September 2005 Archives
I came across an interesting article in the NY Times about how many women at elite colleges are choosing to be stay-at-home moms over having a career. The article goes on to report the statistics of female alumni in their 40s who work full time, a little over 50%, versus male alumni, about 90%. According to the studies that were done at Yale, many women have made up their minds to set aside their careers for motherhood.
I have nothing against stay-at-home moms, but what doesn't make sense to me is why attend an ivy league university if you've already decided from the very beginning to stay home and raise the kids? Those given the opportunity at an elite education are expected by their institutions to become leaders in society. Everyone knows it's tough getting into an ivy league school. Being picked is like being given a special key that no one else has. You are priviledged.
I understand if they had changed their minds some years down the road to be full time moms, but I just don't understand for those who have already decided that is the path they will take. I'm sure there are many women who dream of becoming leaders in society that would love to have that great priviledge of studying at one of the world's elite universities. Personally I think it would be a waste to give an opportunity like that to someone planning to be a stay-at-home mom over someone who plans to use their education and priviledge to the fullest potential.
Honestly, I question why a person would attend an elite institution if they've already decided to stay home and raise the kids. Is it just so they can say I've graduated from so-and-so ivy league school and was friends with this or that celebrity? Or is their intent to get their MRS degree?
I am not against motherhood. In fact, I think it is admirable of parents who choose to raise their children full time when they have that ability to do so. It's making that choice when accepting a priviledge knowing a great deal is expected from their educators, peers and society.
Fifteen minutes until the next conference call...time to run to the bathroom before being strapped to my desk for the next hour. I walk in right behind the lady with the annoying voice who doesn't seem to notice I've followed right behind her into the restroom. She heads for the handicap stall and stops abruptly before entering. As abruptly as she had stopped she suddenly begins to cry. She must not have realized I was right behind her. I close my door and it's quiet now. It's just me and her in the bathroom. How awkward. She must realize she's not alone. What could she be crying about? Did she break up with her boyfriend? Did someone she know pass away? Is she having a fight with someone at work? No time to think about the lady with the annoying voice. Gotta get some things done before the call.
In my dream I'm walking down a dirt road with all of my family by my side. We are shoulder to shoulder walking straight ahead not knowing what our destination is. I look up at my parents and follow next to them without questioning. Next to them are my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents all marching forward. The journey progresses and far ahead a mysterious figure approaches. He wears a long robe with a hood. It's hard to see his face. He joins us on our journey. I notice someone on the far end is missing. But the mysterious figure is still with us. One by one a family member disappears and my fear continues to grow. Eventually I am left by myself, but the stranger is nowhere to be seen. I search everywhere and come upon some old buildings. I look in and hear laughter. It's the entire family gathered around eating dinner. My fear vanishes and I'm immediately relieved as someone waves me over to join them. Then I wake up. I must have been five or six when I had that dream.
"There's going to be a conference call at 9." I look at the time on my computer. It's fifteen minutes away. I know this call wasn't scheduled in my calendar. Thoughts race through my mind. I have a sinking feeling, but try to deny it. Everyone pulls up their chairs to the manager's cube. "Would you like a chair?" "No thanks." Everyone seems to have the same feeling I have. On second thought I decide to wheel over my chair. Roll call begins and the sinking feeling gets worse. We are informed that our colleague has passed away. Two days had passed since we were first told of the seriousness of her condition. We are all inspired by her long courageous bout with cancer. She always had a positive attitude no matter how tough it was. Many tears were shed, but a lot of laughter was shared as well of the memories we had of her.
The bathroom is quiet. I head over to the second stall and close the door. I place my face in my hands and the tears begin to well up.
What is it about power tools that make guys feel macho when using them? Really, if they were really macho they'd do it the old fashion way without the help of power tools. Honestly, I'm kind of intimidated by the power saws and tools that make a lot of noise. Ok they scare me. I always have this awful thought of cutting off my fingers accidentally or something worse. But lately I've been doing home improvement projects and it's quite an obstacle when you need to cut something with a power saw. I haven't overcome my fear of using a circular saw yet, but I decided to purchase a jigsaw. And I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to use it. Although my cuts may not have been very straight, it was good enough. On top of that I used a power sander! It made a heck of a lot of noise, but I still have all ten fingers. I wonder if guys dig chicks who can use power tools. It's funny how the smallest things like using power tools can make you feel so empowered. Argh argh!
Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a news junkie. It's like I need my daily fix. I don't know how I would live without the internet. It's the greatest invention next to electricity. All the news in the world is available online...how great is that? I can spend hours scouring the net for news from around the world. The great thing about it is being able to get news from so many different sources.
Since the devastating destruction of Hurricane Katrina, I've been glued to all the news online and on tv about the horrible losses and conditions people have had to endure in its aftermath. It is so tragic and to think that so many people could have been saved is even more tragic. I can only imagine what the survivors are going through after losing everything they had and having to rebuild their lives from the beginning.
It's quite a shame that our own government was unable to provide the amount of help needed for its own citizens in a swift manner. I'm sure the discussion about the government's response to relief efforts will continue for a long time as the blame game has already started among politicians.
A week ago no one would have thought that a hurricane would spark discussions on race and class. Certainly the poor suffered the most since in many of the cases they had no means of escaping the storm. Whether or not race played a role in the government's slow response will be debated upon for a long time.
I was surprised to find out that the infant mortality rate in D.C. is twice as high as in Beijing. Shocking, really. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times provides some hard numbers on infant mortality rates in the U.S. compared to other countries in the world if you like to read more about it.
The last time I was in China about three years ago I had seen the poverty in Guangzhou. Particularly the number of children that roamed the streets at night carrying infants begging for money. The children who couldn't have been more than 10 or 12 years old were often seen taking care of infants. No parents or guardians in sight. It was heartbreaking and shocking. All I could think about was how can the government allow this to happen to their own children? I find myself asking the same question here in my own country.
