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rorqualSo as you know, internets, I hate people. Well, not hate. But not-like. You know what I mean. So usually, I avoid them, especially in large groups or where I can be cornered by them. This includes my neighbors, since I can easily be trapped by them chatting with me as I walk by. Worse, I hate working in the yard when they are about, because I feel like they're judging my mowing and gardening technique. And this weekend I found out they totally are! But it wasn't as bad as I'd thought.
Last night I was mowing, because I thought it was going to rain overnight (which it did), and because I wanted to be able to look forward to not-mowing today. I have an old-fashioned reel mower, the kind they probably used on Leave it to Beaver, so it takes a while and requires a certain amount of effort on my part (as an aside: I think at this point I've had every male neighbor around me offer to come mow my lawn, or at least loan me their mower, which is nice of them but I always turn them down. I'm butch that way. Plus, I don't know how to use a real mower).
People who I recognize but whose names I cannot recall (another reason I avoid my neighbors) came strolling by in the pleasant evening. The woman (who lives two doors down and goes to my dentist) complimented me on my weight loss, and the man (who nicely introduced himself because he could tell I had no idea who he was; I've already forgotten his name, though I think it started with a C) managed to guess the amount pretty precisely. So that was a nice interaction, and it was brief, as they went on their way. Not before the guy offered me his lawnmower whenever I wanted it, though.
(Note: since I've lost some weight, a bunch of people have commented how good I look, which is nice, because I think I look nice too. But I never really thought I looked that bad before...:) So there's a bit of cognitive dissonance there, but I suppose it comes with the territory. Or I looked hideous before and everyone just held their tongues, which was nice of them too.)
Today was Flower Day; I bought a bunch of things for the walkway flowerbed, and the patch of land that was opened up after the dead tree came down and I had it and all the vines and trash bushes removed. I was down by the tree stump, toiling away, when the Happy Carribbean/Canadian neighbor came back from some errands with his family. He complimented me on how nice I was making the place look with all my flowers, which I thanked him for, and then he said, gesturing at my relatively-freshly-mown lawn, "This looks good too. You are a woman, but you always do a very nice job!" And I thanked him, and they went down the path.
So here's why I'm a bad feminist: I can't think of a way to interpret the specifics of his statement other than he thinks women typically aren't good at lawnmowing, for whatever reason (bad spatial relaitons, lazy, weak, what have you), which of course is silly, because lawns are lawns, no matter your sexual organs, and mowing them pretty much works the same way for everyone. Even if he means that I shouldn't have to be mowing the lawn because it's a man's job and I'm making the best of a bad situation, it's still not great. But, I am not offended, and I wasn't offended at the time, and I just can't seem to get all wound up about it. As far as I'm concerned, what he meant was "Your lawn looks nice and you do a good job," and it's well-meant, and that's enough for me. Also, his sister is like, a neurosurgeon or something, and he sounded pretty proud when he told me that, so he doesn't appear to be Keeping the Sisterhood Down in his spare time, so that's all good.
In any case, I had a good day and got a lot done. Now, I will eat some roast asparagus and potatoes (with cheese!), have a soda, and watch a movie. Well earned, I think.
Last night I was mowing, because I thought it was going to rain overnight (which it did), and because I wanted to be able to look forward to not-mowing today. I have an old-fashioned reel mower, the kind they probably used on Leave it to Beaver, so it takes a while and requires a certain amount of effort on my part (as an aside: I think at this point I've had every male neighbor around me offer to come mow my lawn, or at least loan me their mower, which is nice of them but I always turn them down. I'm butch that way. Plus, I don't know how to use a real mower).
People who I recognize but whose names I cannot recall (another reason I avoid my neighbors) came strolling by in the pleasant evening. The woman (who lives two doors down and goes to my dentist) complimented me on my weight loss, and the man (who nicely introduced himself because he could tell I had no idea who he was; I've already forgotten his name, though I think it started with a C) managed to guess the amount pretty precisely. So that was a nice interaction, and it was brief, as they went on their way. Not before the guy offered me his lawnmower whenever I wanted it, though.
(Note: since I've lost some weight, a bunch of people have commented how good I look, which is nice, because I think I look nice too. But I never really thought I looked that bad before...:) So there's a bit of cognitive dissonance there, but I suppose it comes with the territory. Or I looked hideous before and everyone just held their tongues, which was nice of them too.)
Today was Flower Day; I bought a bunch of things for the walkway flowerbed, and the patch of land that was opened up after the dead tree came down and I had it and all the vines and trash bushes removed. I was down by the tree stump, toiling away, when the Happy Carribbean/Canadian neighbor came back from some errands with his family. He complimented me on how nice I was making the place look with all my flowers, which I thanked him for, and then he said, gesturing at my relatively-freshly-mown lawn, "This looks good too. You are a woman, but you always do a very nice job!" And I thanked him, and they went down the path.
So here's why I'm a bad feminist: I can't think of a way to interpret the specifics of his statement other than he thinks women typically aren't good at lawnmowing, for whatever reason (bad spatial relaitons, lazy, weak, what have you), which of course is silly, because lawns are lawns, no matter your sexual organs, and mowing them pretty much works the same way for everyone. Even if he means that I shouldn't have to be mowing the lawn because it's a man's job and I'm making the best of a bad situation, it's still not great. But, I am not offended, and I wasn't offended at the time, and I just can't seem to get all wound up about it. As far as I'm concerned, what he meant was "Your lawn looks nice and you do a good job," and it's well-meant, and that's enough for me. Also, his sister is like, a neurosurgeon or something, and he sounded pretty proud when he told me that, so he doesn't appear to be Keeping the Sisterhood Down in his spare time, so that's all good.
In any case, I had a good day and got a lot done. Now, I will eat some roast asparagus and potatoes (with cheese!), have a soda, and watch a movie. Well earned, I think.
