But it's been over a year. If anyone stumbles across this little ol' blog again, HI! If anyone has been anxiously awaiting another gem and drowning in tears of frustration because I haven't posted, um, sorry.
Now that's out of the way, here's me and the things I've been doing. I don't say they're interesting, but that's the way I like it:
1) Getting the ivy covered cottage in shape. Seriously, the house is overrun with ivy. We've tried everything we can think of short of calling in an exorcist. I used to find ivy rambling over a house charming. Now it makes me uneasy. Things shouldn't grow that fast.
2) Considering one day finishing this dissertation. My advisor insists. I drag my feet. The end.
3) Finally getting the rail at a Rammstein show!!! One of the top five most memorable and joyous events of my life. I even got a guitar pick. I was a bit taken aback at how haggard Till looks, but Rammstein is still a thing of beauty and puts on the greatest live show on the planet.
4) Leaving Facebook. It's been about five months. Liberating, yes, but I miss it from time to time. Had more than five of my 400 FB friends noticed I was gone, I might have gone back.
5) Convert bashing. Or so I'm told. I was briefly involved in a convert-outreach group. I felt the women we were trying to assist would benefit from practical advice (like why it's not a good idea to agree to be someone's "secret" wife, or how Islam is not going to fix your daddy issues in 24 hours, or why islamqa is not an authoritative site, or why it's not necessary to get married within a week of saying shahada...). Alas, the others felt differently and felt the "sisters" (that condescending, mealy-mouthed term makes me vomit) primarily needed advice about menstruation and making sure they're "properly" covered and getting rid of the evil Western habits they'd grown up with (note that the women running the show are converts too, so perhaps they do know better than me).
6) Interviewing midwives. One expects that a midwife will be down for minimal intervention and opposed to the routine infliction of horrors like purple pushing and no-reason episiotomy. Alas, most of those I've consulted aren't at all opposed to checking me in, starting an IV, and doing it the doctory way. One actually told me that she prefers women push from the supine position because "it's easier to see what's going on." If I don't find someone soon, I may have an "accidental" unassisted home birth.
That's it, aside from watching as much reality TV as possible. Perhaps next time I'll write about how I love Honey Boo Boo and why I find the family so likeable.
