Granola Bat

Have you ever just been so Damn Over It? I've kind of felt like Sisyphus all week. Sometimes you just swallow the scream, and smile and nod. Looking professional enough on the outside helps protect the cash flow 'til the workflow feels natural again. Maybe it's just the weather. My anxiety has just been on a spike lately, and it leaves me feeling too tired to write, and frankly kind of mean but with few outlets. I don't know where the good karaoke spots are in this town, but I have a mighty need. At least I look fresh and profesh and manage not to throw the TPS report  at anyone. Or break any printers . The good days will come again. Gray sweater: Gap, thrifted Bow blouse: thrifted Pull-on pants: 212 Collection at Kohl's

I seem to be making a habit of photographing my casual-Friday outfits. The increased leeway on a Friday is fun to play in - and it's different for me than for most of the office, since I rarely wear jeans, or even pants. Dresses are more comfortable to me. How do you increase the comfort-level on a casual Friday when you're already not wearing pants? You get to incorporate some graphic T's, or even a sweatshirt, if it's elevated. Playing with soft textures is a treat. And you don't care quite so much about your bun being perfect - especially when a cute silk scarf will distract or cover up a bump or stray hair. Depending on the workplace, some legwarmers may be welcome on a cold day. I've had a love-hate relationship with the things, but I just got the best pair , and I cannot stop wearing them. They're so soft, and they stretch enough to go over my thick thighs, but they stay in place. They've held up very well to me wearing them almost constantly a...

Well, my roots have been twining around me again. All these complex identities within. Attitudes seem to have gotten more tolerant in recent years, but stereotypically, goths and rednecks have not played well together. Country music is anathema - except for Johnny Cash, who gets a pass into basically every subculture that's taken off in the U.S. But that's part of who I am, just as much as riding high on strobe lights in a wave of Siouxsie, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, and so on. My ancestors moseyed from Virginia through Kentucky, finally settling down in Indiana. My grandparents put "orl" in the car and "warsh" their clothes. I could probably still saddle up a horse, and although I did fight it when I was in college, I still feel damn comfy in a pair of ridin' boots and a flannel shirt. The success of bands like O'Death , Murder By Death , the Pine Box Boys , Stone Jack Jones , a fair amount of Lindi Ortega 's music, Those Poor Bastar...