(no subject)

You can't hear me, but all morning long I've been sing-songing "Multitaaaaaaasking" under my breath.

Not that I don't normally multitask a bit, or rather -- no, it's not so much multitasking as sequence-tasking. I rotate through work. This morning, for example, I am clearing out my "things to examine" slush file on delicious and trying to catch up on my email backlog inbetween working on three different fanfics, correcting tweaks to CG, reading through the latest fic offerings in Sherlock and White Collar, and faffing about in my "daily reading" bookmarks.

And then there's work, but that's slow on the ground today, informative pamphlet about new security measures and mass email about "what you can do to prevent your packages getting stolen this holiday season" aside. I should never have let BossBoss discover that I can write coherently and break down complex concepts easily (necessary skill, because complex concepts and I don't get on).

I was going to say "It's not that I have a short attention span" and follow it up with an explanation of why I do this, but every explanation I come up with seems to point back to me having a short attention span.

It's finally cold enough out that I've unplugged the air conditioner, and in the evenings I resort to baking to keep the house warm. Today I made a thermos of tea, which doesn't really heat up the house but does keep me moving, and all morning I've been sipping shots of it from the cup.

It's herbal, though, so you can't blame my attention span on the tea.

(no subject)

Okay, guys, I'm aware that for most of you this is basic stuff, but since there was some discussion both in my journal over the past two days and in private email about it, I'm going to go over it here.

A caveat before we start: if you think you inspired this post, I promise, you didn't. Or at least, you didn't do it alone. I wasn't even going to make it, but the collective impact just sort of built up slowly until I thought I had to. So here goes.

1. Transgendered people are not some kind of unknowable third gender. They have a gender identity. Just because it doesn't match the physical biological characteristics they were born with doesn't mean they are, or you should be, ambiguous about it; ambiguity is hurtful, because it means you are assuming they're not "really" the gender they are. If someone identifies to you as a given gender, accept it.

Addendum, thank you cafe for poking me about it: There are also people in this world who have fluid gender identities or who do not identify with one of the binary genders. My major point to make is that if a trans person tells you "I am X", treat them as X, but I think you can see the obvious application of points 2 and 3 to people who do not identify with either gender, as well.

2. Transgendered people are harassed, made to feel unsafe, and assaulted in bathrooms all the time and that's a tragedy and a shame. They don't get to pick what bathroom they use; they have to choose between a set of bad options. If a trans woman uses a men's room, she is essentially being forced to deny her real gender and risking assault. If she uses the women's room, she could have security called on her. Imagine what men sometimes do to trans men who violate the sanctity of the men's room. Even if this doesn't happen, the very justifiable fear is always present that it could. Unisex restrooms aren't some kind of caprice; they're a matter of basic safety and mental health.

3. If you are going to make comments about an article, especially an article about equal rights and gender politics, please read the article before you open your mouth. I realise you may be anxious about the concept of two genders sharing one bathroom, but gather information to calm your anxiety before you express it, especially since your baseless fear may be hurting others. (Just an example: I was nervous because multi-stall unisex bathrooms aren't really safe for aaaaanyone, but I read the article and it pretty clearly stated the bathrooms were single-toilet with locking doors. And then I did not worry anymore!)

I know that nothing I got in comments or in email was the product of malice, and I know it's easy and instinctive to assume that everyone who reads this journal is like you. But there are three thousand people in the cafe, and the diversity here still staggers me sometimes. Remember that when you talk about "them", whoever they might be, the odds are exceptionally good that some of "them" are reading my blog, and that "them" is actually "us". Think before you speak.

(Comments are screened, because if I’ve messed up with anything I’d like to be told, but I don’t want to hold a three-thousand-person debate about this stuff.)

(no subject)

I have returned from R's place, where I really properly met his new roommate, who I have dubbed Fuzzy (because he is). He seems nice enough; he's a musician, so he and R jammed for a bit and that's always fun to watch. He's not the brightest bulb, mind you.

He sat in and played Wheel with us, which Bland never did, and automatically earns him bonus points. We left him in the dust continually, but back when I moved in with R he used to kick the shit out of me at Wheel all the time, so we have high hopes for Fuzzy's continuing education.

We think they must have new puzzlemakers on Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel puzzlemakers are savvy; especially on Final Wheel, you can see that they almost always bust out words that don't have the most common letters in them, words that use K and U and Y a lot. Tonight one ordinary puzzle was KNOCKOUT PUNCH BOWL, which doesn't seem all that complex until you realise there are no A, E, I, R, or S, which are the most common consonants and vowels to be called.

I have spent too long watching Wheel, when I notice these things. Still, a good time was had by all.