Yeah, I’m a scifi freak I know this. Anyway, I’m blogrolling and I discover from another rant that Ben Browder (the handsome hunk from Farscape) is joining the next season of Stargate SG-1! Of course, I clicked right over to scifi‘s website to verify if was true. Now how perfect is that I ask you? You take the best looking farm fed hunk since white bread and you add him to scifi‘s #1 series of all time. Wahooo! The season premiere is right after my birthday so I’m gonna be beside myself till then.
I’ve Gone & Done It!
Dell Inspiron 9200
I’ve gone and done it. I got a flier in the mail today for Dell. So, I went online, filled out the application and was approved. I should be receiving my Dell Inspiron 9200 within about 5 days. Just in time for Christmas! All things considered I think I deserve it.
I’ve been dying to get a laptop for the last 2 years now. I put it off due to having to support myself and the ex while he wasn’t working. Truth be told, I probably didn’t pick the best time to get one. However, I’m tired of always putting off my needs for the needs of others. 2005 is gonna be the year I start putting my needs first for a change. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan on going all selfish. I just think its high time I take care of myself for a bit.
Granted, I’m putting it on credit but I’m never gonna be out of debt so whats a few more bucks. Besides, if I ever need too, there is always overtime available at work. Plus, if the promotion does come thru sooner than later, that will only speed things up a bit.
Shoved In Your Face
Ok, so today I’m just rolling thru blogs like crazy. I always get a tickle out of how there seems to be “rolling topics”. Basically, one person starts a topic and soon enough there are 10 blogs about the same blog or rants. *G*
So I’m stumbling thru links and I find several ongoing issues w/”christian america” being upset over being “forced” to see gays/lesbians in everyday occurrences. My previous rants about Ms. Peaslee and Foot Locker included. We also see Republic of T’s rants regarding a woman in Maryland who was so offended by a simple picture of two men sharing a small kiss on the subway she wrote in a lovely letter condemning us for basically “shoving it down her throat”. Ironic, that anywhere you look you see straights doing the same thing constantly. *getting out a pen/paper to write a strongly worded letter*
Then we discover a college academy in TX outs an 18yo male to his family against his wishes! He is 18 years old and that makes him a legal adult. I’m just dying to see a lawsuit come of this one!
Oh but here is the best part! (I almost pee’d my pants on this one) Several black church leaders are banning together and organized marches in support AGAINST gays! Forgetting for a moment, that blacks are one of the most persecuted minorities in our country and still suffer injustices on a variety of levels. Oh and the real kicker, MLK’s widow has publicly come out against these marches. The reasoning behind this odd turn of events is even more astounding! Somehow the struggle for equality is no longer a civil rights issue. Go figure.
And lets not forget our fashion mavens are out in force too! Apparently, we are being blamed for Target finally putting its foot down and booting the salvation army from their store fronts. Good for us. Any organization that discriminates deserves the boot. And just where is the homosexual agenda? I’m a card carrying ‘mo and I’ve yet to see this “agenda”. Can someone please forward me a copy. (I knew I wasn’t getting all my memos!)
Lest I forget, we are left w/the christian’s newest lapdog of ignorance, Judith Reisman. What a riot this woman is. Talk about diluted ideals of reality. Ms. Reisman tends to cloak her ignorance behind undocumented facts/figures. Facts that quickly fall by the wayside under closer examination. Nonetheless, she is rising in the ranks of the “christian not-so-right” and becoming one of their favorite lap dogs.
Enough for now. Blessed be the ignunt!
Job Promo – III
Now that I’m off my horse so to speak. I must have done better on my supervisor’s exam than I expected. I went in to do some overtime today on my day off and several existing supervisors seemed a bit different. I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s as if they know something I don’t. Not to mention, the on duty manager pulled me off a busy channel to do my PAR. [1]peformance annual review Management are always behind on these things and I haven’t had one in almost 2 years. Well, they caught up on the last one today. With the exception of attendance, I got “exceeds standards” in all areas but one. And that one I missed only by an average of two points. The attendance took a hit as I missed quite a bit of work back when my ex was sick w/pancreatitis. It doesn’t matter the reason, it still counts. It’s not like I can be punished for it or anything. They just like to slip it in there.
So I got a glowing PAR which she hinted had to be turned in today. Managers don’t normally do PARs which only adds to the feeling. Why get it done so quickly? Especially, on my day off. Me thinks some changes are a foot!
I’m a bit mixed on actually getting the promotion. It is more money and I get a chance to make changes about problems I’ve been bitching about. But, I’ll get bumped back down in senority. That translates into crappy days off. As it stands now, I’m far enough up the list I can at least pull one weekend day off during a sign up. (We sign up for our schedule every 6 months) As a supervisor, I’ll be on a 4-10 shift (4 days on at 10 hours a day). Certainly, not the end of the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take it if its offered, I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I figured I would be on the list for awhile. That would give me more time to get better days off and at least have the semblance of a social life again! *G* Thats what I get for being a smarty pants.
References
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Foot Locker = Foot in Mouth
I mention this story only because I’ve followed it from beginning to end. The older I get the more I seem to be less and less tolerant of companies, that should know better, treating their gay employees like dirt. The resolution of this particular story is heartwarming even if the amount awarded is not published yet. In a nutshell…
Kevin Dunbar, a 26yo male, working at Foot Locker was subjected to cruel taunts and tortures on a daily basis. After begging to be transfered to a new store ….where his new store manager refused to shake his hand and said, “I heard about your shit, I don’t want your faggot ass in my store.” But wait! theres more! “Foot Locker could have addressed this problem, as it clearly promises employees in its policies, but instead chose to ignore it and make it worse. Our client followed the rules to address the discrimination, and all it got him was a pink slip,” said Nevins. In the lawsuit, Lambda Legal argues that Foot Locker, Inc., breached its contract with Dunbar by violating the company’s own anti-harassment, anti-discrimination and open-door policies that are promised in the employee handbook. Three customers who witnessed three separate incidents of antigay harassment have sworn affidavits on Dunbar’s behalf.
This is my favorite part! Even a “christian” felt so badly for him she made a complaint! One customer approached Dunbar and gave him her name and phone number “because as a Christian woman I felt this was wrong, and the Lord told me to help and heal because the hurt, pain and embarrassment I saw on Mr. Dunbar’s face was intense.” On another occasion, a customer was shopping with her four children and heard Dunbar’s coworkers calling him “punk ass” and “faggot.” After one particularly harsh round of name-calling, a customer was concerned for Dunbar’s safety when she heard a coworker threaten, “I will beat his punk ass!” A spokesperson for the company refused comment on the suit.
And the most galling part, is that FL gave Kevin, the innocent victim, a PINK SLIP! He had to sue in order to get any sort of justice. Regardless of the outcome, I will never shop at FL again. I have a choice where I spend my money and it sure as hell isn’t where someone is allowed to be humiliated just because he was born gay!
Is It Wrong to Laugh?
Ok, folks, this is an urban legend. I copied it from another blog I’m involved in and it was just so strange. Below is an accounting of a “mistaken rapture”. I have seen this before but had forgotten about it.
ARKANSAS CITY (EAP) — A Little Rock woman was killed yesterday after leaping through her moving car’s sunroof during an incident best described as a “mistaken rapture” by dozens of eye-witnesses. Thirteen other people were injured after a twenty-car pile-up resulted from people trying to avoid hitting the woman, who was apparently convinced the rapture was occurring when she saw twelve people floating up into the air, and then passed a man on the side of the road who she believed was Jesus. “She started screaming ‘He’s back! He’s back!’ and climbed out through the sunroof and jumped off the roof of the car,” said Everet Williams, husband of 28-year-old Georgann Williams who was pronounced dead at the scene. “I was slowing down but she wouldn’t wait till I stopped,” Williams said. She thought the rapture was happening and was convinced that Jesus was gonna lift her up into the sky,” he went on to say. “This is the strangest thing I’ve seen since I’ve been on the force,” said Paul Madison, first officer on the scene Madison questioned the man who looked like Jesus and discovered that he was on his way to a toga costume party, when the tarp covering the bed of his pickup truck came loose and released twelve blow-up sex dolls filled with helium, which then floated up into the sky. Ernie Jenkins, 32, of Fort Smith, who’s been told by several of his friends that he looks like Jesus, pulled over and lifted his arms into the air in frustration and said “Come back,” just as the Williams’ car passed him, and Mrs. Williams was sure that it was Jesus lifting people up into heaven as they drove by him. “I think my wife loved Jesus more than she loved me,” the widower said when asked why his wife would do such a thing. When asked for comments about the twelve sex dolls, Jenkins replied, “This is all just too weird for me. I never expected anything like this to happen.”
I just couldn’t help posting it. Especially, after my long winded rant yesterday. *muffled giggle* So my question, if it were true, is it wrong to laugh?
Ignunce Rears It’s Ugly Head
This is an old subject for me. However, it has just dawned on me, I’ve never really mentioned it on any of my rants here. I take the issue of religion and being gay to heart. I spent a large chunk of my adolescent life searching for a balance between what I thought were the teachings of the Almighty and my own conscience.
Today’s nonsense is courtesy of an interesting blog from Dunner. Dunner often offers some great insights into every day occurrences which is probably why I read his blog daily. But I digress, the topic stems from an old article posted at the LaCrosse Tribune in Wisconsin. Specifically, regarding a Ms. Peaslee’s ongoing rants about the do’s and don’ts of living a godly christian life. Or more specifically, Ms. Peaslees complete fascination with homosexuals. (At this point, Id like to refer Ms. Peaslee to my good friend Betty Bowers, whom Im told has a much more intimate connection to Jesus.)
I digress, the topic stems from an article posted by Ms. Peaslee condemning homosexuals. Now take into account, the articles are a bit old and apparently Ms. Peaslee doesnt post many opinions these days. Anyway, after reading thru Ms. Peaslees ongoing rants a picture started to unfold. A picture of a lonely bitter shell of a woman, trapped by her empty and futile life, trying desperately to regain some modicum of control by lashing out at anything she fears or doesnt understand. Ms. Peaslees undying conviction and righteousness is reminiscent of my own childhood. Not because I had any such convictions mind you. No, I was constantly surrounded by those claiming to be the mighty servants of the Almighty. Servants who, in reality, were tiny frail human beings desperately trying to shake their own feelings of inadequacy by attacking anyone who threatened to upset their delicate convictions. Of course, that includes gays/lesbians as well. Ya know, Im amazed I survived childhood w/any sort of sanity left about me. I digress again, apologies. Its really quite easy to turn the tables against such simpletons. My favorite, and most annoying choice is by using the very item that they hold most dear, the bible. When Jesus came, he told his followers, the old law is dead to you [meaning the old testament], your new covenant is with me. (For those of you not up on the bible. The Old Testament is where most of the supposed condemnations against gays are found.) Last time I checked scripture, Jesus taught love, acceptance, and tolerance of all. It always amazes me the power such a simple statement can have over the religious not-so-right. The other option tends to be a little more complex. You have to purchase or at least find an original translation of the bible. Keep in mind the bible was originally written in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. Once you start reviewing these so called gay scriptures, you find that very few actually refer to gays/lesbians and fewer still offer any sort of condemnation or eternal fire for the abominations. To this day, it still mystifies me how such a simple truth is so well hidden from the masses. And what annoys me, is that many of the religious powers that be have to know what they are teaching is a fallacy.
Ok, Ive beat this holy horse to death. Ive off my rocker now.
Job Promo – II
Ok, well the interview went fine. Of course, you always think of a better answers afterwards. I am confident I did fine nonetheless. I was surprised to see how many people applied. On the way out, I ran into a guy who used to be a dispatcher for us and left a few years back. Guess his new gig isn’t working out so well.
The process is simple. If you meet the eligibility requirements you are added to “the list.” Your score off the oral and written interview determines how high on the list you place. Once you are placed on the list, they just work their way down as positions become available. Pretty simple huh? Right now I think there are at least 2 possibly 4 positions available.
Job Promo
Well, I’m on a little earlier than normal today. I have an interview for a supervisor’s position at work. I’m always bitching about how crappy the sup.’s are so nows my chance to change that. Basically, if you are eligible, you take a test, go thru an interview process and then you are put on a list. When a position opens up, its offered based on how well you scored on the list.
Anyway, wish me luck!
Relapse!
Not sure really what else to call it. And I was doing so well too….
I was completely overcome by a sense of loneliness tonight at dinner. Kind of odd for me as I’ve always been of the mindset; being alone does not necessarily mean being lonely. That said, this was distinctly loneliness. Loneliness in its raw and ugly power. I was mid way thru dinner at my favorite sushi joint in the Castro when it hit me. (The ex and I used to go there a lot.) I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t eaten there since the breakup, the holidays, or a little of both. I do know I was so overcome I had to go to the bathroom to calm myself. I was halfway into tears when the anger hit me. . .
Anger that I’ve let someone put me in the position of feeling this way. Anger that I’m making a fool of myself in public. Anger that I felt like a complete basket case if only for a few minutes. Anger that I am still capable of missing him after what he did to me. And yes anger over being angry.
And after anger came reason and sanity once again prevailed. I’m able to laugh now as I’ve managed to pulled myself together. My head knows its over. I just wish I could get my heart to fall in line. Maybe I should just admit to myself that I still have unresolved feelings about the breakup. Before I met the ex, I had reached a point in my life where I felt complete and whole. I wanted a partner but it had become a possible future instead of a goal in life. Fast forward to now, I’m having a hard time getting back to that place in my head. Damn it! Why can’t I be like Data from Star Trek. Just snap my emotions on/off on a whim? Why? Because, thats what its like to be human I guess. As sad as I get sometimes, I’m still able to remember that. And I think sometimes, thats the only thought that keeps me going. Hope springs eternal. . . .