Soggy Monday

It is Monday morning, it is raining, and I am not happy.

Mostly I hate Monday because its the beginning of five days of class, work, and responsibilities. This term I hate Monday because I work at 7:45am and don't have class until noon. Today I hate Monday because it is pouring and my pants are wet.

You see, I always check weather.com before I get dressed, and today it told me 66 degrees and rain, later in the day. So I put my clothes on and go to work, and then two hours later I leave work and walk into a huge storm. I am not wearing appropiate footwear and my shoes, hair, jeans, and hoodie are immediately soaked. I HATE weather.com.

Now, I have to write an introduction paper for my poetry class tonight, and I have to include three unusual things about myself. I have no idea what I am going to say is unusual about me. Hm.

Anyway, sorry for the annoyed blog post, I had to vent my wet frustration and my roommate is still asleep.

Kids Killing Kids

My roommate showed me this story last night. At first we thought it was a mock news story, like The Onion, because it seemed so crazy, but its sadly not.

Apparently, violence has broken out across Mexico against "emo" kids. This subset of youth culture has been experiencing increasing harassment and violence, often tormented by other Mexican youths, often those associated with "punk" and "metal" music.

The underlying problem seems to be homophobia. Many people in Mexico still feel very uncomfortable with homosexuality, and due to the "feminine" hair and make-up worn by many Mexican "emo" kids, the group is become associated with homosexuality. "Detesto a los emosexuales," (I hate emosexuals) was posted on a youth website. Because emosexual is wordplay on homosexual (especially in Spanish because of the silent 'h'), the underlying problem has become more and more clear.

This is especially heart-wrenching, I feel, because it is kids hating other kids. The youth should be united, has to be united in order to change the world. Under Mexico's corrupt government, it is especially important that the youth be organized, that they care for each other. To let something as unimportant as sexual orientation, or supposed sexual orientation, to prevent a revolution, a safer world, a fairer government is...

"Why are all the kids killing each other?" - Kevin Coval

This is Terrifying

OMG.

I Love

Suprises!

And tomorrow we're going to pull one off yay.

I can't wait. Yay. Yay. Yay.

Chinatown

Today I went to Chinatown with my friends Anna and Avi.

It was pretty exciting because I got to speak a little bit of 中文。

But, it was also overwhelming because I realized how little I really know.

I loved it though.

Okay. I'll Admit It.

Once in a while I actually like coming home to the suburbs.

Like now, when I can sit on my front step, writing my last paper, drink coffee.

I am trying to fool myself into thinking it is not too cold to be in my barefeet.

But it is. I'm in my barefeet. But wearing a scarf and gloves.

Oh, well, its actually really nice out here.

I like my front yard.

That's my sister and her friend, you can ignore them. Just admire the scenery.

I make bad decisions.

I have a paper due at 10:30am tomorrow.
I have known about this paper for 9 days.
It is only 5 pages long.
I have been working on it for 11 hours.
I only have two pages done.

THAT IS RIDCULOUS.

I am the worst procrastinator.
I nap.
I eat.
I blog.
I play pool.
I have a beer.
I watch a movie.
I do silly internet surfing.
I do not write philosophy paper.

ARGH.

Yay.

My friend Amelia asked me to be a contributor to her feminist blog: Female Impersonator!

Her blog is a baby, but its still pretty fantastic, and I am very excited to be its co-surrogate mother.

It is named after our radio show, which got its name from a quote by Susan Brownmiller: "All women are female impersonators to some degree." Meaning that it takes a lot of work to be what society views as a woman or feminine. Such as diets, makeup, hair, shoes ect. Even though, when I wear my pjs to class, I am still technically a woman, I am not viewed as a woman. Its a pretty fantastic, thought provoking quote, so I am so glad she adopted it to her blog as well as our radio show.

So yep. Awesome-ness.

International Women's Day

So, Saturday was International Women's Day, which I unfortunately did not realize until Sunday, so I didn't do anything to celebrate.

Or did I?

Well, I got to thinking about what I did do on Saturday and how it could be related to a celebration of International Women's Day. On Saturday, I got up around 9 to read a book for my African American Women Writer's literature class, finished it, and then worked on my final Chinese memorization. I went to lunch in the caf and chatted with my friends. I did a little more studying and went to dinner with my girlfriends at a Mexican restaurant in town. Then we all came back to my roommate's and my dorm and played Apples to Apples and creeped around on Facebook. And then we parted ways; I did a little more reading and went to sleep.

I, obviously, did a lot of homework on Saturday. I worked towards my education, a wonderful privilege that I would mostly likely not have had 100 years ago. I am so thankful that I am even allowed to get an education, but to be at a college that I choose, in classes I want to be in, taught by brilliant female professors, and in solidarity with my female classmates, who outnumber my male classmates in every room is incredible. Then to have great female friends to joke and laugh with, who support each other, care for each other, and grow together is so lucky.

However, it sadly isn't this way all over the world. Of young illiterate people in the world, women constitue 2/3 of them. Women, both in America and abroad, are shamed into ignorance about their bodies. The right of women to control their reproductive functions is in danger. Women are still raped as stolen property in war. Women are still raped in marriage by friends, relatives, and strangers. Young girls' are sexualized in the media. Female genital mutilation is commonplace in some African communities. Girls are consistently denied education in regions of the world.

Although, I did miss International Women's Day, March is Women's Herstory Month, so please take the time to educate yourself on women's issues in the United States and in other areas of the world.

By the Way

Btw, I hate finals.

Today I Learned...

How to sew!

Yep. My roommate taught me how to do some simple stitching, and my backpack is now adorned with six patches from my travels.

And I only pricked myself twice. Yay.

Ciao

Today I feel like writing about Italy.

They like motorcycles in Italy:

They also like wine, as do I. Basically, Italy was amazing. Tonight, I think I'm going to write about Florence. I went to Florence about a year ago on a school sponsored trip, and discovered Florence was the most breathtaking place. It was truly like breathing in a painting.

It was a drizzling lightly when we got to Florence, so we all pulled out our umbrellas and walked through the winding alleys of the city. The whole city smelled like cigarettes and leather; Florence is famous for its leather craftsmen (artisans?). The alleys were criss-crossed with cobblestone and motorcycles are parked sporadically. The women were all wearing pashminas, as soft as clouds, with thick leather jackets and the men (oh, Italian men) were just as beautiful.

We went to lunch at a small restaurant and drank red wine and had some fantastic pizza. We joked with the waiter, and he politely laughed off our terrible attempts at ordering in Italian.

After finishing our meal, we went to a leather store, and, since I was a little tipsy, I rationalized spending a hundred euros on a beautiful leather purse.

Then we saw 'The David' by Michelangelo. Seeing 'The David' was one the most awe-spiring moments of my life. Firstly, the statue is giant. Its simple mass is breathtaking, and the detail is magnificant. Michelangelo completed 'The David' in only two years, and it got me to thinking of what I could accomplish in two years. I realized that art is a true experience.

After we left the exhibit, we walked out into the sudden sunshine, and people watched in the square. Florence is truly the Mecca of beautiful, young people. There were so many simply gorgeous men and women in the city. Walking along the river and breathing in the moment, laughing with my friends, and taking pictures truly captured the experience.

I saw so much in Florence, and I know I missed just as much. I can't wait to go back.

I Blame My Mother

For my small obsession with Helen Keller.

And when I say obsession I don't mean anything creepy or weird. But, I swear, "The Miracle Worker" partly defined my childhood, simply by the mass of times I saw it. And watched my mom cry at pivotal 'water' scene.

And then I saw this 'newly discovered rare picture' of Helen Keller on CNN today:

Yep. That is Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Interesting?

Yeah. Probably not. But, I mean everyone enjoys Helen Keller to some extent, whether it be through Apples to Apples or a simple well placed refrence. So, once again, Helen, you are implanted into our pop culture.

Congrats.

Today is Tuesday...

..."Critical Tuesday" according to some news outlets.

And as of 7:19, Obama has taken Vermont.

Yay Obama. So, full discourse, I have a MAJOR crush on Obama.

I met him last year at a 'town meeting' in Washington DC, and had the chance to ask him about global warming. While I don't actually remember his answer, [I was too starstruck to take it in] people said it was excellent. And he called me young lady.

So, as of right now, Obama has the lead in Texas. Now, I don't understand how he has 62% of the vote with 0% of precincts reporting. How do they figure it out??

So. I will probably blog a little bit more later about the results tonight, but I will leave you with a picture that I adore:

ps. You should check out this excellent feminist blog my friend Amelia just started.

Poem

we leaned/ hard/ against their walls/ he and i
sharing/ a breath/ a cigarette
imprinting red lipstick on the end
discarding red lipstick on his mouth
but he wiped it gone/ until his lips bled
redder then before

Well.

Total honesty: I forgot about you, blog. But, I am back. Writing about nothing, as usual.
I am still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Lately, all I can think about is travel. My friend and I have a very, implausible life plan which involves travelling around the world and writing as we go; he wants to write screenplays, I want to write short stories and poetry. We actually have a list of places we want to go, in order:
1. India
2. Spain
3. The Netherlands
4. Scotland
5. Switzerland
6. China
So, that is my big life dream. And I am far from accomplishing it here in my small town college. But, its okay, because it is motivation to see the world one day.
And I've done a pretty good job so far. I've been to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, England, and Canada. Italy was my favorite, honestly, but all the countries are pretty incomparable. Not that I'm an expert or anything. So, also, that is why my blog has the name 'The Wanderlust Kid.' Btw.
Yay.