Talky Tuesday: Phonebanking for Viriginia

Local elections are coming up in Virginia. Local elections are also the ones that most voters don't bother voting in, which is how we end up with backwards-ass local governments that [insert your particular most-hated pet peeve here].

I'm unable to absentee vote in the small local elections coming up this year in Pennsylvania, so instead I'm opting to phonebank for Virginia.

Why Virginia?

Pundits and politicians are considering the local races in Virginia as a miniature bellweather on the current administration. If Republican candidates do exceptionally well, or as well as they always do, then Republican politicians in other seats will be less inclined to break from White House policy and rhetoric. But if they end up losing seats, or just having closer races that require more spending, then they might less inclined to tow the current party line.


But I'm not from Virginia!

Neither am I. There is an ethical question of how much moral right you have to try and influence another state's (or commonweath's) election. I can't answer that for you; I can only say that 1) since I'm not allowed to absentee vote in the races going on in PA, I want to do something civic-minded and 2) I put national interests over state borders. I'm not from Virginia but we're all Americans, right? Otherwise, feel free to research any local events that are closer to where you live. There are local elections happening all over the country!


What is phonebanking?

It's calling people and talking to them a bit and making notes in a database. If you've been using 5calls.org on the regular, you already know that they've diverted some of their resources to helping out Danica Roem. If you're interested in other races in Virginia, MobilizeAmerica has a whole bunch. listed, as does Indivisible. (If you're not keen on helping in Virginia, you can put in your ZIP code into MobilizeAmerica's website and find a more local event to support.)


But I hate the phone!

Me too! I don't know what to tell you except power through it. I made about 20 calls before I went to work yesterday, and I spoke to one person (who was perfectly nice, though too busy to talk). Depending on the time of day, lots of people won't be home. And a few numbers will be straight up disconnected. You can think about it was gathering data for the group—finding out which numbers have been disconnected—instead of trying to talk to someone. And if you do end up talking to another human being, you'll have a script of what to say right in front of you!

But it was still really stressful and I thought my heart would jackhammer right out of my chest. I did it, and I'll do it again, and maybe if I do it enough times it'll be no big deal.

 "Get Out the Vote" phonebanks also involve simply reminding people to vote—not trying to campaign for a particular candidate. And finally, we live in a time where you can sign up for "Get Out the Vote" text campaigns, so you don't have to call anyone at all! What a time to be alive.

The other piece of advice I have for phone calls is to be kind to yourself beforehand. I brewed some of my favorite tea that one of my friends back in the US sent me, lit a stick of my favorite "special occasions only" Japanese incense, and listened to some of my favorite Ur-American music: Fanfare for the Common Man, Rhapsody in Blue, etc.

If you're okay with the phone but are anxious about confrontation, you can try to focus on phonebanks that mobilize registered party members to vote rather than phonebanks that try to sway undecided voters.

Friday 5: Nonstrosity

What’s a good movie for October that has nothing to do with monsters or Halloween?

Back when I worked in South Korea, I spent a few months at a hagwon that was not a good fit for me. At all. I started in June, and by August I was starting to fantasize about tragedy befalling my family so I would have an excuse to leave early and go back home.

For real.

So for the first time in my life, I quit a job. And for the last two weeks of October, I was between jobs, free to wander around Seoul as I liked.

In honor of those weeks of freedom (and the amazing job I was able to take instead because I quit that one), I would say Little Miss Sunshine. Watching it with a friend was what convinced me to carpe diem and quit the damn job.


What’s a good couple of songs for October that have nothing to do with monsters or Halloween?

I kind of want to continue on my "two-week knockabout in Seoul" theme, so here are some selections from Korean indie musicians that I really, really like.

Danpyunsun and the Sailors, "Yellow Room"

Hyun Lee Yang, "Is Help on the Way?"

Floating Island, "Parade"

Jun Bum Sun and the Yangbans, "Seven Year Itch"

What are some reasons to love October?

The foliage is gorgeous, but it's not quite the grim winter wasteland that is November or December. There's a nice balance between "still enough daylight" and "cozy weather." Also, apples are in season! Apple crisp, apple pie, apple cider...


Radio stations sometimes call this month Rocktober, doing special playlists or giveaways in celebration of rock music. What would be a better rhyming name for this month, and how might it be celebrated?

I'm fine with it being Rocktober, but celebrating geology and rocks and minerals as well as rock music. Second to that, Schlocktober, and you celebrate by watching terrible movies.


What would be a good holiday to establish in October for those U.S. states not commemorating Columbus Day?

Indigenous Peoples' Day seems a perfectly acceptable alternative.

What I Read: Freshwater

I can't deal with how good this book is, y'all!

Image courtesy Grove Atlantic

I got a free ebook copy from NetGalley but it's times like these I wish I was eligible for receiving dead tree versions because I want to press this book into people's hands and say YOU NEED TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW. You can't do that with an .epub file.

I was especially glad for Freshwater, I think, because right before I read it I had finished Ancient, Ancient, a collection of ostensibly Afro-futurism short stories that had way too much blurb hype on the covers for what it actually was. But Freshwater tapped into that vein of timeless urges (sex, death, blood, deities, demons) that Ancient, Ancient claimed to tackle and delivered a coherent, shining python egg of a novel.

Freshwater is about Ada, a young Nigerian woman who houses, among other beings, an ogbanje inside her? Or is perhaps simply unwell? We follow her through childhood, then in university in the American south, and then adult life afterwards, as she tries to figure out who she is and to navigate through her relationships with the others inside of her: Smoke and Shadow, Asugara, and St. Vincent. But most of the story comes from their perspective rather than "the Ada's."

The voice and language in Freshwater are captivating and distinctive, experimental without being alienating. This is the first book in a long time where I felt compelled to read more: after reading on the subway, I'd keep reading on the walk back to the apartment and even after I got home, standing in the doorway, coat and hat still on. Emezi is a shining goddamn star and we don't deserve her. #BlackGirlMagic strikes again.

Friday 5: Payday

From whom did you receive your first real paycheck?

When I worked at Gilman's/Lost River Caverns, where I also learned to love rocks.


Among board games involving the exchange of money, which have you enjoyed most?

Do you exchange money in Life? I think you do. I didn't have anything against Monopoly, but I think I actually finished more games of Life.


PayDay is the name of a candy bar consisting of salted peanuts rolled in caramel surrounding a firm, nougat-like center. How does it sound to you if you haven’t tried it, and how do you like it if you have? Is there a similar candy bar you like better?

I don't like nuts in my chocolate, nor do I like peanuts or peanut butter mixed with chocolate. (Unpopular opinions!) Anything with caramel, nougat, and chocolate without nuts is just peachy keen.


When did you last do something nice for yourself just because it was pay day?

I went out and bought new bras. Ladies, I recommend making sure that you're wearing the correct bra size. (In other words: if you've been fitted at Victoria's Secret, or you've used that bizarre "add an arbitrary number to your band measurement," measure yourself again.)


What person with the surname Day are you most familiar with?

I had a really hard time parsing this question at first; I took it to mean "Person With the Surname Day," as if there were multiple holidays we observe in honor of people with specific surnames. Like, I had to read the question two or three times to understand what they meant.

And my first answer is, of course, Doris Day! Infinitely superior to Felicia Day.

What I Read: Crossings

I originally requested Crossings from NetGalley because I was in the middle of working on a memoirs project and thought that it would be beneficial to read something else in the genre.

Image courtesy Penguin Random House

I was also, to be entirely honest, inherently put off by the book based on its content, as a more-or-less pacifist. Ironically enough, that also tilted me towards requesting Crossings, because I think it's important to engage in dialogue with people who disagree with you. It forces you to critically examine your own beliefs and principles, it builds empathy, and it broadens your understanding of the world. While I can't say that I now understand the appeal of going into combat or the thrill of engaging the enemy, I at least understand how it was appealing for Kerstetter. Even though the war memoirs were my least favorite part, they were still engaging.

What I found the most powerful, however, was everything that came after Kerstetter's tours in Iraq: his stroke and the possibility of recovery. Kerstetter gives a clear account of the cognitive impairments resulting from his stroke and also his frustration with them. Here he was, someone who had always loved reading and literature, who had gone through university and then medical school, now struggling to make it through children's books. War might not be anything I'll ever be able to relate to, but the effect that old age or an accident might have on my mental capacities is something that gnaws at me.

As America (and other nations) continue to cope with the metaphorical fallout from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, accounts like Kerstetter's will become invaluable as far as the domestic effects are concerned. How could we have better taken care of troops while they were in combat? How can we erase the stigma of PTSD? Can we better acclimate soldiers to their own crossings: from civilian to solider and then back again?

Talky Tuesday: Running, "Good" Fatties, and Inspiration Porn

I'm taking a break from the slow eking-out of my travelogues to talk about running. Again.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted this on my personal Facebook:

Last Friday I woke up, had a cup of tea, and then went out and ran a 5K. Not any kind of official race; I mean I ran 3.1 miles, nonstop, around my neighborhood. (3.5 miles, if my running app is to be believed.) I'm including a recent, honest-but-not-flattering photo with this post so you can see more or less what I looked like when I did it, down to the hairdo and tanktop and sneakers. Probably equally sweaty, because damn Boston was SWELTERING that day. This is what a runner looks like. 

I'm talking about this on Facebook for a few reasons. The first is that I did something that I'm proud of, something I thought for years that I would never want (or be able) to do. Running a 5K was only slightly more likely, I thought, than going to Mars or winning the lottery. And last week I basically went out and did it by accident. Cool! I did the thing! I even *enjoyed* doing the thing! (And me *enjoying* running was, not so long ago, as alien to me as "enjoying paperwork" or "enjoying scrubbing toilets.") I worked hard at it for 18 months and then I did it without dying or injuring myself!* (I also did it without filling my albuterol inhaler 'script which in retrospect is a terrible idea for someone with asthma. Don't Do What Donny Don't Does!) 

*I did suffer a twisted ankle during all of this training, but not while I was actually running. I stepped off a sidewalk funny while I was in town. 

The second reason I'm talking about this is to be up front about something: it was hard. It was physically difficult (my earliest workouts were just 5 seconds of jogging mixed with 55 seconds of walking for a grand total of 15 minutes, and even those "easy" workouts were hard at times) and it was mentally difficult (exercising in public while fat and female is fraught). I felt weird and embarrassed and discouraged way more than I felt awesome. Sometimes it felt like there was something wrong with me for finding it so hard and progressing so slowly. If you feel like that about anything -- exercising, learning something new, coping with mental illness -- I want you to know that my fat, sweaty, awkward, struggling self knows what it feels like. I don't know if it'll get better for you or not when it comes to that particular arena of self-improvement, but I know what it's like in that moment and I see and recognize your struggle. We're all reforming fuck-ups together! 

The third reason I'm posting this screed with this specific honest-but-not-flattering photo is to make it clear that 1) I didn't wait until I wasn't fat, or until I was less fat, to try to do the thing and 2) I didn't do the thing to be a "good" fatty or to make me less fat. I did it because I wanted to, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could, and then at some point just because I liked it. 

This is what a runner looks like. It's not a "before" (hell, or even an "after") photo. It's me. The body I have *right now* can do this awesome thing. And maybe more! Maybe I'll train for a 10K. Maybe I'll benchpress my own bodyweight. Maybe I'll take dance lessons or take up MMA. Maybe I'll just keep running around three miles three days a week. During it all, I'll almost certainly continue to remain more or less fat. 

Every single person reading this is already capable of so much, just the way they are. All of us not equally much, or of the same things -- limits DO exist, illnesses and disabilities take their toll, we all only have so much spare time -- but often of much more than we realize. Your body is fine the way it is.

I shared this post with this picture of me visiting Diana (of Redskirts and Arisia fame) in Boston:

Diana looking all business casual dressy fly and me looking like a sweaty mess, in front of a burrito restaurant.

I suspect people might have misunderstood my desire to disable comments on the post. It was friends-only, and the friends on FB who get to see the friends-only stuff aren't assholes. I didn't think anyone would be mean or shitty about it—effusive praise is what would bug me, and naturally that happened (some of it more easy for me to digest than others). The idea that someone might process the picture and post as "inspiration porn" is what would bug me.

Inspiration porn, if you're unfamiliar with the term, is the use of images of disabled athletes or artists or whoever used as a means for the able-bodied to feel inspired (or to guilt them into Doing The Thing). This article on The Mighty has more information about that. While fatness and physical disability are not marginalized to the same degree, or equivalent in any way, I think, to an extent, images of fat people accomplishing cool shit are leveraged similarly. There can also be a well-meaning condescension and patronization when it comes to images of fat athletes or fat aspiring athletes: "How cute of you to try!" "Good for you for being a good fatty!"

This is better than images of fat people being distributed for the purposes of ridicule, but it's not really ideal, either. And it's exactly why I wanted to disable comments. I knew that no one was going to come at me with a shitty comment; it was much more likely for people to be effusive in praise and encouragement, all of which would have meant well but some of which would no doubt be coming from that place of "I'm inspired by your willingness to do this thing with a body I consider undesirable (even as we are friends because of my admiration for your personality etc.)" "I'm glad you're doing something to become less Fat." If you're thinking or feeling those things when you see pictures of fat athletes, please ch-ch-checkity-check yo' self.

On a positive note, I'd like to thank LineageWear for those awesome peacock bike shorts and my other leggings: they really are the #bestleggingsever. (If you don't have a pair of your own, you can shop through my LineageWear referral link and get a 10% discount. TREAT YO' SELF!)

I'd also like to thank Aardvark Sports Shop in Bethlehem, PA. When I walked in there almost a year ago to get fitted for my first-ever pair of running shoes, I thought I would die of embarrassment. But the employee who helped me was super chill and treated me and my big ol' duck feet with perfect, expert helpfulness and found me the perfect shoes. Gear matters, and without those leggings or those shoes I wouldn't have been able to do what I did.

And finally, I'd like to put in a good word for Charity Miles. A lot of times it was easier to go out and do the thing because I knew it would help a better cause as well as myself. Personally, I run for charity: water because damn there's nothing like a glass of cold water after a brutal run!

Playlist shout-outs include: basically every Tarantino soundtrack up to Kill Bill Vol. 1, Say Sue Me, Kanye (I'm trash), Garbage, Eve 6, Drunken Tiger/MFBTY, The Blue Hearts, and The High-Lows.

Friday 5: I Don't Get It Either

Twitch is an enormously popular livestreaming platform mostly for watching people play video games. It has more than 1.5 million broadcasters and more than one million visitors per month, and Amazon acquired it for nearly a billion dollars in 2014. Which of your computer activities would you livestream if there were a way to make some money doing it?

Y'all want to watch me write blog entries in real time, right? Right??


EDM (electronic dance music) is usually performed by DJs on stage in front of audiences, playing tracks they’ve mixed, right off their laptops. If you were a push-button DJ playing your tunes in a club, what would be your opening and closing songs, assuming everyone’s there because they’re into whatever sounds you’re into?

My opening song would be absolutely be "Gangnam Style," or one of the infinite mashups out there. This one might be my favorite:



Or this one:



What can I say? 2012 might have been my peak year.

As for the end of the set, I think this is a good closer:



What’s a good Adele song, and why is Adele so popular?

I don't know if I like this shade you're throwing on Adele, Friday 5! I'm not obsessed with Adele but I like her voice.

Speaking of 2012, I was also cheered to see that Adele was so popular with my Korean students. In a country that can be even more looks-based and body-conscious than the US, I hope that at least a few of my girl students realized that it's possible for them to be talented and successful without looking like a typical K-pop star.

I listened to "Rolling in the Deep" a lot with those kiddos, so that's probably my favorite Adele song.


The Walking Dead?

I don't get this one either, Friday 5.


Every generation seems to arrive at a “They don’t write ’em like that anymore” attitude. Why does it seem like most middle-aged people lose interest in new music?

There's actually a reason for this! I think it has something to do with the way your brain is still developing as a teenager versus how it is as an adult, and so music from your childhood and teenage years will always be more immediate and visceral for you than most anything else. In other words, nostalgia's a helluva drug.