“My Christmas was great! How was yours? That’s good!”
Repeat X Infinity
That’s been my week at work so far but Christmas really wasn’t bad. I saw the relatives I like and just happened to miss the relatives I don’t like. I got a chance to see my rapidly changing teenage nephew. He has a Myspace profile now so he must be all growed up! I played Rock Band with my cousins and nephew and it was confirmed that I’m terribly uncoordinated. Too uncoordinated to play fake video game drums.
My big brother found Jesus this year so he told me all about Jesus showing him the way and Satan trying to lead him astray and I gave him logical explanations for all his Jesus/Satan arguments. But like a good Christian, he didn’t listen to what I was saying and just kept jabbering about god.
I saw the movie Juno a couple weeks ago but I don’t think I wrote about it. It’s great, go see it. Don’t tell me you don’t like indie movies. Go see it, snob. It’s like Knocked Up but good. It fully addresses the option of abortion and doesn’t pull a shmashmortion like Knocked Up.
I think I just don’t like Judd Apatow. Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad-didn’t really like any of them. And it’s not because I don’t like stupid comedies. I still watch Billy Madison way more than I should.
I’m looking forward to There Will Be Blood mostly because I’ve never seen critics circle jerk around a movie like this. Magnolia made me want to die a little but I liked Boogie Nights and Punch Drunk Love.
I’m going to be applying for a small research grant soon as I figure out what to do for my project. My agency is pretty awesome in that it treats many populations in multiple settings but it doesn’t help me narrow down what I want to study. I lean toward substance abuse treatment because it’s pretty straightforward but I personally have an interest in HIV prevention. The one population my workplace does not target is GLBT so maybe I should get some queer research going!
I’ve been thinking lately about exploring my own semi-professional interests. I’ve always wanted to write a book having to do with sex/gender/feminism but have trouble coming up with a topic that I feel is new or at least not beaten to death. I’ve been doing some research on tubal ligation because a medical professional claimed it was “almost obsolete” due to new IUDs and I wanted to see if her claims are valid (not really).
The two things that IUDs and tubal ligation have in common is that they’re a pain in the ass for young, single, childless women to get. Some doctors say you have to have a child or an IUD is impossible to insert. Studies claim women who get their tubes tied in their 20’s are more likely to change their mind but Essure, a new permanent method of female sterilization, is growing in popularity. (Same concept as tubal ligation but non-reversible.) And from my own experience, doctors are reluctant to sterilize single, childless women. So I think I have my topic.
Another thing that is motivating me to explore this topic is the number of religious, natural family planning and marital books that come up when I search “birth control” on Amazon.