my hair did

I GOT MY HAIR DID.

Well, kind of. I finally got it cut. The stylist was a very nice woman with a strong accent who liked my hair a lot and thought that I was biracial. She also thought that my hair was in desperate need of a trim and was very glad that I finally decided to do something about it. I decided to leave out the fact that I hadn't gotten it cut since July or August.

Anyways, thanks to Christina, I now know where I can go for a good haircut and not pay an exorbitant amount of money. Woot!

Over the summer, I had a post about food that I had cooked with pictures of said food items. Since I moved to DC about 6 months ago, I've been cooking up a storm, but never took any pictures and haven't posted about it! Therefore, a list will have to do, but I wanted to share with you some of the dishes that I've been making for my lunches and dinners now that I don't depend on the Wellesley dining system (hush, you whiners, I thought it was great):

chick pea salad

chick peas, diced red bell pepper, diced red onion, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a dash of balsamic vinegar

kale chips

kale leaves, cut into pototo chip-sized pieces, rubbed with olive oil, rice vinegar, and tossed in salt, pepper, and chili powder, then baked in the oven until light and crispy

swiss chard salad

swiss chard (chopped stems and small leafy pieces), avocado, feta cheese, chick peas, and diced beets, sprinkled with red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

curried kale and chick peas

kale and chick peas sautéed with chopped garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper, then heated with sour cream and lots of curry powder and a little bit of crushed red pepper; mixed well and then put over brown rice.

soy-marinated tofu

tofu pan-fried in a marinade made of olive oil, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, a dash of curry powder, and a little garlic powder; serve with brown rice.

egg and cheese on a bagel

1 beaten egg mixed with a little salt, pepper, and curry powder, cooked over low heat in a small circular-ish shape; put on a bagel with grated cheddar cheese and some ketchup.

spinach feta pasta

sautéed spinach, tomato, and chopped garlic with a little lemon juice and salt and pepper; put over linguine or penne with feta cheese.

sweet fruit salad

diced and cored apples, halved strawberries, clementine sections, and blueberries, drizzled with honey and cinnamon powder and mixed well.

time machine

Women's health initiatives and resources have been put on the line, and I'm sure for those who were around for the 1940s-1970s, it must feel like they've been forced into a time machine and sent back in time. I mean, we've even gone back to the fitted jeans for men and platform heels for women. All the anti-choice talk, the ridiculous fear and animosity surrounding immigrants and immigration, the anti-socialist rants and impassioned and insane opposition to public programs and safety net policies...

I guess this is what it feels like when an entire society decides to brake, speed into reverse, and repeat all the idiocy of its past.

"ideal worker"

I've spent the past couple months doing research on paid sick days, why they're important to provide to all workers, why it's important to use them, and how beneficial it is to society as a whole to have them and use them.

So why is it that the one time I'm sick and have to stay home, I feel guilty the whole time?

So guilty that I still got myself out of bed at 9:00 am to sign into my remote desktop connection and work for 5 hours today before finally realizing that this defeats the purpose of taking a sick day?

I've heard references to the "ideal worker," that worker who works tons of overtime without recording the extra hours, who offers to do all of the extra tasks that no one else wants to do, who is constantly busy and overloaded but somehow manages to get most of it done, and never takes any vacation time. While I don't think I am quite in that extreme, I most certainly feel pressure to be that way:

- I felt bad asking for overtime pay when I stayed for 6 hours extra one week to help the president of IWPR with her power point presentations;

- I was uncomfortable asking my boss to sign off on my leave forms when I wanted to take an extra day off to spend with my family during the holidays;

- I habitually stay about a half hour past the end of my scheduled work day;

- When co-workers send out requests for help on projects, etc., I find myself jumping to help them even though I am already working on something else.

Now, some of this is admittedly just me being a giant nerd. I know that. And I'm not saying that I'm actually the ideal worker. I sit on Gchat, I'll take the occasional longer lunch, I chat with my co-worker throughout the day about things unrelated to work.

But some of it must also be the work culture that exists in this country. At competitive universities, students often find themselves in conversations about how much time they've spent studying for this class and that midterm. My co-workers are constantly in the office well past 6:30 pm although most of us are scheduled to work until 5:30 pm. Coming in to work on the weekends is common. Many of us eat lunch at our desks and work while eating.

With all the work I do surrounding work-life balance and work-family policies, I'm beginning to wonder whether all of this will help anyone, if it will mean anything at all if this workaholic culture stays put. A while ago, I listened in on a Department of Labor discussion about how to enforce the breastfeeding protections in the Affordable Care Act, and a number of the people on the call spoke about how it'll be an issue of enforcement, yes, but that changing workplace culture would be the more difficult, and perhaps more important, part.

Just some food for thought.