Emchap's Shit from the Internet 10/11/17 🍠
I have fallen slightly ill and I am very annoyed about it. I am a terrible sick person, because I never want to admit that I am, and when I finally do hit that point all I really want is for someone to bring me soup while also allowing me to be totally alone and also spooning me.
(Plus of course this is the sort of week I don't want to be ill for because I have a performance I'm in and a class to attend and a ticketed even to which I've been invited and a coworker who I like very much who's in from out of town etc. etc. etc. Bodies are inconvenient.)
But! In the spirit of looking on the bright side, this has given me an excuse to wear my new mants, which I bought on the recommendation of a twitter friend. (Mants are men's sweatpants, which have the benefit of giant pockets and sturdy fabric and tapered legs and a crotch seam that goes all the way to the bottom of my bra which is all I want out of the world. I bought these in a size large.)
My mants are the comfiest pants I have ever owned, and I am very snug and not at all constrained except by the workout top I paired them with, which frankly I am sort of into as a human thundershirt (a concept which I bring up constantly). I recommend that you procure your own.
Shit to read
John Green has a new book out! I read it in one sitting last night, and liked it very much, and the bits about dead mothers made me cry and the bits about mental illness made me very sad. It is a sweet book. (Typing that out has reminded me that my mother, back when T9 was a thing, didn't know you could switch between words; when she wanted to say something was cool I would receive a text saying "that's book.")
My grandmother mentioned this poem on Facebook, and I liked it very much.
Ask Polly can sometimes be a bit of a gamble in terms of "actually answering the question" and "not going on about exercise and greens again," but I really liked this response to a reader who wants to get married. I don't necessarily want to be married now, but I really do value the idea of home and partnership and stability, and the idea of having something that's yours in the face of really profound upheaval and change and uncertainty (particularly around the death of a parent while relatively young!) resonated with me.
An internet person whose writing I like punched her rapist in a bar.
This Nicole Cliffe piece on her failing to respond at all well to her child's growing awareness of death is great, and I recommend it heartily.
Shit to eat
In a fit of autumnal can-do spirit, go to Trader Joe's and buy (among other things) red pepper spread, some goat cheese, and some pita.
Wonder why the Trader Joe's can't sell wine.
Later, when you are hungry, turn on the oven to a temperature. 300 degrees? Just, on.
Put the pita on a baking sheet, and spread red pepper spread on it.
Put as much goat cheese as you want on top.
Into the oven it goes for 15 minutes.
Once that's done, eat it on your couch while watching The Good Place and idly reading about pneumatic tubes. Do not—as one might hypothetically do—burn the entire fuck out of your mouth by eating it too quickly like it's a Hot Pocket and you are a stoned teenager.
Shit to listen to
"Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab)" is a jam, and the video is worth watching because the woman singing the song is approximately 8,000 months pregnant and it's great to see her sit very, very still and just kill her lyrics.
Shit to buy
Seriously get on the mants train.
Do better than me and just buy dayquil/nyquil to have on hand.
And a neti pot (it's revolting and great).
I need someone to buy a weighted blanket and tell me if it's as cool as I think it is.
Given my receptiveness to point of sale candy add-ons this time of year, I should just buy Reese's Pumpkins in bulk and save myself some money.