OmegaMom

A rant.

So the inevitable “China Doll” discussion has reared its ugly head on APC again.

As usual, those who have been around a long time mention the fact that “China Doll” is seen by many Asian-Americans, particularly Asian-American females, as being derogatory and stereotypical, and usually used in conjunction with ooky sexual connotations.

As usual, there are those who see absolutely nothing wrong with the term “China Doll”, have no truck with others finding it demeaning, and say, “As long as it’s said with loooooove, I don’t see how anyone can object!”

OmegaMom goes cross-eyed when she reads these posts.

In fact, there are a few particular posts that make OmegaMom want to reach through the computer screen, pull the posters out through it, give them a good solid one-two shake, then get them in a headlock and give them a GREAT BIG NOOGIE!

(When informed of this irrational feeling on OmegaMom’s part, Mr. OmegaMom snickered and commented, “Oh, yeah, that’s a great way to solve the world’s problems!” Harrumph. He just doesn’t recognize truly World Saving Ideas when they snuggle up beside him in bed at night, that’s all.)

In separate off-line email exchanges with a number of Asian-American females who have adopted from China, sparked by the recurrent “China Doll” discussion, these separate women have told me that (a) they are tired of hitting their head against the wall of people ignoring, downplaying or pooh-poohing their personal experiences and that of their friends, and (b) a lot of the Asian-Americans who have adopted from China who started out on the bigger lists feel marginalized and isolated from and by the larger Caucasian adoptive community.

OmegaMom doesn’t get it. There you are, people with FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE are telling you they have PERSONALLY been subjected to boorish street commentary a la “Ooooh, sexy little China Doll, come give me a f*ck!”, and you’re saying to them, “Well, it’s different when you say it playfully and with love!”

Hey, reality check here! You’re getting commentary from Asian-American females. Guess what your daughter is?!?! She’s a…drum-roll, please!…Asian-American female!

There are loads of perfectly fine pet names for little girls. How about: Punkin’, dumpling, sweetpea, bao-bao, half-pint, baby-doll, pookie, sugar, honey-chile, xiao wa-wa…pick a term, any term. Just maybe think a little harder about using a term that Asian-American females have clearly said makes them feel objectified and turned into a submissive sex-object.

Noogies. That’s what’s needed. Lots and lots of noogies.

Picture OmegaMom storming off, wildly waving her fists around her head.

On this day last year (admittedly an exceptional year for hereabouts), our area had recorded 82 inches of snow since September 1. This year, we’ve had “a trace” since September 1. The norm is for 35 inches of snow by now. We’ve had 2.25 inches of precipitation since September 1; the norm is for 8.25 inches by now, and by this time last year we had had 16.5 inches of total precipitation.

Each week, OmegaMom pulls up the 7-day forecast from NOAA. Once every two weeks, there’s a day that has lovely “party cloudy” weather icons, and a POP (probability of precipitation) approaching 50%. Then, as the days go by, and that day gets closer, the POP drops…and drops…and drops.

A week ago, there was rain in the state. A bit. On the radar pictures, there was a swath of moisture that started at the southwest corner of the state and marched directly across to the northeast corner. There was a divot out of this stretch of clouds that marked the town where the Omegas lived.

Typically, the fire season starts hereabouts in early May.

This year, we can feel it in the air: fire season is going to be early.

In the eight years we’ve lived here, OmegaMom has become quite good at triangulating between plumes of smoke and the location of the hippy-dippy one-time vacation enclave in the woods where the Omegas live as she drives down the highway. If the plume of smoke is north of the highway, all is well for the Omegas (not necessarily for others). If the plume is south of the highway, OmegaMom’s keen, razorlike mind focuses in and determines just how close it is to home.

Last year was a luxurious mental break from the constant niggling worry during May, June, late September and October. So much water had made its way to the area that Natural Lake had water in it for the first time in years; the Forest Service had had to open up the spillway from Upper Dam Lake to Lower Dam Lake, and area inhabitants had gone to the spillway to gawk, incredulously, at the roar of water spilling out. The woods stayed soggy until late in the year; the roads and trails up the mountains were still closed in July due to snow and mud.

But now…now it’s looking pretty crispy critters out there.

Of course, this isn’t going to do any good for the problem with the pine bark beetle, which two and a half years ago had accounted for the death of up to 4 million ponderosa and pinyon pines in the state.

OmegaMom understands that there are stay-at-home parental units in the Oregon area who would kill for an end to rain this year. OmegaMom assures them that she would equally kill for a return to more normal precipitation here.

Maybe we can all trade?