imagine all people, living life in peace.

In an act of relative boredom last night, I watched 30 Days on FX. I've never really watched the show before, but this episode stood out to me. It asked a pertinent question: should gay and lesbian couples be allowed to adopt children?

To me, the answer is easy and obvious. They absolutely should.

This episode took a woman named Kati, a Mormon from Southern California, to the home of a gay male couple [the Patricks] and their four adopted children in Michigan. She was to spend 30 days with them in attempt to open her thought process to the idea of a loving home for adopted children - even if it went against her belief system.

Kati was a broken record throughout the episode. It could have been a drinking game - drink every time she says that children should only be raised by a man and woman. Drink whenever she says she can't go against her morals. And so on, et cetera. To me, the most interesting factor was the fact that she couldn't hold her own against many people she encountered. One particular incident at a picnic with other gay families stood out - an older gay woman was calm and rational, asking Kati to explain why she felt that she couldn't marry her partner and what exactly she considered "unethical" about it. Cue Kati storming away in tears about how "those people" are attacking her beliefs.

Toward the end, one of the men she lived with explained that her militant anti-gay bias was intrusive on his lifestyle; a vote against gay adoption rights is a vote to take his children away. Kati said that his beliefs stepped on her toes, too - all those dang gay people existing happily and normally intruding on her beliefs! How dare they!

Even more interesting was that she met with two people who had experienced the foster system as children and explained to Kati that it can be a dead-end, because all too often children ride it out until they're 18, with no stable adoptive family unit. Despite the statistics they gave her, her beliefs held firm - gay couples should not raise children, period.

One of my favorite cousins [she's close to my mom's age] is gay; she's been with her partner for almost 20 years. They have four adopted children, all in their teens now. I've known them for awhile [they live in Connecticut] but last summer I was able to spend a week with them in a rented beach house in Rhode Island. All four of their kids are well-adjusted, smart and in no way confused about how families work. They were all at-risk children as well, and living in Jill and Annie's home provided them a stable family and future. They're fantastic parents and knowing them, I can't ponder the concept of some higher power wanting to take those four kids away because they have two moms. Just because a couple is heterosexual couple, doesn't necessarily grant them the "ideal parent" prototype.

I've always been very pro-gay rights. Maybe it was living in the Bay Area of California, maybe it's having several [normal! gasp!] gay friends. Who knows. I simply believe that they are who they are, and no rights that heterosexuals are granted should be withheld from them because of their sexual orientation. This is not a country run on the words of the Bible, nor is it any kind of theocracy. I have yet to hear a valid argument against gay marriage or adoption, let alone one that doesn't include religion, the Bible, the "they can't procreate" factor or the so-called "icky" factor.

There's a lot of opposition to gay marriage / rights in Oklahoma, and a commonly heard argument against it is "it will destroy the sanctity of marriage". My question: how? How does two men being married hurt you? Hell, if your church doesn't want to marry gay couples, they don't have to. They can just go to the courthouse like many straight couples do and still get a legitimate marriage license. If one wants to look at what's "really" hurting the so-called sanctity of marriage, check out the quickie Vegas weddings, no-contest divorce states [Oklahoma is one of them] and sham marriages for government benefits. There are problems with the state of marriage as it is, a marriage currently only granted to heterosexual couples in the majority of the country. You know that saying about people and glass houses? Well...

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir. I know that there are many, many other and better arguments for why gay couples shouldn't be denied the rights that straight couples have. But it's always been something I've been passionate about. Why *should* Americans be denied these rights, just because they love someone of the same gender? I have yet to hear a valid reason and I don't think I will.

Here's to hoping that in 20-30 years, maybe even sooner, this concept will be as outdated as the separate-but-equal movement, Jim Crow laws and denying women the right to vote. One can dream, right?

back to basics.

I should have known this. At least I was warned, back at SF State, when many of my journalism professors basically said, "We're going to un-teach you the art of college essay writing. You will live and breathe AP Style". Of course, I'm a senior now and taking mostly journalism classes, but I still have to write an essay for my Principles of Public Relations class. My professor, a very cool guy indeed, at least had the good sense to take one class to explain how he wanted the paper written and to go over MLA and APA formats. He even gave us copies of former "A" essays he's graded.

It's still hard. I didn't realize that two years of nonstop newswriting and then two years off from school would make me forget how to do something I was once very good at. I used to be able to churn out a 5-7 page essay without batting an eyelash. Now, I had to sit down and peruse Patrick's MLA handbook several times before opening Microsoft Word. I wrote everything I could and tried to find sources that were credible enough for my professor's liking [thank you, EBSCOhost], but I think I pulled it off. I can only hope.

My first topic was going to be about NBC and its marketing plan, how the network itself has become a brand of its own. I wanted to incorporate Rockefeller Center, the interactive Today Show, the household-name celebrities the network has churned out [Johnny Carson, Tom Brokaw, possibly the late Tim Russert], the Must-See TV phenomenon. But I couldn't gather my thoughts well enough to compose a 3-5 page paper with credible sources and a thesis. I knew that my whole "Rockefeller Center, the NBC tour and the Office are all kickass" pitch wouldn't hold water.

So I decided to write my essay on product placement and product branding in the media. I was inspired by American Idol and its relentless promotional tie-ins, and Naomi Klein's book No Logo, which is absolutely amazing and everyone should read it. We watched the mini-documentary for "No Logo" in class and it was fascinating to see how we have become the brand we wear, consume, purchase. Many of these brands sell a lifestyle - Hollister Co. sells the "California beach bum" look, Starbucks sells the "community" lifestyle, Apple and the iPod sell the "trendy modern city hipster' lifestyle. Klein believes that we are what we consume, in a nutshell. The book was an eye-opener, and as someone who studies the media, I found it very interesting indeed.

My essay is written and I turn it in tomorrow. I'm still nervous, despite my confidence about my topic. He's outlined his expectations of us and I'm sure I've followed through with them, but I still have that twinge of trepidation.

I also dropped the Principles of Advertising class I was scheduled to start next week. Point blank, I don't need it and I don't know if I want to risk another 12 hours a week with a professor I might not like. Plus, I now get over $400 back from UCO... how cool is that?

the past month or so.

The past month and a half has been very eventful, indeed.

I tried absinthe for the first time.



I saw Jake, one of my heroes [and best friends].



I channeled my mad bartending skillz.



I danced to hyphy music with people who actually appreciate it.



I saw Rob for the first time in about three years.



I sang "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" with Brian.



I've also done a lot more stuff, I just didn't have my camera available. Go me.

Patrick graduated from Airman Leadership school this week, and I wish I had my camera for it, but we both forgot it. I'm very proud of him, though. This weekend... Andy's birthday! That should be interesting.

random thoughts whilst on allergy-induced hiatus.

Since it's been like, two and a half weeks since I updated this thing, here are a few thoughts about my world lately.

• I think I'm officially known in my Principles of PR class as "Allergy Girl". My eyes have been extremely swollen and watery from this stupid windy air for a week and a half, and I've resorted to wearing my sunglasses in class because my eyes are so sensitive to light. They got bad again this morning at work, and my professor [who is very strict on attendance] just told me to head home after the exam and to see a doctor. Three different people in class asked me how the allergies were treating me [as opposed to the guy next to me who asked if I had too much to drink the night before]. As I was leaving class after the exam, one of my male classmates was giving me eye advice, but in that whole "I want to ask you out" sort of way. Maybe it was my unintentional "femme fatale" look that was cultivated by my huge Jackie O shades and black hat. I guess I should look into a black belted trenchcoat to complete the look.
• Why do cashiers in this state ALWAYS ask me if I need a bag to hold my stuff? No thanks, I'll just juggle these ten items out to my car and apartment. That's a great idea.
  
• Zach has about 700 toys that are super cool and make lots of noise that should be appealing to a 15-month old baby, but all he wants to do is sit on the coffee table, push buttons on the TV, chew on tissues and pull DVDs off of the shelf.
  
• We have new neighbors, whose sister is visiting with her five children. They like to wade ankle-deep in the giant puddle outside the apartment building that is filled with bugs and germs. They also like to run around sans pants.
• I love the fact that my professor this summer is a bleeding-heart liberal. I never thought I'd say that after two years at SF State, but after spending two years in conservative hell, it's a Godsend.

Also, my new Vera Bradley messenger bag is quite possibly the best thing ever.