I never had a cat growing up – my dad didn’t like them and our Chow Chow Bear would probably have categorized a kitten as “dinner” instead of “playmate.” Therefore, I made it into adulthood decidedly not a cat person.

My family used to take a lot of road trips and we would stop at those markers by the side of the road that tell what important thing happened there. I remember realizing at some point that most of these markers – and most statues and monuments – were about men. I was shocked, for instance, to find out that of the 29 sculptures in New York’s Central Park, just two are female – Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Mother Goose.

So in continuing to honor Women’s History Month, this week’s Random Five are monuments or places that play a role in the history of women and girls. Did I miss something cool from your community? Let us know in the comments!

Women’s Rights National Historic Park

On Sunday evening, the Hollywood glitterati will gather for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. The big buzz this year is that Kathryn Bigelow has a real chance to become the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar. She’s only the fourth woman to ever be nominated.

If Bigelow wins, it will be a huge step for women in the film industry. Yet, female representation in mainstream film is still alarmingly low. In 2009, women comprised only 7% of all directors, 8% of writers, and 17% of all executive producers. 35% of 2009's top films had no female producers at all.

 In honor of the end of Black History Month and the beginning of Women’s History Month, today’s Random Five spotlights five young women you’ve probably never read about in any history textbook. All of them stared down racial and gender discrimination to live their lives out loud – and changed American history in the process.

On November 14^th, 1960, six-year old Ruby Bridges became the face of integration after her parents made the brave decision to risk the family’s safety to send her to a better school. Angry crowds yelled insults and pelted Ruby and her mother with objects as federal marshals escorted them into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans for Ruby’s first day of first grade. Many parents withdrew their children because of integration and only one teacher, a Boston native, was willing to teach Ruby. She was a class of one for the entire school year; she ate lunch alone and her teacher ran around the room with her for recess. When Ruby grew up she founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation that educates school children on ending racism.

This week’s Random Five is all about really useful websites. You know, as opposed to the usual time wasting faves that make up the ‘most visited’ tab on your (READ: my) computer.  

1. HabitForge.com – The theory is it takes 21 days of doing something every single day to form a habit. This website helps you reach the three week threshold by emailing you daily reminders to do whatever it is you set as your goal and then emailing again at the end of the day to see if you actually did it. If you didn’t, it sets the clock back to day one. This is a great tool for keeping New Year’s resolutions – I currently have one reminding me to take a thirty-minute walk each day!

2. Memorize.com – I used to think part of the point of flashcards as a study aid was actually making them, tediously and by hand, but this website turns that old model on it’s head. You can make your own cards to memorize or choose from lots of pre-loaded categories – US capitals, the periodic table, or, my personal favorite, airport identification codes. It’s free and fun, whether you’re a student or just trying to exercise your brain.

I like the word random. A lot. I use it to describe myself, my interests, my cat, my book collection, my friends. I usually mean “multifaceted” or “wide-ranging” – except in the case of my kitty Galahad, who really fits the dictionary definition: “without definite aim, purpose, method”– but I find the word itself works pretty well to describe my world.

What a difference a decade makes. It’s hard to wrap my head around the idea that ten years ago, I was an awkward thirteen year-old choir nerd in Lubbock, Texas who had a secret desire to be the first female president but knew that probably wasn’t possible, so I’d settle for being a choir director instead.

Last year when I returned to Texas for Thanksgiving, my grandmother pulled two drawers of jewelry out of her closet and dumped them in the middle of the living room floor. As she picked up each piece, she put it on, modeled it in the mirror and passed it to me to do the same. While we played dress-up, she told me the stories and memories associated with each piece.

So last week, after a marathon weekend of organizing that involved shaking hands with hundreds of people and literally running around DC without a coat or scarf, I returned home with a couple of souvenirs: a high fever, a cough, chills, and the worst body aches ever.

I don’t listen to much popular music anymore because, as a New Yorker, my iPod has permanently replaced my car radio. I’m not forced to listen to the mostly repetitive Top 40 list I did in high school anymore - I’ll live happily in my world of feminist spoken word poets and classical opera, thank you very much!