Let's try this again

I haven't blogged in so long, and I've been saying for months that I would start again, so here goes. Living in the South should provide a host of entertaining stories to entertain ya'll (see, I'm learning so fast, haha). I'll start with a list of funny words that I've noticed since we moved here.

young'uns: people actually say this, even people my age!!! Still can't believe it..
reckon: again, actually used!!! By "normal" people, not just crazy old guys with the corncob pipes
buggy: instead of grocery cart: makes me giggle every time
fixin:"I'm gonna" still makes me laugh
plug up: instead of plug-in (like for a cord)
mash: the buttons: instead of "press"
bbq: means cook meat, shred it, and mix with sauce. They use "grilled" for what we think of as bbq'd

Here's a list of food products with changed names:

Hardee's: instead of Carl's Jr.
Helman's: instead of Best Foods (mayo)
Chesters: instead of Cheetos

and NO (seriously they look at you like you're smokin something if you ask about...):

Jack-in-the-box
Fro Yo of any kind
In-n-Out (of course)
Dim Sum (dim WHAT?)
Thai Food (we have found a few places in Atlanta)
Bubble Tea (I soooo miss them!!)
Sourdough bread :(
Jamba :( :( :(

And it's easier to find a fried chicken place than a Starbucks (and they prefer sweet tea to coffee any day).

I will tell you more about food experiences on my next post. I could write this whole blog on food here, it's insane!!!!

On a side note, we did see our first lightning bugs up close yesterday at Katie (my coworker)'s apartment. They are pretty amazing, though somewhat creepy when buzzing around in your face.

Sex and Marriage in America

Marriage is a hotly contested institution in the United States today. Almost everyone has a strong opinion about what marriage means, and who should be permitted to marry. Marriage has a long and extremely complicated history, which I will only touch on here. It seems that issues such as polygamy, gay marriage, and other sexual practices within marriage have been debated by governments and religions orders for thousands of years, and these debates are still alive and just as controversial in today's culture.

Same sex marriage is a controversial issue that has riddled the headlines over that past few years. Political candidates have used their opinions on the matter, whether positive or negative, to attract votes during their campaigns. Usually, the conservative right associates itself with so-called conservative values, including opposition to things such as same sex marriage, abortion, and other "dangerous" liberal movements. The liberal left, conversely, supports such movements. Massachusetts and our lovely state of California are the only states that recognize same sex-marriage, though is seems the trend is gaining speed and support. Many other states offer things called domestic partnerships and/or civil unions which offers some or all of the benefits of marriage (depending on the state). Though we tend to think of this a very new and current issue, the first (documented) same sex marriages actually occurred under the Roman Empire. The rise of Christianity, however, made this practice illegal, and eventually, punishable by death. (Wikipedia) This fluctuation in opinion and law seems typical for such moral debates as marriage and is almost surely not to resolve itself in the near future (or perhaps ever).

Polygamy is another ancient practice that has recently gained a great deal of media attention as of late. The FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints), a sect of the Mormon faith, has long practiced polygamy in the United States, a practice that is deemed illegal in the US. However, perhaps because that have kept to themselves and perhaps because of the religious nature of their beliefs, the have been largely unbothered. However, in 2006, the leader of the FLDS, Warren Jeffs was arrested for arranging marriages with under-age girls. The country quickly became outraged at the "marriage" of young teenage girls to men in their 50s and 60s. Just this year, 416 children were take from a FLDS compound because of fears of abuse. However, this seemed to only produce sympathy from the public and the children were returned. It seems that the issue has "blown over" in a sense and the media has abandoned coverage in the past month or so. It is interesting to note, that although in opposition to polygamy laws, very few are actually charged with the crime. Even Warren Jeffs was arrested not for polygamy, but because he was responsible for mandating underage marriages (and therefore statutory rape).

Sodomy laws (which includes anal/oral sex in homosexual and heterosexual couples) still exist in several states, though were deemed by federal court to be unconstitutional (due to invasion of privacy) in 2003. Most states had used them to enforce their positions against gay marriage and homosexuality in general, though the laws did not specify homosexuality as the target. As a result, until 2003, many married couples were breaking the law when they engaged in anything but traditional, vaginal intercourse. This seems ludicrous in such modern, progressive times, but it's true. In Alabama, the sale of sex toys for pleasure purposes (as opposed to medicinal) is illegal even today. Owners of such shops have to provide a questionnaire to all potential buyer to determine if they "need" the toys for a sexual disorder. Of course, buyers have become savvy to such methods and kn what answers are needed to secure the purchase.

On a more serious note, marital rape is a crime that often goes un-reported. Until 1976, it was not even considered a crime in the United States. To think that just over thirty years ago, a rape could occur within a marriage with absolutely no legal ramifications is astounding to many, but is accurate nonetheless. Though the state mandated what kind of sex you were permitted to have, it did not care if you were consenting. Thankfully, with the feminist movement and progressive politics in general, this law was created to protect married couples equally as non-marrieds.

It is strange that a government has such a strong desire to regulate the sexual practices of its people. By regulating marriage, a government controls the most intimate part of most people's lives. Why is this necessary? While marriage is widely regarded as a legal contract, and therefore a government issue, why must governing bodies go beyond controlling the legal elements of the marriage to controlling (or trying to) what happens in the bedroom?

Famous Last Words

To be honest, I am rather sad that this class is coming to an end. I have really enjoyed writing (most) of my blogs, and I feel that I have learned a great deal about my classmates by reading their own posts. The blog atmosphere for me has created a level of intimacy between students and instructor that I have not yet experienced in a writing class thus far. I think that because of the small size of the posts, the writing assignments have been much less stressful and much more enjoyable. Also, the topics of the posts were almost always about things that are important to us as students, or at least topics that have already been brought up in class and have already sparked interest (hopefully).

In class today, the word "exposure" finally caught my attention. I had pretty much dismissed it in our earlier conversations, as I did not considerable it really applicable to me (I don't know why, as it is applicable to everyone really). However, after my stalker incident last week, I did some reevaluating of the word. Thinking about the word "exposure," in regard to the class, I'm not sure whether the "blog" is entirely positive or negative. I love that people can read my work and comment on it, but for some reason, I am a little anxious about plagiarism. I know it sounds stupid, but I am thinking about continuing my blog after this class concludes, and I am unsure what level of security my writing has. I tend to view my pieces of writing as works of art, not because I think my writing is all that amazing, but because I think that writing is a form of art. As a result, the idea of someone copying my art is very unsettling. I don't mean to flatter myself, and I doubt that it would happen, but I suppose it would be possible for someone to read my blog and copy/paste it to be their own. This totally freaks me out, as I am considering writing as a career. Because it is an informal blog, I'm not sure what I could do if that were to happen.

Setting aside my anxiety about the safety of my posts, I think that this blogging style has improved my writing more than traditional writing classes have. I think the the style that blogging invokes is more relevant to the business world that we as soon-to-be graduates will be entering. Though it is true that many students in the class may never post another blog entry again, the topics we have written about are important to us and our culture. It is imperative for us to be able to articulate our ideas and present our opinions in a logical and concise manner, either written or oral. I feel that this class has definitely helped all of us to do just that.

My Dreamlife

I found Arlen's post (in response to Rachel's post) on dreams quite interesting. I was surprised that he thought he didn't have dreams because he slept on a regular schedule and didn't eat spicy food. I have never heard of either of those effecting dreaming, and for me they don't seem to have an influence. I sleep a good eight to nine hours every night and eat spicy food occasionally, but not every day. I do, however, have vivid dreams nearly every night.

Just this morning I woke up a little rattled by my dreams. I dreamed that I was someone else, and I was observing from outside, kind of like I was in a movie, watching myself, but I thought that it was real. This is very common for my dreams, but sometimes I even realize that it's a dream, though I still have problems disconnecting. In this dream, there was a plague of insects that had been genetically modified by someone (I don't remember who) to be beneficial, but they ended up causing the death of anyone who came into contact with them. My character was the one who discovered the deadly insect, but somehow remained unaffected. All of us survivors grouped together indoors to stay away from the bugs, and were eventually rescued from the plague.

Just when I thought everything was going to resolve it self, I/my character realized that there was a bug on her/me. After some consideration I/she leaped from the rescue vehicle (so as not to infect anyone else) and dove into the ocean, and to sure death. But, instead of dying, I/she found a whole group of people under the sea (but there was air, go figure) who had survived because they were wearing shorts at the time of the "invasion." Yep, shorts. I have no idea why, but I happily discovered that I/she had been wearing shorts the whole time, so I/she was safe.

I have no clue what all this means, but I thought I'd share it with all of you. Both Rachel and Arlen wonder what significance our dreams have in our lives. For me, because my dreams are so frequent and so vivid, they become part of memory and my history. I often have flashbacks to scenes in my dreams and they blend in with my "real" life. My dreams are important, and I often work out elements of my life, perhaps in metaphorical ways, in my dreamworld. I think that this alternate frame for my life is just as "real" as what we consider our real lives.

Misu Online

I absolutely love this picture, and I think that it's great that you can see that it's one of our blogs on the screen. My psycho kitty, Taramisú (or Misu for short) always walks on my keyboard, often typing messages to my friends when we're chatting online. My best friend and I often joke that our cats get online when we're gone and order stuff off eBay. I think it might be true. I mean, she's obviously into the blog scene, online shopping is just a mouse click away.

I took the photo with my camera phone, as my husband took my digital camera with him on the fire (he's not a firefighter, but is contracted out to work for them). I'm not usually a huge fan of the camera phone, as the quality and settings are very limited when compared to current digital cameras--though I recently discovered that my phone actually has more mega pixels than my first digital camera--but when it is the only option, I'm quick to use it. On several occasions I have taken advantage of this technology so I could show my friends crazy things that I'm sure they would not have believed without a picture. I did not edit this picture in any way, either on my phone or on my computer after I downloaded it, so that it would reflect the quality (or lack thereof) of my camera phone.

I love how she's looking up at me like "What? What are you staring at?" Her expression is priceless. She seems so human like, like one of the creatures in a Disney movie, walking and talking like a person, living and behaving like a member of the family. And she is like a child to me; I talk to her, cuddle her, and am protective of her. I feel that she is a companion to me, and helps ease my loneliness when my husband is gone, more than TV or the Internet ever could. I also love that it appears that she has been reading a blog and thinks it completely ordinary. Perhaps it is?

It's really interesting to see the meet-up of animals and technology. We normally don't think of the two together, but the connection is/was inevitable. While researching dog boarding facilities, I discovered one that actually had web cams installed in the runs so you could log on and see your pooch from anywhere with an Internet connection. I had two reactions to this, the first was more of an, "Are you kidding? How ridiculous!" but then I thought about how much I would really like that. I would love to be able to see my girls while I'm away. I would feel better knowing the kennel had the accountability of the owners watch the boarders' care. I decided that this was a fantastic idea, and a great use of technology.

Bronze and Beautiful

I read Paris's post "Erasing Identity" last week, and I find myself thinking about it often. The creepiness of the commercial really got to me, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how ironic it is for me to think it's creepy.

My best friend came over the other day and the first thing she said to me was, "Damn! Have you been tanning? You look HOT!" I told her that though I did lay out over the 4th of July weekend, I had been using Jergens Natural Glow lotion for the past week or two. You know, so I can get tan and avoid the sun's harmful rays. She instantly asked if we could go across the street to the store so she could get some. So, while thinking lotion that makes skin whiter was creepy and unnatural, I was slathering chemicals on my own body to make me darker. Because tan is beautiful...right? The irony and hypocrisy of this was astounding to me, but I still can shake my feelings. I still think that when I'm tan I look thinner and healthier, and when I'm not, I look sickly and frumpy. I always assumed that this was a fairly universal view( I did know that pale in previous times was a status symbol, as pale skinned people were assumed to be in the non-working upper classes), but reading Paris's post really opened my eyes.

In her post, Paris states that, "The product has made the person’s identity disposable! No longer is the product something you can use up and go through, but rather a way to erase you." So is my Jergen's product doing the same thing? According to her post, it must be, but I don't feel erased, rather I feel more noticeable, more attractive. Can I rationalize it by saying that I'm getting a "beautiful and natural glow" (according to the Jergen's website) that I could get from the sun, though I chose a more artificial route? This may be in contrast to the whitening cream, as it produces a result that could not be attained "naturally." But still, this doesn't feel very assuring.

So where does this lead? Make-up, hair color, nail polish all unnaturally change a person's appearance, but do they really modify a person's identity? Perhaps, as people identify blondes, brunettes, redheads, etc, as different groups, but I would hope that I would be the same inside no matter what my hair color. Although, it is true that people respond to blondes differently than redheads, and brunettes differently than say, someone with hot pink hair. So perhaps these types of things can change your identity as it is perceived from outside, and affect your confidence level, but I still think that only you can change your identity and that no one can take it away from you.

This complicates the idea of identity. To be honest, as I wrote this, the idea of identity became more and more elusive to me. I think that I have decided that, to me, my identity is my own personal view of myself and the things that make me me. Like the fact that I love Lucky Charms and hate getting my feet dirty, and that I like leopard print and that I worry way too much, but everyone thinks I'm chill (well, maybe not in our class). That is who I am, that is my identity, and no tanning product can change, modify, or erase that.

Follow up to comments on mobility

In response to Chris's comments, while it is true that that one can achieve a kind of "mobility of imagination," nothing compares to real human contact and the freedom to come and go at will. I am quite aware of the shortcomings of technology, and even literature, to fill the necessity of real, face-to-face contact, as I have been alone all week/weekend and am starting to unravel, thread by thread (the husband's been gone 7 days now working on one of the fires). I think that this scooter gives the elderly (or otherwise incapacitated) the ability to be independent and make contact with the would outside their homes. I cannot imagine being both alone and trapped, unable to leave for even the simplest of errands.

On a side note, this conversation reminds me of the "Unexamined Life" cartoon from last week. It's important to live your own life, and not just pass your time living through the images or stories of others. You can become lost in a story, and it can become part of your history, but I believe that it's preferable to balance that with "real life." You can read about love, and adventure, and whatever else, but that does not mean that it should replace the loves and adventures of your own life. I'm thinking about writing in the future as a career, and I feel like I need to experience life to write with more heart. Reading the works of other is beneficial, of course, but just not enough.

As to the involvement of technology in this physical mobility, and its resulting lack of purity, if you will, I think of a similar example in my own family. One of my cousins is currently pregnant, and is insisting that she deliver her little son at home, without any drugs. The woman is insane. I asked her, "Would you wash your clothes in the river?" to which I got a confused look and a confident, "No, of course not." To me its the same thing. We have washers now, so no one would dream of hand scrubbing their clothes is mucky river water. Why would you ignore the presence of hospitals and wonderful, pain numbing drugs? It's just ridiculous. The scooter is an invaluable resource to those who could benefit from it, and therefore should be embraced.

As to the allowance of these on the island on Lake Huron, although I am not that familiar with the situation, I think it would be insensitive to restrict access to those who are disabled just to make it "motor free." I realize that not everything can be wheelchair-accessible (ie hiking trails, mountainous areas), but to deny the elderly/disabled from this situation seems a bit extreme. Perhaps they could provide free "pushers" to assist the disabled if they are so adamant at keeping the island "organic."