i like to shake my fist

here is a list of things i am unhappy about, in no particular order:

1. my bangs are entering the very seriously dorky phase. not long enough to do anything with, but too long for my taste. i look like a dumb, chubby version of xena, the warrior princess. i want it to be longer! so i can cut the rest shorter! why is this taking so long?
   
2. i'm feeling very frustrated lately about how almost all kiddie/baby gear is so gender biased. finding anything neutral and cute is practically impossible, and when you do find stuff that could be for either girls or boys, it tends to be covered with cartoon characters or corporate logos. i don't want any of the kids i know and love to be reduced to tired stereotypes or shills for big companies. i know when baby was born we were excited about being able to buy her pink things, but along with the cute pink things are a lot of bright, happy, primary colors and an excess of black. a little pink and blue is okay, but doesn't anyone else get tired of all the same old baby crap? it's a good thing i can sew and knit, because honestly i want to rage against the corporate machine that indoctrinates our kids before they can even focus their eyes.
   
3. the broken window in my car is going to cost more than i expected to fix, but it has to be done. i don't want the snow to show up and ruin my interior!
   
4. packing is killing me. which is funny, because truth be told i have yet to pack anything. right now i am still in the planning stage. this involves lots of list making, napping, hoarding boxes, and saving my strength for the actual work part of it. it's important work, really.

things that make life bearable:

1. the new margaret atwood book i got for christmas. i'm loving it. granted, i'm kind of a big fan of hers to start with, but i love how smart and sharp her writing is. it gets fussy sometimes wtihout feeling pretentious. some authors use big words to show you how genius they are, but i always feel like she just really likes words.
   
2. this video of tom waits i found today at lunch. my goodness; i think he's a handsome man now, but he was extra foxy then. his new album is huge, and i'm still wading through it, but every day i find something new i like about it.
3. making cute baby clothes for cute babies. even if i never, ever, ever have any of my own, there will be a lot of my baby clothes out there.
   
4. things being finalized in the new house. i know i've said this before but i am very excited to live in a real, grown-up house. it's true i'll be there as a somewhat interloper, as always, but being the roommate of grown-ups in a grown-up house will be a fun thing. that and i'll get a corner of the basement set up with my big art/craft/sewing table, and i like having my sleeping area seperate from my working area. i think i get more done that way.
   
5. finding weird things in the cabinet and making a delicious dinner out of them. one of the fun things about moving is using up the pantry and figuring out how to make dinner out of them. tonight i made curried chickpeas, cauliflower (frozen), and tomato over rice. very, very nice.