So crisp it feels like it could break

I just got home and finished dinner. The air outside is so crisp it feels like it could break. The city lights are sparkling clear. The north wind bites into my skin, and I was three quarters of the way home before I started to warm up. By the time I rolled up to my door, I could have gone for miles more.

Today I woke up at four fucking thirty in the morning after five goddamn hours of sleep. I couldn't fall asleep. I was actually just getting comfortable in my bed when the alarm went off at 5:30. I still didn't want to get up, since the bed was warm and the apartment was not. Despite that, and several very boring stretches, today was a good day. I feel good, despite the snot guyser that my left nostril has become and the exhaustion inching its way forward from the back of my skull.

Cracklings and toast for dinner tonight. Surprisingly fulfilling. I think I'll have some chamomile with honey when I'm done here. Last night with Liv and Les I ended up having french toast and bacon at the Pick Wick. The waitress commented on the comfort food aspect of my order, and all I could do was laugh.

Check what Laura G. wrote about Noon O Kabab. I told her it's hard to believe she got all that from our meal. I really don't have good justification for my insecurities. I really want to get to know her better and better. Liv, I think it was, made me the good wish that she hopes it takes a long time. I know it sounds kinda pessimistic, but think harder...

To respond to Laura W.'s (fuck, this is starting to get confusing) comment about feminism: it's hard to escape that there are certain physiological differences between men and women. In some respects, women are a separate group with separate concerns than men, on a purely physical level as well as a class of people that has historically been discriminated against.

This isn't a justification for prejudice or discrimination, and doesn't - and shouldn't - mean anything like one is better or worse than the other. It does, however, mean there are some basic natural inequalities which, in a just society, should be accepted or even celebrated as an expression of our humanity - that of both men and women. Regardless, until something like gender equality becomes entrenched in our society, equality is a "women's issue." The other point I'd like to make is that "women's issues" don't just belong to women, they belong to all of us.

I'd love to live in a world where feminism was unnecessary and humanism as a philosophy explicitly and adequately accounted for the human condition of everyone, male and female. Until that happens, though, I'll proudly call myself a feminist.

We're all a bunch of monkeys

I've described myself as a feminist to many people. I read a piece by Gloria Steinem this morning, and although the overall piece pretty much said that bad people are bad people regardless of gender, I think this paragraph is worthy of repetition, since feminism is pretty misunderstood (I have liberal/progressive female friends who don't consider themselves feminists and sometimes even seem to prefer the double-standard - when it's in their favor):

In fact, feminism is just the belief that all people have the full circle of human qualities combined in a unique way in each of us. The simplistic labels of "feminine" and "masculine" are mostly about what society wants us to do: submerge our unique humanity in care giving and reproducing if we're women, and trade our unique humanity for power if we're men.

Waiting for the great leap forwards

It's 6:30 in the morning, I didn't sleep well last night, I think I'm coming down with a cold, and the sky is barely turning blue. It's 20 degrees outside and I'm going to ride my bike to school. I feel great. No idea why. Here's hoping it lasts all day.