Catty Women of The Apprentice

Just saw a new episode of The Apprentice. This show has just captivated me in more ways that I imagined! I absolutely love it, and I spend my Thursday night class in suspense! Thankfully they are doing re-runs on Sundays, and this week, it was on Wednesday (tonight) instead of its usual Thursday nights.

Women are catty. It might be the biggest downfall. While it is not expected that everyone be infallible to succeed, some of the women on the show actually are reasons why women are still behind in the workforce. The men, whether they lose or win, refrain from being petty and childish or breaking into tears. Last season, I saw one woman break into tears in the boardroom, and on tonight's episode, another woman just couldn't handle the pressure, and broke down halfway through the job.

Women talk too much. Women compete too much when collaboration and cooperation are clearly more needed. They have a certain victim-symptom -- I don't know if there is word for it, but the feeling that they are always the victims of the business world, and they have to be more than just a type A personality to succeed -- in essense, they try to be double AA's. They talk louder, they refuse to agree, they never compromise, because they're always under a subconscious pressure to survive in a cutthroat environment. And while some of that pressure is valid, too much of it brings about each woman's doom on the show, and probably in real life as well.

I used to be a type A person. So I know the feeling. The rush of adrenaline you feel when you're tackling a big project that you just know that you'll do well, and you just have to do well and you'll do it the best. Since I've reached my twenties, I've become a lax type A. Possibly a type "a" rather than type "A." I still have a lot of ambition and drive, but the need to overachieve has gotten on the back burner. Probably because survival, literally, became a difficult task on its own, and I've become comfortable with just my daily accomplishments which attribute to the food that I eat, the clothes that I wear, and the roof over my head. My set of wheels that get me from place to place is just glaze over a donut.

I wonder if I can/will go back to being that type A personality. I'm a strange person, definitely, because I seek out personalities that I admire and try to be it. It isn't to say that I am unoriginal or a copycat. I know what I like and I do what it takes to results that I like. I've been really craving that perfectionist, control freak personality. I read an article in this month's "Allure" magazine about control freak women. I love it. I mean, they don't sit around on the couch drinking bloody marys and watching The Apprentice and the like, but they get so much done, and I've become such a slob in the recent years -- I really do need the equivalent of a bootcamp for domestic tasks.

Speaking of bloody marys. I love me some bloody marys tonight. Probably my only intake of vegetably vitamins! A tall glass of bloody mary mix on rocks, a shot of vodka, a dash of tabasco, yum. I was missing the lime juice and the provincial celery stalk, but it was good without them. Spicy~

I had a donut today. It was from Krispy Kreme's. Boy, those folks sure know how to make a mean donut. I think my donut's flavor was "heart attack." It wasn't just a chocolate covered donut. It was glazed; it was doused in thick white icing, and then covered with a smooth layer of chocolate. It had so much frosting, it could have served as a birthday cake had I plunked some candles in it! As it just melted by the touch of the tip of my tongue, it slithered down my throat, and I could just feel the sensually rich, artery-clogging, sweet chunks. Oh it was so good, but so evil at the same time. I had a Homer-Simpson moment -- I nearly drooled, and my chin dropped, leaving my mouth agape, with just slight moans drawing out of my vocal cords: "oooooohhhhhhhhhhhh doooooooooonut...."

I've been extremely tired in the last week or two, and I know it's just an excuse and it doesn't validate my actions, but my stream of consciousness stops flowing after 5 PM or so -- I'm pretty much on auto-pilot after that point. So now, I'm just typing outta my ass. It can make sense, or no sense at all, and I probably couldn't care less. It's my blog and I'll be a sloppy goo if I want to!

Now I have an on-line philosophy quiz (Is this a valid argument: "A ball is round. Therefore it cannot have any corners."). A lot of the class is on the internet, and we have these forums where we're supposed to make sound arguments about some topics -- many people do not make sound arguments at all. We only have to reply to one argument and start one thread, but everytime some freak writes, "the definition of marriage is the union between a man and a woman..." or "the bible says that marriage is..." I just can't help myself. The Bible is a book dammit! You don't have to capitalize it if you're writing in your blog and you don't give a damn, but you're writing something for an academic setting -- get it right retard! (of course, I'm not being very nice by calling someone a retard, but oh well, that's why this is my blog!) The legalization of gay marriage is just one of the many issues we have to argue on. And by argue, I mean to use logic that we learn in class, which means avoiding fallacies and making sure the premises support the conclusion and whatnot. Here's what one guy wrote:

Marriage is defined in the bible as the union of a man and woman in holy matrimony. Therfore just being gay would mean that you are sinning according to the bible. If gay people get married in a church it would be like contradicting the meaning of the church. If gay marriages are allowed, would that mean some time in the near future a 10 year old can get married to a 40 year old because they claim they are in love? [...](copied and pasted, word for word)

And this is what I said:

First of all, the Bible has no place in the legislative branch of the US government. Church and government are completely separate and independent entities in this country.

Second of all, there is no one place in the Bible where the definition of marriage is stated as you have. Each branch of Christianity has a slightly different interpretation of their religion as well as the Bible. And perhaps being gay in one branch would be considered a sin. But of course, the Bible doesn't determine the laws of this country.

If we want to use the Bible's definition of marriage for our laws, should we also not include other elements of marriage into our laws, as stated in the Bible?

How about this one -- A marriage is considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she will be executed. If a man accuses his wife of not being a virgin and she is found to be a virgin, then he will be punished, but they will still remain married, i.e. No Divorce!(Deut 22:13-21, I have paraphrased it)

What about this one -- Marriage shall not interfere with a man's right to take concubines, in addition to his wife or wives. (this one has many back-ups -- I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21, just two of many) If you're thinking of one of the Ten Commandments that prohibits adultery -- remember that adultery as intended in the Bible, applies to women only. Men were free to frolic around as they saw fit. King Solomon, one of the wisest men in the Bible, had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

The Good Book also says that a Christian cannot marry a non-Christian. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Neh 10:30 -- take your pick)

And no, if gay marriages are allowed, it would not mean that some day a 10 year old and a 40 year old will be allowed to marry. Your premise and conclusion doesn't quite add up. A 10 year old, is a child. And in our current human condition as we know it, we have determined that a 10 year old cannot make such decisions for him/herself. But if you recall, during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and definitely other periods in history, people have forced youth, well under 18, more often than not girls, to marry older men. The Virgin Mary is speculated to have given birth to Jesus when she was a teenager, approximately at 15 -- should that validate all teen pregnancies in our current society?

I don't mean to ramble on and on about the Bible, as the Bible has no place in the US legal system, and I stand by it. One can honestly and earnestly believe everything that the Bible says and abide by its rules, but to inflict his/her own beliefs to another human being is not an acceptable behavior. The Bible was once used to validate slavery in the US, during the 18th and 19th century -- please don't use the Bible again as a tool to aid in civil injustice.

I think I was lashing out to the poor kid. For all I know, he could be an 18 year old kid who came from a foreign country and hasn't been in the US for more than three years or something. I was just reading so many posts talking about why gay marriage should be banned, and they were giving bullshit reasons (one guy said that if gay marriage should be allowed just because people want it, then soon statutory rape will be legalized because people will want that too, and so will prostitution. What is that?) and I got pissed. And I was at work. And I was already pissed enough this morning because the newspaper agency that was running our ad screwed up again and nearly messed up our budget. I was able to fix it barely because there was still a day left this month (tomorrow) and there was just enough time to work it out, but barely! So getting me pissed doesn't bode well at all, especially for poor kids who were just trying to do the school work and pass a class.

Honestly, this logic class drives me nuts. It's horrific. So mind boggling. But it is a lovely exercise for my mind and I love it. It is making me think in ways that I haven't utilized my brain before, so it's having a great effect on me. Except the rare occassions when the forums drive up my blood pressure. Oh crap~ gotta go take that quiz now. Buh-bye you loving people!