Weighing In on Some Issues

A lot has happened in the wake of controversy; rarely will I weigh in with my opinion on these kind of issues, but I am a bitchy American female, and I've been told that I have an opinion on everything.

I'd first like to address the fiasco of Chick-fil-A supporting anti-gay groups. Honestly, why is everyone surprised that a company based out of Atlanta, Georgia, doesn't support homosexuality? The franchise maintains its Christian values by closing on Sundays; coincidentally, that's pretty much the only time I actively crave the taste of that sammich. The current CEO of the franchise is a devout Southern Baptist, and we all know how tolerant those people are of "alternative lifestyles." No, it's not really shocking or groundbreaking that a franchise from the South doesn't support the gay lifestyle. Don't eat the soggy sammich if it kills your soul, but also don't just sit and bitch about it. Trust me, Southern people are annoyingly stubborn and no matter how many people actually complain about Chick-fil-A, the company will not change. Not really. The First Amendment, as well as the capitalist nature of the country, allows a business operator to conduct business and religion as s/he sees fit. Instead of placing the blame on the sammiches, just focus energy on the politicians themselves. Put pressure on those bastards (looking at you, Santorum) to finally come to grips with reality and accept that straight people can coexist comfortably with gay people as equal human beings. Will I eat there ever again? No, but that's mainly because I am trying to eat better and fight the sedentary lifestyle. And I also believe that love should be the basis on marriage, not your sexuality.

Sally Ride passed the way yesterday at age 61, after battling pancreatic cancer for less than two years. I wrote a biography of her in elementary school because she was a seriously cool woman. She was the first American female astronaut, OK? That's incredible. She's a heroine and amazing and I bet she was a weird, dorky little kid with big dreams of the stars. She just did her own thing and explored outer space, starting in 1983. Not only was she the first female astronaut, she was also, and still remains, the youngest American to enter outer space. However, she is a heroine for yet another reason: in her obituary, she publicly. The phrase is succinct and to the point: "She is survived by Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years." That's just beautiful. Sally Ride, badass to the end.

Finally, the NCAA President announced the Penn State football program provisions this past Monday at 9 AM. We all know what they are:

1. A $60 million fine that must go to charities supporting child protection
2. A four-year Bowl ban
3. A five-year probation period
4. A reduction of scholarships from 25 to 15 over the next four years
5. All victories from 1998-2011 have been vacated.

Here's how I feel about it: the NCAA President has punished the wrong people. Plain and simple. Now, I've always been a bit anti-establishment and as a student, I'm for protecting the students. The Bowl ban? Fine, whatever. The BCS is a little corrupt and wonky and all about profit (although, I certainly won't complain about being paid to go to New Orleans this past year, among other BCS trips). The probation period? Yeah, that's fair. This program is going to be insanely scrutinized, as it should. The reduction of scholarships? Well, yeah because who's going to play for a team with such a tainted reputation? The program is going to have to work very hard to clean up its image, duh. The fine? Well, as long as the current program remains to serve the players and faculty. Reduction of pay is necessary, but don't fire anyone. The vacated victories? Fucking stupid and very 1984. What are they going to do? Destroy all the tapes of those games so that Penn State actually didn't win? Are the players from those 112 games going to be stripped of any titles, or is it just Paterno?

I must say that I'm very pleased that the current students have the option to transfer without penalty, because if not, it would severely hurt their chances of being recruited to the NFL and all that mess. They deserve a chance. It's not like these students were touching little boys.

We should have gone medieval on Sandusky. Period. Paterno is already dead, so that takes care of that, but Sandusky should be publicly punished. Corporally. His wife was disgraceful: how could she not know and defend her husband in the wake of 48 accounts of abuse? The people involved need to be severely punished, and I think that the $60 million should come from all of their liquidated assets.

Now, that was very emotional. I'll go drink more coffee and stare at this picture of a husky puppy.

Twenty Questions Men Have About "Fifty Shades of Grey"

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It's 2:21 AM

and I was just roused by a text from a person that I legitimately cannot stand.

That has to be a punishment from at least the secondary Circle of Hell. I was nodding off, blissfully ignorant of all around me, PhD's voice still clear from our conversation, la de DA, when this number glares at my screen with a less than pleasant text message.

This situation is a rather messy one, far too complicated to explain, and instead of dealing with it, I choose to bury it. I know, it's so healthy. My mother suggested to me, long ago, to cut out negative people from my life and this particular individual is equivalent to my personal cancer; when s/he decided to cuss me out when my grandfather had just died, I'd had enough and never spoke to him/her again. This also led me to delete his/her phone number from my cell phone.

How did I know that the text message in question came from this particular person? Tone, context, and a healthy dose of accusatory language, consistent of this "adult."

To be judicious, I'd been less than pleasant to him/her before. I acknowledge that and have actually worked up the courage to put my Big Girl Panties on and actually apologize to this person. I really  do want to tell them that I am truly remorseful for being unfairly awful to them before and that I am happy that s/he is able to make their SO happy. I actually, like a real idiot, crafted a brief apology letter to this person.

This individual and I have not spoken to each other for a year, and s/he decides to break that unwritten contract by unearthing the past. I don't know why, nor do I particularly care. Well, I guess I do care, considering I just wrote this in response to the event. I'd greatly appreciate being able to properly move on and get a decent night's sleep, though. In this one instance, I'd like to think that ignorance really is bliss.

What's important for me is to focus my attention on the future. Overall, today was a good day. I did laundry, went to an excellent cookout, and saw Magic Mike. My internship is going well enough and I have been getting along amicably with my colleagues. I start graduate school classes relatively soon. My boyfriend, and yes it's unsettling to say that, visited me for Independence Day. PhD wants to whisk me away for a romantic beach trip, which is surprising, as well as a few other things he has in mind; it's so insanely sexy for a man to take charge and be spontaneous, especially since I get dragged down into monotony so quickly.

This person is in the past, where they shall remain to enjoy their life. I shall blissfully exist cancer-free.

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

I want to be Joan Harris from Mad Men. There. I said it.

Television has given us many strong women over the years but I do believe that Miss Joan Harris is the dream woman, and not just for dudes either (she's played by Christina Hendricks, who is probably the only woman I would go lesbian for).





Honestly, look at this woman! She has one of the best figures on the planet and brings back the hourglass shape in full force, making us curvy girls ridiculously happy.

Not only that, but her character is so expertly written. She starts out as the office manager at Sterling Cooper and does basically everything: charms the pants off all the men, calmly handles crisis situations, gets rid of bitches in the office gracefully, and teaches Peggy how to dress for success in the man's world.

And damn, is this one of the best dressed characters on TV? If you don't watch the show, at least look up some of her ensembles. It is one of my goals in life to model my wardrobe in accordance to her style, though a little more modern than the 1960's.

I just had a bit of a fangirl moment. I've had a lot of those lately, what with the Olympic Trials for USA Swimming, Magic Mike, and rereading the Millennium trilogy.

I'm going to go embrace my curves. PHD is coming to visit tomorrow so hopefully he can embrace my curves, too. NAILED IT!

~M