Category: life and living

Analogies and anecdotes function as mini-narratives set against a shared meta-narrative. Combined with metaphor, they allow us to quickly link ideas to a familiar, grounded and shared place. …why yes, I am in school this quarter, why do you ask?

No, there’s actually a thought and point to this, which is:
Going to the dentist is an almost universal experience for all of us reading this. Almost everyone has, at one time, had a shot of novicane and felt the prick and pain, and then a few minutes later, the numbness. It’s been my experience that the numbness is typically there a minute or three before you notice it; it creeps up on you. You’re aware it’s going to happen, but when your gum does go numb and you realize it, there’s still a small jolt of surprise.

I’ve realized recently that I’ve been numb, and I’ve had that small jolt of surprise in the realization. There have certainly been enough moments of pain in the last while that it’s not a surprise, and I think part of me was expecting it, but to realize that I have been is still something of a shock. I think what’s more surprising is realizing that I’m coming out of the numbness as I realize the numbness itself.

I’m feeling again, feeling alive and creative and energetic. I want to write and make music and sing, see friends and laugh and hug and have contact. I’m dreaming of the future, of degrees, homes, places to go, people I’ll meet and that I want to meet. Of what I want in a mate, should that opportunity ever arise.

I guess this means I’m moving on. It still hurts, and I still feel raw. I’m angry about a lot of things, things that were said to me about me, about other people, things that were done and not done. But I see a life ahead of me that will be good, because I will make it good.

A few of you are going to laugh and nod and think it’s all because of one thing – one person. Maybe, but I think I’m only noticing that person because I’m unfurling myself. I’m talking to people about how I feel when I feel it; when I’m hurt, angry, sad, or giddy and silly and flirty and electric. I’m seeing that people do mean it when they say they’re there. I’m seeing people genuinely light up and smile when they see me out and about, feeling comfortable to just drop in on friends – if all these things hadn’t been slowly building up and happening over the last while, I don’t think I would have even noticed the potential in front of me.

The pain that you feel only can heal by living.

Is there a point, beyond vague references and commenting about feeling better? Of course; I seem to have needed to hit this particular point before I was able, ready to say “send me the paperwork and I’ll sign it.” But I did, and I will, and I will continue to heal by living.

The perfect ending to what was a wonderful continuation of a near-perfect comic to film adaptation. My only complaint is that I missed any hype about Michael Chabon writing the script; had I know that, I probably would have seen it sooner (and thus had more opportunity to see it again).

Megan Slankard was on TLC’s show “What Not to Wear” tonight, and since Lunar decided I needed a shot of adrenaline right before falling asleep and knocked over my altar offerings, I sat down to watch. The show itself didn’t hold that much interest, but Megan herself did. Her voice and music remind me of a cross between Tori Amos and Natalie Imbruglia, with a little something else thrown in for good measure.

Check her out, she’s definitely worth a listen.

TO: President Bush, Senators, and Representatives
SUBJECT: Marriage Equality
Dear President Bush, Senators, and Representatives:
In 1883, the United States Supreme Court upheld state bans on interracial marriages. For the next 75 years, anyone supporting interracial marriages was accused of being anti-family, of seeking to destroy good, old fashioned family values, of trying to undermine the value of marriage.

While the Supreme Court overruled Pace v. Alabama in 1967’s Loving v Virginia, and ruled such laws unconstitutional, it wasn’t until 2000 that Alabama became the last state to repeal such hateful laws. Those anti-miscegenation laws are a reminder of an ugly past that toleratead and even encouraged blind hatred, bigotry, and racism. That it is the past is something every American should be proud of, that we have overcome and risen above blind prejudice and stereotype to grant equal rights to people regardless of their skin colour.

It took over 75 years for Americans to accept that love is colourblind. It would be a tragedy if it took our great nation another 75 years to apply that same equal right and liberty to gay and lesbian couples who simply want the same legal recourse to declare their love as Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving did back in 1967.

Love does not discriminate, and neither should our government. I urge you to reject the politics of hate and division. Everyone has the same rights. There is no place in America for a Constitutional amendment denying marriage equality to anyone.
Sincerely,