*Nervous*

I think I am somewhat scared of going on my trip at the end of the year. I am normally so organised that I would have had everything booked months ago. As it is, I only just paid for the flights 2 weeks ago, and while I had the script for my first lot of vaccinations, I hadn't actually gotten it filled or booked in to see a doctor to get it administered. I hadn't looked at accommodation either, nor been to a backpacking/camping store to sort out the stuff I would need.

I think I was procrastinating because I'm a little bit scared about being so far out of my comfort zone. I will have to talk to people I don't know, get used to being in a third world country again (and all that entails hygienically and commercially), and deal with potentially dangerous situations - because let's face it, we are pretty lucky here in Australia. There's not much chance of being mugged or robbed, while in most countries in SA, and even Europe, pickpockets are very common, and hijacking/muggings aren't far behind.

So I guess my brain was sort of battling with me and was making me put off things that should have been organised a long time ago. So this week I got my act together. I have booked all of the South American accommodation. I have paid for the flights. I have paid for the travel insurance. I have booked my vaccinations in with the doctor. I've organised to go to a backpackers/camping store to check out all the gear and make a list. I have finally made some progress!

Now I just need to finalise my Europe itinerary and make a decision about what to do (ie, book hideously expensive hostels, or try couchsurfing.com). Thankfully I'm going to SA first, so I still have some time, but I would like to have all that sorted by the end of August.

I have bought a domain name and will be setting up a travel diary site with a photo gallery and blog and what not. If you're interested enough that you want to follow my travels around SA and Europe, email me and I will send you the link once it's up and running.

So yay for me! I have overcome my procrastination! Well, at least a little bit!

Ding Dong, The Crap Is Dead!

One of the main reasons I got Foxtel installed about 2 years ago was because of the awful reality shows on Channel 10 (and the constant sport on all channels). Let's face it, if you're not in the mood for political analysis, european porn, home make over shows or whatever awful crap Channel 7 shows, there's really only Channel 10 left to show something that doesn't make your eyes bleed. Unfortunately, they also eschew normal programming at many times throughout the year for Big Brother, Australian Idol and Rove (ugh).

I don't watch any of those awful shows. I did for the first seasons of each, but after that it's really only famewhores who ever try out for them, hoping to get their mug on TV. I must be one of the only ones who has no clue about any of the current BB contestants, or any from the last 6 years. I haven't even watched one minute of it. And I don't even know if Australian Idol is still going. I haven't watched it since that goofy afro guy won it.

Even so, I was absolutely thrilled when I read reports that BB is not coming back after this year. This country does not need more avenues for bogan famewhores to make fools of themselves on TV. That's what Today Tonight and A Current Affair are for. And maybe, although it's a slim chance, Channel 10 might replace said crap with something decent that I might be interested in enough to switch over from Lifestyle Food. God I love that channel. Except when that awful Nigella is on. I can't stand that woman. Serving pre-cooked shell-on prawns to your guests as an entree is not cooking!!!!!

Gym Progress Report 1

First session with the new trainer yesterday. She had planned a leg session. Bad move for the first session. I have stress fractures in my feet which make leg exercises very painful, not to mention I just hate doing legs in general. I don't know why, but leg exercises make me really cranky and frustrated. Anything else and I'm fine, but anything to do with legs and I nearly have a breakdown. I just get so cranky that I want to pick up a weight and throw it at someone's head. I hate, hate, hate doing legs. I don't know why it affects me so much.

So anyway, the new trainer is probably thinking I'm a weak, whiny little bitch. I was trying not to get too cranky, but she had me doing such awful exercises (bulgarian lunges - ugh) and I really just wanted to smack her across the face. Not to mention that my feet were absolutely killing me. The fractures are in my arches, so when my foot is placed in a weight bearing position and my arches flatten out to take the pressure, the fractures expand (if that makes any sense). It is extremely painful. I told her at our first information session that I can't do an entire leg session. I said I could only have weight bearing on my feet for a max of 15 minutes (in high heels it's not an issue, for some reason - I guess because all of the weight is directed towards the balls of your feet). Obviously she wanted to test my information.

We did 20 reps of leg press, then about 30 lunges (with a 5kg plate), then another 20 reps of leg press and another 30 lunges. After the first set of lunges I was already in pain. She then tried to get me back on the leg press to do another set of 120kg, and I did try, but after the first 2 I knew I couldn't do it. I told her we'd have to put an ab set in there or something. So she tried to get me do a "plank" (or hover, or prone hold or whatever you want to call it), but because my feet were so sore I couldn't do it. I can normally hold those for at least 3 minutes, but I think she stopped me after about 30 seconds. She moved me off my feet and wanted me to do leg raises (lay on your back, arms behind your head holding on to handles, and lift your legs straight up in the air and back down again). At that point I must have seemed like the worst client ever, because that is the only ab exercise I absolutely cannot do. I have a degenerative disease in L5/S1 in my back, and any exercise where my lower back is forced into a convex position absolutely kills me.

So we did another ab exercise that she uses on old people. Fine with me. We go back to do another set of leg press because my feet feel better, and then do some more abs, as well as reverse leg curl thingies. And after all those leg presses, lunges, leg curls, etc she decides she wants me to do Bulgarian lunges! I could already barely move my legs as it was! Bulgarian lunges are where you put one leg up on a bench behind you, and then step out with the other leg, and then lunge downwards. It requires some co-ordination of which I have none at the best of times, let alone when my legs are shaking. I was wobbling all over the place, and my feet were hurting, and my back problem meant I wasn't doing it how I was supposed to (you're meant to just go straight down, but that puts pressure on the wrong area for me, so I was tending to sort of move back and down at an angle), so it was all around just painful and annoying.

I also hate doing leg exercises because I did gymnastics when I was younger, and I tend to develop very bulky leg muscles when I train my legs. I hate that. I want the ability to wear skinny jeans, even if I would never actually wear them (they are a crime against fashion). You can't wear skinny jeans with awful bulky thigh muscles. Yuck.

So yes. A very frustrating session. I wish she'd chosen arms or chest or something for the first day. I guess I'll see how I go this afternoon.

At least she's better than my last trainer. I left the session feeling very ill. That hasn't happened in a long time.

She also gave me my eating plan yesterday. I am fairly certain I put "no protein shakes" on the list I gave her of what I would/wouldn't eat. Nevertheless they're on the plan. I'm just going to leave them out and drink water instead. Those things make me gag. Literally. Not pretty.

So cold!

Too cold for typing. My fingers will snap off.

Unnecessary Feminism

To start with, I received some good news this week. I only have 2 subjects to complete before I graduate one of my degrees. The bad thing was, one of them was unavailable as "after hours" study. It was looking as though I would have to return next year to do it, which I didn't want to do. I emailed the uni and they have agreed to substitute that subject for another one. Which is great. But the subject they're allowing me to do is in an area I hate and am not good at because it involves creativity. So that sucks. And it's on Friday nights from 6 to 9. So that sucks too. But I suppose at least I will be able to graduate at the end of the semester.

In other news, I am having an argument on a forum I read. The feminists have come out of the woodwork and once again suggested women in the workforce are discriminated against in terms of pay and what not. I just simply do not agree with this. They've tried to quote studies showing the average woman's salary is lower than the average man's. I countered with the fact that women traditionally choose lower paying occupations than men (teacher/clerical over skilled tradesmen, etc). They then said that women within the same occupation as men are being paid less. I just don't believe it. There are so many different variables when dealing with employment, and I think it's far too simple for women to reduce it to a gender dispute and say the reason they're not being paid the same is because they're a woman.

What if the man doing the same job as them is simply doing a better job? What if he's putting in more productive hours? What if his work ethic and quality of work are higher? What if he has better qualifications/better experience? Why should anyone (man or woman) who is not up to the same level be paid the same amount just because the two people share the same job description? I don't think that's fair to the employer.

Also, I believe women choose to work for employers who pay less salary, but offer more "fringe benefits", such as access to childcare, or flex time, or maternity leave, or other sorts of things. The employer offers a "package", but the salary by itself might be lower than that offered by another firm who is not so flexible, simply because it would be stupid financially for the flexible employer to offer both a stellar salary as well as all of the added benefits. Therefore, the woman is going to be earning less than a man who is not interested in such benefits.

The feminists on the forum were also going on about how it's the right of a woman to have children and it's not a choice, and the workforce should recognise this. WTF?! It IS a choice, and it's a privilege, not a right! Just because you've got the equipment doesn't mean you have to use it! It's because of all the women out there who don't view having children as a privilege that we have so many abused and neglected children in the world. Just because you CAN have children doesn't mean you SHOULD! And it IS a choice to have children. No one is forcing you to have them. You do not HAVE to procreate. If you DECIDE to procreate, you should also realise that your choice may have an impact on other areas of your life, and you should take that into consideration. It might not be "fair", but women are traditionally the primary caregivers. If you decide to have children, you have to take into account that maybe you won't be able to put in as many hours at the office, and that might adversely affect your career.

The feminists were shouting that men have been able to have children and a career, so why shouldn't women. They can. If their husband is the primary caregiver. I really don't see that you can have both. You can't be a primary caregiver as well as focus on your career. One of them has to give. It's a choice you have to make. And sticking your kids in child care/after school care for hours so you can stay at work means you are no longer the primary caregiver in my opinion.

I just don't see why feminists are still arguing about this in this day and age. There are so many more factors involved. It's far too easy for women to cry foul and suggest the discrepancies are due to the fact they don't have a penis. It's far too easy for them to suggest it's all the employer's fault, and ignore the fact that perhaps they just didn't *deserve* the same rate of pay as another male employed in the same role (or another woman for that matter, but they never make that suggestion, do they?). No two employees are ever going to be exactly the same, and the combination of experience/qualifications/work ethic one has compared with another is always going to be more valuable to different employers. Therefore, the two employees should not be paid the same in my opinion.

Then they started bringing out the "my sister/friend/mother/cousin was told she wouldn't be employed because she said she wanted to have children within 3 years in the interview! That's so unfair!" statements. Well of course an employer isn't going to hire a woman who wants to have children over a candidate that's going to stay on long term! It doesn't make sense financially! If I were an employer, I certainly wouldn't hire someone who said they were going to leave within 3 years either. Why should I waste time, money and resources on training them up when I'm only going to have to do the same thing again in 3 years' time? Or worse - be forced to pay maternity leave AND have to hire a replacement for the person while they're gone - that's double the cost! It simply doesn't make sense from a financial point of view.

I am sick to death of women wanting to have their cake and eat it too. You can't have everything. Yes, it might suck and it might be unfair, but stop getting emotionally involved and look at the situation realistically!

The "I can't believe a young woman is making these comments" outcry has just begun now. Apparently I should be burning my bras *just* because I'm a young woman. I don't think so. I think feminists in Australia today are full of crap and are unnecessary. I think the early work done by the women's movement was very brave and has gotten us to where we are today. I am grateful for those women and I admire them. But I don't think it's necessary in Australia any longer. I think the feminists just want to have something to whinge about. They should go to a country like Moldova where women are bought and sold, trafficked to work in forced prostitution, with insufficient government attention to protect their rights and punish the traffickers and then see how lucky they are to be living in this country with, in my opinion, no discrimination whatsoever. They should stop trying to manipulate statistics to try to create issues that aren't there. I really believe any discrepancies in pay between men and women can be easily explained by any number of realistic viewpoints.

Thoughts?