The time of year where women decide whether to start shaving their legs more regularly or wear pants all summer. Given a choice, I'd much rather not shave. I've had one too many razor accidents. But I do like wearing shorts and skirts on occasion. And I do not enjoy the sensation of leg hair waving in the breeze.
Ah, isn't genetics great? I've been very fortunate to be endowed with a lush thick yet silky brown mane, and a healthy dose of hair on legs comes with the territory. They're not as thick and dark as some people's are, but they do get long. And after three or four months of not shaving, boy are they long.
Blogging about shaving the legs. Am I oversharing?
Maybe. But really, I think people - particularly men - should be educated that women's legs do not naturally come smooth and silky. It might surprise many of you, but I do know men who were not aware of this fact.
A good friend of mine's ex went to eastern Europe a few years ago and was traveling through the less touristy areas when he ran into women who did not shave. He later confessed to his girlfriend, who in turn told me about this while laughing hysterically, that he thought they were lycanthropes (the clinical disease/mutation type, not werewolf -- I hope).Or that they'd been too close to Chernobyl. He wasn't sure what to think.
In college, I knew a guy who didn't understand why women needed toilet paper to go "number one."
Seriously!
It shouldn't surprise me anymore that there are people like this out there. But somehow it still does.
Anyway. Spring. Skirts. Shaving. Suckage.
The Seattle Police's rep is pretty much in the toilet. We've had a spate of police using excessive and sometimes fatal force when dealing with criminals. The latest incident that made the news is when they shot and killed a man brandishing a machete knife. News article here I personally do not believe it was warranted - knife versus guns. Who'd win here?
As a new transplant to Seattle, I'm pretty concerned. I've lived in DC and Denver where gang warfare and crime are rampant. And yet, I rarely heard about a police shooting that ended with fatal results. Yes I'm sure there were an occasional incident, but not to the same degree as Seattle. In the year I've lived in Seattle, there have been numerous incidents where there were fatal shootings or excessive force used.
What gives? Are the Seattle police simply not trained well enough to deal with the criminal element?
After this latest incident, families of these policemen decided to conduct anti-negativity rallies this week; a news reporter interviewed one of the high ranking policeman about these rallies and the reporter asked about their negative image, his comment was: "We are not concerned about it." (No link, sorry: I couldn't find a copy of the interview online).
My response when I heard that on the news was: they don't care that they have a bad rap? They think their actions are warranted? Fine, even? There are a number of ways to interpret his statement, true, but that was my gut reaction. Some days I feel like we're just a few steps from LA's pre-Rodkney King or "Chicagoland" of the old days.
This, while also considering the past year, left me wondering: How many other incidents weren't reported? Many of the nonfatal excessive brutality incidents came to light only because bystanders happened to have a camera phone that recorded it and contacted the local news agencies. What if nobody cried foul? If people are afraid of the police, they might not report problems with the police. Who could they talk to?
The police are supposed to be the good guys. If people are afraid of them, who can they turn to?
Writing sounds easy, doesn't it? Just plop down in front of a computer, typewriter or if you're old school, pen and paper, and start writing. But that blank page is pretty intimidating. How to start your first sentence? How to draft a manuscript (ms) that will be well received and hopefully published? How to write a smart story full of clever quips and lively banter and plot twists?
That white page is intimidating. If it were so easy, everyone who ever said, "if I had the time, I'd write," would've written a book or five, and we'd be suffering from a paper shortage. Anyone can find the time to write. Got 20 minutes for lunch? Jot down notes or start your novel. It's very easy to find excuses to not write. Harder to actually do it.
I've been writing on and off for a few years now and am currently working on a ms. Right now the ms is such a big disaster that I'm half tempted to chuck it out the window, but I keep plugging away because I see potential in it. It's super rough, but it's there. I admit, the recent news about Amanda Hocking's spectacular Kindle success was one of my reasons for trying to finish this book and I'm sure I"m not alone in that. Note: I have not read her books, I have no idea if her success is warranted.
Now I've got my "cred" established, I'll share some advice:
I initially started this blog with the intent of commenting on news, politic and ongoing in Seattle and elsewhere. But as I quickly found, I have little interest in doing that. I felt like I was just regurgitating news and not really creating original content.As a result, I have a number of drafts I never published.
So. For the time being, I'm going to write about what interests me, and we'll see how this blog develops over time. It'll probably center around writing, photography, perhaps coffee and whatever else strikes my fancy.
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