Book-y Goodness

Jenny Lawson's book came out today. If you haven't heard of it, it's called Lets Pretend This Never Happened and it's probably going to be awesome. I mean, come on, this is the same lady who can claim Beyoncé as her own.

I am ridiculously excited but also very peeved, because it was supposed to come today, dammit. And Amazon should not fuck with me when I want to read a book. And I want to read this book. Also, the tracking information says that it was scanned into the Tuscaloosa receiving center, or whatever the hell, at like 8am this morning. Which means that I could have gotten the book today, but didn't, because I guess someone just didn't feel like delivering that particular box today. Or something. 

So probably it will come tomorrow, and if it doesn't I will maybe have a fit. And if it does I'll read it immediately and tell all seven people who have found this blog (hi Mom!) how fabulously hilarious it is. 

Really I am mostly just saying that I would like people other than me to also read this book so that I have someone to talk about it with. Unlike with the Hunger Games, because Matt refused to read it and no one else I know is done with it yet. So I've been having to keep all the post-apocalyptic goodness to myself. But this is not about the Hunger Games, even though I've been playing my own hunger games all day (har de har har, another first world hunger games joke) because DOMINOS IS NOT FILLING, but also is cheap and they take dining dollars. I'm a sucker for a deal.

Things That Make Me Angry

I was going to make a point to try and not make this a controversial blog, and I promise that this isn't going to be a regular thing, but this situation really just burned my biscuits.

Today, my boyfriend brought to my attention a letter to the editor that had been published on the Tuscaloosa News website. You can read it here.

I am posting my response on here, because I don't think mine will get published (mine exceeds the <250 word limit), but before I do I want to make a few things clear.

1. As someone who plans on teaching some day, I believe strongly in the right of all children to an education in a safe and hate-free environment, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or creed. My letter is primarily motivated by this belief.

2. I believe that religion can be a wonderful thing for individual people, and that individual people alone have a right to decide what their beliefs are and at what level they believe in them. I believe that anyone can believe whatever they want to believe, provided it does not endanger the life of anyone else. I also believe that while believing strongly in something can be a great and powerful thing, it is not your job to make me or anyone else believe in the same thing you believe in. 

3. I believe that everyone has a right to their opinion, and while your opinion may not agree with my opinion, I'm willing to listen to yours. I'm also willing to agree to disagree, and share that opinion with you as well.


4. I believe that controversial issues should not ultimately affect the education of children, and that it is your right to teach your children to believe however you would like them to believe. By the same token, I do not believe that it is your right to teach other people's children what you would like them to believe. That right belongs to an objective, impartial body of people, who will make decisions on these matters with the academic education of the child held in highest regard.


5. I would like to point out also that I love the South, have chosen to spend four years of my life in the deep South, and am painfully aware of the stereotype that comes with the Southern United States. It needs to change, and I feel like people like Ms. Hamner are holding us back, not pushing us forward.


Gosh, I've never used the word believe so much in my life. Without further ado, here is my letter to the editor.

Dear Editor: As a resident college student of the University of Alabama, I was appalled to read in your paper that a Tuscaloosa woman was condemning same sex students being allowed to attend the prom together. This is just one more reason why the southern portion of America gets such a bad rap in this country. No wonder so many people think that the south is a close-minded, unaccepting place.  Thank goodness at least the school systems have enough morals and backbone to stand up to organizations that would deny students fundamental rights, like the right to take whoever you would like to prom.

I am coming to you as a well-educated former resident of the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area (a place that does not have any such reputation) that does not accept things just because they (are) (in someone’s opinion) “religiously incorrect.” It amazes me that in this 21^st century, people are still debating issues as simple as a prom date. Instead, maybe we should focus on things that are actually affecting the world today; things like war, poverty, and hunger. Parents of students that are not gay did not get a say in this decision because this decision belongs in the hands of a moral institution that can objectively think for itself. In today’s society, sex is rampant in our media, and homosexuality has become widely accepted. Instead of educating the youth of Tuscaloosa about religiously bigoted and ignorant people like Ms. Jennifer Hamner, the school system has decided to offer its students an open-minded view of the world, one much more compatible with, say, real life. I am disappointed and disgusted that one woman (though her views are shared by others, I’m sure) would stoop to attack something as out of her control as who another child is taking to prom. Because yes, Ms. Hamner, the school system would get sued, as refusing two girls or two boys who want to go to prom together admission to the dance is discrimination on the basis of sexuality (which is very illegal), and at least the school system has managed to figure that out.

This decision by the Tuscaloosa County School System gives me more hope than ever that the South is going to be able to overcome its traditionally single-minded roots and promote an environment of No Hate. How wonderful.

*******

Basically, to me, out of all the things that need to be fixed in this world (genocide? Joseph Kony? AIDS? Hunger? Poverty? Global warming? How about literacy rates in Alabama?) this is not one that deserves attention. Period.

Insomniac...

Lately I've been having trouble sleeping. Matt can talk and hang out and laugh, and then when he decides its time to go to bed, he's snoring within 5 minutes. I, on the other hand, close my eyes and my brain instantly decides I! AM! AWAKE! So awake! Lets make 25000 to-do lists and think about all the ways we could fail out of school because that would be so much fun. 

Seriously y'all. How could a girl get to sleep with a million different things that demand at least one thought devoted to each of them? There's also TV episodes to get caught up on, sudoku puzzles to do, trips to plan, not to mention homework and other school-related nastiness.

If I could just come up with a way not to sleep at all, I would be the most successful person (maybe ever). My productive hours just happen to be between 11pm to 3am. 

..........

T-town was a gross place to be today. 70 degrees, 100% humidity, overcast and sporadically raining. Uh, no thanks. I was sticky and my hair was 5x the size it normally is (Thanks genetics! And curls! You are not appreciated).

The low point of my day was when a bee flew into my history class and buzzed around the ceiling, swooping dangerously close to my head every time it came on my side of the room. No one else seemed to feel any concern, other than giving it a cursory glance and returning their focus to the lecture. I was one teeny mental step below sheer panic (Have you ever had a bee stuck in your hair? And every time it flutters its wings in your frizzy mop it gets a little more snarled? And a little more angry? And by the time you get it out it is done playing games with you, thank-you-very-much? No? Just me then.), because seriously, you guys, BEE IN THE CLASSROOM. 

Suffice it to say that I caused way more distraction with the constant turning of my head and the terrified expression on my face than that stupid damn bee did. 

Bee - 1, Chelsey - 0.

..........

Best friend comes this weekend! Finally! She'll get a good strong dose of some good ol' southern everything and will probably never want to come back. This at least is my fear.

........

Procrastination has bit me in the ass again. In an indirect, I-wish-I-wasn't-a-space-cadet kind of way. Outline for essay that we can use on the test? Due at 6:00pm. When I thought it was due? 9:00pm. So when I decided to recheck the assignment at 7, it was kind of too late. Like, don't even think about it too late. So now I am faced with the daunting task of memorizing every. quote. I need. Yay! This is high school all over again! (You'd think I would have figured this kind of stuff by now right? Me too, you guys. Me too.).

Guess I better get started. Me and World Literature are about to have a very intense night together. On the couch. 

Avert your eyes if I'm getting too graphic here.

A/C filters

The repairmen that work for my housing complex are here changing the A/C filters. I had no idea they were coming today, or that they would show up at 10:00 in the morning. Which, of course I couldn't get the door because you know, pajamas and sleeping and general morning-y issues. And of course they have a key, so after ringing the doorbell three times and pounding on it hard enough to (maybe) make the glass break, they came in.

So I did the adult thing and hid in the bathroom.

Seriously, I was highly doubtful that anything to do with the A/C was hidden in there, but now I'm freaked out because there's a weird rushing sound going through the vents even though the heat should be on and I keep thinking I hear footsteps in the hallway and Matt's radio is going off so I keep mistaking that for voices and I don't know if they locked the door and I obviously can't check.

Thanks a heap for the morning paranoia y'all. Next time lets schedule in-home things for a time when the average college student is awake.
.....

However...they are giving out free cupcakes this morning so I guess as long as Matt picks me up one things will be okay.

Update-

The weird rushing sound? Is air, dumbass. Or at least I'm pretty sure the repair guy added that last bit when he came to check out the weird rushing/whirring noise in our attic. It was the weirdest noise ever. Like a machine was up there? Or something? Guess what! There is and it's just the freaking AIR CONDITIONING. Turns out our filter was SO nasty that we were getting hardly any flow at all (hmm....I wonder why we were exceeding our utility bill by $120 a month....whatever could it have been...) and we just aren't used to the noises of having an actual air conditioner that is working in our house. So, happy ending.