Another day, another dollar

I'm transitioning well into 2010, trying to not only keep my new year's resolutions in mind, but also my long term goals. I feel as though focusing on long term goals will help me remember why I engage in some of the not-always-pleasant activities that I do now.

In keeping with my "survive grad school" resolution, I have paid my deposit to George Mason, and registered for two classes my first semester. I will now have class from 4:30 - 10:00 on Monday evenings. I know, this doesn't sound fun, especially since I will also have to work from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm on Mondays. However, once I realized I would have to sign up for a 4:30 class (my original intention was to try to go for two 7:30 classes on different nights), I decided that perhaps my best course of action would be to get both classes out of the way on one evening, and then have the rest of the week to study and do homework. Monday is already a crappy day, so I'm not ruining my favorite day of the week. With two classes on the same day, I'm not likely to skip, and rarely does something come up on a Monday evening that would make skipping worthwhile anyway.

I thought that transition back to work after the holidays would be hard to do, but actually, things are going quite well. There is work to do, not that everyone is back in the office, which certainly helps the situation. I look forward to seeing what the conference committee comes up with for the final health reform bill.

So, many things have changed since I last took the time to publish a post in this blog. One should hope this would be the case, since my last post was, indeed, four months ago. Appropriately, and rather cliche-ly (I'll make up a word if I want), I have recently been reflecting over the ups and downs of 2009.

As many of you know, I spent the first several months of 2009 as an underpaid temp, frantically searching for a permanent job, with things like health insurance, stable hours, and maybe even a retirement plan. Finally, salvation came in the name of the National Association of Children's Hospitals (N.A.C.H.), in the public policy department, no less. Those of you (non-existent readers) who know me, know that I don't believe in any sort of higher power. Yet, even I will admit that I happened upon a job that, while not perfect, is extremely well-suited to me. I don't love it every day, but I enjoy my co-workers, I don't have to stress about choosing between paying my bills and eating (things were not quite that bad, but almost), and I'm not currently worried about being laid off or let go. I am truly thankful for this job, even on the days I don't want to go to work in the morning.

During my frenetic search for steady work, I many times talked about retreating back to school, to get the master's I knew I wanted, but of course would have no way to pay for without a real job. So, instead of forgetting my desire to further my education once I received my "real job," I applied to the Master of Public Policy Program at George Mason University. I received my acceptance letter the day after Christmas, and am very excited to start classes on January 20. I am very much looking forward to studying, researching, and writing papers again, as crazy as that may sound to some. I needed a break after I finished my undergraduate degree, but I'm ready to go back.

While there were times I thought 2009 to be a terrible year, it was, in all honesty, one of my best. I found a job I enjoy, I got accepted to a grad school program, and I got a wonderful apartment with my wonderful boyfriend. But, of course, as I look to 2010, I want to make things even better than they are now. After all, shouldn't everyone want to make next year the best year yet? There for, I'm thinking of a few, resolutions if you will, for 2010:

• Getting into graduate school was going to be my number one goal - since I accomplished that, now my goal is to start my program full throttle, and truly give it my all.
  
  
• Exercise more - of course it's cliche, but I do need to take advantage of the gym that is two floors below me. Who can't benefit from making themselves healthier?
  
  
• Start writing more - obviously, school will force my hand in writing somewhat, and I'm looking forward to that. However, I also want to actually keep this blog up, rather than posting every few months at random. My goal, actually, will be to post at least twice a week. To aid with this, I need to make the blog more focused, rather than just whatever happens to pop into my head at a moment I'm sitting on the couch with my computer and rather bored. I have a few ideas, but I'll expand more on the focus of the blog when I've determined what it will be.
  
  
• Actually start my monthly "girl's day." In August, I suggested that some female friends and I get together for lunch/coffee on day every month. One friend and I were able to meet that month, and then I never took the time to organize it after that. To get better about this, I plan on picking a day of the month, and placing a recurring appointment on my calendar. Additionally, I'll put a recurring appointment on my calendar two weeks ahead of each outing, reminding me to send the e-mail to confirm the details - where to meet, whether it's coffee, lunch, brunch, etc. There are some wonderful options in the District, and a museum and coffee could be a fabulous and cheap way to spend a few hours.
  

So, those are my goals for 2010. Of course, all things are fluid. My priorities could change drastically over the next year. We'll see how things progress, and, if I adhere to goal number three, I will keep you updated.

The Golden Girls - the ultimate in feminist programming

I know what you're thinking. What a cheesy, terrible show from the 80s - how could any young, intelligent woman possibly find this show remotely entertaining? But stay with me until the end of this post. I think I might be able to convince a few of you of the social value of this program, despite it's inherent cheesiness.

You see, I would claim that the show the "Golden Girls" is the ultimate feminist television show. Much more so than "Sex and the City" or "Lipstick Jungle," shows that are usually heralded as being feminist today. After all, this show depicts four strong, vibrant, and independent characters, who don't pack it all up and knit booties in the old folks' home after the age of 60.

First of all, the women of the "Golden Girls" showed a positive view of women in their 50s and 60s (and even older, for Sophia). All of the women were either widowed or divorced, and live together in Blanche's house to help save money. This, of course, is much more believable than Carrie being able to afford a beautiful New York City apartment, and Manolo Blahnik's on a columnists salary. And, while these women are neither young nor married, their lives have hardly ceased.

Sex is another reason this is a fantastically feminist show. Name another show where women this age are portrayed to have a vibrant, healthy sex life. The women of this show formed a very strong bond, and were able to talk to one another about their sex lives. They formed their own family, and enjoyed the company of men when it suited them.

Of course, the women often dealt with very modern issues (well, modern for the 80s, anyway). The show addressed AIDS, artificial insemination, racism, and fat-shaming, to name a few.

In the end, despite the cheesy "solve-all-life's-problems-in-a-half-hour" feel, and the awful Saint Olaf stories, this show provides a very strong role model for young women. One in which life does not end at 50, unless you know a good plastic surgeon.

I have not updated this blog in ages (at least, according to "internet time" - in fact, in internet time, I think it may be considered centuries). Is it because I have lost interest in putting words to screen, and exercising my writing muscles? Not in the slightest. It has just been a very busy few months in my life, and this hasn't really been top priority. Suddenly, while watching television the other night, I had several ideas for different blog posts. While I will likely start drafting several of them this evening, I thought that the most appropriate thing to do would be to give an update on where I am and what I've been doing the last few months. This is far more for my own reflection, rather than any assumption that anyone is sitting on the edge of their seat, hoping for a blog update.

First of all, I finally got a job. I am no longer tempting, but I am an Administrative Assistant in public policy at the National Association of Children's Hospitals. This has been a wonderful fit for me, and I very much love my job ( as much as you can love being an admin, anyway. I'm working on moving up a little bit, so we'll see where that goes). Of course, with health care reform moving through Congress at the rate it has been, it's been very busy. It is no coincidence that I am coming back to my blog during the August recess.

John and I moved in together. And I finally got out of Lorton. I loved living with my William and Mary cohorts, but man I hated that small, water treatment plant scented town so far away from everything. Now I live in Arlington, closer to work, and closer to the District. These are both very good things for me. And while I expected that John and I would have the typical relationship growing pains upon moving in together (wet towels on the floor, toothpaste on the vanity, etc), so far everything has been absolutely perfect. I couldn't be happier.

And, of course, there is the book club. I reviewed a book I read for this club the first month I was a member, but I never reported back on how the meetings went. I have always wanted to try out a book club, and I am very glad that I did. It is not a group of intellectual snobs reflecting on their own genius - nor do we read fluff pieces with no substance or intrigue of any kind. The leader of the club often selects books that I would likely have never picked up on my own, but often touch on very interesting issues of race, class, gender, etc. The group varies somewhat in age (although I believe I am the youngest person who shows up regularly - shocking, I know), race, and gender, and has a great dynamic. Everyone looks at the book from a different perspective, and we come together to illuminate these different readings to one another. My next meeting is tomorrw evening, and we will be discussing Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas. I highly recommend the book, but if you don't like stream of conciousness, you probably will not enjoy it. In fact, I have roughly 60 pages to read before I'm done, so I should probably do that now.

Please excuse the rough, rambling nature of this post - I'm not in a re-reading and editing sort of mood.

No more snowdays?

Ah, I think the last vestige of my childhood has finally been crushed. This morning, I woke up to at least 3 inches of snow covering the ground. Now, the last time I saw this (it's been at least 5 years since I've seen this much snow...living in the mid-Atlantic during global warming and all), it was enough to cancel school for the entire day. Maybe even two, just for good measure. NO more, ladies and gentlemen.

As soon as my parking lot was plowed (which didn't happen until 9:30, so I still got a nice little morning reprieve) it was time to clean off my car and head into work. Welcome to adulthood. No more snow days.

Actually, I really thought about going to work at the normal time. I went outside at quarter to 7 to clean off my car, so I could leave at 7, per usual. As I was cleaning off my car, I noticed two things. 1) I was the only jackass outside trying to clean my car 2) My parking lot was covered in 3-5 inches of snow. I decided that I didn't want to test my theory that my car was too low to the ground to make it over the snow. What are ya gonna do?

Life's Guilty Pleasures

Ah, Sundays are always fantastically relaxing and lazy. I usually end up spending almost the entire day in my pajamas. Not that my Saturdays are all that much more eventful. In fact, many times, they aren't more eventful at all. I really should take more advantage of all DC has to offer to me, but I really don't. However, my free weekends may soon be busy waiting tables. Which won't leave me with time to do things on the weekends, but it will give me the money to do the things I don't have the time to do. What a conundrum. Ah, well, what are ya gonna do?

For lack of any decent segue, let's just jump right in, shall we? I was reading Time magazine yesterday morning, as I like to do. There was a very interesting little article by James Poniewozik about our culture's current obsession with the elite class in our society, despite not having the means to remotely live like them (and for this, I am rather grateful).

As an example, he cites many of the shows on the Bravo TV network, and let's face it, the man has a point. His prime example, of course, is the Real Housewives of (enter city/region here, there's a whole slew of 'em). Now, I must admit, I occasionally get sucked into this show. Don't get me wrong here, I don't actually go out of my way to seek it out, ever. However, if a roommate is watching it, or perhaps I'm flipping through channels, searching for something mind-numbing, I may stop to watch to this show. It's like watching a train wreck. No matter how badly you may want to stop watching, you just can't do it. The drama, the petty fights, the absolute spoiled behavior. It is absolutely unbelievable to me that adults can act in this manner. And man, is it ever entertaining.

But, do these women really deserve a show on television? I mean, I know everyday people who do wonderful things every day, and make these fantastic contributions to society. Yet these women, who usually have no sort of job and rarely lift a finger to volunteer or make the world around them a better place, get reality television show deals, where they can make an ass out of themselves in front of an audience of millions, making I'm sure I don't want to know how much money. And we are the ones that give them at money. Yes, you and me. After all, if we didn't watch, advertisers wouldn't advertise, and there would be no money for the network to hose the show. But we do watch.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some crazy superhuman who thinks that we should have no source of mindless entertainment, and everything should be taken as a serious reflection on our popular culture, with no time to be entertained. I mean, like I said, I watch this show too, and I find it extremely entertaining. And while I don't seek out any of the Real Housewives series, I certainly do seek out America's Next Top Chef, another of the shows mentioned in the original article. And I love it.

But, let's face it, not at least acknowledging the ridiculousness of the things we find entertaining may lead to a slippery slope of a mind-numbingly dumb society. Ever seen the movie Idiocracy?

The White Tiger

I just finished reading the book The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read, which I was only exposed to because I recently joined a book club (I haven't attended the first meeting yet, more on that when I have), and that was the title for this month's meeting. All the better for me, since I probably never would have picked up this book while browsing the shelves of my favorite bookstore (note to self: I need to find a favorite bookstore in this area).

It was very interesting to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire while reading this book, since they both take place in India, and deal with extreme poverty. The White Tiger, however, handles the extreme poverty a little bit differently. As you may or may not have read earlier, I thought in many ways, poverty in Slumdog was romanticized. Two brothers, struggling against all odds, often triumphing, getting money from American tourists and engaging in humorous tricks to earn extra money. The White Tiger, also told from the point of view of a man living in poverty, does not romanticize the extreme poverty in India whatsoever.

As a boy, the protagonist was his father's only hope of a family member actually completing school, and getting a decent job; thus ending the cycle of poverty for the family. However, when the father dies from tuberculosis, the young protagonist, like his older brother, must drop out of school and start working in teashop. Eventually, the young boy decided to become a driver, because this will bring in more money for the family then working in the teashop.

The book provides an interesting look (at least, I assume it is an interesting and honest look, I suppose I am no expert) at the cycle of poverty in India. The servants, though they make money, hardly make an outstanding amount of money, and what money they do make must be sent home to their families. In turn, the families spend the largest part of the money renting the land they use to farm from the wealthy landowners, so it is still never saved. In the end, it is almost impossible to rise above the cycle of poverty you are born into.

The protagonist, in this story, is one of the few that manages to rise above the poverty and become one of the wealthy. The only way he is able to accomplish this is by murdering his master. Trust me, I'm not giving anything away. This is something the protagonist lets you know from the very beginning. The book left me, well, questioning how I felt about this protagonist. He was uneducated, subject to extreme poverty, and in many ways, a sympathetic character. However, there were things about him throughout the entire novel that detracted from this sympathy.

In terms of style, the book was written in a unique fashion. The book was a series of letters written by the protagonist, to the Premier of China, who was making a trip to India to see what motivates men to become entrepreneurs in such a corrupt, impoverished nation.

While this may never make a list of my top ten reads, I would certainly recommend it to others. It is interesting, and insightful. Even if it doesn't expose the true India, it certainly captures some honest aspects of human nature, some more attractive than others.