Wednesday, February 01, 2006

"I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally." - WC Fields

You’d be so pretty if you would just wear some pink…and get that hair out of your eyes...

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Now here’s a fricking news flash: You can still be depressed even while pregnant. If anyone is struggling with this issue and needs anecdotal evidence and has come across this, please be aware that I continued to take 200mg of Zoloft daily while pregnant with Terzo, and have continued to take it while breastfeeding. He is fine. I am ok. I am happy to fill you in on more details and answer any questions as best I can, if you email me.
I was fortunate – I have a very attentive OB, and a wonderful therapist, and a pediatrician who is clearly attuned to how my mothering capabilities may impact the health of my child. I also am lucky to have a very good friend who is a family doc (and who puts up with a lot of annoying questions) who has another doctor friend whose research specialty is pregnancy and medication – and she said if I had to take anything, Zoloft was what I wanted.
I have done the pregnancy/breastfeeding thing twice before without meds, and let me tell you, it was not pretty. And I saw my therapist regularly, exercised, blah, blah, blah. I am not knocking those things. But sometimes? You need the meds. And I stopped being quiet about it because there are too many women who are trying to do the right thing, and don’t have enough info. Sometimes it IS all about better living through pharmaceuticals.
And I haven’t felt the urge to drive off the Fort Duquesne Bridge in at least two years. So they’re working.

This has been a public service announcement. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

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Why do other people in the grocery store feel they can comment on your purchases? I have been buying seltzer water, about half a dozen bottles a week. I like the way the carbonation gives the water a little taste, so I drink more of it, and I believe that being well-hydrated is an admirable goal. Not to mention that fluids are what you want when you have the flu. And yeah, the plastic bottles trouble me a bit, but I do recycle them. So this dude behind me in line says, “You know that’s just regular old tap water? Some people think that bottled water is all special and filtered and stuff…”
I replied, “Yes, but this is seltzer so it’s carbonated, I like the taste better than regular tap water although I drink that too, thanks for the info…”
And then he says, to no one in particular, “Yeah, well, I guess some people will believe anything.” Uh…ok. But then….wait for it…he starts making comments about my diaper buying habits. And how he buys his baby needs (??) online where they are cheaper and…what? More environmentally friendly, somehow? At which point I felt compelled to clarify, God knows why, why do I feel this compulsion to please this obviously belligerent and annoying stranger, that I have two non-potty-trained children, but we’re working on the almost-three-year-old, and yeah, diapers are really expensive…HELLO! Do you live my life? Do you give me my grocery money? Do you have any idea what other things I may be doing to help the environment? (Can you tell I feel guilty about disposable diapers, but not guilty enough to not use them?) GOD! All I want to freaking do is the stupid grocery shopping, dude. Back off!

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Would it be really rude and unacceptable to bring a book to the symphony? I like the symphony well enough but I can multitask. And I really hate to waste perfectly good, quiet, non-child time just doing one thing when I could be reading a really good book.

Speaking of, I bought Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude Monday evening, hardback, for six bucks, off the bargain tables at B&N. Score!
I also found a Kate Atkinson (of Behind the Scenes at the Museum fame) book of stories for 4 bucks.
What I'm reading at the moment though is Hazel Hucker's A Dangerous Happiness. Comfort food for the brain.

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Gentlemen, start your engines
The Morning News 2006 Tournament of Books contenders have been announced.
I have to start reading. Here they are -

- The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
- The Time in Between, by David Bergen
- Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill
- Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole, by Stephanie Doyon
- Home Land, by Sam Lipsyte
- The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
- No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
- The King of Kings County, by Whitney Terrell
- Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
- The Accidental, by Ali Smith
- On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
- Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala
- Garner, by Kristin Allio
- Saturday, by Ian McEwan
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer

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You know, I felt like I had something to say about this article on how many women wear ill-fitting bras and if you just have a bra properly fitted, it will change your life and make you look twenty pounds thinner and take ten years off your complexion...yeah, yeah, whatever...but really, what it comes down to is, I hate wearing a bra. No matter how well-fitted. So there.

15 comments:

Gina said...

You know what? You can also be depressed when you are fully cognizant of the fact that all things considered, your life is pretty damn good. I have issues. I'm just saying.

I don't like to drink carbonated water--it's too much like Alka-Seltzer. Ick.

I'm all for taking a book to the symphony, as long as you invest in one of those cool lights that are shaped like a regtangle and light the page itself. Do you know what I'm talking about? They have them at B&N for like $35. This is an investment, yes, but if you're season subscribers . . .

Badger said...

That bra thing is true, though. I'm just saying.

Diaper guy was totally hitting on you.

And also, you will love The Fortress of Solitude.

blackbird said...

gah.

hate hate hate the bra.

I do about 400 alternate garments but none really do the job as well.

blackbird said...

oh,
no book at the symphony.

Sarah Louise said...

Here's what I would do: print out something you want to read that is about the same size as the program.

Major Bedhead said...

Sarah, that's genius. Seriously.

Joke said...

WHOA...SL! I am in awe of that idea.

BabBab, have you considered a soda syphon? You can choose how carbonated you want your water, you can use your own filtered tap water, there's no enviro-whatever and you're ready for the 3 Stooges-a-thon.

I like my water carbonated to the extent it could strip varnish. It's also amazing to make limeade with it. To show you what a weirdo I am, I like my limeade as tart as battery acid, and in combination with the carbonation, I am amazed I haven't perforated a tunnel through my body.

-J.

Joke said...

P.S. If I had to place an underwire in close proximity to my, er, tender vittles, I'd hate that garment also.

Caro said...

It was always my experience that I was MORE depressed during pregnancy and irritated with everybody also.

Book at symphony sounds great. Book at home on couch sounds better.

I don't mind people commenting on my groceries, but when they comment (rudely) on my kids, I mind.

BRAS! Ugh. Freaking hate them. I'm sure they were invented by men. I only wear them in public because I have to. When I'm home, off it comes.

Kathy said...

Ugh. I hate bras. I walk in the house and off it comes.

So BB you've already read The Historian, so you're ahead there. What else have you read on that list already?

Anonymous said...

I'm laughing at your post because I do the same thing - explain myself to perfect strangers, then spend the rest of the day muttering about what I should have said.

Next time, "accidentally" bump into the shopping cart and run over his foot.

Sarah Louise said...

all this talk makes me think of the scene in Beaches where Bette Midler is in a play about the man who invents the brassiere...I think he originally named it the over the shoulder boulder holder...

Jess said...

Woo! I've read four of the books already!

Am I the only person on earth that doesn't mind wearing a bra? I barely notice I have one on. Of course, I barely need a bra, so that might be why.

Book at symphony - sounds like something I'd really really want to do but would chicken out on.

Suse said...

A book hidden in the program would work. But would you feel guilty? Cos guilt would ruin the pleasures of both the book and the program.

And thank you for posting the link to the You're Wearing THAT? article. My mother does that hair comment thing (in addition to the You're knitting THAT? comment thing), and I have found myself doing it to Son #2 who has long hair. Oops.

Suse said...

The pleasures of both the book and the SYMPHONY.