Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Disturbing.

My folks sent me to private school, which, in Oxnard, turned out to be pretty conservative Christian school. I had a few friends who were big fans of Jesus, but I didn't think much of it. With the advent of Facebook, and being able to get in touch with all these people now, as adults. Sometimes, it's pretty scary. I try to not publish my political or religious views on FB, mostly because I'm friends with my family and just don't want to get into stuff like that. I'm more interested in seeing pics of people's cute kids or their latest vacation, and seeing what people look like now, you know, that kind of stuff. For some reason, I am friends with a guy, we'll call him Tom, who's apparently a minister somewhere in the Midwest. Tom sends out different messages daily, like "God's blessings to you!" and "Nana Bishop was called home to her Lord and Saviour today! Praise Jesus!". Honestly, these types of things kinda crack me up, so I kept him around. However, I think it might be time to kick him to the curb (on my friends list, that is). He's recently published a manifesto-like thing which explains why he can no longer be a fan of the baseball team he's been rooting for his whole life. To give the short version, it's because they have a float in the gay-pride parade and they support gay rights. Are you kidding me? What on earth is wrong with these people? He basically said that since his religion says being gay is "wrong" he can no longer support the team that supports something that is "wrong". While I am all for the 1st amendment and I believe everyone, no matter how ignorant deserves their own opinion on things, I just can't help but wonder if he sees they hypocrisy staring himself in the face? Sports teams, no matter how bad, are enormous promoters of sloth, greed, gluttony, etc. Baseball, especially, promotes cheating since there is no comprehensive drug program preventing steroid (or performance enhancing drug) use. Don't get me started with football. But all those are "OK" sins? It's OK to overcharge people for a bag of popcorn and bulldoze a couple neighborhoods to put in a new stadium because those are "acceptable" while being gay is not? I'm just so sick of people choosing which "sins" are the OK ones and which ones are eggregious. And I'm pretty sure that there's a lot in the Bible about being judged by god and god alone (not that I am in any way religious). To a certain extent, I just wish people would worry about their own, and not place their judgments on other people. I'm just trying to live my life the way I want to live it. No harm no foul.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Random Snippets

  • I am still stuck in writing hell. And my boss has stopped coming to work. Yay.
  • This weekend was hotter than hell. Literally. Hell. I am not joking.
  • I ride my bike to work every day. It's hot and humid out, and I've got about a 3 mile ride. When I get here, I am pretty sweaty, pretty red in the face (I imagine), and I'm carrying a bike helmet. I can't tell you how many people give me the evil eye, or the "ewwww, gross! what is WRONG with you?" look. Then I kinda laugh that they have to sit in traffic or on the train, and I get to ride my bike home and get home way sooner than they will. Tee hee!
  • There way a Philly triathlon this past weekend. Someone died. Actually, he drown in the river. That I run next to all the time. I saw the boat looking for him. So sad.
  • I went to another BBQ in NJ this past weekend. Burgers and potato salad and pasta salad and good times. It was nice to get out of the city and sit on someone's huge ass back deck and hang out. Very nice indeed.
  • We rented a car this weekend, and we ended up with a minivan. How funny, right? The thing is that the minivan had automatic everything. Like, sliding doors. That you literally couldn't close yourself. And a backup cam. That is one car I would never in a million years buy.
  • The festivities start for the Welcome America festival, celebrating the birth of our nation. Its pretty fun around here for the 4th. Free concert by the Goo Goo Dolls, showing of Rocky on the Museum steps, a mile long hoagie. Should be a blast.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Crazy Storm Haiku Friday

Darkening clouds head
this way, an odd blue color
roiling, spreading.

***

Chunks of ice plink plink
downpour, biblical nature
thunder and flashing.

***

No tornado, they
say, but the destruction left
sure looks like there was.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Live and Let Live

I don't necessarily consider myself to be a granola crunching natural woman type, but I find myself slowly leaning that way. I have tons of friends having kids right now, and I have a lot of friends who have had kids or who plan to have kids. All of this has got me a little bit closer to some debates which really rile people up. Like breast feeding. Who knew? To state it (in case you couldn't tell) I am for breast feeding. Even in public. I'm actually a "live and let live" kinda gal. I won't give you my opinion unless you ask for it. Everyone's got their issues and situations - who am I to judge? And, as a bike commuter who lives in the city, I know sometimes kids get hungry at the most inopportune times. I'm not exactly sure why people are so offended by breasts. I understand there is a sexual connotation about them, but honest to god, could you put that aside for a few minutes and let a lady breastfeed? Or, there's always the argument about the "children". Oh my god. The kids. How can they ever see anybody's breast? How traumatizing! How scarring! Honestly, the shit people come up with is astounding. In my mind, the benefits far outweigh your uncomfortableness at seeing a mammal feed their child. Breast feeding gives babies much needed gut flora (ever wonder why there's so much IBS and intestinal problems?), gives kids antibodies they need early on in life. Breast feeding bonds mother and child, provides nourishment, and has even been shown to improve kids academic and social lives long after breast feeding has stopped. What could the problem possibly be?
Well, let's see. Many jobs don't provide areas for women to pump breast milk (I am hoping this will change soon) and many public places only provide bathrooms for women. When I was a kid, the women's restroom in Broadway had a lounge and a bathroom. Mothers could go into the lounge to breastfeed, change diapers, etc. That seems perfect - why aren't more places like that? I don't know about you, but I don't want to feed my kid while sitting on a public toilet - blech!
So, I am hoping that people can get over this ridiculousness. Of course, I am sure, my friends are much more comfortable at home feeding their babies. But, you know what? Life happens. And sometimes you just gotta feed your kid. Get over it.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Random Snippets

  • this weekend, headed out to NJ to a BBQ in the 'burbs. It was lover-ly, very nice place, nice neighborhood, great food, great company.
  • made Randi's mom's blueberry cheesecake - like thingy. It was deee-licious. And totally reminded me of summer as a kid.
  • Speaking of remembering, I read an article in Vanity Fair about the making of Michael Jackson's Thriller video (a preview can be found here). It took me back to backyard BBQ's, sleepovers, scary movies, Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bags, Oreos for breakfast, and a plethora of other childhood memories. The funniest part? Apparently, they couldn't find anyone to put up the money to make the video. So they decided to do this new-fangled thing and get some money from a company that would put the video for sale/for rent to the public. Haha! I can't tell you how many times we rented that movie! Over and over again. We likely paid for half the cost of the making of that video!
  • We hung more pictures, and got a little bit more settled in.
  • Summer has arrived! So glad! And, I have yoga today, which is lover-ly.
  • I'm pretty boring - mostly working. However, I am looking forward to being done with this paper and heading out on vacation!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Haiku Friday

USA soccer,
you totally rock. I can't
wait to see you win!

***

Computer screen blinds
me, too many numbers, lots
of info collate.

***

Nice weekend ahead,
two BBQs, food, folks fun
hopefully a nap.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Left out

Yesterday, I got the saddest email from Alex. His lab had gone to lunch for some people's birthday and he was not invited. They even had the gall to ask him to sign the birthday cards. At first, I just felt that blow to your stomach, that feeling of rejection, and I just felt so bad for him. How rude, right? I mean, I know there are probably people you work with who you may not like that much. But, you know what? We're all adults, and everyone should be included, no matter who they are. EVERYONE.
That's my public service announcement for today.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Things I don't understand

  • What about gay people is threatening? We happened upon the Pride Parade this past weekend, and as far as I could tell, it was a bunch of people dressed up, dancing to some club music and throwing a parade. Why are there people threatened by this? What is threatening about homosexuality? Are you afraid they might "getcha"? Like the boogeyman? Lordy.
  • Why would the powers that be allow shallow water drilling technology to persist when drilling deep water wells? I'm no engineer, but I could tell you that the pressure of water that deep is so high, I would automatically think it would require different technology, and for that matter, different permits and liabilities. But that's just my opinion.
  • Along the same lines, why would you let the same government agency regulate the oil companies as well as collect fees from them? Seems a little incestuous, if you ask me.
  • Why would we blame Obama for everything? Why is it his fault that there was a financial crisis? Did we forget that it started to happen (in fact was well under way) when Bush was still President? Also, why is Obama blamed for the oil spill? I am pretty sure the oil spill is the result of faulty engineering and greediness, not from Obama pushing some magic button somewheres and causing the Gulf to explode.
  • Why is this oil spill not causing a more serious discussion of alternative energy sources? Literally half (if not more) of the country could run off geothermal, solar or wind energy. Why is there not more discussion of this? Do we only discuss this when gas is too expensive? Lack of forethought sound familiar?
  • Why are we not investing more money in infrastructure, public transit, making our suburbia more walk-able and bike-able? Europe has been focusing on this for years and years, making train and bus travel very convenient, sometime even moreso than flight. High speed train lines would do wonders, especially here in the Northeast, if they were made a bit more affordable. But public support of public transit is really lacking.
  • On corruption: why are people not forced to pay back money they stole? For example, the person in charge of taking care of juries here in Philly apparently stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city. That money was to go towards providing coffee and some sort of breakfast food to jurors when they came into serve. Granted, it's a perk, but it was nice (and relatively cheap). Since the woman stole the money, jurors are no longer provided with any perks, and the lady got off scott-free. No retribution to pay, and she's moving to another state. Shouldn't she at least have to pay the money back?

Monday, June 14, 2010

Random Snippets

  • Had a nice weekend, still trying to get unpacked (I swear, I think I just need to throw out about half our stuff). But we did get some pictures hung and some rugs laid down, which always seems to be the last thing you do.
  • Got caught in a rainstorm yesterday. We biked down to Reading Terminal to pick up some produce, and, man! What a storm on the way home! I was soaked, and so glad to have a dry roof over my head. Alex ventured out a bit later to do some drills on his bike and he got caught again! Yuck!
  • Our roof leaks. I think we are cursed.
  • One of my biggest pet peeves? People who hold long conversations in the library. Take it outside, folks!
  • I have yoga today. Yay!
  • We watched Best in Show this past weekend. Such a hysterical movie!
  • We went out with some friends on Friday to this college bar called "Mad 4 Mex". Yeah, I know. It was really, really awful. The burritos were $9(!) and super crappy and they couldn't even make a margarita. I feel really lucky that where I went to college, there were ALWAYS decent burritos for way less than $5. AND? They were open 24 hrs a day. Oh, Freebirds, how I miss you!
  • I can't find the thingy that connects my camera to the computer. I have a ton of pics I'd really like to show you!
  • I got a new pair of shoes and they've given me 6(!) blisters. Ouch.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Tuesday Snippets

  1. man, was this weekend HOT. I mean, really, really hot. And the air was stagnant. Here, I thought that moving closer to the park would mean cooler temps, but apparently not.
  2. Sometimes when it's really hot, you actually WANT it to rain. Weird, right?
  3. My cat has lost her mind. She wakes us up at 5am to chat. Really loudly.
  4. We have mosquitoes in our backyard (no big surprise there). Really wish I wasn't such a tasty morsel to them.
  5. I am having to deal with some bureaucratic bullshit lately. It does not make me happy.
  6. I think we are almost moved in. The kitchen is done (thank god), as is the bar (LOL) and the "TV room" (is that what it's called if it's one giant room?).
  7. There is a Veteran's Memorial literally two houses down from our new place. We went there yesterday and watched the re-dedication ceremony. It was nice.
  8. My Dad and his friends rode in a Memorial Day parade yesterday. I think they had fun.
  9. I got lucky today - had to head over to the library, and it rained while I was there. When it was time for me to leave, it stopped raining. Then, when I got back to lab, it started raining again. Sometimes, it's the little things.