Thoroughly Awkward

Another animal shelter celebrated their entire kennels being empty, as every single dog was adopted just before Christmas.

A pastor held a drive for coats to donate to the homeless and got enough to clothe several hundred people.

A woman discovered a (possible) cure for cancer, that has worked very well in tests.

All (remaining) citizens were evacuated from Aleppo as of 12/22.

Las Vegas is now entirely powered by renewable energy (which hopefully will make other cities follow suit!)

Capsaicin recently confirmed in some experiments to prevent the growth of breast cancer cells.

The economy is recovering – the employment rate is back down to 4.6%

To join the ranks of some of the greatest museums in America, the National Museum of African American  History and Culture opened on the Mall in DC.

For the first time since 1991, CO2 emissions have been at their lowest.

As well, renewable energy has overtaken coal in energy capacity. AND! Paris’s climate agreement went into effect.

Astronomers have found evidence of a possible ninth planet at the edge of our solar system. As well, the Juno spacecraft finished its 5 year journey and has entered Jupiter’s orbit.

Obama expanded a national marine monument in Hawai’i to create the biggest ecologically protected area on earth. As well, he also officially made Stonewall Inn a national monument to gay rights movement. In fact, in his entire career, he’s now surpassed Theodore Roosevelt (and every other president) for the amount of land and water protected.

Giant pandas were removed from the endangered species list this year. And, the population of tigers are rising.

Journalists Jason Rezaian, Khadija Ismayilova and Can Dundar were released from their wrongful imprisonments.

The bravery of the Standing Rock Water protectors halted the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

India opened the largest solar plant in the world.

France opened the world’s first solar road.

A cancer treatment has shown incredibly signs of reversing MS complications.

Louisiana researchers have developed eye drops that treat cataracts without surgery.

A new wheelchair called the Ogo creates hands free mobility.

A cancer treatment that uses the polio virus to kill a form of brain cancer has been fast tracked by the FDA for use on patients.

So first thing: fight for that media circus. House reps will do ANYTHING for reelection. Friction within the party will force them to pick sides.

Second thing: VOTE IN 2018. Mid-term elections are a thing. ALL 435 SEATS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE CONTESTED. Go out and VOTE. We can win back the house. That’s one victory we sorely need. 33/100 SEATS OF SENATE WILL BE CONTESTED. We can win that back, too. 38 GOVERNORSHIPS WILL BE CONTESTED. If your county’s red, time to turn that around. VOTE ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 2018.

Looking up Pokemon Go news is fucking wild 

so I was walking back from work around nineish and my neighbor/seminar classmate is in the hallway talking to his girlfriend. he sees me and he’s like “hey!! hey classmate whose name I don’t know” so I turned around and was like “it’s Hayley.”

and he apologized for not knowing (I didn’t know his name either so I wasn’t mad) and asked if I’d started my first paper for seminar. he asked me what it was on so I told him and he was like “I’m so stuck I have no idea what to do,” so clearly the natural response for my stupid ass to make is to offer him help – I told him to knock on our door and ask for me if he needed help.

maybe I did this because I was still in tutor mode from work. maybe I did it because no one takes those offers up anyway, right?

wrong! a half an hour later, as I’m getting ready to shower, he knocks for the door and asks for me, and all my roommates don’t believe him bc he’s this dude bro who clearly works out and is wearing a johnny cash tshirt. like how fake deep is that. i would never associate with a dude bro

so he invites me back to his place and as I’m walking there I’m like “this could very possibly be a bad idea,” but I go anyway bc I’m a dumbass with no sense of self preservation.

he lets me into his apartment and I’m immediately hit with the bro-ness of it all: a sports illustrated poster on the wall, protein powder EVERYWHERE, posters of beer, snap backs, flasks, and a guitar because of course there is.

his room is no better, and alarm bells are just fucking going off and I’m trying to think of a quick exit. then he tries to close his damn door to his own room and I’m like “hold up that stays open” and he was like “oh yeah I’m sorry I didn’t think about that,” which was….considerate.

two hours, two cigarette breaks later, one opening paragraph later, and one of his roommates trying to hit on me later, he starts talking about intersectionality and my mind goes ?????????????? and we legit talked about rape culture and trump and how fucked we all are. eventually we started talking about the law and feminism so then I tell him I’m gay and his immediate response is “do you get those stupid microagressions from guys who say they can turn you straight?” and it took me a minute to respond bc the fact he even knew that word was so bizarre it was like worlds colliding.

he then tells me he thinks his little sister might be gay because he thinks she told him while he was drunk one night but he couldn’t remember so he asks for advice because he doesn’t want to upset her because, in his words, “I’m not gay so you know I don’t understand it like you do.”

then, because the night of course could get weirder, he tells me he writes poetry but doesn’t tell anyone because he’ll get shit for it bc he’s supposed to be a “tough guy” and masculine and shit and I just feel Jesus sending me a message through this kid that I shouldn’t judge all dude bros by the bro-ness of their looks but I also wanna stay sexy and not get murdered so I’m gonna keep doing that. sorry jesus.

finally I left because I was tired and also I had to wash the smell of bad cologne off of me but guys this was an experience please believe me. i was standing in the shower before just letting the water wash over me as the whole two hour ordeal played over in my head because we laughed, we talked. he told me something about himself no one else knows, we exchanged political ideas and fist bumps. we bonded over the stress of a seminar paper and now we are forever changed by this event.