mini bulletpoints// 02
take your PTO, DCOMs, and why won't the dnc stop texting me?: a new, weekly, bite-sized version of bulletpoints
The vibe: unexpectedly OOO
I know summer is the traditional vacation time, but might I interest you in some Fall PTO? Take a trip upstate to do some leaf-peeping. Hell, just take a few days off to run errands, schedule the dentist appointment you’ve been putting off, and watch Gilmore Girls from the comfort of your couch.
By the time you read this, I’ll be in Tennessee, sitting around a campfire and going to Dollywood. In the middle of the semester1! So rebellious. Seriously, though. Resting and regrouping is so important— make time for it before you’re teetering on the edge of burnout2.
The evergreen recommendation3:
DCOM Halloween movies. The Halloweentown trilogy4 is a classic for a reason. It’s campy, it’s colorful, it’s fun— it never gets old and honestly, they just don’t make movies like that anymore5. Twitches is slept on— I have a very vivid memory of watching it on the TV in my bedroom, neck bent at an angle that would throw my back out now, because I had a lofted bed6. I highly highly recommend Don’t Look Under the Bed— a DCOM so scary, they had to stop airing it on TV.
Recommending:
Political engagement. Why won’t the DNC stop texting me?!
I’m a registered Democrat. I always have been. Because I’m practical, but I’m also an idealist. I’ll accept good enough when I have to, but I’ll strive every day for better. For great. Or amazing! Lately, amazing seems very far out of reach. Everyone’s hitting a wall, dissatisfied with our options, or wound so tight because there’s the chance the good enough candidate won’t even win. Or both. I’m both. Republicans (and by that, I mean extremists) have a blind faith and lack of critical thinking skills that I envy. It must be so peaceful in their smooth brains7.
Personally, I find myself in the same cycle every election season8. I’m excited, I’m optimistic, I vote in a primary9. That excitement wanes. We’re left with a candidate that doesn’t satisfy. I do my duty and vote for someone who doesn’t align much with my values. Nothing changes. Or something changes for the better, and then other things change for the worse. Or, depending on who wins, everything changes for the worse. And then in four years, we do it again.
Here’s my advice: Pick the issues you’re passionate about— you literally cannot do it all, so you have to tackle what you can and let someone else tackle the rest. Mine are: prison reform/abolition, better allocation of taxpayer money to public goods and services, and foreign policy— specifically in the Middle East, especially in regards to Palestine. I care about reproductive freedom, but there are so many women (especially white women) who have taken that up as their Main Thing that I feel like it’s in good hands, and my energy is better spent elsewhere. Same with the environment: plenty of capable people with more knowledge than I have are on the case, so I don’t need to be.
Vote for the good enough candidate, and then put pressure on them to become better than good enough. Or put pressure on your house representatives. Or spend the next four years doing work in your own community to stay engaged. Or all of the above.
Anyway, check your voter registration before November 5th.
I work at a college library, so taking PTO during the semester used to be frowned upon, but they recently changed their policy and now I can take a week off in October!!
Which I am right now, don’t get me wrong.
AKA things that I am so invested in that I’ll be recommending them for the rest of my fucking life.
Return to Halloweentown who?! I don’t recognize that imposter.
Cue the “back in my day” ass old person rant.
I felt very cool with my lofted bed. The TV in my room, btw, also had a built-in VHS player! That makes me sound older than I am…
Actually, I take that back. They seem incredibly full of vitriol and hatred, so it must be terrible in there.
Are you voting in your local elections every year? Please say yes. Those are less demoralizing for me personally, because I can see the effects firsthand, and in my city, we’ve had some invigorating wins for things like city council.
In both 2016 and 2020, my primary vote went to Bernie Sanders.