I have not felt the love of a curvy mug.

I'm sorry your favorite mug got broken.  That's no good.  I'm excited the internet is bringing you options for new mugs.  The internet is pretty amazing that way.

These are my two house mugs.  I have others, but I use these two.  The mexican one on the left is my longest favoritest mug.  That was the mug that convinced me to paint my house in such bright colors.  I figured that if all those colors could play together happily on a mug, they could get along on the walls of my house.

The other mug is a recent present.  Normally I don't like art with pictures of people in it.  I don't know those people, so why would I give them a place in my house?  I would have to think about them and figure out their story, which is too much trouble for a not-real person.  But she is so damn cute, and she even has the haircut I had when it was given to me.  Ali and I talked about making that skirt, so I could match her in all ways.  Anyway, I make tea or coffee for other people, but I never give it to them in these mugs.  I hoard these mugs for myself.

Also, I got a new bed.  It was effort, because I overanalyze purchases.  But it was worth it, because pretty much every piece of the bed came in huge cardboard boxes.  So now I have huge cardboard boxes and I can build a fort in my living room.

Also, I have a new bed.  I assembled it my ownself.  I have to say, I felt kinda proud of myself on Sunday night, when I got home in the rain and had to bring a hundred pound mattress inside.  It struck me, you know.  This is what I train so hard for.  Because some days, life brings you huge boxes and rain and steps and there's no one around.  All those sets at the gym were for this minute, when I manhandled the box up those steps and I wasn't afraid.  Wasn't afraid to assemble the pieces of the bed, either.  Of course, they're designed to be easy, so full credit to the engineers on the other end of that delivery truck. But I laid out the pieces and played the Andrews Sisters, and followed directions. 

It has taken me so long to get competent like this.  I can remember feeling intimidated by any step in that process.  Not just competent.  Pretty confident that I can handle it, even before I start and it turns out to be well-designed and straightforward.  Tell your students that it comes, this feeling of being-able-to-handle things.  It takes years, but you train yourself up slowly.  You don't notice you're training.  You're just taking things on bit by bit to make your life better.  There are different things you have to train.  It isn't just your strength to get big boxes up stairs.  I think people should train their social skills, keep 'em current.  Perhaps my biggest satisfaction recently came from the Pancake Breakfasts I've been having.  The part I liked best wouldn't even show to my guests.  Most times, I pour the last pancake as the latest guest groans and pushes back from the table.  All those years of surveying the post-party and making mental notes are finally paying off.  Twenty years of thinking, "the eggs got chowed, people want a savory protein; no one touched the second jam, don't offer more than three condiments; figure about half an egg per person in a baked good" means that now I can prep the right amount of batter the night before, based on sketchy RSVP's.  It might look like luck to someone else, but it took me years of de-briefing events to get a feel for that.  I wasn't doing it with this endpoint in mind.  But I didn't do all that powerlifting with a new mattress in mind.  It is just that after you do things a bunch of times, they get easier and better until you hardly notice the scary parts at all.

Comments

[x. trapnel]

Yay for the bed!
I'm suddenly wishing I'd been lifting weights, because I'm about to be bedless, and while it's not too hard to find cheap ones online, I'm carless and lugging a mattress on the tram isn't fun. Alas!

Also - I must have missed the social skills post. But it's fantastic. I've been thinking about this stuff a lot lately.

[JRoth]

Check this out: me moving our new boxspring through the second floor window of our house (sadly, not before it gouged the plaster on the stairs). The delivery guys bugged out before I got started - they wanted no part of it. But it was kind of awesome.

Thank god it was a mild November day. I mean, it would have killed you on the spot, but for us hearty northerners, it wasn't too cold to have the window taken apart.

[JRoth]

BTW, my condolences to Sherry on the mug. I'm not a mug-user, but AB has a mug that she's utterly committed to - part of her daily coffee ritual is washing the thing out, and it hardly ever gets a chance to go in the dishwasher. But the truth is that she's a serial monogamist - this is probably her third or fourth beloved mug in the years I've known her

[JRoth]

Oh no! I see that my link to the picture of me with mattress is missing.

Here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59341195@N00/4193290008/in/set-72057594107875360/

[Laura]

posts like this are why y'all have to keep blogging. it's always nice to read something well written and that you relate to. that makes you feel like you're sharing an experience with someone you've never even met, and that they're encouraging you, just by letting you know that you're not alone in something. so thank you!

[Lo]

Megan, you've mentioned on several occasions now listening to jazz (or I guess the Andrews Sisters are more boogie-woogie). Have you investigated the Sac swing dancing scene yet? I would be so tickled to drive up and go to Midtown Stomp with you there...

[Susan]

That is a handsome bed. And the Be Strong mug is fantastic. What would it take to convince you to wear a pink skirt with janglies over your unitard at the next meet?

[Megan]

I've been to Midtown Stomp, but if you don't go with a partner, no one asks you to dance. I very much wish I'd been part of a swing dancing scene. For that matter, I suspect I'd like line dancing too.

***
Take to convince me? Just about nothing. The better question is, how could they stop me from wearing a pink skirt with janglies over my unitard at the next meet?

[Megan]

Also, Lo. Does this mean you're in the Bay Area now? I'll go look.

[Jen]

Love this post especially the bed part. I have 2 super-special, sentiment-laden coffee/tea mugs which I store away (lightly hidden by linen or the occasional pirouette can (ahem) from the other flatware/dishes/glasses etc. yet, bafflingly, they are inevitably FOUND and USED by visitors. It's as if they have a homing device attached.

[PG]

Line dancing is awesome. You don't need a partner, and the people who know what they are doing will gently nudge you into the right spot. If you have a place to go, GO!