Not-so-needful things

It's come to my attention that I'm hard to shop for. Personally, I think my interests are pretty straightforward, but if I need something, I'm not going to wait for a holiday. If I can afford it, I'm likely to buy it immediately. So, here's a list of the nonessentials I've got my eye on right now by category of interest:

• For running, I'm looking out for deals on GPS watches and extra pairs of running tights and headbands. Though I haven't been the best at keeping up with running during the deadline crunch, it'd be good to stock up for the cooler months to come.
• Writing-wise, I need to update my business casual wardrobe. Some of the pieces in it were purchased when I was a completely different shape. Since I'm cheap and hate shopping, it'll probably be a while before this need is met.
• Though I get a lot of practice bartending while I'm on shift, I should probably stock my home bar. After purchasing a mixing spoon and shaker tins of my own, I'm getting closer, but I need to also stock vermouth, fruit, syrups, strainers, bitters and rum. My wishlist is also full of bartending books: Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology, David Wondrich's Punch! and Imbibe!, David Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, to name a few.

Let's be honest: I'm probably not going to leave my couch today. I don't like the concept or execution of Black Friday and therefore will not be participating if I can avoid it. I hope your Black Friday is similarly relaxing!

Thankful things

Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays for quite some time. Since I began trying to live mindfully of the people I love and things I do, I've found that gratitude for all parts of my life puts everything else in perspective. Suddenly, things that seem overwhelming or frightening become opportunities for growth and development. In that vein, here are some things I'm thankful for:

• Work. I have three jobs I love. They are immensely fulfilling and amazingly fun, pay my rent and allow me to live a rich and full life.
• Deadlines. Though writing challenges me to learn constantly, it also provides me with a solid alternate source of income. Though I have six deadlines coming up within the next week, they are proof that I've made an amazing amount of progress in my career. I can't wait for the stress of this spell of deadlines to be over, but I'm more excited to see the results of this intense spell of writing.
• Friends. My friends are my support system. I'm doubly lucky that I count my coworkers as friends, so I'm able to spend time with my loved ones even when I'm at work. They're amazing.
• Cooking. The Crockpot is my best friend. I'm able to make large batches of relatively healthy food...while I'm writing or bartending or elsewhere. Sharing food is a beautiful way to show love, and large quantities help with that tremendously.
• Family. Outside of my blood relatives, I have developed an amazingly loving family that accepts me totally and completely. Not only that, I have a kind and handsome man to share my life. I am deeply lucky to spend even the tiniest corners of time with my Adam, and can't wait to see what the next years will bring.

What are you grateful for?

Life's high notes

I can't live without music. Since I was little, I've listened to or played music every day. But each day is different, so its playlist follows its structure, not some proscribed outline. The songs I choose are picked based on my rules, which are eerily similar to those for playing music in a public place.

1. Gauge the mood. No one wants to hear hyper Latin pop if they're just hanging out. Likewise, the same music has its place during runs and workouts, but not many other places.
2. Be mindful. If you're by yourself, pay attention to how the music affects you. Listen to the music that sets the tone for the rest of your day. After all, you don't want to be the only spacy emo kid at the disco or that twitchy overcaffeinated jock at the symphony. Don't be that guy.
3. Make dedicated playlists. Appropriating specific songs for specific occasions heightens their significance to that activity. Assign songs to activities and don't let them cross over.
4. Being sad is OK. Happiness is a constant choice, but the world can be overwhelming. Choose happiness, but take time to experience your other emotions. If you need a musical boost to lift or deepen your mood, pick your songs accordingly.
5. Do it and dig it. Trashy rap aficionado? Get your daily dose of humor at Snacks n Shit. Classical junkie? Rock out with your Bach out. Time is too precious to listen to music you dislike. There's no reason to make yourself unhappy.

Meanwhile, in my living room

Today, I didn't want to write. I want to curl up in a blanket and stare at my bedroom's ceiling tiles, not confront all of the deadlines looming right after Thanksgiving. Despite the funk, I'm up and about.

Days like this are the reason that I exercise. Even just 15 minutes of yoga or running or lifting weights has the almost magical ability to get me back to emotionally level within a few hours. This week, my schedule is riddled with deadlines and bartending shifts. Between the seven remaining deadlines and quite a few hours behind the bar, I'm seeking out all the things I can do instead of knocking out deadlines early.

The problem is that fitness won't wait. If I put it off, my mood suffers, but if I commit to it, I'm diverting precious energy with the knowledge my energy levels will eventually increase exponentially. It may sound like lip service to the proven research on science, but it's true. Though I want to melt into the couch, I won't.

In my years on this planet, I've experienced the ups and downs that come with living fully. The sadness and joy and love and craziness that accompany it are natural parts. These emotions are vital to being human. They're also so powerful that they can control the path of life, but exercise can help to regulate them.

Even if a short yoga session only serves as a quick mental break, the time spent will be well worth it. As a science, tech and writing nerd, my brain is usually stuck in high gear, and running or lifting slow my thoughts just enough to keep me sane. So, if you need me, I'm unplugging for the next 45 minutes before I go in to Octane.

Marvel-ous Blondes

As a kid, I adored Marvel comics. I had a compendium of The X-Men Universe, watched cartoons and read graphic novels. Though there were lots of women in strong, empowering roles, none of them looked quite like me. Except the villains. As a tiny towheaded super nerd, the only women blonde women I encountered were bimbos or plotting to kill Dr. X.

Admittedly, I didn't make the connection until I was researching possible cosplay options, but the conflict was there. In spending an hour or two (or three) looking through the X-Men Wikia, I found a few random, inconsequential characters who appeared occasionally to round out a shoot in the X-Men movies.

I hear you shouting "Emma Frost! What about Emma Frost?!" Yes, there were a few storylines where she was totally and entirely good from the start, but she's a villain at some point in most of them. As I looked into the matter further, I became more and more frustrated with the Universe that used to be my escape.

After a while, I searched Reddit. Talk about a rabbit hole -- I ended up spending 30 minutes looking at pictures of dogs dressed up as superheroes, but didn't find anything that addressed the lack of blondes. Once I got back on track, I found several threads debating the hottest character, but it didn't seem like Redditors cared about much above the neckline.

Though we female nerds have been speaking out more and more, there's still a lot of bias to overcome within certain fandoms. I understand that the target audience for these comics is adolescent and pre-adolescent boys, but a good number of girls and women read them as well. So where'd the blondes go?!

Have any theories? Leave them in the comments.

Confessions: Food Edition

As a runner, writer, bartender, tutor and friend, time and mental space are constantly in short supply. Though I try to eat well and exercise often, I don't have a lot of time to cook. With Adam in the middle of finals, working shifts at the restaurant and still holding down his day job, neither does he.

The past couple weeks have witnessed a lot of takeout and eating at odd hours. I've managed to throw together a few Crockpot staples and some baked oatmeal for breakfast on the weekdays, but there are a lot more styrofoam containers in the fridge than usual. Don't worry -- I don't like wasting food, so I'll be eating a lot of leftovers during the next few days.

I know it zaps my energy, kills my endurance and wrecks my dreams of fitness, but I work six nights every week. During the day, I'm usually either writing or exercising. Naturally, cooking and cleaning both fall by the wayside.

Adam has helped me learn proper technique for cooking, and I can honestly say that I've gotten absolutely spoiled on food in the last two years. We're the poster kids for time crunches, but he and I take care of each other by cooking, cleaning and leaving notes. Before I met him, I bought and prepared foods that were low or lacking fat. After starting to eat a healthy amount of fat, I (unintentionally) lost weight during a period of little to no exercise.

As Hippocrates said, "Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." When I'm eating right, I have energy. I want to exercise, to write, run, bartend and live well. I can do all these things and enjoy the prep time that goes into every meal -- well, almost every meal. With seven deadlines fast approaching and five shifts in between now and then, I'll probably be still eating takeout for another ten days.

We will get back to eating well, to fixing almost every meal from scratch and making better fitness decisions, but that time must wait until after my writing load calms down. Until then, I'm going to enjoy my noodle bowls from Surin and takeout barbecue.

Slow burning

At age 24, I've already burned out on two jobs. The two side jobs that I kept and resulting lack of sleep probably didn't help, but the side work kept my sense of fulfillment intact. That said, I was so unhappy during this time that I came close to just giving up, work-wise. Here's a list of things I did to break that funk:

• Lists. What's making you miserable at work? Is it the work, your attitude or your coworkers? Does your job offer you anything positive? Taking time to appraise your situation can tell you a lot about the job's worth within your life. If there's nothing positive left, it might be time to look elsewhere.
• Find what makes you happy. Find it, focus on it, and start working towards doing it more often. Even if you can only practice it for 15 minutes a day, put in the time to do what makes you happy.
• Exercise. No matter how busy you think you are, you are the only one who can choose to exercise or not. Get up and move on your coffee breaks or Google ten minute workouts to do when you get home. You'll work off excess energy that can prevent you from sleeping and undo some of the effects of working at a desk all day.
• Take your vacation days. America is one of the only places in the world where workers don't actively plan to take all of their vacation days every year. Even taking a small, tech-free staycation can go a long way towards fostering a sense of rest and relaxation.
• Pamper yourself. You don't have to spend $100 or more to pamper yourself. Get a massage through a local massage school or take a yoga class at your local gym or see if you can find ways to barter for these services privately.

Ask a writer: Cecilia Dominic

Today's prompt for Blog Like Crazy is to do a Q & A with someone I admired. Cecilia Dominic is that person; as a clinical psychologist by day and fiction writer by night, she has committed to her passion by writing every day. This year, her first book was released by Samhain Publication. Called The Mountain's Shadow, this novel features Joanie Fisher, a research scientist who studies an amped up version of ADHD titled Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome. When her grandfather disappears and his will is read, she inherits the family's manor. The house and sprawling grounds come with a catch: the nearby town's children disappear during every full moon...and her butler turns into a werewolf. After a months' long hiatus from reading fiction, I tore through The Mountain's Shadow in a few hours. Its smart writing and thoughtful dialogue are complimented by Dominic's scientifically precise descriptions. When I spoke with her, she was between sessions with patients at work. Her book is available through all major e-book retailers.

Clair McLafferty for See Clair Write: How did you get started writing?

CD: Apparently I wrote my first story when I was two. I dictated it to my mother, and apparently it was about a bunny. Speaking of, I need to ask her to dig it out because reading it now would be hilarious. After that, I wrote little stories on and off during school. I only got serious about it during graduate school when I needed something to keep me sane.

SCW: What made you choose to write fantasy?

CD: That’s just kind of how it happened. I love to read fantasy, and I really love urban fantasy. I think I always wanted the world to be more interesting than it is.

SCW: How did you connect with your publisher?

CD: It was a slush pile submission. One of the representatives from a publication house, Samhain Publishing, had come to talk to the Georgia Romance Writers. I sent in my sub about six months later, and it ended up on my editor, Holly Adkinson’s, desk. We went from there.

SCW: When did you start blogging?

CD: I started blogging almost six years ago in 2008. In 2007, we had gone through cancer treatments with one of our cats that were intense and eventually unsuccessful. They lasted from March to December, after that whole ordeal was over, I was feeling the need to take care of something. We could either get a dog, have a baby or start a wine blog. We decided that the wine blog would be the most feasible.

SCW: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

CD: I would say that once you write your first book and are sending it out, don’t wait to write your second book until that one is published. Just keep writing. With every book, you’ll learn something that you can take back and use to revise earlier drafts.

There are things I wouldn’t do again. By the time my first book had gotten accepted, I had written three more. It was great because I thought that made the manuscript better, and when the publisher said that they wanted another one within six momnths, I had the process down. It saved me a lot of stress to know that I could do it.

SCW: Anything I missed or that you’d like to add?

 CD: I am still in search of the perfect writing cocktail.

Have a cocktail for Cecilia? Leave it in the comments!

Manifesting a manifesto

Outside of blogging personally, I maintain a laser focus on my goals. I'm pretty damn good at managing my time and resources and forming connections with interesting, diverse people. On here, though, I've held on to the idea that I could write whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and use this website as a personal portfolio.

Once I formulated a set editorial schedule, I started working past my mental blocks and got in a blogging routine. It didn't evolve how I thought it would, but it evolved into my writing about topics I care about deeply and talk about often. With that in mind, I've put together a kind of manifesto of my intentions for this blog:

This blog is a record of my journey as a writer, runner and bartender. It will be an honest accounting of my life, even when the truth is uncomfortable. It's my place to show kindness and love for others, to strive to be a better person and to learn everything I can that will add value to my life. It will also accurately showcase my talents as a writer -- even when I'm so busy I want to get off my schedule. Lastly, it will continue to serve as a point of connection with other amazingly talented writers in the community.

As I keep saying, I can't wait to see what other connections writing will add to my life. After two years of wonderful things, it can only get better from here.

Coffee and cocktails

As some of you may know, I work in a coffee shop that serves alcohol. That said, you won't find Kahlua or Bailey's on our shelves. We're not trained to make hundreds and hundreds of shots that will get you white girl wasted. But we are nerds. Any of the denizens of coffee world can talk your ear off about our espresso beverages and coffee beans, and any of us bartenders comes with a huge repository of product and classic cocktail knowledge.

Despite my description, Octane doesn't employ a cadre of fully functional (and well-coiffed) coffee- and booze-savvy robots. In the words of one of my coworkers, "We're the nerds who finally get to be cool because we're into coffee and cocktails." We geek out on this stuff because it's cool to us, not because of its newly christened place in popular culture. As a writer with a column on cocktail chemistry, I'm constantly looking to study parts of the drink making process that I haven't examined before. Personally, as a perfectionist who studied under one of the best (thanks, Angel!), my technique can always use a little work.

It's not perfect or truly glamorous work. In the past six months, I've lost weight from running around...and taken more time to recover from late nights. I might be young, but I don't bounce back as quickly from sleep deprivation as I used to. On average, I drink less than I used to, mainly because my palate has evolved so that I can't tolerate things I used to like a lot.

Over the past six months, I've learned a lot about how I like to live and work. After almost nine months of jobs I tolerated to pay the bills, not dreading waking up has been an amazingly positive change. It's also made a huge difference to know that I want to learn more about everything I'm doing when I go home. My cocktail book collection is growing at a very steady pace and doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon, and my home bar is getting stocked very slowly.

It's been amazing to see what a change of work environment has done in six months. Needless to say, I'm really excited to see where it will take me next. Until then, I'll be meeting the plethora of deadlines I have looming over the next two weeks.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Corn 'n Oil

Though today's Blog Like Crazy topic is to tackle a controversial subject, I'm not going that far...yet. This cocktail's name may be provocative given the current "debate" over farm subsidies and fossil fuels, but it's named for neither of these things. With origins rumored to be in Barbados, the earliest recipe is a three ingredient highball.

Interestingly, none of the three ingredients resembled corn or oil. Some speculate that the oil part of the name comes from the thick black Black Strap rum, but the earliest iterations of the recipe call for aged rum, not its darker counterpart. This substitution was made rather recently by Murray Stinson of Seattle's Zig Zag Cafe -- the man responsible for bringing the Last Word back.

Stinson also changed the proportions of the ingredients. According to the label on John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum bottles, the drink is traditionally 3:1 Falernum to rum, but Stinson's version calls for the opposite. Each recipe creates a very different flavor profile: the bottle's recipe is a light, sweet summertime drink that would take the edge off a tropical summer. Stinson's drink, on the other hand, is a spicy, rich, deep concoction that brings out a different type of complexity in the cocktail. Others have riffed on this recipe, adding Coke and other ingredients for completely different ends.

As with most other drinks, the most important part is that it's to your taste. I've included both recipes so you can try both and draw your own conclusions.

Recipes:

Modern Corn n Oil

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters .5 oz lime juice or two lime wedges .5 oz John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum 2 oz Cruzan Black Strap

Fill a glass with ice. Add Falernum, top with rum and squeeze the lime juice on top. Add bitters and stir ingredients in the glass until chilled and fully combined.

Old School Corn n Oil

2 dashes Angostura bitters .5 oz lime juice or two lime wedges .5 oz rum from Barbados 1.5 oz John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum

Fill a glass with ice. Add Falernum, top with rum and squeeze the lime juice on top. Add bitters and stir ingredients in the glass until chilled and fully combined.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Last year, one of my favorite posts for Blog Like Crazy was about the power of female friendship. Though the majority of 2013 has been better than 2012, it's been friends of both genders who have made sure I stayed as sane as possible. They have shown me what love can add to even the fullest life and have embraced me and all my flaws.

The people I call friends have been amazingly supportive during my transition out of 9-to-5s that I hated. They were encouraging and loving, but if I was miserable and wouldn't admit it, they were more than willing to give me the kick in the ass that I desperately needed. It's been this strength and high set of standards that's lead me to demand more for myself and my life.

Bartending is a largely male-dominated field, and here in the South that can mean that women in the industry are held to a different standard. It's not easy, but it's satisfying and surprisingly intellectual work that adds layers and layers of complexity to what would appear to be a straightforward basic skill set. At Octane, I was the first woman to successfully complete the barbacking process at Octane, and am one of only a handful of female craft bartenders in the city.

My female friends especially have been my biggest cheerleaders in starting to bartend, so it's been amazingly refreshing to be able to pass along that support. Jack Wyrick, one of my incredibly talented photog/blogging/creative/handy friends (if you don't know her work, check out this and this), started at Octane this past Saturday. Seeing her focused on learning and joking around with people made me proud and excited for the future of the food industry and, more importantly, my friends here in Birmingham.

Y'all, it's important to earn money, but it's just as important to make a life instead of a living. My friends have pushed me even when it wasn't comfortable financially or psychologically to work towards what would make me happy, not what would provide benefits or a set 401K. Their support in hard times has gotten me through any and all obstacles in my way. They enrich my life with their stories and their advice, and I can't really and truly can't thank them enough.

Who wears what?

I may work in what I consider stylish or cool fields, but my personal style tends to be anything but. Most of the pieces in my wardrobe were under $50, and most of them are several years old. I take care of my clothing as best I can, but changing shapes a few times from running has rendered even the most form-fitting dresses unflattering. When I find shirts that fit, I buy the same one in several different colors. As a result, my outfits don't vary much from day to day. With the craziness of bartending and writing, I haven't had time to tailor them back into well fitted wardrobe pieces, so much of what I wear is a little baggy.

I'm also cheap. Shopping and spending money are two of my least favorite things, so I stay away from malls and shopping sites as much as possible. When considered along with my height -- I'm 6'1" -- shopping becomes a nightmare. As a result, I've gotten creative with outfit choices.

To be perfectly frank, most of these outfits are held together by fashion-oriented apathy. Call it a bad attitude, but it's what makes my outfits work. That, and buying clothing that fits my body type. Though it often takes days or weeks to find just a few shirts or a pair of pants, anything I buy fits well when I try it on in the store.

Other than that, I don't buy clothes (outside of running duds. You can't let those shoes get too old). In the near future, I'll be replacing some of my dressy black flats that are three years old and falling apart at the seams, but otherwise you won't find me out at the mall. Really though, I need to step up my game -- and my wardrobe. Though it pains me, I should really go shopping sometime soon. Anyone up for taking on a fashion mentee?

A love letter to my quadriceps

Dear Quads, As I've started running, you've become extremely helpful in powering through every single run. Through this process, you've endured inconsistent exercise, worn out shoes and long days to keep me upright. When I first saw that you'd become defined, I thought I'd worn a dent in my legs from leaning against wells while bartending.

You were my first proof that running has changed my body, and that I'm stronger than I've ever been. Don't get jealous that I've resumed weight training -- I'd like for the rest of my body to match your strength and definition. As I keep running, it will help prevent injury and also relax the rest of me.

Please continue to be nice when I break out the foam roller. Unlike some of your comrades (cough cough IT band), you don't regularly cause me agonizing pain on the torture wheel. It's a relatively new development, I know, but it'll be good for the both of us, OK?

Unless you develop to a freakish size, I'm really looking forward to showing you off next Spring. I've got several pairs of shorts that will flaunt your angled beauty, so don't get too crazy, mmkay? My clothing budget's currently nonexistent and I can't really spring for much of anything. While you're at it, tell the rest of your comrades the same thing. I'm already tiring of baggy winter clothing, and I don't want to find the same thing when it warms up.

Love,

Clair

Today's #bloglikecrazy topic was to celebrate a part of my body. I chose my quads -- that's not too weird, right?

How not to become a full-time writer

I love writing. Building individual words into words and articles that demonstrate my knowledge and wit has been an incredibly fun way to spend my time and energy outside of bartending. However, I've recently become aware that some habits I've formed are not conducive in any way, shape or form to expanding my freelance markets. I've put together a list of the worst offenders to help others avoid my mistakes.

• Netflix is a fantastic substitute for cable. However, there are millions of hours' worth of TV shows and movies available instantly. Getting sucked into a show (or three or four) is easy, but extracting yourself is not. Start watching Supernatural at your own risk.
• Complacency is easy. There's something to be said for treating your current clients like gold -- it's absolutely necessary for a freelancer to succeed -- but it's another to stay within your boundaries because they're comfortable. Taking action will mean facing rejection and bouncing back, but just asking could lead to possibilities you'd only imagined. After reading mental_floss as a kid, I never thought I'd actually have a column on their website, but I do. It's more awesome than I could have imagined.
• Networking is a buzzword for a reason. Writing and freelancing do depend on your knowledge, but breaking into new markets is just as dependent on who you know as what you know. Until you reach out to your friends and acquaintances, you'll never know what opportunities their networks can offer.
• A personal blog can be a great way to put your thoughts out there for the Internet to judge, but it can also turn into a distraction from real, paying deadlines and important personal connections. Balance is key.
• Ignoring your limits is a great way to get yourself sick, overwhelmed and unable to function at all. Taking on too much work can seem like the perfect way to set yourself apart from the crowd, but it can also backfire -- hard. If you get exhausted and miss a deadline, it'll make an editor remember you in a way that can harmfully impact your personal brand.

How to change your form

After attending a running form clinic, I was informed that I was "caught in the marathon shuffle." My knees weren't driving forward much at all, and the rest of my body was compensating. As a result, I burn more energy than necessary and am not building strength or endurance effectively. The report from the clinic also outlined ways to start changing my stride, and I found that many items were applicable in both running and writing.

• One step at a time. It's difficult to focus on more than one thing at a time while you're running, so consciously work to change one aspect of your form at a time. For writing, choose one stylistic element to tweak whether it's your diction, syntax or grammar. The tiny changes will add up.
• Be mindful. Your body and writing won't stand up well to abuse. Work towards change; don't try to force it all at once. You're liable to get burned out and/or injured.
• Research experts' advice. Just like in writing, you have to research authors' credentials and backgrounds. Their information will inform how you treat your body or body of work, so choose and implement information only from trusted sources.
• Don't fight it. Yes, you're trying to change ingrained behavior patterns. No, it's not going to be particularly easy. Change happens, and with some direction on your part, it can ensure better results.
• Uncomfortable is normal, overwhelming pain is not. Running through minor pain and cramping is par for the course. If the pain gets unbearable or overwhelming, slow down. You'll be out of the game longer with a compound injury than you would if you slow your training. Likewise, writing in new areas can expand your boundaries as an author, but if an article topic makes you downright uncomfortable, it might not be a good fit. Your emotional health is more important.

InstaVine that tweet

When anything remotely photo worthy happens at the Octane bar, one of the bartenders will usually start saying something along the lines of "InstaVine that! Better catch it now!" You haven't missed out on a new social media outlet. We just like to treat them as a unified whole. It's easier that way. My relationship with Twitter is specifically pretty good. I love the creativity the 140 character limit inspires. It's an extremely easy way to share content with a lot of people and to gauge their future responses to different subjects. It can also turn into a mob of disgruntled, faceless bullies in a heartbeat. Personally, I've given into making my Twitter account my own rather than trying to turn myself into a branded wonder. It's just not who I am.

In the writing world, I follow a lot of amazing writers. If not for @writeousbabe and the @seejanewritemag Blog Like Crazy challenge last year, I wouldn't have a blog. Javacia, the beauty and brains behind it, has been immeasurably helpful in providing advice (directly and indirectly) that has made my freelancing what it is. I also owe @bhamboxset for getting started both freelancing and blogging -- Carla Jean has been my mentor and friend and occasional tech support since 2011. Listing all of the writers and bloggers I admire and follow would take days, so I'll keep my list abbreviated.

To keep myself informed and entertained, I follow @mental_floss. Full disclosure: I write a column for their website, but their lists and informational stuff is too awesome not to share. For all things girl nerdy, I follow @ThreeChicGeeks and @BakerStBabes and a ridiculous number of others. My nerd is strong.

Otherwise, I follow friends, people I admire, magazines and websites I want to write for and many others. Oh, and @fernetbranca. If you're not familiar with their deliciously herbaceous and bitter spirit, remedy that. After all, it had a medical dispensation during Prohibition, so it's medicine, and medicine's good for you, right? Let's go with that.

Today's topic was to shout out to the people I follow on Twitter. There are a lot, so I chose seven.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Champs Elysees

If you've ever taken a French class, chances are that your teacher made you sing the song called "Champs Elysées." When I first stumbled across the Champs Elysées cocktail on drinkboy.com, I couldn't get the song out of my head for weeks.

Tasting this drink made the earbug worth it. As a Sidecar variation, this brandy-based beverage is at once herbaceous, bold and delicately balanced. By most accounts, it's a cocktail that's remained largely obscure since it first appeared in Henry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. In this edition, the recipe calls for Chartreuse, while elsewhere the green or yellow is specified. This ambiguity allows the bartender (or home bartender) some room to play, so use whichever you prefer.

So little is known about this drink's history that, much like the Last Word, ordering it is a pretty easy way to demonstrate interest in classic cocktails. It's also worth noting that brandy-based cocktails are sometimes viewed as foreign but are actually as old (if not older than) some of the most revered whiskey cocktails.

Recipe:

1 dash Angostura bitters

.5 oz simple syrup

.5 oz (green or yellow) Chartreuse

.75 oz lemon juice

1.5 oz brandy

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake for 13-16 seconds or until combined. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and enjoy.

Happy birthday, See Clair Write!

It's fitting that my blog's birthday falls on the day where the Blog Like Crazy prompt is to talk about your beliefs. See Clair Write has become an outgrowth of those, and I love working to show them plainly.

For me, trust and belief go hand in hand. These internal markers are an excellent way to flesh out the relationships and conversations I have with others. As I've said before, I'm a compulsive list maker. Things as personal as beliefs are no different. Here are some random ones of mine:

• Cocktails are cultural artifacts. Whether through their origins, backstories or associations, cocktails are a great way to connect with the bright -- and sordid -- moments in our collective history. In a contemporary setting, asking a bartender about a drink's name can spark hours of discussion about their history (or the bar's).
• I'm a nerd. A huge, flaming, Doctor Who and Sherlock watching, China Mieville reading, football enjoying, drink mixing, cosplaying, music snobby nerd. I can talk for hours about all of these things. However, I'm also nerdy because I keep friends with a lot of people who are outside these fandoms because they have something to teach me and vice versa. It's part of why I fell in love with Adam.
• When I stop learning, I will die. Overdramatic statement? Maybe, but it's pretty much the truth. Anytime I stop reading or research or writing for more than a day, I feel much less alive. I hadn't realized how much I missed reading fiction until I read my friend Cecilia Dominic's book The Mountain Shadow in two days.
• I judge our friendship through hugs. I love hugs. They're a good barometer of how trusting and trustworthy an individual is. Though I understand that there's a boundary of not forcing too much physical contact on someone, a bear hug will almost always go a longer ways than a side-hug-slash-pat-on-the-back.
• Respect, respect, respect. Chances are that we don't see eye to eye on everything and are unlikely to change each others' minds on topics such as religion, politics, sex, etc. Judgment isn't going to win over my heart and mind. If we can't discuss them civilly or intellectually, we won't discuss them at all.
• Conversation is hugely important. Since the filter between my brain and mouth resembles a sieve, we're probably going to end up talking about religion, politics, sex, etc. I'm always fascinated by others' backgrounds and opinions...until they degenerate into proselytization or judgment. If it gets to that point, I'm out.

Fiercely feminine

Being a woman in the South isn't easy. Social pressures build the image of the perfect woman as demure, witty but not too smart and permanently happy. As the daughter of teachers, I was brought up to believe that living fully required the pursuit of knowledge. Though I was taught respect, I wasn't taught to suppress my opinions to garner public favor or to act any less intelligent than I am. I was brought up to be a nerd, and it's now a comfortable part of my identity.

When I started my first office job, being a woman wasn't easy. Within a month, I had found out that raises and promotions were scarce, and for women they were almost nonexistent. Most of my female coworkers had gotten married straight out of college and their lives revolved around their work and husbands. Yes, there was a significant age difference between us, but our interests rarely overlapped. My main point of connection with the others was through the knitting group that met twice a week. Even though I kept quiet for most of the time to avoid offending anyone, knitting became my camouflage.

Outside of work, knitting has always been a way to befriend other women. I've spent hours detangling yarn over wine while talking about breakups and childhood and friendship and knitting and sometimes nothing. These sessions have taught me patience, grace and meditation. My gentle friends have helped me to relax through and in knitting, teasing me about my tight stitches (seriously, it was ridiculous) and giving me room to adjust into a more comfortable technique.

Most importantly, knitting has taught me friendship. After a rough breakup, one of my friends sat with me while I untangled a lot of yarn. I wasn't talking, but she was showing me a very deep love by being there. As another friend says, "That's what friends do. They sit." For me, knitting with others is sitting. It's a way to be there without the pressure of conversation or convention. It's a space to relax into the motions and to sort out the tangled threads of thought.

Recently, I haven't been knitting. I haven't been spending time with my support network or the beautiful women who taught me so much. It's past time to pick it back up, but time and financial constraints have restricted my ability to do so. With the weather getting colder, there will probably nights in the near future where I curl up with a mug of tea, blanket and my knitting for some well-deserved rest, but for right now, I'll just nap.