| Stretch. |
[06 Sep 2008|08:48am] |
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mood |
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 pumped up |
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I woke up today, bright and early, with a goal in mind. I wanted to swim. But not in our village pool. This time, I wanted to do laps in the training pool of my alma mater for the first time. Along with my mom, who tried it the other day, we headed over to the pool and did our laps with some alumni. To our right, the swimming varsity was training and doing drills that I recognized from years ago.
I only did forty-five laps (times twenty-five meters) when I used to do one hundred and twenty a decade ago for training. I'm definitely much slower and have to stop for a one-minute break every two laps. But I don't care. I'm not discouraged. I feel great, even if my thighs have turned to jello. My shoulders somehow seem broader, I feel stronger.
It's awesome.
I think I'm gonna do this every Saturday, if I can.
There's just something about starting one's day with a swim.
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| Carolyn's Vegas Bachelorette |
[05 Sep 2008|02:37pm] |
Went to Vegas during Labor Day Weekend for Carolyn's bachelorette party.
Now, I don't gamble so I'm not the hugest fan of Vegas...but I do love food and dancing, so great fun was nevertheless had.
I don't gamble, but still managed to sit next to Ann while she played blackjack for 4 hours. We imbibed 10 free drinks. Now we are tipsy and it is difficult to go clubbing.
We made it out to Tao and crashed this table of guys (Would I like a drink? Why yes, thank you!) who were there for a bachelor party.
This picture make me laugh because we look like Sex and the City and it looks like we're laughing at that guy and he's all "You guys? I'm RIGHT HERE."
We had lunch the next morning at Olives, Todd English's restaurant in the Bellagio.
I was disappointed. My lambchops were so gamey and a little tough. They looked better than they tasted, for sure.
Directly before this picture was taken, I saw LEONARDO DICAPRIO. He was literally 5 ft away from us! I swooned.
But no pictures. I had to play it cool, guys. Even though I used to print out pictures of him in black and white on the school library printer in 1996.
Went to Blush and Tryst on Saturday night. Blush was wack; Tryst was crowded. I suppose that made it better.
The guy behind me said I "danced good for an asian girl." A little while later, a sleazy italian man asked me if my hair was a weave. Backhanded compliments = SADDINGS.
Wound down the night at the bar inside Wynn and met these nice fellows. The guy sitting next to me is a 9th grade math teacher. Another guy used the phrase "non sequitur." I was like, "yall smart."
One dude (not pictured) was a director of a made-for-TV-movie (lol) on Showtime starring Ja Rule.
"What was Ja Rule like?"
"Horny"
"Yech."
After a delicious buffet at Bellagio, we looked at pictures we had taken and I picked my nose.
My last day. Suemy and I are SADDINGS.
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[05 Sep 2008|10:17am] |
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I just read this article on yahoo and if it's true then I don't know how I would feel about it. It does make me feel better that they might actually use the original cast.
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[05 Sep 2008|08:39am] |
Thoughts on new 90210.
So, I rewatched the episode and I think I know what I didn't like about it. It moved too fast with too much. The whole episode you jump around into their lives with no real connection. It was kind of herky-jerky, do you get what I'm saying? The episode could have ended with them frollicking in the water, but they chose to tack on another hour, but the second hour, to me, was worse than the first.
The first season of the real 90210 wasn't like that at all. You saw instantly that some of these characters had a past together and the past actually meant something. Here, you get slight mentions of it, and I get that it's all to get you to watch it again, but there's nothing really there.
The lead character is a self-righteous goody-goody who I don't really like. Her brother, is pretty cool (basically the way I felt about Brandon but not how I felt about Brenda). Your bad girl (who I suppose is supposed to be a mixture of Kelly and Brenda -- good luck with that) is someone who you see no true character definition for until she finds out that her bf is cheating on her. Her boyfriend, who I suppose they're trying to make like Dylan McKay just doesn't work. He's not smoldering hot, he's average at best.
I suppose if you're trying to keep up with trashy shows like Gossip Girl then you have to sink to shallow levels and give us shows with no true substance, but I miss the days when teen dramas were more than people getting bjs in SUVs or elaborate un-sweet 16 parties. The first season of 90210, the original, they dealt with every day issues that teenagers faced. Kelly talked about her first time (date rape), Brenda dated an older man, Brandon had an issue with drinking, and it was a show where you could really identify with the lead characters. I think that's the difference. Shannen Doherty, while difficult to work with off camera, was able to bring a great likability to Brenda. She wasn't a bitch on the show, just in real life. Brenda and Brandon were truly relatable. These kids just aren't.
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| of some M-ish updates |
[05 Sep 2008|04:55pm] |
Last night was good, too good, seeing people after a year. There's no need to drink, because hey, I'm having fun with my iced tea. So I realised that people and relationships, one and the same, cultivation and maintenance are the only things that can keep things going. There shouldn't be any popping around and picking things up in hopes of a friendly "howdydoo". Oh, it's the pain today talking.
What pain? Since 9am, I am the proud owner of a lower left jaw that is now missing a terrible looking pre-molar. Took the tooth (with only half the root, nicely fractured) home to hold for ransom with the Toof Faery. Maybe he'll demand I pay him for wasting his time. And the ache from the stitches.. came after the numb-like-nuts anesthetic wore off. I'll take a photo of the amazingly troublesome tooth for those interested.
p.s. I'd like to have some mooncakes but Danny seems to think his mooncakes are better than mine.
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| Current |
[05 Sep 2008|02:07pm] |
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mood |
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 sleepy |
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The weekend is here (almost) and I thought I will do one of my random posts again.
Just bits and pieces of what I am currently into right now.
Drink: Rice milk
Food: Tomato based pasta. For chocolates, it's Kinder Bueno
Music: There is a playlist called Repeat on my nano. All kinds of songs from Jason Mraz to Jay Chou to One Republic
Sports: Running. And pilates and yoga.
Brands: KATE SPADE! A&F, Urbanoutfitters, Bluefly, G-star, Nike...
Pastime: Online shopping, sleeping, watching DVDs.
TV shows: Grey's Anatomy (DVDs)
Color: I always have a problem deciding on this. Any color that looks good on me. Been going for greens, bright colors. Bold clash -bright pink with green, chilli red and bright blue ..
Outfit: Still in my dress phase. If not jeans/shorts, layering tops. . And flip flops (alot), dressy sandals, flats. Oh earrings earrings.
Object of desire:Make that object(s). Thinkpad X300. And love to have - Blackberry Pearl, iPhone, and strangely, diamond earrings.
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| Our friends |
[05 Sep 2008|11:40am] |
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mood |
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 grateful |
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I love this group of friends that we have. Everytime we go out together, we always have a great time and laugh and laugh. We are all in a similar stage in life and share a lot of common interests and goals. Everyone is very supportive of each other and it's a very encouraging group to be with. There are a couple of madcaps in the group and that always makes things fun.
( Our date at Ah Chew desserts )
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[04 Sep 2008|10:26pm] |
You know, I love That 70's Show. It's such a funny show.
Anyway, Landon is spectacular! He's precious and squishy. They circumsized him this morning and so Adam went to change his diaper and nearly cried when he saw what it looked like and so he couldn't do it, my mom had to. Brittni took a shower today and Adam was in there helping her and he couldn't do it from outside the shower so he finally climbed into the shower stall, clothes and all, and bathed her. When he came out of the bathroom with a fresh and clean Brittni, soaked to the bone, my mom asked what happened and he told her and she looked at Brittni and smile and said "That's love." Adam sat in his wet clothes in a chair beside Brittni's bed and held her hand.
And worked sucked. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be with my nephew. Also, I was super tired.
My allergies are kicking up and it suuuuucks.
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| Looming 70.3 |
[05 Sep 2008|08:51am] |
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mood |
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 nervous |
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Poor Merv hasn't been able to get in any form of training for the past week. Everytime he wants to fit in a run or cycle or swim, the rain always foils his plans.
Today I woke up at 6.30am to the sight of him looking forlornly out of the window. He was all changed and ready to go for a swim but it started to pour.
So we went out for breakfast instead. :p
Poor thing. I hope he will still be able to finish his big race in a decent time that he will be happy with. And every night I pray that he will make it back safely to the finishing line. It's such a gruelling race, I'm worried.
Please will you also say a prayer for him?
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| 'Sup? |
[05 Sep 2008|08:31am] |
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mood |
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 hungry |
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I honestly can't think of a better title, so yeah. Forgive me. It's a Friday morning and I just finished playing 5 games of table tennis against a fellow early bird.
I feel like typing randomly, sans the bullet points, so here we go. Lack of cohesion coming right up.
I really, really want a new lens this year. I haven't bought anything for my DSLRs; only stocked up on film for my Lomo cameras earlier in the year. Now that I've been more and more exposed to different lens capabilities, thanks to friends in the photography business, I think I want to upgrade what I have. Might possibly get one when the family and I go to Hong Kong next month. I'm just debating on either an ultrawide angle lens or a faster lens (i.e. 18-50mm f/2.8). I need both but I don't know what to prioritize. Choices, choices!
I'm excited for tomorrow morning. My mom befriended someone in Ateneo from another department and this woman apparently swims in the campus lap pool every morning. My mom tried it out for the first time yesterday and tomorrow, I'll be joining them. I haven't swum in a lap pool in a while (our village pool, while it's long enough to give you a workout, isn't quite 25m. long). It's a good thing I recently bought a new swim cap and anti-fog goggles; time to use them!
My dad, youngest brother CJ and I watched an old episode of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader last night and were seriously disturbed. One contestant dropped out because she didn't know the adverb in the sentence "Yesterday, Marki drove the car." She said "drove". Seriously. And the contestant after would have dropped out as well, if not for his classmate who saved him. He didn't know what articles were. The sentence was too long to recall for blogging purposes, but it was clear enough that there were three of them in the sentence: a, an, the. The guy's answer was all pronouns. I mean, seriously. I might forget how many moons Saturn has, but I genuinely believe that basic reading and writing skills (just like basic Math, i.e. adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing) shouldn't be forgotten.
My shows have started their new seasons and I was able to catch Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill (are my sister and I the only ones who still watch OTH?). I wasn't too impressed with both first episodes -- it was just nice to watch them again after such a long break. I will say, however, that GG's Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) is looking gayer and gayer. But Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) is still as hot as ever, even if he's somewhat "lost" these days.
Grey's Anatomy, I miss you!
Okay, maybe I should stop rambling and eat breakfast.
TGIF!
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| bandwagon, let me jump on you? |
[04 Sep 2008|05:57pm] |
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mood |
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 melancholy |
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music |
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Kelly Clarkson - Irvine |
] |
The first lines of the last 20 stories I've posted:
1. One breath. {From For Him, while Dreaming}
2. Someone must unwrap her. {From The Doldrums}
3. It is the night after graduation, and all through Sunnydale, kids are celebrating their escape from the great Snake. {From The Wife of Lot}
4. Early morning light scissors across the room, white and chalky. {From By the Rivers Dark, 6}
5. As her run slows to a walk, and her pumping breaths stride on, she stops with the mantra I am the Slayer, I am the Slayer, I am the Slayer because it is beginning to make her feel a little crazy, and that is the last thing that she needs. {From By the Rivers Dark, 5}
6. Veronica sits on my living room floor, goose bumps prickled along her thin arms. {From The Red Deeps, 7}
7. Buffy concentrates on her own breathing. {From By the Rivers Dark, 4}
8. When she returns from her day out, he is standing at her apartment door, caught between the smells of miso soup and car exhaust. {From The Lightning Tale: in Five Acts}
9. Fall. {From By the Rivers Dark, 3}
10. Not quite breathing, not quite feeling. {From By the Rivers Dark, 2}
11. She is dreaming, and she knows she is dreaming, but that does not stop the tidal flow from her mouth as she is banged up against a snowy badland, her body used as timber in a fire, as she says, I want a plate full of salt, a mouth full of gold. {From By the Rivers Dark, 1}
12. it happens in Cleveland as she is closing up shop for the day, the Potentials feathering around her like birds, flapping and cawing and chattering. {From The Accidental}
13. “So this is how it goes,” Veronica says, apropos to nothing, as she kicks snow with her feet, kicking until her black boots are wet and shiny, and little wavelets of snow rise into the air, falling against the sky, falling against my feet. {From The Red Deeps, 6}
14. I eat breakfast by myself in the windy kitchen. {From The Red Deeps, 5}
15. Vast, running hills of salt. {From The Red Deeps, 4}
16. The library was sweet and still. {From Five Times Buffy Kissed Angel (and once when she didn't)}
17. When I arrive home, I am salted with snow and dreaming of the hot Pacific. {From The Red Deeps, 3}
18. They sail into Opunohu Bay by the grace of the moon. {From The Sorrows of Josephine Potter}
19. She has her leather pants on, so that everybody knows she's not to be fucked with. {From The Lonely Girls Club}
20. once upon a time, she finds a crack in the mirror. {From The Rowing Endeth}
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| Things I Want (Today) |
[04 Sep 2008|11:51am] |
 
Elizabeth and James Belle de Jour Dress
Price: $445
Why: It's pretty and I have a thing for cut-outs lately.
Does anyone know how the sizing of Elizabeth and James clothing runs? I assume it runs small...because it's designed by MK and Ashley Olsen. Makes sense?
Bebe Jayana Side Lace Sandal
Price: $129
Why: Cut-outs, side laces, 5in heel
I have an aversion to Bebe. Like, a strong aversion. It's almost offensive. But I was accompanying some friends shopping this past weekend and they wanted to look around Bebe so I followed. I wandered around and between the rows of slutty platforms and ankle-strapped madness, I saw these.
THIS I can deal with.
There's no whorish platform, the heel is quite high, but not slutty-high, and the subdued cut-outs and laces make it almost professional? Well, as professional as 5-inch patent pumps can be.
Kitchenaid Professional 5 Stand Mixer
Price: $419.99 ($199.99 refurbished)
Why: The more to bake my cakes with my pretties!
I've been wanting one of these forever. This is the 5qt, 450 watt version so it's more powerful than the typical Artisan line. Also, it has a stand-lift instead of a tilt-head, so you can keep it underneath cabinets without having to pull it out each time you want to use it.
Ok this isn't really a Things I Want Today (TIWT) item since I bought it yesterday. In Empire Red. =D
OXO Good Grips Food Scale
Price: $49.99
Why: I need to weigh stuff in grams.
This scale is good because it's flat so when not in use, you can stick it in a drawer. Also important is having a tare button to zero out bowls and plates you might put on top.
A lot of recipes I want to try have ingredients weighed out in grams. Usually, they're "sensitive" recipes where the weight of certain ingredients need to be exact in order for the dish to turn out correctly. Weighing by volume with cups and teaspoons and such isn't accurate enough sometimes.
Next goal: bake the perfect french macaroon.
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| All in one |
[05 Sep 2008|12:36am] |
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mood |
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 good |
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Who's the cutest?
Looks like mommy here.
Shoooooe
There are some kids that bawl and scream and kick and make me re-consider the thought that I intend to have kids. But then there are some that are so adorable, smiley and good-natured that I think I can perhaps consider 2 or 3.
My favorite Lil Ms B melts my heart each time she gives that cheeky grin. Although I can't quite understand what she says - she said I want rice. But I heard papaya, I don't quite mind if she goes on and on. It's really quite entertaining. I have never seen a tyke smile so much. And she's smart as well. I think this little one is going to be a charmer when she grows up. She already is :)
:::::
Finally! My very own SSC vintage tee!
I caved in.
For the longest time, I have been going goo-ga over the vintage tees at NewUrbanMale. Especially the Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bear tees. However, each time I would walk out of the shop emtpy-handed. I would troop in time and time again but I never could bear to buy one. It was simply too expensive. Still is actually, for a tee. I could never find a SSC tee in Bangkok nor in U.S. So I would walk into NUM to check out the tees over and over again.
I walked in again and this time around, I walked out with one tee. I just couldn't help it anymore. I almost went crazy. The material is so soft and the graphics bring back many sweet memories. I must have brought in at least 10 tees to try on - SSC and My Little Pony. There was a special promotion where you get a free tee for every 3 that you buy. Tempting.. but well, I couldn't bring myself to spend almost S$200 on tees. No no.
I guess, I am proud, or should I be embarassed to say, that I finally own a SSC tee.
:::::
I wish all shampoos and moisturizers came in transparent bottles.
Have you ever been in the situation where you underestimated the quantity and you find yourself left with a tiny dollop that is not enough to use?
For those that know me well enough, I use a variety of shampoos and moisturizers. Different brands or same brands but different fragrances. Sometimes I am down to the last bottle of a particular shampoo/moisturizer. And I always wrongly estimate. So again, I landed up with just a little left that is not enough to wash my entire hair. So what should I do? Just use what is left and risk having a slightly smelly head? Or mix two shampoos together or do two rinses?
The other night, I went to bed mostly smelling of mango mandarin and with one arm smelling of sweet pea -_-
:::::
Hurricane from the newly debut album of Jack and Rai is currently on repeat right now. These two guys rawk and I love their rendition of Jason Mraz's I'm Yours, which I heard twice at a concert and wedding.
Music is such a wonderful food for the soul. Have you ever wondered who created the first music and how it all started?
...
And why am I blogging like there's no tomorrow?
Well, I have yet to hit my yabbering quota. TALK TO ME!!!
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| never stop being so crazy, palin. actually, nevermind. stop. |
[04 Sep 2008|05:15pm] |
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 jubilant |
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FOR THE WIN FOREVER AMEN
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| Solo |
[04 Sep 2008|11:29pm] |
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mood |
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 energetic |
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Pastalicious chicken and chicken tikka half wrap
The cheeky boy once said to me, I decided to move to Singapore because they told me people here speak English. But that's untrue! Everyone speaks Mandarin!
I told him that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. Well I guess his opinion is getting swayed now that he hangs out with my friends :P But each time we hit a mall, we hear the people around us speaking mostly in Mandarin so I don't blame him. He was rather surprised that the younger generation mostly speak Mandarin. I explained that we study in English but a fair number of kids converse with their folks in Mandarin. Also, I guess he hangs out at the wrong places :P
So whilst on a work mission, I had a chance to spend some time alone. Just me and me alone. No need to chit chat with anyone, I just had some moments of peace for a bit. I normally dislike eating alone. But sometimes when I feel anti-social, I welcome that thought. And it can actually be fun.
Soup Spoon is one of the places where I typically land up at. I know exactly what the menu offers - I usually land up with a standard order. Soup is a lot of fun to eat. I like peering into the bowl to see what I can fish out. This time around, it was various shapes of pasta, carrot chunks and bites of celery.
When you are alone with no one to talk to, you pretty much land up picking up bits of conversations around you. Okay. That's eavesdropping. I can't help it when the tables are packed close together and people talk a little louder to beat the noise. So on my left were these two girls that were yakking in Mandarin about one of their wedding preparations. Hen's night, the gown etc etc. On the right I heard a conversation in Tamil. Then across me, was a group of caucasians nattering away in English. Awesome! Only in a multi-racial country like Singapore can you find such a situation :) Isn't it lovely?
After being alone for a couple of hours, I decided I needed to find some people to talk to. Well, remember that women have a quota of about 8,000 words to mutter in a day. So I was bursting.
Did I find people? Of course I did :)
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| Costco |
[04 Sep 2008|10:08pm] |
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mood |
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 excited |
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People think that I am MAD when I get excited going to Target and Costco.
Well, I love those stores because you can get everything and anything, cheap. I can get my Garnier shampoo, floss, Nyquil, supplements, Goody hair accessories etc etc. Last month when I was over in Portland, on one of my checklist was to hunt for this camera that I have been eyeing. I was rather disappointed when it didn't stock it. In fact, the range was so limited, I think there were barely 10 models available.
Then TS told me, Costco online. So I suddenly remembered about it and bingo! I found it! And whoohooo!! It's so much cheaper!!! It's going to cost a dent in my account but I will probably get it since I have been looking at it for the last two months and checking it out at a couple of stores. Each time I am at the airport, I walk into the electronic store to look at it -_-
Argghhhh! Why am I feeling so excited??!
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| Republican National Convention |
[04 Sep 2008|08:41am] |
Okay, so I watched Palin's speech last night, but before I watched her I watch Guillani's speech. Have I ever mentioned how much I liked good ole' Rudy? I thought his speech was fantastic!
He raised an excellent point. Sarah Palin is a mother, true enough. She's been governor and mayor and no one ever questioned whether or not she was capable of raising her family and doing those jobs. So, why are they now questioning if she will be capable of being Vice President and raising her children? Why hasn't anyone asked if Obama will be able to be a good father to his two daughters if he becomes president. I think that's incredibly sexists. A woman can be governor, mayor, senator, business woman, but oh, she can't be Vice President because what about the kids?
I once rallied against Hillary being president. I'm not closed minded enough to know that I mainly did it because I don't like her. I don't. But I recognize that she has done something incredibly admirable by opening the door for women in this country. But never was she questioned about whether or not she would still be a good mother when she was Senator. But she was questioned in other areas. The media bias against her was incredibly sexist. What are we telling women, girls, in this country that 'hey, you can do whatever you want, but don't try to run for public office unless you're a nun, and then your religion will get in the way'.
And I have to say that Palin's speech was superb, but I think Fred Thompson's a few nights ago was awesome!!!
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| "over the kingdom wall she's climbing" |
[04 Sep 2008|09:35pm] |
I have been flat out trying to get assignments written the last couple of weeks, but I feel like I am making some head way; so even though I am tired of textbooks & financial statements & journal articles about finance, I am seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. I will be so glad when these reports are written and handed in, next week.
After that, September will be a fabulous month:
- Queensland next weekend with Noel for my uncle's wedding, and finally seeing ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) thebluebells again, after a year
- things at work being less stressful
- Spring arriving, at last
- fabulous music releases this month - Lily Holbrook, Ani Difranco, Emilie Autumn's EP, cd/dvd from Tori [1992 show], cd/dvd from Within Temptation
- New York Fashion Week starting tomorrow, followed by London, Milan and Paris
- new season of Gossip Girl!
- seeing Ri and Jess again at Ri's 30th
- fab international September fashion magazine issues arriving in Borders [Vogue was 798 pages - I love those huge ones!]
I am happy that tomorrow is Friday, even though my weekend will be spent studying; and I can't stop listening to Ani DiFranco's "Self Evident". It seems rather relevant these days.
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| help. |
[04 Sep 2008|06:30am] |
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mood |
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 depressed |
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Soooo. My computer has started running reeeally slowly (and is, presumably, loaded down with viruses/spyware that have evaded my usual software). What should I do? Any suggestions appreciated.
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