Blue Collar White Collar

Thanks to Netflix, I've been watching season 1 of "Mad Men." Despite all of the male characters being complete assholes, it's an addicting show with a relatively high degree of accuracy in displaying the professional and personal relationships between men and women in the sixties. The main character is Don Draper, an ad executive with one of the biggest marketing firms in New York (and the world). Don and his sweet and beautiful wife Betty have the iconic American Dream: he's an executive, she's a homemaker, they have two kids and a dog, they live in a big house, and he has two girlfriends on the side.

Wait, what?

I've got to hand it to the directors for making arguably the biggest sleezeball on the show be the most likable character. The guy has a devoted wife who tells him about how she can't wait for him to come home so they can have sex and he's turning her down (and onto the washing machine) because he spent lunch with one of his two girlfriends.

Anyway, my point is how the American Dream involves a white collar job. People put up with your blue collar job as long as you aspire to be a lawyer or doctor. A real job requires suits and heels and a desk in an air conditioned office. I wasn't too happy with my "real job." I hated heels, froze in the summer, and stared at a computer screen for 8 hours a day. I'm happy being a worker; I like being active and interacting with people; I loved working in a photo lab, driving buses, stocking organic groceries, and now driving the photo caravan. I will wear my horrible tans with pride this summer as I once again realize that happiness in work and life is worth just as much as (if not more than) a fat paycheck. I love loving my job.

How I Am A Nerd

I miss the Internet. I miss reading peoples comments on fark.com, miss seeing the latest fails and lol's, miss reading depressing post secrets the day they come out. But mostly I miss the daily hunt for material good enough to blog about. While I was unemployed this blog served as a purpose for me, a thing I could do to not feel like I was worthless. I did go running most days, I cooked beautiful and healthy meals, kept my apartment sparkling, gave the kitty all the attention she wanted, spent hours job hunting and sending out resumes and cover letters, and then was free to spend the rest of my hours, often late into the night, on the interwebs. I learned about the online personalities of some commenters on my favorite sites, discovered new and interesting websites, signed up for other writing websites I have yet to use, and had a grand old time. I didn't have tv and was bored of all my movies (and the computer doesn't have sound), so buzzing around the Internet didn't feel like the colossal waste of time it was. I understand how people feel like they have friends on the Internet- friends they've never seen or heard. Still don't understand online dating, though; people aren't the same online as in person, people! Alas, it's time to leave and I still haven't seen fark in days. Sigh. I feel worthwhile now, but I miss the friendly Internet.

Jumping The Shark

Not since the last episode of Scrubs on NBC was I this disappointed in a season finale. The Office is a great show: it's smart, it's funny, it has good acting, and it has lovable characters with great writing. But I fear season 6 will be the beginning of the end.

***SPOILER ALERT*** DO NOT KEEP READING IF THE MOST RECENT EPISODE IS STILL ON YOUR DVR

The viewer can infer in the last minute of the last episode, through an unrealistic and rushed "routine" ankle sprain check, Pam and Jim find out Pam's pregnant. They don't say it specifically, but there's a lot of shocked then happy faces, then lots of hugging, then a call to Dwight to say they won't be returning to the volley ball game, then more hugging. The nurse had asked Pam if there was "any chance you're pregnant" and she didn't answer, which was a give-away I dismissed as being retarded. Surely a show as good as The Office wouldn't stoop to a pregnancy...

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dude, Pam was engaged to Roy for three years and didn't get pregnant with him. Is it that hard to use birth control? Did she suddenly start forgetting to take the pill? Did they run out of condoms and do it anyway because they're so in love and engaged?  Is it a miracle baby, conceived despite the use of hormonal pills and condoms? There are SO MANY forms of birth control it's crazy the human race has devoted that much thought to avoiding parenthood. And since she had been engaged before to another man and didn't get knocked up we can assume she was using some form of birth control, and now is not using that same, presumably reliable, form with Jim.

So, now that she's pregnant, the show is going to change dramatically. And it will suck. Here's how:

1. When the show comes back on in the fall Pam will be about six months pregnant and dealing with hormones. They'll either open next season with a wedding or they'll have married during the break. 
2. Once Pam has the baby she'll take time off work. Which means she won't be in regular episodes. And it'll just be Jim at work talking to her on the phone about how the baby isn't eating or whatever.
3. Jim will have to move up and become a regional manager in order to support his baby and Pam, or he'll have to find a new job.
4. If it keeps going to season 7 the focus will be off the office and on Jim and Pam's family life. 

They could bring back some old characters for some drama, like Roy or Karen or Holly (Michael drama is usually pretty good), or they could have Toby create some drama with Pam. The writers are going to have to come up with some good stuff for the next season or The Office is a dead duck. 

Lost

Today at work I reunited a worried mother with her lost baby. 

Kaya reaching for a snack.

During the "deluxe" tour we wandered into the South Africa exhibit and found Kaya hanging out with an unrelated rhino and her son. Later on we heard Kaya grunting for her mom, Golpara, and saw her searching the fields. Baby rhinos are almost the most adorable things on Earth, and seeing one lost and grunting for her mommy was too cute. 

Kaya eventually found her older sister, Asha, and was happier and stopped grunting. But then we happened upon a very worried Golpara. She grunted non-stop and slobbered all over the place, looking in the back of the truck and finding nothing but guests, then peeking in the cab. If you've never sat behind the wheel with a worried rhino poking her horn through the open window you don't know what you're missing. 

So we decided to help. I had to back the truck up a winding road (using just the side mirrors), but by the time I did Golpara had ambled off to continue her search. My trainer and the guide called out to her and her ears perked back: Golpara ran back to us and I drove towards Kaya and Asha. Golpara never stopped grunting and almost literally ran in circles around the truck. Rhinos are very light on their feet and look and sound like ballerinas.

The grunting finally stopped when Golpara caught sight of her baby. But Kaya, though she was lost and crying less than 30 minutes earlier, ran from her mom as if afraid of punishment. Pretty damn adorable. 

So that was my day. How was yours?

Bumper Stickers

Let it be known I hate bumper stickers. It's the most pretentious way to let me know what your opinions and beliefs are and try to convert me while I'm stuck behind your ass in traffic. Today I saw a car with 3 bumper stickers about abortion. The most annoying was the image above. Allow me to point out its flaws:

1. Mary was a virgin. Virgins don't generally get pregnant spontaneously.
2. Mary didn't even know she was pregnant until the angel came and told her. Remember, this was pre 95% accurate pregnancy tests.
3. The angel told Mary she was carrying God's child. If an angel told you, as a virgin, that you were carrying God-made-manifest wouldn't you listen?
4. The angel also visited her fiancee, Joseph, and told him to man up even though it wasn't his kid. Joseph was a good dude and listened to the angel and raised Jesus until he was at least 12 years old.
5. The bumper sticker implies that being pro choice means you automatically have abortions. Pro choice only means you are for the concept of women having the legal ability to choose to terminate a pregnancy or carry it to term. I could never have an elective abortion, but I think all women should be able to make that decision for themselves. I'm also a stable person and not everyone is.
6. The bumper sticker also implies that the holiday of Christmas would be the only thing missing if Mary aborted Jesus. I assume the woman who drove the car believes that all children and embryos and sperm are gifts from God and should be cherished, but the bumper sticker she so proudly displays insinuates all she'd miss is a day off work.
7. Since Christmas is no longer the sacred remembrance of our Savior's birth, but more like a commercialized way to show how much others mean to you by placing a price tag on an annual gift, maybe it wouldn't be such a terrible thing to not have a Christmas. Mind you, I love the Christmas season where people are generally in a better mood (save for family squabbles), even if only because of anticipation of presents (I hope I get a pony!), but it's gotten so out of hand. 
8. Easter is supposed to be the more sacred and important Christian holiday because Jesus dying for our sins and rising from the dead is what Christianity is all about (correct me if I'm wrong). Christmas is like Hanukkah: just not as important as Passover. So whoopdeedoo.