Friday, May 23, 2008

Just Singing in the Rain...

It's been too long, and frankly, I have too much to say. So, here we go.

First, update on me of course. I am finishing up my classes, and I only have four more days of classes to go until I will be officially, truly finished with my undergraduate studies. Woo. I am taking a classic American film class (it is quite a joke, but I am getting to watch a lot of interesting movies) and Islam. So, the Islam class is probably one of the most interesting classes I have ever taken. I have never been in such an intense class - my professor calls it "Islam boot camp because we will eat, sleep, and drink Islam every second of every day for three weeks." I love it. I love learning about different religions, even though I am not a big supporter of organized religion. If I ever go back to school after law school, which who am I kidding I totally will, it will probably be to get a degree in theology or world religions or something. The media portrays Islam in such a negative light. We only hear about the radical Muslims, but Westerners don't hear anything else about the religion. So, do me a favor, and educate yourself. Because there is no reason to be ignorant to something that is in the spotlight every day. Today, we went to a mosque to observe their prayer. It was really interesting. I loved that we got to take our shoes off and sit on the floor. I wish I could do that in my church, but everyone would just think I was crazy. The only thing I particularly don't like is that women are separated from the men when praying. If both sexes are in the same room, the women must be at the back, and sometimes there is a barrier, a wall, put up to separate the sexes. In the mosque today, we were in the choir loft. You know, also, I didn't mind wearing a headscarf either. I feel like the headscarf is part of being there, part of the culture. That part did not offend me, but sitting in the choir loft kind of did. Apparently, men will be distracted by the pose during the prayer. But instead of moving men, of course, they move the women. Boo.

Anyhow, my life consists of studying, eating, sleeping, and working. There is barely any time for anything else. I thought these three weeks of classes were going to be easy, but no way. Nothing is that easy. I am thoroughly enjoying working at preschool every day. I love my kids, and I am going to be really sad to leave them after this week. It's weird to think how I may have impacted their lives, and I will more than likely never see them again. Weird. Again, that's how life goes though.

So, on to bigger and better news. I was reading the homepage on http://www.msn.com/ the other day, and there was an article that caught my attention. It was, "Don't Take a Woman Here!" by Nicole Kristal (http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=9457&menuID=6). Basically, it's supposed to be a little guide on where men shouldn't take women on dates. Fine. It's a cute, fluff article. It was everything I had expected it to be, but when I read a couple parts, I actually was upset. Where is the first place women shouldn't be taken to on a date? A sports bar.

When we’re with you, we don’t want to compete with the big game or struggle to
hear you over a crowd of drunken sports fans. We’d rather be in a place where
people are less likely to bump into our chair or spill beer on the cute outfit
we put too much time into selecting. Likewise, we don’t want to feel ignored by
our date because he’s watching his favorite team or can’t hear us because of
that old 50 Cent song blaring from the speaker by our heads. The Buffalo wings
are pretty much the best part of this experience, and they better be freakin
outstanding.


Unfortunately, I do not spend too much time into selecting my outfit. And I, contrary to popular belief about women, like sports. But that isn't even the worst one. Here's my favorite: Gross out comedies.

We know you think the whole dinner-and-a-movie idea is infallible, but not if
the movie completely grosses us out. You might find it funny when Ben Stiller is
standing near a pier and a fish hook gets stuck in his cheek or when Johnny
Knoxville jumps into a vat of plastic balls filled with venomous snakes—we
don’t. Men and women have different senses of humor. Various studies have proven
this, so try to respect this biological fact and refrain from making us indulge
your Three Stooges sensibility for two hours. Your buddies may laugh, but we’ll
simply be rolling our eyes.


There's Something About Mary was absolutely hilarious. Sorry, but I actually liked that film. And beyond that, I think that is definitely a great date movie. If any guy took me to see that on a date, I'd be happy. And I must admit that I happened to watch Johnny Knoxville over and over again. Also, I wonder what studies have shown that men and women have different senses of humor. To assert the difference in sense of humor is a biological fact confuses me. Am I a biological freak of nature for liking these "guy" movies? Come on, give it a break. Men and women are humans. Humans and individuals who have different tastes - period - regardless of sex.

That is the kind of stuff that needs to be re-examined in our every day life so we can become better humans. Sure, it's an article that is all fun and games, but it's an article that people take seriously. Perhaps my brain just isn't hard-wired for that kind of humor.

"The way to do it," said Amy Poehler, "is to do what men do, which is you just assume power. You're not grateful for it."

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