Walking Contradiction

I'm fairly self sufficient. I can change a tire, rewire a light, etc. On the other hand, I like it when doors are held for me and to be told I'm pretty. Do these ideas oppose each other?

I've been thinking about these things today after a conversation with a coworker. She suggested that I have the guys at the auto repair store install new windshield wipers, which she assured me they'd be happy to do if I played the damsel and batted my eyelashes.

This was appalling to me. I don't understand how in a society like the one we have now, someone could still hold the belief that playing the damsel is still the best way to get something done. A woman was placed in nomination to be the president of our country, and I'm still excepted to bat my eyelashes and play the helpless female to get what I want?

Then I realized the hypocrisy of my disgust. It's not like I've never used my "wiles" to get what I want. I'm not above wearing a low cut shirt and leaning on the bar a certain way to get the attention of a male bartender (or female- whatever gets me the vodka quicker). In 7th grade I didn't do one project in shop by myself. A certain guy was willing to help me out (meaning: do it all) for a smile.

But where do you draw the line? What's right, and what's wrong?

I think for me, I do what I can for myself. I can install my own windshield wipers, but I can't make my own drink at the bar. I won't rely on a man, or anyone, to something for me that I can do for myself.

This is not to say I don't enjoy a bit of chivalry. I do like to have the door held open for me, I like it when a guy buys me a drink.

I think this is what we call a double standard.

Free To Decide

I try not to talk about politics a lot. But everyone's been talking about the very important election, so it's hard to ignore all the buzz and drama.

I've seen dirty politics, I've seen attempts at bribery. I'm shocked at the begging and pleading, and cheap attempts to win votes

One candidate has risen above the others, and is the clear choice for me. He's a man that stands on honor and integrity

He'll also send you a picture of his balls without provocation.

Yes, that's right. For me, Adam Avitable is the best choice for the Hot Male Blogger calender. Go here to vote, and help make history.

Half The Fun Is That I Can't Keep Up

How was your weekend?

Mine was crazy fun. It started early Saturday when we drove up to Springfield, IL (4 hours round trip). We went to the Obama/Biden rally. It meant so many different things to me that it's hard to describe. The sense of community, the feelings of pride in a candidate, just the sheer excitement were almost overwhelming. People were truly moved by what these candidates had to say. In all reality, I was voting for Obama one way or the other, but it was still nice to hear the speeches in person (even if it was one billion degrees outside)

After we made the trek back to St. Louis, we went to a housewarming party for a friend who's in college. We were the oldest people there, which is a great feeling. I know I'm kind of a loser, but I haven't really been to that many college parties. My boyfriend and I spend most of our time watching movies, we don't get out much. So it was interesting to see the dynamics between drunken coeds. Oh, and my boyfriend spent most of the time in my friend's bedroom, fixing her computer. He's a party animal.

Sunday we spend part of the afternoon at my favorite lunch place. It's a meal that drags on for a long time (in a good way!. We split the cheese and sausage platter, then got dessert. We're nothing but healthy.

We spent the rest of the weekend curled up in bed watching Joan of Arcadia and Dexter (season 2). (Which we're no where near done yet). Then we went to the movies and saw The Rocker, which was so-so. It was super predictable and average, but I didn't hate it. I love Rainn Wilson and Teddy Geiger, so it's all good.

What'd you do this weekend?

Growing up, my brother and I were pretty opposite. We still are, but in different ways. He was rambunctious, got in trouble a lot, and my parents had to put him into a ton of different sports so he had an outlet for all that energy.

I was shy, liked nothing more than sitting inside and reading, and my parents put me into ballet so I would have to socialize with other kids.

We switched rolls as we got older. He became quieter, more focused, and less social. I went a bit wild in high school, spent all my time with boys and partying.

Throughout the years, I've been the emotional one, while he stands there stoic. We've had a bad couple of years in my family, from my parents divorce to my grandfather dying.

And now, as I tweeted a bit ago, my 27 year old brother has stomach cancer.

It started around Fourth of July. The day before, he started throwing up blood while at work. They admitted him to the hospital, and kept him several days for observation.

It turned out he had a tumor in his stomach. It had encapsulated, so that was a positive.

Yesterday they operated on him to remove the tumor, and they say they got about 90% of it out. They'll know more in a few days as to what the next course of action is.

But he's doing alright. He's taking it all in stride. I think he's going to be just fine.

Closer to the Point

I've kept this blog to myself. No one I know outside of the blogging community knows about it, and I like it that way. Not because I'm embarrassed, but because if someone I knew was reading it, I'd edit myself too much. I want to be able to talk about my family, or my boyfriend, without risk of hurting their feelings.

However, my boyfriend and I have started a blog. It's mostly going to be rants, to be honest. I haven't talked much about the eccentricities of my boyfriend here, but let's just say he's crazy. He has his own way of looking at things, and his own ideas about the world, and those ideas don't usually match up with how other people think.

I'd like to keep this blog private from him. I want it to be more of a personal blog, where the other one will be more opinions and articles. So, please come and join us at Closer to the Point, but if possible, don't mention this blog.

Treat them as two separate entities from each other.

But please, visit us there. It'll mean the world to him if he knows people are reading his words.

One of These Days

I know I'm a geek, but I'm psyched for school to start again. I was actually a bit disappointed that it starts so late this year (The last week of August). I think it helps that I'm majoring in something I really love, instead of just going to college for the sake of going to college, which was how I started out.

This semester is also freaking me out a bit. I'm taking textiles, which is as boring as it sounds. Actually, probably more boring than it sounds. But I suppose I understand why it's important. The class that has me worried is Architectural Design and Production. It's essentially designing a house over the course of the semester. It should be interesting, but I'm not nearly anal enough to be an architect, so these classes are always killer for me. (And I'm REALLY anal.)

I will soon be the proud owner of this beauty:



It should make for an interesting semester.

On a side, but related, note, a classmate of mine, Rachel, has been nominated for the Glamour Woman of the Year award. She's a three time cancer survivor who was nominated because of all the work she's done with cancer charities and whatnot. You can read more here.
Please go vote for her, it will only take a minute of your time.

Do You Ever Wonder, What Could Happen Under, Under The Umbrella Tree

I've had a couple of awesome reminders of my childhood. First, I was flipping through tv and Reading Rainbow was on PBS. LeVar Burton was still the host. That's nuts. I looked him up on IMDB and he was the host from 1983-2005. 22 years hosting Reading Rainbow. That's amazing. The song still had the same lyrics, but it wasn't the same tune. It's been stuck in my head since then and I'm driving my boyfriend crazy singing it.

Second, DListed posted about Gummi Bears today, including the theme video.



I think if I had to rank them, Gummi Bears would definitely fall in my top 5 tv shows from when I was a kid.

1. Under The Umbrella Tree
2. Kids, Incorporated
3. Gummi Bears
4. Garfield and Friends
5. Rugrats
6. Clarissa Explains It All
7. CatDog
8. Angry Beavers
9. Doug
10 Hey Arnold

Yes, I know I said five, but I thought of 10, so whatever.

What were your favorite shows as a kid?

Put Your Right Hand On My Heart

I had a kind of funny experience Wednesday. It's not quite as funny since you don't know my boyfriend, but let me try to explain. As much as we love each other, we're very different people. He's very buttoned up and introverted. He's quiet, doesn't drink, and prefers nothing more than to sit inside playing video games or watching a movie. I, on the other hand, am more relaxed. I like to go out and see people and experience new things.

One area where we find common ground is music, for the most part. Death Cab, Jason Mraz, The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Snow Patrol are a few of the bands that we both love. However, we also diverge there.

He prefers more pop oriented rock, like Barenaked Ladies, Matchbox 20, Train, etc. I like more classic rock like The Who, and bands from the 90s, like STP, Foo Fighters, etc. I don't mind it getting a little loud, where he certainly does mind. He likes his music to be relaxing. I don't disagree, but I also find music to be invigorating, calming, exciting, and all sorts of other emotions. It means more to me than almost anything.

There's a fairly new band that I absolutely love called the Whigs. They are everything a rock band should be, to me anyway. They have so much energy, so much heart, catchy songs, and they make me happy. Here's an awesome performance of them on David Letterman.



Anyway, they came to town on Wednesday, opening for the Toadies. He's not a huge fan of the Whigs, but he was alright because I told him we could leave during the Toadies (who he had never heard of, including Possum Kingdom.)

So he sat patiently through the Whigs, and the audience was fairly calm during the performance. Then, the Toadies came on, and everyone went crazy. We sat in the bar area, which is normally calm, with people sitting, smoking, and drinking. The people who want to jump around and scream are usually in the pit area.

Not at this concert. Everyone was jumping, yelling, and dancing. We got up to try to leave, but we were pretty much trapped by the wall of loud bodies. While the Toadies were preforming Happyface, my poor Gap wearing, button down shirt/khakis outfitted boyfriend was stuck between tattoo laden, leather wearing big beefy guys.

It was the funniest moment of my life.

His discomfort was oozing, his posture was rigid. We finally got out, but he was not happy. It was good stuff.

I'm pretty sure he'll never trust me to go to a concert of a band he doesn't know again, but it was worth it to see the look on his face as the Toadies and the audience shouted "If I could find the will to kill, well I'd kill you son of a bitch"

This supports his theory that change and the unknown are bad.

I think he'll survive though, and be fine when we see Joshua Radin next week. Joshua's pretty much the opposite style of music, so hopefully this will restore his faith in concerts.