There are two types of people...

of course any statement that starts off "there are two kinds of..." should be regarded with suspicion, because it likely ignores the complexity of the situation. And there are of course other kinds of people in this world. But there are two kinds I'm going to talk about today: the structuralists vs. the antistructuralists, the conformists vs. the non-conformists, the straights vs. the freaks, those who are off the bus vs. those on the bus. You get the picture. I'm not the first to make this argument.

The first group takes very well to socialization. They continue past traditions. They are up on all the latest trends and listen to pop music. They are religious, and they follow the religion of their parents. They are more likely to vote republican, although many are also democrats. Their lives progress on fairly standard paths, which vary by class and race but all involve some variation on education->job->family->retirement. They are more likely to follow the law, and less likely to have tried any drugs (except a few times in college). They uphold structures of society like marriage and the economy and they are usually perfectly happy with the status quo (except in times of crisis of course). They get upset at other people who have different values than them. They try to legislate their values, and are unfriendly to people they perceive as different from themselves. We need these people. Without them society would likely grind to a halt.

The second group are the tradition breakers. They are more likely to be atheists or agnostics or a smaller religion that their parents didn't follow, and if they are up on the latest trends, it's usually within a specific counterculture like the goth/emo/punk/hippie/whatever culture. They usually (but not always) vote democrat. Or they don't vote at all. They break the law when they think they can get away with it. They are involved in activist movements and creative pursuits. They have blogs, and they post more than just lists of what they did that day and memes. They have a libertarian bent and tent to believe that any choice is ok as long as you don't hurt another person. They are more likely to engage in alternative sexual practices, and are more likely to have tried drugs- and even if they don't or haven't, they don't mind if their friends do. At least in my experience, these type of people are usually very nice to the people they perceive as different from themselves. We need these people. Without them society would stagnate and we would not have necessary social change and progress. This group is a lot smaller than the first group.

Of course these are all stereotypes, and any one trait on either list can be combined within a single person. But in my experience, these traits tend to run together.

is it pesach tonight?

I just made some rice crispies treats...and I'm about to start making greek pasta salad for tomorrow (it needs to live overnight in the fridge). Also, I did not bless the sun. Apparently that's some kind of big deal and only happens once every 27 years.

Pesach was always my least favorite holiday. I got invited to a 'feminist reconstructionist seder' on Friday night (apparently there is a newish trend among the non-orthodox of having the seder on the weekend so that far-away family members can attend). I briefly considered going because it is being hosted by a professor that I love/has really good connections...but then remembered that I don't have to participate in religious affairs if I don't want to. Also I have a party that night I'd rather go to.

As some of you will be saying tonight- "We were slaves but now we are free."

Otherwise, not a lot to write about, as things haven't been very dramatic lately. It's weird...last year after getting engaged and as my family drama unfolded, this stuff was preoccupying me all the time. I was upset about my parents nearly every day and it seemed like I was talking about it all the time, and sometimes probably inappropriately (this stuff is just TMI for casual acquaintances, no?).

But time heals all wounds...and after a few months of family members trying to convince me not to get married earlier this year, things seem to have quieted down on their end as well. The calm before the storm? Or maybe now that the invitations have gone out (including one to my parents, who didn't bother to RSVP no), they realize that it's too late? I hope it's the latter

Only a little over 5 weeks until the wedding! I'm pretty much done with planning things, except for a few odds and ends. Other then that, life is pretty awesome. B is great, Barkley is great, the kitties are great, life in general is great. My new netbook is also great, and I've transferred over all my stuff- I need to rebuild my wedding music playlist from scratch, but that's not too bad. Now all I need to do is stop procrastinating and write this book review that I need to give to the journal's editors on Monday. At least I can work from home again, now that my laptop doesn't randomly turn off every 2 minutes! :)

Gender pet peeves

*When people refer to a generic person as "he" or "him" as if the male pronoun includes everyone

*When people say things are "girly" when really they mean "stupid"

*When people say women can't succeed at certain careers/occupations becuase they will want to have a family and 'naturally' want to leave their career once they have babies (I guess the 75% of mothers who don't become stay at home moms are unnatural?)

*When people say the reason there aren't more women in the science professions is because "there are innate gender differences in the ability to do math/science" (and then they become a senior adviser to President Obama)

*when people say women are 'naturally' more caring or nurturing, thereby making those of us women who don't feel very caring or nurturing feel deficient as a woman

*when people say women are 'naturally' anything that they attribute to gender

*skirts

*When people tell me I'm the "man" in my relationship because I earn more money and have a more established career trajectory than my partner

*When people say they will raise their sons one way and their daughters another way, before those children are even born (so based purely on gender)

*When anyone tries to tell me that there's something I can't do specifically because I'm a woman

Help me decide what new laptop to get!

EDITED: Never mind, I decided to buy this awesomeness:



ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch Netbook
# Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
# Display: 10-inch LED-backlit widescreen LCD (1024x600)
# Intel CPU: Intel Atom N280
# Wireless Data Network: WLAN: 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth V2.0
# Memory: 1GB DDR-2 SODIMM (memory size is upgradable to 2GB)
# Hybrid Storage: 160GB HDD + 10GB Eee Online Storage **Eee Storage service is complimentary for the first 18 months. Please register account information for 6 months extension (depends on country)
# Camera: 1.3 megapixels
# Audio: Build-in stereo speakers, high-definition audio CODEC, Digital Array Microphones
# Storage Cards: 2-in-1 MMC and SD(SDHC) flash card slot
# Input/Output: 1 x VGA port (D-sub 15-pin for external monitor), 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 2 x audio jacks: headphone & mic-in
# Battery: Up to 9.5 hours*, 8700mAh *Operation lifetime subject to product model, normal usage conditions and configurations.
# Dimensions: 10.47 (W) x 7.53 (D) x 1.12-1.50 (H) inches
# Weight: 3.20 lbs
# Color: Sapphire Blue

With a memory upgrade to 2gigs and the best warranty they have, I got all that for only $540! That's like 3x as awesome as my ibook, and 2 inches tinier! And I didn't even have to get vista!

I'm ridiculous

Guess who came home from picking up her newly-taken-in wedding dress from the tailor's last night, and then tried on the dress with all her accessories (jewelry, makeup, veil, shoes) and then paraded around the house for a while checking myself out in every mirror I passed!

That would be me! :lol:

I admit, I was a little worried about the dress when I bought it becuase it was a size too big and didn't look great with all the bagginess. But I LOVE it now that it's taken in and actually fits right! So pretty! I want to wear it every minute of every day!

I'm so glad that I chose to get a nice non-white dress that I can actually wear for more than 1 day in my life, cause now I have a farking awesome dress to wear to future fancy occasions! This is the first dress I have owned since I was a teenager, and those dresses all followed the jewish laws of modesty (sleeves past the elbows, no lower cut then the collar bone). So this is really my first normal fancy dress. :)