So here's the deal. I went up to Boston for a training seminar and had a total blast. It was a whirlwind trip...barely three days, only two nights, and during that time i had two full day MATLAB training sessions to attend. Thank God for Hoda! She picked me up from the airport, and we went and got dinner at a little Brazilian cafe. Then we went to her place where I had the opportunity to fix my laptop (which I dropped in Logan when my bag broke) and get online. Unfortunately, by the time the MIT network set up my account, it was time for me to leave and check into my hotel. Driving there wasn't too bad.
The next day was day 1 of my training seminar. I was the only girl in the room (no big surprise there...what's with the constant underrepresentation of women in science??), and definitely the youngest by a good 10 years. When we had to introduce ourselves and state what we hoped to accomplish with what we learned, I was the only one in the room thinking "graduation". I parked myself in the back row, just off center. Luckily, the random guy I sat beside ended up being really interesting. We had lunch together...he was a medical physicist, which it turns out isn't that different from BME (just significantly better paid). Later that night we went out to dinner, and then ended up driving into the city. We met up with Hoda in Cambridge and got drinks at a bar called The Miracle of Science, appropriately named given its proximity to MIT. After a surprisingly bizarre conversation with Hoda on the perils of dating Greek men, we called it a night.
My last day in Boston was the craziest. I grew the balls to kick ass in the seminar. I got stuck in some seriously crazy traffic in Natick, after leaving the seminar. And then I had a hell of a time at the Natick mall finding a bag under $100 that could adequately hold my laptop for the trip home. After I found my awesome new backpack and picked up Hoda, she took me on a driving tour of Boston. That was my only chance to see the city. Boston seems like an interesting place...its definitely a big city, but yet it doesn't seem like it would be that bad to bike around (except for the cold). I think it would be a fun place to live one day...its now on my list, just below NYC.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Friday, April 6, 2007
Disney Goes Gay
Disney has recently changed is policies for fairytale weddings to include gay commitment ceremonies. Now, I'm a huge supporter of gay rights in general, and in particular, gay marriage...the logic being everyone should have equal access to all types of institutions: educational institutions, criminal institutions, mental institutions, and marriage. My problem, though, lies in the very idea of fairy tale weddings.
First of all, let me preface this with the following fact: Disney gave me unrealistic expectations of love. Love does not transform nasty beasts into princes any more than fair and lovely transforms ugly girls into hot ones. In real life, street urchins are not attractive, and not all boys grow up after they fall in love. All of these are lessons that I had to learn the hard way.
Disney's fairytale weddings are just going to make people have unrealistic expectations of marriage. Imagine this: You're wearing a princess gown. You walk down an elaborately decorated aisle on the arm of your father. When you reach the end, he gives your hand to your future husband...your prince charming. You exchange vows, share an amazing (but tasteful) kiss, and leave the castle in a horse-drawn carriage. This is where Disney movies end...the beginning of the happily ever after part. The problem is that this is where real life kicks in. If you were going to spend the rest of your life basking in the love of your spouse and waited on by tons of maids and servants who desire nothing more in life than to please you, then everything would be as expected, and life would be good. But what happens when you go home, still feeling like a princess, and realize you have to clean the toilets? Or worse yet, you realize that your prince charming prefers "poker night" over candlelit dinners. What happens when the fairytale ends and real life begins? I'll tell you what: divorce. If you start a marriage with the pressures associated with being fairytale characters, nothing will ever measure up to your expectations, and you and your spouse will end up unhappy and disappointed.
Now add in gay marriages. While at first glance it seems like Disney is supporting gay marriage by allowing gay people to have fairytale weddings, the opposite is actually the case. In most states, gay marriages are still illegal, so it is still hard for gay people to get married at all. Then you have Disney, giving people unrealistic expectations of love, and now, unrealistic expectations of marriage. Basically, by allowing gay fairytale weddings, Disney is really promoting gay divorce. And that is terrible. Shame on you, Disney.
First of all, let me preface this with the following fact: Disney gave me unrealistic expectations of love. Love does not transform nasty beasts into princes any more than fair and lovely transforms ugly girls into hot ones. In real life, street urchins are not attractive, and not all boys grow up after they fall in love. All of these are lessons that I had to learn the hard way.
Disney's fairytale weddings are just going to make people have unrealistic expectations of marriage. Imagine this: You're wearing a princess gown. You walk down an elaborately decorated aisle on the arm of your father. When you reach the end, he gives your hand to your future husband...your prince charming. You exchange vows, share an amazing (but tasteful) kiss, and leave the castle in a horse-drawn carriage. This is where Disney movies end...the beginning of the happily ever after part. The problem is that this is where real life kicks in. If you were going to spend the rest of your life basking in the love of your spouse and waited on by tons of maids and servants who desire nothing more in life than to please you, then everything would be as expected, and life would be good. But what happens when you go home, still feeling like a princess, and realize you have to clean the toilets? Or worse yet, you realize that your prince charming prefers "poker night" over candlelit dinners. What happens when the fairytale ends and real life begins? I'll tell you what: divorce. If you start a marriage with the pressures associated with being fairytale characters, nothing will ever measure up to your expectations, and you and your spouse will end up unhappy and disappointed.
Now add in gay marriages. While at first glance it seems like Disney is supporting gay marriage by allowing gay people to have fairytale weddings, the opposite is actually the case. In most states, gay marriages are still illegal, so it is still hard for gay people to get married at all. Then you have Disney, giving people unrealistic expectations of love, and now, unrealistic expectations of marriage. Basically, by allowing gay fairytale weddings, Disney is really promoting gay divorce. And that is terrible. Shame on you, Disney.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)