What I've been up to lately?

Quite honestly, a lot of things have undergone a metamorphosis for the better, but not in the job or relationship department, these hardly ever budge.

I've been doing a ton of this:



( more of spring-sprinkled pictures underneathCollapse )

(watermarking as though my life depended on it - you might have heard that Instagram will actually make art thieves thrive soon, since your pictures will belong to everyone on the planet once you post them there?)

...and I've been writing my final paper - 13 pages left to go. I'm at an advantage here - some of my coursemates haven't even started writing theirs. Two are not altogether sure about the topic they would like to write about. They had 6 months to come up with something easy and doable, plus a topic compilation was handed over to us at the beginning of December so as to make things brighter and sparkly.

Plus, I've been reading and writing, and it turns out I really ought to get down to writing the synopsis and character analyses for the other two books I'm currently working on. Because that's one step I usually skip until it's too late. And things go all awry afterwards. Go me!


All in all, I'm learning to appreciate myself, tolerate my negative traits and changing them for the better, tolerating my face, my skin and my teeth and nose and everything I wasn't satisfied with before because BEAUTY STANDARDS.
And that feels alright. 

Said visit was not at all planned. Initially, I wanted to visit other parts of Bydgoszcz, Mill Island included, and snap pictures of  post-war renovations and my favourite buildings.
But I chickened out, as is customary.

Instead, I went to the local botanical garden.

Here's the highlight of the day: I WAS ON MY OWN, COMPLETELY ALONE, TAKING PICTURES AND ENJOYING IT.

See, I have this innate inability to take pictures with my camera whenever I go out alone for fear of being judged/my camera being stolen/whatever other reason there may be. So utterly stupid, I can't.

The trip was fruitful, indeed. Here's Monday's Botanical Haul.

( spring is one month late, hence the trees and flowers not being in bloom, or being in bloom just a tiny bitCollapse )

Marriage! 

Some of us love the very idea of it, the tradition, white dresses, altars, the magic of wedding rings, wedding receptions, etc. Some of us despise it because it's governed by law/it's outdated/it binds you/it pleases nobody but your not-so-liberal kin/it's for keeping up the appearances.. the reasons against it are plentiful. Marriage makes your romantic partnership official and acknowledged in the eyes of society, and alongside it you gain more options! Which is pretty sad because every relationship, to my mind, is valid.

My Tumblr dashboard has greeted me with this picture today: 


My initial reaction: lol wut
What followed was: NO.
And there I was, furiously typing away this entry. Of course, rules may be different in some other countries (Saudi Arabia, India, Africa) but I'm only talking about the Western type of marriage, with which I am most familiar.

1. The War of Toilet Seats - I'll be frank with you: I don't give a rat's ass about the toilet seat issue. It makes no difference to me whether it's up or down. Some pregnant woman keep complaining about it, but... it's ridiculous! In our utopia we would still be forced to bend down slightly and put the upper part up. Sure, at times the aesthetic reasons bug us, but when the toilet's clean, it shouldn't be that bothersome. Your hand won't magically rot if you put the toilet seat down. It'll take one second from your life. What should bother you is whether your beloved partner washes his or her hands afterwards! 

2. Moving In, Moving Out - why does this text imply that upon saying 'I do' we don't get to keep our apartments and priced possessions? What tenets state we should forsake everything we own in the name of... marriage? Why can't our spouse move to our place? Is it always the female that has to move out? Wrong. It depends entirely on how you view yourselves as a couple. Marriage does not make females lose anything of the material kind, it does not force them to discard their shoes, books, makeup, for instance. Why should it, in the first place? If it does, the hell with it! 

3. Around the World in Our Married Days - pray tell, where does it say that once you're married you can't travel, meet new people and experience life? You are entitled to travel wih your partner or alone - no one has any say in this matter. Does marriage cuff you to the radiator for the rest of your days? Nope. 

4. The Science of Getting Rich - since when does our social status determine whether we get rich or not? Being single forever or in a type of relationship that isn't marriage doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be disgustingly rich. Your state of mind, persistence and luck do, though. Marriage does not, in any way, deprive you of being rich. You can get a job, earn and save up money, and be your own person all the while. Maybe it's connected to 'sharing the expenses' while being married? Well, you can be in a relationship (not as a married couple) and share your money as well. It's your choice, darling, no one's forcing you to give away all the money or leave your job. 

Marriage is a trade. It's always been. Marrying two people off was not because of love but because of convenience and/or greed. That's the general idea. Also, initially, marriage was between a man and a woman. First and foremost.

A woman got sold to her future husband so that her family could:

a) have a level up in the society
b) keep the lineage going
c) give their daughter something to do because she's a woman and it's her duty to marry and bear children
d) get rich

It's been sanctified by the Church and other institutions as the only real union between two (or more) souls. But nowadays it's what you make it to be (as far as the Western society is concerned, that is). If you find yourself in the original, traditional type of marriage that reduces the woman's worth, run like hell. Because sometimes it turns out right after you've married this special someone that something is off. But I digress.

Myself, I want to get married one day. I want to be someone's wife and a successful person who travels the world, does what she likes, loves her partner and takes care of them. 

It takes an enraged 'NO, I'M NOT GOING, I DON'T WANT TO GO OKAY' shout aimed at your friend to make them leave you alone. Because uttering these words in a calm, collected manner just doesn't do it.

Oh, and they'll probably get mad at me for being such a 'bitch'. I never said I'd tag along. I said I'd go home.
 

Whatever, I'm still happy.

SOPA and PIPA may be dealt with for the time being, but there's still ACTA.
My country's to sign this bill on the 26th January. I am terrified.

This seems even more serious than the previous two. Isn't it strange that such things have commenced sprouting out right when 2012 began? 
The government needs to be stopped. 
This bill cannot be passed. Ever.

Spread the word.

ETA. Sign this petition, please: 

http://www.petitiononline.com/stopacta/petition.html

Originally posted by darkspirited1 at SIGNAL BOOST: SAY YES TO GAY YA

Yes, the one and only. Something I had worked on, about which existence I simply forgot afterwards, then tweaked with it accordingly (after 6.22, that is) and finally got round to making the horrid graphics (at which I, doubtlessly, excel). I present to you the final outcome of my creativity!


( Here it is. Slight spoilers up until 6.22. Proceed ♥.Collapse )