Tumblr post: Progressive

sadydoyle:

Let’s start, this time, with a story. This is about Hillary Clinton – everything I write seems to be about her these days – but it’s about me, too. It’s about what it means, to be a feminist, or a woman on the left, and whether it matters. So before I get to her, let’s give you a good look at me. 

I’m at a job interview. It seems like I actually have a shot at this one. Someone who likes me knows the boss here, and has talked me up to him in person. I can show him my most recent performance review, in which I’m described as “a joy to work with,” that “my editors fight over who gets to edit my pieces,” and where the “places for improvement” section mentions they actually have to “wrack their brains for something I could do better.” I’ve come prepared to talk about my strong, built-in reader base, which I built from the ground up; the fact that I’ve led several social media campaigns that received national or international press attention and raised substantial funds, one of which was enthusiastically endorsed by several pro-choice members of Congress; my award for social media activism, from a prestigious women’s media organization, which I won by popular vote; the fact that I wind up at or near the top of my magazine’s “most-read” traffic list every time I publish a new piece.

I can mention other things, basic work-ethic things. I can mention that I have not voluntarily taken a vacation day or a sick day for the past 18 months, and that the last sick day I took was only because I was hospitalized. (I do have to take the day off on federal holidays, but on those days, I usually write for fun.) I can mention that I have never been late filing a piece. I can mention that the copy comes in clean, doesn’t require much editing, and gets turned around quickly, with maximum co-operation. I can talk about all that, at my job interview. Those are the questions I’m prepared to answer.

I’m not prepared for the question they ask.

“We’re a progressive site,” the man across the table begins, “And our readership, as with most progressive sites, is mostly men. You’ve focused a lot on women’s issues. Would you be comfortable writing something that men would be able to read?”

Keep reading

I don’t often get political here, but this is a fascinating read, and really challenges a lot of my perceptions re:Clinton vs. Sanders.

on tumblr: http://ift.tt/1O8c2g3

Weight Loss A Go Go!

Well, here we go! As of today, Dan and I are participating in Centegra Hospital’s Optifast Program. You can find more info here, but here’s the short version:
•    12 weeks of nothing but Optifast shakes, bars, and soups.
•    8 weeks of transitioning back to real food
•    8 weeks of maintenance/consultation

During the first 12 weeks there are weekly classes, bloodwork, and metabolism monitoring. After that, there are monthly meetings/consultations, and follow-up with the program. This is a Really Big Deal, but it is something that we feel needs to be done.

Some Frequently Asked Questions:
Only Optifast products? Really?
We are supposed to have 7 servings per day. I’m taking the approach of a shake for breakfast, a bar mid-morning, soup for lunch, a bar mid-afternoon, a shake when I get home from work, soup for dinner, and a shake for “dessert”. Each serving has 175 calories, and has all of the necessary nutrients and fiber to keep us going.

Won’t you get hungry?
Really, these suckers are pretty filling. If anything, it’s going to be a bit of work to get 7 servings in!

Can you take a break, maybe have a salad or some celery?
Nope, not one bit. In fact, this creates a balance in your system, so if you suddenly shock it with, way, a salad, you can have some bad ramifications from the sudden influx of natural fiber, up to and including pancreatitis.

What about variety?
Well, the shakes come in powder and Ready To Drink “juice boxes” in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. The bars are chocolate, peanut butter chocolate, and strawberry. The soups are Garden Vegetable or Chicken. The good news is that calorie-neutral additives are A-OK. Herbs in the soup? Sure! Diet orange soda with the vanilla shake to make a creamsicle-flavored drink? Sure! Extracts/oils to add to the shakes to change up the flavor, like chocolate almond or vanilla mint? No problem. (Also: instant coffee in the vanilla shake may become my morning ritual!) I suspect that by week 12 we’ll be ready for something different, but there are enough options that we should be able to keep things moderately interesting.

Is it just diet? No exercise?
We’ll be doing exercise too! The program comes with a free 2-month membership at Centegra’s Healthbridge Fitness Center (and it’s just $100/month thereafter for both of us). We intend to start in on that soon (me next week, Dan the week after that since he’ll be traveling next week). I hope to sign up for a class or two, and probably spend a good number of our evenings there.

What is your goal weight?
Honestly, I don’t have a goal weight. I don’t want to become fixated on numbers. I’m at a size 42 waist right now. Size 38 would be great, and I haven’t been in Size 36 pants in decades. That would really tickle me. I like Dan’s approach: he wants to lose enough weight that he can ride every single roller coaster at Great America. That’s a good, attainable goal, I think. As far as what’s possible, we have friends who have lost over 50 pounds on this program, and some double that. It depends on metabolism, and how we apply ourselves and take the classes to heart.

Won’t you just gain all the weight back?
That is always a hazard. The purpose of the classes, consultations, follow-up, and exercise are to prevent that from happening though. As I commented at our initial meeting, I’m not interested in where I’ll be in 6 months. I’m more interested in where I’ll be in 5 years. This is a huge commitment, but it is a commitment to greatly improve both of our lives and so is well worth it.

Sounds expensive!
It’s not cheap. The sign-up fee is $950 per person, and food each week is $175 per person. All told, this program will cost Dan and me $5,500 or so, though the sign-up fee may be covered by FSA. It’s a lot, and has called for some sacrifices, but again: so worth it.

So that’s where we are right now. Watch Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout our adventure. Many, many thanks to Smackjackal, Stormy Kittyhawk, Shyhoof, Tugrik, and many others for providing the idea and inspiration to pursue this, and for showing the incredible possibilities which may lie ahead!

Buddy: 2002? – January 22, 2016

Buddy joined our family on Sunday, March 7, 2010. We first met him at a pet adoption event the day before. He was a rescue from southern Indiana. He’d spent much of his life chained outside and through a sequence of events his family gave him up to a shelter, where Castaway Pet Rescue found him and brought him to the Chicago area. We met with his foster family on that Sunday and double-checked to see if he had any bad habits – trash-surfing, chewing, separation anxiety – and he was clean on all counts. We signed the adoption papers on the spot, and Buddy walked out the door with us.

He quickly adapted to our home, and we adjusted to having a new member of the family. While never an exuberantly affectionate dog, he nevertheless was always friendly and had a very sweet disposition. In short, he was well-suited to us and we were well-suited to him.

Being an older dog when we got him, Buddy had the start of all of the problems that come with advancing age: bad teeth, bad eyes, bad hips. Over the last year and a half those started to catch up with him. The muscles on the top of his head atrophied, possibly due to myositis. This put pressure on the brain and led to the onset of canine dementia. His hips got worse, cataracts set in, and he steadily lost his hearing in certain frequencies. His daily regimen included some rather astonishing doses of Tramadol and Valium.

The hardest decision that Dan and I have had to make together is determining when it is time. It comes down to what is the dog’s quality of life. In reviewing past photos and videos, it was plain to see that Buddy had reached that time. We have been wavering back and forth for months, and at times almost wished for some sudden event to occur that would make the decision for us. That event never came, and so it was up to us to make the call.

Tonight, that time came. Buddy is no longer with us, and there is a gaping hole in our hearts.

We were incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful dog in our lives. I only wish we had had more time together.

Tumblr post: Why do I keep working for Midwest FurFest, even after 16 years? Last night’s Closing…

Why do I keep working for Midwest FurFest, even after 16 years? Last night’s Closing Ceremonies reminded me why.

MFF’s charity this year was Save-A-Vet (http://ift.tt/XW2mgm), a group that helps rescue military and law enforcement working dogs when their service to country and community is done, and provides housing and relief for disabled veterans who help take care of the dogs. It’s a wonderful cause, and the people running it are incredibly nice.

Fund raising went on all throughout the convention. At Closing Ceremonies, the readout of the money raised rolled in. $800 from one event, $500 from another. $400 just from passing the hat at a comedy improv event. The Charity Auction, highlighted by a hockey stick signed by the 2015 Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks which went for $5,500, brought in a total of $8,600. Add to that several thousand dollars in donations from the jar on their table (including a check for $1,000!), and the total came to $19,400. The charity thought that was wonderful – their annual operating budget is $21,000.

Then came the famous “One More Thing”…a giant corgi brought out a large novelty check from the convention for $40,000. The Save-A-Vet guys were overwhelmed, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Once everything settled down, it was announced that the final take was just shy of $60,000.

And here’s the part that reminds me why I love this community.

A voice from the back of the audience (of 1,000+) called out “How shy are you?” And it was noted that they were at $59,400. And that’s when someone came up from the audience and tossed a twenty dollar bill on the stage. Then someone else came up. And another until soon there was a steady stream of people walking up, dropping off cash, and returning to their seats. This went on for a couple of minutes as the charity and even the convention leadership looked on in astonishment. And in the end, that little extra help turned out to be an additional $2,600. And again, there were tears of gratitude all around.

Furry fandom is a composed of people from all walks of life who like to get together at conventions, hang out with friends, wear funny fake animal suits, and make art of animal people. Yeah, they’re weird.

But you know what? I’m proud to call myself part of that bunch of weirdos!

on tumblr: http://ift.tt/1TWkepa

Tumblr post: “Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to “death”, don’t really…”

“Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to “death”, don’t really understand this. I’ve had no desire to explain, but won’t be around forever and must.
Dogs never die. They don’t know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don’t die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say:” No, no, not a good idea. Let’s not go for a walk.” Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that’s what dogs are. They walk.
It’s not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacaphonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog’s mark, a rotting chicken bone ( exultation), and you. That’s what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.
However, dogs get very very sleepy. That’s the thing, you see. They don’t teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget that dogs never die. It’s a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.
When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging it’s tail madly, you see, and that’s why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That’s when they say: “Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.”
When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that’s why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more. (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk, it’s a day full of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it’s a week, well one of your days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks.)
Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they wake up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don’t want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.
But don’t get fooled. They are not “dead.” There’s no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you’re not expecting it. It’s just who they are.
I feel sorry for people who don’t have dogs sleeping in their heart. You’ve missed so much.”

– Dogs Never Die. http://ift.tt/1FAdXNl
(via undeceased)
on tumblr: http://ift.tt/1N04iMV