Women in the Workplace - Equal Opportunity

There is a lot of talk nowadays regarding equality for women in the workplace. I got to thinking about all the stories that I'd heard about the race for equality simply due to a piece of machinery that I was working with today. The machine is called HMI (Human Machine Interfacing). Prior to being called HMI, the machine was known as MMI (Man Machine Interfacing).
Is it seriously such a huge deal to be so politically correct that even a machine has to have its name changed? Good grief.

So what about equality for women in the workplace?

Just today I was having this conversation with another girl in my class (my class is predominantly male). This girl and I were talking about what our luck would be with finding employment in our field once we're done school, and we both thought that we might have a bit of an upper hand due to equal opportunity. We're in the industrial electronics field, which of course is a male dominated market.

The conversation, however, quickly led off into another direction regarding a man's ability for some jobs over what a woman could do. An example, provided by my classmate, was firemen. A lot of upper body strength is required to be a fireman, and to speak honestly, most women would not be able to do the job simply due to physical restrictions.
It's not prejudice; it's a fact.

On this same line of thought, there are jobs that women do much better than men. It's been shown that women tend to have more dexterity and steadier hands than most men, which makes it easier and more efficient for women to do jobs like electronic soldering. Women also tend to use a more emotional face when dealing with people, which can make them great as nurses.

So going back to the whole equality issue, would it be easier for a woman to find a job in a male dominated field, or would it actually be more difficult? I suppose this all depends on exactly what field it is, and what sort of requirements are present. There tends to be a lot of resentment toward minority groups in the workplace, so maybe scoring the job wouldn't even be the difficult part; the hard part might be living with it.

Twilight Saga

I am a pretty avid reader, but unfortunately I don't really take a lot of time to sit and discuss the books that I read with other people. One reason for this is because I don't really know anyone else who reads a lot, and although I realize that I could find a discussion forum online, it's just not the same as having an immediate conversation. Another reason is that I don't really want to hear nothing but the other person's opinion on the book. I have talked to so many people about other subjects (obviously), and somehow the conversation always ends up getting domineered by the other person's opinions. Perhaps I am not assertive enough; something that my fiancé would say is impossible.

Anyway, onward and beyond, I suppose.

Lately I've been reading the Twilight saga, because my boss recommended the books to me and said that I just had to read them. I had already seen the first movie, which I didn't find very impressive at all, so I didn't really have any high hopes for the books.
Here's a quick synopsis of my opinion so far:
Twilight - Good, fun read. Has that romantic excitement that just about every woman loves, even if it is a bit adolescent. The actual writing is not so great, but the story is good.

New Moon - Wonderful expression of the terrible emotional pain that comes with break-ups and abandonment. I could really feel a whole mix of emotions throughout the book. The main character is a bit too clueless at times, but like I said, the actual writing isn't all that great.

Eclipse - Having a tough time with this one... It's like the main character was head over heels for the vampire in the other two books, and now suddenly he's like her father figure or something. The vampire controls the main character, the main character spends lots of time resenting him, and after all her claims of undying love, she won't marry him...
Erm... yeah.

I haven't finished Eclipse yet, but I'll give more of my happy little opinions when I do. It's taking me longer to get through it than it took for the first two books, but I think it's because the story is getting tired at this point. There's nothing really happening, and it seems that it just runs in circles forever. Perhaps I just haven't gotten to the heart of the book yet... I'll keep plodding on and hope that something good comes out of it.

Feel free to share any of your opinions if you have read these books!

My Sister's Keeper - A Book Review

I never felt compelled to read the book, even though I'd picked it up a number of times at the book store. The blurb on the back just didn't catch my attention, and I guess I didn't fully understand what it was supposed to be about. It wasn't until after my boss told me what the book was about that I decided that it might be worth the read, and so I went out and bought it.

Here's a quick synopsis of the story for you:
Twelve-year-old Anna has a sister, Kate (16), who is sick with a very rare form of leukemia (since age 4). Kate requires regular transplants in order to keep her alive. When Kate was first diagnosed it was found that none of her family members were compatible to be donors for her, and so her parents decided to go to a geneticist to engineer a baby that would be the perfect match for Kate; hence, Anna was born.
At age twelve, Anna decides that she doesn't want to be Kate's donor anymore. Well, perhaps that's bad phrasing - Anna wants to help Kate, but she wants to be medically emancipated to make her own decisions. The book is basically about the family's journey through some of the most difficult things that can happen to a family.

At first I found the book to be a bit confusing, because it changes between different people's points of view, and it's hard to follow when the characters are still new. After a while, however, I got used to the changing viewpoints and was able to really focus on the story. Despite the family dynamics being perhaps a little too elastic (meaning the parents way too understanding, some situations being way too easily solved, etc), I found the book to be very touching. It's difficult as the reader to not feel terrible for Kate, to not be confused by Anna, to not have some sort of relation to the parents with what they're facing. The book is filled with little pieces of stories and memories that each character possesses, and each story brings on a different viewpoint about all kinds of different situations.
The author, Jodi Picoult, has a deep understanding of the medical issues surrounding Kate (from her own personal experience), and is able to convey the emotions that accompany such an illness. She also introduces different twists and turns throughout the book that completely come together in the end, even when the reader least expects it.

I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining the story for someone else, but it really is a touching read if that kind of book is your thing. I suggest reading it when you have some privacy and a big box of tissues.