Happy Holidays!

      I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!  It has been wonderful being home from college for a few weeks.  I've been cooking up a storm, and have read three books now (for fun, not any required reading!!)  I also beat Skyward Sword, great game.  It's been delightful seeing my gang of high school friends, we're getting together tomorrow to make candy.  Word of advice:  try putting oreos and cream cheese into a food processor (one package of oreos to one 8 oz. thing of cream cheese) mix that up then dip it in chocolate.  Anyway Happy Holidays!!!

Good Luck on Finals!

      Studying for finals tonight.  I'm sure quite a few people are as well.  Earlier this week there was a kid who fell off a bridge.  He was planning on committing suicide when two passerbys convinced him not to.  He lost his balance and fell.  He is in the hospital now.  It reminded me of visiting Cornell once.  I was visiting a relative and they were talking about how they put fences on all the bridges because during finals week a lot of kids couldn't handle the pressure, so they jumped.  I've been there before, glad I didn't follow through.  I try to notice things that will brighten my day.
      Anyway, hope your finals go well and that your holiday is relaxing!!  Looking forward to being home!

Roommate Differences

       My roommate came back from a part with her boyfriend one night.  I had had a lovely evening of watching Princess Mononoke and listening to Joe Hisaishi music, and reading articles of Japanese shrines.  She asks me if I want to watch something, and I say "No, I'm good.".  This seemed to irritate her.  Her reasoning was that finals week is in two weeks, so she wants to hangout (her boyfriend would be staying).  My reasoning for staying in my own little world was that whenever I watch something with her and her boyfriend I never really enjoy myself.  Also she was complaining earlier of not seeing him most of the week.  I prefer to watch movies by myself when watching them for the first time.  Or with people who can stay more than 3 inches apart from each other (he seems to be unable to be farther apart than three inches).  I am sorry if I like time to myself, to learn about what I want to learn.  Sorry about the rant.  I recommend any Hayao Miyazaki movies, they are great!  Have an awesome weekend!!

The Influential Essay

     Last year I was wondering if there had been any studies done on the LGBT community in engineering.  After some searching I found an thesis paper titled "Navigating the Heteronormativity of Engineering: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Students"  By Erin A. Cech.  It's a lengthy read, but very insightful on how a number of LGBT people tend to stay closeted in engineering through a majority of their college lives.  I thank you Erin, you helped me realize that I can help people understand that LGBT are in every field.
     Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving weekend.  Finals are around the corner, wish me luck!
Here's the link to the paper:  http://crgp.ucsd.edu/documents/CechandWaidzunasNavigatingHeteronormativityofEngring.pdf

And good luck to those who are also heading towards finals week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

      I hope you all had a delicious and wonderful Thanksgiving!  Drive safely, I know there are a lot of accidents that can happen on Black Friday shopping.  I won't be going, too much of a hassle.  Well, I'll write more later, have an awesome long weekend!  Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts!

Ethical Dilemma

        A while ago I worked at a children's summer camp.  It was there that arose an ethical dilemma, one that could be an interesting court case.  One of the camper's had been diagnosed with autism, that was severe enough that he had to accompanied by an aide.  Over the course of the camp the counselor's realized that he was raised in an evangelical Christian family, and was homophobic.  There was another kid who attended the camp who was openly gay.  I found myself wondering what the legal outcome would be if they ever physically fought,  in the end it's a gay child verses one with a developmental disorder.  What are some of your thoughts?

Observations

        The other day I was eating lunch with two of my engineering friends, both straight and female.  They brought up the interesting point on how all the guys they like in the engineering department have been with their girlfriends for years.  They then compared this to themselves, who were both dating guys for eight months to a year, and then their boyfriends broke up with them.  So why is it that male engineers have the ability to date someone for years, and female engineers can't?
       I realize that the length of a relationship does depend on various factors.  One thing that I've noticed is that most engineers who are already in a relationship go to a different school than their partner.  I know distance can have a strain on relationships.  It could be that the two people were just never meant to be together.  However, I've always wondered if some guys think that women in engineering are intimidating.  I know that we take difficult classes, which force us to study from Sunday through Thursday on a good week.  Or is it that women are the minority and that men are afraid that they might cheat?  Any thoughts you guys have on the topic are welcome.  I understand that I am somewhat of an outsider on this, being gay and all.  Welp, have an awesome weekend!

Obama, 4 more years

    I now have the chance of marrying the one that I love; of getting hospital visitation rights; of everything!  Also, now if one(or more) of the Supreme Court Justices steps down we will have a court that accepts that there are gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals in our society deserve rights.  Will be celebrating!!!

The Election

     The election terrifies me.  So far it's been really close, and as of Oct. 28th are:  48% to 48% Obama and Romney respectively (Gallup).  It terrifies me as an LGBT member.  I'm afraid that DADT will be put back into place, afraid that I will not be able to marry the one I love.  Back home they are having an amendment on the ballot that could ban gay marriage.  That one is close to half for, and half against.  We say that our government is a separation of church and state, yet this clearly isn't the case.
     One thing that I find interesting is that we only seem to hear Christians speaking to ban gay marriage.  I have always wanted to know how the Muslims, Hindus, Jewish, etc. communities feel about the LGBT community.  If anyone knows comment or email me.

TV Shows

             Last night my roommate was busy, so I had the room to myself for 5 peaceful hours.  This allowed me to watch some of my favorite TV shows without headphones in.  One of my favorite shows is a British drama called "Lip Service".  It's set in Glasgow and follows the  lives of three lesbians, Cat, Frankie, and Tess.  As the show goes on characters come and  go.  Heather Peace plays Cat's girlfriend, which is great since she's a lesbian off the set as well.  If I was 10-15 years older I'd date Heather.  I will warn you though, if sex makes you uncomfortable, don't watch it, lot's of sex occurs throughout.  It also does a great job of showing how lesbian women can have straight male friends, and how lesbian women can be friends with other lesbians without anything sexual happening.  I can't wait for a third season!
            Another show I enjoy is NCIS, which is now in it's 10th season.  There is one episode that I remember where Ziva and DiNozzo are talking about how a woman was smiling at DiNozzo.  Ziva then bursts his bubble by saying that the woman had asked her out on a lunch date the other day.  I myself find Cote de Pablo (plays Ziva David) incredibly attractive, and wouldn't mind dating her.  But alas she's straight, as well as the majority of the population, but one can dream.  NCIS's actually does a decent job of include episodes where a suspect or victim is gay, and how it's difficult being in a field where it's a majority of straight men.  NCIS also doesn't always make the LGBT character always be the murderer either, unlike most shows where the LGBT character is usually evil.
           Lastly, there was a Futurama episode I watched the other day where "robosexual" marriage was legalized.  It was amusing because the writers purposefully made it like the latest debate on gay marriage, and how illogical some arguments can be.

Halloween

       Halloween is coming up, it's always been one of my favorite holidays.  Mainly because of the weather, apples, costumes, and campfires.  However, there is one thing I don't enjoy about Halloween.  It makes me think of my ex.  I first realized I had feelings for her on Halloween, when we were about to go trick-or-treating for the last time before we got "too old".  The next Halloween was when she broke my heart.  She knew I had feelings for her, and led me to believe that we would be in a relationship someday.  Yet then she decided to date a guy she hadn't seen in four years.
       So now I always have a love-hate relationship with Halloween; between apples, fall leaves, and campfires and the memories that haunt me.  Yet I still think of the times when she made me happy.
       As for a costume for this year, I am going as a zombie scientist.

LGBT Center on College Campuses

There was one time where I did visit the LGBT center at my school.  My roommate had gone out of town, and they were having a movie night.  This was about a year ago, and I haven't gone  back since. I've been meaning to, but that time I went I still felt like an outsider.  No one else seemed to understand what it was to be a minority in the engineering world twice over (one as a female, two as a lesbian).  They were nice people, but I just couldn't relate.  They all seem to be in fields where members of the LGBT community were accepted, whereas there is still seems to be a lot of stigma in engineering.

Engineering Stereotypes

One thing that I have noticed over the years is that many people automatically assume engineers are straight.  There have been a number of interviews or meetings where someone says "The guys there are the cream of the crop," or "Look at all the guys you have to choose over!"  Sometimes these phrases make me laugh, other times, not so much.  I am sure that other LGBT engineers have noticed this too.  In school I encounter it every day, I'm sure I will in the future.  Well, I need to go to class, have an awesome day!