Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing here?
23 September 2008 16:22 | Personal
Welcome to
Allison's Wonderland. I'm Allison. (Noe there's a
surprise, I bet.)
Who am I? I'm a middle-aged woman, living in a suburb of a moderate-sized city in the Midwest. I am college-educated. I am disabled, kidney failure and legally blind (among other issues). Thank goodness I already knew how to touch type.
I was raised in the suburbs of a large city by a very Republican mother (with rather a society-type background and a degree in Political Science) and a pretty darn Republican father (who, in 2004, voted for a Democrat for the first time since Truman). My dad was raised by middle-class parents with a very strong Protestant work ethic. My grandfather, a descendant of a family who came here from England in 1634, built the house he and my grandmother lived in with his own hands from the foundation up. My grandmother's father came here from Norway.
I went to a high school of about 2000 students (a class of 523), and I'm still in touch with many kids (if you can call us that now) from my class. I've known my best friend since she moved to our school in 3rd grade. There was never a question about whether or not my sister and I would go to college. We just went. We never were given the thought of "Oh, you're a girl. You can't do that." thanks to my mother.
In fact, the only time in my life I have ever heard something like that was when I was at the state's unemployment office as I was finishing my degree in Computer Technology (my 3rd of 4 degrees in two different majors). The man who was doing my intake first said something about it not mattering what job I took since I would be getting married and having kids and would quit my job, and that I didn't have to make as much money because of that. And then the real kicker... that my GPA (which was very high) probably came from sleeping with my professors. He didn't say that directly but he said something about "I bet I know how you got your grades" along with a wink. I was stunned. I *should* have filed a complaint and raised a stink, but I was *so* stunned by the whole experience, I just left. Stupid me. It was horrible, demeaning, and, thank heavens, the one and only time I experienced that kind of sexism. That guy needed to be neutered so he couldn't breed.
Before I became disabled, I worked in computing (consulting with university faculty, as an adjunct professor and as a customer service manager for a software company). I'd probably be considered "upper middle class", but in today's economy and on disability... well, it's anyone's guess.
I've lived through and remember things like Sputnik, the Berlin Wall (going up and coming down), Kennedy's assassination, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (I was at my above-mentioned grandparents' house), Civil Rights legislation, Martin Luther King's time and assassination, Bobby Kennedy's assassination, Vietnam, Woodstock (no, I wasn't there), Women's Lib, Disco, etc, etc... That should give you an idea of from whence I come.
As for the rest of this... well, it's my area to vent. If you don't like what I say, get over it. I'm not doing this for you or to find friends. I'm doing this because I feel like too many people have no common sense anymore. I just want to b*tch slap them to wake them up.
Who am I? I'm a middle-aged woman, living in a suburb of a moderate-sized city in the Midwest. I am college-educated. I am disabled, kidney failure and legally blind (among other issues). Thank goodness I already knew how to touch type.
I was raised in the suburbs of a large city by a very Republican mother (with rather a society-type background and a degree in Political Science) and a pretty darn Republican father (who, in 2004, voted for a Democrat for the first time since Truman). My dad was raised by middle-class parents with a very strong Protestant work ethic. My grandfather, a descendant of a family who came here from England in 1634, built the house he and my grandmother lived in with his own hands from the foundation up. My grandmother's father came here from Norway.
I went to a high school of about 2000 students (a class of 523), and I'm still in touch with many kids (if you can call us that now) from my class. I've known my best friend since she moved to our school in 3rd grade. There was never a question about whether or not my sister and I would go to college. We just went. We never were given the thought of "Oh, you're a girl. You can't do that." thanks to my mother.
In fact, the only time in my life I have ever heard something like that was when I was at the state's unemployment office as I was finishing my degree in Computer Technology (my 3rd of 4 degrees in two different majors). The man who was doing my intake first said something about it not mattering what job I took since I would be getting married and having kids and would quit my job, and that I didn't have to make as much money because of that. And then the real kicker... that my GPA (which was very high) probably came from sleeping with my professors. He didn't say that directly but he said something about "I bet I know how you got your grades" along with a wink. I was stunned. I *should* have filed a complaint and raised a stink, but I was *so* stunned by the whole experience, I just left. Stupid me. It was horrible, demeaning, and, thank heavens, the one and only time I experienced that kind of sexism. That guy needed to be neutered so he couldn't breed.
Before I became disabled, I worked in computing (consulting with university faculty, as an adjunct professor and as a customer service manager for a software company). I'd probably be considered "upper middle class", but in today's economy and on disability... well, it's anyone's guess.
I've lived through and remember things like Sputnik, the Berlin Wall (going up and coming down), Kennedy's assassination, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (I was at my above-mentioned grandparents' house), Civil Rights legislation, Martin Luther King's time and assassination, Bobby Kennedy's assassination, Vietnam, Woodstock (no, I wasn't there), Women's Lib, Disco, etc, etc... That should give you an idea of from whence I come.
As for the rest of this... well, it's my area to vent. If you don't like what I say, get over it. I'm not doing this for you or to find friends. I'm doing this because I feel like too many people have no common sense anymore. I just want to b*tch slap them to wake them up.
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