I am not sure if I am horrified or not:
"Why are diamonds a girl's best friend?"
By Satoshi Kanazawa on May 29, 2008 in The Scientific Fundamentalist
"Because women make disproportionately greater parental investment in children than men do, their primary task is to discriminate between “dads” and “cads” among male suitors. How might a woman accomplish this task? How would she know which men will invest resources in her and her offspring?
As I mention in an earlier post, dads are males who are willing to invest in a woman and her offspring in the long run, and cads are those who are only looking for cheap thrills for the night and are likely to desert her after having sex. Given that women can have only so many children in their lifetimes and that they must invest much more in each child, the reproductive consequences faced by a woman for failing to discriminate between dads and cads are very large.
A good dad must possess two qualities: the ability to acquire and accumulate resources, and the willingness to invest them in her and her children. A good way to screen for men who are simultaneously able and willing to invest is to demand an expensive gift; only men who are capable of acquiring resources and willing to invest them can afford to give a woman expensive gifts, which are known as courtship gifts or nuptial gifts in evolutionary biology. (Yes, females of other species demand these gifts before they agree to have sex with the males.) Would any expensive gifts do? A Mercedes-Benz? A house in the suburbs?
No, these gifts will not do. A man who is intrinsically interested in luxury European cars might buy her a Mercedes. A man who is intrinsically interested in real estate might buy her a house in the suburbs. In either case, his gift is not an unequivocal and pure indicator of his general and universal willingness to invest resources in her and her offspring. The courtship gift for the purpose of screening dads from cads must not only be costly but also lack intrinsic value.
Diamonds make excellent courtship gifts from this perspective because they are simultaneously very expensive and lack intrinsic value. No man (or woman) can be inherently interested in diamonds; you cannot drive them, you cannot live in them, you cannot do anything with them.
Any man who would buy diamonds for a woman must be interested in making an investment in her. Flowers, another favored gift for women, are also relatively expensive and lack intrinsic value. Of course, diamonds and flowers are beautiful, but they are beautiful precisely because they are expensive and lack intrinsic value, which is why it is mostly women who think flowers and diamonds are beautiful. Their beauty lies in their inherent uselessness; this is why Volvos and potatoes are not beautiful.
Consistent with this evolutionary psychological logic, recent analysis using game theory demonstrates that what the researchers call “extravagant” gifts -- gifts to women that are “costly but worthless” -- facilitate courtship. The researchers note that such extravagant gifts have the added benefit for men of deterring “gold diggers,” women who promise to mate in exchange for a gift but then desert without mating after receiving it. (Once again, yes, there are such “gold diggers” among females of other species as well.) It appears that women are not the only ones who must screen their mates very carefully."
I periodically read Psychology Today. Heck, we used to have a subscription. I have to ask - what audience is this geared toward? Because, really, I'm horrified here. Is the author receiving a kickback from Antwerp as he writes this article? Is he getting a check from the Coalition for Promoting Marriage in Inner Cities? What the heck?
I'm just saying; getting a compressed piece of what was surely at some point a dead animal is not the ultimate expression of whether or not a man is good father material. First and foremost, a man must be loving and giving, and a caring partner, and a good friend, and a good helper - that kind of man makes an excellent father. And he has to be your best friend already, because I don't think you can raise children with someone you aren't friends with. Someone who looks at you and says "shit, she's busy, maybe I should take out the trash instead" (or whatever). And it's not the value of the ring itself, as the author seems to suggest, but the PROMISE inherent in the ring that matters.
At least, that's what I think.
20080530
Following onto that thought, Pandora, mom decided last night to talk about Grandmother dying, which sent me into another mental spasm. I had to immediately shut the door on that thought, as it induced a panic stricken increase in my heart rate.
That Will Be Bad.
But, as Grandmother herself would say, "Now Eliza, don't go borrowing trouble".
Now, where's a sunny day when you need one?
That Will Be Bad.
But, as Grandmother herself would say, "Now Eliza, don't go borrowing trouble".
Now, where's a sunny day when you need one?
20080528
In the last year and pocket full of change worth of months, I have felt so different about things, about work, about life, about money, about myself.
I was asking a co-worker about an agenda for a regular weekly meeting yesterday. No agenda, no web-ex, no dial in. Very unlike him. He didn't answer me for several hours, and when he did, he informed me that he had a death in the family the day before, and apologized for the delay, and told me he'd be working the rest of the day.
I told this co-worker that I thought it was horrible he was working. And I explained that I felt that way too, before. I got the call that granddad was being taken to the hospital, and that the doctors felt like he had another day or two, and that I should be able to take my time, and so instead of leaving right then and there I felt like it was more important to stay at work and take care of my CAREER than my family.
So instead of going and holding my granddad's hand being with him when he died I stayed here to fire someone who put her husband's bail on the company credit card.
I've had some personal low moments, but that was pretty low.
Some things aren't conscious choices, but over time you realize that you are on the wrong path.
I was on the wrong path. I had a closet full of suits and stupid business woman work clothes. I wanted so badly to be on that executive path, and I really thought that the only way to get there was to just sacrifice everything.
And maybe it is.
But if that's the cost...it's a price I'm not willing to pay.
I was asking a co-worker about an agenda for a regular weekly meeting yesterday. No agenda, no web-ex, no dial in. Very unlike him. He didn't answer me for several hours, and when he did, he informed me that he had a death in the family the day before, and apologized for the delay, and told me he'd be working the rest of the day.
I told this co-worker that I thought it was horrible he was working. And I explained that I felt that way too, before. I got the call that granddad was being taken to the hospital, and that the doctors felt like he had another day or two, and that I should be able to take my time, and so instead of leaving right then and there I felt like it was more important to stay at work and take care of my CAREER than my family.
So instead of going and holding my granddad's hand being with him when he died I stayed here to fire someone who put her husband's bail on the company credit card.
I've had some personal low moments, but that was pretty low.
Some things aren't conscious choices, but over time you realize that you are on the wrong path.
I was on the wrong path. I had a closet full of suits and stupid business woman work clothes. I wanted so badly to be on that executive path, and I really thought that the only way to get there was to just sacrifice everything.
And maybe it is.
But if that's the cost...it's a price I'm not willing to pay.
20080527
I'm sure the new arena is very nice.
Indeed.
Do I need to hear, in my bedroom, over the noise of the air conditioner, a ceiling fan, a television, a box fan, an upright fan (ok, I like air flow), a computer fan, a fish tank, two dogs panting, two people breathing, the dishwasher running, cars driving, Georgia 400.....
an extended drum solo on a holiday Monday night at eleven p.m.?
I don't fucking think so.
Nuisance Ordinance!!!!!!!!!!!
Indeed.
Do I need to hear, in my bedroom, over the noise of the air conditioner, a ceiling fan, a television, a box fan, an upright fan (ok, I like air flow), a computer fan, a fish tank, two dogs panting, two people breathing, the dishwasher running, cars driving, Georgia 400.....
an extended drum solo on a holiday Monday night at eleven p.m.?
I don't fucking think so.
Nuisance Ordinance!!!!!!!!!!!
20080524
Raining cats and dogs, Meg, and thundering and lightening to boot (yesterday).
Today yard work and no naps (again) much to my dismay now I am utterly exhausted and procrastinating both the writing of papers, the doing of accounting homework (I am so failing this class), and anything resembling school responsibility. I shouldn't take a hard class in the spring. But this class is blocking all my other core classes - the rest are senior level. Shit. So. Onward.
Tomorrow - all day cram. No play outside.
Today yard work and no naps (again) much to my dismay now I am utterly exhausted and procrastinating both the writing of papers, the doing of accounting homework (I am so failing this class), and anything resembling school responsibility. I shouldn't take a hard class in the spring. But this class is blocking all my other core classes - the rest are senior level. Shit. So. Onward.
Tomorrow - all day cram. No play outside.
20080523
I am all about Duran Duran today, replacing this morning's unfortunate early morning obsession with Culture Club. Yes, Mr. Manners asserted, I really do want to hurt you, especially if you don't stop humming that song.
More or less.
I had no great plans for the weekend, and even the littlest plans seem to be met with impediment after impediment. Pool? No, something is wrong with the pump, but the pool service (normally nice DUDES) couldn't be bothered to return my phone call to tell me so. I was raking the yard, and hit a yellow jackets nest - handily dispatched by Mr. Manners. So no more yardwork.
It's too nice to be inside. So I've compromised and opened windows, and now the house is a mite too stuffy for anyone's comfort. The dogs have protested by going to sleep, and even my eyelids are drifting a bit as I write. The siren sound of chores: the la la la of the laundry, the do do doing of the dishes, the cl cl cleaning of the bedroom all have become a quiet music in my mind as I contemplate the sweetest thing of all.
The afternoon nap.
More or less.
I had no great plans for the weekend, and even the littlest plans seem to be met with impediment after impediment. Pool? No, something is wrong with the pump, but the pool service (normally nice DUDES) couldn't be bothered to return my phone call to tell me so. I was raking the yard, and hit a yellow jackets nest - handily dispatched by Mr. Manners. So no more yardwork.
It's too nice to be inside. So I've compromised and opened windows, and now the house is a mite too stuffy for anyone's comfort. The dogs have protested by going to sleep, and even my eyelids are drifting a bit as I write. The siren sound of chores: the la la la of the laundry, the do do doing of the dishes, the cl cl cleaning of the bedroom all have become a quiet music in my mind as I contemplate the sweetest thing of all.
The afternoon nap.
My parents anniversary is 9/11.
For years we girls made fun of them because they never remember.
Now they can never forget.
And you know, now they actually celebrate it, and I'm rather proud of them for doing so. I can't think of a more fitting, hmmmm, mental extension of a middle finger in general to Mr. Bin Laden than to celebrate the annual observance of a good Christian marriage.
And I hope those five Chinese couples go on to live good, long lives.
Although I note that it's interesting that the last vestiges of colonialism show up in China after all.
Can you guess what that is?
Give you a big hint.
Victoria.
For years we girls made fun of them because they never remember.
Now they can never forget.
And you know, now they actually celebrate it, and I'm rather proud of them for doing so. I can't think of a more fitting, hmmmm, mental extension of a middle finger in general to Mr. Bin Laden than to celebrate the annual observance of a good Christian marriage.
And I hope those five Chinese couples go on to live good, long lives.
Although I note that it's interesting that the last vestiges of colonialism show up in China after all.
Can you guess what that is?
Give you a big hint.
Victoria.
20080522
I don't know why, but this image haunts me. This was a group wedding; can you imagine celebrating such a beautiful moment of your life only to be catapulted into one of the world's worst public tragedies?For the full text, go here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24782289/
How do you make a whore moan?
Don't pay her!
Thanks to my dad for that darn old bad joke.
Yesterday dawned nice and bright with a splitting migraine. Splitting. No central focus, no single pain, just great fear of light, loud noise, and movement.
In fact, the pills the doctor gave me to make me stop puking?
I puked those up.
Twice.
I called him; they don't work.
I am ok today. I am loopy. I feel like my head is listing to the right.
To be honest, I really don't feel good. I'm faking it. I'm shaky and kinda weak....mainly because I couldn't eat anything yesterday.
Thanks to my dad for that darn old bad joke.
Yesterday dawned nice and bright with a splitting migraine. Splitting. No central focus, no single pain, just great fear of light, loud noise, and movement.
In fact, the pills the doctor gave me to make me stop puking?
I puked those up.
Twice.
I called him; they don't work.
I am ok today. I am loopy. I feel like my head is listing to the right.
To be honest, I really don't feel good. I'm faking it. I'm shaky and kinda weak....mainly because I couldn't eat anything yesterday.
20080520
When will dresses with sleeves return? And when will the day come when I turn on the tv or look at a magazine and read an article about women's fashion only to not be greeted with image upon image of rail thin nearly naked and hairless freaking women?
It's like looking at a hairless Manx cat.
It is not natural.
All those celebutarts who are famous just because they are famous need to get real jobs, learn to eat, and put on some freaking clothing. I do not need to see anyone else's vagina plastered across a website. Yes, you can see for free nearly any two bit celebrity's vagina (Lilo, Jlo, BritBrat, LilyAllen, AmyWino, etc) on the internet after a bit of Googling. In fact, clothing is sexy. More is better. I do not need to see your breasts, or your ass, and the whole world does not need to know about your cellulite - abundant or otherwise. And we certainly don't need the details of your latest catfight or notch on your bedpost. Enough already.
And while I'm here :-)
Getting drunk and falling out of your car is not sexy. Getting soooo drunk that you pass out in the toilet is not sexy. Going to rehab is not a career move.
It's like looking at a hairless Manx cat.
It is not natural.
All those celebutarts who are famous just because they are famous need to get real jobs, learn to eat, and put on some freaking clothing. I do not need to see anyone else's vagina plastered across a website. Yes, you can see for free nearly any two bit celebrity's vagina (Lilo, Jlo, BritBrat, LilyAllen, AmyWino, etc) on the internet after a bit of Googling. In fact, clothing is sexy. More is better. I do not need to see your breasts, or your ass, and the whole world does not need to know about your cellulite - abundant or otherwise. And we certainly don't need the details of your latest catfight or notch on your bedpost. Enough already.
And while I'm here :-)
Getting drunk and falling out of your car is not sexy. Getting soooo drunk that you pass out in the toilet is not sexy. Going to rehab is not a career move.
Coming Home to Roost
Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor.
There are a million observations I could make about the life he's led, his drinking, his politics, his womanizing, his faith, his family, etc...but I won't.
I'll merely say this:
You pay for your sins one way or the other, either in this life or the next.
Cheers!
There are a million observations I could make about the life he's led, his drinking, his politics, his womanizing, his faith, his family, etc...but I won't.
I'll merely say this:
You pay for your sins one way or the other, either in this life or the next.
Cheers!
Spade, Sam, Filed Under
You know how I am able to identify an Atlanta Homicide Detective?
Is it through my incredible powers of observation?
Is it because of my amazing intelligence?
Is it because of my astounding deductive abilities?
A fedora? A fedora? Come now, my good gentle peoples, have we not evolved into a more modern police type agency, one where we wear more contemporary type chapeaus?
Yes, yes...you can tell an Atlanta Homicide Detective by the kind of crappy hat they are wearing.
I live in a B movie.
Is it through my incredible powers of observation?
Is it because of my amazing intelligence?
Is it because of my astounding deductive abilities?
A fedora? A fedora? Come now, my good gentle peoples, have we not evolved into a more modern police type agency, one where we wear more contemporary type chapeaus?
Yes, yes...you can tell an Atlanta Homicide Detective by the kind of crappy hat they are wearing.
I live in a B movie.
20080519
I completely admit it -
this is so totally me:
"Road Block: One bad map, two short fuses
One minute you're blocks away, and the next you're making your fifth three-point turn on a road that's not on the map.
Destination: Smackdown, USA!
Sweet Shortcut: First, put your faith in the person with the map. "I don't question my wife's directions," says travel photographer David Peevers. "It cuts the -bickering that accompanies so many couples on the road." But who should play navigator first? That depends on preferences and skills, says Jamie Jensen, author of Road Trip USA. If you're good at reading maps and like it, Jensen says, do it.
What if neither of you can tell east from west? Pick up the Garmin Nüvi 260W ($350, target.com), a card-deck-size personal navigation device that gives spoken directions so you can watch where you're going.Bonus Tip: Plan driving routes on a virtual map with Google's collaborative mapping (maps.google.com/help/maps/mymaps). Pre-plot bathroom stops with thebathroomdiaries.com, which lists the good, the bad, and the really ugly loos in more than 100 countries. On a budget? Roadtrip-america.com offers a fuel costs calculator. "
Stolen, quite shamelessly, from....
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-relationships/traveling-with-your-man?page=2
this is so totally me:
"Road Block: One bad map, two short fuses
One minute you're blocks away, and the next you're making your fifth three-point turn on a road that's not on the map.
Destination: Smackdown, USA!
Sweet Shortcut: First, put your faith in the person with the map. "I don't question my wife's directions," says travel photographer David Peevers. "It cuts the -bickering that accompanies so many couples on the road." But who should play navigator first? That depends on preferences and skills, says Jamie Jensen, author of Road Trip USA. If you're good at reading maps and like it, Jensen says, do it.
What if neither of you can tell east from west? Pick up the Garmin Nüvi 260W ($350, target.com), a card-deck-size personal navigation device that gives spoken directions so you can watch where you're going.Bonus Tip: Plan driving routes on a virtual map with Google's collaborative mapping (maps.google.com/help/maps/mymaps). Pre-plot bathroom stops with thebathroomdiaries.com, which lists the good, the bad, and the really ugly loos in more than 100 countries. On a budget? Roadtrip-america.com offers a fuel costs calculator. "
Stolen, quite shamelessly, from....
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-relationships/traveling-with-your-man?page=2
People in relationships can be so odd. Some times you can see things so plainly that you are just amazed the rest of the world can't. Your mind is just boggled. And then you think - wait, maybe I am just so insulated in my own little cocoon that maybe I am the one that can't see, and you have to wonder what else there is you can't see or fathom about this world, or any other that might exist.
And sometimes ya just gotta get over it.
Are you ready, Jack?
I was BORN ready.
And sometimes ya just gotta get over it.
Are you ready, Jack?
I was BORN ready.
Neuter Tom Cruise
Oh, what to say, what to do.
There's so much going on in the world, and of COURSE I have an opinion, but....well, not enough hours in the day...so the short version:
Local: So some guy made a tshirt that has Obama looking like Curious George. BFD. Next!
Local (repeat): The hospital worker who processed and then stole and pawned the wife and mothers ring's for a few bucks. I certainly hope your mother is proud of you. I think we should cut off a hand as punishment.
Random Thought: Someone neuter Tom Cruise before he breeds again. I feel sorry for Katie Holmes. Everytime I see her she looks like a deer trapped in the headlights.
Ah, last week's Roswell Beacon. I like the Beacon. It's a weird paper, and it talks about Roswell and Alpharetta, and publishes arrest reports for drugs and DUI and people doing weird things like fighting naked in the streets that make Roswell seem like something out of a cut scene in "Leaving Las Vegas".
Except: last week they gave serious coverage to a group of people who have way too much time on their hands fantasizing about the chaos that will take over the land if *gasp* a man of colour is elected president. They meet in a secret location in the woods, with matching secret decoder rings, and secret handshakes (you need three more UPC symbols to qualify for the secret password and six more for the merit badge). They talk about, rather matter of factly, the Secret Service preparing for things like Obama's assassination if he is elected.
You know, people frighten me. It scares me that people would really shoot a man dead, a man elected by other people who bleed blood, who have the same organs, the same brains, the same bio chemical make up as you and me, the same organic make up as you and me, can seriously consider someone inferior based on the color of their skin. And he isn't a black man. He has a white mother! And why does it matter? It's still murder no matter what your justification is!
By giving these idiots a public voice, I think the Beacon gives them a legitimacy they should not have. In instances like these, I think freedom of the press is overrated. If you want to publish your opinion, pay to have a leaflet printed. Don't let a normally responsible free periodical push your bullshit agenda. Damn, if I was an advertiser, I'd yank my advertising!
There's so much going on in the world, and of COURSE I have an opinion, but....well, not enough hours in the day...so the short version:
Local: So some guy made a tshirt that has Obama looking like Curious George. BFD. Next!
Local (repeat): The hospital worker who processed and then stole and pawned the wife and mothers ring's for a few bucks. I certainly hope your mother is proud of you. I think we should cut off a hand as punishment.
Random Thought: Someone neuter Tom Cruise before he breeds again. I feel sorry for Katie Holmes. Everytime I see her she looks like a deer trapped in the headlights.
Ah, last week's Roswell Beacon. I like the Beacon. It's a weird paper, and it talks about Roswell and Alpharetta, and publishes arrest reports for drugs and DUI and people doing weird things like fighting naked in the streets that make Roswell seem like something out of a cut scene in "Leaving Las Vegas".
Except: last week they gave serious coverage to a group of people who have way too much time on their hands fantasizing about the chaos that will take over the land if *gasp* a man of colour is elected president. They meet in a secret location in the woods, with matching secret decoder rings, and secret handshakes (you need three more UPC symbols to qualify for the secret password and six more for the merit badge). They talk about, rather matter of factly, the Secret Service preparing for things like Obama's assassination if he is elected.
You know, people frighten me. It scares me that people would really shoot a man dead, a man elected by other people who bleed blood, who have the same organs, the same brains, the same bio chemical make up as you and me, the same organic make up as you and me, can seriously consider someone inferior based on the color of their skin. And he isn't a black man. He has a white mother! And why does it matter? It's still murder no matter what your justification is!
By giving these idiots a public voice, I think the Beacon gives them a legitimacy they should not have. In instances like these, I think freedom of the press is overrated. If you want to publish your opinion, pay to have a leaflet printed. Don't let a normally responsible free periodical push your bullshit agenda. Damn, if I was an advertiser, I'd yank my advertising!
20080516
20080515
Even though I think Lori Drew, the woman who posed as a young teenage boy who drew another young teenager into a flirtation in order to learn what this young woman was saying about her daughter (this young woman later committed suicide, based on some of the cruel things this "boy" had said to her), is a complete and total moron, I think that indicting her on conspiracy charges and "three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information" is a bit much.
Can someone explain that last charge? I didn't think there was any legalese for that?
You remember this case, right? Adult woman get a bit miffed when her teenage daughter (mouthpieces for truth and justice) comes home and tattles a bit about something another kid says. Decides, with the babysitters help, to set this kid up by pretending to be a cute boy. It helps that the other girl in question is having a rough period of adolescence in terms of physical attractiveness (everyone does; you gotta learn how to work it!). Mom lures the girl in with some kindness, a little flirtation, and then betrays her. The girl takes this rejection as a crippling blow, and then kills herself. It destroys her, it destroys the parents, and their marriage.
How responsible was this adult woman? She should be ashamed.
Forget court charges.
Bring back the stocks, and pass out the tomatoes.
Can someone explain that last charge? I didn't think there was any legalese for that?
You remember this case, right? Adult woman get a bit miffed when her teenage daughter (mouthpieces for truth and justice) comes home and tattles a bit about something another kid says. Decides, with the babysitters help, to set this kid up by pretending to be a cute boy. It helps that the other girl in question is having a rough period of adolescence in terms of physical attractiveness (everyone does; you gotta learn how to work it!). Mom lures the girl in with some kindness, a little flirtation, and then betrays her. The girl takes this rejection as a crippling blow, and then kills herself. It destroys her, it destroys the parents, and their marriage.
How responsible was this adult woman? She should be ashamed.
Forget court charges.
Bring back the stocks, and pass out the tomatoes.
20080514
20080513
We've never been a family that has put much stock in celebrating birthdays, or observing fake holidays like mother's day, or father's day, or any of those Hallmark inspired holidays - you know, you have a parent or a wife or a husband or a sister or a brother or a god or whatever every single day of the year, so why do you need one special day to celebrate?
What? I'm just asking, for crying out loud!
False sentimentality brought to you by the greeting card industry, the voice of convenient emotional sound bytes.
We forget birthdays. Years went by where my parents forgot their anniversary. YEARS, I tell you. YEARS. Certain wings of the family have an aggravating habit of making last minute plans that are seemingly daft and lacking completely in what I consider forethought (although, in their defense, they probably consider me anal – as a child, for summer vacation, I would start packing a month in advance. Yes, a month. And for fun, I would repack. Daily.). Whereas I plan things out way in advance. I even know what I will be doing in November and December…provided I still have a job. I’m going to N.C. in June for a three day weekend and a wedding. I’m going to FL in September for a three day weekend. I’ll be in south GA for several weekends in November (not, however, my birthday or Thanksgiving). I will be at home for Memorial Day and the 4th (looking at my pool).
The thing is: I will not be DRIVING or FLYING anywhere. I will not be going anywhere that costs money. Or using gas. Or using fuel of any kind. I will not be renting a car, or staying in a hotel, or spending any money at all.
We are in a recession. Save money. Stay home. Be a hermit.
What? I'm just asking, for crying out loud!
False sentimentality brought to you by the greeting card industry, the voice of convenient emotional sound bytes.
We forget birthdays. Years went by where my parents forgot their anniversary. YEARS, I tell you. YEARS. Certain wings of the family have an aggravating habit of making last minute plans that are seemingly daft and lacking completely in what I consider forethought (although, in their defense, they probably consider me anal – as a child, for summer vacation, I would start packing a month in advance. Yes, a month. And for fun, I would repack. Daily.). Whereas I plan things out way in advance. I even know what I will be doing in November and December…provided I still have a job. I’m going to N.C. in June for a three day weekend and a wedding. I’m going to FL in September for a three day weekend. I’ll be in south GA for several weekends in November (not, however, my birthday or Thanksgiving). I will be at home for Memorial Day and the 4th (looking at my pool).
The thing is: I will not be DRIVING or FLYING anywhere. I will not be going anywhere that costs money. Or using gas. Or using fuel of any kind. I will not be renting a car, or staying in a hotel, or spending any money at all.
We are in a recession. Save money. Stay home. Be a hermit.
"Killing My Softly", and yes, Roberta, and not that horrible, overly beat endowed remake was playing in the background on a Friday evening as twilight found me staring out the front door struck by the thought (once again) that much vaunted (in our society) home ownership was another gilded (in my case tarnished) prison.
Viva la Revolution!
Viva la Revolution!
Ah, piffle!
Once, when I was a young lass, I had my heart set on this silly summer sun dress. Now, it was silly. It was a sort of sherbert green, stretchy tank dress that they had at a tacky beach shop at St. Simon's Island, but I loved the color and was convinced it would look fabulous on me. I saw it on Monday and saved my money all week and begged and pleaded for a ride back to St. Simon's so I could buy it before we left.
I dreamt about how hot I would look, in my adolescent, lumpy, spotty, pink glasses wearing, stringy hair sporting self wearing a sherbert green tank dress. I thought that suddenly I would become attractive in this dress, and that somehow magically I would BE NOTICED.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to try the dress on.
It was entirely see through.
Needless to say, it did not come home with me.
Sometimes it is best that you don't get what you want.
Although never getting what you want does stink...as long as it's not a sherbert tank dress, circa 1989.
Once, when I was a young lass, I had my heart set on this silly summer sun dress. Now, it was silly. It was a sort of sherbert green, stretchy tank dress that they had at a tacky beach shop at St. Simon's Island, but I loved the color and was convinced it would look fabulous on me. I saw it on Monday and saved my money all week and begged and pleaded for a ride back to St. Simon's so I could buy it before we left.
I dreamt about how hot I would look, in my adolescent, lumpy, spotty, pink glasses wearing, stringy hair sporting self wearing a sherbert green tank dress. I thought that suddenly I would become attractive in this dress, and that somehow magically I would BE NOTICED.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to try the dress on.
It was entirely see through.
Needless to say, it did not come home with me.
Sometimes it is best that you don't get what you want.
Although never getting what you want does stink...as long as it's not a sherbert tank dress, circa 1989.
20080509
20080508
House Democrats:
15 gagillion dollars to purchase forclosed houses and spruce them up to attract potential buyers misses the point.
Ain't no body lending anyone any money, so it doesn't matter what the house looks like, no one has any money to buy.
Shut up, please, and come back when you understand economics.
15 gagillion dollars to purchase forclosed houses and spruce them up to attract potential buyers misses the point.
Ain't no body lending anyone any money, so it doesn't matter what the house looks like, no one has any money to buy.
Shut up, please, and come back when you understand economics.
To the Woman in the BMW Wagon type Thing on Holcomb Bridge on Tuesday Evening:
Lady,
Mr. Manners and I were exiting 400 Southbound on Tuesday evening, going to get our haircut, at 5.50 p.m. We were patiently waiting our turn on the single lane exit ramp when you decided to do what plenty of other drivers do who are turning left on Holcomb Bridge Road - just, by the way, as we were. You decided to bypass all those drivers who were patiently and legally waiting in line on the highway. You decided that god gave you the right to be a total cunt. You drove past all of us plebian folk, and without signaling, proceeded to cut in front of us at the VERY last possible minute.
At least, you attempted to.
You see, Mr. Manners and I had watched you coming. He was driving. I had noticed the fact that you were watching the mirror, and watching for a gap where you could sneak in. I never once saw you reach for the blinker, or look to make eye contact. In fact, you - black hair, rather plump, wide face, either green or brown eyes, glasses, pale, probably mid thirties, wearing a pale sweater, attempted to merge mostly on top of us thinking that we would yield and let you in front of us - your utter arrogance caused me to do something I never do.
I actually reached across the car, and honked the horn rather loudly at you. I was not driving. I never ever use the horn, much less when I am not driving.
Had you looked up, waved, made eye contact, or ever bothered to acknowledge that you were in the wrong, you were making a mistake, you made a booboo, or something, I would cut you some slack. But noooooo....you braked, and KEPT ON DRIVING.
People: your shit does too stink. I am sure you ran home to your husband and told him all about the mean and nasty people who cut you off in traffic and honked at you and scared you. Boohoo! Learn to drive!
Obey the traffic law.
And while we're here, what's up with this new trend of leaving a fifty foot gap between you and the nearest car at traffic lights?
Lady,
Mr. Manners and I were exiting 400 Southbound on Tuesday evening, going to get our haircut, at 5.50 p.m. We were patiently waiting our turn on the single lane exit ramp when you decided to do what plenty of other drivers do who are turning left on Holcomb Bridge Road - just, by the way, as we were. You decided to bypass all those drivers who were patiently and legally waiting in line on the highway. You decided that god gave you the right to be a total cunt. You drove past all of us plebian folk, and without signaling, proceeded to cut in front of us at the VERY last possible minute.
At least, you attempted to.
You see, Mr. Manners and I had watched you coming. He was driving. I had noticed the fact that you were watching the mirror, and watching for a gap where you could sneak in. I never once saw you reach for the blinker, or look to make eye contact. In fact, you - black hair, rather plump, wide face, either green or brown eyes, glasses, pale, probably mid thirties, wearing a pale sweater, attempted to merge mostly on top of us thinking that we would yield and let you in front of us - your utter arrogance caused me to do something I never do.
I actually reached across the car, and honked the horn rather loudly at you. I was not driving. I never ever use the horn, much less when I am not driving.
Had you looked up, waved, made eye contact, or ever bothered to acknowledge that you were in the wrong, you were making a mistake, you made a booboo, or something, I would cut you some slack. But noooooo....you braked, and KEPT ON DRIVING.
People: your shit does too stink. I am sure you ran home to your husband and told him all about the mean and nasty people who cut you off in traffic and honked at you and scared you. Boohoo! Learn to drive!
Obey the traffic law.
And while we're here, what's up with this new trend of leaving a fifty foot gap between you and the nearest car at traffic lights?
Copied from An Email
So I finally broke down and went for the ole brain scan. A coworker here in the office, a fellow migraine sufferer, had gotten hers and gone on the same preventative that I had flirted with last year (although a higher dose) and found it worked wonders for her, and was literally hounding me into making an appointment. So I have both doubled the dose of preventative (seems to be working, god knows I felt better) and gone and gotten (today) both an MRI and an MRA. As I was explaining to Mr. Manners, I have small headaches or some kind of head pain almost every other day, and I think I had just gotten used to being in pain. I was always going home and going to bed, or sleeping whenever I could…but I had just gotten used to it because I figured that’s just the way life was. And it clicked when Melissa, the aforementioned coworker, said “if your doctor gives you the right dose, you have no idea how much your quality of life will improve”.
And she was SO RIGHT. I feel like doing things now, and not just laying around like Melanie Wilkes (“I could just faint, I sweahuh, Ashley”).
Anyway…I know what my brain looks like. And my eyeballs. And all the blood vessels in my brain. And what my brain would look like emulsified.
Why didn’t any of you jerks tell me I had a big nose?
I head to the doc for the interpretive results Monday.
Just thought you’d want to know.
And she was SO RIGHT. I feel like doing things now, and not just laying around like Melanie Wilkes (“I could just faint, I sweahuh, Ashley”).
Anyway…I know what my brain looks like. And my eyeballs. And all the blood vessels in my brain. And what my brain would look like emulsified.
Why didn’t any of you jerks tell me I had a big nose?
I head to the doc for the interpretive results Monday.
Just thought you’d want to know.
20080507
I had another thought (or two hundred thousand, between Monday and today).
We ALL have a huge sense of entitlement. Someone stated that they thought that I wanted to have been born a thousand years ago in some dark European dungeon rather than born here, in the U.S.
If I had, I wouldn't be alive today. With my poor vision, and chronic migraines, I would have never made it out of childhood. I'd have wandered off from my parents or gotten separated from them and probably starved to death in the wilderness. I certainly wouldn't have made it to the age of 34, gone to school, owned my own house, been allowed to own property or be an individual person. So...no. Plus, there's that whole indoor plumbing thing. I would certainly miss my daily hot showers. And shaving...yeah, I'd miss shaving. Can you imagine the state of my eyebrows?
Not too long ago folks had a concept called your "lot in life". If you were poor, you struggled mightily to better yourself, but bettering yourself meant getting out of the gutter to...above the gutter, not moving to Mayfair. Now we all want to become King, don't we? We don't want to be just a lowly trashman or house cleaner or whatever with a solid backbone and a good work ethic and a good family. No, we want to be that person featured on tv, that lucky soul who, with just a bit o'luck, can be transformed into an elegant member of the upper crust of American society with just a bit of polish and some earnest scrubbing of our fingernails. Now every single person in America, regardless of station in life, birth, place of origin, sex, class, race, level of intelligence, is raised to think that he or she can be a rocket scientist or president or a super model or whatever mommy and daddy thinks that their darling can become.
PUT DOWN THAT CRACKPIPE!
A dose of realism is called for. Please understand that I'm not picking on anyone here; I'm just using examples.
The weeble wobble that lives in my cul de sac is not going to be president. He is not going to be a doctor or a lawyer. It is possible he might be a teacher. Or work in the family business. Or operate his own business. He is not going to join the army or the navy. He is not going to become a librarian. He is MOST CERTAINLY (based on his ability to operate a lawn mower) not going into landscaping. He simply does not have the aptitude for any of those things, regardless of what the education system hopes to give him, and regardless of whatever his parents may or may not tell him.
We all have hopes and we all have dreams. And they are hopes and dreams for a reason - they give us something to aspire to. They give us something to strive for. They are not, however, entitlements. Money is not an entitlement. Wealth is not an entitlement. If you want it, you have to work for it.
Warning: China Bashing Ahead
China has millions of people who live on less than $90 a year.
How many of you spend more than that a WEEK at the grocery store?
Can you imagine living in a world where $90 A YEAR was all you had to your name?
Think about that when you are paying your bills and moaning about how poor you are.
You aren't poor at all.
Look at your waistline. Do you see bones? I didn't think so. If you don't see bones, you can still eat, and therefore you aren't poor. The upside to the whole "depression/recession" debate is that maybe America's obesity epidemic will be forcibly addressed - people will be too broke to eat. Fat people will be too poor to shop for food!
Do you still live in your McMansion, or in your little house? Then you aren't poor. Do you still drive a car? Then you aren't poor.
Go bitch to someone else.
We ALL have a huge sense of entitlement. Someone stated that they thought that I wanted to have been born a thousand years ago in some dark European dungeon rather than born here, in the U.S.
If I had, I wouldn't be alive today. With my poor vision, and chronic migraines, I would have never made it out of childhood. I'd have wandered off from my parents or gotten separated from them and probably starved to death in the wilderness. I certainly wouldn't have made it to the age of 34, gone to school, owned my own house, been allowed to own property or be an individual person. So...no. Plus, there's that whole indoor plumbing thing. I would certainly miss my daily hot showers. And shaving...yeah, I'd miss shaving. Can you imagine the state of my eyebrows?
Not too long ago folks had a concept called your "lot in life". If you were poor, you struggled mightily to better yourself, but bettering yourself meant getting out of the gutter to...above the gutter, not moving to Mayfair. Now we all want to become King, don't we? We don't want to be just a lowly trashman or house cleaner or whatever with a solid backbone and a good work ethic and a good family. No, we want to be that person featured on tv, that lucky soul who, with just a bit o'luck, can be transformed into an elegant member of the upper crust of American society with just a bit of polish and some earnest scrubbing of our fingernails. Now every single person in America, regardless of station in life, birth, place of origin, sex, class, race, level of intelligence, is raised to think that he or she can be a rocket scientist or president or a super model or whatever mommy and daddy thinks that their darling can become.
PUT DOWN THAT CRACKPIPE!
A dose of realism is called for. Please understand that I'm not picking on anyone here; I'm just using examples.
The weeble wobble that lives in my cul de sac is not going to be president. He is not going to be a doctor or a lawyer. It is possible he might be a teacher. Or work in the family business. Or operate his own business. He is not going to join the army or the navy. He is not going to become a librarian. He is MOST CERTAINLY (based on his ability to operate a lawn mower) not going into landscaping. He simply does not have the aptitude for any of those things, regardless of what the education system hopes to give him, and regardless of whatever his parents may or may not tell him.
We all have hopes and we all have dreams. And they are hopes and dreams for a reason - they give us something to aspire to. They give us something to strive for. They are not, however, entitlements. Money is not an entitlement. Wealth is not an entitlement. If you want it, you have to work for it.
Warning: China Bashing Ahead
China has millions of people who live on less than $90 a year.
How many of you spend more than that a WEEK at the grocery store?
Can you imagine living in a world where $90 A YEAR was all you had to your name?
Think about that when you are paying your bills and moaning about how poor you are.
You aren't poor at all.
Look at your waistline. Do you see bones? I didn't think so. If you don't see bones, you can still eat, and therefore you aren't poor. The upside to the whole "depression/recession" debate is that maybe America's obesity epidemic will be forcibly addressed - people will be too broke to eat. Fat people will be too poor to shop for food!
Do you still live in your McMansion, or in your little house? Then you aren't poor. Do you still drive a car? Then you aren't poor.
Go bitch to someone else.
20080506
20080505
Now this is bad advice from the Glamour Magazine doctor on staff:
"I worry about oral sex because of how I smell down there. Do guys care?" --J.A., 30, New York City
I promise you, any guy who gets that close is delighted to be there. He's thinking, I wonder if she's enjoying this, and, There? Or there? and maybe, Hope she returns the favor--but little else. He's not paying attention to the natural musky scent vaginas have. Yes, it can change depending on the foods you're eating and the vitamins you're taking, but it's still a nonoffensive odor. Rest assured, no guy is worried about how he smells or tastes. Follow men's lead on this! And if you're so worried that you can't relax and enjoy yourself, take a shower first."
She has part of it right - the no guy is worried part! But seriously, she's totally off the mark on the other part and has obviously never listened to any talk show, read any men's health magazine, or any women's magazine (for that matter)! They are full of either tips on how to tell you girl she smells, or what to do if you think you do smell, or what not to eat to smell less (note: curry? curry can't possibly smell good).
Of course, it's hard for me to take a doctor seriously who says "please don't stick a soapy washcloth up your woohoo".
What?
Wait, I forgot...I am reading Glamour.
"I worry about oral sex because of how I smell down there. Do guys care?" --J.A., 30, New York City
I promise you, any guy who gets that close is delighted to be there. He's thinking, I wonder if she's enjoying this, and, There? Or there? and maybe, Hope she returns the favor--but little else. He's not paying attention to the natural musky scent vaginas have. Yes, it can change depending on the foods you're eating and the vitamins you're taking, but it's still a nonoffensive odor. Rest assured, no guy is worried about how he smells or tastes. Follow men's lead on this! And if you're so worried that you can't relax and enjoy yourself, take a shower first."
She has part of it right - the no guy is worried part! But seriously, she's totally off the mark on the other part and has obviously never listened to any talk show, read any men's health magazine, or any women's magazine (for that matter)! They are full of either tips on how to tell you girl she smells, or what to do if you think you do smell, or what not to eat to smell less (note: curry? curry can't possibly smell good).
Of course, it's hard for me to take a doctor seriously who says "please don't stick a soapy washcloth up your woohoo".
What?
Wait, I forgot...I am reading Glamour.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
I'm in an international business class, which treads dangerously close to my favorite subject:
International studies.
Prepare for seven more weeks of ranting.
I'm going to be writing a paper about why China sucks, why they are one of the world's worst human rights violators, and worse polluters than America.
Yes, it's true.
There is another administration in the world who cares less about air, water, and soil quality than ours.
And it's communist.
Go figure.
Be very afraid.
I'm in an international business class, which treads dangerously close to my favorite subject:
International studies.
Prepare for seven more weeks of ranting.
I'm going to be writing a paper about why China sucks, why they are one of the world's worst human rights violators, and worse polluters than America.
Yes, it's true.
There is another administration in the world who cares less about air, water, and soil quality than ours.
And it's communist.
Go figure.
Globalization
A question was asked recently in one of my classes:
Is globalization bad for America?
To be sure, there are quite a few arguments out there about competition, market forces, level playing field, increased area of opportunity, and blah blah blah. Most critics and overeducated folks seem to think that globalization is good for America.
I disagree, but oh so respectfully.
Globalization is bad for America because we aren’t prepared to ride the next wave of technology and business.
Why?
Let’s look at our university/collegiate system. How many people do you know with technology degrees? Wouldn’t you agree that the majority of people you know with degrees either have a) a bachelor of arts or b) a business degree of some sort?
Don’t you think that the wave of the future is in…biotech? Nanotech? Robotics? How is a kid with an BA in English going to get a job in biotech except as someone’s administrative assistant?
Has it occurred to anyone that public colleges have been teaching the same set of classical material, more or less, since our country was founded? And in the same fashion, again, more or less, by sitting your ass down in a classroom, attending a lecture, taking notes, and taking a test to see how well you memorized or maybe, just maybe, can apply what you’ve learned? Doesn’t anyone think there is anything WRONG with this model?
In twenty years, if that, we will be left in the dust of the rest of the world. Rendered obsolete. Irrelevant. I see it happening now as we tumble slowly into a little itty bitty depression. While the rest of the world got crazy just like we did with the housing cheese whiz, they did something we didn’t – diversified just a wee bit their personal portfolios. They didn’t invest all their money in one place, nor did they pull out every bit of equity. European countries have better labor laws that protect workers from being arbitrarily dismissed, or companies from being sold and laying off workers willy nilly, so they have more financial security than we do here in the U.S. (dog eat dog). Other countries aren’t poised to go in the economic shitter. We are.
We have a pretty good political system (even if it is staffed by and large by people I wouldn’t trust to tie my shoes); we have a beautiful country (even if we fill it daily with plastic cups, coke cans, cigarette butts, and wrappers from the drive thru); we have plenty of food (although it’s all tied up with the “we will pay you not to plant” or conversely “we will pay you ONLY to plant heaps and heaps of corn that we will use to make ethanol because we are FAR TOO CHEAP to develop fuel cells”). We certainly have plenty of people. We certainly have plenty of intellectual capital, if you assume that for every three people, one person actually has a functioning brain, and will actually use their powers for good and not evil!
Ah, I know I’m being snarky but the point is this:
We are becoming obsolete. While we beat our chest and say “we are Americans, therefore, we are the best” the rest of the world is innovating us into history. Our stubbornness around things like stem cell research means that life saving technology (not to mention words that American investors like to hear: lucrative) is going to be developed and patented by researchers and scientists in another country. And then we will be in the position of crawling around with our hands out, begging for whatever cures they find. People do this today – people go to India or Japan where there are no restrictions, where people with paralysis or other spinal cord injuries can be treated with stem cells and have regained mobility. No doctor in the U.S. will treat them. How sad is that? A U.S. citizen has to leave the country to obtain medical treatment to better his life because the morality of the country prevents him from obtaining medical treatment necessary.
That’s where we are folks. Not in terms of morality. We are becoming blind. We are becoming blind to our need to change and adapt. Not just medicine. Not just government. Not just education. Not just immigration. Or our carbon footprints (oooh, how trendy. I can proudly say that our family has recycled since we were LITTLE CHILDREN and it pisses me off to hear people tell me about how they just started recycling. WHATEVER. Talk to the hand). Not just healthcare. If we are going to remain competitive, and stay “Number One”, we have to change.
Look at today’s kids. Honestly, do you know a single kid that you think is going to amount to anything? Out of the group of gifted kids I went to school with, one became a vet, one is a pharmaceutical researcher for Bayer, one teaches linguistics at college, one died as he was obtaining a degree at a seminary (cancer, I think), one got a degree in English but later moved back home due to a family tragedy and is now a secretary, one majored in theater (is not gay, although male) and at last rumor worked at Dollywood, one dropped out of college and went to work at his father’s concrete business, and one became a nurse. Oh, wait, yet another who got a degree in broadcasting, who now works for (or did) a Christian broadcasting network and apparently has a passel of children.
Did any of us do anything with our lives that mattered (myself included)?
No.
And neither will today’s children.
The kids you see at the theater, or in your neighborhood, or in their little brat pack at Publix? They won’t either. They have NO CONCEPT of any world outside their own immediate concerns, and their parents don’t either.
I become more and more convinced that the people who lead us, the people who run our schools and our civic organizations don’t see the big picture either.
We have to change how we operate. We have to change how we think. We have to become more competitive. If you don’t know how to think, get a job in trade. If you can’t add, you need to be taught how to do something you do have an aptitude for. I’m all about figuring out what people can do, and teaching them how to do it. Education should be for everyone – you should all have access to education – but I didn’t say everyone needed to learn the same thing! Learn to read, learn to write, learn math – enough to balance a checkbook. After that….are you really not a people person but something about math and…say….quasars and pulsars appeal to you? Fine. Astronomy. I’ve nothing against steering people toward careers they seem suited towards, as long as folks agree with the choice. Shit, I wish someone had done this for me. I wouldn’t be almost 35 and JUST GRAUDATING FROM COLLEGE.
I am just rambling; but the point remains the same. To stay ahead of the curve, you must constantly change. Our school systems, primary, secondary, and collegiate do a hideous job preparing our students for careers that make a difference. Shit, they do a bad job preparing students for any career (case in point: I have an employee with a dual degree who cannot write a basic sentence to save her poor little life).
Is globalization bad for America?
To be sure, there are quite a few arguments out there about competition, market forces, level playing field, increased area of opportunity, and blah blah blah. Most critics and overeducated folks seem to think that globalization is good for America.
I disagree, but oh so respectfully.
Globalization is bad for America because we aren’t prepared to ride the next wave of technology and business.
Why?
Let’s look at our university/collegiate system. How many people do you know with technology degrees? Wouldn’t you agree that the majority of people you know with degrees either have a) a bachelor of arts or b) a business degree of some sort?
Don’t you think that the wave of the future is in…biotech? Nanotech? Robotics? How is a kid with an BA in English going to get a job in biotech except as someone’s administrative assistant?
Has it occurred to anyone that public colleges have been teaching the same set of classical material, more or less, since our country was founded? And in the same fashion, again, more or less, by sitting your ass down in a classroom, attending a lecture, taking notes, and taking a test to see how well you memorized or maybe, just maybe, can apply what you’ve learned? Doesn’t anyone think there is anything WRONG with this model?
In twenty years, if that, we will be left in the dust of the rest of the world. Rendered obsolete. Irrelevant. I see it happening now as we tumble slowly into a little itty bitty depression. While the rest of the world got crazy just like we did with the housing cheese whiz, they did something we didn’t – diversified just a wee bit their personal portfolios. They didn’t invest all their money in one place, nor did they pull out every bit of equity. European countries have better labor laws that protect workers from being arbitrarily dismissed, or companies from being sold and laying off workers willy nilly, so they have more financial security than we do here in the U.S. (dog eat dog). Other countries aren’t poised to go in the economic shitter. We are.
We have a pretty good political system (even if it is staffed by and large by people I wouldn’t trust to tie my shoes); we have a beautiful country (even if we fill it daily with plastic cups, coke cans, cigarette butts, and wrappers from the drive thru); we have plenty of food (although it’s all tied up with the “we will pay you not to plant” or conversely “we will pay you ONLY to plant heaps and heaps of corn that we will use to make ethanol because we are FAR TOO CHEAP to develop fuel cells”). We certainly have plenty of people. We certainly have plenty of intellectual capital, if you assume that for every three people, one person actually has a functioning brain, and will actually use their powers for good and not evil!
Ah, I know I’m being snarky but the point is this:
We are becoming obsolete. While we beat our chest and say “we are Americans, therefore, we are the best” the rest of the world is innovating us into history. Our stubbornness around things like stem cell research means that life saving technology (not to mention words that American investors like to hear: lucrative) is going to be developed and patented by researchers and scientists in another country. And then we will be in the position of crawling around with our hands out, begging for whatever cures they find. People do this today – people go to India or Japan where there are no restrictions, where people with paralysis or other spinal cord injuries can be treated with stem cells and have regained mobility. No doctor in the U.S. will treat them. How sad is that? A U.S. citizen has to leave the country to obtain medical treatment to better his life because the morality of the country prevents him from obtaining medical treatment necessary.
That’s where we are folks. Not in terms of morality. We are becoming blind. We are becoming blind to our need to change and adapt. Not just medicine. Not just government. Not just education. Not just immigration. Or our carbon footprints (oooh, how trendy. I can proudly say that our family has recycled since we were LITTLE CHILDREN and it pisses me off to hear people tell me about how they just started recycling. WHATEVER. Talk to the hand). Not just healthcare. If we are going to remain competitive, and stay “Number One”, we have to change.
Look at today’s kids. Honestly, do you know a single kid that you think is going to amount to anything? Out of the group of gifted kids I went to school with, one became a vet, one is a pharmaceutical researcher for Bayer, one teaches linguistics at college, one died as he was obtaining a degree at a seminary (cancer, I think), one got a degree in English but later moved back home due to a family tragedy and is now a secretary, one majored in theater (is not gay, although male) and at last rumor worked at Dollywood, one dropped out of college and went to work at his father’s concrete business, and one became a nurse. Oh, wait, yet another who got a degree in broadcasting, who now works for (or did) a Christian broadcasting network and apparently has a passel of children.
Did any of us do anything with our lives that mattered (myself included)?
No.
And neither will today’s children.
The kids you see at the theater, or in your neighborhood, or in their little brat pack at Publix? They won’t either. They have NO CONCEPT of any world outside their own immediate concerns, and their parents don’t either.
I become more and more convinced that the people who lead us, the people who run our schools and our civic organizations don’t see the big picture either.
We have to change how we operate. We have to change how we think. We have to become more competitive. If you don’t know how to think, get a job in trade. If you can’t add, you need to be taught how to do something you do have an aptitude for. I’m all about figuring out what people can do, and teaching them how to do it. Education should be for everyone – you should all have access to education – but I didn’t say everyone needed to learn the same thing! Learn to read, learn to write, learn math – enough to balance a checkbook. After that….are you really not a people person but something about math and…say….quasars and pulsars appeal to you? Fine. Astronomy. I’ve nothing against steering people toward careers they seem suited towards, as long as folks agree with the choice. Shit, I wish someone had done this for me. I wouldn’t be almost 35 and JUST GRAUDATING FROM COLLEGE.
I am just rambling; but the point remains the same. To stay ahead of the curve, you must constantly change. Our school systems, primary, secondary, and collegiate do a hideous job preparing our students for careers that make a difference. Shit, they do a bad job preparing students for any career (case in point: I have an employee with a dual degree who cannot write a basic sentence to save her poor little life).
Hair
I've got this whole earth mother thing going on lately with my hair and I'm not certain I like it.
You see, I have a terrible time remembering when I've gotten my hair cut. I think, but I'm not sure, that I got my hair cut last in....February. Like, at the end of the month. So now I'm all shaggy and grey, kind of like an old dog, with wrinkly fur.
Yuck.
In a way, it's kind of all earth mother and hippy...and sometimes I can make it work.
But mostly it's frumpy and nasty and so not me.
I'm thinking of highlights.
But what do you think????
You see, I have a terrible time remembering when I've gotten my hair cut. I think, but I'm not sure, that I got my hair cut last in....February. Like, at the end of the month. So now I'm all shaggy and grey, kind of like an old dog, with wrinkly fur.
Yuck.
In a way, it's kind of all earth mother and hippy...and sometimes I can make it work.
But mostly it's frumpy and nasty and so not me.
I'm thinking of highlights.
But what do you think????
The pup pups are almost all better, I'm pleased to report.
Sunday was spent tromping around in the woods. I'm also pleased to report that I did not pick up single tick this time. I did, however, fire a shotgun. Ouch. I shoot like a girl.
I have some purty picktures to post at some point.
In fact, I have a whole SLEW of pictures...
Oh yeah, the personal laptop is still not connecting to the network at home. The Dell guy was supposed to show up at the casa on Friday for a repair visit but a) neglected to show and b) neglected to call. When I called him, he was at the car dealership. When I asked him if he thought it would be possible for Dell to ship the parts to me, as everyone here was Dell certified he asked me if we were hiring!
I complained to Dell.
The parts are being shipped to the office.
WTF?
Sunday was spent tromping around in the woods. I'm also pleased to report that I did not pick up single tick this time. I did, however, fire a shotgun. Ouch. I shoot like a girl.
I have some purty picktures to post at some point.
In fact, I have a whole SLEW of pictures...
Oh yeah, the personal laptop is still not connecting to the network at home. The Dell guy was supposed to show up at the casa on Friday for a repair visit but a) neglected to show and b) neglected to call. When I called him, he was at the car dealership. When I asked him if he thought it would be possible for Dell to ship the parts to me, as everyone here was Dell certified he asked me if we were hiring!
I complained to Dell.
The parts are being shipped to the office.
WTF?
20080501
I sit next to another cubicle dweller who makes reference periodically to an old client, Montgomery Wards, and every time he does, I hear that old Margaret Cho routine, the one she did in the same series where she talks about deliberately getting malaria to get skinny (so wrong)...
Where her mom stands at the bottom of the stairs and screams:
"Keeedz! Keeedz! Time to go to Montgomery Ward!"
Where her mom stands at the bottom of the stairs and screams:
"Keeedz! Keeedz! Time to go to Montgomery Ward!"
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