When we were 13, my best friend, Kiana, and I decided we were going to be world famous singers. We wisely invested our time in dreaming up what we’d do with all of our riches and fame (4 story houses with water slides from our bedrooms to the inside and outside pools, duh!) instead of practicing. This is just one of the many reasons that our shared dream was never realized. Still, we continue to share a passion for music. And, in my estimation, we have really great taste in music. For instance, we’re both loud and proud Hanson fans.
I discovered that Kiki had posted the following videos of the Hanson concert we went to in September 2008, and I felt compelled to post them. Just a warning – as you’ll hear from our singing, lack of practice is not the only reason our dream to be a world-famous girl group will never be realized….
We have tickets for the Muse concert in April. There might just be epic sing-along videos after that…
As planned, I went to the wireless store at lunch. I learned that I have the following options:
Buy the phone I want (iPhone) for $300, which is a great deal because they’re giving me $300 off the actual price.
Buy out my contract for $220, then start a new contract with the phone of my choice (iPhone, currently starting at $99)
Continue to pay for my cell service whilst having no phone, but only for 4 months until my discount goes up, bringing the iPhone to a much lower price, but still not $99
Continue to pay for my cell service whilst having no phone until the end of my contract.
Buy a phone in which I have no particular interest (Samsung slider) for $150.
Obviously, the last option is the only sensible way forward.
As much as I love gadgets, I just can’t justify spending a penny more than I absolutely need to in order to have a functional phone right now. I thought the iPhone would be a nice birthday present for myself, but I don’t believe in buying oneself a $300 birthday gift – not when one is on a student budget and attempting to pay for summer school. Such is life. However, I wish that apple would just sell the iPhone to consumers directly. I’d rather hand Steve Jobs $300 and have the freedom to swap my cell company than to give Telus $300 and another piece of my soul.
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I have a love-hate relationship with my phone and wireless carrier. For two years, my phone has been a frustration. Most of the time I can’t receive calls or texts at my house, despite the fact that my dad and brother can and do. Still, my phone and I have had a few adventures together. We started twitter together, we went on a couple of great photo walks together, and we entertained ourselves whenever there was little else to do. It’s taken me almost the full two years of phone ownership to master the beast, and it finally fits like a pair of comfortable flip flops molded perfectly to my feet.
My phone has died.
It’s not broken, it is irrevocably damaged and completely useless. It no longer holds a charge and misses half of the calls and texts people send me. Yesterday, I thought there was light at the end of the tunnel. I charged my phone – I had to hold the adapter in place for almost an hour to do so – and my phone even flashed the “charge complete” message. And then the minute I unplugged it, it switched itself off, never to turn on again.
Now, I’m about to run to the wireless store where phone and I first met in anticipation of a new relationship with a new personal wireless device. I’m nervous. It’s as though I have first date jitters. With most devices requiring a three-year contract, there is a lot to take into consideration when purchasing a new phone. When you think of everything that can go wrong with a phone across three years, it’s bound to make a girl a little commitment phobic. I’m leaning towards getting an iPhone, but even that makes me feel anxious – should I get the 3G or the 3Gs? If I only get the 3G, will it be obsolete in three years? If I spring for the 3Gs and spend more money, will the phone still be obsolete in three years? Do I really want to become even more “connected” to my social networks at any given time? Do I even need a cell phone?
For what it’s worth, I put on my new pink cardigan for the occasion. That has to count for something. Right?
I’ve been reading a lot over the past month. Although I’ve always been an avid reader, I’ve never kept track of my reading. The solution, I’ve decided, is to keep a book list. Rather than reviewing books (there are just too many) I’m listing them and giving them a rating out of 5 stars.
(most recent at the top, updates in bold)
Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd ****
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *****
Finally Feminist by John G. Stackhouse, Jr. ****
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan ****
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Battle of the Labrynth by Rick Riordan ****
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan ****
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan ****
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan ****
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall (yes, two colons in the title) by L. J. Smith *
The Host by Stephenie Meyer ****
Remarkably Jane by Jennifer Adams ***
The Vindication of the Rights of Woman – Mary Wollstonecraft ****
I don’t like to use the f-word. Not the special word I reserve for when I’m alone in my car. Feminist.
Feminist is a label I’m reticent to accept. When most people hear the word feminist, they think of burning bras, rampant misandry, and lesbians (or women who look like lesbians). Every group has their rabid fundamentalist outliers who attract the most [negative] attention. Thus, for the same reason I dislike the c-word (Christian), I have deliberately avoided labeling myself a feminist. Would you want to be grouped with Pat Robertson? Similarly, I prefer not to be counted in the ranks of radical feminists.
As I come to a greater understanding of the movement, I find myself reluctantly agreeing with most of what I read. And, for simplicity’s sake, I have begun to wear the title Feminist, however begrudgingly. It’s not that I’m becoming a feminist so much as I’ve learned that I was and am a feminist, and probably have been for as long as I can remember.
There are two things I’ve learned from this epiphany:
First, education, voracious reading, and open-mindedness paves a way for greater understanding of self. By learning about feminism, I’ve acquired a new vocabulary through which I can define, explain, and better understand me.
Second, we all have biases, prejudices, and blind spots. Ignorant to the movement, I am guilty of painting all feminists with the same brush. However, what we think we know and cold, hard facts are sometimes very different. To grow we need to strive to reach past our ignorance.
