Tax Season is Good News for the Working Poor

Tax season is great because it means that the Canadian government will be paying me back some of my well-deserved monies that they've been holding hostage for the past year.

As I was filing my taxes (that's right, I am THAT capable) earlier this evening I realized just how much we undercut ourselves based on our incomes and tax deductibles. Actually, this realization came to me earlier last week when I was freaking out over my lost credit card and had to file for fraud on the last purchase on the statement. I was all worried that the fraud claim meant that my life will be overrun by investigators and corporate lawyers grilling me on every bit of fiscal detail. The whole time I was thinking "why would they just re-credit my account without even flinching? $300 dollars is a lot of money!"

Truth be told, I panicked a little because I was so afraid that no one would believe me and will eventually fault me for being so careless with my belongings. Then, after half an hour of me pacing in my living room, dreaming up escape strategies and mentally writing down a list of my most cherished things I would leave for my loved ones once I skip town, I remembered to resort to logic instead. What I deduced was that to a multi-billion dollar corporation like the bank, to say that $300 is peanuts to them,  is even beyond an understatement. It would made absolutely no sense for them to go into a full-fledged investigation on a $300 credit card fraud. Even if they did, it wouldn't involve lawyers and investigators knocking on my door. It would've been collection letters or some other annoying "this-is-a-vague-but-stern-warning" forms of notice stuffed into my mailboxes over the span of four months until I eventually give them back the ill-gotten credits.

After realizing this, I began to feel sad for myself; and then, anger.

My rage response was catapulted by many reasons. The first of those is that I had entirely based my sense of self-worth on how much money was in my bank. The fact that I had psyched myself out so much both because I lost $300 and my credit card was a prime example of how much money determines my mental state thus state of well-being. Then that was exacerbated when I eventually realized just how "unworthy" I am. Not long after a period of temporary illusion of "THIS $300 DOLLAR DISCREPANCY IS GOING TO RUIN MY LIFE BECAUSE MY FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES IS OF GREAT INTEREST TO EVERYONE." Which is also depressing and demoralizing because I felt like a powerless little person in at the mercy of giant financial corporations.
Honestly, just think about how much freedom you gain when you have more money in the bank. If a large part of a human being as a free-agent is her volition to act based on her own accord then it's fair to associate money with freedom because money way more opportunities, thus way more freedom. If freedom is one of the fundamental goals and aspirations for a person wouldn't the relinquishment of that freedom defeat a sense of purpose, identity and self-worth? Thus isn't money one of the most evil things we are all love to hate and hate to love? FUCK!

Bachelor of Arts

I have a degree in Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology. It has been two years since I graduated and so I still don't have a job which requires me to flex my B.A. prowess. Perhaps I have more deductive reasoning skills and know more about different parts of the brain than some people but as far as practicality goes, I've only been able to use those powers for the good of enlightening conversations and win pointless debates on esoteric subjects that only a psych major would know or care.

What am I planning on doing then, you ask? Well, I think the answer to that is obviously more schooling. Yep, I'm currently in the process of applying for a masters program in Art Therapy and so far it's been quite a challenge. Not to mention I will be even deeper in debt with student loan which I have no idea whether or not I'd be able to pay off. Regardless, I'm just glad I still believe that education is the only way to a productive and fruitful life.

A Feminist's Nightmare - American Apparel

This is terrible! How can American Apparel, one of the few accessible all American-made, sweat-shop free clothing companies and a self-proclaimed environmental and progressive business pioneers be hiding behind such a heinous deed?! Just when I thought the sexual harassment  lawsuits were bad, this just brought American Apparel from my "shop-here-if-you-absolutely-have-to" list to my "BOYCOTT-DUE-TO-EXTREME-MORAL-DIFFERENCES" list. I am sad and infuriated beyond words.

The major box-kicker here is the cruel paradox that American Apparel is both socially conscious and immoral. It allures those who are struggling to find ethical fashion and disappoints big time when the owner and the company's name is consistently paired with headlines that exposes AA's unfair and sexist practices and various sexual scandals. Nothing really hurts more than finding out that a company that pride itself on its open and fair labour practices and offers great benefits, wages and career and educational advancement opportunities is actually being operated by an owner  who is a total sleaze bag. According to several reports from multiple sources, Dov Charney seems to think he's operating some sort of "hipster harlem" in hiring mainly "fresh-faced'  (young) who may or may not be approached by him for a "career advancement" (personal favours for a raise) when he's feeling "managerial" (power tripping)  and "in the mood" (horny or just plain wanting to be an asshole).

After learning about some of the truths of American Apparel, I, both as a feminist and a conscientious consumer am totally discouraged. I thought I had hit the jackpot when I found a source of fashion that not only caters to my style but also don't completely contradict my morals and values. To think I used to want to work there!

I thought I'd parallel the ironic practices of American Apparel by wearing two pieces of my favourite American Apparel items; the dolman sleeve top and the red leggings. At least I can make good use of all of my American Apparel stuff because from now on there will be no new additions to my wardrobe from American Apparel.

Hipsters love robosexuals

It's Saturday. My breakfast consisted of cottage cheese, grapes and watermelon and for my morning entertainment; Futurama.

These shorts remind me of a Matisse painting.

Slicing up eye-balls.

I cook, I clean, I, feminist.

Feminists beware; this one "conforms" to gender stereotypes! 

Honestly, I take pride in the fact that I'm a good cook and I love to clean. I never for once thought it was the result of the unconscious oppression of gender roles. However, as I'm writing this, I'm slowly starting to think that perhaps gender roles do apply to me and I can be unknowingly be influenced by them. As you can see, this has turned a post hoc argument and I'm starting to look for a way out.

So now I ask the question, do women truly suffer if they chose to "conform" so to speak to the gender roles. Can she embody feminism if she enjoys doing everything that is proverbially "feminine?" 

Two Pictures are Worth Two Thousand Words

Instead of ranting today, I want to make this post more outfit-focused because frankly I think I've ran out of things to say (apparently, it is possible).

On the surface, these outfits are seemingly very different in style, at least to me. While the first one is more mod the second one is totally grunge. However, when inspected closely, they both contain more or less the same elements. They both feature a dress of some sort and a secondary coverage; be it a denim dress shirt or a printed cardigan. There's even similarity in the details such as accessories, shoes and leggings. However, despite all that, they're nevertheless of very different aesthetics. Which brings me to the my quote of the day: "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts". And from this quote we can yield a fashion-related lesson which is to always be creative and mix and match your pieces, because everything has the potential to become a part of a few entirely different outfits.