I would be like, really productive. I don't know that it's fair to say I'm not productive, however. I mean, sure, if you take the word at it's literal meaning, my life could be more 'productive'. But if that's the case, there are very few things I do that are productive beyond what's necessary and I think I'm fairly normal in that respect. Hobbies are probably the exception. It all depends on where you draw the line between productive and non-productive.
Today for instance - I went to work as usual. I didn't do any planning on my lunch break, though I could have had I wanted to get ahead. Instead I chilled, ate kimbap in the sunshine, and listened to my ipod while updating some stuff in my knitting notebook. I managed to do a round on my shirt before Donald came down from lunch, and then I went in and worked some more. After work I went to the store and got some odd bits- they finally have button mushrooms again. (I saw tomatoes yesterday too... yum. Love spring)
then I came home, got on Rav and read a few threads about Mohammad and the religious history of textiles, and took a nap before waking up to do some online shopping (more on that later), talk to Lloyd and Cait, and read some blogs. Now I'm munching on dinner - leftover rice and soup - and typing this post. I don't feel that today is the most exciting day I've had - nor did I even look at the interminable list of things that I have plans to do (or the things that flit across my brain that I don't write down); but I don't particularly consider it to have been a waste of a day.
I'm not sure there's anything else conclusive to say on this subject , but it occurs to me - why do I think in terms of productive/unproductive? It's not that I particularly worry about it - i generally enjoy my time no matter what I'm doing (with exceptions), but for some reason, I feel like I *should* worry about it.
So, shopping. That was fun. I started on Knitpicks.com, a knitting site I have been meaning to check out - good quality stuff for relatively cheap prices. Catch: they only ship to the US. But since I have my handy-dandy friend Lloyd to send things to, I don't have to worry about that. And then I have more of an excuse to go back to Atl when I go home. -smile- They're having a sale on sock yarn so I got some of that for the eventuality that I will start making socks. also just because sock yarn is very pretty. and versatile. did i mention it was on sale?
Then I was off to thehungersite.com to check out their yarns. They have banana fiber yarn and beautiful recycled silk yarn which I was going to get to try. But then I saw their skirts - and you know how I love skirts. Especially long swishy ones for
<--- this one I was debating getting the wine one, but I love blue, and I wear it a lot, and it matches a lot of things that I have. So blue it was.
I was so happy to see that they ship internationally. And the most awesome part - my shipping for the order was $10. to Korea. Sweetness!! Still need to go back for that yarn...
I poked around on overstock as well, and though they had some pretty stuff, nothing quite cheap enough for me. Then I remembered my friend Robin's suggestion about ebay for clothes, and off I waded into the mire. I found an awesome seller (whose site is here) that has a bunch of cute Nepali clothes. (I guess I'm on a 'support 3rd-world economy' kick tonight.) I submitted some offers on their ebay stuff and got ....
I'm bidding on another one as well, but we'll see if I win it.
then, THEN, I found this site:
Enwrapture Vintage
Now, I'm not sure I believe their claim that their reversible silk sari wrap skirts can be worn over a hundred ways, but they are pretty damn versatile. Also, drool-worthy gorgeous.
Like these:
Gizmo is staring at me from a safe distance away and alternately washing himself so as not to look at me, as I've just walloped him. He's been really weird the past few days- I think no one told him that the neutering process was supposed to calm him down. He's been running and jumping onto the balcony, and tonight he kept trying to bite me. I had my feet up on my chair and he started biting my toes, and just now he was sitting calmly in my lap and then started gnawing on my arm. Well, that's not going to fly for sure, and he knows it.
Before bed, a snippet of conversation with Lloyd from earlier.
Lloyd:It's kinda late for dinner, ain't it?
I can just imagine that song - *sings* Kiiimbap, doo be dop a do wop...
Wouldn't that be great?
Yeah, take that, Donald. :P (Donald is my Scottish co-worker who ridicules me for the use of the word 'awesomer.')
Well, perhaps it is for me. I've seen some news articles recently that make it seem as though life will be sucking more for women in Afghanistan. Here, look at this:
******
Karzai: Afghanistan to review criticized sharia law
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/04/04/afghanistan.womens.rights/index.html?iref=topnews
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Amid mounting pressure from the West, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says his government will review a recently approved version of a law that critics say legalizes marital rape and the U.S. president has called "abhorrent."
Recently approved version of law also mandates that a woman ask a male relative to leave the house.
"We understand the concerns of our allies in the international community," Karzai told reporters Saturday.
The minister of justice would study the draft, he said.
"If there is anything that is of concern to us then we will definitely take action in consultation with our [religious clerics] and send it back to the parliament," Karzai said. "This is something that we are also serious about and we should not allow."
Karzai's news conference was in response to a series of news reports by Western media since the president signed the law last month.
He specifically mentioned a March 31 story by London-based The Independent, which called the law "a massive blow for women's rights" and cited critics who said Karzai "rushed" the bill through parliament in hopes of appeasing Islamic fundamentalists ahead of August elections.
Human rights groups and news reports consistently refer to a report from the U.N. Development Fund for Women which reportedly stated that the legislation -- a piece of sharia law, or Islamic law -- that affects the Shiite community in the predominantly Sunni nation "legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband" by allowing men to force sexual intercourse on their spouses.
Shiites make up roughly 10 percent of Afghanistan's population.
Western leaders attending a NATO conference Saturday also signaled their disapproval of the legislation.
"I think this law is abhorrent," U.S. President Obama said in Strasbourg, France. "We think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture, but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed, with the latter saying, "We very much hope that the draft piece of legislation is to be withdrawn."
The law was drafted by Afghanistan's conservative lawmakers after spending more than a year off and on the parliament's daily agenda. Shia Muslims have been practicing their form of Islam for centuries in Afghanistan, but this law allows them to preserve their identity among the majority Sunni population, one parliamentarian said.
Among its provisions are that women must ask a male relative to leave the house.
"What my fear is, women and children of Afghanistan are always the victims of political games," Afghan lawmaker Fawzia Koofi told CNN in a recent interview. "I mean, they don't have a gun to fight, they cannot create a mess."
Koofi, and other critics of
the law, hope that the supreme court will rule that the legislation is
at odds with the Afghan constitution, which promises equal rights to
all citizens -- male or female.
Still, despite the international outcry against the bill, many in Afghanistan remain unaware of it. Support can be found among those who do, especially the Shiite population.
***
So, thoughts on this article. For one, the first thing that bothers me about it - nowhere does Karzai say that they are reconsidering this law because it's detrimental to women, etc. No, he specifically says that it's because the international community has problems with it. Which, yay for the international community's opinion making a difference, but really? Come on, should the rest of the world have to tell the president of a country when he's legalizing rape? I feel like he either needs to be paying more attention to the bills he's signing, or think more carefully about them.
And the other thing that I'm not too sure about here- what does the Sunni/Shia divide have to do with anything? There's comments about how this law lets Shias preserve their identity - so that comes down to,"They're the ones who can rape their wives," or "They're the ones that have to be told not to rape their wives because it's bad." Either view doesn't make them look good. Personally, I think having a law like this would be kind of embarrassing - it's like, oh yeah, even though the Prophet says we should respect and honor women, we still have to put it into a law that you aren't supposed to rape your wife. -sigh, shakes head- Muhammad, where are you and why aren't you laying the smackdown on these people?
And then there was this other article about racism, but I don't feel like writing about it right now. I have etsy orders to fill!! Yay!! and some stuff to make as well. and then i think I am going to have breakfast for dinner. or yogurt-rice, not sure which.
Breakfast for dinner is also apparently completely American, and I have been mocked for that too.
