Chronology
Yesterday
New glasses. Amazingly, my right eye has improved slightly, and I’m noticing the sudden lack of eyestrain when I peer at the computer. Alas, they failed to mention when I was ordering extras that the anti-glare coating will be ruined if I wipe it with a dry t-shirt – eep! Had I realized that, I would’ve done without.
I’ve still got the slightly wonky, holyshitmydepthperceptionhasexploded thing going on, and I keep absent-mindedly reaching up to push the glasses back up on my nose even though these new frames actually fit and don’t need such adjustments. And I’ve been just preening every time I walk by a mirror, which is odd as all previous new glasses have caused me to cringe and be confused for a few days. But these frames are uncontestably cuter than the old ones.
Today
I’ve developed a little wart on my finger. It’s unbelievably fun to watch the salicylic acid treatment solution dry – it turns into this fuzzy, wrinkled white patch, like having a bit of fruit mold on my hand. Which doesn’t actually sound that fun, but I assure you I’m completely entranced. I probably should get out more.
Earlier This Week
The water heater started leaking. There are times when renting is just ducky, as it’s the landlord and not me who gets to foot the unexpected thousand-dollar repair.
I was chatting with the plumbers while the landlord and landlady conferred over the price. Somehow – I think I made some inane remark about how plumbing was a nice daydream career for me sometimes – the topic got on to “women’s lib” and women in the trades and oh! How I wished La Lubu were around! My nonspecific assurances that no, actually, there are feminists trying to get more women in skilled trades were probably not very convincing. However, my looks of polite horror when the one plumber started going on about how women probably wouldn’t want to do the work (because you have to lift stuff, and lifting a water heater while pregnant could be harmful to the baby) were sympathetically recieved by the other plumber – it was very much a “What Would Miss Manners Do?” moment, saved by the return of my landlady.
Ongoing
Britishes, please keep licensing your televisions. And via Feministe, male nerds are now officially sexy but it seems female nerds are still invisible. Hmph.
Rana wrote:
Oh, those are wonderful glasses!
And I hear you on the nose-pushing and the “use the special cloth only” wiping issue. My beef is that my glasses, being small enough to push up close to my eyes, get greasy from my eyebrows. Fun, fun.
I love the notion that 9 (or 18) months out of an average woman’s entire lifespan is enough to discourage her from a trade like plumbing. I mean, wtf?
(Plus that 9 months is generous; 6 months would be more accurate.)
Posted 12 Jun 2020 at 7:21 pm ¶
yami wrote:
Seriously wtf. I was dumbstruck with “wow, people really do think of us as walking uteruses!” – I’d thought of it as a rather unfair characterization of extreme pro-life wingnuttia before. Now I want the guy to come back so I can ask what he thinks of female nursing aides (one of the most backinjuringest professions there is, what with the moving patients around, and chock full of women). Sigh.
I can use normal cloth if my glasses are wet, but then they dry all streaky. Dratted hard water.
Posted 12 Jun 2020 at 8:03 pm ¶
Hugo wrote:
Hah, love the glasses too.
Posted 13 Jun 2020 at 12:23 pm ¶
ester wrote:
female nerds = invisible = seriously, wtf? so many tired sexist stereotypes in one place, i was surprised the male ones didn’t break out the cigars, brandy and politics while the female ones went upstairs to loosen their corsets and take a nap.
of course some dorks/nerds and other overlooked men treat women better than arrogant pricks. but some dorks/nerds are also arrogant pricks, and some women are honestly attracted to dorks/nerds, and sentences about “women” and “men” hurt my sensitive organs because HAVEN’T WE BROKEN DOWN THESE FRIKKIN MONOLITHS ALREADY?
Posted 14 Jun 2020 at 2:29 pm ¶
yami wrote:
Our monolith-breaking is no match for the strength of cliches and the all-consuming sucking void between advertisements.
Posted 14 Jun 2020 at 3:46 pm ¶
des von bladet wrote:
Nerd grrls are by no means invisible but they are notoriously in short supply.
Posted 17 Jun 2020 at 10:26 am ¶
yami wrote:
Not so short as people make it out to be, though. 1/3 of the nerd population is a substantial minority for media purposes, even if it’s enough to completely skew the dating scene.
The number of derisive comments about “Tech girls” heard from embittered male undergrads – while we were sitting right there – emboggled the mind. Our nerd grrl sexiness was often invisible even when our nerdgrrlness was not.
Posted 17 Jun 2020 at 10:45 am ¶
yami wrote:
Though to be fair, we often cited the old “odds are good but the goods are odd” – the dating scene on campus was unhealthy all ’round, really.
Posted 17 Jun 2020 at 10:48 am ¶
Dad wrote:
It’s not your size or sex that matters but what you know. IC has an all woman plumbing outfit which is one of the best and most trusted in the city. We also have an all male outfit which is one of the worst. So does this mean anything? Of course not. Dad
Posted 24 Jun 2020 at 3:38 pm ¶