28 October, 2009

1. Do you like the darker background? I think it's more appropriate for the almost-Novemberness of it all.

2. Not only is my background darker but so is my hair! At some point there will be a picture where you can tell what color it is these days. I like it a lot. (It's still reddish but secretly I feel more Jew[ish] with it darker.)

3. What's going on with me you say? Just work. Working away! Even though my full time office job ended virtually the moment after it began I've been able to do other random things that have been keeping me busy. I'm still at Anthro and lately I've been assisting the visual team in preparation for all the holiday decor. If you've ever set foot in that store you can tell that someone handmade all the decorative flare and right now that someone is me and a bevy of other helpers. I've also recently gotten to do a little styling, babysitting and princessing (Sleeping Beauty & Little Mermaid if you must know all my secrets). It's been fun and busy.

4. I've also been reading some good books lately and thinking some deep thoughts about God and whatnot. I'm currently reading Anne Lamott's book on writing "Bird by Bird." I've barely tipped into the first few chapters but I'm already engrossed in the inspiration. I think I've highlighted and/or underlined approximately 1/2 the book. Whatever. It's how I glean. Ok for a few noteworthy morsels:



"I devoured books like a person taking vitamins, afraid that otherwise I would remain this gelatinous narcissist, with no possibility of ever becoming thoughtful, of ever being taken seriously...I was drawn to oddballs, ethnic people, theater people, poets, radicals, gays and lesbians--and somehow they all helped me become some of those things I wanted so desperately to become: political, intellectual, artistic."

(here's another...)

"...good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out." (ding, ding!! is she in my head??)

(one more!)

"What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. They are full of all the things that you don't get in real life--wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. And quality of attention: we may notice amazing details during the course of a day but we rarely let ourselves stop and really pay attention. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift. My gratitude for good writing is unbounded; I'm grateful for it the way I'm grateful for the ocean. Aren't you?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I can't wait to see your hair!

This Way to Joy said...

Hilary, I love your 'morsels' from the book "Bird by Bird". When I read the first paragraph, I thought it was going to be my favorite, then I read the second, and it, too, was so good. By the time I read the third, I knew I would have to get the book. Thanks for sharing.
P.S. By the way, the third is my favorite. : )

Anonymous said...

1.) I LOVE your hair/the motive behind it for change.
2.)love the new background, and personally this is one of my favorite seasons so yay for november :-)
3.) Bird by Bird is one of my favorite books and Anne Lamott is both myself and my mom's favorite authors. i remember reading it when i was 14 and also underlining the heck out of it so im glad you're enjoying it :-) she's got such a great voice (great article on her in oprah this past month!)

xoxo