If Samwise Gamgee Can Walk Into Mordor, Then I Can Get Out of Bed

Today my alarm went off at 2:30am. It blows my mind that I’m living a life where my work day starts at 3:30 in the morning and I have to get up at 2:30. But that is my life right now and it’s a life where I do what I have to. I enjoy my work so working isn’t what’s hard, it’s the process of getting out of bed. Since I left college this had been very difficult for me. In the early hours of the day I find it so hard to find the motivation together going. I lie there and feel like one of those memes where I ponder whether I actually need my job. The answer is yes of course. But on these mornings I glance at the shelf next to my bed, and I see my copy of The Lord of the Rings then I sit up and look at my collection of LOTR characters and one character in particular stands out to me: Sam.

Sam is pretty unique among the main characters of Tolkien’s masterpiece. He is a simple gardener. Aragorn is a descendent of kings, and Frodo grew up listening to Bilbo’s stories, longing for an adventure of his own. Most of the other characters have been raised to perform well in battle or have lived long enough to have experience in it. Even the fool Pippin is a Shire lordling who is used to holding an elevated position. Sam however is a simple gardener, who was thrown into this adventure, with no notion of what to expect or even a deep set desire to go. Sam’s true value is in his loyalty to Frodo. He is essentially the reason, Frodo makes it into Mordor. He remains realistic throughout his fantastical journey and keeps those around him grounded and positive.

Everyone faces hard times. And when I have trouble facing the day, I like to remember a little hobbit far from home. He helps save the world and at the end of the day all he wants is a little patch of land to grown a garden and the happiness of his friends. Thats a true role model and hero to me. So remember if Samwise can simply walk into Mordor, then you can simply get out of bed.

What Would The World Be Like If Ruth Bader Ginsberg Had Given Up?

I saw On The Basis Of Sex yesterday. It was amazing. I have been a fan of the notorious RBG for a while though I admit I didn’t know much about her life. I knew that she was a pioneer of feminism and fights for equal rights for all to this day. What I didn’t know was exactly how influential she was in the early days of her career and how different our world would be if she didn’t persevere, through the MANY difficulties she faced.

First of all she made it into Harvard Law. WOW. Then her husband got cancer and she attended his classes and her class so that he could graduate on time. Then she left Harvard a year early to move to New York for her husbands job and finished her degree at Columbia. Then she became a professor at Rutgers because no law firm would hire her. Then she took a case about gender discrimination against a man even though she had no court room experience. She faced down the Colorado Supreme Court and won. Then she faced down the Federal Supreme Court and won. And the rest is history.

That first case. Was the jumping point for the entire gender equality movement. A case about gender discrimination against a man was the first case to make gender discrimination unconstitutional which ultimately began the modern feminist movement. Ruth Bader Ginsberg could have, and was told to give up multiple times. But she never did. She fought and fought and fought and honestly I can’t imagine what our word would be like if she had given up. All the laws that discriminate against women would still be in place. We would still be forced to government prescribed gender rolls.

I don’t like the idea of a world without Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She is an icon, a pillar of strength and grace under pressure. She is a true roll model. And she is still fighting the good fight. On The Basis Of Sex is only my first step onto the mountain that is RBG’s legacy. I fully intend to explore it further. and I hope you will join me.

Last Week I Thought I Broke My Tailbone… Again

I work in the Eugene Barnes and Noble Cafe, and the floors can get a little slippery. Mostly because of people like me who manage to spill more liquid onto the floor than they care to admit. Anyway. Last week there was a day when four of us were working in the cafe, and I was walking into the kitchen when feet slid right out from underneath me. I swear that I was suspended in midair for a second like in the movies. My terrible memories of not being able to sit for weeks the last time I had a tailbone injury flashed before my eyes. Then WHAM! I landed butt first on the kitchen floor.

You’d think I would be upset but instead I burst into uncontrollable obnoxious laughter. The two coworkers who were in the kitchen and witnessed my wipeout were very worried and rushed to my side to help me up but I was in such a state that I couldn’t even open my eyes. When I eventually did open my eyes I found myself staring right at the “wet floor” sign that had been placed there so I wouldn’t fall. This made me laugh even harder.

This carried on for several minutes as I my laughter subsided to shivering giggles and my coworkers looks of concern morphed into uncertain smiles. I decided then and there that I needed to be more aware of my surroundings and that my sneakers weren’t nonslip enough for someone as klutzy as myself.

Anyway my glee at the second most epic wipeout of my life only faltered once the next day when I woke up to a very sore backside. Once again the memories of my last tailbone injury (which occurred under surprisingly similar circumstances) flashed before my eyes. I started to wonder if I was going to be having a repeat of the most painful period of my life. It was so bad that to this day it is hard for me to watch people fall directly on their tailbones. Luckily the days proved that not to be the case as my pain gradually subsided into nothingness.

I believe that it is important to learn as much as you can from your experiences, and I definitely learned something from this. It’s healthy to laugh at yourself. It makes painful and embarrassing situations easier when you’re able to show that you don’t take yourself too seriously. Everyone falls, you might as well make some people laugh when it’s your turn to wipe out. Don’t take yourself too seriously lol. I am literally stumbling through life one wipeout at a time.

They’re Taking The Hobbits To Isendard!

My love of Tolkien began with Peter Jackson’s film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. The only thing I knew about Tolkien was that there was a box set of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings in my brothers room. I wasn’t a big reader when the first movie came out and as I stated in my last Tolkien post my obsession didn’t really hit it’s stride until several years later. But today I know that the films will always hold a special place in my heart. Not just because of the content but because of the high quality of the filmmaking itself.

Peter Jackson has described his film adaptation as being “the most expensive low budget films ever” (I couldn’t find the actual quote so I might be slightly off). Before TLOTR Peter Jackson was a low budget horror film maker from New Zealand. He chose to keep his blockbuster trilogy at home by making the entire thing in New Zealand and employing mostly Kiwi’s to create all of the effects and costumes and sets. And I just want to say that they did a marvelous job!

Production began in the late 90’s and there are later films with bigger budgets, and new technology that have worse special effects than TLOTR. One thing that I really enjoy about these films is that they filmed as much as they could live. They built sets and made costumes and put actors in makeup rather than generate from a computer. Of course there were certain things that had to be made on a computer like the Balrog, and the trolls and other monsters, but even those are of the highest quality. To this day it is difficult for me to see where the live action ends and the CGI starts.

They put every thought into every detail and focused on the smallest things because even if it isn’t noticeable on camera they knew it was important to help the actors generate a genuine performance. Every stitch of every costume, every mark on every set was painstakingly thought out. And they employed a lot of local craftsmen to create Middle Earth. They hired Native Kiwi’s to hand make all the armor and weapons and to create the hundreds of latex makeup and costume pieces that were worn by the actors. Most of the stunt men were also native Kiwi’s and you can just see how much love and effort went into these films. And my knowledge of this helps me enjoy them even more.

I want to give a special shout out to Andy Serkis and all the people who helped create Gollum. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw Gollum on screen, and now that I know how they made him I am even more impressed. I consider Peter Jackson’s work on TLOTR to be the highest caliber of film making and it is the bar that I judge most other fantasy genre films.

This trilogy is definitely a must see for me (EXTENDED EDITIONS OF COURSE). So if you haven’t seen them please do!

 

Happy New Year: AKA Obligatory Resolution Post

Tis the season for all of humanity to make New Years resolutions that they will in no way keep. I’m a little late with my New Years post but I really wanted to take some time to think about a resolution that I will actually be able to keep. A resolution that is not comprised of delusions of grandeur, or stupid things that I’m already doing and therefor I can claim I’ve achieved my resolution. My resolution is simple. I want to end 2019 a better version of myself than I was when I started it. I am going to make small adjustments to my day to day life so that I can improve who I already am. I like who I am, I don’t want to change, I want to improve. In order to do this I am going to use my bullet journal daily and I am going to streamline it so that I am positive and productive every day. My first bullet journal was a bit of a hot mess last year and so I have taken what worked and what didn’t from my 2018 journal to create a streamline 2019 version that fits the life I currently lead and doesn’t force me to make massive changes, just small adjustments. And I truly believe that if I commit to my 2019 journal I will end 2019 a healthier ad happen version of myself.

I have compiled some photographs so you can see what I have done in my journal so far. I’m quite pleased.

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My Obsession is Perfectly Healthy… I Swear…

It all began in 2001… the first installment of Peter Jackson’s brilliant adaptation of The Lord of the Rings has just come out in theatre’s and I’m going to see it. My eight year old self has recalled seeing the trailer on TV and not having much interest in seeing it (I was still in the midsts of my Sally phase, where I named every single toy I owned Sally). We entered the movie theatre took out seats and the movie began. I liked it. It was loud, it was exciting and my mom covered my eyes for the orc beheading at the end. I enjoyed this movie and was looking forward to the next one. Over the next few years the remaining films are released and my parents get them for my brother for Christmas. We watch them but they don’t join the list of amazing movies that my brother and I cherish and watch on repeat (The Road to El Dorado is, and always will be, at the top of that list).

Fast forward a few more years. I’m in high school and am fully aware of how terrible Phoenix is in the summer, so I run away to my gramma’s house in Oregon for some cooler weather and some quality family time. My Gramma is early to rise and early to sleep, and I find myself alone late at night wondering what to do. I grab my latest crochet project and park myself in front of my gramma’s computer wondering what I should watch while I craft. I decide to watch The Lord of the Rings. Unbeknownst to myself, I have started playing the extended editions. I am instantly hooked. It’s like watching them for the first time all over again. I have never seen better movies and I start playing them again almost as soon as I finish The Return of the King.

I look back on these memories now and find myself quoting King Theoden of Rohan: “And so it begins”

Since then I have watch Peter Jacksons films countless times, read The Hobbit five times, taught The Hobbit three times, listened to The Lord of the Rings on audiobook twice, read The Lord of the Rings cover to cover once, spent an unknown number of hours researching Tolkien and his work, and referenced Middle Earth at least two to three times a week. Needless to say, I’m a fan.

I find Tolkien’s work to be breathtaking and awe-inspiring. I marvel at what he was able to accomplish and can’t even fathom the number of hours it took to create such a well thought out and complex world. I find Tolkien to be the epitome of quality in the fantasy genre and am very excited to share my love with you. I am proud to announce that this post will be the first in a series of post that I will write about Tolkien and his work. There is simply too much to put into one post so I’m going to break it up into several. These probably won’t be consecutive so it may take me a while to get them all written but I think that it is important for me to share why I love what I love and I hope that you will gain a deeper appreciation for a great writer whose work has meant a lot to me.

 

Sleep: It Makes 100% Zero Sense… For Me

Sleeping is precious. My most cherished relationship is the one I have with my bed… and my melatonin supplement. Unfortunately, sleep is weird. Like why is it so easy for me to wake up at 3 am to teach, but it’s so hard for me to wake up at 10 am after several magical hours of dreamless sleep. Also why is it so easy for me to fall asleep at 9 pm after  a super nonproductive day, but it’s so hard to fall asleep at 1 am after working from 5pm to midnight.

Yesterday I did in fact work from 5 pm to midnight at the local Barnes and Noble. I got home at about 1 this morning and even though I was crazy exhausted I managed to lie wide awake long enough that I resorted to scrolling through social media because I didn’t wan to be alone with my own thoughts. There are other days when I will have a very relaxing day of, that consists of reading, light housework and maybe an errand or two and I will fall asleep fairly early and be virtually dead to the world.

WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!

Why is this a thing? Why is this a struggle? I have the most gloriously comfortable mattress. I have an evening routine and yet there are still nights when I lie there staring at the ceiling overthinking every mistake I’ve ever made.

If you have an answer let me know. Sorry for the short post but this has been bothering me lately.

 

When You Shave in the Evening and Have Stubble Again by Morning

Life is frustrating. Sometimes it’s the little things that can be the most frustrating. I like shaving. I prefer to have my legs and underarms feel smooth. Otherwise I’m just a prickly uncomfortable mess. Which is why it can be incredibly disappointing to go to bed silky smooth and wake up a prickly hot mess.  I’m also a fan of saving money, by not buying disposable products. This philosophy applies to everything from straws to razors. ESPECIALLY RAZORS. We live in a world of the pink tax. For those of you who don’t know what this is I want you to take a stroll down the women’s toiletry aisle the next time you’re at the store and compare the prices to the mens toiletry aisle. The women is more expensive because women are taxed for things like razors and tampons. It’s stupid but true and I’m not willing to pay for that tax, so If I can buy a reusable system to replace a disposable one I will.

Now back to my general hairiness. My father is a very hairy man. He has the insane ability to grow glorious stubble over night, and that’s great for men who stick to the outdated notion that masculinity goes hand in hand with body hair (it doesn’t btw). But for me it means it my own body hair is dark and aggressive. I mean cactus spine aggressive. If I don’t shave my legs or underarms for a while I will be crazy aware of it. It feels like I’m wearing leggings of boars bristles. My hair is thick and pokey and super noticeable. If I had light, thin body hair I wouldn’t give a flying fart in space about shaving, but I am physically uncomfortable.

ENTER MOTHER STAGE RIGHT:

My mom has always been a staunch supporter of whatever makes me feel my best and as the person who taught me how to shave; (And the person who had to teach me how to shave after my leg hair started poking through my ballet tights. NOT KIDDING) she knows exactly how often I have to shave in order to feel good about myself. Every day. I have to shave every day. So for my 2018 birthday she got me an epilator. This is a device that individually plucks out each and every hair on your body. Yes it hurts. Yes it saves me a ton of money. No it’s not for everyone.

The use of this device has turned my hair removal routine from a daily ritual to a weekly affair. I swear it gets better the more you do it. But you have to do it REGULARLY. If you skip a week it will be as painful as the first time all over again. Now you might be asking why I’m writing about this. I’m writing about this because I lost the charging cable for my epilator and had to return to shaving for a while. I found the charging cable for my epilator and the main purpose of this article is to remind myself why it’s worth it.

1. It’s cheaper than buying disposable razors.
2. It means your legs are smoother longer.
3. By not throwing away all those razors your doing something good for the environment.
4. You’re not contributing to the pink tax
5. Having smooth legs gives you a confidence boost
6. You don’t have to experience that terrible feeling of having your leg hair back combed when you put on a pair of pants
7. The first time is always the worst time

The main moral of this rather random article is that you should always do what makes you feel good about yourself. If you like getting waxed or prefer to be a glorious hairy beast; you do you. who cares what others think. Your opinion is the only one that matters. Now stay strong Molly. It’s all worth it in the end.

Happy December: The Month of Giving… To Yourself

Why are the holidays so darn stressful? We have already done Thanksgiving and now it’s on to Christmas (or whichever December Holiday you celebrate). We are bombarded by question after question. How much time can I get off? How am I getting home for the holiday? What do I buy everyone? Can I afford to buy something good enough for everyone? How do I answer all those awkward personal questions when I finally get there? When should I leave to come back to work? What should I do for New Years? What should my resolutions be? What if I’m the only person at a party with no one to kiss at midnight?

ENOUGH!

It’s time to take some time for yourself. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t care about anyone else this month. I’m saying that you should be nice to yourself this month as well. Cut yourself some slack. Give yourself a compliment everyday. Do your hair and be honest about how good it looks. Instead of buying one more thing for someone else, buy yourself a foot scrub, or bath bomb. Instead of getting that really expensive wine to impress the host of a holiday party that you didn’t really want to go to; buy yourself a new accessory or dress to wear to that party so you look and feel your best. Take an extra half hour to cuddle with you kitty before bed. Watch your favorite movie and quote it at work. Read a trashy romance novel. Go a whole day without getting out of your pjs or putting makeup on.

I’m here to tell you that this month should be about you and what makes you feel good. Yes al that stress will still be there, but the beauty of this season is the joy of giving. So give something to yourself. Even if it is just a little self encouragement, or a one dollar candy bar.

Guess what? You matter to me and I want you to feel good about yourself this month. Happy Holidays!

 

Five Kick Ass Women in Literature

Barnaby's Book Review

Clair Fraser, Outlander Series

Claire Fraser is a top notch female character (not because I’m completely obsessed with Outlander). Claire is a woman that has been pulled away from everything she has ever known, and thrust into the patriarchal society of the Scotland. She proceeds to give a giant finger to any scholar who claims that certain social norms have to be respected because “it was another time”. Claire is a strong independent woman who refuses to take abuse from anyone. She causes even the most masculine Highland Scots to blush as she curses like a sailor, and bosses them around like the badass she is. She refuses to keep her mouth shut in the face of injustice and will not let her husband spank her in a time when it was perfectly normal and acceptable for a man to beat his wife. She comes to the rescue of a large…

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