Name change... again?

I have had this discussion with many of my friends, some family and acquaintances. When I married Danial the issue of name change turned up. As in many families it was usual for the woman to take the man's last name. We briefly considered the options and then selected the typical.

I then began attending UPEI and took a variety of women studies courses and began to learn about the origin of marriage. As many of us know not so long ago women have been considered the property of man etc etc. I have increased my knowledge (and opinion) regarding gender which built a fire within. I made the choice to change my name without knowing. With the loss of my last name came the loss of the identity that was associated with it. Obviously not 100 percent but enough for me to notice.

This has caused a lot of conflict for me. I am kind of wondering what your opinions are on this?

I guess the next part of the situation is the option to change my name back. When I mentioned this to my mother she said " people are going to think that you got divorced". Obviously she is probably right but is that enough reason to continue this tradition?

I don't want to imply that I against tradition but I have believed that I am part of an equal relationship. If relationships are 'equal' than why is it that the women are the ones that change their last names? Why isn't it a 50/50 thing? Obviously there is still a lot of socialization that makes men feel they should keep their names.

Aside from my casual ranting (haha) my biggest thought is whether or not to change my name back. At this point I have almost decided to.

I have been pretty overwhelmed and stressed over the last while. It seems that there is so much to do all the time. I had a pretty refreshing day today. I had a little bit of a chance to sleep in this morning and then went bowling with my family. It was interesting because it was our first family event that had four couples.

I have been craving pizza delight for a ridiculous amount of time considering that it is practically across the street. After bowling we all headed there for lunch. I wish that I could sat that it was amazing but I got a salad that was more croutons that lettuce. Oh well, I can't complain too much about a free meal.

Dan and I went home afterward and chilled in our sunny living room on the couch.
So yeah, it has been an pretty chill Sunday.

We bought a whole chicken which we plan to make for supper tonight. This even despite the warning that kidneys may still be located inside the carcass. haha

I hope that this semi-lazy day allows me to re-energize and get back to the books.

I have that scratchy feeling in my throat.

Work Rant

I have been stewing about this increasingly over the last few weeks. I have been working at the bank off and on since 2005 yet I haven't gotten a satisfactory raise since January 2007. This wouldn't be horrible except for the fact that I have been trained for a higher level of work (opening bank accounts/ investments). I have been actively working in this role since August 2007 however I still get payed as a teller.

At first I didn't let it bother me because I am a casual worker. Of course it still is not fair, even as casual I should be paid for the position that I am doing. I then approached my boss regarding a raise and he said sure. This happened in August 2007 as well as November 2008. Have I seen it? No. I have asked him a couple of times since then. He has given me his word on two things which he has not followed through on. 1) a fair raise to be getting the wage for my work role
2) To put me in the 'system' as permanent part time.
I approached him about this and he assured me that "stokes are in the fire, it will happen in the new year". Last weekend I mentioned it to him again and he said "the stokes are in the fire".

I think this is horribly unfair. I feel like I am being taken advantage of. I mean, if I was a shitty employee and doing a shady job, sure, but he has told me numerous times that all of my coworkers have gone to him saying what a great job I am doing. They also say that I am "so helpful with both coworkers and clients".

If I am doing such a great job, why am I being treated like this?

To top it off, I am casual without the benefits of being casual. At my place of work a casual person is not committed to come in on any specific days of the week and is able to pick and choose the days he or she wants to work. Not in my case. I am told that I am being "depended" on for Saturdays. I asked to have February 7th off (which I should just be able to tell them rather than ask) and he has the nerve to say " If so and so is not working otherwise we will need you".

Ha!

Not that he deserves a reason, but I explained that it is Danial's last day on PEI.
I am considering on blatantly reminding him of my casual status.

I don't know. Part of me wants to stick my feet in the ground and tell him enough is enough. The other part wants to continue the decent working relationship that we have had over the years. I don't want this job to be something that I cannot have on my resume.

Here's the verdict

Thanks for everyone's input on hairstyles. I called around a couple of places and have an appointment tomorrow morning at Absolutely Fabulous. Apparently they have a 'master stylist' who is really good at determining suitable hairstyles for certain face shapes etc. I am leaning towards a long bob that is asymmetrical.

Enough about hair, and onto the important stuff.

As many of you may already know, Danial has been accepted to the army as a Land communications tech. Some people consider it a big deal while others do not. It is going to be a huge lifestyle change for both of us, but in the end it will make Danial happy with his career (I think). For anyone who has known for a while will be wondering how this happened. I have changed my perspective on many things over the last year(s) and the army is one of them. I did not move to 100% support the army but I am not dead set against it. Clearly it has been set in place for a reason.

It has been interesting seeing people's reactions to the news. I was prepared for people to think that it was a terrible idea, but surprised to find so many are supportive.

I have been even more impressed and surprised with the people who have been asking about how I feel about it. I am shocked with the concern of people who do not even know me that well. On the other hand, however, "The Army" is one of those topics that people usually have their opinions on. For good reason of course.

Danial will be leaving on February 8 which so happens to be the day that my buddy Tasha arrives in Charlottetown. A trade I suspect.
She will likely be staying with me until her boyfriend moves back to the island. I am pretty happy about the timing.

The whole thing still doesn't feel 'real'. It probably won't until I roll over in bed to find the other side empty.

Very exciting. I could feel change coming and here it is.

Hair

heya, I am considering a new hairstyle, so please rate the pics up above. You can click on them and rate them out of 5 or just let me know which one is your favorite.

Arg. I just got home from attending half of two meetings. The coordinators of both meetings were not impressed with the fact that I was not staying the entire time. I hate when my schedule gets double booked like that. It makes me feel horrible. I feel strange even talking about having a 'schedule'. I used to laugh at people that would say "just let me check my schedule". I am now kind of one of them. I am hoping that I am just overwhelmed because of classes beginning and all this volunteer stuff. I don't want to have to cut anything out because I enjoy everything that I am involved in.

I have been so confused this week. I haven't even been to all of my classes yet. Lets just add another one tomorrow. mua. I would like to keep on track right away but this week has slipped out of my grasp.

on a happier note, I have lunch at the Gahan with Sarah today. Haven't seen that lovely lady in over a month! I am so lucky to have good friends. I have also had some coffee action with Sharlene this week.
haha. So I complaining about not having time but of course I am making time for my buds. What is a week without gal time?

Oh--side note-- I have a beautiful sexy blister on my heal from a pair of boots that I bought from Mark's Work Warehouse. It is the first thing I have ever purchased from there. It is also the first pair of quality and sensible boots that I have ever gotten. This is the sad thing. I always end up buying footwear that looks good and deal with the pain. I attempted to avoid that and am still sporting sexy huge blisters.

I need to stop blabbering here and read school text shit.

spoiled

*sigh*
I am in a great mood right now. I had a long crappy day at work and then made a pointless drive to the country. When I made my way home I found that Danial was busy at work the entire day. He fixed our bookshelf, put all the clean clothes away, cleaned, put two storage units up and unpacked a wack of boxes. He completely organized our bedroom and a closet. I am sure there is much more that he did that I am forgetting. Talk about impressed!!

It was so nice to come home after a crappy day to find all of these things done. What a sweety. Our place feels so much bigger and homier now.

I am always pretty shocked with how well Dan is at impressing me.

Considering this, it is not a huge surprise that I am looking forward to a nice and quiet evening with my husband at home. This includes the necessary movies, pizza and popcorn. Jeeze. I feel like a lucky gal.

Enough goo.

School begins again on Monday and I am not at all prepared. I am taking a stats course which I'm not looking forward to. I am not the best at math. Next week is also when I begin my official support shifts at the crisis center. I am pretty nervous about this. I have had sooo much training but I am not sure if I am prepared. Time will tell.

ooo. My bro got back from the big apple. Very jealous. He had an amazing time.
I think that my next venture will be international.