So last night, I was scurrying around to collect my things to bring to Scot's. I was flustered, because I had 3 midterms to finish studying for, and had left everything to the last minute, like I always do.

I was pulling a stack of papers out of one of my bags and it got stuck on the strap. So I pulled harder.

When it came free, I was still pulling very hard, and the papers hit me in the eyeball. I seriously couldn't make this if I wanted to. Anyways. The long and short of it, I managed to papercut my own eye. Yep. True story.

I can't see properly out of that eye now, and am in so much pain because of it. I had to go to the doctor's this morning to get a note, because I will be missing my exam today, and two tomorrow because of this.

Oh, and I get to wear a patch… let's take a minute to let that sink in.

A PATCH!

BUT, there is a silver lining to this cloud. Because next week is our study break, I won't be making up my exams for a whole week.

Okay so I realise it has been forever since I posted. I know that I suck at this. I have a semi-excuse though. School started and my coworker went to a conference and I had to go to school full time and work full time for the last 2 weeks. I am aware that it isn't a great excuse, but it is the one I've got. At least it is the truth.

On the topic of school: I have settled into my routine for the semester and am feeling great. We have a new mindset of a few of my profs which is that laptops should not be used in class. At first I scoffed at the idea, but after 2 weeks of taking notes laptop free, I have adopted this rule into my other classrooms as well. Low and behold, my notetaking is much more efficient and I do not get lured into the trappings of facebook and reading blogs during class. Who would have thought?

With that little bit of housekeeping taken care of, I'm going to move onto a topic that is sure to raise some eyebrows. Let me start it by making the disclaimer that these are my opinions, and I really do not mean to offend, I'm really just trying to find some outlet to vent. By all means if you have any concerns, shoot me an email at fitsofgenius@live.com

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

It is a controversy that everyone from top American politicos to Lady Gaga herself are talking about. I thought that since it is receiving so much media attention I should make myself an educated opinion on the topic. Mainly because if it comes up in a social setting, I want to A.) not look misinformed B.) not just sprout off the shit thrown at me by the media and C.) look smarter than my friends. Sadly, the latter is the main reason.

So here is my opinion:

Being gay does not affect your ability to protect your country's beliefs, rights, freedoms, etc. It simply means that you are attracted to, fall in love with, engage in intercourse with, and/or have relations with a member of the same sex. It baffles me that a policy based on such fear and misunderstanding could have carried on for such a long time. I really just don't get it.

Usually when there is an issue of debate, I can at least see where the side opposing me is coming from and respect their opinion. But in this case, I really just cannot see it or understand it. From all that I am discovering, the arguments for DADT are largely fear-based/hate-based.

I believe that if a person (male, female, gay, straight, bisexual, polyamourous, monogamous, black, white, brown, etc.) is willing to put their life on the line for the sake of their nation, they should be accepted. I see a lot of the people who support DADT who sit at home on their safe, fat asses instead of doing what these brave souls are willing to do. As long as they meet the physical standards required of a soldier, they should be allowed to serve. The three words "I am gay" should have no effect.

A friend posted this on his facebook yesterday, and I couldn't believe how much it said exactly what I was thinking:

In death, we are all the same. If a soldier dies for their country, nothing else should really be discussed. This person is a hero, plain and simple. It reminds me of a proverb we learned in a class once "At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back into the same box." In death, we are all equal. And for a soldier willing to go to battle, death is a very real possibility.

The military should adopt a simply Don't Ask policy. No one should be forced to reveal their sexuality to anyone, but if they do choose to do so, they should be embraced and welcomed... not discharged from duty. It is a human rights issue at heart for me. No matter what your sexuality is, you should have the same right as any other human. Plain and simple.

That's right. Just said it.

So today, I went to campus to do a few errands. Mainly, I wanted to pick up my student loan, because I need that shit to pay tuition. I need to pay tuition to keep the school from breathing down my neck and reminding me that I'm a scumball that owes them money. Then I went to the city's other university to pick up my pal for a playdate. While driving on these campuses, I was reminded that University students can be completely clueless when it comes to being responsible adults.

What has really been pissing me off is that these people are pedestrians. I am a motorist. In the game of pedestrian versus motorist, the motorist wins.

Here's the problem I face: I don't think that pedestrians should have to wait too long to cross the road, so I like to stop and let them cross. What I hate, no wait... what I fucking despise is the fact that pedestrians somehow don't understand that when they step out in front of a car that is moving, it can be impossible to stop your car on a dime. Especially when the pavement in wet. You are in university. You are supposed to be our country's best and brightest. Yet you have forgotten the childhood lesson of looking both ways before you cross the damn road! Honestly can't express how pissed I am about it.

While I was on campus I also renewed my student card. Our school doesn't allow us to have the same card for more than five years. Apparently it isn't common for an undergrad student to take beyond 5 years to graduate, because when I approached the desk, she asked if I was a graduate student. When I told her no, she looked at me like I was a complete idiot. Well if you were trying to make me feel like one, mission accomplished!

God these 8 months just can't end soon enough.

To anyone who works in retail, the last day of a month and the first few days of the following week can be rather busy. This is when people who are living on social assistance get their cheques. You can always spot these days, because your flash sales increase tremendously. The amount of cash sales you receive also increase.

Now, I'm not against welfare programs. I think that when they aren't abused, they provide a necessary service to those who cannot work. It is when I see people who are able to work but simply decide not to live off my tax deductions where I begin to get a little angry.

You can always spot the people who are like this. They are the ones who come into my video game store to buy themselves a video game while their children are wearing dirty or ill-fitting clothes. Or the people who tell me "well I shouldn't buy this, I guess the kids will just have peanut butter sandwiches this week." Excuse me for swearing... but ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Get some priorities. It is the beginning of September, and I'm sure your kids could use that $70 you are spending on a video game and go buy school supplies or school clothes. Ugh.

While on the topic of having children and being on welfare, there is a woman in my small town who is picketing outside of the Children's Aid Society (CAS) office building. She's been there for a few days, and it grabbed my attention. I did a little looking into the matter (by going and talking to her). She is complaining that her kids were unfairly taken away from her by CAS. Sounds like a fair argument. But here's the catch. She is one of those women who I see coming into my store with her dirty ass kids in ripped and filthy clothes to buy hundreds of dollars worth of video games at the beginning of each month. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that her kids were probably taken for a reason. Especially knowing that CAS in our area is insanely hard to get to take action on ANY matter, including allegations of abuse. What she really seems to be picketing is the fact that her paycheque was taken away (you get approximately $200 per child extra a month when on welfare).

I don't really know where I was going when I started this post, but I was just infuriated by all this. I don't have kids. And I don't want them. But I'm damn sure that I am not out of line in being this angry about it all.

Have a good long weekend everyone. I'm off to the cottage for my last summer of the year. Classes start next Thursday for me. Hooray homestretch.

And to my faithful follower Shit Bag, I hope this satisfies your need of "stuff to read." To tie all of you over until I'm back in the normal pace of blogging, swing by Annah's blog. I nearly peed my pants reading her stuff.

Wow I'm such a bad blogger. Has it really been since Tuesday that I posted? And even so, that was a shitty post that didn't really say much.

Well I guess I'll start by thanking Maggie for being such an awesome follower. She reads and comments on even my stupid posts (which most of them are). You should all take a gander at her blog, she seems to be more on top of the posting game than I am.

Now onto the real post.

This week, my broken down boyfriend's rugby team launched their fundraising calendar. It features the guys in various poses (12 in all – shocking for a calendar... lol), and is damn awesome. The Ottawa Sun ran a piece about it. However, like so many media outlets today, the Sun decided to focus on something different than the awesome group of guys and their fundraising.

See, Scot plays for Ottawa's only gay friendly rugby team. The members are predominantly gay. The Sun decided that this was the important part about the guys. Not that they were getting people involved in a sport that doesn't have a huge Canadian following, not that they were fundraising. They made a controversy where none belonged, simply because one of the pictures took a piece of pop-culture imagery and changed it a little. (You can read the Sun article if you want more info).

Really, I started by being irritated by this. But it grew into a festering little anger ball. Why is it that the media can report on a straight team's fundraising activities fairly, but turn a gay team's attempts into something controversial? Wake up. It is 2010, and time to gain a little tolerance, or (heaven forbid) acceptance.

Ottawa XPress did a much better job with covering the launch of the calendar. Check out the non-biased article.

For the record, the pictures you will find in the calendar are AWESOME. I hope the majority of my friends are ready for their Ottawa Wolves calendars for Christmas.

By the way... you can all go online and order your copy HERE. And a big shout out to Dan Z, the photographer, as well as his artistic director Martyna. Last but not least, graphic design of the calendar was done by Eric A.