80 year old cat lady, eatin' cat food

Above: From the "Created Equal" Series, a set of pictures of many "opposite" Americans

So, I haven't posted in a while.  Blame me for being so busy and so uninspired.  I have been doing a lot of cool stuff in school, yesterday I went to a domestic violence training  and learned about talking to children who have experienced violence.  Today, I am going to do a Chinese cooking class in China town and our whole class is going to make dumplings.  Yum!  Tomorrow, I am taking the bus up to Madison and meeting up with Missy  (of Learning to be a Librarian) who is going to pick me up so that we can go to Ripon.  Here's to hoping that this weekend isn't as much of a shit show as the last few times I will be there.  Seriously, how am I supposed to go to school in a place like that?

Also, I have been thinking a lot about "the future" and how fucking scary it is.  Come May, I graduate from college.  Woah.  Those crazy, depressing, lovely, calm, happy and sad four years have already passed.  It is nuts to imagine that I am almost done.  I realized that I have a few fears of the future: being an old cat lady who eats her cat food because she is poor.  Now, I know that this isn't likely and that I am being irrational, but somehow it just seems likely enough that I am terrified.

My first piece of the irrational fear is the ever-lasting female fear of ending up alone.  Now, I know that I can do this thing called life, and I can probably do it way better by myself than with someone else, but for some god forsaken reason I am scared of being 80 and dying in a bed by myself.  Or going to my college reunion and everyone having cute, picket fence families and I will pull out wallet pictures of my cats.   

The second piece of my irrational fears of the future, the whole eating cat food fear started with my Mom, who when I was growing up she told me, "I don't care what the hell you become, Roberta.  Just don't let me eat cat food when I am old."  I guess the first goal I have after leaving college is making sure she doesn't eat cat food, and my second is making sure that I don't eat cat food. I hope that Fancy Feast's Mariner's Catch tastes as a good as it looks. 

To make this blog post less weird, I have some good links for y'all :  

A Progressive in the Age of Austerity by Thomas Friedman - an op-ed about Mayor Rahm-bo

What the fuck has Obama done so far?

Lady with 24 Inch Fingernails Explains How She Wipes Her Butt - not as funny as the title, but still great nonetheless...

Unspoken Rules for Women in the United States

xo

Come Running to Me

...also, Mom comes here soon!  Next post: either an article about the "unspoken rules" for women, or updates from the Chicago trip of the last week or so.  

xo

Mightier Than the Sword

Hey all!

I know, I have been a little slow on updating, but I am honestly so BUSY!  Today, I watched my roommate Emily run the Chicago Marathon, and boy am I proud of her!  This weekend has been really fun, on Friday we had a chill night down the street at our friend Kate, Katie Rose, Mojo and Kirsten's apartment! It was fun, and we did our usual jamming out to Beyonce, and drinking wine.  It was nice.

Last night, I went to the theater that Jared works at, the Annoyance Theater with Kate and Mayo.  We saw the show that they have about Rahm Emanuel's time as mayor, and his personality, and it was hilarious! I had a really great time, and then met up with Lydia for some drinks for her birthday.

The last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about this program, and who it really benefits.  I have had one hell of a time, and have been enjoying myself a lot.  However, even though there isn't much homework, the experience can be exhausting.  We have reached a point in the semester, where some of us would really kill to just go to  class at our respective colleges for one day - even to have the ability to write on a desk instead of our laps, or while walking down the street!

This program as well from my perspective is meant for people that already view things a certain way.  In the Urban Studies program, we constantly talk to people who have very strong opinions on contemporary political and socioeconomic issues.   For instance, last week we had a teacher from the Chicago Teachers Union (?) who came and told us to participate in Occupy Chicago.

I think the ACM program here in Chicago is great for people who already view the world this way, I think for someone who was perhaps of a more conservative bent would maybe find it hard to relate, or agree with many of the things we talk about.  For me, it's really nice to be around people who think like me, as unrealistic as our idealism and hope for the future can be sometimes.

I guess for people who are more conservative, it would just be an experience that really tested their boundaries and beliefs whereas for me, it is reaffirming everything I already think.

Tonight we're going out for drinks for Stephanie's birthday, and hopefully we'll get a chance to watch the Packers and the Brewers! Love.

xo

Things That Will Survive Nuclear Holocaust

- Cockroaches
- Cher
- Chicago Hot Dogs
- Cheney

Jam of the Day

Fear is a friend whose been misunderstood
but I know the heart of life is good