So Like.. I was Mentioned in the New York Post Today

So, like, what's up? Anything new with you guys? Same old? Nothing going on? Well, same here... except OH MY GOD I WAS MENTIONED IN THE MOTHER LOVIN NEW YORK POST... and no, it wasn't for public indecency... yet. Hashtag.. surreal. The backstory is this: About a year or so ago, I became Facebook friends with a very lovely woman named Mackenzie Dawson. We had a couple of friends in common and we both went to AIS in Vienna but since she graduated a few years earlier (and I'm just going to let you all believe that was just a couple of years ago because hashtag wesoyoung. Cough), we didn't really know each other... like in the physical sense which sounds wrong. What I am trying to say is that we didn't hang out and stuff in the past.

She quickly discovered my blog because, I don't know, I link it all.the.time and she reached out to me. She has been an incredible support and I have valued her amazing advice. She is an incredible reporter and great writer and has been like a mentor to me. We finally met last month in real life and it was, at least on my side, awesome! I had a feeling we would get on and thank God that was the right feeling because I have had "feelings" in the past that turned out horrific (please read: new daycare and the re-birthing). But usually I am right.

About a week ago, she wrote me with an idea about a post and said she was going to mention my blog and I literally felt like going on Facebook and Vaguebooking and being all like "OMG! The most amazing thing might happen and I can't tell you about it and SOOOORRRREEEE!!!" Instead I kept that shit locked up (oh, ok, I told a couple of people) and waited for the moment. I did not expect it today and I found out in such an awesome way. I was at work and I received a message on my Operation Tubetop page. It was from a really lovely lady in the States who told me a little about herself and mentioned she found my blog because of the New York Post. I immediately checked the New York Post page and there it was... an article and I was mentioned in it with a link to my blog. I can't described the feeling I had but let us just say there was a lot of me jumping up and down and going "omgomgomgomgomg!"

Friends were over the moon for me and it felt so great and then Office Twin, as we made our way down the hallway, asked if my ego was going to fit through the door. Burn. But well played, sir, well played. Don't worry. He will pay. (Sidenote: He did say this after I called him a peasant and suggested he could be my manservant but still...)

I have spent the last few hours checking comments and checking my blog stats. I'm acting like I wrote this amazing article the way that I am carrying on. And I would like to quickly touch on the article because I know it will be debated -which is awesome. First off, I love living here and I love the quality of life and I pretty much will live here forever and always. But if you know me or have read this blog, you will know the struggles I have gone through in regards to the Kid and finding proper baking soda. Mackenzie's article was not to blast Austria but rather to highlight the almost "Golden Cage" effect that happens here. Two years maternity leave, mutter schutz, money to buy your kids crap and so on and so forth but what isn't always pointed out is that there is still a societal bias towards working moms here. One of my favourite examples is when I taught English to a CFO of a very very well-known company. I asked him if he would hire a woman in her 20's who had just gotten married. He answered "no" and I asked "Why not?" and he answered "She would probably have a baby and then be off for so long." and then I said "But what if she only took off 3 months." to which he answered "Well, then she would be a bad mother." Boom! There it is!

Now, I have to say that times are changing and more and more men are taking paternity leave and that is great. But there is still an imbalance. I will be a raging feminist until we have equal pay and women are no longer asked how they can juggle motherhood and a career when no one would ever ask a man that. So game on.

Anyway, if you are new to this blog, lemme introduce myself. My name is Tova, I am a Canadian married to an Austrian. I have an amazing son named Raphael who is 4 and is the light of my life. He is autistic and a joy and I cannot ever stop talking about him. Unless I am talking about something that pisses me off which is pretty much a common occurrence. I work full time, I write this blog, I write once in a while for an awesome online magazine called Vienna Würstelstand. I try and lose weight constantly and I often hide my many many purchases from the Husband even though we have a shared account. I am irreverent, I am short and I am a decent person. If you want to, I don't know, stay up-to-date with this blog, check out my Operation Tubetop Facebook page and like it because I have low self esteem and I am like 3 likes away from 500 likes which according to Facebook means that once I reach the 500 likes, I'll finally be a somebody. Or something.

Cough. End of shameless self-promotion. I have a feeling that my already awesome journey in life is just getting started and I hope you join me for the ride. I brought snacks... cause I am chubby. Again, what a surreal day! And thanks for reading. It means the world to me!

P.S. And thank you Kaitlyn for reminding me to post the New York Post link: http://nypost.com/2015/07/20/why-working-moms-dont-have-it-better-in-europe-than-in-the-us/

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