FTP 22 - Age, comparatively

     Man, look at that kid over there. He looks so young, maybe just left home, maybe just joined the workforce. And he's complaining about being old?? No way. If only he knew what you've been through, what you have to deal with every day at your age. Makes you feel kinda... decrepit. Maybe you should just accept that you're old, start acting your age...

     Huh, look at that old guy, sitting over there. Bet he just heard you say you feel old. That look on his face though... that looks just like how you felt when you were looking at that kid. Like he's not really looking at you, he's looking at himself when he was your age, thinking about everything he's gone through since then. Betcha to him, you look like some young punk who doesn't appreciate what you've got...

     Well, do you?

     For every person younger than you who's saying they feel old, there's someone older than you who sees you as young and full of life. Go prove 'em right. 

A Hostess childhood

     When I was younger, we weren't really terribly well off. We didn't eat out a lot (which I appreciate, because we got delicious home-made meals instead), but every now and then, we'd stop off at the Wonder Bread Thrift Store, and mom would let us get one piece of junk food each. Without fail, I always went for the Hostess Cherry Pie, a mass of pure sugar-coated pastry full of preserved-cherry fruit squish. It was horribly unhealthy, chock full of calories, and absolutely delicious.

     As the economy grew in the 80s and 90s, the price of these sugar bombs never went up, a fact that- I'm sure- contributed to the company's declaring bankruptcy earlier in the year. Hostess is trying to stay in business during the proceedings, but I've noticed the junk food pastry section in the grocery store is dwindling week by week. For a decade and a half, I have virtuously walked past the alluring Hostess Pies, sitting in their primary-colored wax paper wrappings, and denied myself the temptation of scarfing one down, for old-times' sake. In that last few months, however, that hasn't been an issue, because they're simply not there, and it makes me sad. 

FTP 21 - Posture and attitude

     This week has not been among the best in my life, to be honest. My schedule has been all over the place, I've had twice as long as normal days, and I am so ready for the long weekend. As tired as I've been, though, and as much as I'd love to just tell the world to go fly a kite, one of the things that's kept me going is such a small thing as posture.

     I know, I know, you're tired of people telling you to sit up straight, blah blah blah. Before you blow it off though, consider this. In previous posts and drawings, my faceless, expressionless character has been able to say a lot just by how she stands:

If a simple drawing can express that much just by posture, imagine how much it affects you and your 3D, mentally complex outlook on life. The next time you're feeling grumpy, tired, sad, or depressed, consider how you're sitting or standing, I'm willing to bet it'll resemble the top pictures. Take a deep breath, work the kinks out of your shoulders and neck, and take a look at something above eye level. It's amazing what one little change can make in your day, go ahead and give it a try. Cheers!

Update on Monday

     In light of the fact that this morning's post wasn't terribly uplifting, here's a bit of an update with a better outlook on life. Today started out pretty crappily: my first class started at 9am, which is usually when I'm cooking breakfast. So 7am saw me up and being very, very unhappy (I don't sleep when I know I have to get up early, 'cause I'm so worried I'll sleep through the alarm that I never drift off). Out the door by 7:45 meant that I ran into all the morning traffic that I usually skip on the highway, and once I found a parking spot (a bright moment in the day, as I found a new, emptier, and easier place to park), I discovered that my bike tires were almost out of air. I rode in to class anyway, and sat through one of the most boring intros to a class ever.

This is brilliant, wish I could do it!

 
     One of the main points of going to Russia was to avoid taking a class here at CU that I felt didn't fit in my schedule, and was taught by a grad student I'd had previously as a TA who was afraid of me. The class in Russia turned out to not be what it said it was, but by then I'd signed up for an Intro to International Relations class, with the thought that it would help me relate to Russia and world affairs better. And I'm sure it would, if it weren't for the fact that the class is at 9 am, they're predicting a heavier-snowfall-than-usual winter, it is on the opposite side of campus from where all my other classes are, and it's a lower div class, so it's in a 500-person auditorium and deals only with generalities. I do much better in smaller classes where you can actually ask questions if you're confused.

Limbo

     This is just a short post, because having gotten back from Russia and in trying to get back into the swing of things, I've decided to tear my house apart and revamp everything. Add to that the fact that classes start today, and my schedule still isn't nailed down yet for school or for work, and I'm a little bit out of sorts. I mentioned to a friend of mine this past weekend that I felt like such a slacker because I'd been back for almost a complete week, and still didn't have everything caught up, finished, and in place. She wasn't terribly sympathetic, as (according to her) that's just me being a perfectionist again.

     So rather than posting a scatterbrained dissertation on a random topic, here's something to consider:

1. Despite Todd Akin's recent comments about "legitimate rape," he still has the support of 41% of voters in his area. (Think about that, 41% of the voters polled think there is such a thing a "legitimate rape" vs. "illegitimate rape." Sad.)
2. Women who are raped and choose to keep the child have no legal recourse in 31 states, should the rapist try to get visitation or custody rights;
3. Studies have shown that about 6% of men will admit to being a rapist- even being a repeat rapist- as long as the term "rape" isn't used. 
4. "Rape culture," a term coined in the 1970s, has only recently grown in usage, and the US is recognized as being a rape culture. 
5. Police and hospitals in America still treat rape as illegitimate, either by charging the victim for a rape test, denying rape tests if they think the victim knew the accused rapist, giving the victim incorrect information, refusing to enforce their own laws, flat-out not bothering to file a report, or pressuring the victim into recanting their story. 

Comforting, no? So much for America being a beacon of shining liberty. This is kinda a sore topic for me, but I'm not going to apologize. I kept my own silence too long, time to work with others to change that.

Edit: Also, take a look at the VP candidate's view on rape as a "method of conception." I'm sure that's not quite how he meant it, but he made darn sure to dance around the topic...