Friends

Lots of clothes came in, lots of clothes moved out, someone took them to charity for me afterward, and I made my friend speechless with my new dress. :)

[ETA: Note temporary SPACE BABE TATTOO on forearm.]

This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/570017.html. Respond wherever you like.

This was one of the times, taking overnight flights, that I thought, oh, finally I am tired enough to be able to sleep in this crappy situation. Still no, though: turbulence, and a guy snoring with speed and verve in the seat just ahead of me, were enough to prevent more than a few minutes of nap.

We at least managed to depart on time depite a highly entitled person actually breaking the hinge on an overhead compartment while attempting to jam her giant fluffy bag in there. Everyone had to take their things out and a maintenance person with special enormous navy-blue tape (six inches wide?) came and taped the latch down once it was closed.

Weirdly energetic in the deserted Minneapolis airport, I decided to take the chance to go backwards on the moving walkway. Harder than I thought, and I shuffle-ran awkwardly, then hopped off.

It is cold here, and I have done a lot of napping since getting in at 9. Soon, guest of honor readings!

This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/569656.html. Respond wherever you like.

What is the best place for dinner in the Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue, Everett, Snohomish, etc.. area where you can color on the tablecloth? (or piece of paper covering the table as the case may be)

I had a good conversation with the kids at Bio House yesterday, talking about nonstandard co-parenting arrangements and such. (D: "Group marriage!" M: "I'm not even talking about group marriage." Me: "I am!")

I hadn't known that they were thinking so hard about this, it was really nice. One guy was complaining that it's really hard to find people to be roommates with when your friends disappear into dyads to raise kids after a certain age, even if you personally value group living. I said being queer helps some with that. We're more often on the same page, and at least we've thought about whether we are or not, you know?

And they were all ten-plus years younger than me, and while I know they heard me they didn't - quite - get it. I am used to this, in the sad but relieved way that queer people older than me have always acted over my own comparative lack of trauma, because for these kids being gay wouldn't have been that hard, it is an option that they have heard of as more than a slur from the time they were little.

I thought about how to express my feeling on this, and the way I want to say it is that homosexuality is no longer enough to make you queer.* Queer is that you want something you're not supposed to, and you know that, so you make your own decisions about what you do want and how important it is to you. Homosexuals can get married now, you know, so we must want the same things as Everyone Else. Isn't that what we've been saying we want?

There are two problems with this. One is that I like queer people, dammit, and having fewer of us is bad. It's true that these straight kids were really thoughtful; I think it must have something to do with general tolerance and knowledge of available alternatives. So maybe I can get some of my community from sufficiently liberal straight kids. On the other hand, homosexuality is still scary and can get you in trouble, so I worry that younger gay kids will actually be more likely to fall in with the monogamous-nuclear-family railroading that's pushed on them.

The second problem is that I personally am being othered more now, because the umbrella of social acceptability is bigger and I still don't fit under it. I don't want to, but I do want some company out here in the sun. People are still not all the same. We shouldn't have to be.

One of the guys commented during our conversation, "We're all talking about our own things! I'm talking about roommates, you're talking about raising kids, you're talking about no kids..." Still, we basically agreed. We all wanted to think for ourselves and figure out what would work for us.

* Here and now in my liberal location, that is. I know this differs over space as well as time.

This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/569407.html. Respond wherever you like.

Pocky is not lunch. Ideally, lunch includes vegetables, but it is certainly of higher volume and nutritive quality than chocolate-covered crackers. When one has a meeting in the afternoon, one needs to eat actual lunch. Go do that now.

This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/569276.html. Respond wherever you like.

i posted pictures of my new tattoo to fb, but if you're not on there you can see them here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B43scFRpRDW9RlUxNTItNkMwYms/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B43scFRpRDW9YjQ3cXRic3UySFk/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B43scFRpRDW9bktsTWRhS2Y2UDQ/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B43scFRpRDW9SUVnNzFFSGIxV0U/edit?usp=sharing

i want to get better pictures; if i do i'll find a better way to post them here. i'm pleased, though.

My roommate wants to move in with her boyfriend in White Center in August, and she's asked me to come with her (we currently live in Shoreline). She and her boyfriend have offered me a staggeringly reasonable rate on the rent, and we are about as close as sisters (friends since early childhood). I don't actually know that much about White Center, but my impression of it is not great. Unfortunately, I can't afford to rent anywhere on my own in the greater Seattle area, so the choice is between moving with her, or moving in with strangers elsewhere.

Tell me things about White Center, people. I am counting on you to help me make this decision. I'm a geek who likes books, board gaming, thrift stores, and friendly coffee shops. Will I be happy there?

Elevated bikeways are an oddly persistent idea. Sofia. Toronto. Eindhoven. Los Angeles in 1897.