May Photo Challenge

Some of you may recall my April Photo Challenge that I did last year. I enjoyed it so much that I have been considering doing another photo challenge. I started searching through Pinterest, Google, and Tumblr and eventually found this:

This is from a neat book-themed Tumblr blog, Books & Cupcakes. The blogger does monthly photo challenges that are centered around books! One of my favorite things! Where's the bad?

Additionally, I have wanted to get more into blogging about books, so maybe this will provide the necessary inspiration.

It is a challenge that I should be able to do easily using my phone and Instagram. I think it will be interesting and fun. It might be more challenging to find all of my books since I am listening to more books these days than I am actually reading, but I will do my best!

Now we all have something to look forward to in May! (Or I do, anyway). I know many of my friends are avid readers and if you would like to join in the fun, that would be awesome! I will even include pictures (as I can) on my daily blog posts!

Why Feminism? The Negative Side of Feminism

Recently, I have started to see women, especially those who are famous in some capacity, saying that they are not feminists for various reasons.

I know this will probably come across as very naive, but I did not know that feminism had a negative connotation (unless you are a male who feels threatened by women fighting for equality).

Like, there are women out there (who have BENEFITED from feminism at some point in their lives--how do you think women got into the entertainment industry as serious entertainers to begin with?) who are against feminism?

For example, I found these photos on Tumblr here:

And I see these and think: you don't want to be paid as much as a man in the same field with the same background? You don't want the same rights that men have? You don't want to end abuse and rape of women? And to extend that, you don't think all women should have equal rights and representation? Do we have to go back in time to the days when women were basically property and not allowed an education or work outside of the home?

And then I realized that these women probably do not know that feminism is about equality. They think it is about revenge. Or about hating men. And, granted, there are some "feminists" out there who feel that way and give feminism a bad name, but most feminists really are about fighting for equal rights.

For the record, the definition of feminism, according the the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities."

To be brief, if you do not think that women deserve the same rights and opportunities as men, I don't want to know you. Harsh? Maybe. But as a woman who has worked hard to get where I am, I demand to be treated with the same respect as one would treat me had I been born a man.

Added note: I also want to point out that some women feel that we, in developed nations, don't need feminism (I disagree, but lets move on). Feminism is not a local phenomenon. It means equality for people all over the world. And if you think it is not needed, I recommend doing some further research.

My friend, Jessica, shared this video with me after seeing this post. It was so wonderfully done that I absolutely had to add it to this post. Please take some time to watch this video. She does an amazing job breaking down gender and socialization: We should all be feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston

Rat Tattoo

Yes, you read correctly. I decided to get a rat tattoo. I had been thinking about doing something like that for quite some time (even before my boys died, though I never thought too seriously about it until recently). I had seen some rat art/tattoos that inspired me, but nothing that knocked my socks off.

A little over a month ago, I stumbled across this on Pinterest:

(Try as I might, I could not track down the original posting or the artist. I scoured Pinterest, DeviantArt, and Google and came up empty handed. I hope the original artist will forgive me! This was the only link I found: rat art.)

This one hooked me, so I decided I wanted something similar and I wanted the rats to look like Romulus and Remus, obviously.

Even after the last several months and having new rat babies to love, I still miss them like crazy. They are so often in my thoughts and dreams and always in my heart. Their absence weighs so heavily on me. I would have been happy to have the two of them forever. They were so special and I felt inspired to show that. Plus, I feel like I really am the crazy rat lady, so why not make it official? Extend the crazy, as it were.

So I showed them the above image and sent a few pictures of Romulus and Remus (like I don't have enough, right?) The guy who owns Fallen Owl and did my first two tattoos was, once again, booked through August! (WHAT?!?) And the lady who did my Labyrinth tattoo is no longer at that studio, so Adam (the owner) made a few recommendations for me based on what I wanted and pulled out portfolios. I actually ended up liking the portfolio of a visiting tattoo artist best for this type of thing. So we set up an appointment a couple of weeks out.

That gave me more time to solidify my decision and make sure of the placement. Tattoo placement seems to be the hardest thing for me to decide on and I am amazingly picky. I aim for places that won't wrinkle/stretch too much over time, as well as places that I can cover them up (in case I ever want a job... actually, at my current job, no one cares! Awesome). I had been thinking about my collar bone area. I carried them around on my shoulders so that seemed appropriate. And then I could put it close to my heart. Because I am a cheesy person.

And that was that! I went in Friday before work to have it done. The guest artist who did it was great-very nice and talented. Plus he keeps everything really clean (a must in my world. Fallen Owl always keeps things clean, though). It took not quite two hours and it hurt like the dickens (all of my others were either done in one hour or one hour sessons).

I was happy with the way it turned out. But I couldn't take any good pictures right off because the artist covered it with a special bandage. It was clear, but blood and ink pooled inside of it. It was pretty nasty looking!

So I waited the 24 hours and took off the bandage. Carefully, so as to not get blood everywhere (again, nasty). I washed it and tada!

It obviously needs time to heal (and boy is it tender!), but it looks pretty good, right? I got several compliments on it when I went into work. My kind of people on night shift: nerds with crazy hair colors and tattoos. I feel like I fit in!

I imagine some people will find me very odd for getting my rat tattoo. But I am happy with it! It's a nice reminder of my boys. I love how they are all curled up together. It reminds me so much of how they always curled up together when they were alive. I think that is part of why the original image made such a strong impression.

Now to heal and contemplate future tattoos.