But then I figured what the hell? If I wait until nothing at all is bothering me before I write again, this blog will sink faster than Lindsey Lohan's career. So here's what's been irking me lately.
1. Michael Vick
There is a special spot in hell reserved for those who abuse, torture, and kill animals. I hope he ends up booted from the NFL and behind bars for a very long time.
2. My lack of a summer vacation.
My mother is currently on vacation in the Canadian Rockies for a month. One month, people. And this was cut short by two weeks, because she didn't want to go six weeks without seeing Isabella. Who goes on vacation for a month? Rich and I have been on some sort of summer vacation every year for the past 10 we've been together. And this year? No vaca. I know. Boo-hoo. Poor me. But my friends are hitting the beach, their cottages on the water, or just taking some fun weekend roadtrips. And I? Am not.
3. The treatment of mothers in the American workplace.
I've been reading a lot of books on motherhood. As the time gets closer for me to have "the discussion" with my manager, I've become pretty worked up about how most companies make absolutely no provisions for mothers in terms of flex time and work-from-home opportunities, and do not provide mothers with the same pay scale and level of promotions afforded to men, and even to non-mothers. (Did you know that mothers who scale back on work by going part-time or quitting altogether, even for a few years, will pay the so-called "mommy tax" of $1 million dollars of lost income for the span of their working years?)In the book I'm currently reading, The Feminine Mistake, the author quotes a 2004 survey by the Center for Work-Life Policy that among women with children, 43 percent of those who had earned graduate degrees or high-honor bachelor's degrees had dropped out of the workforce. Talk about a brain drain. And I believe a vast majority of these women were forced out because of workplace rigidities.
And finally...
4. Judge Fernando Ferrin Calamita
This judge in Spain has ordered a lesbian mother to turn over custody of her two daughters to their father because, according to him, her homosexuality would harm her kids and “raise the risk” that the girls would also become lesbians. He also said, “It is understood that (a parent’s) drug addiction, child abuse, prostitution, belonging to a satanic sect or heterosexual affair would negatively affect the children and serve as a reason for a change of custody,” he said. “Well, it’s the same with homosexuality.”
Because clearly, becoming the bride of Satan and being a lesbian are totally the same thing!
Okay, I'm off to cool down. And I promise I'll return sometime soon, and in at least a partially better mood.
Don't apologize for being in a pissy mood. It ha[[ens to the best of us, and everything you mentioned is worthy of feeling that way about. Especially Vick and the last one. Vick just got canned by Nike. Yay.
I don't even want to know who Vick is or what he did (yes, I am that out of it!)
I suspect we'll all have to move to Europe or at least Canada if we want better parental benefits.
Hope your mood improves!
OK, knowing that someone close to me was lounging around in the Canadian Rockies for a month would set me off too! Gotta go look up the Michael Vick thing.....
Yeah i know what you mean about that jerk of an NFL player... may he burn in hell forever!!! Never had a summer vacation really but I would love to go away... so I feel your pain... and with the workforce stuff... for what most people (aka slackers) do in 40 hours at work I could do in 20 at home... but I can't work from home... so the work force can bite me lol... and oh yeah... still no surgery date!
I hope this is a better week Kristi. The dog days of summer!!! Gah.
As for the whole workplace issue, I think you're doing the right thing. Taking the bull by the horn and becoming your own boss is the right thing to do.
In reference to your point #3, I often wonder if Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinman are happy. Is this what they envisioned? Kids being dropped off at daycare early in the morning and picked up around dinner time. After working all day, who wants to cook, so out to a restaurant or picking up fast food is the norm. I know that Betty and Gloria wanted to stop the injustice and bring equality into woman’s lives, but was this their vision? My gut feeling is no, this is not what they envisioned. I believe that they wanted women to have choices. It is OK for a woman to pursue a career or to stay home with the kids. I don’t know when this happened, but women are not supportive of each other. It seems that working women and stay at home moms are constantly at odds with each other. Why? We are all women with the same goal – to raise healthy, happy and balanced kids. Unfortunately, in this economic climate, 2 incomes are necessary. So, most women have to work. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could work together and come up with a solution? Any ideas? Ok, I’ll step off my soapbox now.