PICS
Howard Brown Health Center, one of the largest GLBT healthcare organizations in the U.S., might have to shut down by the end of the year if they don't raise enough money. They are a wonderful organization and have helped me personally this year, and it would be a huge loss to the community if they were forced to shut down. If anyone wants to help out and can, the link goes to their fundraising letter and to information about donating. And please, spread the word about their Lifeline Appeal to keep their doors open. Being jobless means I can only boost the signal and get the word out there, but at least it's something!
I also emailed Dan Savage in the hopes that he might mention it on one of his blog posts.
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I also emailed Dan Savage in the hopes that he might mention it on one of his blog posts.
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1. This is so true to my experience it's funny/depressing:
How Every Discussion About Sexism Ends. What's sad is that when it was originally posted, the exact thing the comic is pointing out happened in the comments.
2. No news on the job front yet, but I've done the whole routine of calling and emailing once to check up. Hopefully I'll hear from them next week or find another good prospect. In small good news, I signed up for a quick survey that will earn me $25. It's kind of sad to get excited about having only 25 bucks of my own, but hey, money is money.
3. In other good news, I finally gained back the weight I lost this year. Since maybe January I'd been losing weight and wasn't sure why, and probably lost about 10-15 pounds. I started drinking Ensure shakes, taking vitamins and trying to eat better and I'm back up to around 140, which is where I like to be.
4. A friend is in town this weekend doing a tasting (he's a brewer) this evening and then hanging out after, which should be lots of fun. And perfect because I was beginning to feel somewhat stir-crazy. Plus good beer is always a fantastic thing. Good beer =
5. The fact that I can use a flying monocle in Super Scribblenauts is fantastic and I have used it as often as possible in the game. Which I am already almost done with.
How Every Discussion About Sexism Ends. What's sad is that when it was originally posted, the exact thing the comic is pointing out happened in the comments.
2. No news on the job front yet, but I've done the whole routine of calling and emailing once to check up. Hopefully I'll hear from them next week or find another good prospect. In small good news, I signed up for a quick survey that will earn me $25. It's kind of sad to get excited about having only 25 bucks of my own, but hey, money is money.
3. In other good news, I finally gained back the weight I lost this year. Since maybe January I'd been losing weight and wasn't sure why, and probably lost about 10-15 pounds. I started drinking Ensure shakes, taking vitamins and trying to eat better and I'm back up to around 140, which is where I like to be.
4. A friend is in town this weekend doing a tasting (he's a brewer) this evening and then hanging out after, which should be lots of fun. And perfect because I was beginning to feel somewhat stir-crazy. Plus good beer is always a fantastic thing. Good beer =
5. The fact that I can use a flying monocle in Super Scribblenauts is fantastic and I have used it as often as possible in the game. Which I am already almost done with.
Let's see, it's been a while since I updated. What's new in my life?
1. My dad visited this weekend, which was great. I hadn't seen him in way too long. We went out and had some good food, but mostly just hung around the apartment watching Haven and other TV and talking and enjoying each others company. It was a really good weekend. Makes me wish I could travel back home more often or that I could have my family up here more often. This is why I need to be paid millions of dollars just for doing the things I do every day.
2. Speaking of things I do every day, I remain obsessed with Pocket Frogs. Sadly I can't access the extra features that you get with a WiFi connection (my iPod Touch doesn't have that), but it's still really fun. I've been playing it even more than usual this week.
3. On top of that, Daniel bought me a surprise present of...Super Scribblenauts! Some of you may remember how obsessed I was with the first game, and already I am finding it hard to put down the sequel. I'm really enjoying the additions to gameplay and am excited to spend time playing more of it. Plus I think it's really sweet that he got me the present because he remembered me being sad that I rarely get any mail that isn't a bill or junk mail.
4. I'm super-graceful and managed to hit my head hard against one of our radiators this weekend. I honestly wish I could have had a booze-related excuse for it but I had about 2 and a half beers over 4 hours, so it was just me being clumsy. My head still hurts from it. Stupid lack of bodily awareness.
5. I discovered these candies today and kind of want a lifetime supply of them.
1. My dad visited this weekend, which was great. I hadn't seen him in way too long. We went out and had some good food, but mostly just hung around the apartment watching Haven and other TV and talking and enjoying each others company. It was a really good weekend. Makes me wish I could travel back home more often or that I could have my family up here more often. This is why I need to be paid millions of dollars just for doing the things I do every day.
2. Speaking of things I do every day, I remain obsessed with Pocket Frogs. Sadly I can't access the extra features that you get with a WiFi connection (my iPod Touch doesn't have that), but it's still really fun. I've been playing it even more than usual this week.
3. On top of that, Daniel bought me a surprise present of...Super Scribblenauts! Some of you may remember how obsessed I was with the first game, and already I am finding it hard to put down the sequel. I'm really enjoying the additions to gameplay and am excited to spend time playing more of it. Plus I think it's really sweet that he got me the present because he remembered me being sad that I rarely get any mail that isn't a bill or junk mail.
4. I'm super-graceful and managed to hit my head hard against one of our radiators this weekend. I honestly wish I could have had a booze-related excuse for it but I had about 2 and a half beers over 4 hours, so it was just me being clumsy. My head still hurts from it. Stupid lack of bodily awareness.
5. I discovered these candies today and kind of want a lifetime supply of them.
1. The job interview went really well, I think. I was super-prepared, which ended up working out well because their computers were down and they didn't have copies of my resume and the job description because of it. I interviewed with one person for about 40 minutes, then she showed me around the organization, and introduced me to two more people who I interviewed with for another 40 minutes or so. They all seemed to really like me and were impressed that I was passionate about their mission (for those who missed it, they work with homeless/at-risk youth and adults, the program I'd be working for is a house for teenage pregnant/mothering girls). One of the people interviewing me had a daughter named Morgan, which I think gained me some accidental brownie points. And I was nervous, but I don't think I came across as nervous. I think I came across as personable and well-spoken. Maybe a little nervous, but not as nervous as I FELT, which is the important part.
So I feel pretty good about it. If I got the job I'd have to reschedule with my shrink, which might be a pain in the butt, but whatever. Worth it for a good and interesting job, and I like that it's not full time but still plenty of hours, so I still get some time to myself every week. It sounds like the actual hours/days are pretty flexible too, as long as stuff gets done.
2. I've mentioned it before, but since New Years I've been keeping a list of every book I've read just to see how many books I might read on average every year. I just went back through to check the count and I'm at 103. And for the past couple of months I've been reading huge books (Dark Tower books and several books connected to them), so those are like two or three books in one. Though of course I counted them as only one. So yay! So much reading!
3. I'm a dork and just calculated how many pages of Steven King I've read since August (with some other random books in between, for my sanity). The total is *drumroll*
6,217 pages.
That's a fuckton of reading.
4. Though when you divide it that makes it 75.8 pages a day, which isn't that insane. Maybe someday after the year is up if I'm feeling extra dedicated I'll add up the pages of all the books I read and see how many it totals a day.
So I feel pretty good about it. If I got the job I'd have to reschedule with my shrink, which might be a pain in the butt, but whatever. Worth it for a good and interesting job, and I like that it's not full time but still plenty of hours, so I still get some time to myself every week. It sounds like the actual hours/days are pretty flexible too, as long as stuff gets done.
2. I've mentioned it before, but since New Years I've been keeping a list of every book I've read just to see how many books I might read on average every year. I just went back through to check the count and I'm at 103. And for the past couple of months I've been reading huge books (Dark Tower books and several books connected to them), so those are like two or three books in one. Though of course I counted them as only one. So yay! So much reading!
3. I'm a dork and just calculated how many pages of Steven King I've read since August (with some other random books in between, for my sanity). The total is *drumroll*
6,217 pages.
That's a fuckton of reading.
4. Though when you divide it that makes it 75.8 pages a day, which isn't that insane. Maybe someday after the year is up if I'm feeling extra dedicated I'll add up the pages of all the books I read and see how many it totals a day.
I have a job interview next Thursday!
It's for a local shelter for pregnant and parenting homeless teens, and is an admin assistant job. It's part time, but at 30 hours a week, which is pretty damn good. Plus it's just exciting and affirming to know that the resumes I'm sending out aren't just being thrown into some huge Unemployment Shredder.
It's for a local shelter for pregnant and parenting homeless teens, and is an admin assistant job. It's part time, but at 30 hours a week, which is pretty damn good. Plus it's just exciting and affirming to know that the resumes I'm sending out aren't just being thrown into some huge Unemployment Shredder.
1. The Internet has made me bitter about a number of subjects. One of the main ones is self-hating/misogynistic women. The ones who victim-blame. The ones who say "I'm not like other women, I play video games/like sports/burp in public" or "I don't get along with other women because women are catty/bitchy" (which in itself is a catty statement, I'd like to point out). The ones who go along with sexism because they're "just one of the guys". The ones who insist that THEY don't experience sexism, so obviously other women don't either. The ones who tell other women to just take street harassment as a compliment.
I know I should feel more sympathy or understanding of that attitude, because I know usually it springs from a sexist society that treats femininity as something bad and pits women against each other, along with all kinds of other factors I'm not going to get into here because this is a blog, not a sociology paper. But I've just seen these attitudes so much online that my pity tank is empty. Instead it just makes me angry and frustrated. I'm sick of seeing the kind of stuff I mentioned posted online, because it's like the people posting it expect a flock of approving men (and other women) to show up and tell them how unique and awesome they are for not being like Those Other Women. It's sad and annoying and I see it way too often. Eventually I'm just going to be immune to even noticing it because it's so damn common.
2. Other things that fall under the "I see this shit too much" category:
- "Not to be offensive, but *insert something really offensive here*"
- "You can't criticize me because it's just my opinion, and opinions can't be wrong" (or it's sister "If you criticize something I posted in a public space publicly you are silencing me!")
- Derailing in general (For example: yes, we understand that women who are super skinny experiencing body policing, too, but in a post about the body-policing of plus-sized women, it usually isn't relevant)
- On a similar note, any sentence that begins with "Real women _____".
- "I'm not offended by _____, so I don't understand why anyone else is". Which is related to "Well I have black/gay/whatever friends and THEY aren't offended when I say stupid shit, so why should you be?"
- "Fandom can never have faults because it's about ~fiction~"
3. I'm going to stop now because this list could get very, very long.
I know I should feel more sympathy or understanding of that attitude, because I know usually it springs from a sexist society that treats femininity as something bad and pits women against each other, along with all kinds of other factors I'm not going to get into here because this is a blog, not a sociology paper. But I've just seen these attitudes so much online that my pity tank is empty. Instead it just makes me angry and frustrated. I'm sick of seeing the kind of stuff I mentioned posted online, because it's like the people posting it expect a flock of approving men (and other women) to show up and tell them how unique and awesome they are for not being like Those Other Women. It's sad and annoying and I see it way too often. Eventually I'm just going to be immune to even noticing it because it's so damn common.
2. Other things that fall under the "I see this shit too much" category:
- "Not to be offensive, but *insert something really offensive here*"
- "You can't criticize me because it's just my opinion, and opinions can't be wrong" (or it's sister "If you criticize something I posted in a public space publicly you are silencing me!")
- Derailing in general (For example: yes, we understand that women who are super skinny experiencing body policing, too, but in a post about the body-policing of plus-sized women, it usually isn't relevant)
- On a similar note, any sentence that begins with "Real women _____".
- "I'm not offended by _____, so I don't understand why anyone else is". Which is related to "Well I have black/gay/whatever friends and THEY aren't offended when I say stupid shit, so why should you be?"
- "Fandom can never have faults because it's about ~fiction~"
3. I'm going to stop now because this list could get very, very long.
1. I really do have the most ridiculous dreams ever. This weekend I had a dream that Danny and I saw Betty White walking down the street next to someone dressed exactly like Lloyd Dobbler from Say Anything. We asked her about it and it turned out that she had gotten really drunk and called a John Cusack Look-Alike agency and hired a look-alike to show up and sing "Never Gonna Give You Up" to her. She also hired Chaka Khan to film it and make a music video of it. And then the music video commenced.
Yup. That's what my brain comes up with when I sleep.
2. I really want to apply for this job that is, sadly, an hour and a half commute, only because of this line in the description: "If foul language would offend you then you should think about this position before applying". FUCK YEAH!
3. Um, that's about it. Life is good, though I still don't have a job/money. I had a great birthday. We have an awesome friend visiting this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. I've been watching lots of Dead Like me and still re-playing Dragon Age. After Dragon Age I'm gonna play Fallout. And that's about it since I last updated.
Yup. That's what my brain comes up with when I sleep.
2. I really want to apply for this job that is, sadly, an hour and a half commute, only because of this line in the description: "If foul language would offend you then you should think about this position before applying". FUCK YEAH!
3. Um, that's about it. Life is good, though I still don't have a job/money. I had a great birthday. We have an awesome friend visiting this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. I've been watching lots of Dead Like me and still re-playing Dragon Age. After Dragon Age I'm gonna play Fallout. And that's about it since I last updated.
1. Daniel got me addicted to Echo Bazaar. Now I wish my phone had better Internet access (I'm not even complaining, I only pay $40 and have unlimited texts and calls and can check my email pretty easily, but that's about it) so I could use the site while on the train or sitting on the couch or whatever. Anyway, if any of y'all are on there or join let me know!
2. My weekend was really good. We went to the Notre Dame game on Saturday, had lots of really good food and good company and just generally had a fun time. Also, I started reading Hearts in Atlantis on Saturday night and tore through it, finishing it yesterday evening. I mostly only enjoyed the first and last story, though I didn't dislike the other two. Now I'm reading Bag of Bones, which I'm enjoying so far. Still, I miss reading about Roland and especially Jake, who was my favorite character. I'm also not sure how I feel about Ron Howard doing the Dark Tower on both film and TV. I'm pretty sure he's not the best choice for it.
3. This month is going to continue to be interesting. Things coming up: job interview this week, my birthday on the 21st, a party (I think) this weekend, and next month both an awesome friend and my Dad will be visiting.
4. Though I gotta say, I'm having a little bit of that "oh god, am I going to turn 28 and not even have a job?" feeling. Stupid economy.
5. That's about it for updates!
2. My weekend was really good. We went to the Notre Dame game on Saturday, had lots of really good food and good company and just generally had a fun time. Also, I started reading Hearts in Atlantis on Saturday night and tore through it, finishing it yesterday evening. I mostly only enjoyed the first and last story, though I didn't dislike the other two. Now I'm reading Bag of Bones, which I'm enjoying so far. Still, I miss reading about Roland and especially Jake, who was my favorite character. I'm also not sure how I feel about Ron Howard doing the Dark Tower on both film and TV. I'm pretty sure he's not the best choice for it.
3. This month is going to continue to be interesting. Things coming up: job interview this week, my birthday on the 21st, a party (I think) this weekend, and next month both an awesome friend and my Dad will be visiting.
4. Though I gotta say, I'm having a little bit of that "oh god, am I going to turn 28 and not even have a job?" feeling. Stupid economy.
5. That's about it for updates!
1. Daniel and I had an excellent weekend. We stayed at a fancy hotel downtown for free and had lots of good food (especially Cajun food last night) and went to see Inception, which I loved. We also lazed around the hotel and did some shopping, and I got some new shirts and a really comfy pair of jeans as an early birthday present.
2. The kittens are back at the shelter and it's a bit sad to not have them running around the apartment. We're both a tiny bit allergic so we did some major cleaning and dusting yesterday to clear away the dander and dust they kicked up. We also cleaned out our closet and donated three boxes of clothes, and later will be donating five boxes of books that we no longer want. We're also selling a number of them, so if you're interesting check out our Amazon Storefront.
3. Next weekend we're going with part of Daniel's family down to Notre Dame to spend the weekend and go to a game. I'm excited. We were there last year and there was lots of good food, a nice hotel room with a glorious spa tub that I spend most of a day in, and good company. And another nice break from the job searching/futzing on the Internet/TV-watching/book-reading daily routine of being jobless.
4. Speaking of reading I finished The Dark Tower series. The last book made me cry several times, and now when we go to the library I'm going to pick up some of the other novels with connections to it. Anyway, it feels kind of weird to read almost anything else after spending a whole month reading one series of books.
5. I am finally down to being 100% broke and it feels crappy. I have doctor's appointments a lot this month (now that I finally have good insurance), so I'm going to keep having to ask for cash for train rides and co-pays and it feels pretty awful. Hopefully my food stamps will be renewed for a year so food doesn't have to be a big concern, and then hopefully I'll find a job soon. Or at least a gig of some sort to make some extra cash. It's not like we're in dire straits right now, I just hate not being able to contribute, and I hate having to ask for "allowances" even more.
2. The kittens are back at the shelter and it's a bit sad to not have them running around the apartment. We're both a tiny bit allergic so we did some major cleaning and dusting yesterday to clear away the dander and dust they kicked up. We also cleaned out our closet and donated three boxes of clothes, and later will be donating five boxes of books that we no longer want. We're also selling a number of them, so if you're interesting check out our Amazon Storefront.
3. Next weekend we're going with part of Daniel's family down to Notre Dame to spend the weekend and go to a game. I'm excited. We were there last year and there was lots of good food, a nice hotel room with a glorious spa tub that I spend most of a day in, and good company. And another nice break from the job searching/futzing on the Internet/TV-watching/book-reading daily routine of being jobless.
4. Speaking of reading I finished The Dark Tower series. The last book made me cry several times, and now when we go to the library I'm going to pick up some of the other novels with connections to it. Anyway, it feels kind of weird to read almost anything else after spending a whole month reading one series of books.
5. I am finally down to being 100% broke and it feels crappy. I have doctor's appointments a lot this month (now that I finally have good insurance), so I'm going to keep having to ask for cash for train rides and co-pays and it feels pretty awful. Hopefully my food stamps will be renewed for a year so food doesn't have to be a big concern, and then hopefully I'll find a job soon. Or at least a gig of some sort to make some extra cash. It's not like we're in dire straits right now, I just hate not being able to contribute, and I hate having to ask for "allowances" even more.
