September 2005 Archives
(via Casey)
Donald Rumsfeld is giving President Bush his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."
"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, the President looks up and asks...
No laptop at the moment. And not really in the mood. I've actually been *gasp* reading books.
Today marks three years I've been doin' this thang.
Back in a few. Smell ya later.
*smug*
Today was a long and tiring day at work, in which I was alternately fired up and dragging ass, over and over. Up and down the rollercoaster.
When I finally left (late, *grumble*), my normal 12-minute drive home took an hour because of construction on the highway. Twice I considered taking alternate routes, once before I even knew of the construction, and again as I approached it. I spent some of that hour trying to figure out what the lesson in all that was. Maybe I was supposed to be practicing patience. Although I'm betting that practicing patience probably didn't involve mentally screaming at the other cars on the road.
So I'm home and I'm still sort of keyed up. But totally pooped as well. I don't really know what to do with myself. I was feeling like my to-do list for the weekend was a mile long, but when I actually wrote some stuff down, it wasn't really. Meh. I think I ought to just go to bed. Get up early, run the 5K on the Runway, and then nap regroup after that. Worry about all that other shit later.
*yawn*
I had a whole backlog of these to do, but the long list was making me not do it. So I'll just jump back in with this week's questions.
1. Do you own any TV shows on DVD? Family Guy, Xena, South Park. Not complete collections, but a season or two of each.
2. What's your inseam? Uhh... 'bout 28 maybe?
3. Do you have a wireless internet connection at home? YES. I'd have it no other way.
4. What's your favorite thing about autumn? Only one thing? I don't have one favorite thing. I love - in no particular order - the weather (such as it is, here in the midwest), college football season, the food, the clothes in my wardrobe that go with the weather, that dead leaf smell.
5. Have you ever bleached your teeth? Nope.
6. What's your best feature, appearance-wise? My butt, maybe.
7. What's your best feature, personality-wise? My sense of humor, maybe.
8. What's your favorite memory from high school? I had a lot of happy high school moments. Participating in our production of Jesus Christ Superstar my sophomore year. My basketball team winning the Catholic League championship my junior year (not that I personally had much to do with that). Leaving campus to go get slurpees and sunflower seeds, and then showing up late to calculus my senior year. Coincidentally, I had a really fucked up dream last night about my high school reunion (which is upcoming this fall).
9. If you were forced to change your name (first and last), what would you like it to be? Wha? My mind sort of automatically filled in my preferred baby names (you know, for those kids I won't be having), but that feels a little strange. And I'm quite sure I've never considered a last name before. How about Leigh... ummm... Leigh something.
10. Ask me something. What's the next thing you're going to buy?
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
I've been thinking a lot about privilege in general and race in particular lately, so when Lauren recommended some reading, Sydney's post was particularly striking.
I'd expect a blog entry entitled "I've Had Enough! aka Sometimes, I fucking can't STAND white people!" to be one helluva read. And it was. If I excerpted the best parts, I'd just be reposting it in its entirety. Read the whole thing, as they say. And then read the follow up.
I often doubt myself too much to get angry when I should. Especially since I have this pesky problem with being biracial wherein I feel neither black nor white, instead of both black and white. How can I get properly indignant as a black person when I don't really identify as black?
So all this has been simmering in the back of my head, and wouldn't you know it, a guy I work with gave me the perfect opportunity yesterday to school someone on it. The gist of the conversation is he started out with the statement "I hate New Orleans" and it evolved into how he thinks, in typical Republican fashion, that anybody can make their lives better if they just try. I gotta say, that particular conservative belief pisses me off to no end. He grew up a poor farm boy in northern Minnesota and he's proud of himself for being the only one in his family who has left the farm and is going to college and has made better for himself.
So I explained to him the concept of privilege. To make these changes in his life, he had to make a number of decisions, and all those decisions involved him asking someone to give him something, and part of his success is attributable to the fact that those people gave him those things he asked for. Now, it's not necessarily his fault, but the fact of the matter is that someone else who is not white or male could choose to make those same requests, and not be guaranteed to get the same results as he did.
I also made the point that for a lot of people the obstacles they face are due to the fact that they're poor and there are plenty of poor white people who have trouble getting by in life. But there's also the fact that the proportion of the minority population that is poor is far greater than the proportion of the white population that's poor. So the question there is how did that condition get to be that way? He totally didn't believe me when I asserted that that holds true in the Twin Cities.
He was all pissed off, though, about how he thinks he has a harder time getting jobs because he's a white male and companies would rather hire minorities, even if the minorities are less qualified. He maintains that because of affirmative action, minorities with the exact same qualifications as him have a leg up when it comes to getting jobs, just because they're minorities. Not realizing that when AA is not "actively practiced," he already has the leg up. (I'll refrain from going into a whole discussion about affirmative action in higher education and the work force, and the differences in hiring considerations between blue collar and white collar jobs.)
He also used the term "colored people." I told him to not ever say that again. Christ almighty, that shit went out in, like, the '50s.
In case you didn't watch or missed part of Lost last season, you can catch an hour-long recap tonight, before the premier. Destination: Lost is on at 8/7c, and the Lost season premier is at 9/8c.
Just so you know.
Ever since the Better Than Ezra show at the Blubber Run, I've been on a BTE kick. Whenever I hear them, I always think, "Hey, I really like them." Like, seriously, I'd list them as a favorite band behind Guster and Dave Matthews Band. But I don't exactly keep up with them or play their songs in very heavy rotation, for some odd reason. But thank jeebus for BitTorrent. I just acquired all of their albums in one fell swoop, including a B-sides and rarities collection called Artifakt. Anyway....
- From their Greatest Hits: Porcelain (Voodoo Remix) (fuckin' outstanding!)
- For reference, the original, from Deluxe: Porcelain
- My new theme song, from Before the Robots: Juicy (in case you didn't see it the first time I posted it)
- My favoritest BTE song, from Friction, Baby: Long Lost (rock OUT!)
- My second favoritest BTE song, from Deluxe: In the Blood
Bonus Material: I know we've all heard, or at least heard about, Kanye West's claim on the Hurricane Katrina Telethon that George Bush doesn't care about black people. Did you know there's a remixed version of Gold Digga on the topic? Heh. (via Karen)
You can no longer make your way to this domain by googling my full name.
*whew*
Also, my doctor reports that my cholesterol is good and I am STD- and cervical-cancer-free.
If there are any Twin Citizens reading this that don't already read the Minneapolis Metblog, we are looking for new bloggers.
Of course, I'd suggest reading it some before you apply. I only said it that way because if you read Metblog you would have read already that we're looking for new people.
Whatever. You get my point. If you're local and you're interested, go apply.
The Sacramento Monarchs won the WNBA Championship. Once Minnesota and Detroit were out, Sacramento's who I was rooting for.
I'm so glad Felicity Huffman won. She's my favorite Desperate Housewife.
I think I harbor more than my fair share of negative, pessimistic, snarky thoughts.
But some people's bitterness just astounds me. Not just the pessimism, but the vitriol with which they attack every little thing.
It's one thing to have a bad day. It's one thing to be aware of this tendency. But to just be angry like that all the time seems like a huge, useless expense of energy.
It also completely discredits you when you have legitimate complaints.
I was informed that before Bosslady transferred out of my department, she and Hey Mon campaigned long and hard for me to be Bosslady's replacement.
But that got shot down. Don't know who it was up the chain that nixed it, but somebody didn't like it.
Lots of time with Fly Girl over the last couple of weekends. Now that she's back in class and working and doing her practicum, the only overlapping free time we have is on the weekend. Gotta get my fill while I can.
Oh, did I mention we're back together now? Yeah.
Hence the dearth of blogging on weekends. We've been out doing stuff:
It's my observation that the lesbians that complain about not seeing themselves adequately represented in the media are, ironically, the lesbians that most people think of when they think of a stereotypical lesbian.
But they don't want to be stereotyped.
Additionally, that's not at all what I look like. Where are all the Girls Next Door That Clean Up Nice? Although I do occasionally make betraying wardrobe choices. You know, do-rag, tank top, cargo shorts, Birkenstocks. But I could sport Bette Porter's wardrobe if I had to (which I would if I were a rich L.A. art museum executive). And it would look damn good on me.
This week has been a mostly unremarkable week in training. I took a couple days off when the weather sucked or I didn't feel up to it. I got in some good bike rides. I did my six miles this weekend at a 10:30 min/mile pace (my target Ten Miler race pace) with minimal effort. I've been slacking on my meager dumbbell arm routine and sit-ups. Meh.
Looking into signing up for a gym membership to give me somewhere to go during the winter. Not super thrilled about the idea of joining a gym, but I know in the dead of Minnesota winter I'm not gonna be outside on the road. My health insurance provides me with a discount at Bally's, but I'd much rather go to the Y. In either case, it's not all that cheap and I haven't decided yet if it really fits in my budget or not. $37/month is the discounted rate at Bally's, and $46/month is the rate at the Y. The Y seems to have more no-additional-charge classes but Bally's seems to have more amenities (that I probably wouldn't use anyway).
Especially when I know I'm right. Especially when I had a perfectly good reason for doing what I did. If you disagree, ask me first. Don't just go changing shit.
It pisses me off to no end. Seriously.
'Fess up.
(click to embiggen)
My experimentation with the heart rate thing and my comfort with my increasing long distance is pointing me towards what goal times to set for the Ten Miler. I'll have a better idea in a couple weeks when I do 8 miles. That'll be my longest training run before race day.
Lately, I haven't been hearing As It Happens on MPR. It's on at 10:00 pm and as such I listen to it every day on my way home from work. I love me some Mary Lou Finley and Barbara Budd. Also, I haven't been hearing Future Tense, which usually re-airs in the middle of AIH, at 10:30.
I was all ready to send an email off to MPR when I noticed that the shows are still listed on the program schedule. After a week with no AIH, I happened to catch Future Tense's podcast explaining how CBC management has locked out its workers. AIH's website isn't even up. Apparently, a number of the locked out staff are creating their own blogs and podcasts, some anonymously. All the news on that situation can be found at CBC Unplugged.
My financial situation has been stressing me out since I quit my last job three years ago. So a few weeks ago I decided I needed to get some help.
- As usual, Foamy tells it like it is. (via JenBen)
- Aerial views of the damage. Click around to drill down and see the photos. (via Casey)
- Survivor stories:
- "[A]n interactive timeline of the repeated warnings and deliberate decisions that led to the tragedy...." (via Lauren)
- Michael Brown's resume. The International Arabian Horse Association Legal Department?? (via City Pages)
...I filled up on gas at $1.57. *sigh*
From Mel, and seen in various places. Five of my quirks/idiosyncracies:
- I have an issue with things on the floor touching my feet. I cannot walk around barefoot. Well, I maybe can in a carpeted house, but certainly not on my hardwood floors where every last speck of food, dust, hair, cat litter, whatever can be felt. I wear flip-flops around the house all the time.
- When I get in and out of my car, or go in and out of my house, I have a ritual checklist/pat-down that I go through. Keys, phone, wallet, chapstick, etc. Lights, radio, sunroof, climate control, etc. That's not necessarily the order. I couldn't even tell you the order, but I do it mostly the same way every time.
- I bounce my knees incessantly when sitting.
- Specifically when I pull ice cubes out of a tray, and more generally when experiencing unsavory textures/noises (like cardboard rubbing against itself), I purse my lips and make this weird face that is probably better demonstrated than explained.
- When I talk and I'm getting kind of long-winded, my voice trails off at the end of the statement, and it gets low and mumbly. Also better demonstrated than explained. I wouldn't have considered this a quirk, but then I started thinking of how many people have imitated me by talking like this, so apparently it stands out.
I have a hard time swallowing pills. Today I could not get my vitamin to go down. Those damn things are huge. After 8 oz of water, all I'd managed was to suck the outer coating off. I tried again with coffee. No go. I tried to cut one in half, but by that point my throat was having none of it. So no vitamin today (and three in the garbage).
*gag*
Not trying to be a beacon of info here. Just marking down the stuff that catches my eye.
MJ is on her way to the scene to help out. Good on ya, MJ.
Powerful video at Rocketboom. Read the notice and click the link at the end to watch. Page through the comments, too. There's a bit of controversy over it. (via Mace)
A friend of mine who works for the federal government would like to remind everyone that the government is actually doing something, but here's the thing: Basically, the structure of the federal response is not at issue. There's this thing called the Incident Command System that's used throughout the world and was especially critical in the tsunami relief effort. When it's implemented, it works very well. Once personnel and supplies are in place, the execution is not a problem. The problem is the highly political and bureaucratic workings of FEMA. That and FEMA doesn't have/can't (or won't) get the money ahead of time to pre-position resources as needed. So don't hate the folks that are actually delivering goods and services. Blame the top dogs that are in charge of getting them out there in the first place. They need to quit trying to figure out which Senator it would be more advantageous to appease first.
I challenge you guys to ask me hard questions. And you do! Lawdy.
Looks like my mySQL database disappeared there for a minute. I hate that shit. Disappearing databases make the Baby Jesus cry.
Everyone's questions have been answered, but I'm not at my computer at the moment, so that'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Maybe I'm on a kick, having stopped by the Mensa booth at the State Fair.
I did, and could still, pass 8th-Grade math with flying colors. 10 out of 10.
Unsatisfied with that exercise, I forged on to find that I'd still do pretty damn well on the math section of the SAT. 6 out of 6.
And, to prove that I'm well rounded, I'd do all right on the SAT writing section, too. 10 out of 10. Frankly, that was a surprise.
How would you do?
Area code 612 at the moment. Make sure you write that down.
I've slacked on posting about this the last few weeks. I've got shit going on this weekend making it likely that I won't get my run in tomorrow, so I did it today.
Four weeks to the TC Ten Mile. Four weeks!
- My employer is matching donations, so I'll be donating through the Red Cross.
- Liberal Blogs for Hurricane Relief: Dropcash campaign.
- Modest Needs: A highly worthy organization anyway.
- Rainbow World Fund: Gay-operated, but not gay-focused.
- Hurricane Housing: Donate space in your home. Sponsored by MoveOn.
- Sherri's Bake Sale to Benefit Blighted Bloggers, aka Kitchen Aide
