Bluebaru

Hello gentle readers out there in the interwebs. I took last weekend off. I had nothing really of vital necessity to write about, nothing annoying the shit out of me enough to vent online about, and nothing really deep or meaningful. So, my husband and I took off to enjoy a wee bit of nature. It was the day before spring started after all.

Yes, Goat. Spring is finally here...although in Montana, that means there still will be snow at some point.

We took off mainly because we had just bought a new car: a bright blue Subaru Outback. I love it. I've never bought a new car from a dealer before, and I think I did fairly well. I emailed with dealers around the area. If they didn't email me back or tried calling me when I expressly said not to, they were disqualified. I was getting close to buying one about 3 hours away, but Subies are popular and they go fast. Missed out on that one. There was one about 90 minutes away, but it wasn't the right color. It was red. Red jacks up your insurance. Frankly, I also figured this was my first ever purchase, and I wasn't going to settle for some other color. It had to be blue.

That's right, Pusheen. I was going to wait until that blue one came along.

Then one popped up here in town. So I emailed the dealer about it. I got a peppy call back. Oops. Forgot to tell them in my email not to call. After that though, he did email as a follow up and we communicated that way from then on. It was blissful and suited my schedule.

That's right, Kermit. If we were going to do this, it was going to be on my terms.

Once it seemed like a really good idea, I started shopping around for loans. I actually got turned down by one credit union. I was a bit taken aback. They said they couldn't verify my employment. What? Did you even try asshats? I work for the school district. Verifying my employment is easy. Anyway, I got approved through 2 other credit unions,  but the interest rate was much higher at my credit union, the one I've been with since I was 13. I thought, "Hmmm, that's not going to work." I emailed my credit union and let them know I really wanted to go through them, but that another CU had come in under their interest rate. Low and behold, my CU said they'd match the other one. To which I replied that the dealer was going as low as 1.99. This is true. They did quote that. And guess what? My CU then said they could do 1.9%. Ha! If you don't negotiate a lower interest rate, you're missing out. I know some big banks can do 0%, but I don't want a big bank. I don't want to feed into that system. Besides, it wasn't through the Subie dealer here either. Consequently, 1.9% was really the best I was going to get.

Thanks, little turtle. I felt like clapping for me, too.

Anyway, the price on the Subie was also about two grand under blue book. I got a good deal all around. Funny enough, the fellow who sold me the car looked about 16, but he happened to be the son of a man I used to work with. Small world. I made sure to thank him profusely for all of his hard work and for being so forthright and not being pushy. He was great. He also wears bow ties every Friday. I appreciate a good bow tie.

I know you do, Doctor.

If you even noticed I didn't blog last week, this is why. We took our new Subie out for a highway run to a nearby water fowl preserve to watch the snow geese. We went about an hour out of town and tested the cruise control. I haven't used that in a long time. It's pretty cool. We tested the sound system. I love the bass. We tried out the heated seats. I don't know how I ever got along without them. It's ours. It's blue. It's beautiful. I made it happen. Rather proud of my accomplishment. One week on and absolutely love driving it.

That's right, Moose. That's the face I make every time I get to drive the Subie.

Have You Had Your Daily Dose of Gender Bullshit?

This weekend I went to see Niyaz in concert. The music was astounding and they invited us to dance while they played. So I did. I felt wonderful and alive and beautiful! They ended far too soon, but it meant that my friends and I got to hit the highway back home earlier, which meant we'd be home before midnight. Woohoo! On the way home though, my one friend mentioned that she and another friend have been tossing around doing Cabaret. They want the Kit Kat Girls to be drag queens, which I think as a concept is fantastic. My friend wants to direct it and said that she thought I'd make a great Sally. Uffda! That's huge. She surprised me with that idea. In my head, I was thinking, "I wonder who they want for Sally. They need a person with a lot of vocal and dance talent for that." Definitely not me in other words. However, as I was processing this bit of info, she added that her husband (who was driving) said I was too old. What the actual fuck?

You heard right, Goat. Too old. I wish he was joking.

I can think of plenty of reasons I should not be Sally, but my age ain't one of them. After all, Natasha Richardson was 35 I think when she tore up the role on Broadway. Seriously? My age is not the reason. If the Kit Kat Girls can be drag queens, then I could play Sally if I had enough confidence in my voice.Well hello there sexist, ageist bullshit. I've not missed you one iota. Especially not from a friend.

I agree, Giraffe. Fuck off on the age excuse buddy.

Then I wake up after the stupid time change (spring forward sucks ass) only to see reports of some idiot humping the statue of the defiant girl standing in front of the Wallstreet bull. Well who didn't see this coming? I did as soon as they announced the installation. Some idiot somewhere was bound to do this. Drunk or sober, someone was bound to do this because people suck, men are stupid, and sexism still exists. His only regret will be that someone caught him on film so he will always be the guy who humped the girl statue. Do I really need to go into why this man was wrong to do what he did? Do I really have to point out that it was a statue of a young girl and so his inappropriate gyrations is akin to acting out sexually assaulting a child? That's horrifying. People should be outraged by this and should not excuse it was a drunken indiscretion that harms no one. It does harm people. It does send a clear message that sexual assault and feminism are nothing more than a punchline for douche bags like this guy to mock with rapey behavior. Females are objects of sex in societies all over. Years and years of telling girls that he hits you because he likes you and boys will boys creates a culture where this kind idiocy is ok. Got news for you: it's not ok. 

Owl disapproves of attempts to excuse this asshat's behavior.

My friend who wants to do Cabaret then sent me an article link about this guy who couldn't figure out why his clients were suddenly being cold and questioning all his ideas in his emails. Turns out he shared a mailbox with a female colleague and was inadvertently signing his emails with her electronic signature. He was shocked. I wasn't. His colleague wasn't. It's kind of a big "Duh!" actually. Still, he sent a few emails to test his theory and signed some with his and some with hers only to discover that emails with the same content were received differently depending on the gender of the signature. Well golly gee! Thanks for validating what women have been saying all along. Thanks for opening your eyes to what gender studies have been reporting for eons. Hey look, everybody! It's everyday sexism right there in your inbox!

Pondering bear ponders the truths of yet one more man discovering that maybe listening to women is a good idea. Now that a man has said it, I'm sure it will all change. 

Then today, this vile piece of clickbait came along my newsfeed. I liked a page some time ago because they post thought-provoking quotations that I frequently enjoy and sometimes use as my profile banners, but this one was different. It was a body frame and weight chart for women. According to it, I am overweight, which is bullshit. This image was more than a little bit promoting the idea of  being smaller is better and females best be mindful of their weight because we weigh on average 20 pounds more than the average female a generation ago. Well, our diets are different and contain more processed ingredients, but the weights on this chart are definitely low for those heights, and BMI has been fairly well debunked as an indicator of health. Furthermore, why the fuck is a site that posts famous and thought-provoking quotations posting this bullshit? Just when I was calming down from that one, it got worse. Today the site posted something from 2013 about how a woman's butt shape is an indicator of health. What? I sensed the stupid was strong with this one, but again. Why the hell was this page posting such drivel? So I clicked it to find out what the hell this was all about only to be taken to a truly clickbait site. They were all sketches of female butts because this article was "especially for females" after all. Butt shape as a predictor has nothing to do with health warnings, but oh man! If your butt is shaped like an H, you're carrying to much extra fat in your love handles and you better get to the gym and do some squats. That's what this article was all about--the shape of your butt isn't right, means you have too much fat on this area, and you need to go address that problem right away in the gym. I unliked the page and stopped following it. I'm not up for the occasional body shaming in my timeline. If they want to stick to inspirational or profound quotations, that's cool. Telling me my butt needs work because it's not the right shape? Well, they can just fuck off. I don't need that bullshit in my life. 

White kitteh is annoyed and suggests Word Porn fuck the right off.

It's 2017 and this is still happening. It's 2017 and women will still be fighting this stupid bullshit for years to come. It's 2017 and people want to believe that equal rights are just fine and there's nothing to worry about and women should just stop complaining already! Guess what? Sexism, misogyny, rape culture--it's here to stay from what I can see. I don't want to believe that, but when it's 2017 and friends make comments about age rather than the obvious "She can't sing well enough" and men feel entitled to rub their junk on a statue of a child for a laugh or are just shocked by how women are treated at work and stupid sites post clickbait about how women's bodies will never be good enough, we haven't accomplished the goal of eliminating gender inequality. Everyday sexism people. It's here. It's not leaving. It's bullshit.

Bet mama moose has to go back to work soon because she doesn't have paid maternity leave.

March 8

From where I sit, I see tufts of cat hair and debris on the hardwood. I see dishes on the kitchen counter and in the sink. Over my shoulder, I can see the laundry spilling out of the small basket by the door. I know there is dried toothpaste in the bathroom sink. On an ordinary day, I'd have cleaned all of those things before doing much of anything else. In fact, I'd have cleaned the house before going to work as well as a little after work, but today I didn't go to that paid work gig I have either. It's International Women's Day, so I stayed home.

That's right goat. I am on strike today.

Consequently, I have been doing a few things in honor of the day and its purpose.

I'm wearing red glasses for instance. If I was going out and about for any reason, I'd be wearing red, but I am home and not getting out of my robe. Red glasses are it for now. Red is the color of the day because it is associated with passion, and I am passionate about women's rights not just here in Montana, but in the world. When millions of girls are denied access to education, I feel compelled to support them and wearing red is a visible way to show that...if I were going outside. So I'll wear red glasses for my cats and my own edification. If I hadn't been granted a personal day for today, I would've been decked from head to foot in red by the goddesses!

Umm, that's not quite what I meant.

I've also been listening to the Tori Amos station on Pandora. She's one of the truly strong feminine voices I listened to in college. I love her music. I also get Regina Spektor, Florence + The Machine, and Fiona Apple. This music speaks to me in a way others just don't hit. They are pained, empowered, unapologetic anthems of femaleness. 

She's simply divine.

The organizers of this Women's Strike also thought we should be sure to take time to ourselves, so I played Diablo 3 for a bit. Ok, so it was more like a few hours, but that's beside the point. I got my monk through Torment V and she's ready for her final torment. Then I'll go back and work on my barbarian or witchdoctor. I don't know which, but I like that I am keeping my all female ensemble.

Tigerlilly is badass.

Another thing I've done is research women's topics and fill my timeline with the results. I tried to find transcripts from the Women's March on Montana, but I could not locate any. I contacted the event organizer to see if someone may be working on it. I want to read them and study them. They play a role in my life and the lives of all Montanans. Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I also feel the need to share stories about acid attack survivors in Bangladesh reclaiming their beautiful selves. I further posted about the International Rescue Committee who allow you to pay the tuition for a young girl to go to school for a year. I found a photo essay of young girls from around the world walking to school. Personally, I thought the ones from Moscow were oddly sexualized...reminiscent of the sexy French Maid costumes you see at Halloween around here. I tried not to be judgey about it, but it definitely stands out in my memory as not being quite like the others. One of my favorite sites, I Fucking Love Science, posted a video of famous female scientists; many of them sadly had their breakthroughs stolen and published by men. Fuckers! I knew some of the names like Hypatia. One of my favorites was a TED Talk about why America needs paid maternity leave. Honestly. How the fuck do we not have this? Of course, even if we had it before January 2017, we'd have lost it or it'd be in jeopardy with the Tangerine Shart in office.  

I can't whenever I think of that asshat! He just creeps in and I get angsty and swear a lot.

Anyway, I also took some action on financial independence. I had to verify our tax return to the state due to new identity theft precautions that add over a month's wait time to your return. (insert grrr face) I also balanced the finances. Then I opened the online savings account I've been hemming and hawing about since last year. I may also look at getting my +30 credits so I am maxed out on the pay scale. You see, I am one of those nasty women who are the primary breadwinner in the household. I'm not a finance guru by any means, but I'm learning and figuring out how to make things better for us. Financial independence is something that not a lot of women have, so I appreciate it and intend to make the most of it so we have some security for retirement.

Kitty is rollin' in those singles.

I've also signed a bunch of petitions for causes like Planned Parenthood, the Affordable Care Act, education policy, environmental issues, and civil rights. Whew! So many petitions. There's also the contacting the representatives that needs to happen. Since our stupid heads of state want to introduce a national school voucher system and provide absolutely no safeguards for students with disabilities of whom I work with every day, I again must make some phone calls and send some emails.  At least our state legislature did indeed vote down that measure to allow teachers and staff to conceal carry in school. Dodged that bullet.

Yes, I did that Emma. Bad pun timing?

I did some digging on my health as well. As any of my readers would know by now, I went off Topamax, but then the question became, "What now?" Well, now I get Lamictal. It too has a step up to the dosage-- bit longer than Topamax, but after a week, no weird flavors or odd side effects. Here's hoping that keeps up. I also get to start Benlysta soon for my lupus. I'm a wee bit nervous about a biologic, but it's an actual medication just for lupus, not one of those meds that is made for some other purpose but seems to help or ease lupus. I have to get infusions though. Not really what I'm looking forward to, but it's supposed to really help with the fatigue and the sores in the nose and mouth, so I'm game. It's important to take care of your health and manage it accordingly, so taking time to look into these fits right into the day's purpose I think. I recognize and appreciate the fact that I have access to this healthcare and these choices. My neurologist and rheumatologist are both women. They really listen better and I feel more like I've had an honest discussion rather than a rush in and get the fuck out kind of appointment. I really value the care they provide. I trust them. I owe them big thanks and shouts out for their care. 

That's right, Baymax. It's like a big hug after I see them.

I'm well aware that some people will think this strike is silly, unnecessary, and selfish. Fuck them. Really. I will tell people why I participated if they ask. I will tell them how I spent my day. However, if they're just asking to mock or cajole or ridicule the idea and my participation, fuck them. When equal pay is at risk in our country and the pay gap is not expected to be closed for another 150 years, we've got to keep people active. When the people in Washington are overhauling the Affordable Care Act so people in their 50s and 60s are negatively affected at a time when their health becomes more complicated and they're supposed to be closing in on retirement, we need to be supportive. When the overhaul also includes a defunding of Planned Parenthood which means that women, especially women of color, will lose access and the choice to meet their health needs with professionals they trust, we have to make our presence known. When girls have to walk through war ravaged areas, cling to slippery rocks along a river, or risk rape and human slavery every time they try to go to school, we have got to raise our voices. I know that my position and my status as a white, somewhat middle class woman offers me the privilege to stay home. Therefore it is important that I not take advantage of it. I must not take it for granted. I must not allow it to turn my head in silence while others are beaten down. We've still got a long road to go before we're done.

Keep on, keepin' on, Moose.