Different Kinds of Relationships

Went to the bar with my brother tonight and had a few drinks. We chatted about his girlfriend of three months and feminism.

Brother: The thing I like about her is that she's a real feminist. Equal everything. None of this "I want equal pay, and equal say, but the guy better hold the door for me and pay for dinner."

I've met the girlfriend a couple of times and quite like her. I'm hoping they'll work out long term. Her genes and my brother's would make cute kids.

Not too long before we left, one of the bar regulars I know came in. He'd never seen my brother before and introduced him. Then I asked if his girls were pregnant. Still no dice. Since my brother didn't know the story, the regular promptly filled him in.

Regular: See, they're lesbians. I've known the one for forever and she asked me for my, you know... So, I went to Paris for a few weeks and the one night they went across the street while I... you know. They went to a bar just across the street and watched the window, 'cause once I was done, I flicked the lights so they knew. Then it was turkey baster time.

McLeod's Daughters

I'm in the midst of season two of the Aussie TV show. The impressive bit is how these gals live in the middle of nowhere, on a ranch run by women only, and still meet enough men to keep the romantic plots running.

I live in town and work on a university campus which is swarming with people, and before that, worked at a bar as well, and yet my life has impressively little romantic plot.

Is it wrong to be jealous of fictional characters? The one I'm most jealous of is Tess. Why? You ask. This is why:

Dog Loathing

My dog has a persistent and vehement loathing for The Guy. A few weeks after I got her, I had a get-together for Memorial Day at my house. He came, my dog barked at him a lot. She also barked lots at another male friend who came on his own, as well as the married men who looked at her and/or tried to pet her. This is when I began to suspect that my pre-owned dog may have been abused in her past.

Yesterday, I had another get-together. In the past few months, I had begun to think my dog had gotten over her man hatred. She's best buds with my dad and brother and has no problem with guys when we're at the dog park. A while back I let in a guy trying to sell me a security system, and she didn't pay any attention to him at all.

First guests: a married couple. Dog didn't like the guy, but only got bark-y when he tried to pet her, and as the night went on, not even then. Next came some gals and my family. Last came The Guy. He walked in the door, my dog's hackles went up and they were not friends. She seemed to like him a bit when he had a plate of food in front of him, but once the food was gone, so was her good will.

So, my dog still hates The Guy's guts. I feel kind of bad for him, because he does everything right with her, but she still can't stand him. Feels symbolic somehow.

My Brother's Entertainment

My brother's in town for Christmas break. When he came over the other day, he saw the envelope on my table marked "Professor The Girl."

Brother: Hey, look at that. [suggestive eye wiggle] Is it from a boy student?
Me: Uh, yeah, it is.
Brother: Oooh. Somebody's got a crush.
Me: That's what Amanda said.
Brother: Is he cute?
Me: Don't even go there. It's not like that. He's a student, he's too young, and he's a student.
Brother: Aw, my sister's the cute English teacher. That's adorable.

"Healthy" Womanhood

I was all geared up to write a post about how I wore eyeshadow and liner out in public on Saturday. I was proud of myself. I even got a compliment from a friend of mine about how it looked nice.

Then, I read Penny Red's latest post. Boy did I feel shallow.

Except...

Who's braver: the girl who's afraid of not wearing makeup or the one who's afraid of wearing it?