My Thoughts on the Nonsense in Texas

Quite a lot has happened in the world of women's rights and politics in America from what I understand thanks to the Internet. Now, here's what I've gathered, and my thoughts on what I get.

• The primary goal was to ban abortions after 20 weeks (5 months)
• However, additional affects would include many of the Texas clinics shutting down
• The way this was handled was horrible
• Wendy Davis stood for 10 hours doing something called a filibuster, meaning she had to talk about the issue until the day was over in order to stall the passing of this bill
• Another representative left her father's funeral to basically call the male reps out on their behaviour
• At the end of the day, the bill did not pass
• However, there seems to be a potential for another voting session on the issue, and the fight isn't over yet

Here's my opinion on this:

First of all, 20 weeks is pretty late to get an abortion. Just going to put it out there.  However, I don't think the issue is about abortion anymore. Instead, its just pointed out that women have the potential to get rights taken away from them at the whim of representatives that are supposedly representing the will of the people. The politics were disgusting. I'm pretty certain some laws were broken in order to try and create a new one. Go read up on that yourself, I'm not the best person for facts. 

Seriously though, when did the rights of the foetus/baby-in-development become more important than the woman it depends on for survival? Yes, the foetus is an individual and all that nonsense. But it cannot survive independently from its mother. I see both sides of the argument here- the whole potential the child may possess and whatnot. However, women who get abortions aren't doing it for fun. They are doing it because they cannot support the child, or cannot handle having one. As a teenager, I can say firsthand I'm not ready to be a mother. If I got pregnant, I'd like the option to get an abortion. That doesn't mean I'd get one. It just means I'd like the option to chose what to do with my body and my life. 

Oh, and adoption? I don't think it's a bad thing: in contrast, I think it's a pretty cool idea. But there are so many children in this world who live in poverty. There are lots of children unwanted by their parents. Heck, I was one of them. Personally, I think it's better to not bring children into the world that their parents (or parent) cannot handle. As an international adoptee, I can say from experience that it's really hard to live with the fact that you were unwanted. Possibly a mistake, possibly a by-product of a flawed system. It's a strange position to be in. While I am incredibly grateful for everything I have and the second chance at life I received, I really think this situation should be avoided for the long term good of society. There have always and will always be unwanted children. However, women now have the option of not becoming mothers in the first place. 

As a young woman, it's pretty scary to think of the potential lack of rights my American friends and I have. My lesbian friends can only marry in certain states, and it's pretty controversial. There's a chance I may not have control over one of the biggest blessing and curses about being a woman: the fact that I can bear children. The apparent focus on a woman's ability to bear children is frightening. We're not baby making machines over here, and we shouldn't be treated as such. What would some of these conservatives say to women that don't want children, period? Women are worth so much more than their reproductive organs. 

Something I really don't understand is why people think it's okay to take away abortion as an option for someone unable to provide for a child. If this bill would make many clinics close, women are not going to just stop having abortions. No- they're going to opt for dangerous illegal abortions without the regulations and even hygiene levels of clinics. I'm not posting a photo of it here, but a widely circulated photo on the internet shows a deceased woman next to a vacuum cleaner. She lost her life trying to give herself an abortion. I do not believe she was the only case of this. Illegal abortions are incredibly risky. Women throw themselves down stairs, starve, get punched in the stomach, etc when they cannot get abortions. I'm not making this stuff up: I remember overhearing some girls discussing this stuff. 

So, I've touched on many topics that all fall under women's rights and whatever. I know there are holes in my argument, and that it's not completely sound. Here are the main points again, just to sum it up. 

• The politics in Texas were dirty
• Women aren't having abortions for fun. Come on. 
• Since when is a foetus more important than a fully developed, functioning woman?
• I want to be able to decide what to do with my body
• Adoption is a great option, but stop acting like it's a golden ticket. It's not that great, and there are still lots of emotions attached
• Women's rights are threatened in the USA, and let's not even get started with homosexuals' "rights"
• Closing clinics will not stop abortions
• Mind your own business and let people decide their own fates. 

There we go, the ramblings of a teenager about abortion and women's rights!

Father's Day!

Today is "Western" Father's Day, which means my family is celebrating it. The Chinese or "Asian" Father's Day is on August 8, because it's the eighth day of the eight month, or “八八” which sounds the same as "爸爸" meaning "dad". So that's a roundabout way of saying that not all of Singapore is celebrating Father's Day today, but that's perfectly okay.

In honor of Father's Day, we watched Man of Steel. Now, it's a pretty good movie, but there are a couple little things I noticed. Parts of it were coloured like an Indie Hipster Movie, which was a little weird to see from a big budget production. The other bit was that I wasn't expecting it to be so alien based. It was darn cool since I like aliens, but it was a little weird to have Hipster shots jump to alien shots. Oh, there's another thing. The movie was good at tying up loose ends, but jumped around a bit in order to tie them up. Either way, I'd give the movie an 8/10. Not as good as Star Trek, but I'm bias. Also, Clark was pretty good looking.

We're going out to Long Beach Restaurant on East Coast to eat pepper crab later, which is going to be pretty yummy. I can't wait!

So, I bet my dad is going to read this. If he doesn't, too bad for him. But if he does...

Hi Dad! I'm really glad to be your daughter. You've given me so many opportunities to learn, explore, and grow as a person. When I was little, I was always writing essays about you for "someone who inspired me". Well, if I had to write another essay on that topic, I'd still pick you as my subject. You're the epitome of hard work and perseverance, and I really admire and want to emulate those traits. Also, you're a nerd. You know that already, but nerd ^.^ I think you've passed that on to me...  yay Star Trek! Though darn you for not telling me why there's an Old Spock. Then again, I'm the one who didn't notice it was Scotty playing the bag pipes at this funeral, so I guess I can't really whine too much. We'll have to watch the next Star Trek movie together as well so you can laugh at my reactions.  So even though I didn't turn out to be a science kid, I'm glad you got me into science fiction and other nerdy things. You're a pretty cool father, Dad :)


Now, here's an unrelated bird jumping on a bed that will probably make you laugh.

Love you Dad!

Not a Lazy Summer

Okay, I actually have something interesting to post about today that isn't me ranting or complaining! I'm in a super good mood today, and I think I know why. It may be too early to say, but hey, one might as well take each day as it comes and every good day deserves its own mini-celebration.

Now, I found out about Blogilates a while ago because I watch Bubzbeauty. Bubz has been working out for her wedding, and I noticed she had slimmed down a lot and looked super healthy. Since she had been mentioning Cassey and Blogilates a lot, I figured it was worth looking into. Anyways, I finally got on the Blogilates bandwagon yesterday. I printed out my beginner's calendar and have started keeping track of what I eat. Tried to make banana pancakes today, but they were pretty bad. Not sure if it's because I hate bananas or because they were hard to flip, but I wasn't a fan. Think I'll just stick to eggs or something in the morning instead.

Yesterday I confirmed something for myself that I assumed was true previously. That would be: jogging in Singapore is the hottest thing one can do. Running on a treadmill? Fine, I can easily do 1 kilometer. Running around the general area (probably half a kilometre)? Freaking hot. Miserably sweaty, and gross because of the car exhaust. Not doing that again any time soon.

In terms of keeping up with the work-out videos: I don't find them that bad, but I didn't want to do one of the Blogilates standard monthly workouts because I figured I should ease into "regular people" workouts. I'm accustomed to dance workouts, and they are pretty different (for whatever reason). Or at least, that's the mindset I'm in, and shifting one's mindset is pretty tricky!

So, I'm just trying to drink a lot of water and not sit on my butt for too long. Actually, if I do, then I get up and do something.



Healthy food, happy mood <3

Enough is Enough

School is finally over. Junior year ended dramatically, like a badly-written drama with no clear conclusion. It wasn't good enough for a sequel, instead receiving an awkward half-written short story wrapping up the minor points while leaving the main bits wandering aimlessly, attacking anyone who dares get too close. Teenage drama is a bother. That's my new phrase, stolen from Winnie-the-Pooh. It gets me interesting looks in public, since most people try and remember where they've heard the phrase before. Well all, it's from a cute and cuddly bear who probably starred in one of your childhood bedtime stories.

From an academic point of view, second semester ended pretty well. I ended up with 2 Bs and the rest As, which is nice though I wish I had been able to pull the 89 up to a 90 in both subjects I got a B in. That's the most annoying thing- you were so close, it was just the weighting or whatever that kept your GPA a bit lower >.<. Anyways, my grades raised significantly from first semester, and I'm happy about that. Next year is going to be rough: AP World History, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, Dance Performance, Chinese II and English Satire/Asian Literature. The good news is that it makes me competitive for UK universities, otherwise I couldn't be bothered to do the AP math class. Numbers and Natalie are not friends.

It's summer now, and everything is swirling within a crystal ball. Too many words flying without much thought. Too many criticisms, emotions and lack thereof.

Enough is enough. Shut up and enjoy the silence.

Sewing Pointe Shoes

It's been about forever since I've had to sew a new pair of pointe shoes. Somewhere between six months and a year, I believe. Therefore, this routine activity has become special to me, since I haven't done it in so long.

Sewing pointe shoes used to be a really big time-consuming pain that often involved rare TV time, cursing, blood drawn from fingers and stitches showing through satin. Things have changed, being here. They aren't the same brand of pointe shoes this time around- I'm trying Suffolk again. The elastic is different, the ribbon is pinker to match the shoes, and the drawstring actually works. Haven't decided if I'm going to put elastic on them, but most likely because they keep falling off my heels.

I guess that's the same- the darn shoes falling off my duck-feet narrow heels unless elastics and/or rosin are applied to my tights. Oh, and I'm still sewing with dental floss, something my teacher Ms Carrie taught me six years ago. Six years ago- was I really 11 when I went en pointe? I think so, because the next year I danced Sugar Plum at the Holiday Tea, and was barely thirteen for the Peasant Soloist in Giselle.

A lot has changed, then. I'm no longer a soloist, one of the most flexible, or the one with the strongest ankles. Now I'm just one dancer who's a little too curvy (sorry I'm not a stick-thin Singaporean!) for Chinese dance teachers but refuses to lose weight. Oh well.

I'm taking a trial class at Cheng Ballet tonight to see what level I fit into and also if I like the studio. Here's to a new adventure in dance :)

SO MANY UNIVERSITIES!

Today has become a college search day, which is the strangest mix of fun, exhausting, relaxing, stressful and altogether time consuming. 

Though I'm considering both the US and the UK, I found researching UK schools to be much easier. They've got this great site called UCAS that's actually practical and easy to use, unlike the multitude of US websites (primarily the College Board). Anyways, today I've found about 9 universities I'm interested in, the top ones apparently being Leeds, Lancaster, Bristol and York. However, there are still loads of universities there, and the more I research the more I find. UK universities cost about as much as an out-of-state tuition per year, though it ranges considerably. Much cheaper than places like Sarah Lawrence that charges $60,000 in tuition alone!

US schools offer a lot of opportunities to take many different classes not tied to your major. However, it takes 4 years to get your degree at a fairly high cost, which is no fun. Then getting your Master's takes another two years....

Hard call, really.


Stupid universities. Why must there be so many of you? Can't you all get together, throw your best qualities in, and make Super University?