tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62073839618733901372024-03-08T16:18:27.795-06:00Park and BarkAn opera stage manager gets on the soap box.Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-88693381230899837802008-02-11T19:38:00.000-06:002008-02-11T19:47:12.209-06:00Healing Comes FirstA sappy name for a blog entry, I know, but there's a reason for it.<br /><br />Last Wednesday I sprained my ankle in rehearsal. Turns out I did more than that, I strained a tendon and a muscle in my right leg. I went in for physical therapy today and it's going to be okay, it's just going to take a few weeks to heal. The lesson I learned from this experience is how important regular exercise and stretching are - apparently being out of shape and not flexible enough led to the injury. <br /><br />I know, some of you may be surprised, you've seen me as a pretty fit person. But I let this show get to me and I wasn't working out regularly.<br /><br />So, the regular updates about getting organized are going to have to wait. I have to focus on myself first (which yes, does involved scheduling time for myself to do my stretches) and moving objects around later.<br /><br />I thought about posting pictures of my foot, ankle and calf which have swelled to twice their normal size - but then decided I wanted people to keep reading my blog, not be turned off by it!Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-74457755543324617182008-01-28T23:06:00.001-06:002008-01-28T23:11:29.580-06:00Parkin' and Barkin' again!Goodness! I almost forgot. After all my agonizing and believing I would never work in opera again after turning down a couple jobs for Steppenwolf, I'm going to Michigan in March a couple weeks after my current show ends to do an opera. There was a moment of indecision when I was offered a local theater gig shortly after being offered the opera gig, but I'm sticking with the opera for reasons that are too boring to go into. And I feel good about it, despite the fact that my buddy who wanted me to stage manage the dance gig he's producing in April hates me for backing out on him.<br /><br />He'll be back.Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-19073887161148890302008-01-28T16:46:00.000-06:002008-01-28T22:55:03.378-06:00Organizing financesThe title of this post is an action that is VERY IMPORTANT. This post is not going to be a week in review because I'd rather not talk about how I completely failed to make a schedule for last week or a meal plan. I'd like to talk about how I reconciled all my accounts in Quicken, had it create a report for last year, and realized I spent over $200 in finance charges and late fees on my credit cards.<br /><br />I know, some of you are like, so what? That's nothing! Good for you! But you see, I see it as over $200 that could have been saved towards taking a trip, put towards my retirement or invested. And really, I pay all my cards online so there's no excuse for making late payments. So one of my goals for this year is not to pay a single credit card bill late!<br /><br />I would also like to whine about how ridiculous our election system is, how it's really time to get rid of the delegates and go by the popular vote, by it makes me tired just thinking about it. <br /><br />Right now I'm going to make a schedule for the week.Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-76434108029915940772008-01-21T12:40:00.001-06:002008-01-21T12:57:10.130-06:00Week 1 in ReviewSo, it's been a week since I started my Get Organized resolution. How'd I do?<br /><br />Actually, pretty well. I haven't set any monthly goal or anything, but this week what I did do was outline a meal plan for the week and make a schedule for each day. The schedule only looked like this:<br /><br />Tuesday - Rehearsal until 6, gym after rehearsal<br />Wednesday - Rehearsal until 7<br />Thursday - Rehearsal until 6, gym after rehearsal<br />Friday - Rehearsal until 6<br />Saturday - Rehearsal until 7<br />Sunday - Rehearsal until 7, birthday dinner after rehearsal<br /><br />I also made a ritual of putting together my lunch for the next day the night before, as well as picking out my outfit and laying it out. <br /><br />I had a great week! My mornings were (relatively) stress-free because I just ate my breakfast, took my shower, put on the clothes that I had already picked out, put my lunch in my bag that had already been made, and was out the door. I went to the gym on the days I designated as gym days after having packed my clothes for the gym the night before. Today I plan to make another meal plan for the week, and I'm in the process of doing laundry so I have all my clothes to pick from when making my outfits for each day, instead of just what's clean.<br /><br />This week my "challenge" to myself is to make my schedule just a little more detailed. On the nights I don't go to the gym, I'm going to give myself one thing on my to-do list to try and accomplish, or at least work on. Examples include: go through my mail (I'm notorious for letting my mail sit around forever without opening it), start going through receipts from last year to prepare for doing my taxes, spend 20 minutes straightening my desk and cleaning the office, research candidates for the upcoming elections. (I was hoping to early vote today, but then I saw how many races are on the ballet, including those ever-mysterious judges, that I know nothing about.)Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-58955449963610634482008-01-12T10:04:00.000-06:002008-01-13T17:22:47.125-06:00My New Year's Resolution(s)I haven't made a New Year's resolution in...many years, can't actually remember the last time I actively made a resolution.<br /><br />But I'm turning 30 this year, so it seemed a good time to start making resolutions again, especially since there are habits that I really do want to make and break.<br /><br />Some of you may know (but most probably don't) that I entertained the idea of starting my own professional organization business. I paid for two years of website hosting, I bought a few books on getting organized and starting your own business, I took a NAPO introductory telephone course on professional organizing. And then I got another stage management job, and the whole thing went down the tubes. I got busy, I started to doubt my abilities to run my own business, I looked around at my life and how not organized my personal life is, and my two biggest cheerleaders left town. That's around $200 that I'll never get back, but the nice thing about starting an organizing business is it takes very little investment money to start and there's not much overhead.<br /><br />My resolution for this year is much more attainable than trying to start the business up again. My resolution is simply to get myself more organized. Once I get my personal life manageable, then in the future if I want to start a business I'll be in a much better place. I'll have practiced the methods I would be teaching my clients and feel much more confident in my abilities and authority and a consultant. Also, in looking into professional organizing, I started to ask myself questions about my own personal goals, many of them financial: such as wanting to be able to travel and wanting to own a home someday. These kinds of goals require financial organization and planning. So without further ado, my goals for 2008.<br /><br />1) Organize my space. I want to develop a better system for putting things in their proper place, instead of having my stuff spread all over the office and the apartment. I will need to enlist the help of my partner on this one, but so far I think he's on board with me. I have a fairly decent filing system already, I just need to create a couple more categories to really incorporate all my needs for paper organization, and I need to make sure I use it correctly.<br /><br />2) Organize my time. Plan out my day at least minimally each day so that I have time to do the space organization, to work on paperwork for work if necessary, exercise and etc. I need to develop better habits so that I give myself only so much time to play around on the computer and then move on to the next task of the day. As I'm about to go into rehearsals at Steppenwolf, I may even try meal planning for the week ahead so I can spend less time worrying about what I'm going to eat.<br /><br />3) Organize my money. I made up a budget at the beginning of this year, and I want to start tracking my spending habits and the end of each month to make sure I'm sticking to the budget. I also want to continue being good (and hopefully get even better) at keeping and filing receipts related to tax-deductible expenses.<br /><br />I realize that these goals are at best a bit vague right now. How will I know if I've achieved these goals? What is my measurement of success? <br /><br />Well, every book I've read about getting organized stresses that the point of being organized is so that one can achieve one's goals in life. So the first thing I need to do is figure out my life goals and <span style="font-style: italic;">write them down</span> somewhere to remind myself. These goals will include short term goals as well as long term beyond 2008 goals. Once I have my goals it's a matter of making a plan to get there, combining time and financial management. For 2008 I may take a page out of <a href="http://arduousblog.blogspot.com">arduous'</a> book and set monthly goals for myself. Tonight my plan is to sketch out a schedule for the week, and at the end of week I'll see how well I did.Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-59489028289209116932008-01-06T11:15:00.000-06:002008-01-07T14:08:33.771-06:00Feminist anger<span style="font-family:verdana;">So because I've become a political junkie, I was listening to Morning Edition yesterday to catch news of the candidates in New Hampshire. One of the sound bites was a woman absolutely incredulous that so many young women threw their support behind Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton in Iowa.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I don't blame this woman. Our grandmothers - at least mine, I know - fought hard to be treated equally by men and to even be allowed into the workforce, let alone into Congress or the White House. According to my mother, my grandmother wanted a career outside raising her kids (not that she didn't love them and cherish her time with them), but my grandfather wasn't keen on the idea. They divorced when my mom's youngest brother was in college, and my grandmother got a job working for the now defunct Piedmont Airlines. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">It is now my mother's generation that is behind Clinton, largely I'm sure because they've seen the sacrifices their mothers made and are continuing the fight for equal pay (which we still don't have) and to be taken seriously in Congress, in board rooms and on benches. And now we have an incredible opportunity before us as a nation - to elect a woman to the top position in the land, to elect a woman as the leader of the free world - and hopefully to redress all the inequalities. That's a very heady proposition, and I can understand these women's frustration that the younger generation is not seizing the day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Well let me explain why this young woman is backing Obama and not Clinton. Let me count the ways...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1. It's all right there in the candidates' speeches after Iowa. Clinton talked about herself, "</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >I</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> am ready" "</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >I</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> will lead" and so forth. Obama said "</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >you</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> have done this," they said it couldn't be done, but "</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >you</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> have done it." Obama is empowering people to be the change they want to see in the world, instead of waiting around for some perfect leader to change it for them. This is a very powerful message for me and others my age and younger. We're ready to take change into our own hands because we've seen how badly a leader can botch things; all we need is someone we admire to encourage us. This is the most powerful thing Obama has going for him. While it is inspiring to see a woman running for president, her message so far has been uninspiring.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2. Woman can only win with Obama as president. As the first American President to be a minority, I believe Obama will do all he can to help ALL minorities, including women. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3. My main fear about Clinton is that she has too many ties to powerful interests and people who have been influential in government in the past 16 years. She has not convinced me that she would bring about change. I believe she would be a "more of the same" president. Obama has none of these connections and would be under no pressure to hire or nominate people who have had anything to do with failed policies in the past. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">4. One area Clinton is very competitive in is foreign policy. Many of the world's leaders know her from her travels as First Lady last decade and from her trips as a U.S. Senator. But Obama has made many trips as a senator himself, and I have no fear that he will be able to rise to the occasion. I also believe with Obama as president the U.S. will more fully commit to its promises to Africa. Lots of lip service and empty promises have been made to this continent and it's about time we follow through.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Believe me, none of us young women are overlooking the opportunity to elect a woman to the highest position in the land. We simply want a candidate who is independent of past administrations and who inspires us to be better people and a better nation.</span>Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-83142171018186220712008-01-05T13:47:00.000-06:002008-01-07T14:09:06.079-06:00More fun from Oz<span style="font-family:verdana;">I'm going to take a page out of my buddy John's book and post a link. Just two. Not going crazy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">There's this band called Flight of the Conchords from Australia and well - just watch the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbbxA8a_M_s">video</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">There's also a kid's band in New York that have a fairly polished sound and a fairly polished </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqYgZCrTL58">video</a> on youtube as well. They call themselves Care Bears on Fire - what could be cuter that 12-year-old punks?Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-6885221844025872482008-01-03T21:52:00.000-06:002008-01-07T14:09:25.603-06:00Obama wins in Iowa!<span style="font-family: verdana;">And so it </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/politics/03cnd-campaign.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin">begins</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm very encouraged to see Obama do so well in the Iowa caucus. I was very divided for a long time on who to back in the Democratic race - I think it was an article in the New York Times that convinced me to back him, but I can't remember exactly. All I remember is that I suddenly felt very urgently that we need someone new in the White House. Someone who has fresh ideas, has no connections to people that have been in power or at least influential for the past 40 years, and who has a different background and life experience from those typically in power.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't get me wrong - I'm shaking my head at how early this caucus occurred and at our electoral process in general. But that's for another blog.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">No matter which Democrat you're backing, you have to be encouraged by how many 20-somethings turned out for the caucus, and we can only hope they will continue to come out across the country. While it is too early to tell how things will shake out across the country, I do find it telling that Clinton's supporters were generally over 65 and Obama's supporters were generally the young crowd. To me this means that for Obama to win ultimately, the younger voters (who typically have a terrible turn out at primaries and general elections) will have to step it up and make their voices heard. In addition, Obama will have to make sure he reaches out to voters across generations and makes his message meaningful for people who want change </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;">and</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> people who value experience.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am comforted that our 3 front-runners all have the right idea. No matter which one comes out ahead I believe I will be able to vote for him or her(!) with confidence. But I am glad to see Obama make such a strong start and hope he can go all the way.</span>Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-79135899918881952792007-12-26T10:21:00.000-06:002007-12-26T10:40:02.154-06:00Happy HolidaysHello from the other side of Christmas. In my last post, the kids were driving me to drink (not that it takes much, who doesn't like a tasty beverage?) But today I'm happy to report that things have been running much smoother. I think the parents really instilled the holiday spirit in their kids, and that along with a good dose of fear and guilt from the stage manager has improved behavior mightily recently. I even made out with all sorts of goodies - a nice stationary set, a candy apple, a Target gift card, and chocolate. I've decided to make cookies for the kids on Friday when I have a whole day to prepare - it doesn't cost much, but it requires effort and therefore qualifies and a nice gift.<br /><br />Yesterday David and I spent a lovely day with my parents opening presents, playing Scrabble and eating. This was definitely the best year yet, I was smart and told my parents exactly what I wanted so I didn't get any weird gadgets or items that I don't know what to do with. The one thing missing, of course, was my brother.<br /><br />For those who don't know, my brother is currently in Iraq with the Tenth Mountain Division. He was going to try and call yesterday but wasn't able to for some reason. I never imagined I would be one of those people who have to experience a holiday without a loved one because of a war - but here I am. I have to say it is weird. My fiercely liberal, peace-loving family with a solider in the family. On other hand, I feel like it gives me more credibility as an opponent of the war since it directly affects me. This is not something I would ever have asked for, but here it is.<br /><br />My dad brought out the old video camera and hooked it up to the TV so we could watch old home movies. My mom almost lost it a couple times seeing images of my brother as a 7-year-0ld, not to mention the footage of her older brother and father, both passed away now. Thank goodness for home movies! While it was sad to see these people, I personally am grateful to have these images of them. My favorite footage was of the family reunion we had when I was I don't know, around 8, in Iowa for my great-grandmother's 90th birthday. She has also since passed away. And one of my uncles in the video is now embroiled in a nasty divorce from my mom's sister. But the video is a nice little time capsule of a time when we were all alive, all together and all (mostly) happy.<br /><br />Happy Holidays to you and yours, and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-68818277185807115222007-12-10T20:09:00.000-06:002007-12-14T11:23:26.053-06:00Almost pondering a hysterectemyWhen I started this blog, I really wanted to try and post more often. But then I got the Supervisor job, and all my free time went out the window. Kudos to <a href="http://arduousblog.blogspot.com/">arduous</a> for being a busy bee and still managing to blog every day!<br /><br />So, at last post I think I was sounding pretty optimistic about my current job. I'm still fairly optimistic, but the last couple days really tried my patience. We had two days in a row of one show at noon and the evening show not until 7:30. This is a really long gap between shows. Wednesday I was clocked in for over 11 hours, which was great for my paycheck, but a little rough on my sanity. Yesterday I got a three hour break between shows, but the kids were so rowdy during the second show that I snapped on the boys. Not in a mean way, just in a speaking-very -firmly-reminding-them-of-their-obligations kind of way. The depressing thing is that I'm not sure it made a difference. The kid who'd started it - he'd thrown a (soft) object at another boy, causing him to cry out (excessively loudly, he wasn't really hurt) - did appear contrite, but it's not like I never had to ask the kids to be quiet again all night or remind them of certain rules.<br /><br />I'm chalking it up to two long days in a row, and hoping things will improve tonight. I really wanted to say something to the parents last night so they could remind the kids to behave today, but it was already so late and they all had to get up early this morning for a TV broadcast. And part of the problem is they're all really tired and fried. So I let it go for the time being. But I'm really starting to feel like they are taking advantage of the fact that I'm not a jerk like the last supervisor, and it's frustrating.<br /><br />In other news, I've had a great change of fortune for the winter. I was originally scheduled to do a couple operas in Jan-Feb and Feb-April. But I got an offer to ASM for Steppenwolf, and this time I decided not to stick with my other obligations but to give Steppenwolf priority.<br /><br />I can't tell you how happy this has made me. After a couple years saying no to good theater job opportunities because I'd already signed contracts with other opera companies, I've finally figured out that it's okay to do what's best for me and my career than stick with something I'm not that excited about.<br /><br />Admittedly, I didn't realize how much happier I am doing theater than opera until recently. And clearly not every opera I work on ends in tears, as my great experience with Cinderella and the The Ryan Opera Center this fall demonstrated. There is a part of me that feels a little sad that I don't know when I'll do another opera. Usually when I look ahead in my schedule, I have a new opera to learn, and I always found that exciting. At the very least I always knew I'd be doing an opera in the spring, but now I don't even have that to look forward to since I am not returning to Chicago Opera Theater. But some of you know what a struggle I've gone through trying to get back into the theater scene after doing so much opera for the past few years, and I finally feel like I'm getting there.Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-45922412657480357002007-12-03T10:40:00.000-06:002007-12-03T11:00:50.657-06:00Success!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">I survived Week 1 of wrangling the kids, and I have to say it's been very successful so far! I did manage to discover that the last supervisor was in fact fired because he was too much of a disciplinarian (as the Supervisor I am mainly charged with making sure the young performers are where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there, and that they are safe - I can tell them to be quiet and remind them not to run in the halls and backstage, but discipline is to be left up to stage management and the parents). The kids have all raved about me to their parents, which they tell me almost every day, and the parents are all very appreciative. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">What I noticed right away is that the kids are all smart and professional. All I have to do is be friendly with them and respect them. Then when I ask them to do something or not to do something, they generally do it without question. They know that I respect them and have their best interests and safety in mind.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">As for between shows activities, it really helps that there are a couple parents that get very involved. They take kids out to get food so that I can stay in with kids who already have food, and they come into the lounge where we hang out which allows me to go to the bathroom without worrying about leaving the kids alone. It also takes a lot of pressure off me having the parents there because they have no trouble reining in their kid or any of the other kids, and I can relax and have fun with them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;">So yeah, I feel really lucky. I've been wanting to be involved with Christmas Carol for several years, and this seems to be the perfect way for me to participate. I think I'm enjoying myself more than I would had I just gotten hired for a run crew position.</span></div>Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-75011448549883324302007-11-29T16:36:00.001-06:002007-11-29T17:04:11.440-06:00WranglingSo I managed to land a job for the month of December, which I'd been really afraid wasn't going to happen. The Goodman Theatre jettisoned their Young Performer Supervisor on Christmas Carol for reasons unknown (or perhaps he quit?) and I got a call on Monday asking me to go in for an interview Tuesday afternoon. The interview turned out to be "come in so we can run a background check and then hire you." Which worked great for me.<div><br /></div><div>So then I reported for work yesterday. Without ever having seen the show. I basically got thrown into the deep end and told to swim. But I'm a good swimmer, so everything went fine. Helps that the ASM is walking the track with me this week until I can really get on my feet. The kids are all pros, they've all been in shows before and know where they need to be when. The biggest challenge of course is keeping up with them and reminding them to be quiet and respectful. But they're pretty good kids and I don't think the coming month will too bad. I'm just going to have to come up with a good plan for those two show days...</div>Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-81419274294359581862007-11-26T16:53:00.000-06:002007-11-26T21:46:02.390-06:00Still Stuffed<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! My honey and I went to visit his brother's family at their new home in Lafayette, Louisiana. It may not be as exotic as where </span><a href="http://www.arduos.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">arduous</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> spent her Thanksgiving, but different enough. We don't exactly have swamps up here. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">While there, we of course treated ourselves to some etouffee, gumbo and sushi. (Sushi? Yes, we figured it would be really fresh, more so than we get in the midwest. I didn't say so at the time, but it wasn't any better than anything I've had here at home). We also took in some of the local sights, including </span><a href="http://www.breauxbridgelive.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Breaux Bridge</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> and </span><a href="http://www.vermilionville.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Vermilionville</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">. Thanksgiving dinner was spent with the in-law's family, and featured highlights of sweet potatoes with chevre and a blue ribbon-winning apple and cranberry pie, followed by a couple games of Skip-Bo.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">David's sister-in-law gave us an earful about the heartbreaking conditions of the Louisiana public school system. She taught in public school there for a short time before transferring to a Catholic school. The words she used to describe the difference between the public and private school conditions were: "like a caste system." Apparently all the families with money send their kids to Catholic school, and the families that can't afford it settle for public school. But the public schools are as bad (and according to her, even worse) than what we hear about inner-city schools. While there, David's sister-in-law said she spent most of her time disciplining students and hardly got any teaching accomplished. She contracted asthma while working in the dirty, dusty conditions at the school. Students are not given SAT or ACT tests because the schools don't want the parents to know how badly their children are doing. Gifted students from Louisiana who have moved to schools up north have been put in remedial classes. From what we can tell, no one makes a fuss about the schools because just about all those kids will have jobs, even if they don't finish high school - they will go to work on the numerous oil rigs in the gulf area.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Her stories made me very thankful that I grew up and live in a state where one can go to public school and get a good education! It did make me sad for all those kids, though. Clearly No Child Left Behind has done absolutely nothing to help them and is a law incapable of helping kids and school systems in this kind of situation. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">But I have been tagged by <a href="http://www.arduous.blogspot.com/">arduous</a>, and must respond. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">1. The colors I wear most often (not including blue jeans) are green, purple, black and brown.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">2. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">3. I tried to feed a deer a rock when I was about 1 1/2 (yes, there is a picture).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">4. My mom called me the "mohawk chipmunk" when I was a baby.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">5. I love to play games - board games, card games, anything. I'm currently obsessed with Scrabulous on Facebook.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">6. My cat is cuter than yours and probably more annoying.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">7. I desperately want to go to Ireland but am afraid I'll never be able to afford it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">And now I'm tagging <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=1428894">Dave Knave</a>, <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=4236084">Liz</a>, <a href="http://rage-ahol.livejournal.com/">rage-ahol</a>, <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=71898778">David</a>, and <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=47214693">John</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">(7 people? Who has time to read 7 people's blogs?)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Rules:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">1- Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">2- Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">3- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">4- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.</span></div><div><br /></div>Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207383961873390137.post-26299575945951388072007-11-16T10:03:00.000-06:002007-11-16T11:41:13.678-06:00Yet another blogger against the war<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">I've been meaning to start a new blog, but I've also been resisting it. Resisting because who wants to read my soapbox rantings when they hear enough in person? But I've been frustrated, on an almost daily basis, by what is going on in the world and feel I need a healthy outlet instead of screaming at the radio. Or the cat. Or worst, my partner.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><div> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">So yeah, this one is for me. I hope you read it and I hope you get something out of it, but it's for me more than anything else.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">What's got my ire today is the whole Barry Bonds thing. No, I don't particularly like the guy, and if he did commit perjury he should be punished. But once again, where was the grand jury when it became apparent that we had been lied to by our president? When it came to light that there were no WMD's and that intelligence had been doctored to go to war?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Well, I'll attempt to tell you. Probably paid off. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Not directly paid off, paid off in the sense that war is generally profitable, and gathering enough evidence to prosecute the leader of the free world is probably expensive.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">I recently watched the documentary "Why We Fight," and man was that an eye-opener. I highly recommend it to everyone. The movie basically says, follow the money. Our rationale for going to war has a lot to do with how profitable it is. Profitable? Isn't this war costing a couple billion dollars a day? The question is, profitable to whom?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Basically, the companies who lobby for the big defense contracts have gotten the politicians wrapped around their gold-laden fingers. They make billions of dollars making bombs, airplanes, tanks, boots, armor, etc., and they give a lot of that money to both political parties and to individual politicians running for office. Should these defense contractors stop making money, they would stop contributing. And because of the lack of restrictions on campaign financing, the withdrawal of these funds would be seen as devastating to both political parties and is to be avoided at all costs. Therefore, it would appear, prosecuting someone for going to war would not be good business.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Where's the impartial jury, you may ask? Doesn't exist, not at the grand jury level. I checked out information about <a href="http://www.abanet.org/media/faqjury.html">Grand Juries on the ABA's website</a>, and it turns out volunteers who serve on grand juries are not screened for bias. It would appear that you could hate Jews, blacks, lawyers, artists, whites, republicans, democrats or Barry Bonds and still be allowed to serve on a grand jury.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">In that case, where are all the volunteers who want to prosecute President Bush? Well, they don't get to choose the cases. The case must be brought by a federal prosecutor. And all the federal prosecutors who may have been willing to put together a case against the administration were purged by the former Attorney General, because the in-bed-with-big-business administration has been very careful to put its friends in high places. Therefore, we have a witch hunt - rightfully or no - against Barry Bonds but not President Bush or Vice-President Cheney.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Democracy Inaction indeed.</span></div></div>Shortyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10895392967136479141noreply@blogger.com1