Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Apologies for all my posts that are actually links to other posts. Just can't help it -- my life isn't very interesting lately. Basically, I get up, I eat my Wheatabix with whatever fruit I have on hand, I read, I eat whatever I can find for lunch, I read, then I either go to class, or I read some more. Then I have dinner, and I listen to music. And then I read. Sometimes I watch a tv show. More likely I end up checking on all my favorite blogs. Then I shower. And then I read some more, till around 2 am. Then I get up in the morning and do it all over again.

Luckily, however, the weather has been damnably gorgeous lately. The past couple of days I've spent my afternoons on a beach blanket out on the grass (definitely not working on the tan, though -- I'm beginning to face the truth, that being this white, I need to use sunless tanners if I want a tan without the cancer). It's been about 70 degrees, sunny, and blooming. Supposedly it's going to cool down again, but I just have to bask in the fact that it's freaking FEBRUARY and I've been reading, outside, in the sun, without a parka on. This hasn't happened since... Ok this has never happened. I remember Feb. 14 two years ago, Andrew & I drove out to Quabbin Reservoir and took pictures of the snow and ice... and then we went to dinner... ahh.

But yeah, the weather makes me happy.

Anyway, the only notable things today:

1. I did my presentation in Alex's class. I think it went OK, I was actually glad to go in the last few minutes, so I could naturalize the fact that I talk too fast. But I was way less nervous than usual!! I had gotten some tips: breathing deeply, and using happy dots. Yes, red happy dots. It's supposed to act like a "stop, why the hell are you nervous?" sign. And I love it when people interject comments while I'm speaking. I realize that this has the potential to sound sarcastic, but I'm being completely serious. It makes me feel like it's a discussion rather than a test, and that there's some commraderie between everyone. Needless to say, I love the people in that class. And I love that we're reading these theories and these novels, but I just wish it weren't quite so much at a time. 500 pages a week is pretty hefty. According to my calculations, if each prof assigned that much (3 classes), then I'd have 1500 pages a week. And as I read at, optimally, a page every 2 minutes, that means 50 hours of reading each week. And I've decided, that that is simply unhealthy.

2. I got a card from Mum & Tim -- adorable!

3. This didn't happen today, but it's still exciting. Andrew sent a card that I wanted to carry around everywhere, and a part birthday part Valentine's gift: a lovely leather bag that fits my laptop! I have some guilt about the leather (and I can't write it off to Andrew's choice, as I did point out this bag)... but my rationalization runs thus: Since I've basically sworn off red meat and pork, and have very much limited my intake of poultry, I'm still in some sense "sparing" animals' lives and not supporting the agribusiness that treats animals inhumanely and all too often feels no responsibility for the environment. Hmm. I still feel kind of guilty.

OK, now for my shameless link posting. And yes, it's to yet another of my favorite feminist blogs. Are you ready for Twisty?:

"So, if a fully-realized human can’t compel another fully-realized human to give out kidneys, how can a microscopic bit of tissue compel a fully-realized human to cede over her uterus? Even if one defines the zygote as a fully-realized human (which it isn’t, but that’s another sordid tale), how in the name of Cool Whip are its rights to be construed as greater than the rights of the woman whose body must be appropriated as its incubator? I say again, even if the clot of undeveloped cell tissue is human, it cannot be more human than an adult woman, nor can it have the right to force any woman to acquiesce to an invasive parasitization against her will."

Ahh, Twisty, how I love thee... A must read if you're interested in the organ donor analogy (kidney: kidney patient:: uterus: embryo).

No comments: