Quirkyalone

Ma’am vs. Miss

Nov 29, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

What is the appropriate age for baristas, video store clerks, and waitresses to start calling a woman “ma’am”? Please tell me, because I would like to know. I have become semi-obsessed with this question over the last couple of months. It’s possible that people have been calling me “ma’am” for years and I never really noticed, but all of a sudden, this summer when I was on the East Coast I started to feel middle-aged when every service professional addressed me in this (now) most dreaded way. I decided that this was perhaps an East Coast suburbia thing, that in Rhode Island, at age 34, I am presumed to be a mother when I’m out shopping at the grocery store or running errands, and therefore “matronly.” If there’s anything I don’t want to be, it’s “matronly.”

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File Under Shock and Awe: Arkansas Bans Single People from Becoming Foster Parents

Nov 29, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

Perhaps I was too jubilant over Obama’s victory to notice. . . not only did Californians vote to take away the rights of same-sex partners to marry, voters in Arkansas voted to ban single people from acting as foster parents. Meanwhile,  the state never has anywhere near enough homes for children in the state’s care. I am really shocked. Are we living in 2008, or 1962?

From the Detroit Free Press: “In Arkansas, voters decided that gay and lesbian parents should not be allowed to adopt or act as foster parents by restricting those activities to married couples.”

Sceaarrrrrry.

Must-See Quirkyalone Movie of 2008: Happy Go Lucky by Mike Leigh

Nov 29, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

Leave it to the British to create the most quirkyalone movie of 2008. If you haven’t seen Happy Go Lucky, starring the (could there be a quirkier actress) Sally Hawkins, you must run, not walk, to your local independent theater. The movie is more character-driven than plot-driven, as we float through life with a 30-year-old primary school teacher with a sturdily sunny demeanor.

What would Poppy do? That’s now what I will ask when I’m confronted with irritating situations or difficult people. Poppy is unlike anyone that I’ve ever met, but there’s something about her approach to life which I aspire to.

Quirkyalone money quote from the film: Poppy’s younger sister, who is pregnant, married, and living in the suburbs, lays into Poppy, telling her she needs to grow up and start by investing in a mortgage. “I just want you to be happy,” she says. Poppy responds, “I am happy. I love my life. I have a great job, amazing friends, yeah, it can be tough at times, but that’s part of it.” “I am one lucky lady,” she says, “and I know that.” Why it such a breath of fresh air–even revelatory-to hear a single woman count her blessings on film? Is it because we never hear that in popular culture, or because we don’t actually believe that single women can love their lives? I believe Poppy’s character.

Happy Go Lucky was everything that the Sex and the Movie claimed to be and was not. Both movies are about female friendship, but in the Sex and the City movie, all that Carrie and co. ever talk about is men. In Happy Go Lucky, the characters talk about all the things that run through women’s minds, I should quit smoking, or one of my students is violent, and what should I do, and are we grown up yet? Men and fashion are not the only reference points for life or fun. They go out dancing and make fools of themselves, collapsing into pools of girliness. The row boats in the park and talk about life.

I am still pondering the movie 24 hours later. Have you seen Happy Go Lucky? What did you think? I’m curious to hear from other QAs.

The Sexual Energy Crisis

Nov 03, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

Where is the sexual energy in San Francisco? I am frustrated. I have recently come back from Rio, which is perhaps the sexiest place on the planet, and now I feel like I am living in a sexless universe. I am not talking about hoochie mamas dressed like Janet Jackson at the SuperBowl or random hookups or even on-the-street-make-out-sessions, though those are nice and there are plenty of those to see while you drive around Rio. I am talking about a sexual energy crisis.

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Canvassing In Reno, One Fascinating Interaction After Another

Oct 30, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

Even though this is a QUIRKYALONE blog and not a political blog, I want to share with you my experiences this past weekend canvassing voters in Reno for the Obama campaign. Community organizing is part of who I am–it’s why this website exists. And right now my passion for community organizing is being channeled into the Obama campaign. So if you want to read about the fascinating interactions I had with voters in Reno, Nevada, 11 days away from the election, read on.

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I Am My Own Hero

Oct 22, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

Last Friday night I had the pleasure of wandering around one of San Francisco’s artist studios, opened up to the public for our annual Open Studios. (Artists invite the public to come check out their work and where they make it.)

I stumbled upon this extremely quirkyalone portrait as part of an exhibition called “What Women Want” and had to snap it with my new Iphone to share with you. Oooh, I am giddy with the camera feature on my new phone! Check out more of the artist’s work–and the poem on the subject’s back–at camillanewhagen.com.