(no subject)
It's that time of year! The time when we shamelessly beg our friends/relatives for material goods to prove their love for us, and indulge in a nation- if not world-wide orgy of consumerism. The time of year when I wish we could separate out that warm feeling of being around family, and the celebration of another year completed, and the greeting of a new year, and distill that into a holiday. A holiday where the family gathers and you talk and laugh and hug each other and remember what really matters. Maybe you have family traditions, like waking up for the first dawn of the new year, or fixing broken toys for the kids of the family, or something. And it could be nice and hygge and there would be no... horrible investment in the capitalist ritual of Christmas.
Considering my feelings on the holiday (get your religion out of my secular society; please stop talking about Jesus it makes me uncomfortable when you say 'Jesus Christ'; can we please not trample the poor Walmart workers to death; does the message of this holiday sound contradictory to anyone else; for the record, I do not support the ritual killing of the working class in order to support our economy by getting 25% off bath mats) I always have qualms about having a wish list. On the other hand, there are people who care about me and want to show that they care about me by participating in what is a culturally significant ritual. This year, I will be giving presents to people I care about who participate in the ceremony of Christmas, because as much as I might not like aspects of it, like I said, this is still a culturally significant time of year. I might not believe that giving presents is the best way to always show affection, but I have people I love who expect that, and I want them to know I care. So... presents!
All of this is, of course, a very long lead up to my own wish list. As much as I hate consumerism, I am also (embarrassingly) engrossed in The Gathering of Things. I like physical belongings. I like money. I like having stuff, and getting new stuff. I like frivolous things, like nail polish and new clothes. I like impractical shoes. I like shopping, I like buying, I like having.
Weighing all of these things together, I have tried to make a list of things that would make me happy, but which I don't need to have to be happy, and no one has to get me.
So, My Wish List:
In the spirit of Kony 2012 (do people still remember that?) I support removing power from the hands of warlords in Africa, but I do not support a military intervention. I think that funding military powers - whether they are foreign or American troops on the ground - is not the right way to go. Feel free to disagree. But, if you want to do something related to Kony 2012 for me, a great thing would be to donate to an organization which supports alternative means of intervention.
While we're talking about donations, another thing I strongly support is Kiva, an organization that allows you to loan money to small business owners in the developing world. I have been using it to lend money to eight different women from Uganda, Colombia, Pakistan, and other places around the world. I highly encourage you to start your own account with Kiva.org. Or, if you don't want to lend out the money yourself, you could give me the gift of a Kiva card, and I'll let you know where the money went. Kiva is great because, unlike a donation, you eventually get paid back, and you can take that money that you got back and loan it out again and again.
If getting my physical gifts is more up your alley, Sock Dreams has lots of lovely warm socks and tights to make my winter warmer.
Or you could help me continue to update my wardrobe for post-college life with clothes from Mod Cloth.
Want to kill a lot of birds with one stone? I sell prints of my photography at my online store here. Buying presents for other people on this site is also a present to me. Additionally, I am currently not making enough off prints to really devote time/money to photography. A little bit of advertising (from a plug on your blog to paid ad space online or in real life) goes a long way.
Considering my feelings on the holiday (get your religion out of my secular society; please stop talking about Jesus it makes me uncomfortable when you say 'Jesus Christ'; can we please not trample the poor Walmart workers to death; does the message of this holiday sound contradictory to anyone else; for the record, I do not support the ritual killing of the working class in order to support our economy by getting 25% off bath mats) I always have qualms about having a wish list. On the other hand, there are people who care about me and want to show that they care about me by participating in what is a culturally significant ritual. This year, I will be giving presents to people I care about who participate in the ceremony of Christmas, because as much as I might not like aspects of it, like I said, this is still a culturally significant time of year. I might not believe that giving presents is the best way to always show affection, but I have people I love who expect that, and I want them to know I care. So... presents!
All of this is, of course, a very long lead up to my own wish list. As much as I hate consumerism, I am also (embarrassingly) engrossed in The Gathering of Things. I like physical belongings. I like money. I like having stuff, and getting new stuff. I like frivolous things, like nail polish and new clothes. I like impractical shoes. I like shopping, I like buying, I like having.
Weighing all of these things together, I have tried to make a list of things that would make me happy, but which I don't need to have to be happy, and no one has to get me.
So, My Wish List:
In the spirit of Kony 2012 (do people still remember that?) I support removing power from the hands of warlords in Africa, but I do not support a military intervention. I think that funding military powers - whether they are foreign or American troops on the ground - is not the right way to go. Feel free to disagree. But, if you want to do something related to Kony 2012 for me, a great thing would be to donate to an organization which supports alternative means of intervention.
While we're talking about donations, another thing I strongly support is Kiva, an organization that allows you to loan money to small business owners in the developing world. I have been using it to lend money to eight different women from Uganda, Colombia, Pakistan, and other places around the world. I highly encourage you to start your own account with Kiva.org. Or, if you don't want to lend out the money yourself, you could give me the gift of a Kiva card, and I'll let you know where the money went. Kiva is great because, unlike a donation, you eventually get paid back, and you can take that money that you got back and loan it out again and again.
If getting my physical gifts is more up your alley, Sock Dreams has lots of lovely warm socks and tights to make my winter warmer.
Or you could help me continue to update my wardrobe for post-college life with clothes from Mod Cloth.
Want to kill a lot of birds with one stone? I sell prints of my photography at my online store here. Buying presents for other people on this site is also a present to me. Additionally, I am currently not making enough off prints to really devote time/money to photography. A little bit of advertising (from a plug on your blog to paid ad space online or in real life) goes a long way.