I don't know why I know these things, but I do

The good: news of the season premiere of the Sopranos has me a-flutter. The best thing about watching the Oscars last weekend may have been the thinly veiled Sopranos commercial. All I need hear is woke up this morning, got yourself a gun, and I am school-girl giddy.

The bad: Here it is International Women's Day (thanks for pointing it out, Chai!) and all the boys are up in my grill. First, I have a rare conversation with W, and suddenly it turned into harassment. I found this particularly peculiar because, in the same breath, he complained about relationships and then demanded to know why I was not involved in one. Wha?!? Not five minutes later, RR walked into my office, and as if they had timed a 1-2 KO, he started in on me. You know you are about to get a verbal punch in the face when you hear the question: "You know what your problem is?"

Truth be told, I do not take this kind of haranguing too much to heart. If anything, I am slightly endeared by it, because I find it so bizarre that men are spending any brain cells worrying about me. As I told W when pressed repeatedly about it, "it makes sense in my head, but it's hard to articulate- a common problem for me." A much more minor part of my brain arches a bit for the simple reason that I feel like these dudes are trying to get into my head and figure me out. I do not know why that should annoy me at all, but it somehow does. Sigh. I am starting to yearn for yesterday's inappropriate discussions.

Since it is International Women's Day, it seems important to note how much I am aware of my good fortune. As a woman who was lucky enough to get a passable education, I have been fortunate enough to make my own living, to have the means to live independently. Even when there may have been external pressures exerted, there has ultimately been a choice in nearly everything I have ever done. I have never been physically abused by a loved one. I was once assaulted, but I had the good luck of a) escaping unscathed and b) taking self-defense classes as a result (ask me to show you how to deliver a swift heel palm or knee to the groin).

All of the things I have listed put me in an elite position when compared with the majority of women in the world. I do not write that as a boast. So many of the things we take for granted matter-of-factly as opportunities available to women are completely shut off for the greater population. It does not make me special. It makes the state of women in the world seem still wholly dissatisfying. Even if you sidestep the difficult question of economics, there are basic human rights that many women in the world are not afforded. And then there are the rights to reproductive freedom that are being taken away from us within our country, which is not just wrong, but truly depressing. I know that history is somewhat of a cycle, that certain mistakes are destined to be made over and over again, but there are some strides that have been made that should be irreversible. When I hear about all the ways women are moving backwards, I am so troubled that I become mute. Again, the thoughts are in my head but they are difficult to articulate.

And with that, I am off of the soapbox, and on to the bro-seph's to go watch Project Runway. Honestly, I do not really want anyone to win. After all, I have my own big victory: I have managed to get the bro-seph hooked on watching a show about fashion design. I also like to tell him to make it work, and then he is embarassed when he knows what I am talking about. It is great fun- I urge you to try it with your male friends.