Sunday, November 15, 2009

The nursery--tah dah!

We have ordered window shades and we will ultimately purchase a rainbow colored rug. It's not a huge room but it works.







And, for those sadistic out-of-town friends dying to know how huge I am, here's me:

Friday, November 6, 2009

Why sexism hurts men

Women students take lead roles at Ga. Tech That's a headline from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from November 4.

I just "googled" my blog title to see if I could take the easy route and link some other blog. What I got is that: "men aren't allowed to cry" and "feminists rob men of their roles in the family" business which, while possibly well founded, is not what I'm talking about. What I mean might be described more clearly with the phrase, "Why discrimination against women hurts men" or "The importance of diversity for men."

I bring this up b/c of the quote in the ajc article regarding our illustrious president, Bud Peterson:
Peterson said it’s crucial for women to succeed. He recalled an activity a few years ago when the car company Saturn asked students to suggest improvements. Some women suggested a compartment on the back of the passenger seat with a hook to hang purses and other items. Handbags slide around and the contents empty out if the car suddenly stops, the women explained.


Sigh. This stupid little anecdote has been told by Bud before and it's offensive. You may have some other suggestions but I think the reason it's offensive is because women have been reduced to a ridiculous gender stereotype. We are valuable to industry because we install make-up mirrors on the insides of laptops...actually, I couldn't even come up with something more ridiculous that Bud's example. It's especially ridiculous because of this previous paragraph, written by the article's author, Laura Diamond:
National studies show the relatively new area of bioengineering has been popular with women. The field encompasses engineering applied to living things and has been used with ultrasounds and artificial knees and hips.


Ultrasounds, Bud, and artificial knees, you sexist jerk...[muttering]purse hooks, for crying out loud...

So, now I come to the subject of my post, an issue that my advisor and I discussed briefly this morning in the hallway:

Reasons that sexism (against women) hurts men:

1. Many of the world's smartest people (about half) are women. If we leave these particular smart people out of the workforce or force them into positions where they aren't allowed to think or contribute, the society as a whole (including the men) lose out on progress. The structure of DNA would not have been solved by men alone, for example.

2. Spending all of one's time thinking about one's own perspective, and having that perspective echoed back to you by the people around you, is not good for people. It makes them over-confident and boar-ish.

3. It must be exhausting to be constantly handing out favors to those beneath you. Wake up and realize that that's not what you're doing. By surrounding yourself with women in the workplace who could kick the crap out of you academically and in terms of hard work, you may start to feel less resentful of affirmative action...if you could ever actually admit to yourself that that woman just kicked the crap out of you...probably you think it's b/c of that extra year they gave her to get tenure...

Okay, so I've clearly dissolved into frustrated finger-pointing. If you, my friends, have any other suggestions for how (a) Bud Peterson could better describe the importance of diversity at GT or, (b) Men suffer from sexism (against women), let me know.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Milo = large jicama


This comparison between babies and produce makes me laugh. I like it, overall. Especially when he was just a tiny little blueberry-sized guy. I'm not sure I need as much help in imagining 3 3/4 lbs and, even if I did, I'm not super familiar with jicama. I do have 3 lb weights at my house, having participated as much as most people have in the at-home fitness video movement. At 36 weeks he will be the size of a Crenshaw melon, which does me no good b/c I've never even heard of that. Anyway, the thought of Milo as a jicama is a little bit cute.

He's very elbow-y and pokey but less turn over-y than he used to be, which is apparently b/c he's getting so big in comparison to his space. I like it when I can feel a little elbow or whatever on the outside of the belly. He used to sort of lean against one wall or the other and Kevin and I would spend time poking around until we found him (i.e., found a solid part of the belly), but now he's pretty much close to the surface all the time and all over. The only difference is when he pokes out a foot or whatever, which you can see/feel as a solid bump or asymmetry (for those of you who haven't actually had this experience before). The belly button is still hangin' in as an "inny" but it's really being pushed to its limit. Also, a lot of it is now on the outside, as it has become very shallow, and that skin is all soft and hairless, having been indoors for 32 years. Anyway, I have pretty much avoided baby talk up until now but it's pretty much the topic of conversation these days.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Better pictures of my cats

I think that these postures do a fairly good job of illustrating their natures, particularly if you consider how close I had to stand to take the pictures.



Here, Chloe is getting ready to bolt b/c I've been standing so close for so long (approx. 10-12 feet away for about a minute).



Wyatt, on the other hand, is only still curled by himself and not actually sitting on me b/c he's asleep and doesn't realize I've gotten up.