Meredith

The IT department can kiss my butt. Since I last brought my laptop to school, they’ve started requiring XP Service Pack 3 to be installed in order to use the wifi network. It took a trip to IT services to figure out that’s what they wanted me to install in order to connect, and I promptly rejected the idea. I told them I would either dual-boot with Linux or just not use the network. And I will probably do the latter, although not having Zotero at school will be a pain.

But see, I’m a nerd. I’m a geek. Expecting a geek to follow your ridiculous IT policy is like expecting a model to eat a hamburger. It just isn’t going to happen. If you read blogs about Cisco Clean Access, you’ll see people decrying its ability to let IT administrators control and monitor your system. That’s exactly my problem. I used to be an IT professional myself. I am not about to let somebody else mess with my stuff. I’ve bowed to the CCA demons long enough…no more!

On the bright side, I did see a sign indicating that the bookstore has Office 2007 for $15 (I paid $60 online last year) and Vista for $25.

PS: Yes, I realize SP3 may not be that bad. But I want it to be my decision to install it.

I am a certified interpreter as well as being a Gallaudet student. In 2009, the RID conference will be in Philadelphia, which is inexpensive for me to visit, so I figured I’d go. There were two registration levels - member ($350) and student ($200). Now, RID has a membership level called student; the dues are less and you must prove you’re currently enrolled in an interpreter training program. But student members at still members, so I thought maybe, just maybe, the student rate for the conference might apply to non-student members of RID. After all, I only work during breaks, so my budget is really tight. I emailed them to ask and I was told that only student members get to pay the student rate for the conference. I wrote back and said thanks, guess I won’t be coming to the conference then.

I guess I see it as kind of unfair. A student rate is discounted because students don’t have as much money, not because students derive less benefit from whatever they’re buying with the discount. It’s dumb to insist someone pay more in this situation. But what can I do? Nothing really. I’ll miss the conference and the opportunity to network with other interpreters. Life goes on, I guess…I’ll just try to forget that it’s so close to home. Pretend it’s in Hawaii or something.

It would appear that some clarification is in order. Somebody I thought wasn’t even interested in me anymore and didn’t read my blog anymore said that she “is deeply saddened by the passing of Prop 8, but does not accept the bigotry directed toward her as a newly engaged straight person.” (I assume this was in reference to last night’s post, but I don’t know if she actually read that or if it’s coincidental.)

First of all, let me say that “bigotry” is not what I was expressing yesterday. That is called “jealousy.” I have never said that straight people shouldn’t get married, only that I hate hearing about it because I am jealous. I think it would be really nice if straight people waited to get married until gay marriage was legal, but that’s probably unrealistic. I am jealous, not bigoted.

I am not anti-straight people. Some of my best friends are straight people. I am a teensy bit anti-straight people getting married, but not much. I am anti-hearing about your wedding because it makes me cranky and bitter that I can’t marry the woman I’ve been with for almost 11 years. And this doesn’t even mean that you shouldn’t talk about it or tell me about it or whatever. It just means that it makes me bitchy. Okay? Thank you.

Added: Turns out she wasn’t responding to me. She’s having conversations with other people instead. I was right, she doesn’t follow me anymore. It was just really crazy timing, I guess.

I’m gonna say this, and I don’t give a fuck what people think of me. I’m a fucking bitter old hag and the world can kiss my ass.

I hate fucking straight people and their weddings. Oh, we’re getting married! Oh, look at us, congratulate us, we’re so wonderful! Fuck that shit. There ought to be a moratorium on all marriages until gays can marry. I know tons of people who have gotten married over the past several years, and I know exactly one couple who is waiting to marry until their gay friends can marry.

Fucking wedding bullshit. You people have such fucking privilege and you don’t even know it. You aren’t grateful for it. You tell your gay friends, gee, I’m sorry you can’t get married, and then you run off and buy a white dress and a ring and find a venue and wave your privilege in our faces. And we’re supposed to be happy and congratulate you!

You know what? I have hated straight weddings for years. And I’m going to keep right on hating until I get married. Thank god we’re going to Massachusetts in the spring.

Disclaimer: if you think the above is about you, IT PROBABLY IS. Because it applies to all straight people getting married. My friends and acquaintances don’t get a free pass here. I hate their weddings too. So if it COULD be about you, then it IS about you.

Fucking bitter, I am.

I went to Baltimore today to interpret for the Mr. Maryland Leather contest. Fortunately another terp showed up to watch, because I had a headache and after an hour I was already forgetting signs like “spring” - durrrrr. So the other terp, who was shocked that they hadn’t asked another terp to work with me, did a while and he was great! I finished the show and got some compliments after. They had to do with what had looked like I was flipping off the MC. He had just been heckling me, and then somebody to his left called out something. He told them “bite me!” so I signed that by giving the finger to my left, toward the MC…and people thought I was the one giving him the finger. None of my deaf folks did, dear sweet Sir Y (who is a terp for the deaf-blind) said “oh no, you said bite me, I read it on your lips!” Hearing people are funny sometimes.

Afterward, I checked my pager and saw there was an update about the heart transplant kid I interpreted for this summer. I realized, hey! I’m right near the hospital! So I emailed his dad to check if it was okay to come over, and ate my egg salad sandwich while I waited for him to answer. (Got it at Whole Foods because I knew I’d be hungry after interpreting.) He said sure, so I went over and visited for a little bit. That kid gave me an AWESOME hug, god he is adorable. (He’s 16 and would not want to be called that!) I chatted with his stepmom about how he’s been doing, and I asked if I could give him $10 for Subway. (There’s one at the hospital, and he hates hospital food so he gets Subway a lot.) She said sure, so I pulled a bill from the back of my wallet, quickly folded it, and gave it to him. Only after I’d left the room did I realize I’d had a $20 in the back, not a $10 like I thought. Oh well, he can have LOTS of Subway. He’s a good kid, and the family is trying to be frugal right now, so I can help out. Of course I haven’t worked much in the past few months, so I’m broke myself, but it’s okay. (Not like I could ask for it back anyway…and he’s just a real sweetie.)

I haven’t posted much lately, I have just been so busy with school! But I wanted to talk about my new gadget. I got a 32GB iPod Touch and it is so cool. I was thinking it might be a way to see if I wanted an iPhone, but now I see that there are too many flaws for me to ever consider making an iPhone my only phone - no highlighting, no copy and paste?! I still love my Blackberry but the Touch is just plain cool. So far my favorite apps are TwitterFon (I tried all the different Twitter apps), BrightKite, and Pandora. Of course I wish it could do stuff without needing to be on wifi, especially for those three apps, but I have wifi at school and at home so I can use it most of the time. It’s so cool!

I have already gotten helpful tips from many people through Twitter, but if anyone reading this has favorite apps they think I should get, let me know! (I would especially love to know about free games that make use of the accelerometer.)

I am feeling better today. Still staying home for one more day but I feel I’ve been more productive today than I have been for the past several days. I’m still really tired but I don’t think it’s mono and I’m hoping to go back to school tomorrow. Forwarded a letter from my doctor to all my teachers. Did I mention I’m still tired? Yeah, so this is all you get, but at least it’s in complete sentences this time. Ahahaha.

Apologies to my mom for not updating sooner. Been real sick. Went to doctor today. If fatigue isn’t better by end of week, will go in for bloodwork. Possibly mono but more likely just virus. Tired, so tired. Couldn’t even brush own hair last night. Got note from doc about school but would … Okay, four hours later, forget what I was saying.

I feel like I’m outside my body or something. It started with overdoing it while swimming. I swam about 7 laps in 15 minutes and I was done. And I way overdid it. My muscles were all screaming in pain the whole way home, and I took three Advil when I got there and it took the edge off a little. But now I just feel really weird. Like my stomach is not right. Like I can smell vomit in my nostrils even though there is none around and my breath doesn’t smell like it. So I am physically crippled by the muscle pain - only 30 minutes till I can have more Advil! - and mentally crippled by completely having no idea what is going on. I haven’t done anything tonight. I’m alternately cold and hot. I don’t know if I’m sick or not. My brain is just non-functional for no apparent reason. I was fine earlier today. What the hell is going on? Who took away normal me and replaced her with some imaginary thing? And no, I have not had any substances. Except Advil, and probably some chlorine while swimming. I just feel so freaky. I’m not even in my body.

I’m surprised by how much Jasmyne Cannick’s article No Country for Black Men bothers me. I have been told to “get out of America” because of my opinions about the president and our government, but when Cannick says how much she dislikes America, I find myself wanting to tell her to get out. For some reason the argument of “I have a right to disagree” that I always use for myself just doesn’t want to apply itself to her in my mind.

I’m also concerned by my “get over it” attitude toward the article. I didn’t know I thought blacks should just get over slavery. I’m not sure that I do think that. But when Cannick goes on and on about blacks are still enslaved (”my people are still waiting”), I just want to tell her it’s time to forget the past and focus on the present. Yes, of course the disadvantaged situation of many blacks today stems from their experience as slaves…there’s no question about it. But is it really necessary to dwell on the atrocities committed back then? Should it just be a fact of life that blacks had this experience and now we move on? Should we move on? What good does it do to express anger at the “torture, rape, and death of countless black people” from long ago? (Even that phrase, “long ago,” is in question - when did blacks start on the road to equality? Was it the end of the Civil War in 1865, or was it not until the Civil Rights Act of 1965? When does the tragic past of black people end?)

The column definitely provoked a lot of feelings in me. I agree with Cannick’s statement “you will never catch me waving this country’s flag” but I disagree with her line about “I will never claim America as my country.” The whole column has left me shaken, and I think that’s a good thing when it comes to op-ed pieces.

• The alumni vs. students College Bowl game was today. We won, but they wouldn’t listen to me about the Brooklyn Dodgers and Thomas Gallaudet! I seem to be the comic relief for audiences, my seriousness and indignation when I’m proved right always gets a laugh.
• The Diddit contest ends in about three hours. I am pretty exhausted and I’ve pulled out all the stops I can think of, so I’m going to leave it at that. If I win, I want to get an iPod Touch, because it’s really sexy!
• While going through old software, A found my CD with wallpaper that I made at an old job! The CD was lost for a LONG time. Now I have approximately 1500 wallpapers for my desktop. Wallpaper Master is certainly getting a workout! I could set the interval for 1 minute and it would be like a slow, immersive screen saver experience. Or something. I’m addicted to wallpaper.

Please, please, please go to this link and vote for couple #5!! Tell your friends and ask them to vote too! (BTW please use a real e-mail address, they will email you to confirm your vote!)

Got another comment on my I Hate Hollister post, from someone with the username “girlygirljen94″:

welll i think that u just dont have enough money to get the clothes. I LOVE ABERCROMBIE & FITCH all my friends shop there. 9i mean like its a must. i think that u are totally wrong and i dont like it.i think that just because you can get it u dont like it.

My reply:

Gee, you know what? You’re totally right. It’s all about money. Life is about shopping. Why didn’t anybody tell me this before I started studying world peace?!

You’re 14, honey. Come back and talk to me in 10 years.

Her comeback:

thats right

*headdesk*

I have to say though, that post is a never-ending source of amusement. I should get a better stats package so I know what search terms people use to find that post.

Well crap, my Flickr Pro account is going to expire in 5 days. I am not working right now so I am cash-strapped. I have to decide if I want to go ahead and buy it…I might be able to swing a one-year account.

Wow…an anonymous benefactor has gifted me with a year of Flickr Pro. It’s so strange not knowing who it is! Part of me really wants to know, and part of me wants to just be happy knowing that someone out there cares about me, even if I don’t know who it is. I’m tickled quite pink!

And hey, I made this awesome papercraft, check it out. It’s my first one though, so it kind of sucks…when I say “awesome” I mean the pattern. Which is here:

I keep a private blog elsewhere; it’s publicly accessible but it’s not of interest to anyone but me. Here are a couple of recent posts:

October 1st:
I love this. There are a few houses along Route 123 near my house, in a perfect position to advertise to the hundreds (thousands?) of people who drive by on this artery every day. One of them put up a giant sign saying “Virginia is MCCAIN COUNTRY” that must be 8 ft long and 4 ft tall. They had it on the ground, propped up, with a small floodlight on it.

Then two days later, their next door neighbors put up an equally giant “VOTE FOR CHANGE: Barack Obama” sign. It’s also 8 ft by 4 ft, but theirs is up on stilts (2 or 3 feet off the ground) and closer to the road. It’s freaking awesome and I literally pumped my fist in the air when I saw it.

Not to be outdone, the first neighbors have gotten stilts for their sign - a little taller maybe? - and put THEIRS closer to the road.

It’s freaking hilarious. I gotta get a picture in the daytime. Oh, and the McCain sign was obviously obtained from far away, because Northern Virginia is quite blue.

October 9th:
Apparently someone had the balls to spray paint “socialist danger” on the giant Obama yard sign. Nice. Not to mention all the Obama signs in the median disappeared. Another McCain sign showed up where I had taken one the other day, plus another at the stop sign out of our development. My wife took both of those down on her way to work and says she has no problem with it since the other side is pulling the same shit.

I figure the Republicans must be pretty desperate if they’re resorting to such immature tactics. Come on, Northern Virginia is SO blue. Why bother?

Turned out my wife also called the local Obama campaign office about it. They requested that she call the local police to inform them of the incident, but she can’t make too many personal calls from work, so she asked me to do it. Of course they said they can’t do anything, but they at least took down a report. According to the Obama office, it’s much worse this year than it has been in the past. Signs are being taken off private property, not just median strips - I would never do such a thing. And the spray painting - which turned out to say “No Experience, No Obama!” on the other side - is just beyond the pale.