Overload

I haven’t posted here in ages, because I’ve simply been overloaded with work. I’m someone who likes to work and is happy to work hard, but sometimes I feel as though certain bosses and colleagues like to pass on all their work to other people (preferably junior members of staff). It just seems so unfair and it’s really exhausting. And they don’t care if those new employees burn out, because there are plenty of other people who would love to get that job.

--Curly

The Grinch Returns

I’m glad Christmas is almost over, because I’m sick of Christmas carols, Christmas cards, Christmas shopping, Christmas food, and the Christmas spirit in general. This forced joviality gets tiresome. And even though people talk about how this season is about charity and happiness and all that, it seems like it’s just about commerciality and money to me.

Bad Food, Bad News

Speaking of large people, as I did in the last post, what about all the unhealthy food out there? I know it’s our own responsibility to eat well, but I can imagine it could be tempting for some people (not me) that there are McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King and other such chains all over the place. There’s even a KFC across the street from my gym. When did we get so unhealthy? How come so many people eat at these disgusting places?

Also, why is there such a preponderance of prepackaged food? Don’t people cook from scratch anymore? All that ready-to-eat food and all those tv meals are so unhealthy. No wonder we’re all getting so large we need two seats on planes or buses.

--Curly

Move Over, I’m Squashed

Okay, maybe this is just rude of me, but I do get annoyed by fat people on airplanes, trains, or buses. I think very large people should pay for two seats, because if they only have one, and you’re the poor person stuck next to them, you get squeezed and it’s quite uncomfortable. I know some people have health problems that make them gain weight, but nevertheless, the rest of us shouldn’t have to suffer for it.

--Curly

Use It or Lose It

At the gym, some people seem to spend more time socializing than working out. And when they socialize, they stand around the equipment, blocking the way so others can’t use it. Other people sit on a weight machine or a stand on a treadmill, reading a newspaper or book rather than actually using the machine.

It is so annoying to be waiting for a machine and to watch as someone takes his time having a conversation while still sitting there, but not working out. And if you ask them politely if they are done, you get a glare back and the comment, “I’m not through yet.”

Use the machine or get off it. It’s really inconsiderate.

--Curly

The Feminist Backlash

In my last post, I mentioned how a lot of people still seem to be against being unionized. This makes me think of how so many of my younger students are against feminism. They proudly state that they don’t need feminism. Some of them, especially the women, even go so far as to say that they don’t want to be associated with intellectuals or with lesbians or with man-hating, as though all feminists are those things. A number of my female students say they want to wear short dresses and make-up and find men so they can be stay-at-home parents, and they claim that feminism has nothing to offer them. Except, obviously, they wouldn’t be at university without the work early feminists did to demand equality for women, and they wouldn’t be in a position to choose what to wear or how to live without feminism. They’d simply be expected to be pretty housewives rather than being empowered to make that choice.

What has caused this feminist backlash? We still have imparity in the world, and feminism is about challenging and fixing inequity. I try to explain this to my students, but they seem to think the world – or at least their narrow area of it – is completely fair now, and that there is nothing more to fight for. And they certainly don’t want any part of feminism.

--Curly

Union Man

I’m in the union at my job. I think it’s important to make sure we are all treated fairly. But quite a few of my colleagues aren’t in the union and act as though it’s a strange concept. In fact, one colleague (admittedly a difficult one anyway) mocked me for being in the union and for being a union rep.

How can anyone think being unionized is wrong?

--Curly

All My Exes Live in Texas…

This is not so much a rant as a quandary – how much contact is it good to have with one’s exes? Is it better to cut them off completely? My problem with that is that these people were once important to us, so shouldn’t we try to preserve whatever we can of the relationship instead of losing it completely? But then if we do, how much should we tell each other about our lives, including current relationships? It’s hard to renegotiate those boundaries and to move back to being friends from being lovers who shared everything.

For example, I think it’s courteous to tell the most recent exes that we are seeing someone new, and I have done that, but then I haven’t received the same courtesy back and instead found out via a mutual friend. So what’s the right protocol?

These days, I lean more towards to minimal contact side of things. What do others think? Should our exes stay in Texas?

--Curly

Sick Students

Sometimes I complain about students skipping class, but now I must complain about those who come to class even when sick. It’s great that they show dedication, but then they cough and sneeze all over me and their fellow students. I’ve been sick since the beginning of the term, primarily because of my students and all their germs. I get over one cold and then get a different one.

Stay home if sick!

--Curly

Good in Bed

Why do so many men seem to think they can turn lesbians straight? I wish I got money for every time a man claimed that all a gay woman needed was a good fuck and that he was just the man to offer that service; I’d be rich now if I’d been collecting.

I know lots of men find female sexuality (whether straight, bi, or gay) threatening. And I also know plenty of people – male or female – who want to believe they are so good in bed they can “convert” another person’s sexuality. So together these feelings and beliefs are a bad combination that leads men to believe that women couldn’t possibly prefer (or enjoy in addition) sleeping with women instead of men.

But it is tiresome to hear such a stupid comment. Face it: you’re probably not all that good in bed anyway, and even if a straight woman would have you, a bi or gay women could do better. You’re not converting anyone.

--Curly

Don’t Text and Drive

The subject line of this post says it all. It isn’t safe to text and drive. So just don’t! You are making the road less safe for yourself and others.

University is for Socializing, not Studying

The new semester is under way and I’m already getting annoyed with my students. They get a clear time-table listing the hours of class, and they receive a detail syllabus too, with info about when class is and where, and what they need to do in preparation for each class.

And yet the students feel the need to email me to ask when and where class is and whether they need to attend. Some even say they have other plans. I do know they have to work, although one would think they’d arrange their work schedules around class. But sometimes they admit these plans are social.

Are they are university to socialize or to study? Why should I have to explain over and over again that if class is listed as being from 9-12 or 1-3 or whatever it is that is when students need to come? Is it that hard to understand?

--Curly

Ranting about Vegetarian Meals

Continuing with the vegetarian theme from the last post, I wonder why nearly all vegetarian meals at restaurants:

1. prominently feature mushrooms or peppers or both,

2. are pasta-based,

and

3. include no real protein.

Do people give no real thought to vegetarians? Not all vegetarians like mushrooms or peppers, want pasta, or happy to be protein-free. Just like carnivores, we deserve healthy, well-balanced, varied meals.

--Curly

Meat Products for Vegetarians

I always order a vegetarian meal on plane rides. Luckily, I also always read lists of ingredients rather than rely on what the airplane (or any other company, or any person, for that matter) claims is vegetarian.

On a recent flight, I was given a "vegetarian" breakfast, where the yogurt contained gelatin. Gelatin, of course, is made from animals, and is thus not suitable for vegetarians (or for people who keep kosher). I'm so glad I didn't eat this item before reading the back of the carton, but I'm sure lots of other people on the flight simply ate the yogurt.

I mentioned it to the steward and he shrugged and brought me some fruit. He didn't bother to notify any of the other vegetarians.

I complained to the airline (KLM) and they said it was not their responsibility, since they use a catering company. Well, they hire that company, so I'd say it is their responsibility. KLM really disappointed me. The representative who wrote back simply said they were "sorry [I] didn't like the meal." It has nothing to do with liking it. People are vegetarians for ethical, health, and/or religious reasons, and a vegetarian meal must respect and be truly vegetarian.

--Curly

Giving the (Ring) Finger

While getting my nails manicured, the manicurist noticed a ring on my left ring finger. It was a silver band, engraved with the name of my alma mater. The manicurist asked me if I was married. I told her I was not.

She then asked why I wore a ring on that finger. She proceeded to explain that if men saw a ring on my finger, they would not ask me, and thus, "You will never get married! Don't wear a ring there!"

Um, okay. First of all, it is none of her business what my marital status is or what I wear and where I wear it. Second, I don't like her assumption that I must want a husband. Not everyone does, not even taking into account matters of sexuality.

I would have liked to give her the (ring) finger!

--Curly

The Hunt is On

I really can’t understand why people enjoy hunting and why this is a legal practice. What is the pleasure in stalking and shooting and aiming to kill other living creatures? How is this a pastime for supposedly reasonable people?

It seems to me to be a cruel activity. We would never accept people chasing after other humans with weapons and trying to injure them, so why do we accept it when people do this to animals?

--Curly

The Idiot Box

I don’t have a tv, but sometimes I see programs at other people’s homes or I just hear about shows from their fervent fans. And I have to think that “idiot box” is an excellent name for the tube. I’m dismayed by the low level of the shows and the way people invest so deeply in what happens in them.

Do people really have nothing better to do than to glue themselves to the sofa and stare at the small screen for hours a day? How about spending time with friends or relatives, getting exercise, reading a book, doing some work, doing crafts, etc?

Why is tv use so prevalent?

--Curly

Used and Discarded

I’ve talked about how people rarely thank others for help provided. Occasionally it happens and then I feel surprised and it makes me want to continue to give advice and help to other people (who then disappoint me by not thanking me).

Once again, though, I spent a lot of time helping someone (in this case, someone I’d known well for years with something she could have discovered herself by doing just a bit of research, even via Google, and also, she has much more free time than I do), and she responded by not contacting me for a long time and then never thanking me for the help or showing interest in how I’d been doing in the meantime (a period when I’d had surgery and lost a family member).

Sometimes I don’t know why I bother.

--Curly

Jesus Isn’t Welcome Here

I’ve complained before about people wishing even non-Christians a Merry Christmas. I recently had occasion to realize once again how deeply Christian sentiments imbue our society.

When there was a death in the family, some people – who, I must admit, were kind enough to want to make a gesture of some sort – said that God had called the late relative home, and made other comments along those lines. I could accept that, even though I’m an atheist. But some people who were clearly aware that our family is not Christian, sent religious messages, talking about Jesus. And that, I felt, was beyond what was appropriate. And verses from the New Testament were also unwelcome.

How hard is it to remember that religious belief is a very private thing and that you should keep it to yourself, especially during what is a difficult time for someone else?

--Curly

Anti-Anti-Pride

It’s Pride season, which means it’s also pride-protester season. Among the protesters and to varying degrees of vocalness, there are a number of types. For example, there are the usual religious fanatics who are anti-queer (and I can’t be bothered to argue with their stupidity at the moment), and then there are the fairly queer-friendly, or at least queer-accepting, folks who just don’t see a point in pride.

“Be gay, fine. But why do you have to be all out and loud and proud about it?” they ask.

If society pressures people to be heterosexual and yet someone manages to be true to him- or herself anyway and to live a homosexual or bisexual life, that person deserves to feel some pride in his/her strength. It’s incredibly hard for many to go against societal and familial demands, and to be themselves.

“But why don’t we get heterosexual pride parades?” the same fairly queer-accepting people ask.

Every day celebrates heterosexual pride! Every day, heterosexual couples can go about their lives, holding hands in public, kissing in the streets, sharing romantic meals, visiting each other in the hospital, picking up their children from school, getting equal rights everywhere and at all times, and so much more. So is one day to celebrate homosexual and bisexual couples too much to ask?

I’m anti these anti-pride-protesters.

--Curly