So, I have a new web log up (finally). I’m not going to link to it here, but if I know you, feel free to contact me privately, and I’ll give you the link. đ I will no longer post any new entries to this site (but I do plan to leave it up and add needed comments to the existing posts).
For anyone who knows me well, it will probably come as no surprise that I was quite relieved when I came up with a reason why this whole situation is (mostly) my fault. For those of you who don’t know me well and, yet, are still interested, I hope by the time you finish reading this “book”, you’ll have a general idea.
Well, I took a look at the online account stuff, and I can see that the US Treasury has deposited the check that I sent to pay my federal taxes. That confirms a few different relief-inducing things:
Half a week later… and if anything, the extremes of my feelings are worse instead of better. If given the chance, I’m not sure whether I’d throttle her or thank her. There’s not much room for anything in between right now. Either way, I’m pretty sure I’d be bawling while doing it.
I know she wasn’t happy, though. I hope she finds happiness. That’s the honest truth.
I said that I didn’t know which, but I do want to say “thank you” for the best 14+ years of my life (so far).
Now that I have some time, I figure I should let everyone know that I was rear-ended this morning. Me and the other driver were both unhurt. No one else was in our cars, and our two cars were the only ones involved. Honestly, it was very minor. What the other driver gave as his description matched mine.
You know, I was originally writing one of my “extended book” posts, but I think I’m going to use this lockup as a signal that I should be doing something a lot shorter. What I was really trying to say was that as strange as it seems, I’ve decided to look at a small slip that resulted in something taking a lot longer than it should have as a sign that I’m gradually getting back to much closer to normal. The way I put it is that it’s a sign that I’m starting to look at things only “n” times (as opposed to “2n” or “3n” times).
For the three or so people that were probably paying attention, I’ve found and fixed my error that resulted in the site “going away” for a few days. I can get technical on a one-on-one basis for anyone who’s interested, but it’s too long and boring to share here. The short story is that it’s fixed, and it shouldn’t happen again.
Yesterday, I happened upon a web page (That page no longer loads the comics. Here’s a closeup of the one I reference below.) that had a collection of web comics that all dealt with the difficulties of depression. There was a lot of stuff I related to, but there was one quote in item 15, that really resonated with me:
I had simply become bad at the thing I was best at, and it disappointed everyone, especially me.
That’s how I feel right now.
A found a post linked by a friend that I believe we all need to think about. I don’t think I realized until 2011 just how much crap almost every woman goes through on a very regular basis. I mean, I knew this stuff happens, but I didn’t realize how common it is. If you’re a guy, please follow the link below and know that people you care about are putting up with this on a regular basis.
http://sorayachemaly.tumblr.com/post/50361809881/why-society-still-needs-feminism-because-to-men
(JHM, update 2025 September 20: I decided to copy the text in case the page goes away.)
Why Society Still Needs Feminism
Because to men, a key is a device to open something. For women, itâs a weapon we hold between our fingers when weâre walking alone at night.
Because the biggest insult for a guy is to be called a âpussy,â a âlittle bitchâ or a âgirl.â From here on out, being called a âpussyâ is an effing badge of honor.
Because last month, my politics professor asked the class if women should have equal representation in the Supreme Court, and only three out of 42 people raised their hands.
Because rape jokes are still a thing.
Because despite being equally broke college kids, guys are still expected to pay for dates, drinks and flowers.
Because as a legit student group, Campus Fellowship does not allow women to lead anything involving men. Look, I know Eve was dumb about the whole apple and snake thing, but I think we can agree having a vagina does not directly impact your ability to lead a
college organization.Because itâs assumed that if you are nice to a girl, she owes you sex â therefore, if she turns you down, sheâs a bitch whoâs put you in the âfriend zone.â Sorry, bro, women are not machines you put kindness coins into until sex falls out.
Because only 29 percent of American women identify as feminist, and in the words of author Caitlin Moran, âWhat part of âliberation for womenâ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? Did all that good shit get on your nerves? Or were you just drunk at the time
of the survey?âBecause when people hear the term feminist, they honestly think of women burning bras. Dude, have you ever bought a bra? No one would burn them because theyâre freaking
expensive.Because Rush Limbaugh.
Because we now have a record number of women in the Senate ⌠which is a measly 20 out of 100. Congrats, USA, weâve gone up to 78th place for womenâs political representation, still below China, Rwanda and Iraq.
Because recently I had a discussion with a couple of well-meaning Drake University guys, and they literally could not fathom how catcalling a woman walking down University Avenue is creepy and sexist.
Could. Not. Fathom.Because on average, the tenured male professors at Drake make more than the tenured female professors.
Because more people on campus complain about chalked statistics regarding sexual assault than complain about the existence of sexual assault. Priorities? Have them.
Because 138 House Republicans voted against the Violence Against Women Act. All 138 felt it shouldnât provide support for Native women, LGBT people or immigrant women. Iâm kind of confused by this, because I thought LGBT people and women of color were also human beings.
Weird, right?Because a girl was roofied last semester at a local campus bar, and I heard someone say they think she should have been more careful. Being drugged is her fault, not the fault of the person who put drugs in her drink?
Because Chris Brown beat Rihanna so badly she was hospitalized, yet he still has fans and bestselling songs and a tattoo of an abused woman on his neck.
Because out of 7 billion people on the planet, more than 1 billion women will be raped or beaten in their lifetimes. Women and girls have their clitorises cut out, acid thrown on them and broken bottles shoved up them as an act of war. Every second of every day. Every corner of the Earth.
Because the other day, another friend of mine told me she was raped, and I can no longer count on both my hands the number of friends who have told me theyâve been sexually assaulted. Words canât express how scared I am that Iâm getting used to this.
Because a brief survey of reality will tell you that we do not live in a world that values all people equally and that sucks in real, very scary ways. Because you know we live in a sexist world when an awesome thing with the name âfeminismâ has a weird connotation. Because if I have kids someday, I want my son to be able to have emotions and play dress up, and I want my daughter to climb trees and care more about whatâs in her head than whatâs on it. Because I donât want her to carry keys between her fingers at night to
protect herself.Because feminism is for everybody, and this is your official invitation.
I had a realization while I was driving to work this morning…one of those points where you experience something and think, “This is going to be important later. I need to mark it.” Since this web log is my place for recording stuff like that, you (my 5 readers) are about to get an “earful”. đ