marriage equality

I've been increasingly troubled since the California Supreme Court ruled to uphold Proposition 8 and continue the practice of subjegating gays and lesbians to second class status. Its more than just the setback to the gay rights movement, its the complete lack of logic to their thinking.

The court said that the voters made a clear indication on what they define marriage as and the court did not have the right to declare that invalid. However, in 2000 California voters passed Proposition 22 by a larger majority than they did Proposition 8. The court originally acted in their decision to allow marriage equality invalidated a clear vote of the populace and now claim that they cannot do it again.

The court allowed the marriages already completed to remain valid. It makes no sense to say that 18,000 marriages are valid, but no other ones are allowed, solely based on the date that it occured. Either marriage equality is a valid argument or not. Having some marriages and some aren't makes no legal sense and will only leave confusion in legal precedence.

The determination that marriage is not a right of the individual may be the scariest aspect of the whole thing. I'm not one of the people who think the federal government should pull out of the whole marriage business, but that marriage serves a purpose for the government to support. But the ability of the court to determine who can get married is way too much federal intervention (and I'm a socialist saying this!!!!). Easily, this gives precedent that interracial, interreligious, or international marriages can be declared null and void based on this court ruling.

networking at its finest

So my gumption with Gavin Newsome did do some good. I got a letter from him at work saying it was good to see me. True, I'm sure a staff member did it and then he signed it in a million thank you notes. But it arrived to me at work, which means my business card didn't end up in the trash. It ended up in Sacramento. I have since planned my eventual rise in power to Secretary of Education in a President Newsome administration. :)

Governor Gavin Newsome

I went to a fundraiser Thursday night for Gavin Newsome, the mayor of San Francisco who is running for Governor of California. So I got to shake his hand twice and I also gave him my business card and told him that I would love to come work education issues for him when he's elected. So we had a brief conversation on education issues. I think my gumption impressed him, so if he wins look for me to be in the CA higher ed system ;)

I would rather...

I've cut back immensely on my drinking lately. I still go out for a drink once in a while but i'm not overdoing it like i used to. I've been asked by a number of people why I've done that and my response is "I would rather be in shape and muscular than drunk."

Weight loss continues. About one month until gay days.

Biggest Loser: Luxury Day

A few weeks ago I had my proposal defense. I had decided long ago that i would reward myself with a tatoo. Now I'm running into the problem of scheduling it. For me to get it, I know that I would have to sacrifice a couple days at the gym and I just can't bring myself to do it.

On the biggest loser, every so often the prize of a challenge is a luxury day. A day of pampering, a good meal, relaxation. But anyone who has watched the show for at least a full season knows this is the worst prize. It takes the winners away from the gym and then they eat horribly, leaving the trainer to yell at them.

With the summer almost here, I feel as if I am in crunch time and can't take time off for a tatoo until I hit my goal weight. Maybe thats what I should reward myself with. But for now I can't get a tatoo and miss the gym for 3-5 days.

reflections on death

When my grandfather passed away in 2002, I cried. I didnt cry because death was a bad thing. I cried for fear that he thought my recent move out of Florida was to get away from him. It sounds rather trite, not to cry because I was upset about his passing. My prized possession to this day are two unvarnished bookcases that he built when I was younger for my sister and I. It feels wrong to varnish them. In truth, I thought he was going to die ten years earlier when he fell incredibly ill. That was the beginning of his health decline. I wasn't surprised when he passed away, but i worried that he thought I was trying to get away from him, which just wasn't the case.

When my great aunt passed away, I was proud of her and relieved. Her health had seriously declined over the past couple of years and she was living in a nursing home and the last time I saw her, she didn't seem to recognize me, but told my grandmother two days later that I had come to visit. This happened right around the time of Terri Schiavo and it resonated about the selection of a death with dignity. My great aunt decided she had had enough and said she wasn't going to eat anymore and fourteen days later she passed away, essentially starving herself. I took a little bit of pride that she lasted longer than Terry Schiavo, which means that my great aunt was stronger.

But in both cases, I feel I was prepared for their deaths. They were, after all, old. And old people die. That's the mentality. It sounds kind of harsh to write it, but its kind of true. I have had to deal with younger death before... and then there was Shaun, who didn't die, but will never be the same.

Since December, death has now affected me twice from a much younger perspective and has caused me to consider how truly random our mortality can be. First, a friend of mine was murdered shortly before Christmas. A very violent episode that broke my heart and left me an emotional mess for a couple of weeks. It wasn't that we were exceptionally close, but it was someone that I saw regularly. It struck me as horribly odd that I would no longer see him out and about. It also struck me the possibility that it could have been me. Even though I normally wouldn't have gone to that part of town nor been up that late, so many of my friends have been mugged that it could have easily been me in that situation. But the violent nature of it made me feel that a life was robbed. More than a non-violent death

And now, a friend from high school, died this past weekend... drowned in Africa. I think how random it was. Why him, why there, why now? It seemed that he had gotten his life together and that's when his life ended. I'm saddened by his death and it does make me think that I could have been dead by any number of means. He was younger than I was... and he really is the first person younger than me that I've known that has died.I feel more at peace over this death than the last one. Maybe its because it seemed more natural than being murdered. Maybe its because I haven't really seen him since we were in high school together and that type of distance can lower the emotional impact.

But as tragedy hits, these are the thoughts I've had.

Work Update

So this Friday will be my 5 month anniversary on the new job. Its definitely going better than it was at the beginning. There are some smaller projects keeping me busy, but nothing that busy. I've integrated nicely to the people in my office and they seem to enjoy me. However, as I finish with my doctorate, I'm not sure this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. So I still find myself looking at jobs and completely unsure of what to do when I finish my degree.

Thoughts?