Adipose

If the Adiposian first family asked, I'm pretty sure I'd help them make a few kids so long as they agreed not to kill me. :-D

Birthday present from my sister.

Seriously, how cute!

BSG Bug

I've been a geek for as long as I can remember.  My parents tell me that when I was 5 I stayed up watching Doctor Who on channel 2 well past my bed time.  Despite this extreme nerdiness I put off watching shows like Battlestar Galactica.  With the advent of Netflix I have so many geeky shows at my fingertips and I've fallen victim to the Battlestar Galactica bug.

I'm trying to pace myself.  All four seasons are available to me and I've plowed my way through two of them already.  So say we all.

Independence

With the approach of July 4th I've been thinking of my own independence and those people and institutions that have given me the chance to become who I am.

I've been told by several people that I am unable to make decisions for myself - in essence they told me that my views, my way of thinking, and even sexual identity are based on someone else's - that I'd never have become like I am on my own.

At first I was very pissed.  Then after digesting it I realized the were right, partially.  We are all bombarded with external stimuli and it's how we decided to deal with it that defines us.  The places and people that have helped make me who I am are precious to me because they gave me the space and freedom I needed to explore the world.

"It's all that University's fault."

I am moderately liberal (compared to my hometown I'm LIBERAL) and my conservative family and friends have attributed my shift in perspective to the small liberal arts University that I attended.  I accept this claim in so far as my University gave me the opportunity to explore new ideas.  The political spectrum within my group of friends at the end of those four years ranged from highly conservative to highly liberal so really it was how we decided to process the input we received that determined our views.

The opportunities offered enriched my life:

And a handful of people will always be dear to me for helping me find my way including my biology professors, fencing instructor, Matt, Bruce, and especially Warren.

This won't make sense to anyone but Warren. :)

"It's just his influence; you're not really bi."

I lived with Matt for a year after college and because he was open and accepting I was able to puzzle my way through my own sexuality.  When I told Cleo that I was bi that was her response above.  There was real anger and some animosity to her response.  It took some time to let it go, to realize she was projecting her own fears.  Freshman year she, her roommate, and Elanore expresses their terror of being roomed with lesbians.  Cleo and I had been very close during college and I think she was worried about what me being bi was going to do to our relationship.

Actually I'm more of a 2 on the Kinsey scale:

But unless the person you're talking to knows about the Kinsey scale it's just easier to say bi.

And of course I'm grateful for our independence as a country and aware of the costs for my freedom to be who I am.

France, summer 2002.

Have a Happy Independence Day everyone!