Took a walk yesterday - fall is officially here! The leaves are changing and the air is cool.
I just signed up for photography classes - and people are actually volunteering to be models for me! I can't wait to start. I'm hoping to learn about photography, of course, but also the business aspect of it, so I don't have to sit in a cubicle for the rest of my life!

I just had an odd experience at work, and I thought about it my entire ride home. I work in a very stifled environment, where personality is frowned upon.

There is a sales guy that works there that is friendly, outgoing, and a little different from the other stiffs. I actually ran into him one night while my boyfriend (fiance!) and I were out in a city that is well-known as a place that a lot of gay people live, go to school, and hang out. Very gay friendly, and fun too. That being said, you'd think a guy that was hanging out in a bar in this city would be down with the gays...but read on.

I was talking to him at work, and I told him that the previous weekend we had gone up to the same bar that I had seen him at before, and he said that he was around the city the same weekend. I mentioned that the night we were there was some kind of Gay Pride party going on...and this is where it got weird. As I spoke, his expression shifted, kind of closed, and he started backing away from me. His entire demeanor changed, and I got the distinct impression that he didn't want to be involved in a conversation that involved the words "gay" and "pride," lest someone mistake him as homosexual. I found myself becoming embarrassed, and I didn't know why. It was an awkward moment, even more awkward than usual in such a socially awkward atmosphere.

Here's my question: Why is it considered so wrong, shameful, negative, whatever, to be gay in our society? Why do people get so hush-hush when the word "gay" is spoken? Why did a normal conversation turn into such a mess because of the two words, gay and pride? It's 2009, for Christ's sake.

Was it the work environment that made him close up? His personal beliefs? Religion? I don't get it. I'll never understand people's desire to suppress the rights of other human beings just because they lead a different lifestyle, and I don't understand why people consider it distasteful to even talk about.

I have three gay friends who all took years to come out of the closet and finally tell their family and friends that they're gay - why? Because of society. Because we're taught that anyone different than the rich white men in power are bad, wrong, and should be shunned, and the people who are different believe it.

It's changing, slowly but surely, but obviously not soon enough.

Wow, one week after that last post, and I'm engaged! Weird timing...We're gettin' hitched! Yeehaw!
And I solemnly swear to not become a Bridezilla.
So strange to say "fiance" instead of boyfriend...

Just got home from getting my hair cut, and the first thing he says to me is, "What happened to your head?"

Thanks honey. I am the victim of Hairdresser Blowout - my hair looks like a helmet that has been gently placed upon my head. No weather, not wind nor rain, can mess it up.

So I am the proud member of a bridal party. The wedding is scheduled to take place in three weeks...and lately I've been wondering, what the hell is the point of a huge, traditional, overdone ceremony? Is it to benefit the couple? Is it for the families? Friends? Is a wedding supposed to completely exhaust the couple - and their respective parties - emotionally, physically, and financially? She can't wait until it's over, the bride said...which made me wonder, why even have it in the first place? Why not elope, or pop into city hall and tie the knot there?

While we're on the subject, what is it about weddings that turns caring, compassionate individuals into wretched harpies that use the phrase, "My Special Day?"

Here's to a happy marriage!

"The woman cries before the wedding and the man after."
~Polish Proverb~

Quite possibly the worst week ever is finally over. It got so bad that I'm a little afraid to leave my apartment...the only thing that hasn't happened this week is an airplane falling out of the sky and landing on my head.

Between being scolded for talking to coworkers (even if it's about a work related subject), being instructed to not wear pants the same color as jeans (but actually weren't), a flat tire, a sore throat (I can barely talk enough to vent about my shitty week), a threatening letter from our landlord chastising us for feeding stray cats (that have been on his property longer than we have), and our groceries being confiscated at the grocery store for attempting to write a check without a store value card, I don't know what'll happen next. I think all I have to look forward to this weekend is two days of rain and feeling like I'm sitting in a cold, damp basement.

The only thing I can do is lock the door and take a deep breath. And maybe write an angry letter to the grocery store, because that's bullshit. I've written tons of checks there without a card, and have always left with my gallon of milk and can of soup. I guess the universe just hates me this week.


Oh, and one more thing: I tried to buy a water out of the vending machine at work today, but it was sold out. So I bought a Coke instead...and when I opened it, it was completely flat. $1.25, gone forever.

Next week will be better - it has to be. Unless that's the week my apartment burns down and my car explodes.