Jul/090
Birthmothers, Squirrels & Musicals
1. So, as most of you know, I am currently living with my family. This is going mostly okay, except that the commute normally takes about 2 hours because none of the places I actually want to go are close to either of the bus stations that NJ Transit will take me to. However, I have spent some time googling "How to deal with controlling people."
One thing I've noticed is that that my aunt and grandmother seem to think we are living in a real life musical. They will burst into song at very strange moments, like during a lull in the conversation at dinner. No choreographed dancing, Not yet.
2. My latest reality obsession is "16 & Pregnant" which follows in the great MTV tradition of True Life, Engaged & Under-age, and Made. While I hate the Juno-like graphics they use for the show (yes, we get it, Juno is the end-all, be-all teen pregnancy signifier from now until forever), the show is actually fairly realistic. The MTV reality shows always feel so genuine, with so little branding and producer involvement (from what I can tell). The best one so far has been the last one, where the couple gives the baby up for adoption. There's a lot that can be said about class about all these episodes, and this one in particular, but I'm not going to beat you over the head with it. The couple in this one were so mature, self-aware, and ultimately doing the right thing, I think.
As I always do with my obsessions, I immediately went online to read more about the 16 & Pregnant girls and stumbled upon yet another online community of people I never knew existed: the "birthmother" movement. Apparently, there's a whole bunch of adopted kids and women who've given their children up for adoption who are really against the whole thing. The most off the wall was this Exiled Mothers site. I think whenever you see a site with design that is at least 10 years old, the more insane the content.
I understand what this woman is saying, and there are aspects of adoption that are fucked up, like the underlying premise is that only rich people should have kids, or coupled people, but it is a real option for people who can't or won't have an abortion, but can't raise kids at the moment. I think the couple on 16 & Pregnant just wanted to break their particular cycles and not bring children into what was not the best situation. I also read a few blogs of adopted kids who tried desperately to find their birth parents, only to be rejected. There's a lot of real trauma there, on both sides. I'm not going to pretend to understand either side from anything but the most abstract sense.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1MiWbZaXL0&hl=en&fs=1&]
3. A squirrel found their way into my house through the chimney on Saturday. He/she was freaking out and trying to escape and pretty much trashed the living room. Eventually, the squirrel found its way out the front door. It was so strange. Do squirrels have rabies? Do they feast on human flesh or just acorns? Now I stare at the fireplace, wanting to see if any more of those sneaky bushy tailed things are going to roll back in here.