Mother Talkers

Hello. I'm new here.

Thu May 01, 2008 at 03:52:28 PM PDT

Sorry for the lame diary title, but I honestly couldn't think up anything that was amusing or entertaining or clever or even intelligent. So, I went for what I could grasp - unimaginative and obvious.

After lurking here for a few weeks, I finally decided to start posting comments last night, and another member here suggested that I write a diary introducing myself. So, here goes . . .

My job is such that I am required to spend long hours at a computer, reading DailyKos.1 And one day, after having read at least five hundred histrionic, hand-wringing, Chicken Little comments, my "Oh my g-d, are you f-ing kidding me" threshold having been reached and exceeded, I decided to take a brief respite by clicking links in other user's blogrolls. You know, just to see what I could see. Maybe learn a new thing or two.

What I learned from that experience:

* There are approximately 1,000,000 political blogs on the internet
* 999,999 of them are copies of DailyKos
* the same people post at all of them2

Slightly disappointed, I went back to the dk home page and did something I'd been meaning to do for a while - clicked a link that brought me here. Glad I did. It's a nice place, really. I think I just may stick around for a while.




All About Me : Chapter One

I work for a large telecommunications company in the Pacific Northwest. I don't drive a Prius, or drink lattes. However, politically, I am so far left that I make most progressives a little nervous. You know the type: die-hard social activist, proud union member, can say the word "anarchy" without cringing. Yeah, that's me. My brother calls me a "commie", but that's okay. I call him a "jack-boot fascist."3 It evens out. I am also a writer. I've penned poems, short stories and screenplays, and am currently working on my first novel. I have a love/hate thing with writing. I love the physical work of writing, of getting ideas out of my head and giving them a physical shape through words. However, most of the time I'm writing, I'd rather be doing something else - like sleeping (I always get the urge to write in the middle of the night), but it's an obsession. Or an addiction. I can't ignore it, and the times that I've tried, I teetered so close to madness that people got worried.

I have two children: A 6'2" 14 year old son, who was born during a meteor shower, and is one of the chillest, most laid back, compassionate and thoughtful persons I know. Three years ago, he made the decision to "become" a Buddhist. No one was surprised. He also has the distinction of being the one in a family of bi-racial people, who hasn't a single molecule of melanin in his skin. He burns if he thinks about the sun for too long. Them genetics is weird. He and I joke that he was actually switched at birth in the hospital. I seriously hope that was not actually the case, cuz I ain't givin him back. For real.

The daughter . . . ah, the daughter. She's thirteen now and I could write a book about this kid. Maybe someday I will. She's already hard at work at carving out an identity for herself in this cool, crazy world, and I cannot wait to see what the resulting sculpture will be. She is truly a work of art. She's my heroine.

Back to me . . . I was the "weird kid" in school; an honest-to-goodness punk from the original Dysfunctional Family, who spent more time writing and listening to The Clash than socializing, and desperately believed that I would eventually stumble into Narnia. I just had to find the right magical closet. I still cling pretty tightly to that old hardcore DIY mentality, and rage against the machine every chance I get. I'm reminded by friends near to my own age that I was born the year Nixon was re-elected which makes me officially "middle-aged"4 and need to get over it. Eh, whatever. My kids think I'm cool. My SO loves me (bless him). I amuse the hell out of myself. What more do I need in life besides $1,000,000 and a car that doesn't break down every five minutes? Nothing really. I'm flush.

And for anyone who might be wondering: my user name (same one I use at dk) is taken from the name of an album by the reggae group Culture. "Two Sevens Clash" is actually a reference to the year 1977. I'm not sure why it's significant, other than that's the year Star Wars was released, and I started kindergarten. But it's a fantastic album, and if you've never given it a listen, I highly recommend doing so.

Well, that's me in a nutshell. It hasn't rained in a whole hour here in Washington, and there's a faint glow in the sky eking its way through the cloud-cover that may or may not actually be the sun. That makes it a good day.

Best regards and many blessing,
Annie


UPDATE - my SO just informed me that 1977 was significant to Rastifarians because Marcus Garvey made the prediction that Africa would be free when "the two sevens clash". They believed that the Rapture/Apocalypse would be in 1977

Footnotes
1 - Not exactly true
2 - A gut feeling. There's some things you just know.
3 - He's not really.
4 - this is a scientific impossibility as evidenced by this equation: (x)+ 10 = Y, with "x" representing my current age, and "y" being true Middle Age. As you can see, Middle Age will always be ten years ahead of whatever age I am at the time, and thereby, making it impossible for me to ever reach it.

Tags: new, introduction, dailykos (all tags)

Permalink | 82 comments

  • love the footnotes (0 / 0)

    but you're only 3 years older than me...middle-age is still a ways away!

    Welcome.

  • Heh. (0 / 0)

    You are funny!  Nice to "meet" you.

    • your user name is fantastic (0 / 0)

      Having had a mother who was American Indian raised in Georgia, I have a history with grits. Always thought they were a bit strange. Mother thought it weird that I liked hominy, but was hesitant about grits, since in her estimation, grits were just hominy that looked like someone had already chewed them up.

      Thanks Mom.
      It's been at least 25 years since I've been able to look at grits without my stomach lurching just a bit.

  • great diary! (0 / 0)

    Thanks for de-lurking, two sevens. I love the discription of your children! Looking forward to your comments.

  • You can't be middle aged (0 / 0)

    because you were five when I was born, that would make me almost middle aged, and so no, and hell no! And no infinity!!!

    The only Clash song I know is "Rock the Casbah" which is the musical equivalent of only knowing "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin... which is the only Led Zepplin song I know. Ahem.

    Obviously my handle also refers to 1977, so we have that in common, and probably a lot more too. I really can't handle most political blogs, I get twitchy. I can't remember how I found this place, but I am so glad I did. Welcome!

    • mwahaha (0 / 0)

      the musical equivalent of only knowing "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin... which is the only Led Zepplin song I know. Ahem.

      Aha! I have one up on you. Not only do I know "Stairway to heaven", but I also know that Led Zeppelin song that goes "do-do-do-do Do-DO", you know that one where Robert Plant is screeching like a spring windstorm blowing down from the Cascades and it has that fiddly, self-indulgent guitar bit in the middle, AND the one that mentions Gollum from the Lord of the Rings.

  • Well. (0 / 0)

    This may be the first post on MT I've ever seen with footnotes.  Cool!  Welcome aboard!

  • welcome (0 / 0)

    and

    1. you can't be middle aged, because you are 7 years younger than me. I firmly believe that my parents will always be middle aged, which means I can be forever young
    1. I enjoy political blogs but I won't comment there because either I am too thin-skinned or they are too harsh. Most of the time here we are not so harsh when we disagree.
    1. Did I say glad you're here? Because -- glad you're here!
  • I object (0 / 0)

    I was born the year Nixon was re-elected which makes me officially "middle-aged" and need to get over it.

    This is unacceptable.  You cannot be middle aged.  I watched the Nixon election returns on television.  I participated in my school's mock election.  (McGovern won, nearly unanimously.  We were in MA and had no idea what was coming.)  I've never recovered from the shock of that election night.  It is perfectly clear to me that anyone born that year cannot be middle aged; certainly not now, maybe not ever.

  • Three days after (0 / 0)

    I was born three days after Nixon first took office, and I've often wished I could've been just a few days early so I could say, "Oh yeah, Johnson was president when I was born."  Of course, many people think I'm odd because I actually know things like when Johnson & Nixon were in office.  As it is, I feel I should apologize to my son for birthing him during the dark days of Shrub.

    Welcome!

    Cindy

  • loved reading your diary.. (0 / 0)

    and enjoyed your life descriptions. welcome and look forward to hearing more from you!

  • NIce to meet you (0 / 0)

    but you went to Kindergarten the year I graduated from HS.  So, don't even THINK middle-aged, what the HE** does that make me!?

  • welcome... (0 / 0)

    i am pretty new here too, but tried to jump into it all as well.  i'd say you are a pretty great writer, and i too love the descriptions of your kids.  and yes, you are younger than i am, so no, not middle aged.  none of us are.  

  • Welcome!! (0 / 0)

    and I agree...there is NO WAY in hell that you're middle-aged, as I am three years older than you! Besides, I heard that 50 was the new 25!! Hmmm...what does that make me then??

    Anyway, welcome!

  • Welcome! (0 / 0)

    I'll just chime in with a welcome...I enjoyed your diary and your sense of humour. I look forward to reading some commie comments. :) And I sooo don't know how you read political blogs all the time. My threshold gets reached after one story plus comments! Not here, mind you...here I find it enlightening.

  • Hi and welcome (0 / 0)

    I was in seventh grade the year you entered kindergarten so I also object to your claiming middle agness.  No thank you young whippersnapper you have to EARN your middle aged stripes round here and I have 'em along with the gray hair to prove it!

    i'm Katie, 42, live in NH, single gay mom (formerly married to an awesome guy I'm still super friendly with) - mom to Liza who is almost 9 and well lets just say that Satan is done spawning his young on Earth for a while .... ah she's not that bad she's just... spirited? dramatic? a gigantic pain in the ass?  ;-)
    I work for a theater in Nh where I fundraise a tremendous amount of money of which I get paid very litte.  I have a great girlfriend and a great life.  I take my role here very seriously as the cranky yankee who dope slaps people who have actual serious discussions about soy milk as if it were the headline in the wall street journal (I love you Elisa...you know I only mock those I love) .  I dont' take alot of things seriously so just keep that in mind if you ever read one of my posts and think "how can she not CARRRREEEEEE"  which has been lobbed at me before  or my personal recent favorite "she's so stupid and NAIVEEE"  .. hee.  nope it's just sometimes it cna be like shootin fish in a barrel..

    but these women rock ..they make me laugh and they've been there for me through the death of my mom and some tough times and they da bomb. you'll like it here. welcome!

  • Love the Clash (0 / 0)

    and your handle!  I live in a rural suburb of Columbus, Ohio and have 2 kids:  Grant age 8 and Madeline age 5.  Both keep me on my toes.  

    Welcome to MTers!

    "If it's not Scottish, it's crap!" ~Mike Meyers

    by 1plain1peanut on Fri May 02, 2008 at 06:05:36 AM PDT

    • 20 You Rock! points (0 / 0)

      for loving The Clash.
      And another 5 for managing to live in Ohio. You have my admiration for that. The whole state is on my poop list. Eternally.

      I lived outside of Dayton for a year and I can say without hesitation that it was the worst place I've ever had the misfortune of spending time. It was like being on the border between Purgatory and Hell. Oh the stories I could tell . . . and the ones about the tyrannical cops, the racist/classist school administrators, and the apathetic slum lord are only the beginning.

  • welcome two sevens! (0 / 0)

    1977 was a banner year for me - I finally finished college and left the country immediately to live in London for a couple of years. All the punk stuff was happening there. I am way older than most anyone here - had my son after menopause, via adoption from China! And yes, he loves  reggae and the Clash. I see to his music education! He is a little unnerved that when we go to one pizza place that places oldies, I pretty much know every song back to the early 1950s.

    I would love to hear more about handling teens. Our son is nine, but acts very adolescent-y, by that I mean, he says things like, 'Parents suck all the fun out of everything." Yesterday he got a tiny splinter in his thumb and it took and hour of coaxing/calming/pinning him down to get it out. Whew! We are in NC and also don't drink a Prius, but have 36 solar panels on our roof making electricity.

  • Hello hello (0 / 0)

    Reagan was president when I was born.  And grits are delicious.  But if you come to my house I will feed you Thai food and complain about CPS.

    (I also feel bad about having a kid during W, except that means someone less awful will be king of the hill by the time he reaches the age of reason.)

  • ok all you young MTERs (0 / 0)

    I am claiming middle age at 53....and yes, that means I'll be celebrating 106 someday down the road.

    Welcome  two sevens clash!

    • hear hear...108! (0 / 0)

      as i turn 54 next month and i too am MIDDLE AGE:)
      • grin.... (0 / 0)

        And you probably will. I read the other day that our kids' average life expectancy will be 120. Good grief.

        • seems highly unlikely (0 / 0)

          • Oh there were assumptions galore (0 / 0)

            Number one being that we find a blanket cure for cancer. But who let logic get in the way of a good story? Not the trashy magazines that I was reading while getting my hair cut...

            • your salon doesn't get Nature? (0 / 0)

              One cure for cancer should be plenty. :-)  But how do we cure those pesky cancer-free deaths from old age?

              • Oh my god. (0 / 0)

                If I could find a hair salon or a doctor's office that had at least National Geographic, I would be a happy woman. Seriously. I got my hair cut today and was forced to choose between the inane "so how long have you been in Australia?" chatter of the hair dresser (I get inane chatter enough at home, thanks!!), and Woman's Day. I choose Woman's Day. And spent the next hour reading stories about whose pregnant baby bump fashion was best (Angelina lost because she only wears black). I can feel my brain leaking out of my ears.

                And I think the premise was that people don't die from old age, but from various ailments such as cancer, heart disease, etc. So if you get rid of all of those, voila! You have a huge life expectancy. Don't look at me. Like I said. Trashy magazine. Brain leaking.

                • eh. meh (0 / 0)

                  I love me some trashy magazine reading. I was at Bunnings this morning (for you non-Australian residents, Bunnings is the local equivalent of Home Depot.) and had a 20-minute discussion over whether the winner of Biggest Loser Australia really deserved it. Total junk food, but it was fun.

                  I love me some pop culture and I don't mind admitting it.

                  • You know.... (0 / 0)

                    I don't mind a bit of pop culture. But those "women's magazines" really go over the top! I've never seen such drivel!

                    But then, I was also listening to Triple J (independent radio station that's national and government funded)the other day and heard a song with really appalling lyrics. I actually heard myself say "kids these day! This isn't music!". Does that make me officially old?

  • Welcome (0 / 0)

    glad to have you here!

  • yay for the NW (0 / 0)

    hey annie,
    loved your post. glad you de-lurked and am looking forward to your future posts and comments. i also live in the NW. ain't it great?

  • i hereby declare... (0 / 0)

    that we are all forever 25 years old. how's that? hehhehe.

    i think you are a great writer! welcome, and i look forward to reading more.

    We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. - E.R. Murrow

    by lorin on Fri May 02, 2008 at 12:27:55 PM PDT

  • Welcome (0 / 0)

    I don't think I've been back to d-kos since I came here.    We have a different style but we care just as much.   We just don't feel the need to crap on each other all the time.   I think it's because we've spent so much time on diaper duty and we're all sick of crap....

    Anyway, glad you're here.  

    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"

    by lonestar canuck on Fri May 02, 2008 at 02:00:52 PM PDT

    • I'm on break from dKos (0 / 0)

      until we have a confirmed nominee.  Honestly, it's completely swamped with polls, projections, and candidate arguments these days.  Meh - it's about as interesting as watching NASCAR.

  • Welcome (0 / 0)

    I like you, you make me laugh.

    "I amuse the hell out of myself. What more do I need in life besides $1,000,000 and a car that doesn't break down every five minutes? Nothing really. I'm flush."

  • Welcome! (0 / 0)

    And thanks for a very entertaining introductory diary.

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