Mid-November Blahs

In general, I really do enjoy Fall, but I hate that feeling I always get in mid-November as the semester is madly rushing towards an end, deadlines are quickly approaches, and the Holidays are just around the corner.

How about those elections!?! For the first time in, oh let's say eight years, I'm very happy with the results. Despite all the current economic woes and war, there's a feeling of optimism for so many of us who believe that things can, and more importantly, *should* be better. Of course, there are those who are doing their best to delegitimize the man before he even takes office, but I refuse to let those voices shaken my faith that we will finally be on the right path.

However, despite the excitement with the presidential election, I'm still very disheartened and disgusted that all the anti-gay legislation passed in every state that had a proposition on the ballot (anti-gay marriage laws in California, Arizona, and Florida, and let's not forget the hateful law in Arkansas that prevents gays from adopting children or becoming foster parents). Really what pisses me off with those who are so anti-gay marriage is that it is really none of their damn business. Here's a little bit of advice, assholes: don't like gay marriage, well then don't marry a homosexual. It's really quite simple. And what's this crap preventing gays from adopting or fostering children? Really? With so many children in need of loving homes, why deny a child the chance to live and grow up in a loving environment. State endorsed hatred and bigotry, reinforced by the religious nuts, has got to come to an end. This is a civil rights issue. How many years ago was it when interracial marriage was illegal? Were the same arguments about preserving the integrity of the American family used? Yeah, I thought so.

Oh, spare me the bit where marriage is a religious institution. If that's the case, how come my brother was married by a judge in a civil ceremony? Is he any less married? It's semantics, and I can guarantee you that the same religious institutions that that flocked together to spread their bigotry against gay marriage would raise the same fuss against gay civil unions. And really, how convenient is it to hide behind your religious convictions to spread your hate and intolerance?

Well, if there's one thing we should have learned from History by now is that the majority never willingly gives up power and rights to the minority--they have to be fought for. I'm personally tired of seeing a majority decide what civil rights a minority can have. It's time for people to start to get really pissed off if we want to see any change in the future.

I know I'm pissed off, are you?

Time flies by....

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated this thing. I suppose I should get off my lazy butt and post something. Sadly, there really isn't that much to post. The Fall semester started off with a mad rush and hasn't slowed down at all. I'm teaching two sections of an intermediate French literature and culture course. The nice thing about this class is that it's only open to Freshmen--ah, fresh minds to corrupt. Seriously, it's nice to teach students who want to take a French class, unlike the regular language courses that are filled up with students who only want to take the class to get the requirement out of the way. By the end of last Spring, I really wanted to bang my head against the wall.

What else is new? Hmmm....I quit my job at the pet store where I was working over the summer. I had wanted to stay there at minimal hours during the school year, but the bullshit quotient quickly became too high and I decided it was time to leave the drama behind me. For the record, I really hate picking up the slack and cleaning up other people's messes--not acceptable!

The thesis is going along. I'm making good progress on it and I'm happy with how it's going.

And just because I can, here are some pics of my babies:

Singe staring at the fish tank:



And Siam looking all photogenic:





One tired baby, although it does look like he's laughing hysterically:



And finally, a pic of the two boys together--I think Singe is flipping me off:



I can't get over how big Si is getting...and how fast! All the little guy does is eat and poop, eat and poop. He eats over twice as much as Singe, and the automatic litter box is working overtime.

Meet Siam

Well, since Singe is super nuts and absolutely crazy, I decided to add to his neuroses and bring home a little 10 week old seal point Siamese kitten. Singe is so emotionally needy that I figured a companion would do him some good. So far, so good. There has been some hissing and growling, but no fur has flown yet. Siam, the new kitty, hasn't quite figured out that Singe doesn't want to play with him.

I started working at a pet store last month in the fish department (3800 gallons of freshwater, 3600 gallons of saltwater). We take in abandoned kittens, and this past weekend, someone brought in this little Siamese. I immediately fell in love with his blue eyes and points, so I brought him home Saturday night.

Here are some pics:





I wish I had other exciting things to add, but I really don't. I'm plugging away on my thesis and working at the pet store.

Here Comes the Rain Again....

Good lord, I never thought I'd say I was sick and tired of the rain after all the snow we had this winter, but it's official, I'm tired of it. Constant rain and thunderstorms equals lots of flooding. In a period of one week, there were 18 confirmed tornadoes in southern Wisconsin (9 one day, nine another). Thankfully they all missed Madison. So, except for a flooded parking lot and periodic power outages, things have been ok.

I realize I haven't updated this blog in ages, but there's really not much to update. I've been working on my thesis and I finally turned in the outline and first chapter to my adviser before the end of the semester. Now I'm working on another chapter detailing magic ('merveilleux') in 12th Century Arthurian literature, and the following chapter will detail how magic in 13th Century Arthurian texts has been sanitized and Christianized. When it first appeared in 12th Century grail quests, the grail was just a mystical serving dish, it wasn't figured as the cup of Christ until Robert de Boron in the early 13th Century. I hope to get another chapter or two done this summer. I also desperately need to find a summer job or I'm going to get awfully hungry next month, haha.

Let's see, in other news, I had an awful red flatworm infestation in my reef tank--it was so disgusting, there were tens of thousands of flatworms covering everything. I tried natural methods, added predators, but they didn't make a dent. So finally, I added some chemicals and I nuked the bastards. Fortunately, I siphoned off as many flatworms as I could, so the toxins from the dying flatworms didn't kill anything. However, the flatworms did smother many of my corals, and I lost many of them. Oh well, nothing like starting out from scratch I guess.

I've been working on my camera, so I got some decent pictures. Here's a random sampling:






Well, that's all for now, I hope to do better in keeping up with this blog. Yeah right, I know, I've said that before. ;-)

I'm a Fruit!

You Are a Banana

You are mellow, easy going, and a total softie on the inside. People find it really easy to get along with you. You suit most tastes. And while you're very sweet, you're not boring or ordinary. You have an attraction to the exotic, and you could show up anywhere... doing almost anything! You are spirited, energetic, and a total kick to be around. You're also quite funny. Your sense of humor is on the goofy side, and it fits you well.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

Well, we already knew that I was a fruit!!! LMAO

Well, I suppose it's time I update my blog...after all, it's only been a month, lol. Not a whole helluva lot is going on in my life, so there's really not that much to report. I'm on Spring Break this week, which is nice because it gives me the chance to work solely on my own research this week without having to worry about teaching and grading.

I'm playing with the macro lens on camera, and I came up with this picture:



Not too bad, it's not photoshopped or anything. I'm gonna break down and try to sign up for a photography class. My last camera confused me, and it was just a point and shoot digital. I understand the basic concepts behind SLR photography, but putting those concepts into practice is an entirely different ballgame.

So, Tanya, this update is for you! :-)

Just Checking In...

Well, I figured it was time for me to check in and make an update. Can I just say that I'm so sick and fucking tired of winter? We've had record snowfall amounts here this winter. We had an ice storm late last night and early this morning before it changed over to a wet/heavy snow. I'm so not looking forward to chipping all ice off my car. I usually bus into campus, so maybe I'll just let the car sit for a few days and let the sun melt some of the ice. I've slipped and fallen a couple of times in my parking lot. I guess salt is hard to come by in these parts (or that's the excuse Maintenance has been giving me all winter).

Ugh, my birthday is next Monday (the 25th)....I'm so not looking forward to it. I know I'm still young in the grand scheme of things, but shit, I feel like I'm 65 in gay years, lol.