I can't believe how long it's been since I've written on here! Not that what I write is of any particular importance but I do value my blog and feel that I've completely neglected it.
I honestly can't even remember where my life was at the time of my last posting. What I do know, however, is that a lot of things are different. So, here's what I'm going to do: just summarize and update.
I no longer work at the Gap or have my internship at the University of Washington. I went through a month long, or longer, time period without a job of any kind. My funds are like... well, using the word funds implies that I have money. Which I don't. Hopefully, that will be fixed soon. About three weeks ago, I accepted, and started, a new job with a local non-profit called Pacific Science Center in its membership department. Life should run more smoothly within a few months.
Soccer has been on a two week break to allow a lot of our players to play in a tournament in DC for the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA). Our soccer club sent two teams to Washington, D.C. for the tournament. One of the teams, Jet City Strikers, will be bringing home the Division Two Championship!
I've been seeing a guy named Brandon for over a month now and things are going really well. I really really hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing about the relationship. He's a soccer player, like I am, and plays for a different team than I do within our club. The boy's a rockstar; I can't explain him in any other way.
Friday, I went to the graduation of the current corps members for City Year. I really enjoyed being able to see all of the people I volunteered with but one aspect about the night infuriated me. City Year likes to recognize community leaders who bring in money for the organization. Anita, my old boss and volunteer coordinator at the Gap, is someone who did all the same things I did but as a full time Gap employee is able to bring in a lot more matched money for non-profit organizations from corporate than I ever was able to. During the graduation, she was recognized for all of her contributions. This is not the issue that made me mad. She was given all the credit for a project I set up, ran, found a service site for, called kid volunteers to attend, encouraged adult volunteers to attend, and coordinated with City Year to get new corps members involved as well. Her only role was to bring in a person to video tape the event. Constantly, throughout my employment at the Gap and my tenure as one of the Community Service reps for our store, she was taking credit for the events I would produce. Friday night, she received ALL the credit of probably the most ambitious event I put on. Bullshit. Pure bullshit.
A lot of my new job involves waiting. I keep myself entertained by reading, mainly. Hah, I guess I could say that my new job allows me more time to stay up to date on the news both nationally and internationally. A couple of the issues I've been reading about have really caught my interest.
And... of course both are gay issues.
Part of President Obama's promises was that he would remove the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and that he would help out the GLBTQ community by making it so that healthcare and insurance agencies would recognize same-sex couples by providing benefits to partners. Of these two issues, only the second has been realized and even that applies only to his federal employees.
Charles Moran from the Log Cabin Republicans organization, a group that works at advancing rights for homosexuals within the Republican party, ridiculed President Obama for being unable to make good on his promises nationally. I wonder if Mr. Moran realizes that he's affiliated with a political party that is notorious for squashing the rights of more people than just homosexuals. Good luck with getting your marriage license while still claiming to be a part of the GOP, Charles.
Sacha Baron Cohen, originally famous for his movie: "Borat", has created another character named Bruno based on homosexual stereotypes. Apparently, his portrayal of a gay man has caused some critics to say that he is only hurting the situation of many homosexuals in the United States. Any person who believes that one man is the definitive norm of an entire population is an idiot. Bruno will not be anything like me, and indeed, there is no other gay man that is like me. Saying that Cohen's character Bruno will hurt the cause of the GLBTQ community's move towards equal rights is ridiculous. Any educated individual will recognize that one person does not define a population.
