This makes me very, very sad

NYTimes article that makes my stomach knot. Yet another indicator of just how completely backwards our government and health care system is. I am someone who takes prescription drugs every single day, drugs that are fortunately very affordable because they are essential for my well being. I am also someone who has family that takes important prescription drugs every day in order have a good quality of life. It deeply saddens me that there are people in our country who are unable to have equal access to life prolonging medicines and are forced to say no to them so that they can maybe still afford to live in their houses.

VP Fashion

This NYTimes article is about the transformation Sarah Palin's clothes since becoming McCain's running mate. Interesting how as the Alaskan governor she wore relatively affordable clothing, the kinds of clothes that your average middle class American would buy, such as a knock off Burberry scarf, or Naughty Monkey high heels (available at Nordstrom and by the way, very cute). Now, however, she is seen all over the place wearing Cole Haan, Valentino, and Kate Spade. I have to wonder if she is really allowed to compare herself to the middle class anymore. Not only that, but the Republican campaign has spent money to not only makeover Palin, but her entire family, because lets be honest, if your un-wed, teenage daughter is going to have kids she better look good while doing so. Now that Palin is shopping at Saks and Neimans, I also have to wonder if she has left her middle class hair salon in the dust as well. This NYTimes article profiles Palin's good 'ole hair dresser in Alaska, which perfected her infamous updo. The adorable salon, cleverly named Beehive started doing Palin's hair back when she was just a "hockey mom." But I'm sure now she's too busy to go back to her old salon. She's probably going back to Saks to get her hair done, and perfect her updo to go with her new designer style. The funny thing about her new look is that stylists aren't noticing much of a difference between her generic clothes and the designer ones. But I'm sure she wouldn't have been complete at the Republican Convention without her $2,500 Valentino jacket. And she is, after all, "supporting the economy."

Open Letter to the World

Spandex are not pants. I repeat; SPANDEX ARE NOT PANTS!!
I have seen more girls walking around spandex, more specifically tights (yes, the see through kind) as pants, with shirts that hit at the hip. I don't understand how someone can walk out of the house thinking "boy these see through pants look amazing!" I would rather see Crocs than see-through pants.

GoBama

I put an Obama pin on my backpack roughly 4 days ago. Today, when I was walking back from class, this older woman stopped me to tell me how happy she is to see another Obama supporter. "Of course!" I said back to her, and then she continued, telling me about one of her co-workers who gives the impression of a conservative but is voting for Obama. Clearly, she was very excited about this, and the more I think about it, the more I think Barack may actually have a chance in this upcoming election. And as much as don't want to get my hopes up too high, even some of my "independent" friends are talking about voting for Barack, and actually taking an interest in this election. I cannot stress this enough, VOTE!! Just like I told one of my friends over the weekend, this election is too important not to care, especially when it's my generation on the line.

Polyamory

This NY Times Article explores a new dating phenomena, polyamory. This is an arrangement where men and woman date multiple people exclusively at any given time, and everyone is informed of every relationship. For example, a man can be dating 3 women, and these women know he is dating these other women, but they can have other relationships as well. In a world where monogamy is becoming less and less desirable, this seems like a miraculous arrangement. But this does not make dating easy, nor does it leave a person without questions. How do you explain this situation to mom and dad? "I'm seeing 3 people right now, 2 of those people are men, and one of them is a woman." And what about jealousy? "My boyfriend has spent more time with his other girlfriend than me this week." And lets not forgot about the health risks involved. How can you be sure everyone you're having sex with is healthy, and then you have to hope that the people you're having sex with is being safe and sleeping with healthy people as well. While I think that this new dating concept is fantastic, and impressive and innovative, are we making cheating too simple? And if this is an acceptable lifestyle, what about polygamy? Apparently in America we are free to date whoever we like, whether it be men or women, or multiple men and multiple women, but we just aren't allowed to give them equal rights as heterosexual married (and monogamous) couples because they are doing something "wrong?" When are we going to be able to really accept every type of lifestyle? But I guess we should just think like my married (to a woman) gay sociology teacher, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Trust

I've been a delinquent blogger, but am making an effort to be better. Now that I've gotten that off my chest, on to deeper thoughts.
The last weekend has gotten me thinking about trust and the people we give our trust. Funny how it takes us sometimes years to be able to share our most buried secrets with those we love and feel safe and comfortable about telling them. And how there are some people in our lives that we don't even hesitate to share every single detail of our lives with. But the confidence of giving someone your trust raises many questions. When someone commits to another person, and lets their guard down, gives themselves fully, meaning they have put complete faith in someone, what happens when that trust is broken? How can someone who you thought cared about you could be so heartless? Is it unreasonable to demand something in return for being so blatantly lied to, deceived?
What makes someone trustworthy? There is no one act that can really tell us a person is worthy of our trust. And, if we do have complete faith in someone, how do we know they’re not lying or honoring our trust on their end of the relationship? Is it wrong to say that we are being brave in trusting anybody?
What happens someone betrays our trust? What makes anyone worthy of our trust beyond that point?
Its amazing how little remorse people will feel after betraying someone so intensely. What is the logic behind justifying any sort of behavior? How can someone who you thought cared about you could be so heartless? Is it unreasonable to demand something in return for being so blatantly lied to, deceived? And how many times can a person make up if their trust was broken? Just because someone makes a mistake doesn't mean they don't deserve a second chance or the opportunity to make it up to you. How valuable is trustworthiness?