I still don't, I guess. Brandon graduated "again" this afternoon and it was fantastic, of course. I love seeing him in his robes! I love the campus of UPenn (it is so beautiful, dear reader) and I have loved having time with just him. Sadly, he's been sick (cold), and so it's kind of interrupted our vacation. In fact, the poor guy is sleeping right now.
But it's all good. I've decided that Philadelphia is a fantastic city (let's stay east, though), and I have met the best people in the world (Wharton people, of course!).
I have a lot of pictures, but they are all on my phone. I forgot the big camera! Sigh. Luckily, my phone does a pretty good job. It just doesn't zoom very well. I put a bunch on Facebook, but I'll put some of them here later. Not right now.
Wow. This post is boring. My apologies. Instead of stopping, though, I think I'm going to push through. And make a list! A list of things that I may or may not be thinking about at this time:
1. Mormons are literally a minority. You can find them everywhere, but you cannot find them anywhere. I mean, there's only 14 million Mormons in the world, right? There's billions of people. BILLIONS. So, I shouldn't be surprised I kind of felt lonely for them this weekend, eh? Maybe I wouldn't do so hot in a place where there aren't plenty of LDS folks. Something to think about. At the same time, every person who has asked if I'm Mormon (the five kids and living in UT always gives it away) has been genuinely kind about it. I appreciated that a lot.
2. I often wonder why it's okay for women to dress half naked all the time, but it's completely inappropriate for a man. This type of double-standard drives me crazy! The irony is that I don't see it where I live --women (okay, all those Mormon women) cover their bodies. But in other places (like here), the less the clothing, the better? I just don't get it. We don't want to be objectified by men, but we dress like objects? I mean, sometimes, I wonder why these women even put clothes on. If you can call them clothes.
3. I wouldn't be able to dress like an object even if I wanted to, though, because I'm a tad too large. Guess what, dear reader? I, once again, have had several (SEVERAL) people refer to my pregnant body this weekend. Some have said "take care" while gesturing towards my stomach, others gave up their seats on the subway for my obviously pregnant stomach, and some have flat-out asked. I'm NOT PREGNANT, okay!? Okay!? I'm just FAT. One person talked about her desire to eat more vegan/vegetarian, and I talked about how I try to eat like that, and I could tell she was thinking, "Yeah, right! Not with a body like that, you're not!" No, I'm serious, dear reader! I can read people, plus I know I'm fat. I'm at this terrible stage, though --it's the stage where I'm not fat enough nor thin enough for it to be obvious that I'm NOT pregnant. It's frustrating and embarrassing --to the person who assumes it, too!
4. Do you think it would be rude or presumptuous to reply "Because I am an awesome human being with amazing super powers" to inquiries of how I could possibly handle five children? That is always the surprise and reaction when people learn I have five kids, you know. Always. They look at me like I'm either crazy or full or super-human abilities. I'm tired of apologizing or talking them down, telling them that it's dang hard and takes a lot of patience and how I make a lot of mistakes. But I don't want to pretend like I wish I didn't have my kids, either, you know? I love those crazies. Maybe I should just agree with them, either assumption?
5. All of this business talk (between Brandon and his classmates) makes my brain hurt. I don't get it. I can't stand the language (because I don't get it) and business-related modules, formulas, equations, scenarios, and such just makes me want to run and hide under a rock. Because I don't get it. Remember? Is business speak left-brained? If so, that would explain a lot. I think I'm completely right-brained. You know --music and art. That stuff.
That's all I've got. Happy Sunday, dear reader! I'll see you back in Utah.
5 comments:
I've never been to Philly, but I would love to visit!
Hope you're having a lovely weekend, sickness notwithstanding. And another huge congratulations to Brandon. What an accomplishment.
Oh, and yes, you should totally agree with them when they ask if you have super powers. You do!
I often wonder why it's okay for women to dress half naked all the time, but it's completely inappropriate for a man. This type of double-standard drives me crazy! The irony is that I don't see it where I live --women (okay, all those Mormon women) cover their bodies. But in other places (like here), the less the clothing, the better? I just don't get it. We don't want to be objectified by men, but we dress like objects? I mean, sometimes, I wonder why these women even put clothes on. If you can call them clothes.
Of course, from a Saudi perspective you are all dressed as objects in the LDS because you expose your hair, and for some Victorians because you expose your ankle. Sexuality is essentially cultural rather than objective, and so surely it's the symbols and cultural signalling that matter rather than the amount of skin.
That wasn't meant to be an attack at all, by the way - this is a really interesting post and perspective, and I thank you for writing it.
Should have read this BEFORE sending the email. SORRY!!
I am totally tempted to steal your line about having super powers. It is so much better than strangling the next person who can't believe I have 7 kids, and am pregnant. Which is what I was considering. Because I get 5 zillion comments every time I leave my house. Definitely have to remember that one for next time.
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