Is there anything more accurate about resolutions that totally ignoring them for an entire year?
My post about my 2018 resolutions didn't turn out exactly as planned. By that, I mean I didn't do any of those things.
I finally went to yoga! Even though (as I said in my last post) not doing something for a while makes you want to continue not to do it, I decided tonight was the night to go back to Yoga Love. I thought that candlelight yoga would take it easy on us. I was wrong.
I hadn't gone in a while because I have been having issues with my shoulder hurting. I went in tonight thinking that I would try and see how it went. Caleb said "listen to my body," but if there's one thing I hate it's listening to anything. As of right now, my shoulder feels really good. There was only one thing tonight I couldn't do (that thing where you do lower crunches with your legs in the air - wasn't happening). If it turns out that all I needed to do for my shoulder to feel better was go back to yoga, I'm going to be so pissed.
As soon as we got started, the instructor said "We are going to go into Crow!" And I was like "Fuck. I haven't been to yoga in a year, and we are starting with an arm balance. Ok." Before we got to Crow, we could try Side Crow. I decided to just try it because if I fall, whatever. I could do Side Crow to my right but not as great my life which is exactly how it was the last time I went to yoga.
As we got closer and closer to Crow, I got more and more nervous. As usual, I was being super dramatic about it and was thinking about how if I couldn't get close to Crow I was going to totally embarrass myself. As usual.
So we finally get to Crow. I'm not a huge fan of using the block to put your head on while attempting to get into the pose. I know some people like it because they don't feel like they are going to faceplant, but I feel like the block is going to move and I'm def going to break my nose.
It wasn't a great Crow. My arms were sort of shaking, my feet weren't high up enough off the ground, and I'm pretty sure I was breathing in a not zen way.
But I did.
And isn't that sort of the summary of resolutions? It's about doing things you want to do while also realizing that no one is perfect.
I've already solved one of my 2018 resolutions: my office moved to Greentree, and it's def not a place I can bike to from Shadyside! One down, five to go. I will definitely get to two new cities in 2019 - Team Wackhaus is going to Rome!
Showing posts with label plannedparenthood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plannedparenthood. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2019
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Who Protests a Bar?!
I went to a Planned Parenthood fundraiser on Monday. It was the 45th anniversary of Roe v Wade. As usual, it was an excellent time! Allegheny Wine Mixer is a great location with lovely wine.
My friend and I took a Lyft over because I was being lazy and didn't want to walk. In my defense, it is 3.5 miles from my house to AWM if you walk it. Driving goes a different route because it's faster for a car. (Also, when did I decide that 3.5 miles was a totally walkable distance? I used to complain about walking the 0.8 miles to Market District!). The Lyft was faster than we thought, so we were standing outside for a bit.
There was this white SUV across the street, and a girl a bit younger than me stepped out of it. She was carrying a folding card table, a bag, and a few signs. The signs were hot pink which Planned Parenthood uses. My friend goes "oh, I think we are going the same place. We're going to the Planned Parenthood event." She says, "Oh, I'm actually against it." Whatever.
As she is setting up her table, she looks at the house. Her bag is sitting next to it - maybe like 15 feet from us. I'm horrible at judging distance. She looks at the SUV still across the street and then starts running down the block away from her stuff. Like, super booking it. I stared after her for a few seconds and then immediately thought I had to go inside. A PPWP protestor just put some shit down and ran away. Holy shit. Oh no. I've seen this episode of Law & Order. I went in the entryway to tell someone about it, but my friend said that she was on the way back. My friend said it didn't even occur to him that she was going to start something, but I'm kinda paranoid and always on the lookout. Especially at a Planned Parenthood event.
The girl sets up her table and some older guy joins her. They had signs about the uterus being a weapon free zone (with badly drawn pictures of medical equipment). I think they had one of those bowls of candy where they try to trick you into a Toostie Roll and then show you a picture of a fetus. There were also pamphlets which my friend took and I ignored her presence. It was a damn stack! It wasn't one flyer - there were four!!! As someone who has extensive tabling experience to the point where it basically one of majors in college, they need to edit.
We told the PPWP volunteers and employees that there were protestors outside and what they looked like. They knew who they were. There are always repeat customers.
The pamphlets were a lot. Not entirely well done either. Mostly about how atheists can be pro-choice, how birth control is racist, and something about babies. Side note: I saw the atheists for life at Pride in 2017, and I'm over it.
When we went to leave, my friend talked to the girl. She looked kinda terrified. He thinks he might have been the first person to actually speak to her all night. He told her what points were strong and which points were super weak. I stayed away. I'm sometimes not great at holding back.
Who protests a bar though?! There weren't live streams of abortions inside. There was wine and nice toasties and fun people. Tables were stocked with condoms and pins (those items were separate, please don't mix). Who were they trying to convert? If you knew about the event, you were a Planned Parenthood supporter. I wasn't going to show up, see some people with a stack of homework, and decide to change my fundamental beliefs.
Unless something actually happened in the bar, it isn't a great place to protest. There isn't anyone new to reach. They were outside AWM. They could have had a perimeter space or something. It was lazy and boring.
Seriously, who protests a bar?
My friend and I took a Lyft over because I was being lazy and didn't want to walk. In my defense, it is 3.5 miles from my house to AWM if you walk it. Driving goes a different route because it's faster for a car. (Also, when did I decide that 3.5 miles was a totally walkable distance? I used to complain about walking the 0.8 miles to Market District!). The Lyft was faster than we thought, so we were standing outside for a bit.
There was this white SUV across the street, and a girl a bit younger than me stepped out of it. She was carrying a folding card table, a bag, and a few signs. The signs were hot pink which Planned Parenthood uses. My friend goes "oh, I think we are going the same place. We're going to the Planned Parenthood event." She says, "Oh, I'm actually against it." Whatever.
As she is setting up her table, she looks at the house. Her bag is sitting next to it - maybe like 15 feet from us. I'm horrible at judging distance. She looks at the SUV still across the street and then starts running down the block away from her stuff. Like, super booking it. I stared after her for a few seconds and then immediately thought I had to go inside. A PPWP protestor just put some shit down and ran away. Holy shit. Oh no. I've seen this episode of Law & Order. I went in the entryway to tell someone about it, but my friend said that she was on the way back. My friend said it didn't even occur to him that she was going to start something, but I'm kinda paranoid and always on the lookout. Especially at a Planned Parenthood event.
The girl sets up her table and some older guy joins her. They had signs about the uterus being a weapon free zone (with badly drawn pictures of medical equipment). I think they had one of those bowls of candy where they try to trick you into a Toostie Roll and then show you a picture of a fetus. There were also pamphlets which my friend took and I ignored her presence. It was a damn stack! It wasn't one flyer - there were four!!! As someone who has extensive tabling experience to the point where it basically one of majors in college, they need to edit.
We told the PPWP volunteers and employees that there were protestors outside and what they looked like. They knew who they were. There are always repeat customers.
The pamphlets were a lot. Not entirely well done either. Mostly about how atheists can be pro-choice, how birth control is racist, and something about babies. Side note: I saw the atheists for life at Pride in 2017, and I'm over it.
When we went to leave, my friend talked to the girl. She looked kinda terrified. He thinks he might have been the first person to actually speak to her all night. He told her what points were strong and which points were super weak. I stayed away. I'm sometimes not great at holding back.
Who protests a bar though?! There weren't live streams of abortions inside. There was wine and nice toasties and fun people. Tables were stocked with condoms and pins (those items were separate, please don't mix). Who were they trying to convert? If you knew about the event, you were a Planned Parenthood supporter. I wasn't going to show up, see some people with a stack of homework, and decide to change my fundamental beliefs.
Unless something actually happened in the bar, it isn't a great place to protest. There isn't anyone new to reach. They were outside AWM. They could have had a perimeter space or something. It was lazy and boring.
Seriously, who protests a bar?
Monday, October 23, 2017
Women's. Pockets.
I have a lot of strong opinions about things that don't seem that vital.
Examples: people who don't have any spatial awareness, those who don't look at themselves in every reflective surface, and people who abuse return policies (to name a few).
Bag policies and the sitch with women's pockets is goddamn vital.
We were going to attend the Ministry/Death Grips show on Saturday at Stage AE. I checked their bag policy beforehand. The FB page said that they used the NFL rules. Okay. Fine.
I used the wristlet that I took to a Steelers game at Heinz Field on 10/8/17. It's a lovely pink Coach wristlet that can fit my keys, cards, and phone. Spoiler alert: this matters.
I wait in line with Caleb, and when I get to the part of the line where ladies go to their own, the security guard immediately says "You're bag is too big." Oh, okay. I say that I took it to a Steelers game, and this lady pulls out an index card labeled like it's a bag and says "Does it look like it matches this?!" Ok, okay. Again.
Aside from the fact that her index card of shame wasn't even the correct size, she was nasty to me.
We had won the tickets at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser, so it wasn't the money. I offered to put my purse in the bushes and pick it up later, but Caleb wasn't having that. So we ended up having a lovely evening at Southern Tier.
But I started thinking.
How incredibly sexist are bag policies?
Women's clothing doesn't have fucking pockets. It's an epidemic of lack of pockets. If you compliment a lady on her outfit and it has pockets, that is literally the first thing she will say. I have two sundresses and a romper with pockets. If someone says "nice dress!" my immediate reply is to beam and say "IT HAS POCKETS!" like it's some kind of miracle.
I buy my work pants from the children's section at Target. (It's cheaper, and I get brighter colors. If I'm going to dress like a drunk 12 year old, I might as well shop in the same space). Even those pants barely have pockets! The front pockets are fake. Which is even worse than none in my option.
I sort of got off track there. Pockets for women is a hot button issue for me.
Back to bag policies.
My picture wristlet is apparently too big for Stage AE. Where exactly am I supposed to keep my things? Please enlighten me.
It isn't about me buying impractical clothing (although Quetzy knows I do). Those are jeans from a normal retail store, and they only have back pockets. These back pockets are only phone size deep. They aren't like the cavernous pockets men's pants can have. Fitting a phone in a pocket is an event.
Am I supposed to put my keys, phone, cards, and cash into pockets that barely fit a Samsung?
Am I supposed to leave any of those things behind?
It isn't like we aren't buying clothes with pockets. Every woman I know clings to the brand with pockets. I bought 4 pairs of shorts because I could put my phone in a front pocket. I would probably kill a stranger to have consistent access to pockets (hell, depending on the fit I might kill someone I know).
Bag policies put women at a direct disadvantage. They target women. We don't really have options about this.
Bag policies are sexist.
Examples: people who don't have any spatial awareness, those who don't look at themselves in every reflective surface, and people who abuse return policies (to name a few).
Bag policies and the sitch with women's pockets is goddamn vital.
We were going to attend the Ministry/Death Grips show on Saturday at Stage AE. I checked their bag policy beforehand. The FB page said that they used the NFL rules. Okay. Fine.
I used the wristlet that I took to a Steelers game at Heinz Field on 10/8/17. It's a lovely pink Coach wristlet that can fit my keys, cards, and phone. Spoiler alert: this matters.
I wait in line with Caleb, and when I get to the part of the line where ladies go to their own, the security guard immediately says "You're bag is too big." Oh, okay. I say that I took it to a Steelers game, and this lady pulls out an index card labeled like it's a bag and says "Does it look like it matches this?!" Ok, okay. Again.
Aside from the fact that her index card of shame wasn't even the correct size, she was nasty to me.
We had won the tickets at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser, so it wasn't the money. I offered to put my purse in the bushes and pick it up later, but Caleb wasn't having that. So we ended up having a lovely evening at Southern Tier.
 |
| Me after not getting into a show |
But I started thinking.
How incredibly sexist are bag policies?
Women's clothing doesn't have fucking pockets. It's an epidemic of lack of pockets. If you compliment a lady on her outfit and it has pockets, that is literally the first thing she will say. I have two sundresses and a romper with pockets. If someone says "nice dress!" my immediate reply is to beam and say "IT HAS POCKETS!" like it's some kind of miracle.
I buy my work pants from the children's section at Target. (It's cheaper, and I get brighter colors. If I'm going to dress like a drunk 12 year old, I might as well shop in the same space). Even those pants barely have pockets! The front pockets are fake. Which is even worse than none in my option.
I sort of got off track there. Pockets for women is a hot button issue for me.
Back to bag policies.
My picture wristlet is apparently too big for Stage AE. Where exactly am I supposed to keep my things? Please enlighten me.
It isn't about me buying impractical clothing (although Quetzy knows I do). Those are jeans from a normal retail store, and they only have back pockets. These back pockets are only phone size deep. They aren't like the cavernous pockets men's pants can have. Fitting a phone in a pocket is an event.
Am I supposed to put my keys, phone, cards, and cash into pockets that barely fit a Samsung?
Am I supposed to leave any of those things behind?
It isn't like we aren't buying clothes with pockets. Every woman I know clings to the brand with pockets. I bought 4 pairs of shorts because I could put my phone in a front pocket. I would probably kill a stranger to have consistent access to pockets (hell, depending on the fit I might kill someone I know).
Bag policies put women at a direct disadvantage. They target women. We don't really have options about this.
Bag policies are sexist.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Rage on Behalf of Planned Parenthood - PA Senate Bill 300 Edition!
I don't know how I am continually surprised by the attacks on Planned Parenthood, but somehow I still am. I think, on some level, I actually believe that people want to do the right thing and help each other. SB 300 shows me just how wrong I am.
What's SB 300 for the 2017-2018 year? A bunch of bullshit. I hadn't heard of Senator John Eichelberger before, but he's exactly the type of guy who would sponsor something like this. Oh, and he's in insurance. Shocker.
What does he claim the bill would do? Senator Asshole would categorize women's health clinics, hospitals, etc in order to change how they receive funding. He says that it will "will favor more conventional healthcare providers over unconventional provider."
What the bill would do in reality? It's going to take away care from those who use Medicaid and other federal services. All the grandstanding politicians do (and let's be honest, it's mostly men. Men without vaginas. Right.) about savings lives is bullshit. Taking away access to preventive health care isn't going to save anyone's life. Women who need to see doctors for pap smears, gynecological exams, STD testing, mammograms, and a variety of other essential services will have it taken away.
One of the things that really grinds my damn gears is that federal dollars LITERALLY CANNOT BE SPENT ON ABORTION SERVICES. Not even white girl literally. Actual fucking literally. The Hyde Amendement - read up! I haven't ever heard anyone properly explain why defunding Planned Parenthood would help.* I always hear random blustering about abortions that convince me that the person speaking has never even read a single thing about Planned Parenthood.
Getting back to Senator Asshole, after the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee voted his bill out of committee he said he doesn't even know what services Planned Parenthood provides.
Let me repeat that: the man who is sponsoring a bill that would make Planned Parenthood a category 4 provider and take away funding doesn't even know what they fucking do.
I don't even have words or expressions for the level of rage I feel about that. I'm so angry that I'm calm. It's even scarier. Where the fuck does this jagoff come from that he thinks he doesn't need to do any kind of research into what he is doing? I bet he believed the Onion article about the abortionplex was real. That's probably what prompted him to do this.
Oh, and he told a female reporter "Alright, I'm done with you." Just in case you thought he just hated Planned Parenthood and wasn't a huge misogynist.
I'm going to channel my rage into something constructive. Call your legislators. Donate money to Planned Parenthood. Donate time by volunteering. Educate people on what is going on. Don't accept the things we cannot change, change the things we cannot accept.
*Want to know more about how funding works for Planned Parenthood? Learn how federal funding at Planned Parenthood works!
What's SB 300 for the 2017-2018 year? A bunch of bullshit. I hadn't heard of Senator John Eichelberger before, but he's exactly the type of guy who would sponsor something like this. Oh, and he's in insurance. Shocker.
What does he claim the bill would do? Senator Asshole would categorize women's health clinics, hospitals, etc in order to change how they receive funding. He says that it will "will favor more conventional healthcare providers over unconventional provider."
What the bill would do in reality? It's going to take away care from those who use Medicaid and other federal services. All the grandstanding politicians do (and let's be honest, it's mostly men. Men without vaginas. Right.) about savings lives is bullshit. Taking away access to preventive health care isn't going to save anyone's life. Women who need to see doctors for pap smears, gynecological exams, STD testing, mammograms, and a variety of other essential services will have it taken away.
One of the things that really grinds my damn gears is that federal dollars LITERALLY CANNOT BE SPENT ON ABORTION SERVICES. Not even white girl literally. Actual fucking literally. The Hyde Amendement - read up! I haven't ever heard anyone properly explain why defunding Planned Parenthood would help.* I always hear random blustering about abortions that convince me that the person speaking has never even read a single thing about Planned Parenthood.
Getting back to Senator Asshole, after the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee voted his bill out of committee he said he doesn't even know what services Planned Parenthood provides.
Let me repeat that: the man who is sponsoring a bill that would make Planned Parenthood a category 4 provider and take away funding doesn't even know what they fucking do.
I don't even have words or expressions for the level of rage I feel about that. I'm so angry that I'm calm. It's even scarier. Where the fuck does this jagoff come from that he thinks he doesn't need to do any kind of research into what he is doing? I bet he believed the Onion article about the abortionplex was real. That's probably what prompted him to do this.
Oh, and he told a female reporter "Alright, I'm done with you." Just in case you thought he just hated Planned Parenthood and wasn't a huge misogynist.
I'm going to channel my rage into something constructive. Call your legislators. Donate money to Planned Parenthood. Donate time by volunteering. Educate people on what is going on. Don't accept the things we cannot change, change the things we cannot accept.
*Want to know more about how funding works for Planned Parenthood? Learn how federal funding at Planned Parenthood works!
Monday, February 27, 2017
Escorting with PPWP
I have been an on and off volunteer with Planned Parenthood since college. Let's not talk about how long ago that was. During and after the election, I realized how important it was that I start being on again.
I did my escort training on Saturday. I had avoided it for years because I wasn't sure if I could handle it. Can I deal with people screaming without screaming back? When I see people with whom I have a fundamental disagreement with on so many levels, will I be able to keep my damn mouth shut?
The training affected me differently than I imagined. Instead of being angry at the thought of protesters, I found myself tearing up at the idea of people deciding that a woman's personal medical decision was any of their damn business. That people think an appropriate response to literally anything is to harass people en route to a medical professional. The moral failing that leads to a school sending buses of students to protest for credit in my neighborhood. I wasn't angry - I was outraged and motivated.
Who knows if I will be able to hack it when the situation arises. I may see people and totally lose it. I don't even know if I would scream or cry. What I do know is now, more than ever, I believe in giving time in addition to money. I am going to give escorting my best shot. There is an option to observe before you commit. At the very least, I can do that.
I'm not going to stop with Planned Parenthood. I am going to find more groups that need volunteers and join them. Resistence isn't futile - it's the only way to thrive.
I did my escort training on Saturday. I had avoided it for years because I wasn't sure if I could handle it. Can I deal with people screaming without screaming back? When I see people with whom I have a fundamental disagreement with on so many levels, will I be able to keep my damn mouth shut?
The training affected me differently than I imagined. Instead of being angry at the thought of protesters, I found myself tearing up at the idea of people deciding that a woman's personal medical decision was any of their damn business. That people think an appropriate response to literally anything is to harass people en route to a medical professional. The moral failing that leads to a school sending buses of students to protest for credit in my neighborhood. I wasn't angry - I was outraged and motivated.
Who knows if I will be able to hack it when the situation arises. I may see people and totally lose it. I don't even know if I would scream or cry. What I do know is now, more than ever, I believe in giving time in addition to money. I am going to give escorting my best shot. There is an option to observe before you commit. At the very least, I can do that.
I'm not going to stop with Planned Parenthood. I am going to find more groups that need volunteers and join them. Resistence isn't futile - it's the only way to thrive.
Friday, January 6, 2017
Planned Parenthood v 2017
There have been times in my life that I am so incredibly furious that I swing back around to calm. This is one of those times.
One of the many, many, many...many frustrating things about the debacle we called the 2016 presidential election is how many women seemed to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the Republican Party (side note: can we change it from party to something else? A party tends to be defined by fun and not the systematic destruction of the rights of others. Unless I have been partying wrong.). I heard people on the radio and in real life (like actual human people) say that there was no way Trump or Pence or Ryan or any Republican would move to defund Planned Parenthood. Even when confronted with actual facts (which I know are hard for people who voted for Trump to understand sometimes), they said it wouldn't happen.
Is anyone surprised this is happening now?
The entire election has been about taking away rights. This shouldn't be a shock to anyone's system. Pence signed an incredibly awful law in 2016 (Indiana General Assembly House Bill 1337 for anyone interested in giving yourself a rage headache by reading the entire thing). Short version? In addition to the usual hear the heartbeat, see an ultrasound, and general attempt to ban abortion, it also would have criminalized fetal tissue collection and transportation. Fetal tissue collection is vital in the scientific research on diseases and for tissue donation. Thankfully, a federal judge blocked this law.
The election and the next four years are going to feel like a very long phase of being Cassandra. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she didn't sleep with him, he made it so that no one would believe her. Cassandra literally stood there and was like "Hey guys! If we let Helen of Troy in here, Troy will definitely be destroyed." We all know how that ended.
All of us who stood with Planned Parenthood and said that this was going to happen are unfortunately being proved correct. You know when someone tells you an idea or a plan and you don't like, but a few days later you "think" of it yourself and love it? That's what this feels like to me. People were told on more than one occasion what was going to happen if these anti-choice misogynistic racist demagogues got into office and now they're surprised?!
As good as it feels, ranting and raving won't help. Screaming at people for not paying attention won't either. So, what do we do?
One of the many, many, many...many frustrating things about the debacle we called the 2016 presidential election is how many women seemed to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the Republican Party (side note: can we change it from party to something else? A party tends to be defined by fun and not the systematic destruction of the rights of others. Unless I have been partying wrong.). I heard people on the radio and in real life (like actual human people) say that there was no way Trump or Pence or Ryan or any Republican would move to defund Planned Parenthood. Even when confronted with actual facts (which I know are hard for people who voted for Trump to understand sometimes), they said it wouldn't happen.
Is anyone surprised this is happening now?
The entire election has been about taking away rights. This shouldn't be a shock to anyone's system. Pence signed an incredibly awful law in 2016 (Indiana General Assembly House Bill 1337 for anyone interested in giving yourself a rage headache by reading the entire thing). Short version? In addition to the usual hear the heartbeat, see an ultrasound, and general attempt to ban abortion, it also would have criminalized fetal tissue collection and transportation. Fetal tissue collection is vital in the scientific research on diseases and for tissue donation. Thankfully, a federal judge blocked this law.
The election and the next four years are going to feel like a very long phase of being Cassandra. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she didn't sleep with him, he made it so that no one would believe her. Cassandra literally stood there and was like "Hey guys! If we let Helen of Troy in here, Troy will definitely be destroyed." We all know how that ended.
 |
| The Simpsons (FOX) |
As good as it feels, ranting and raving won't help. Screaming at people for not paying attention won't either. So, what do we do?
- Donate to Planned Parenthood
- Take action with Planned Parenthood
- Call Speaker Ryan about this first defunding attempt
- Attend local events that are fundraisers for Planned Parenthood (I have at least two coming up!)
- Don't give up
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