Posting Via E-mail

Not that my internet connection is slow, but I recently discovered I can
post to my blog via e-mail, which makes it a lot easier for me. Let's just
see if I can figure out how to get it right and not screw up HTML tags and
headings.

On May 13, I said I would write later about three topics: babies having
babies, quitting my job, and a particular rockstar. I'm finally getting
around to writing about them.

Babies Having Babies
I was on the subway about a month ago, and two strangers struck up a
conversation with each other. One was a woman around the age of 23, the other was an older woman, probably in her 40s. I'll call them OW (older woman) and YW (younger woman) because even in a blog, I feel an incessant need to abbreviate. OW complimented the YW on her shirt, then started to talk her (and everyone else on the train's) ear off. OW talked about going back to her group home, and how with AIDS it's hard to keep getting paid. She told her about her 3 kids, 2 with HIV, one with no symptoms (luckily with the third child she had figured out she had AIDS, and when pregnant with her they gave her medication so she's disease free), and how being a mom is such a great thing. This woman looked homeless - ripped shoes, horrible teeth, her hair hadn't seen a brush in weeks, and she reeked of cheap alcohol. YW listened intently from across the subway car (OW was sitting, YW was across the way against the door). YW then reveals she has a 18 month old child as well. OW asks if she's in school, YW acknowledges, and says "I'm a sophomore". So now I am thinking "Wow - 20 with a kid"? OW asks how old she is, she says 16. 16. She then points and says "That's my baby daddy" to a guy across the train, clearly ignoring her. She was pregnant at 14. This entire conversation was so uncomfortable for me, becauseI wanted to say "ok - enough about your personal lives in front of the rest of us" but also because I wanted to somehow reach out and help both of them, but didn't come up with anything in about the 4 minutes this all transpired.

Quitting My Job
I left my job as an events planner (of sorts). I was getting no reward from the job emotionally and was basically resorting to a 9-5 job where all I was responsible for was calling schools. Without coming off like a complete educational snob, I know I didn't work my way through a great college and graduate school to do a job that required one skill - talking on the phone. I think it also didn't help that I really didn't believe in the company itself, because it was too wrapped up in suing another company with a similar name and concept. "Blech" is the best word for the entire thing. So now - over a month later, and the measly amount of money I was supposed to be paid every two months still hasn't been addressed. My boss asked for all of my old files so she could 'determine' what I should be paid, but all I know is that I have a contract with her (6 freakin' pages) and I can't believe I may have to fight with someone over paying me what equates to less than minimum wage for the amount of work I put in.

Prom Date Turned Rock Star
At this point, my hands are starting their usual carpal tunnel cramp, so this one will be short. My high school prom date (I'm such a dork referring to him like that but it's true) who was also a really good friend of mine in high school, and someone I e-mail every so often, is now getting his (hopefully more than) 15 minutes of fame on a reality show. The show is called Rock Star, which is the search for the new lead singer of INXS. For the 3 people who read my blog, you already know this, but for the other 'pretend' people I like to imagine that read this, I'll let you take a guess which one of the contestants was my friend from high school. Whoever wins, I hope they don't pick a female. I can't see a woman singing songs like "Suicide Blonde" and "New Sensation". Come on, you can't really replace Michael Hutchence.