#84. Read a feminist blog twice a month. http://feministblogs.org/

I feel like the proverbial "ostrich". When I read articles on feminist blogs, I am forced to pull my head out of the sand and acknowledge the millions of little (and huge) ways that women are marginalized, undermined, minimized and manipulated in our culture (both national and global). To read from the feminist view forces me to see those things that I have subconsciously blocked out, because the process of blocking also keeps the anger at bay.

I once read that a woman cannot be a feminist and not be angry. The comment then became part of a class discussion in a course I took entitled "Race, Class and Sex", which focused on how color, income and gender impact everyone, and how certain groups are immune to those impacts. Rich people, white people and men feel the effect of their "condition" the least. And if you happen to be all three, well, life can be a whole lot easier for you than for most.

The discussion about being angry was interesting, as several women in the class were fairly devout Christians and felt that anger was an inappropriate response. Others felt that there is no possible way to counter the centuries-long embedded mindset of patriarchy other than by getting very mad and very active.

My day to day response: sadly and shamefully, I've avoided a great deal of it. Deep down, I know that if I ever allow myself to fully feel and see and acknowledge the injustices, the inequalities, the marginalization and sometimes the horrific treatment that women receive in our patriarchal society, I'm gonna get mad. Real mad. And I'm going to want, ....no, I'm going to NEED to do something about it. And I don't know what that is, yet. And therein lies my path to the sand. Not knowing what I can do makes me feel helpless. And ineffective.

And I am neither of those things.

So, where do I start...?

So, I have this nagging thought in the back of my mind....it's been over a month since I've updated anything on my 101 list. And I am acutely aware that I haven't really finished anything that I could actually add. But...I have been doing little bits here and there that at least move the needle a bit in the right direction.


I've picked up "Math from the Birth of Numbers" again and re-read the preface and intro, and started chapter one....again. It's a huge book, and very necessary for me to be in the proper state of mind to want to read it and enjoy it.


I did watch all the Lord of the Rings movies again last week, only not in one day...

And I'm reading feminist blogs. Since I'm not that savvy with blogging yet, not yet linked to many bloggers, and don't yet know my way around the blogging community, I relied on Google to help me locate a starting point for this one:

http://feministblogs.org/ is an aggregator of articles written by feminists. Perfect.

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As I read thru my list, I've become more aware of things on it that are not likely to happen, and even a few that I've changed my mind about. I'm deciding whether to stick it out with the existing list or to modify it to include some new things I'd like to do and eliminate the ones that no longer really interest me. Still deciding...

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms of the world!!!

I hope every mother feels blessed and cherished today and every day!

Slowly catching up with technology...

This is my first post from Blogaway, an app on my Droid.

This is significant because not  very long ago, i couldn't even tell you what an app is, and i could barely make adequate use of my smartphone.

Now i have a Droid, am downloading apps, and starting to understand how hooked one can get having so much technology at your fingertips, at any moment of the day.

:)         so cool.........

Well, I am officialy done with exams. I took my last final exam for my bachelor's on wednesday, April 28th, and found out I got 100%.

YAY!

Nothing like going out with a bang! Official gpa: 3.83

I'm happy with it.

Took my last Machine Design exam before the final. Senior-itis has definitely set in. I'm finiding it more and more difficult to stay enthusiastic. I just can't wait to be done!

Final in 3 weeks.

# 75: Quilt progress is about 40% for the top stitching. Since I'm feeling pretty under the weather, and have the next 3 days off, I'll probably spend a bit of time on the couch, working on the quilt. Not much energy to do anything else...might as well be productive with the low-energy stuff. Maybe I'll get a little movie watching it too!