as he took on one of the most powerful political positions.
Family dynamics affected Donald, but they affected everyone else in the family as well. Dr. Trump wants her family’s story to be told. Her father passed away a disinherited, family disappointment at 42 from alcoholism. Family dynamics affected Dr. Trump. Even though she was born into a family worth multi millions, she had plead for college tuition. Of all the people in the world, Dr. Trump has as many if not more reasons to eviscerate Donald, yet she makes it known from the beginning that she is not writing this for financial gain but to elucidate Donald’s pathologies for the world at large. Though I believe her motivations, the book still feels rushed. Spreading the word before the campaign or a combination of capitalizing on it, means redundancies and a little bit of the “not enough.” Given more time, the narrative could have been improved.
Donald, like every person, is a culmination of everything he endured and survived. Dr. Trump humanizes him through reasoning. She provides excuses without releasing him from culpability because he is an adult responsible for his actions. She repeatedly bolsters her arguments through facts, statistics, anecdotes, and quotes. What could have strictly been a family tell-all is a well researched look into her family’s history.
Air Force One in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from my airplane window.
Dr. Trump never refers to Donald as Uncle or president. He is always Donald. The entirety of Too Much and Never Enough, she keeps her family at a distance and only refers to them by their first name. When she does to their relation, it is solely to contextualize who they are to her and within the family.
There is a sense of humor to Too Much and Never Enough. In the chapter titled “A Civil Servant in Public Housing” or the phrase: “Unfortunately for Donald and everybody else on this planet, those behaviors became hardened into personality traits…” Dr. Trump finds a way to lighten the mood, even if it’s just for a moment.
Diagnosing Donald is impossible. Dr. Trump begins Too Much and Never Enough by saying she can’t diagnose him because it would require a battery of tests and cross-sectional diagnosis that he would never sit for. Through reading, you can get a sense of what she believes his diagnosis could be if he would ever admit he has a problem.
As infuriating as Too Much and Never Enoughis, it is a lovely book about the horrible Trump family. Their failures, shortcomings, and history. For Mary L. Trump PhD, it is a story of overcoming and succeeding. Donald Trump is one of the most dangerous and powerful men in the world, but at the end of the day, he is a man who has suffered greatly.
Memorable Quotes “The fact is, Donald’s pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he’ll never sit for.” “It’s difficult to understand what goes on in any family – perhaps hardest of all for the people in it. Regardless of how a parent treats a child, it’s almost impossible for that child to believe that parent means them any harm.” “Nothing is ever enough. This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism; Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. He knows he has never been loved. So he must draw you in if he can by getting you to assent to even the most seemingly insignificant things. … Then he makes his vulnerabilities and insecurities your responsibility: you must assuage them, you must take care of him. Failing to do so leaves a vacuum that is unbearable for him to withstand for long.” “Donald was to my grandfather what the border wall has been for Donald: a vanity project funded at the expense of more worthy pursuits.”
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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