And yet it still isn’t warm here in good old Indiana. Between the crazy weather and Governor Daniels, I’m ready to move somewhere both warmer and more woman-friendly. That’s not going to happen any time soon, but a girl can dream.
How was everyone’s Monday? We had a great, if busy, day here at Persephone. I’m ready to curl up with a glass of box wine and chat with my favorite commenters on the introwebs. (That’s you guys.) Extra heaping apologies for our schedule being more improvised than normal, I’m prepping to go dig into the server settings right now so tomorrow will be less of a surprise for all of us.
Also, please enjoy this picture of toy robots, because they’re cute.
48 replies on “The First Open Thread of May”
It’s May, everyone! I can almost smell the summer holidays! We’re not even halfway through the year and I’m already exhausted… Maybe because I’ve spent the first three and a half months of the year stressing about work and the last couple of weeks (Spring break and Labour Day long weekend included) fighting the flu. I don’t even have any exciting plans for the summer, I just want to be able to sit out in the sun drinking a cold beer for as long as I want, and not have to go home early to a pile of marking or an unfinished paper.
What about you, what are your plans for the spring/summer?
I’m going to skip going to the gym tonight. Now I only need to stop myself from snacking, or I might even feel bad about it.
In other news, the guy sitting at the adjacent table keeps on looking at me. I don’t know what his deal is, but I’m going to nosh away on my biscotti and pretend like it’s not really creepy and awkward that I keep catching him in the act.
Just a little question/comment regarding site stuff:
1) Does Persephone load really slowly for anyone else? I feel like for the past month or so, the page takes a solid 25-30 seconds to load, whereas other sites only take 10 seconds max. Maybe its my computer and/or internet connection, but just wanted to check in with that.
2) Is there any way to make it so we can edit comments after they’ve been posted? You know, to fix typos, spelling errors, make arguments more comprehensible, etc.
Just wondering!
What web browser do you use? I had been using Internet explorer and was finding that all wordpress sites including persephone were loading really slow. I have subsequently switched to google chrome and things are really fast.
I’m currently using Firefox. It could definitely be worth checking it out with another web browser, though. Thanks for the advice!
I use Firefox too, and while the site loads a little more slowly than other sites, it’s still under 10 seconds, I would say. Perhaps your version of Firefox needs to be upgraded (or even downgraded)- I had Firefox 4 for a little bit and it hated the Seph. Sticking with 3 and my endless patches for it.
I started massage therapy school in March and it’s super awesome and I love it. There are only 4 people in my class which is super awesome because we get SO MUCH individual attention however, one of my classmates is a super inconsiderate jerk. He’s come to class more than 20 minutes late on two different test days and he interrupted one class that he doesn’t have to take so he could get the notes for another class he missed the first two days of. Tomorrow, one of the other girls and I are going to complain about him interrupting our tests and classes because it’s completely ridiculous that teachers even sort of allow this to happen. Hopefully the whole thing will get handled in a professional manner and he’ll either shape up or ship out.
Oh, that is so annoying. I’m guessing because you have such a small class, the school is reluctant to take the chance of losing one of those tuition checks. That’s no excuse for his behavior, though. One of the things you’ll learn about in MT school (if you haven’t already) is how to be firm and assertive about inappropriate behavior. Those skills come in handy in lots of situations.
My boyfriend and I are going to Holland tomorrow! I am so excited! It’s our first long trip together, and also the first time we’ve seen eachother in two and a half months (I am a Ph.D student in a LDR).
Whoa exciting! I hear people from Holland (Hollandaise? Lulz) love Canadians- thus the tulip festival and everything.
Bring us all souvenirs!
OH MY GOD
CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY, NDP OPPOSITION
OMG YOU GUYS
brb throwing myself into the Arctic Ocean to DIE
I mean I would dye myself orange for the NDP, but damn. A majority.
I’m trying desperately to find a silver lining in this. Here goes: The NDP is diametrically opposed to the values espoused by the Conservative government- perhaps this will force the Conservatives to come to more of a center ground in establishing policies than was previously done under a Liberal opposition?
ALSO SEEKWILL THE ARCTIC OCEAN IS COLD, SO NOT WORTH IT.
Not colder than Stephen Harper’s tiny little heart.
Ba dum cheee.
I could hug you for that!
AGHHHHHH!!! I KNOW! (I also feel horribly guilty for splitting the left vote, as I was a young liberal, and therefore almost always vote liberal).
But, I think the NDP will be a potentially great official opposition.
OMG. MOVING TO EUROPE AND DYING.
Seriously though. Whyyy is this happening??
Everyone on my FB is bemoaning the end of universal health care, abortions, arts grants, and clean lakes but hopefully it won’t be as bad as all that… hopefully? In any case, I’m super proud of the NDP’s gains and Lizzie May getting a seat!
I don’t think Universal Healthcare will end, because I think that with a left opposition like the NDP the conservatives will be kept accountable. I think the big concern for Canadian organizations is cuts to subsidies of women’s advocacy organizations. De- funding of non-profits is a very GOP US style move, and it concerns me because in a lot of places in the USA people have to pay a fee (usually $5-10) to use homeless shelters because that`s actually the only way the shelter can continue to offer the service it provides.
Disappointed. So disappointed.
Don’t y’all hate when friendships turn sour?
I made a lot of friends in high school and early college before I was politically active/feminist/anti-oppression. I changed, and they haven’t, and I’ve been really passive in weaning myself from them.
I met up with a friend on Friday who I thought was still like me–awkward, intellectually-minded, funny. I’ve always thought she was cute, as well, and we hooked up once. Well, since she transfered schools, she’s been working for a Really Important Film Studio and she spends all her time hobnobbing with celebs. She makes fat jokes, is now an avowed capitalist–we used to talk about feminism and socialism–just because SHE’S made it, no one else matters. She even said that her “coolness” would rub off on me if we hung out more. To test her, I said *trigger for ableist language*, “what if my lameness rubs off on you?”
I expected her to acknowledge the language of my statement and to immediately refute that I was “lame” or boring or whatever. Instead, she said, “I think I can take it.” Then, she introduced me to her latest bro friend–who joked about being able to hook up with lesbians if he got them drunk enough–and I was outta there.
My question is, how do you break off a friendship/confront someone like this?
Ugh. I guess you could continue being passive about it – stop being at all proactive about contacting her/making plans to catch up, and be ‘busy’ the next few times she tries to set something up. Hopefully she’s ‘cool’ enough to get the point now! *rolls eyes*
Do you think confronting her would help? She sounds kind of stuck in her own happy place right now, and hearing/listening is the first thing to go when your head’s up your ass. My personal plan in these situations is usually to write a strongly-worded letter I don’t send and then do the fade-out. Results are mixed, YMMV.
The server is fixed. I win all the internets. Or at least a beer.
Does me sending you internets beers count :)
We’ve bested you yet again, Skynet.
There’s a little independent toy shop around the corner from me that I investigated for awhile on the weekend – they also had some adorable little toy robots! I bought myself a yo-yo (which it turns out I am dismal at), and my boyfriend a barrel of monkeys.
You can have our warm weather here. I’m monitoring a construction crew all summer long and by Wednesday its going to be in the mid-90s. There is no such thing as spring in Southern California. I’m not a fan. I’ve already started my countdown to autumn
This election coverage is going to give me an ulcer.
Conservatives have 158 seats already! So depressing.
I was trying to avoid watching the news until later on when they have a better idea of it. Cue near-heart attack when my mother calls with “so they’re projecting a Conservative majority”. Harper government: DO NOT WANT.
Not to rub it in, but after complaining for months about our shitty Canadian “spring” weather, it’s finally resembling a proper spring! I even have a bit of a sunburn from this weekend!!!
Now I’m settling in with my vino and watching CTV to see what happens with the Canadian elections. I’ll admit, as an American expat I have NO idea what’s going on or what to expect, but I do like that Leyton fellow. He seems nice.
I’m watching Mr. Mansbridge on the CBC. Way better.
Jack Layton is a good guy.
I’m terrified. I am so scared to see what’ll happen.
Mansbridge, you say…. I may have to switch over. I was just watching CTV earlier because Big Bang Theory was on! What do you think will happen? Any upsets? Miracles?
Honestly, I couldn’t tell you! I thought I knew, now I have NO idea. It’s incredibly stressful.
I’m pretty nervous too. I voted NDP but secretly wish the Liberals were a stronger opponent for the Conservatives. I think this article was very interesting: How the Liberals are losing a two-front war. It basically says that instead of attacking the left (NDP, Green), the Liberals should have been courting those who sway towards the Conservatives by playing up their ability to balance the budget, and they strengthened the financial system so it could weather the 2008 storm,whereas “the Conservatives spent money like drunken teenage hoodlums with a stolen credit card:.”
The Liberals seemed to be almost invisible during this election when they should have been stealing seats from the Conservatives and left the rest of the lefties to vote NDP.
One of the stories of this election is the grand fall of the Liberals, formerly “Canada’s party.” They need a new leader. Someone young and dynamic.
Yeah, they definitely need someone who gets people excited. Or more of this at least:
.
The Awl has a surprisingly astute primer on our election up here: Canada! How Does it Work?
Layton’s definitely the most jovial of the bunch!
Ooh, thank you thank you thank you! I’ve been wanting some kind of straightforward (and entertaining) resume of Canadian politics. This does the job perfectly!
(on a side note, I didn’t know that Ben Mulroney from etalk was the son of a Prime Minister!)
I really like this explanation. I also ended up getting distracted by the link on the top bar of The Awl
Which is as follows http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/111-male-characters-of-british-literature-in-order-of-bangability
(Apparently I don’t know how to link stuff on wordpress)
Nice.
Leyton’s a pretty cool guy, politics aside. His nephew ( I think, it might have been a cousin) was in my high school and he came to our performances. Always really funny and down-to-earth. Once, during our Stomp knock-off group’s performance, he accidentally got hit with a flying broomhead, and he totally laughed it off.
sorry wrong post.
Leyton’s a pretty cool guy, politics aside. His nephew ( I think, it might have been a cousin) was in my high school and he came to our performances. Always really funny and down-to-earth. Once, during our Stomp knock-off group’s performance, he accidentally got hit with a flying broomhead, and he totally laughed it off.