Uhhhh (life updates)
Mar. 4th, 2019 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ms_minervaI disappeared for a while, huh? Well, I’m still alive! Barely. I just got back from spending my school break in Cambodia with my sister. I was glad to visit and see the sights, but I’ve learned that I’m much more suited to traveling by myself. Booking everything to be to someone else’s liking is so much more difficult! I'll post more about that when I have the energy--I got food poisoning during the trip and haven't been able to eat properly for the past few days :( I'm recovering but still pretty weak. I still managed to go to work today (and spent most of it just sitting around covering for a physics class).
Also, I didn't get into a PhD program. I knew that this was highly probable when I sent in my applications, but I'm still disappointed. Now I'm set on the international teacher librarian track I guess. I know that I need to be mature and realistic and that this is above and beyond the best path for me given my background and what I want in life, but I'm still scared of the loneliness I'll definitely face along the way. I'm also facing parental pressure right now--I went to a prestigious university for undergrad and now that I'm not getting a PhD they've decided that it would be a waste of my degree to be a librarian so I should be a corporate lawyer(???). Are they right? Am I throwing away my shot? But what's wrong with being a teacher librarian? There's a part of me left over from my overachiever high school days that wants the recognition of conventional success, but the part of me from before that, when what I valued was a combination of adventure and making the world a better place, has been gaining traction in the past couple of years. If anyone has any wisdom they can share with me or wants to commiserate about being a family disappointment, my inbox is open.
On a happier note, I've been distracted from Dreamwidth because I've been consuming unhealthy amounts of the Static Shock animated series. I used to watch it on occasion when I was very young and don't remember it (or the rest of the DCAU) well. I love it!!! I want a reboot! I have a tendency to fall into dead or extremely tiny fandoms, but please please please let there still be fans out there I can talk to! For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, it's about Virgil Hawkins aka Static, a nerdy teenage black superhero with electromagnetic powers who uses his intelligence and scientific know-how to channel them in creative ways. His best friend and sidekick is a gay white gadgeteer genius inventor. What's not to like?? I'm going to write a post about Static Shock when I have more energy. I'm so happy when I watch it!!
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Date: 2019-03-04 05:56 pm (UTC)I'm sorry about the program, probability never seems to have a bearing on disappointment. "Am I throwing away my shot?" If that was the kind of lifestyle that you wanted for yourself (corporate lawyering), then maybe, but it really doesn't sound like it is. There's nothing wrong with being a teacher librarian (the biased opinion of a lifetime library worker) and though I know there can be a lot of cultural expectations involved it's you who's going to have to live your own life, not your folks (who I'm sure just want you to be as secure as one can be in this life). As far as I'm concerned, a life of adventure and having a positive impact on the next generation sound like worthy pursuits.
Ah! \o/ Static Shock! I loved that show! (And OMG that was so long ago, and I feel so old!) It totally deserves a reboot, but only if it is as avant-garde now as it was then, ya'know push the envelope. I will be down for any Static Shock posts. :D
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Date: 2019-03-04 11:35 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for your kindness and wisdom! I’ll keep everything you’ve said in mind. It means a lot.
And yes another Static Shock fan!!! I agree that a reboot has to push the envelope as much as the original! The creator said they had to sanitize it from the original comics because of the Y-7 rating, so maybe we could get a TV-14 reboot? Although I’ve started reading the comics and the only thing I really like more so far that the show didn’t get to include is Richie/Rick’s coming out arc and getting to be openly gay (a HUGE deal in the 90s when the comics were published). The creator confirmed that TV!Richie is also gay but still in the closet and said they were restricted by the rating and network censorship. I want the reboot to include his arc! Otherwise I think the original show, despite being “for kids,” did a really good job dealing with stuff like racism, gun violence, and sexism (Virgil literally calls out a bully for not respecting consent in the first episode. My heart!).
Do you watch Young Justice? I only saw the first season, but apparently Virgil is in it. I’d rather watch a Static show though!
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Date: 2019-03-05 12:41 am (UTC)Yes, yes, yes! Richie getting a coming out arc would be a must, or maybe even have him out the whole time and have it really not be an issue with his friends. Either would be good. I can't think of a kids cartoon that's gone "out and gay" yet, but ground has been laid with other shows Legend of Korra (sort of) and Steven Universe (also sort of). So I think it could be time for a cartoon that has an American teenager be out or come out as gay. (Oh, and Virgil could be all "so what else is new now about that gadget" but ready to throw down if there are any phobes.)
Alas, no. I never did get into or really try Young Justice. I didn't know Virgil was in it though, but it wouldn't be the same without Richie or his fam.
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Date: 2019-03-05 12:57 am (UTC)Yes, I am so down for either of those (Richie coming out or Richie already being out) and supportive best friend Virgil gives me life!! I want them to go on double dates together!
I agree on Young Justice. Apparently there’s an implication that Virgil’s home life isn’t as good in the YJ universe which, just, no. His dad is such an amazing character in the original show! The scene where he confronts Richie’s dad for being racist (“you fine upstanding bigot...”) is so damn powerful and just so emblematic of who he is as a character. Just, anything with Virgil’s dad is so good. Trusting his son? Supporting his kids as a single dad?? Running a community center and helping low income families and the homeless??? No wonder Virgil became a superhero, between him and his mom! I like Sharon a lot too (and rewatching the show I’m upset that she does all the cooking and housework, hm) and also her boyfriend Rubberband Man :D
I could go on and on! I love this show!!
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Date: 2019-03-05 01:20 am (UTC)WHAT?! What is this blasphemy?! Robert Hawkins is a paragon of Fatherhood. Not a good home life, phah! (that's some racist horse hockey is what it is, how many examples of good black fatherhood are out there for kids and they want to go and take one away, that torques me up) And Sharon! They were such a terrific example of a sibling relationship. At it like cats and dogs, but always there for each other too.
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Date: 2019-03-05 01:35 am (UTC)This is the kind of content we need!!! Also Virgil teasing Richie but also being his wingman?? Yes!
I KNOW!! HOW COULD THEY GET RID OF ROBERT HAWKINS LIKE THAT??? Virgil's family and friends are so fundamental to who he is as a person and a hero--they're a huge part of what made him decide to use his powers for good instead of wrongdoing or personal gain like literally every other bang baby in the show. Sounds suspiciously like racism to get rid of the strong black father figure but okay, Young Justice!
On a related note, I've been on the lookout for good Static Shock fan content. Most of what I've found is disappointing so far, i.e. clearly written by white authors who don't know how to write a black character (why does 80% of the fanfiction describe Virgil as "mocha?" why???). If you want I can send the good ones I find your way :)
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Date: 2019-03-05 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2019-03-06 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-03-05 08:11 pm (UTC)As a librarian, I'm probably biased as well, but still. I'm pretty overqualified for my current job, and I sometimes worry that I should do something different, with better pay, that's more prestigious etc. I don't have parental pressure at all, but I do get into discussions sometimes with people I know from university who are on a very different track. But when I think about where a lot of those people ended up, I'm always grateful to be where I am. I would much, much rather work somewhere where I can be surrounded by things that interest me, where I can help people, in an organization that has a mission I support, than to be in a corporate business where your only motivation is to make profit. I would be miserable.
I think if you have that streak in you that wants to make the world a better place in whatever small way you can, being a teacher librarian is just about perfect for you, and it sounds like you would be much less happy if you went the other way ♥
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Date: 2019-03-05 11:24 pm (UTC)Thank you so much!! I think it's telling that so many of my online friends are librarians--I think we all value similar things. We should start a club!
I think you're an admirable, thoughtful person, and if people like you are the ones who decide to become librarians that says a lot. I've also realized that I don't need to go into academia to have an academic career; I can work as a librarian but still have my own research and writing projects on the side. So there's always that as well :)
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Date: 2019-03-06 11:00 am (UTC)Thank you for your lovely words ♥
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Date: 2019-03-06 11:05 am (UTC)