As stated elsewhere, I'm attempting to stay off social media (aka The Services, to invoke a more sinister, Skynetish flavor) for the next little bit. There'll probably be a few more posts here in the meantime. It's not that I feel like I've been spending too much time on twitter, etc., of late or that such things are particularly disruptive or a bad influence or anything like that. What they are, though, is noise, and I'm at the point with this book where I need to cancel out as much noise as possible, the better to capture the signal. I think it's a good plan. There are those times when you just need to be in the book you're writing, as much as possible, and cutting down on distractions (like the controversy of the week or, more dangerous by ten times, the fascinating convo of the week–everything but Cute Animal Pictures, really) is very helpful with that, in my experience. Particularly when it's one of those books with a lot of "no one will ever get this, everyone will think I'm just insane, because this is insane" moments, which this one is.
So: Thanksgiving. I hope you had a happy one if you're celebrating, and if you're not I still hope you had a nice day.
Setting the problematic historical context aside, Thanksgiving is the major holiday that stresses me out the least, and the one I typically like best. (Apart from Halloween, of course.) The lack of gifting means lower stakes and less insanity, and at heart I am very down with the concept of pausing to appreciate the good things in our lives. Be it refugee Thanksgiving with friends, as we've done in past years, or lovely days with family, like this one, I feel like one extremely lucky lady.
And, even though I'm avoiding The Services temporarily, I wanted to pop in here to say how grateful I am that I'm able to be a part of such wonderful virtual (and real!) communities, full of people who talk and laugh and grouse and support each other, whether from up close or afar. That is no small or imaginary thing. You're all much appreciated.