Happy Birthday to Me!

Posted on December 19th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Education, Personal, Politics, Feminism, Omnia Vanitas, Current Events, Money, Give, Random.

For my birthday, my boyfriend sent me the most wonderful gift I received this year. Instead of sending me the usual bouquet of flowers (a staple of the long distance relationship dance we’ve been doing for the last decade or so), Ed made a donation in my name through Changing the Present to educate Afghani girls. Not only did this thoughtful gift show an understanding of three of the causes most important to me — education, feminism, and the promotion of human rights on the global scale — it really made me feel loved. I wish I could have made the actual email card I received display properly, but during this busy season I simply don’t have the time to futz with the code. To find out more about how you can honor a loved one with a charitable gift, click the link above, or if you’re interested in the cause of educating Afghani girls, click the banner below. Trust me, it’s a gift that will keep on giving!

ChangingThePresent

Problem

Under the Taliban, education was prohibited for girls. Now, the hard-won right of simply attending school in Afghanistan for girls is becoming more and more difficult. Experts estimate that every day in Afghanistan a girls’ school is destroyed or a teacher is murdered. Attacks have closed schools in several entire districts in Afghanistan — nearly one-third of all districts have no schools.

The Gift

We cannot allow the destruction of women and girls’ education to continue, with education so crucial to long-term empowerment. The Feminist Majority Foundation is working to keep Afghan girls’ schools open, as well as to reopen those schools that have been closed. We must do all we can to ensure that the rights of Afghan women and girls do not slip away again.

Your donation of $60 will pay the salary of a teacher in Afghanistan for one month. Without teachers, who are being targeted by extremists in Afghanistan, the right for girls to go to school is meaningless.

3 comments.

Insidious

Posted on May 31st, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Meta-Fors.

An adjective which can mean “harmful in a subtle, gradual, or imperceptible way.” Words are often like this. They lead to thoughts that can be described in the same manner. Ever notice how something can be said in the most off-the-cuff manner, and yet later you awake to discover it’s eaten away at your soul? What do you do when your own thinking feels like a disease?

0 comments.

Rings Like Anchors

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal, Politics, Feminism, Omnia Vanitas, Meta-Fors, Sponsored Posts, Random.

So my 11th anniversary is coming up in July. Because we’re not married, we celebrate our relationship from the day we met, and since we do not plan to let the government tell us that our commitment matters, we probably will continue to do so until we die or implode, just like other couples, rings or not. But I think its impossible to be a girl in this society, and not feel the pressure surrounding the “Miss” or “Mrs.” divide (BTW, I’m a Ms., thank you very much). From pity to scorn, those of us not wearing diamond rings on our left hands get to experience the whole gamut of judgments from everyone around us. Just to be clear, while I understand the important role marriage plays in our society, I personally believe it is an antiquated tradition that is going to die out within a few generations, for a number of good and not-so-good reasons. I’ll blog more on that later. But I do believe that commitments for life should be recognized and celebrated by the couple, their family, and community. They should be personal and relevant to the people concerned. This is the primary reason I like PrimeStyle’s concept of how to buy jewelry. They state that:

Jewelry requires thought. It should fit your looks, personality and lifestyle. Personal style should be reflected in jewelry. It’s important to find the right piece for the right person. If you approach a jewelry store for something special, they’ll ask questions before showing jewelry, like “ask you what your job is, what your life is like” and try to learn all about you.

Recently, my boyfriend and I have been considering getting rings (okay, he doesn’t want to wear one, but I won’t if he doesn’t! :) ) for ourselves. Not diamonds, which we oppose on both moral and economic grounds, but something that represents us and our personal feelings of commitment to each other. PrimeStyle would probably be one of the places we’d look in our quest, although I’m pushing for iolite as previously mentioned. Rings, like tattoos, can serve as a reminder of the other half of your life when you’re apart. Like an anchor, a ring is meant to keep you grounded. How much more effective they are when they are special, meaningful, and not tarnished by the ugliness of the diamond trade!

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Love Letters

Posted on May 29th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal, Random.

My boyfriend is brilliant. Probably the smartest man living I know.  But he can’t write worth a dime.  His handwriting is better than mine, but he always does this crazy thing with his capital and lowercase letters, like in my name — GaiL BRemNeR — and it took him two years to even spell my last name right.  In anyone else, it would drive me nuts. Every card I’ve ever gotten has been written that way, and his “a” is the strangest line drawing I’ve ever seen.  But I cherish each and every pen mark.  Notes from him make me smile with glee at how gosh-darn adorable he is. I’ve kept every one he’s ever sent me, and I look at them from time to time when I’m feeling blue.  Ain’t love grand? :)

0 comments.

Caribbean Dreaming

Posted on May 28th, 2007 by gail helen.
Categories: Relationships, Personal, Omnia Vanitas, Travel, Sponsored Posts.

My previous post got me thinking about how much I’d like to walk across white sandy beaches with my boyfriend, doing the whole romantic getaway thing. I’ve previously written about Vacations.net, the leader in all-inclusive travel experiences, as one of the best resources for organizing and booking trips to exotic locations. They offer a number of Caribbean vacation packages that would be excellent for my purposes, I think. I love their options for the Dominican Republic, where I’ve wanted to go ever since a couple of my high school friends were sent there for rehab. One resort, the Excellence Punta Cana, is described as a “secluded luxury retreat surrounded by a lush canopy of coconut palms, vast grasslands, pristine beach, and the Caribbean Sea,” offering private balconies and Jacuzzi tubs in every suite. They even offer horseback riding, which is something I’ve been aching to do recently, and the absolutely crucial in-room high speed internet access. Ah, if only I had the time and money!

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