Points to ponder....
1) What if nobody knew that ignorance was bliss?
2) If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done?
3) Are people more violently opposed to fur rather than leather because it's much easier to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs?
4) When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny?
5) Why is it that if someone tells you that there are 1 billion stars in the universe you will believe them, but if they tell you a wall has wet paint you will have to touch it to be sure?
6) If you were in a car travelling at the speed of light, what would happen when you turn on the headlights?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Group fitness
Just me, back from the gym. A few pet peeves to complain about today.
1) Why is it that all the newcomers feel like they need to stand next to me? Yes, I am in the back row, but do they need to all crowd in next to me? I have started to wonder if it is because I am the fat chick in the back. Just to show them loosers otherwise, I usually kick it up a notch... yeah, keep up with that bitch. I may be fat, but I can kick your butt.
2) If you arrive late, you should not push into my space. I am as nice as the next person, but we had already pushed one person out of our row, then 20 minutes in, during a water break your are going to waltz in and put yourself into the back row. Not cool. If you want to be in the back row, get there early.
3) It is interesting to watch people fight for their spots. The regulars have their areas they like to be in and they don't like to have someone take it. I hate being new to a class because I know I am going to be in someone's spot. Sometimes it works out and we add the new person to our group and sometimes... yeah not so much.
At the end of the day, in spite of the fact that you have to deal with other people in a group fitness class, it really is what makes it worth doing. I know I push myself harder and work out longer when someone is in the front yelling at me. Also, the peer pressure isn't such a bad thing. So, I guess I will have to put up with the people.
That said, if you stroll into a packed kick box class 20 minutes late, go to the front, not the back. Better yet, jump on a treadmill and wait until next time.
1) Why is it that all the newcomers feel like they need to stand next to me? Yes, I am in the back row, but do they need to all crowd in next to me? I have started to wonder if it is because I am the fat chick in the back. Just to show them loosers otherwise, I usually kick it up a notch... yeah, keep up with that bitch. I may be fat, but I can kick your butt.
2) If you arrive late, you should not push into my space. I am as nice as the next person, but we had already pushed one person out of our row, then 20 minutes in, during a water break your are going to waltz in and put yourself into the back row. Not cool. If you want to be in the back row, get there early.
3) It is interesting to watch people fight for their spots. The regulars have their areas they like to be in and they don't like to have someone take it. I hate being new to a class because I know I am going to be in someone's spot. Sometimes it works out and we add the new person to our group and sometimes... yeah not so much.
At the end of the day, in spite of the fact that you have to deal with other people in a group fitness class, it really is what makes it worth doing. I know I push myself harder and work out longer when someone is in the front yelling at me. Also, the peer pressure isn't such a bad thing. So, I guess I will have to put up with the people.
That said, if you stroll into a packed kick box class 20 minutes late, go to the front, not the back. Better yet, jump on a treadmill and wait until next time.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
"Gifted Mom"
We have been fighting for gifted education over here in Chi-land. While, I do not actually think that the board thinks gifted education is a bad thing, I do think that they believe it is an easy cut because most people in the district won't be impacted (so they think). They won't cut special education for kids in the bottom 2% because well, they are mandated to provide services by the government.
It has been an interesting ride, as a lot of people, not realizing I am a "gifted" mom (I love that new label), have had some not so nice things to say about the program. Oh, those kids will be fine, just give them another book to read in the back of the classroom. We shouldn't spend money on the smart kids, they are already smarter than anyone else. My favorite is: All the gifted kids are just really kids of rich parents who use their money to get them into the program. Yeah, that is right all my free lunches provided by the state, I used them to influence the board. Hey, Mr./Mrs. Board Member come on over and get your free cafeteria lunch and in exchange I want my kid in the gifted education program. I see that working.
Mac, not on gifted education... let me see, he will be bored. He will bug the teacher and the kids in the class. He will cause so many problems the teacher will beg for mercy. I will earn a parking space for my frequent trips to the school, people might start to think I am an employee.
You see, just because Mac is really smart, he has some issues with his emotional iq. His ability to control himself is, well, somewhat lacking, to put it mildly. Especially when he is bored. Gifted Education is Special Education. A gifted ed teacher has to have certification, and s/he has to be prepared to deal with a variety of social behaviors that are not typical in the regular classroom. There are high functioning autistic kids in Mac's class, there are kids who struggle with frustration and controlling themselves, there are kids with anxiety disorders, etc. These teachers have to be able to keep a bunch of kids on track, challenged and help them manage the behavior. It is a hard job and there is a reason the class sizes are so small!
When these kids are not focused and challenged, there becomes many behavior problems. Just imagine, all those kids in one classroom, having tantrums, 25 other kids all at different levels, one teacher with no aide. Yeah, it would be pretty. The parents with their kids in the class with the "gifted kids"... they would regret thinking that would be a good thing.
If it wouldn't be detrimental to my kid, it would almost be funny to do it and let them watch it blow up in their faces.
It has been an interesting ride, as a lot of people, not realizing I am a "gifted" mom (I love that new label), have had some not so nice things to say about the program. Oh, those kids will be fine, just give them another book to read in the back of the classroom. We shouldn't spend money on the smart kids, they are already smarter than anyone else. My favorite is: All the gifted kids are just really kids of rich parents who use their money to get them into the program. Yeah, that is right all my free lunches provided by the state, I used them to influence the board. Hey, Mr./Mrs. Board Member come on over and get your free cafeteria lunch and in exchange I want my kid in the gifted education program. I see that working.
Mac, not on gifted education... let me see, he will be bored. He will bug the teacher and the kids in the class. He will cause so many problems the teacher will beg for mercy. I will earn a parking space for my frequent trips to the school, people might start to think I am an employee.
You see, just because Mac is really smart, he has some issues with his emotional iq. His ability to control himself is, well, somewhat lacking, to put it mildly. Especially when he is bored. Gifted Education is Special Education. A gifted ed teacher has to have certification, and s/he has to be prepared to deal with a variety of social behaviors that are not typical in the regular classroom. There are high functioning autistic kids in Mac's class, there are kids who struggle with frustration and controlling themselves, there are kids with anxiety disorders, etc. These teachers have to be able to keep a bunch of kids on track, challenged and help them manage the behavior. It is a hard job and there is a reason the class sizes are so small!
When these kids are not focused and challenged, there becomes many behavior problems. Just imagine, all those kids in one classroom, having tantrums, 25 other kids all at different levels, one teacher with no aide. Yeah, it would be pretty. The parents with their kids in the class with the "gifted kids"... they would regret thinking that would be a good thing.
If it wouldn't be detrimental to my kid, it would almost be funny to do it and let them watch it blow up in their faces.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Six words
Six little words, can you use them to sum up your story?
Three kids, tired mommy, chocolate, chocolate.
New house, no job, new job.
Knit two, purl two, knit two.
One, two, three..... four.......... five............... six.
Don't yell, use your inside voice.
Too many obligations, not enough time.
Endless winter, spring? Come now. Please?
Married, a long time. Good thing.
You are dumb. 4's words. Waaaaaawwaaaaaa.
I don't want to. No. NO.
Negotiate. Ignore. Plead. Punish. Beg. Argue.
God is great. Beer is good.
Life is good. Knitting is better.
Three kids, tired mommy, chocolate, chocolate.
New house, no job, new job.
Knit two, purl two, knit two.
One, two, three..... four.......... five............... six.
Don't yell, use your inside voice.
Too many obligations, not enough time.
Endless winter, spring? Come now. Please?
Married, a long time. Good thing.
You are dumb. 4's words. Waaaaaawwaaaaaa.
I don't want to. No. NO.
Negotiate. Ignore. Plead. Punish. Beg. Argue.
God is great. Beer is good.
Life is good. Knitting is better.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A Win
Advocate for your children, because no one else will. I live by that motto, I embrace it. Perhaps this is because my mother never really did this for me. I was talking to her the other day about a situation where I didn't get a part in a play when I was in 5th grade. I still feel the sting of that rejection even now. It was a semi-political decision, and my mother had made the powers that be unhappy. Hard to imagine, but she didn't want to play with them anymore and they took that out on me.
I asked her, what if any thing she did to change the situation. She told me that she did nothing. That she just let what was going to happen happen. She wasn't one to rock the boat, or advocate for us kids. Her words, not mine. She then went on to say that one thing that she has always been impressed by was how much I advocate for my kids, that I am not afraid to stand up for them. I can't really say how well this has worked for me, but the truth is, if you screw with my kids I am going to have something to say about it.
I have advocated for them a lot recently. Sometimes with a happy result, sometimes I insert myself into situations where I do not belong, and sometimes well, I just muck up the works and make everything worse. I talk a lot about my screw-ups, but today, we are going to celebrate a win.
The school board was going to cut Mac's gifted reading program. Well, as you can imagine, that was not happening on my watch. So much bad has happened to us since we got here, but the bright spot has always been the education and I was going to go down in a ball of fire before I let this change. So much of the bad stuff has really been out of our control. This, at least I had some ability to impact the outcome. I could lobby the board. I could ask everyone I know to help out. I hatched a plan, and then I realized, I was not alone. I got to meet some amazing people that have done some amazing things for the gifted education in this town. I was humbled to be in their presence. When one of them stopped to talk to us in the parking lot as we were gabbing, I was amazed, she talked to me... it was like a freakin' rock star. These ladies have changed the way gifted education is delivered in this area, they deserve a hats off salute. They made this happen. I just got to ride on their coat tails and see it happen.
Their work paid off. All the parents lobbied the school board, and guess what, it worked. They changed their minds. Mac gets to stay in his special class. Mac is not going to be left behind. The system worked.
Let's put a hash mark in the win column. YEAH!!!!!!
I asked her, what if any thing she did to change the situation. She told me that she did nothing. That she just let what was going to happen happen. She wasn't one to rock the boat, or advocate for us kids. Her words, not mine. She then went on to say that one thing that she has always been impressed by was how much I advocate for my kids, that I am not afraid to stand up for them. I can't really say how well this has worked for me, but the truth is, if you screw with my kids I am going to have something to say about it.
I have advocated for them a lot recently. Sometimes with a happy result, sometimes I insert myself into situations where I do not belong, and sometimes well, I just muck up the works and make everything worse. I talk a lot about my screw-ups, but today, we are going to celebrate a win.
The school board was going to cut Mac's gifted reading program. Well, as you can imagine, that was not happening on my watch. So much bad has happened to us since we got here, but the bright spot has always been the education and I was going to go down in a ball of fire before I let this change. So much of the bad stuff has really been out of our control. This, at least I had some ability to impact the outcome. I could lobby the board. I could ask everyone I know to help out. I hatched a plan, and then I realized, I was not alone. I got to meet some amazing people that have done some amazing things for the gifted education in this town. I was humbled to be in their presence. When one of them stopped to talk to us in the parking lot as we were gabbing, I was amazed, she talked to me... it was like a freakin' rock star. These ladies have changed the way gifted education is delivered in this area, they deserve a hats off salute. They made this happen. I just got to ride on their coat tails and see it happen.
Their work paid off. All the parents lobbied the school board, and guess what, it worked. They changed their minds. Mac gets to stay in his special class. Mac is not going to be left behind. The system worked.
Let's put a hash mark in the win column. YEAH!!!!!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Stories
Yes, I read the newspaper. There was several articles that where very interesting today.
First, college students are PAYING to get unpaid internships. They pay upwards of $7,000 to have some one secure them an unpaid internship. Seriously? In this current economy, with companies laying off folks, this means everyone has to do more work. So, you are struggling to get all your work done and a college student comes and tells you that they will help you out for free? Trust me, this is a win/win for everyone. So, basically college students are too freakin' lazy to find an unpaid internship themselves.
The thing that struck me was that one woman was raising money to do this. She had gotten a scholarship from her school and was going door to door soliciting money. This kid isn't lazy, just stupid. Instead of doing all that, just do a little research, write up a resume and cover letter, and create a fishing letter. Trust me, if she put the amount of effort into looking for an unpaid internship herself that she has put into trying to finance this company to find one for her, she would be ahead of the game!
Ok, another article. This was a very nice article about a man that sells newspapers in the Downers Grove station. He is going blind because of macular degeneration and a bunch of commuters have stepped up to help him. They did a brief bit about his background, and he served in General Patton's Third Army in WWII. The Third Army liberated the first concentration camp.
My Grandfather, Mac, was the chief medical officer for General Patton's Third Army in WWII. He never shared with us stories of what he experienced liberating the first concentration camp, except to say, that he coordinated their medical care. I wonder if this man knew my grandfather. My grandpa was much older at that time, and I would imagine had a much higher position than this man, but perhaps he knew of him. It makes me want to go to that train station to meet this man. To talk to him about Mac.
Finally, an update on our budget cuts here. Tonight we will have an organizing meeting. It will be interesting to see what happens. I hope we can turn this ship around!!
First, college students are PAYING to get unpaid internships. They pay upwards of $7,000 to have some one secure them an unpaid internship. Seriously? In this current economy, with companies laying off folks, this means everyone has to do more work. So, you are struggling to get all your work done and a college student comes and tells you that they will help you out for free? Trust me, this is a win/win for everyone. So, basically college students are too freakin' lazy to find an unpaid internship themselves.
The thing that struck me was that one woman was raising money to do this. She had gotten a scholarship from her school and was going door to door soliciting money. This kid isn't lazy, just stupid. Instead of doing all that, just do a little research, write up a resume and cover letter, and create a fishing letter. Trust me, if she put the amount of effort into looking for an unpaid internship herself that she has put into trying to finance this company to find one for her, she would be ahead of the game!
Ok, another article. This was a very nice article about a man that sells newspapers in the Downers Grove station. He is going blind because of macular degeneration and a bunch of commuters have stepped up to help him. They did a brief bit about his background, and he served in General Patton's Third Army in WWII. The Third Army liberated the first concentration camp.
My Grandfather, Mac, was the chief medical officer for General Patton's Third Army in WWII. He never shared with us stories of what he experienced liberating the first concentration camp, except to say, that he coordinated their medical care. I wonder if this man knew my grandfather. My grandpa was much older at that time, and I would imagine had a much higher position than this man, but perhaps he knew of him. It makes me want to go to that train station to meet this man. To talk to him about Mac.
Finally, an update on our budget cuts here. Tonight we will have an organizing meeting. It will be interesting to see what happens. I hope we can turn this ship around!!
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