Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Gayest Games

Because of Russia's anti-gay laws, LGBTQ advocacy has been pushed to the forefront at the Olympics.  In this editorial, the CBC asks:  "Could this be the Gayest Games Ever?"

This gay-themed PSA from the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion has achieved nearly four million views since it was released five days ago. I love it!  But I wish the hottie athletes had worn white spandex to better show off their lovely bulges and curves.
 

My only involvement with the Sochi Olympics involves online searching for pics of hot male athletes in spandex.  I haven't had a television in my house for many years so I must be the only person on the planet who is watching no Olympics coverage at all.  Here's a run-down of my exhausting and sometimes stressful week:

1.   I've had a bad cold all week, a rarity for me, with a dry, painful, lingering cough which made teaching difficult.  Because of my cold, I also turned down several offers from some regular hookup guys.   :-(

2.   My LGBTQ leadership continues to expand, but this time by accident.   The close colleague who attended a LGBTQ workshopwith me showed a magazine article on transgendered teenagers in Canada to our principal.  Her idea was that all staff should receive this information to better help the transgendered students at our school. 

He responded:  "Great idea!   You and _ _ _ _  (me!) can run a short workshop on transgender issues on our next Professional Development day."   Shit!

2.   I spent much time rushing around at lunch and before / after school to complete the purchase of my new (old) car:  arranging a test drive, safety check, insurance and licensing. We badly needed another one and a colleague offered her elderly father's gently-used car at a fraction of it's actual value.  It had been sitting for three years unused which is not good for a car, but it was an offer I couldn't refuse.

3.   I discovered that my school's once-active GSA had become fairly inactive because they lacked a committed teacher to lead the group.  As a result, our first meeting was a bust.  A handful of grade 7 - 9 students showed up and when they spotted the near-empty room, scurried away. A challenge!

To encourage more student participation, we now have four teachers of both genders (two 9 - 12 teachers, and two 7 - 8 teachers)  involved in the GSA and we all will participate in an advertising blitz in advance of next week's meeting.   As well, I will talk to my own classes about the need for more GSA participants;  my "fan club" of gay boys will show up just because it's me.  :-)

4.  My son had a accident (very worrisome but less serious that originally believed) which unleashed a barrage micro-managing texts from my ex-wife while she sat at the emergency department.  This was completely  understandable because she never does well in a crisis, but I finally had to switch my phone off at midnight and left it off until 9:00 a.m.  

The next day, she had me paged at school at lunchtime just as I was waiting for the GSA students to show up ... something she had never done before.  It was an exceedingly unpleasant 30-second conversation during which she made some unreasonable demands and made derogatory remarks about my parents.

I spoke very sharply to her and would have used the C- word but I was within the earshot of several colleagues and slammed the phone down.... a first for me.  An hour later, she texted to explain her mistake and (sort of) apologized.  I don't care...I just don't want to hear from her, ever again.

5.   My three new classes (one each of grade 9, 11 and 12) are all fantastic but I much prefer my senior classes.  I suspect the reason I prefer the seniors is they mainly consist of guys, all of them fun and very appealing. :-)

I call my energetic, chatty group of thirty-two grade 9 students "The Happy Gang."   They require a much greater energy expenditure from me during class.  Fun times!

12 comments:

  1. You should make the next GSA meeting a pizza party featuring your pizza's and sausage.
    I'm glad it was nothing serious with your son.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good luck resurrecting the GSA! I am sure you can do it. One thing is for sure, to keep any school group going, it takes commitment from the sponsors as well as the students.

    Glad your son is OK! (How's his car?) And calling you at work? To me, short of life or limb, that's ALWAYS a no-no.

    And getting a "new to you" car is always fun, despite all the hassles.

    Have fun with those new classes, don't you just love the energetic ones? ;-)

    Peace <3
    Jay

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jay! It wasn't a car accident; he was injured while welding but I don't want to go into the details.

      Yes, for a teacher, receiving a call during the school day is a huge hassle.

      My grade 9 class is sweet; they're like a badket of kittens.

      Delete
  3. Thanks, sweetie!

    (Despite everythiing, I would hesitate before applying the "b-word" to my ex. Ours will always be a complicated relationship)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can you block her phone calls, or is that unwise in the event of legitimate family business? I think you need a real break from the annoyance, your talents and energies are obviously being appreciated and shouldn't be interrupted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could easily pay for my cell phone provider to blocker; all my kids and some of her friends have urged me to do so. But I don't want to block her.

      It would be a provocative act to do so and would cause more problems. Also, I'd like to have cell phone contact with her for family emergencies.

      As my therapist suggested, I will "laugh at the crazy" for now and if the annoying texts continue, I would insist that she restrict her communication to e-mails which I will check once per day.

      Delete
  5. Glad your son is okay. I grant this is only a loose tie in with the bigotry of Russia at Sochi, but have you seen the video on the guy who runs the Chicaro Diner in Enid, OK? It is news here and I decided to do something about it. I have emailed Eric Holder US Attorney General about the civil rights violations. I mention it here because too often, we hear about these things and can do nothing like in Sochi. But other times we can. Buddy, I realize you are Canadian, but you have a huge USA following, I hope you don't mind me mentioning this here. The email address is AskDOJ@usdoj.gov. I never imagined I would be trying to start a letter writing campaign but you have inspired me with your support of activism in your school

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's great that you're getting involved! I don't mind you mentioning this here at all.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. yep.... even my straight colleagues were discussing the gay snowboarders PSA.

      Delete

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