Ocean Dreamer » seattle

jersey rippa’

erin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:11:20 +0000

Roller Derby, why have I not been to see you before? You are awesome.

I went on Saturday for my friend Anne’s birthday – to see the four teams in the Rat City Rollergirls. Awesome, awesome, awesome time! When I was a kid, I *lived* in my roller skates – to the point that, when skating, I would crawl through my house to use the bathroom because I wasn’t allowed to wear the skates inside but didn’t want to take them off. So I loved this. The games were exciting and the crowd was entertaining – and we *loved* the names of the Rollergirls and the ref’s. So much fun, I will definitely be back.

We loved the names so much, in fact, that we all came up with our own roller derby names. Jersey Rippa’ is yours truly.

Plus, small town that Seattle truly is, I ran into three friends there and later found a fourth was there as well. All of them are folks I hadn’t seen in way too long.

I don’t know of the legality of posting photos of the actual bouts (anyone know?) but here’s a photo of my friend A and I afterwards, looking tough.

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why I don’t donate to KUOW

erin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:48:04 +0000

I used to be a regularly donating member of KUOW, our local NPR affiliate. There are things I love about KUOW, especially its good, accurate information about current events. But more than once they have made homophobic or transphobic comments – especially during the pledge drive. They are having their spring pledge drive right now, and they invited people who aren’t pledging to tell them why. I’ve already contacted them about many of my concerns. So, rather than contact them again, I’m writing about it here.

A few drives ago, This American Life replayed that episode about the trans kids. When it was over, Ira Glass said he wasn’t sure the parents were doing the right thing by letting their kids live according to their gender identities! I couldn’t believe it. I’d always thought Ira Glass was pretty progressive – but people can always surprise you, unfortunately.

Then, during their drive last Fall, one of their daytime hosts and a guest made comments about how odd they thought it would be for a woman to wear a suit in her wedding. Ugh.

There have also been other homo & transphobic incidents during their regular programming. I’ve sometimes written them about them – usually its their daytime talkshows that are the problem – and usually I get really defensive responses back.

I also used to be a dog trainer and those talkshows occasionally have a trainer on whose methods are terrible – really, really abusive to the dogs and damaging to the owner-dog relationship. When I (and others) contacted them about that, their response was essentially that they didn’t care because he was popular with the audience! Come on, KUOW, I expect more of you.

When it comes to any issue of oppression, I feel the more important thing is how a person responds when they’re called on their shit. I mean, we all make mistakes; it would be hypocritical for me to turn my back on someone simply because they said or did something offensive. What’s most important is that the person owns what they did and works to change it. So far, KUOW has been really defensive when confronted with any of these issues.

So after all these incidents, I’ve stopped donating. I do still love many aspects of NPR and if they change these problems, I will likely start donating again. But until then, I’ll continue to donate and volunteer my time towards groups that are working to fight oppression.

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not preggers :(

erin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:51:27 +0000

I took a pregnancy test last night and it was negative. This was not a surprise, but it isn’t as easy to get the negative results now as it was earlier on. I haven’t actually gotten my period yet either, so I suppose I could still turn out to be pregnant, but I don’t think so. I don’t have a whole lot else to say about it right now, but I wanted to let y’all know what was going on. I do believe it will happen for me eventually, but the waiting and trying is rough, especially since there are other things going on right now that are taking away my emotional energy.

In other news, I realized that I’d gotten away from posting many pics on here, so posting more pics is my New Year’s Resolution for my blog.

And in even more other news, I am done with my quarter and am *loving* the free time!

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First Snow!

erin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:57:22 +0000

Seattle had its first snow of the season yesterday and today. When I lived in Maine, we would get sick of the snow by the end of the winter. In Seattle, though, we usually only get snow once or twice a year, so it’s always a real treat. Someone forgot to tell the city that, and so we are notoriously unprepared for snow and wind storms. We’ll take rain any day of the year, but give us a bit of snow and the whole city falls apart. It is fun, though, and reminds me of growing up in Jersey.

When I got home last night, I let the dogs out to play in it. Here’s a video of them on the back deck. It’s also (dog trainer hat *on*) a great example of dogs playing well together -- my younger pup, Cassie (the tricolor one), has especially beautiful play skills. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBZcSVaR6pE

wordless wednesday 4.21.10 “I’m ignoring you.” ©2010 Ocean Dreamer. All Rights Reserved.....

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Nationwide Protest against Prop 8 on Sat 11/15 – Spread the Word!

erin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:01:24 +0000

***UPDATE FOR SEATTLE*** The Seattle protest is at Volunteer Park, *not* the Seattle City Council Offices. I have been told this directly by one of the organizers: there were originally two separate protests, but they have now merged into one. More info here (including a link to their facebook group.) You can also spread the word by downloading a flyer for Seattle here.

Following the protest at Volunteer Park, there will be a march downtown to Westlake Center. Hope to see you there.

I’m reposting this from Join the Impact. Hope to see y’all out in Seattle and across the country. You can find your protest location here. In Seattle, we’ll be outside Seattle City Council Offices: 600 4th Ave # 2 at Volunteer Park (see above.)

I’m sure all would agree that with the election of Barack Obama, this week has been one of amazing wins in the world of equality! Still, Tuesday night was one of bitter-sweet celebration, as we came together to witness the first black man who will become our president, and watched in sadness as Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and California all voted down equal rights for all citizens. Pendants and bloggers alike have put their focus on Proposition 8, trying hard to find an explanation for the anti-gay wins in the face of a huge pro-equality event. Some have blamed the voters, others blame religious groups, and even others blame the LGBTQ community for not being able to mobilize on a larger enough scale. And you know what, there is truth in every argument.

As a community, we have to admit to the fact that we are polarized in various ways. Honestly, I’m not sure what community isn’t and I believe that our polarization is proof to our humanity – we are no different than anyone else, regardless of color, creed, or sexual orientation. Still, our polarization has hindered us from mobalizing as one strong voice. We all come together in the month of June to celebrate Gay Pride, but few of us are even aware of why Gay Pride exists. Gay Pride is a celebration to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Many say that the Gay Rights Movement began in 1969, which means that we are still a young movement and have accomplished a great deal in such a short amount of time. The generation that fought for us in 1969 deserves our gratitude and respect. This is a generation of amazing people who fought for our ability to hold hands in the street, to speak out against hate, to dance to our own “thumpa thump”, witness television shows with a queer cast, and come together in the streets celebrating for an entire month! This is the generation that opened the doors for us to even have a conversation about gay marriage, and this is the generation that deserves our help and our voices now. On June 27th, 1969, this generation came together in protest, jumping from closets, taking to the streets, and mobilizing in ways this country had never seen before! And what happened? The country was forced to respond. The Queer identity was forced onto the front pages and coffee tables of people’s worlds and people had to once and for all accept that we are human too!

Now, almost 40 years later we NEED to come together again. We need to show this nation that we are ONE LOUD VOICE THAT DEMANDS TO BE HEARD! We need to be one organized unit. Our gay pride shouldn’t be something we celebrate one month out of the year. Our gratitude towards the ones who came before us shouldn’t be ignored and wasted away with one party after another. We beg to be given a right that requires responsibility and commitment, yet we, as one strong community, have not proven to this nation that we deserve to be taken seriously! The gay pride parade has become a great party, but it has lost the memory of Stonewall and therefor given the nation another reason to cast us aside as irresponsible. It’s time we come together for debate, for public recognition, and for LOVE! Let’s move as one full unit, on the same day, at the same hour, and let’s show the United States of America that we too are UNITED CITIZENS EQAUL IN MIND, BODY, SPIRIT AND DESERVING OF FULL EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW!

On the steps of your City Hall on November 15th at 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST, our community WILL take to the streets and speak out against Proposition 8 and all of the other pro-equality losses that we have faced in our lifetimes, in our parents’ lifetimes, and for many generations before us. WE CAN’T DO THIS ALONE! WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need organizers in every major city to work with us and get out the protest! I know you’re all tired from all of the work you’ve done for this great election year, but I’m asking for one more push! Let the country hear our voices together. Let them see that we are a strong, adamant, and powerful community that deserves equal rights, and CAN’T BE DEFEATED!

Send this post to everyone! We have one week and must react to the pro-hate votes cast against us! Let’s help our LGBTQ friends, families, neighbors, and each other to IMPACT this country with a demand for our basic human rights! Join the cause, join the voice, and JOIN THE IMPACT!

why I don’t donate to KUOW I used to be a regularly donating member of KUOW,...

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it’s all in the timing

erin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:50:21 +0000

Well, y’all, I could be preggers right this minute. (How’s that for an opening sentence, huh?)

The timing was *tricky* this time around. For the past few months, when I wasn’t trying, my cycle was pretty long. Last month it was 34 days. So this month, when I called to order my spermies, I figured having them delivered on cd 15 would be fine. The challenge is that the vials can only be delivered Tuesday – Saturday. So that meant having them delivered on cd 12 (Saturday) – and paying exorbitant extra fees for a Saturday delivery and possibly having to get the tank refilled if I didn’t ovulate until cd 18 – or having them delivered on cd 15 (Tuesday.) I went with cd 15. Well, here is where things get challenging.

Monday afternoon (cd 14), I decide I should start using my OPKs in the evenings (I use a fertility monitor every morning). To my *immense* surprise, the OPK read positive that afternoon. That is when my mildly OCD self begins to mildly *freak* *out.* The tank was supposed to arrive on Tuesday, but it would probably come while I was at school, I thought. Which would mean that I’d have to wait to get it until 6pm on Tuesday, which would be a full 24 hours after the positive OPK. Not. good.

I was hoping the Fedex guy would show up before I left for school yesterday, but that didn’t happen. So I left a very sweet note for him (I know it’s a him, it’s always the same guy), asking if he could possibly return to deliver it after I was home from school and that I would be forever grateful. I also offered to meet him wherever he was at that time. Well, sweet Fedex guy just happened to have a pickup Tuesday afternoon in my neighborhood and returned to deliver my spermies to me! I was *soo* relieved.

I had an appointment Tuesday afternoon as well, though. I went ahead and did an insem before the appointment, even though I couldn’t lay in bed for the two hours they recommend. It was better than nothing! I then did the second insem yesterday evening, while watching all the exciting (and woefully disappointing, in the case of prop 8, etc.) election coverage. So I wasn’t out celebrating Obama’s victory with the rest of Seattle, but if I get preggers this time, my kid may well end up with the middle name Barack.

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Pumpkins & Balloons

erin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:01:07 +0000

Today my friend A and I ventured north to buy ourselves some pumpkins. Getting my pumpkin from the pumpkin patch has become an annual tradition for me, though I wasn’t sure if I’d have time this year, since I’ve got so much studying to do. Happily, though, I was schoolwork free this weekend. We both found pumpkins though, sadly, the farm was out of their apple cider. Despite Washington’s splendid apples, its cider is nothing compared to the cider I grew up drinking in Jersey. I miss Scrumpy’s! Washington’s cider is not terrible, I was just spoiled growing up.

We did find great pumpkins, though, and as we were leaving, saw these two hot air balloons landing in a field nearby. I don’t know what it is about hot air balloons, but seeing them always makes me feel like I’m eight years old and in complete awe of them.

jersey rippa’ Roller Derby, why have I not been to see you...

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Push love

erin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:03:49 +0000

For the past few years, I have been working with Push magazine, an all-volunteer run queer feminist magazine that is based here in Seattle. We put out one (sometimes two) issues a year, on topics such as class, sex and gender, and food. Each issue included essays, interviews, poetry, and artwork from queer and trans folks, many of whom had never been published before. I dedicated every other Tuesday night – and many additional hours – to working on editing, layout, working with authors, debating issue topics, running auctions, etc.: all the fun things that go into creating a magazine designed to create space for alternative voices.

We recently published our eleventh, and final, issue: Push: A Retrospective. This evening we had a party to celebrate the release of the issue and all that Push has done over the years. Several folks who had been published in Push talked about what it meant to them and read a piece or two. The folks who founded the magazine talked about how it started nine years ago. The five current members, as well as several past members, shared Push-themed haiku and limericks. It was wonderful to hear how much Push had meant to so many different people over the years.

And now, I bring you the lovely limerick my friend Emily and I wrote and performed this evening in honor of Push:

There once was a great group of queers,

Who did love the cool words of their peers.

So they talked and they talked,

And the drag kings they walked,

And they made this great zine for you dears.

And so I say good-bye to Push with this blog post. Working on Push helped me continue to understand my queer identity and, as a result, I gained not only academic and professional skills, but also grew deeply as a person. In a way, over the years, Push became almost like a good friend – on days when I just really needed to know I wasn’t the only progressive queer in the world, I could pull out an issue and know I wasn’t alone. And so, Push – and Push members current and past – thank you.

At the end of each Push meeting, we had a check-out, where we shared what had been going on in our lives. At a recent meeting, it was clear that we were each moving on to other things, each of us following our own path, whether that be starting a business or starting a family. The part of our paths that included Push was coming to an end, and yet, seeing that we each were continuing our journeys in ways that were true to who we were, it felt right to say good-bye to Push.

And should any of y’all out in blogland want a copy of our current issue, email me your address and I’ll do my best to send one on to you. And, if you’re in the Seattle area, copies will be available soon at coffee shops and other venues around the city.

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Pride, Pride, Pride

erin — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:44:40 +0000

A bit late, but here are some photos from Pride last weekend. I went to many of the events and loved it. Last year I skipped most of them because of my parents’ Conservative Cruise got into Seattle the same weekend. (Yes, you read that right. People from Fox News and other right-wing pundits were on a cruise giving speeches on various conservative issues, and it came back to Seattle on Pride weekend. Whoever planned that was either very well-informed or woefully, woefully ignorant of the world outside their box. I’m guessing the latter.) Anyway, this year, I went to the dyke march Saturday and hung out with friends afterwards. I was thrilled that my old friend T from Camp Ten Trees was friends with friends of friends of friends of mine, and so we ended up hanging out during and after the march! I hadn’t seen him in years – it was really wonderful to catch up with him.

Saturday I watched the parade with E, K, and E’s mom (she wanted to “support the gays.”) We got a spot in the shade, which was great because it was extremely hot. I brought my pup Cass along; she did really well and got lots of attention. We stayed briefly at Seattle Center (way too hot and way too crowded) before heading to an early dinner and then I went to the Indigo Girls concert! So awesome. I debated for a brief moment just crashing at home because I was exhausted from all the running around all weekend, but I’m so glad I went. Their music was, as always, exactly what I needed. I loved seeing my friends (a different group than I’d seen the rest of the weekend). Plus, there was a little girl sitting behind us wearing a t-shirt that said “My Parents are Big Gay Liberals.” How great is that?

Pride brings a great sense of community, and that is my favorite part. I ran into so many friends throughout the weekend, which I loved. Seattle’s queer community is losing so many resources right now and feels really fractured to me, and so this year’s Pride was especially important to me. I had high hopes, and it lived up to them.

jersey rippa’ Roller Derby, why have I not been to see you...
blog birthday! some reflections on 2 years of blogging & TTCing… I started this blog two years ago today. I started...

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Solstice!

erin — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:08:35 +0000

Yesterday was Seattle’s annual Solstice Parade and fair (the fair itself continues today). This parade is one of my all-time favorite things about Seattle, especially because there are no advertisers allowed. It’s truly a parade by the people, for the people, and it shows some of the best of Seattle’s fun quirkiness.

I started the morning at my friend D’s condo, just over the bridge from Fremont (where the parade is held). Then we headed over to the parade, just in time for it to start.

Here are a few photos:

The naked bicyclists always start the parade – many use body paint to cover themselves, some do not. Here’s a shot from the back of some of the bicyclists.

The official start of the parade. The naked bicyclists are not “officially” part of the parade (something to do with their nakedness) – so this is technically the start of the parade.

Did I mention quirky? No motorized vehicles are allowed in the parade, so folks are either pushing the floats or (as this guy did) building bicycle-type contraptions and riding them down the street.

These women were hilarious. What are they singing, you ask? “Do your boobs hang low?” (Based on the song “Do your ears hang low?”):

Do your boobs hang low?

Do they wobble to and fro?

Can you tie them in a knot?

Can you tie them in a bow?

Can you throw them over your shoulder

Like a Continental soldier?

Do your boobs hang low?

I love Seattle.

I hope these photos have given all you non-Seattlites a bit of a taste of Seattle’s spirit. The parade was a blast, and it was great to see D and catch up with some of her other friends.

jersey rippa’ Roller Derby, why have I not been to see you...

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