Take Up Space

Forget everything I said last week about not traveling. An undeniably great deal came up for Brazil and I decided to get some more mileage out of my visa. By the end of February, I will be on a plane and drinking from a miniature bottle of white wine. I love having that little wine-buzz when the turbulence hits. It adds to the thrill of it all.

Maybe it is a reward that I don’t deserve, but it sure as hell has gotten me to focus more. I work to pay for the surfing classes. I work out to prepare for surfing classes. I’m increasing my endurance on the treadmill like never before and it is all because there is a whole ocean waiting to take me down. But not without a fight!

I’ve started watching the tv show: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I don’t understand how it has it taken me so long to get into this show. Actually, I blame the theme font which I think is awful. It is the same theme font as I Dream of Jeannie, which was my favourite show as a child. These two shows are completely different in tone and it makes no sense to me at all. End graphic design rant now.

The show is about a female stand-up and it is set in New York in the late 1950’s. I love stand-up, I love the mechanics of it. I love the evolution of a joke, the eating shit, the fact that its’ main purpose is to move you to laughter (did you know that I love laughter?!) It’s a dream to watch a show about the inner-workings of stand-up.

Can you guess the part that makes this show even more perfect for me? It’s the fact that the show is about the female quest for identity outside of the conventional roles of wife and mother. Maybe I sound like a broken record when I talk about the female quest for identity but I had a conversation with two women last month about how they refused to call themselves feminists and I need to make something clear. Being a feminist doesn’t mean that you hate men. It means that you get to figure out what you want to do with your life, explore your passions and that you have access to opportunities. It means that you get to have a quest for identity. If you are a female with a bank account, a career, a prescription for birth control then maybe you should also have a little respect for the women who fought to make those things possible for you. Those women called themselves feminists and I will too. By the way, I love men.

But I digress. There is a third reason why I love this show. It is written by Amy Sherman-Palladino (who wears the strangest hats). This means that the show is funny and smart and FAST. Amy Sherman-Palladino may wear strange hats but she does write women who are interesting and interested. Women who are interested in participating in this great world and better because of it. My Grandmother once told me that if you want a man to like you: act stupid. Isn’t that incredible? She also loved to tell me that I was eating too many cakes. Her message? Be as small as possible. The world doesn’t need more of you. I think I will spread out though, take up space, explore. I love men, but I love men who make room for women more.

I’M GOING TO BRAZIL BITCHES!

30 Minute Playlist: Take Up Space