Mormon Bloggers

Today is February 18th. For those of you who really live in the moment, four days ago was Valentine’s Day. I have never been a huge fan of said holiday, even as a kid, especially not since Spencer Bolton put a Valentine in my fourth grade mailbox that said, “You’re stupid.” I tattled on him, so I got my vengeance. But still. Not cool. Don’t worry, this post isn’t about that overwrought fictional holiday. It’s about what I did that night. And a decision I’ve made that I may or may not stick to. So seeing as V-Day (or VD for even shorter) fell on a Monday eve this year, church folks put together a massive all-Seattle-metro Family Home Evening, so that all the sad single Mormons between 18 and 35ish could get together and flirt and potentially heal themselves of their tragic, crippling loneliness. It was to be a potluck/open mike night, which is a totally awesome idea. And the food, to get my positive thoughts out of the way from the start,... Read the rest of this entry »

The first image result from the search term “writer’s block.” I used to write poetry. I haven’t in years, but some of it was pretty good. Even after I switched my major from English to Linguistics, I took all the poetry classes I could weasel my way into. SEEMINGLY UNRELATED TANGENT! The summer I was 20, I was crazy in love with this 29-turning-30 dude in my ward/condo complex named … for privacy’s sake, let’s call him Dan Blatt. He looked like a potato and was severely mentally ill, but I liked him because he was “interesting.” Terrible idea. But let’s not waste time revisiting my bad taste in men. Anyway, that Fall semester, I enrolled in my first poetry class, which I was really excited about. Our professor was a really quirky cowboy-type guy who insisted we could only write form poetry–”No free verse until you’ve earned it!” Our first assignment was to write a villanelle, and we had almost... Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time I was working full-time as a nanny. I had just gotten back from my mission and I was deeply unhappy. My days were spent commuting in the snow, taking care of children and sitting in my room. I had no friends. This is starting to sound a lot more pathetic than it actually was, for although I was lonely and sad most of the time, that kind of solitude only makes one more appreciative of all the things one can do alone. I started working in the temple. I went for runs. Nobody pulled me out of that darkness. I pulled myself out. Then, fortunately, I made some of the best friends I have ever had, and that was incredible. During the course of my pulling-myself-from-abyss time, I decided I wanted to buy a car. This is harder than it sounds when one is working off the books and lived in a foreign country without employment for the previous year or so. I talked to some people and they were sympathetic but ultimately unhelpful. I remember the following evening well. ... Read the rest of this entry »

The “you” is someone who needs to hear this, not a “you” who broke my heart. Nobody who has ever broken my heart reads this blog, I don’t think. If you are: Hey. You broke my heart and I resent that, because my heart is kinda defective to begin with. Go screw yourself. Bye. Ways To Cowboy Up and Heal Oneself of a Broken Heart (in semi-chronological order) 1. Cry. A lot. Even if it makes the other people in the bathroom or movie theater or ethnic grocery store (true story!) uncomfortable. Cry as much as you like. Try to believe that one day you will be able to experience a trigger memory that will not make you cry again. Even if it seems unlikely. 2. Spend time alone. Go on walks, read scriptures, all that introspective stuff you see broken-hearted characters do in movies. DO NOT read old emails or journal entries initially. Build up to that gradually, starting with easy stuff like looking up his name in the phone book. 3. Spend time with people... Read the rest of this entry »

I want a job, but I still haven’t found one. In order to add to my piddling, hideously inadequate paragraph of qualifications, today I spent eight hours learning CPR and first aid by practicing on Red Cross manikins of varying sizes. The course covered infant, child and adult methods, so we got to practice pressing on little baby Claire’s (apparently that was her name, according to my instructor) chest and creating a seal over her tiny nose and mouth in order to fill her minute lungs with air. It took only the slightest puff of air from my grown up lungs. The video instructor kept reiterating, ludicrously, I thought, to always keep in mind that “babies are very small.” Yeah, duh, I thought smugly as we watched the video. But then when I really had to practice resuscitating an infant, it hit me–holy majoly, babies are really, REALLY small. Also–and this is so pathetic I hesitate to write it, but it’s important–I have forgotten how easy... Read the rest of this entry »

Several happenings contribute to my general feelings of impotence and despondency today. One, no response from the folks I wrote to yesterday re: getting some non-Mormon support for keeping the WRI open. I knew it was a long shot, but I guess they can’t get involved with Mormons in any way, shape or form. Our respective missions are too disparate. Two. Why does it have to be this way? Why do so many people believe that feminism and the gospel cannot possibly co-exist? I wrote this little guy (which is quite similar to the letter I wrote to Amplify, with a Mormon twist) for a blog I really love, one intended for Mormon feminists, which got some positive and some negative responses. A few accused me of not believing in or trusting the Prophet and Apostles, because they are the executive board of BYU, which logic I have always found completely ridiculous. I believe that Church leaders are inspired, but they don’t fast and pray about whether or not to sell mint brownies... Read the rest of this entry »

Note: This my super biased, slightly smug review of the new film Where the Wild Things Are. If you don’t like reviews that give away the plot, do not read this, because I give away pretty much everything. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I don’t like Spike Jonze. To be fair, I don’t hate him either: I have seen one of his skate movies, as a matter of fact (Thank you, skater brothers) and I like the work he’s done with the Beastie Boys. However, this is mostly because in my view, the Beastie Boys can do no wrong. But that’s neither here nor there. Especially since I’ve changed my tune in the past twenty four hours. Anyway, when I heard that Spike Jonze was slated to direct a film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, a brilliant book with a strikingly relevant yet minimalist plot, I along with the rest of humanity knew that this film could go one of two ways: beauty and heart wrenching, or unadulterated suckiness. Sleep well, dear children.... Read the rest of this entry »

Tagged: agony, anguish, art, emotion, photo, picture, sculpture, wordless wednesday  Read More →