Just When You Think We're Moving Forward...

You read that California voted Yes on Proposition 8 yesterday, reversing the legalization of Gay Marriage in the state.

I'm warning you now - if you don't like this issue and don't want to hear what I have to say, come back tomorrow, because I'm livid right now after reading this and need to jump on my soapbox and rant...

Personally, a law like this is an absolute joke to me, especially coming on the heels of the monumental achievement of Barack Obama's election last night. The election of the first Black President is something they will teach in history classes until the end of time, as I said yesterday, and now I hope that the archaic beliefs about sexuality and the institution of marriage held by 52% of voters in the State of California (and all other homophobes throughout the world) can be the next major change.

Honestly, what gives any other person the right to say who can and cannot be married? And how can you make it illegal for two men or two women or two transgendered individuals to get married? Illegal. Two dudes who love each other getting married is now against the law... same as murder and theft and selling crack.

Those in favour of this newly passed bullshit cling to the notion that marriage is at the "fundamental core of how society is organized" and that marriage should be "between a man and a woman" to "establish a family unit."

Where do I begin?

First, claiming that marriage is at the fundamental core of how society is organized is ridiculous. If marriage truly is the fundamental core of how society is organized, why do we allow people to enter into marriage flippantly and have a divorce rate hovering around 50%? This isn't my grandparents era where marriage truly was a lifetime commitment and the core of the family unit. I would wager everyone knows ten people who either are divorced themselves or have parents who are divorced, unlike even when I was a kid and I knew one kid and it was a big deal.

As for the second part - "between a man and a woman" - you've got to be kidding me. What in the name of all things holy is the difference between two men being in love with each other and willing to commit themselves to one another and a man and woman doing the same? The answer is nothing, accept that homophobic and fundamentalist belief that being gay is not acceptable continue to exist in large numbers in our world.

Harsh as this sounds, I always think about what someone who helped passed this law would do if their child came to them with a same sex partner. Then what do they do? Do you cast aside your child because of your beliefs or do you cast aside your beliefs because it's different now that it affects you personally? I count myself lucky because I will never have to make that decision. Gay, straight, bi or whatever - my kids are my kids and they can be whoever they want to be with the knowledge that they will be loved unconditionally.

The final little blip from the LA Times piece that marriage is about "establishing a family unit" is also faulty on numerous levels.

One - not all married couples have kids. Some can't, some choose not to, some just don't get around to it.

Two - why is a man and a woman adopting and "establishing a family unit" that way any different than two women doing the same? Again, it's not.

Three - all that matters, really, in the establishment of a family unit is love. Two dads, two moms, two dads and two moms or one of each, as long as those parents love their child and do everything in their power to provide for them, that is the only thing anyone should truly care about.

Beyond being an issue about marriage, this is an issue about human rights.

Because you're gay you're not allowed to get married?

How in the fuck can anyone say that is just and how is it any different than saying because you're a woman you can't do this or because you're Latino you can't do that?

I'd love to hear the difference between the two because to me there aren't any and I look forward to the day when who you choose to love is no longer an issue.

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Next Week Is Wide Open...

Rolled into work last night and took a look at the schedule for next week.

Let me preface what you're about to read with the fact that I took Saturday and Sunday off because we've got personal commitments on Sunday.

One shift.
Three hours.
Friday from 5:45-8:30.

What a bunch of bullshit! So I gave the shift away.

Why in the world would I sit around all week to go in for one, three hour shift on a night Sarah is off?

So that means next week is going to be a week of getting out and having some fun! Sarah is on Days Wednesday and Thursday, so we're actually going to get some quality time together.

She's on nights right now so days off are spent sawing logs with Luke... then I go to work an hour after she gets up.

But next week, it's all about getting out and having some fun, albeit it as inexpensive fun as humanly possible since I'm not making any money...

Book your visits now!

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The Rundown: Are You A Skeet?

Some of you may not be familiar with the term skeet.

You've heard of Skeet Shooting and, well, skeet shooting and maybe you even remember Skeet Ulrich.

But what exactly is a skeet?

A skeet is an amalgam of all things low class and uncouth in the world.

Our dear friend Cletus Del Roy Spuckler (pictured) is a redneck skeet, but let me assure you that skeetdom knows no boundaries.

You can have redneck skeets like Cletus, little wannabe gangsta skeets, grown-up Nascar-loving skeets and on and on. Age isn't an issue either, as there are just as many 12-year-old skeets as there are 40-year-old residents of Skeetville.

In fact, you may have been aware of skeets all along. Maybe you just called them something else: rednecks, hillbillies, trailer trash, Britney Spears, tools... you get the point.

No matter what you call them, there are certainly surefire signs to being a skeet.

Top Five Signs You Might Be A Skeet

5. When Your Outfit Consists of Track Pants, Crocs and a Dirty Tank Top... With Your Pregnant Belly Sticking Out
When Jennifer Aniston did it as Rachel Green in Season 8 of Friends, it got a big laugh. But here is a little tip: if you're not Jennifer Aniston, reconsider the wardrobe. Sadly, some people haven't gotten the message. We saw one such unfortunate sole strolling through Wal-Mart this weekend. As an aside, if you want to see the biggest collection of skeets under one roof, hit up your local Wal-Mart* on a Saturday afternoon...

4. Telling Complete Strangers Intimate Details of Your Life
Like, say, that the 18-month-old in your arms was an accident? Who does this? Skeets, that's who. There is no social tact, no understanding that that information isn't something to be shared with the couple you just met, firstly because it's private and kind of personal and secondly because we're only here to see if we can adopt your dog, not get to know you and become friends. Bonus points for mentioning nuggets like this in front of your other children too.

3. Vocabulary
Do you axe people questions? Do you enjoy reading at the libary? Do you say fuck more than any other word regardless of whether you're talking to a close friend or a complete stranger? These are just some of the signs that indicate you very well could be a skeet. Everyone uses slang and has colloquialisms that they share with their friends, but skeets have only this. Basic grammar and sentence structure are radical concepts; thinking "gangsterdom" is a real word on the other hand...

2. The Cigarette Test
Is your favourite brand Other Peoples? Do you use the words, "Gotta smoke, brother?" on a regular basis? When met with, "No, sorry this is my last one" do you reply, "Cool, can I have a draw?" Do you smoke simply because you think it makes you look cool and not because you can't get enough of that sweet, sweet nicotine like the rest of us? Welcome to Skeetville, Population You.

1. Other People's Reactions to You
When you're out in public, do people regularly give you the once over and not in that, "Hey, they're checking me out" sort of way? Is it more like a "Wow, can you believe he/she is wearing that?" or "Is that not the best mullet you've seen in a long time?" type of fashion? Sorry to burst your bubble... You're a skeet.

* Nothing against Wal-Mart; I like the place, but seriously, read this post, stroll through there on a Saturday afternoon and tell me I'm wrong!

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High School Never Ends

The lovely and talented Emily Blunt delivered that line about two-thirds of the way through the charming and entertaining film The Jane Austen Book Club which I have no problem admitting I watched and enjoyed over the weekend. As soon as I heard that line though, something clicked inside of me and I jumped to my feet to grab a pen and one of the dozens of notebooks and notepads that are strewn around my desk. Funny where we get our inspiration isn't it?

I've spent the past couple of days thinking about the line and each time I do, I come to the same conclusion: It's 100% the truth. High school never does end.

It ends symbolically with graduation and literally whenever you finish that last exam, but the basic elements of high school leave the hallways and cafeterias with us and continue to exist in everyday life. Now, I'm not saying that there are groups of women walking around calling themselves The Plastics or anything like that, but the simple fact of the matter is that if you take a minute or five to examine society, I'm sure you'd agree with me on this one. Those distinct demographics John Hughes gave us in The Breakfast Club all those years ago still live on to this day. Although, the rebels aren't as boss as Judd Nelson's Bender and the ladies aren't as hard done by and wonderful as Molly Ringwald's Claire.

I'm even going to pass up on a layup in this case too and not point to colleges and universities as a proving ground of this theory, since they are basically extensions of the educational system and structure people are already coming from. Since the system and structure doesn't overly change, the dynamics and demographics don't either. The geeks remain geeks, the cool kids remain the cool kids and the rest of us float somewhere in the middle.

But even now, as a 29-year-old working stiff, there is still the presence of high school throughout society. Take the workplace for example. Most workplaces have groups. It's inevitable. You work with the same people regularly enough, they become your social network. You form a bond. You become an identifiable group. Here's how it broke down in the casino I worked in for five years:

• First and foremost, there was the obvious segregation by departments and work groups. Until people became comfortable, very few strayed outside of their own group. Slots ate with slots, cashiers with cashiers, security with security.
  
• Smokers all congregate together outside in whatever weather Mother Nature delivered, battling the elements for that sweet, sweet nicotine.
• The young, cool, popular people - the people who everyone knows by name even though they couldn't pick most of their colleagues out of a police lineup - did almost everything together. They ate lunch together, took their breaks together, spent their days off together, worked out together... you get the picture.
• All the middle aged people flocked to one another as well, except for the middle aged but still single and trying to pretend I'm still in my 20's group. They tried to be down with the cool kids, but ended up looking like middle aged people trying to recapture their youth more often than not.
• Married couples hung out together, as did the new and expectant parents.
• We even had a collection of computer geeks who talked about nothing other than video games and computers. Actually, that was only one guy. I miss Shawn... goofy bastard.

Anyway, I could keep going for hours, breaking down even further, including by area you lived in, because just like high school, friendships and groups derived from where you lived too.

It's more than that though.

I talk shit about people almost every day of my life. Now it's mostly harmless and me just being a whiny bitch or complaining for the sake of complaining, but isn't that the same way that it was in high school? All smiles and "Hey" to someones face, only to meet up with your friends later and pick at their faults and misfortunes? Don't say you don't do this either... we all do this because we're all still in high school.

The jocks still play sports as often as they can, be it pickup hockey or baseball all summer long. The stoners are still doing as many drugs as they can. Some of the cool people are still pre-occupied with being cool and can be found hanging out at the same bars and clubs as always every weekend, while others grew up a little, got cool jobs and are now the cool people in their workplace too. The AV Club went on to found a dot com and got rich before the bottom fell out of the tech industry. Their now married to some of the cool girls from high school.

Just like in high school, we're always crushing on the cute girl or the mysterious boy and we always want our friends to think the new clothes we bought are wicked.

Biggest of all, when we see our old teachers out in public, we're still a little freaked out and refer to them as Sir or Miss or whatever you called your teachers in high school, even though we're all adults now and you know their actual first name.

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