Mountains of Books

Just some thoughts on a couple books I've read (listened to) recently, since I felt so inclined to tell you about all my loft plans of listening to books.

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Wow. Wow. Wow. I loved it in every way imaginable. I loved Jane. I loved the people she loved and disliked the people she disliked. I loved the story. I loved the writing. I loved the voice of the person that read the book.
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Wow. Wow. Wow, for entirely different reasons. I did not love it in every way imaginable. I did not love the characters. I did not love the story. I did like the writing itself, especially the part where three conversations were going on at once. I did not love the voice of the person reading the book. The whole story was bizarre and creepy, and far too sexually charged. It happened to be the only book I took with me to work last Thursday or else I would have stopped listening to it after the first CD. I've only read some of 1984, but I found it much more palatable than this book.

Next up is Anna Karenina, which I should be able to start and finish this week. Then I'll listen to 1984. I'm almost done with my last. class. ever. That means I won't have to feel guilty when I actually read books for fun at home.

Immigration

I've been paying a good deal of attention to all the hullabaloo about who will be the next president, probably because I'm so frustrated with our current administration. On Sunday night I watched a fair amount of the Democratic debate on CNN, and tonight I watched almost all of the Republican debate. First and foremost, let me say, regarding the two debates that the Democratic debate was overall far more intelligent. There was much less pandering and more talking about the issues. It seemed like tonight the Republicans did a lot of issue-avoidance, to the point that I became really annoyed.

Immigration has been on my mind a lot for the last three years, more so in the last year when it suddenly became a hot-button topic, and all of America began talking about it virtually overnight. I intended to blog about it then, but just didn't get around to it. And now I'm going to.

Our nation has been built by immigrants. All of us (unless you are a Native American, and you probably aren't) are Americans because our ancestors immigrated here. Some of those were fortunate enough to get here before America ridiculous laws on immigration. Laws on immigration, when looked at from a historical viewpoint, have always been for the purpose of preventing different people from coming in. Laws were placed on Chinese immigrants early on. Later there were laws which limited the amount of people that could come from each country. Those people from countries similar to America were allowed to immigrate in far greater numbers.

Regarding today's immigration issues- A lot of people dislike, even hate, immigrants. Some people say they only dislike the illegal ones, but I think, on the whole, people are scared that American culture (which is, let's face it, really just T.V. and movies) is being infiltrated by another culture. There are all sorts of ridiculous arguments about how bad immigrants are. I read one on this site, and I found the rebuttal far better than the argument itself.

Our country needs immigrants. We need a lot of immigrants. They really will do the work that nobody else is willing to do. They are not taking jobs away from Americans. In fact, the five states with the highest levels of illegal immigrants (California, New York, Texas, Arizona and Illinois) all have very low levels of unemployment, and unemployment is only measured based on U.S. citizens. Illegal immigrants help our economy because they will work for cheap. If the labor is cheap, the prices are, in turn, cheap. Produce prices are expected to be higher than usual this year because there simply aren't enough illegal immigrants to harvest the crops, and Americans won't take the jobs.

Illegal immigrants put into the system more than they take out. Because illegal immigrants are illegal, they do not file their taxes, and all of their income tax goes into the government and never comes back. That means (at least for the ones who use stolen Social Security numbers rather than the immigrants working under the table) that the money they pay in income taxes isn't coming out. They aren't mooching off American health care and American schools. They are paying their share, and they're not going to receive Social Security payments for the work they do.

Immigrants do not come here because they want to expand their countries. They come here because the opportunities in their countries can only be seized through corruption or with great luck. I have known people from my home town who were very educated in their home countries (lawyers, teachers, accountants) but who came to the States to work as janitors because they are paid better as janitors than as professionals in their home countries.

These people would love to come here legally, but America's system is so convoluted that it's impossible for them to do so. The lines are ridiculously long. The number of immigrants America is willing to allow in is so impossibly small that people who want to come to the States have no choice but to sneak in.

I believe there are two types of immigrants, and this theory comes from and illegal immigrant that I was well acquainted with. The first type is the one who wants to live better. He brings his family here because they can own a house with a washing machine and a dryer, maybe have a car, and they will always have clean water, if nothing else. The second type comes because he wants to be better. He does everything in his power to improve his situation in his own country but finally comes to the States. When he gets to the States, he abides by all the laws (at least the ones that won't send him back to his dead-end life in his home country), he learns English (yes, he learns the language that will most readily help him move up in society), he saves his money and hopes his children will be able to attend college. He would rather be a professional, but for now he is content taking a low-end job, because that's what it takes to move up in this new society. There really is a difference in the ways people behave when they get here. Those who want to live better sometimes make those who want to be better look bad.

Too many people think that immigrants are here to mooch. They are here because their countries did not provided the opportunities we are blessed with in America. Americans are not worse off because immigrants are here. Certainly, there are cultural differences, but that is why America is known as the "great melting pot."

Regarding the learning of English- Immigrants just need to do it. It would be completely impossible for governments to put signs and forms in all the languages that immigrants speak. It would be ridiculous, and it certainly wouldn't help immigrants advance in society. It would only hold them back. In some ways, being an immigrant is a blessing because it (ideally) forces people to become bilingual, making them far more marketable than those of us who only speak one language.

So, what should the government do about illegal immigration? I'm not entirely sure. Of course, our borders need to be secure, but a giant fence isn't going to do that. Just ask France; they tried it after World War I. We certainly can't send everyone back. How on earth would we find all those people? And besides, there are a number of "illegal immigrants" who have been here since they were babies. Nobody should expect them to return to a country they are unfamiliar with because their parents brought them here illegally.

To decrease illegal immigration, we need to make legal immigration easier. People should be able to come over and work. More families should be given the opportunities to come so their children can receive adequate educations. The answer is in greater numbers of legal immigrants. I think some aspects of the new bill are great. Immigrants need to learn English. Immigrants need to have jobs. Immigrant children need to attend school. Immigrants need to obey the laws. If they can do these things, they'll be doing better than a lot of American citizens.

Because I've never mind copying other people

My roommate and I once: sang "Jesse's Girl" at the tops of our lungs after buying "sandwiches" at the mall.

Never in my life have I: had a pedicure.

High school was: barely tolerable.

When I'm nervous: I shake.

My hair: is great because I can curl it one day, and it will naturally stay in place for about two more days.

When I was 5: my grandma died on my birthday.

When I turn my head left: I see a white board.

I should be: working or writing a paper.

By this time next year: I might be in New Zealand!

My favorite aunt is: the only one I actually know.

I have a hard time understanding: people who print photographs from the computer. I'd rather spend a few more cents and take my jump drive to Macey's.

You know I like you if: I tell you so.

My ideal breakfast is: Waffles with whipped cream, stawberries and chocolate syrup. Sometimes I do actually miss the dorms.

If you visit my home town: you should eat lots and lots of Tex-Mex. And maybe go to a professional sporting event- Rangers, Maverics, Stars, Cowboys. You pick.

If you spend the night at my house: you will have to sleep on the couch. I apologize.

My favorite blonde is: NOT fake-white blonde. That's just gross. Really, that's to all of you who die your hair platinum blonde. You're not fooling anybody. And if you're not trying to fool anyone, why not try just to look nice and not ugly?

My favorite brunette is: mine. Golden brown. With God-made highlights. :)

I shouldn't have been: so frustrated that I couldn't play X-Box well.

Last night I: watched Batman Begins with Eric and John.

A better name for me would be: My name is perfect for me. :)

I've been told I look like: the girl from that movie that came out in high school where a boy makes a nerdy girl the prom queen.

If I could have any car, it would be: a Hybrid Toyota or Honda.

Dream Kitchen

Whenever I live in a new apartment or house, I always make mental notes about what I like and do not like about the kitchens. When we are looking for new apartments, the size of the kitchen is of great importance to me and thus of great importance to Eric. Janssen's recent post about dishwashers and my recent living in a million places at one time have prompted this post. I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking of all the things that make a good kitchen. And here are the requirements, in no particular order, for my dream kitchen:

• Dishwasher. Janssen really said it best. First of all, no washing or drying by hand. Second, huge time-saver. Third, sanitation. Fourth, no clutter on the counters when you don't have time to wash dishes or when you're waiting for dishes to dry. (Speaking of which, I was telling somebody about Janssen's post and how I'd never thought of the clutter aspect, and the somebody told me she once hid her dirty dishes in the oven when her mother-in-law was coming over and she didn't have time to get them washed!)
• Garbage disposal. A heavy-duty one. I want to be able to send down lemon rinds and potato peels. Mostly because it's so much easier on your back to peel into the sink than it is to peel into the garbage can.
• Side-by-side fridge with water spigot thing. Water from those things just tastes better. And I won't need a great deal of freezer space because I will have a
• Deep-Freezer. Let's face it, if you want to save money, you need a deep-freezer. You can stock up on things when they go on sale, like when Macey's sells chicken breasts for $.99/lb, but only when you buy 20lbs. A great buy, and you need a deep freezer to capitalize on it.
• Island. They create SO much more counter-space, not to mention cabinet space.
• Regular counter tops. Not granite. Some people like granite counter tops because you can use them as cutting boards. GROSS! I would never feel like I could get those counters as clean as a dishwasher could get my cutting boards.
• Wood cabinets. I know it can be very fashionable to have colored cabinets, and I often can appreciate them, but with colored cabinets you have to be wary of trends. What if the color you choose (avocado green, for example) is suddenly not as pretty as you once thought it was? Cabinets are more expensive to replace than other things, and to have to re-do your whole kitchen just because you picked a lousy color would stink. Wood is just more enduring.
• Gas stove/oven. More even cooking. You ALWAYS know when a burner is on, so you are less likely to melt things like cutting boards (2), cheese graters (1), spatulas (1), oven mitts (at least 3). I hate electric stoves, but I especially hate the flat ones. They are really hard to clean. Convection ovens are generally unnecessary because you always have to worry about the conversion times.
• Trashcan with a lid and a foot-pedal because touching the trash can is gross.
• Deep, steel sink. I just prefer this kind. I don't need the room under my sink for the trash because I don't like trash to go under the sink. If the smell of the trash is bothersome, it needs to be taken out more frequently, not hidden.
• Dishes. Lots of styles of dishes. I am tempted to buy a new set of dishes almost every time I go to Ross because they usually have all sorts of fun sets for really good prices. I like the idea of rotating sets of dishes when I get bored. My dishes now are plain white, which is great because they go with everything, and I know they'll never become dated. But, when I have more space and more money, I intend to own several sets of dishes. It will be fun and festive!
• Tablecloths. Like dishes, they really jazz things up. Again, a reason I like my dishes is because I can set them with any color of table cloth. Of course, I only have the green one (which I quite like) that Brian and Brianne gave us for our wedding. But one day I'll have more, and I'll use them frequently, even if I do have to put a plastic one on top to prevent having to wash a tablecloth every day.

I think that covers everything. One day, when I have my dream kitchen, I will invite you over for dinner.

the first of many feminist rants

I heard a piece yesterday on NPR about the Pill. It was an interesting story, mostly about the development of the Pill and how the Pill completely altered contraception as we know it. Something about the piece ignited my feminist feelings, which are probably ignited too frequently.

You see, as it turns out, the Pill has been around for about 40 years, but most prescription plans did not cover the pill until just a few years ago. Why is that? Because health care companies (and the world in general) are run by men. Men felt that contraception should not be covered. Which, frankly, does not make sense since the Pill is substantially cheaper than the medical costs of having a baby, or a dozen babies for that matter. But, I digress. Men didn't feel it necessary to cover the cost of contraception because it was (is) women who deal with the consequences, not the men.

So, why the sudden change? Viagra. That's right, the first drug to treat erectile dysfunction (commonly known ad ED, in case you haven't heard enough television commercials) opened up prescription drug coverage for contraceptives. How? Well, it shouldn't be surprising that the men who run health care companies decided that Viagra was worth covering under most health care plans, and they basically got forced into covering birth control as well.

Thank you for letting me rant.

Pre-Partum Panic

I mentioned in my last post that I went to the U's Health Science Library, but I didn't explain why. You see, I've decided to become a doctoress. Okay. That's a lie.

The truth is that I'm writing my final research paper for my final class on obstetricians' perspectives on midwifery during the 1920s. (Basically, the class consists of writing this 25-30 page paper).

So, today I flipped through all the applicable volumes of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. I read bits and pieces of several articles, not because they applied to midwives, but because I found them interesting and terrifying at the same time. Mostly terrifying. Not only because the idea of a person moving from inside of me to outside of me sends fear throughout my entire body, but also because most of the articles were about health problems. And some had pictures. Really frightening pictures.

The point, I suppose is this: I'm really glad that I will have babies in sterile environments with well-educated people who have a pretty solid understanding of delivering babies and all that goes with it. Not to mention the epidural. It might not feel as good as the opiates that were given to women in the 1920s (yeah, I skimmed an article about that), but a large shot in my spine will suit me quite nicely, thank you. Ahh, modern medicine.

Um, and no, I'm not pregnant.