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saucywinksI am very bad at updating! The first version of this post said "went to Charlottesville a few weekends ago" which has now turned into a few MONTHS ago (mid-March).
Well, we went to Charlottesville a few months ago for our ~one year anniversary~. Crazy!! We've been married for a year!! Charlottesville was kind of if puffer-vests-and-chinos was a whole town, but overall cute. Also, better Korean food than Richmond :| It was beautiful to just, as cliche as it sounds, live in the moment. No home projects or errands irritating the back of the mind because I literally couldn't do them.
Though now that I'm back the whole "holy shit I need to catch up on everything" strikes again, with some bonus "wtf what do I wear in warm temperatures" confusion. Somehow every year I forget how seasons work.
I've also... hm, how to put this. I've finally realized how American consumerism works? I knew, intellectually, but this is maybe the first time in a while I've really stepped back and been like "HEY WAIT A SECOND" because:
Work is stressing me out, as usual. About every other week because of a bi-weekly deadline (thanks NIH!) I'm like HOLD ONTO YER ASS and Cameron has to deal with me having no energy to do anything. Beyond that, I'm sweating my ass off walking Pepperoni in 90F weather (thanks Richmond summer and increased heat sensitivity from SNRIs!) or, like, grocery shopping at Kroger. Maybe Publix or TJs if I'm feeling fancy.
But I do get in some random social media scrolling before passing out at night, and the ADVERTISEMENTS. I'm being sold cute punky jewelry and cute punky sundresses and various other stylish goods and it's all preying on my lack of fulfillment from being crouched over my work laptop like a shrimp, in my sweatpants (or sweatshorts now, lol) 8+ hours a day.
It's selling me a life where I can do things like enjoy wandering around town, comfortable yet fashionable, unburdened by the weight of the American work week. Perhaps I have an iced coffee in hand in a cute eco-conscious tumbler. My hair looks lush, washed with a customized shampoo, and my eyelids are just the right tasteful amount of sparkly. My posture is good and my skin is clear and I am not dreading an imminent deadline.
None of this is new - much has been written about the history of marketing and advertising. Plus, I am already at a huge advantage here, I do generally surround myself with things that are aesthetically pleasing, one of the great bonuses to being Double Income No Kids and having a frankly cushy desk job.
But! I realized that specifically, this particular strain of advertising is calling to me because I yearn for freedom from being a little WFH admin gremlin...
Man, I need to go touch some grass.
Well, we went to Charlottesville a few months ago for our ~one year anniversary~. Crazy!! We've been married for a year!! Charlottesville was kind of if puffer-vests-and-chinos was a whole town, but overall cute. Also, better Korean food than Richmond :| It was beautiful to just, as cliche as it sounds, live in the moment. No home projects or errands irritating the back of the mind because I literally couldn't do them.
Though now that I'm back the whole "holy shit I need to catch up on everything" strikes again, with some bonus "wtf what do I wear in warm temperatures" confusion. Somehow every year I forget how seasons work.
I've also... hm, how to put this. I've finally realized how American consumerism works? I knew, intellectually, but this is maybe the first time in a while I've really stepped back and been like "HEY WAIT A SECOND" because:
Work is stressing me out, as usual. About every other week because of a bi-weekly deadline (thanks NIH!) I'm like HOLD ONTO YER ASS and Cameron has to deal with me having no energy to do anything. Beyond that, I'm sweating my ass off walking Pepperoni in 90F weather (thanks Richmond summer and increased heat sensitivity from SNRIs!) or, like, grocery shopping at Kroger. Maybe Publix or TJs if I'm feeling fancy.
But I do get in some random social media scrolling before passing out at night, and the ADVERTISEMENTS. I'm being sold cute punky jewelry and cute punky sundresses and various other stylish goods and it's all preying on my lack of fulfillment from being crouched over my work laptop like a shrimp, in my sweatpants (or sweatshorts now, lol) 8+ hours a day.
It's selling me a life where I can do things like enjoy wandering around town, comfortable yet fashionable, unburdened by the weight of the American work week. Perhaps I have an iced coffee in hand in a cute eco-conscious tumbler. My hair looks lush, washed with a customized shampoo, and my eyelids are just the right tasteful amount of sparkly. My posture is good and my skin is clear and I am not dreading an imminent deadline.
None of this is new - much has been written about the history of marketing and advertising. Plus, I am already at a huge advantage here, I do generally surround myself with things that are aesthetically pleasing, one of the great bonuses to being Double Income No Kids and having a frankly cushy desk job.
But! I realized that specifically, this particular strain of advertising is calling to me because I yearn for freedom from being a little WFH admin gremlin...
Man, I need to go touch some grass.
