Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Why You Should (and Shouldn't) watch Glee
I just finished the season finale, Sectionals, on Hulu this week. Sorry I am late to this.
What your normal high school tv show or movie does: Focus on kids. The teachers are only there for the enhancement of the kid development--Tina Fey in Mean Girls is a prime example. We know very little about her life other than as entertainment for the kids or the personal development of the kid characters. Other shows will focus on ONE teacher, usually the only one on campus who cares about kids--like Dangerous Minds, Stand & Deliver, or Freedom Writers. These shows will often show how horrible kids lives are so they can overheroicize a particular teacher (at the expense of other teachers on campus who are portrayed as purely evil).
What this show does: Both kids and teachers are equal. The kids have lives that are both tough and good--some have parents that are not really understanding of them, some have parents who are loving and amazing, they all focus most on their friends which is exactly where most kids are mentally in high school. The teachers, however, are equally highlighted--not just the ONE inspiring one but the nice coach type guy, the counselor, the Cheerio leader (brilliant!) who surprises you by caring lovingly for a sister with Down's Syndrome in spite of being almost pure evil otherwise. What is even more miraculous, the kids and teachers have separate spheres that intersect during school and extra curriculars. They bond with kids, but they have separate lives--exactly the way it is and should be portrayed. There was a brief moment of a whimsy crush but it was done on a limited basis, not as a focal point.
The reason you should not watch it--the show highlights the way kids actually act and talk in high school which, if you have been there recently or taught in that environment, is fairly unsavory. It does not have the appearance of an uplifting show but the moral, the MORALITY of the show is incredible for kids today. The main character is surprisingly humble. She is full of strength in her talent and seen as overly confident in that area, but she is willing to admit when she is wrong, she has empathy for others, and most importantly, when faced with adversity, she trusts in herself and is loyal to people who need her protection.
I love this show and if you don't mind the gritty reality of teenagers, you probably love it too.
What your normal high school tv show or movie does: Focus on kids. The teachers are only there for the enhancement of the kid development--Tina Fey in Mean Girls is a prime example. We know very little about her life other than as entertainment for the kids or the personal development of the kid characters. Other shows will focus on ONE teacher, usually the only one on campus who cares about kids--like Dangerous Minds, Stand & Deliver, or Freedom Writers. These shows will often show how horrible kids lives are so they can overheroicize a particular teacher (at the expense of other teachers on campus who are portrayed as purely evil).
What this show does: Both kids and teachers are equal. The kids have lives that are both tough and good--some have parents that are not really understanding of them, some have parents who are loving and amazing, they all focus most on their friends which is exactly where most kids are mentally in high school. The teachers, however, are equally highlighted--not just the ONE inspiring one but the nice coach type guy, the counselor, the Cheerio leader (brilliant!) who surprises you by caring lovingly for a sister with Down's Syndrome in spite of being almost pure evil otherwise. What is even more miraculous, the kids and teachers have separate spheres that intersect during school and extra curriculars. They bond with kids, but they have separate lives--exactly the way it is and should be portrayed. There was a brief moment of a whimsy crush but it was done on a limited basis, not as a focal point.
The reason you should not watch it--the show highlights the way kids actually act and talk in high school which, if you have been there recently or taught in that environment, is fairly unsavory. It does not have the appearance of an uplifting show but the moral, the MORALITY of the show is incredible for kids today. The main character is surprisingly humble. She is full of strength in her talent and seen as overly confident in that area, but she is willing to admit when she is wrong, she has empathy for others, and most importantly, when faced with adversity, she trusts in herself and is loyal to people who need her protection.
I love this show and if you don't mind the gritty reality of teenagers, you probably love it too.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Doctor Criteria
So you might be wondering what we are doing next on the disease biz...
1) We are going to wait and hear our fancy local doctor's recommendations on treatment in four weeks.
2) Regardless of what he decides we will drive down to LA to get a second opinion because, well, out of the mouth of 2-3 witnesses all truth is established, right? Also because memzy's super smart older bro told me to go to an expert with experience and I trust him (not just cuz he is handsome.)
3) I might like my doc because I heard good stuff about him (from parents whose kids who broke bones, not ones who had bones die in some weirdo rare disease) BUT I have to admit I was frightened when I spoke with him Friday and heard him say "yeah, you might want to stay off the blogs."
WHAT? What kind of person tells you to avoid blogs?
A Luddite, that's who. If you have never heard that term let me enlighten you: The Luddites were a group of British protesters in the 1800s who destroyed machines because they felt that they were going to be out of a job and their way of life would change. One weaver can only do so much on a loom per day, but you stick a mechanized loom in there BAM you have free time to go watch your favorite talk show or whatever fun things that you could do instead of weave, like wash laundry or dishes by hand. But some people want to wash dishes by hand because it is therapeutic? Or because then you might be out your dishwashing job? Uh.
I will say to some of these anti-technology people who decry the social networking of facebook or twitter and say "I am too busy to facebook" or "I don't blog because I am busy having a life" do not have the same needs I do, I get it. I need the written word to journal out my life, to record my daily actions and photos, to mock the public education system or praise it alternately if I so choose and these people feel that they can meet their needs without the web.
But don't tell me to "stay off the blogs" because it seems ignorant to tell people to avoid information. Would he have said "avoid reading journals of other moms in your same situation?" Would he have said "I would steer clear of the encyclopedia?" Of COURSE not. So because it more accessible, this information is suddenly less valid. If something is printed in a book, we like it, if it online it is questionable. News flash: the majority of people journaling have realized that it is far superior to do it digitally because then it is searchable for later. And takes less space. And by the way, doesn't require clearcutting.
So Mr. Smartypants doctor, you better know more about the growth of bones than you do about the way the modern world operates because no offense, but you totally misread your audience.
I don't mean to be rude, I hear he is a way nice guy. With a mustache...and who can resist a man in a mustache? I will get a pic later and if he asks why I can tell him it is for my blog.
1) We are going to wait and hear our fancy local doctor's recommendations on treatment in four weeks.
2) Regardless of what he decides we will drive down to LA to get a second opinion because, well, out of the mouth of 2-3 witnesses all truth is established, right? Also because memzy's super smart older bro told me to go to an expert with experience and I trust him (not just cuz he is handsome.)
3) I might like my doc because I heard good stuff about him (from parents whose kids who broke bones, not ones who had bones die in some weirdo rare disease) BUT I have to admit I was frightened when I spoke with him Friday and heard him say "yeah, you might want to stay off the blogs."
WHAT? What kind of person tells you to avoid blogs?
A Luddite, that's who. If you have never heard that term let me enlighten you: The Luddites were a group of British protesters in the 1800s who destroyed machines because they felt that they were going to be out of a job and their way of life would change. One weaver can only do so much on a loom per day, but you stick a mechanized loom in there BAM you have free time to go watch your favorite talk show or whatever fun things that you could do instead of weave, like wash laundry or dishes by hand. But some people want to wash dishes by hand because it is therapeutic? Or because then you might be out your dishwashing job? Uh.
I will say to some of these anti-technology people who decry the social networking of facebook or twitter and say "I am too busy to facebook" or "I don't blog because I am busy having a life" do not have the same needs I do, I get it. I need the written word to journal out my life, to record my daily actions and photos, to mock the public education system or praise it alternately if I so choose and these people feel that they can meet their needs without the web.
But don't tell me to "stay off the blogs" because it seems ignorant to tell people to avoid information. Would he have said "avoid reading journals of other moms in your same situation?" Would he have said "I would steer clear of the encyclopedia?" Of COURSE not. So because it more accessible, this information is suddenly less valid. If something is printed in a book, we like it, if it online it is questionable. News flash: the majority of people journaling have realized that it is far superior to do it digitally because then it is searchable for later. And takes less space. And by the way, doesn't require clearcutting.
So Mr. Smartypants doctor, you better know more about the growth of bones than you do about the way the modern world operates because no offense, but you totally misread your audience.
I don't mean to be rude, I hear he is a way nice guy. With a mustache...and who can resist a man in a mustache? I will get a pic later and if he asks why I can tell him it is for my blog.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Perthes Disease
For the last month, little Gillian has been limping around, claiming her knee hurt. We asked our wise friends who have children her age and the official diagnosis was growing pains. After a week we took her to the doctor who xrayed her and the diagnosis was that she was too flexible and she overextended. Last week while I was in Cinci I got a call from Steve that she couldn't even walk.
Enter specialist, xrays, diagnosis: Perthes. Technically the name is Legg-Calve-Perthes disease which is ironically not related to the leg and calf but two doctors whose names only sound like those body parts.
There is one doctor in town who is a pediatric orthopedic doc named Mark Maguire. Whose name only sounds like the famous bball player. Gillian claims he is handsome so I guess he is probably excellent.
I called him yesterday morning and he has yet to return my call so I am going to ask my questions here on this blog and go for research by consensus (that means you have to go look this stuff up because I tried and didn't get no satisfaction.)
1. For the first four weeks she is supposed to take motrin twice a day to reduce swelling. How much exercise should she be doing during this time? Should she be participating in PE? If she should, do I tell the PE teacher she can't do it anyway since she hates it and that is probably my fault since she inherited that from me?
2. What is next? I have seen pictures of double-legged casts, braces, and surgery. How likely is that for my little girly girl?
3. Physical Therapy sounds cool--for the women who get to work with attractive male masseuses--but for parents this is a sad affair, right? When Casey was a wee babe he had one of these helmet thingies and we were supposed to do some neck stretches. We tried, I swear we did, and of course we were in our twenties, but consistency was noooo bueno. So how now? How many days a week am I going to set myself up to fail? What if she hates them and cries every night? How will I face her? Are these exercises going to hurt? How frequently do we need to really do them to make this thing happen?
4. What is the long-term worst-case scenario? Gillian said to me the other day "I am always going to walk funny and people are going to make fun of me." It almost broke my heart--and then I was like "hey what kind of kids are at this school??? Am I fighting for a bunch of punks??" I told her that she was young and that we just had to fix her bones up and then she will be just fine. El doctor said that it will take 18 months to 2 years to get her back on track. What does that mean? 2 years? What is going to happen during that time?
5. What else do I need to know? Is this really something to worry about it, or is it a relief that her "disease" is not life-threatening?
Thanks for playing.
Enter specialist, xrays, diagnosis: Perthes. Technically the name is Legg-Calve-Perthes disease which is ironically not related to the leg and calf but two doctors whose names only sound like those body parts.
There is one doctor in town who is a pediatric orthopedic doc named Mark Maguire. Whose name only sounds like the famous bball player. Gillian claims he is handsome so I guess he is probably excellent.
I called him yesterday morning and he has yet to return my call so I am going to ask my questions here on this blog and go for research by consensus (that means you have to go look this stuff up because I tried and didn't get no satisfaction.)
1. For the first four weeks she is supposed to take motrin twice a day to reduce swelling. How much exercise should she be doing during this time? Should she be participating in PE? If she should, do I tell the PE teacher she can't do it anyway since she hates it and that is probably my fault since she inherited that from me?
2. What is next? I have seen pictures of double-legged casts, braces, and surgery. How likely is that for my little girly girl?
3. Physical Therapy sounds cool--for the women who get to work with attractive male masseuses--but for parents this is a sad affair, right? When Casey was a wee babe he had one of these helmet thingies and we were supposed to do some neck stretches. We tried, I swear we did, and of course we were in our twenties, but consistency was noooo bueno. So how now? How many days a week am I going to set myself up to fail? What if she hates them and cries every night? How will I face her? Are these exercises going to hurt? How frequently do we need to really do them to make this thing happen?
4. What is the long-term worst-case scenario? Gillian said to me the other day "I am always going to walk funny and people are going to make fun of me." It almost broke my heart--and then I was like "hey what kind of kids are at this school??? Am I fighting for a bunch of punks??" I told her that she was young and that we just had to fix her bones up and then she will be just fine. El doctor said that it will take 18 months to 2 years to get her back on track. What does that mean? 2 years? What is going to happen during that time?
5. What else do I need to know? Is this really something to worry about it, or is it a relief that her "disease" is not life-threatening?
Thanks for playing.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Whattaweek
I can't tell you what insanity I have experienced this week. Oh wait, yes I can:
Sun-Tues Conference in St. Louis. Saw a roommate from the BY who I haven't seen since 1996!! It was great to see her and her adorable kids. Her son was a super outgoing and mischevious 3 year-old, my favorite kind.
Tues night I was supposed to take a flight with a co-worker from St. Louis-Chicago-Cincinatti. Only, as in the immortal words of Winston Churchill: Never, never, never, never, never, never book a flight through O'Hare. Cuz of course the flight outta St. Louis was delayed so we woulda missed our flight. What would you have done?
The same as me, rent a car and drive from Missouri to Ohio. So we did and got in at 2:30 in the morn. and then had two days worth of incredible meetings for work. Also thank goodness for the Westin and that green leaf-shaped soap that I adore.
And btw, I adore Cincinnati, it is highly underrated. To answer Tiff's question, it is underrated by the media. The only thing anyone knows about Cinci is WKRP and Loni Anderson hardly counts as a beautiful view of the city.
Then on Thurs night I drove from Cinci to Ft. Wayne which is in the NE corner of Indiana. After having a fantastic day on site with a wonderful school, I got to go to a ward party complete with some awesome (and not so awesome) singing groups--I accompanied a friend from my mission who lives in Ft. Fun and saw her little baby who is oh-so-yummy. Fri night I drove down to Indy--got in around midnight and then got up at 3:30 AM so I could catch the 5 am Indy-Charlotte-Phoenix-SB.
First class upgrade btw which is actually underrated by me previously as well. Cozy chairs and all.
On the final stretch however, my plane couldn't land in SB due to weather (which is bizarro because people in SB were telling people on our plane that there were other planes landing. Turns out that our pilot didn't have the level of rating to land without some equipment which was broken or something. Anywho, that landed me in Bakersfield where I now sit awaiting a bus to go home. I didn't get to see memzy but she sent me some good cheer via text which I deeply appreciate.
I am mucho tired so hopefully I can catch some zzzzs on the bus.
I am anxious to get home to see my family.
Oh I forgot to add in that Gillian has been limping for a few weeks and it turns out that she has a disease called Perthes which has something to do with a lack of blood circulation in her hip which causes the bone to die. It is not life-threatening but we will need to do some physical therapy with her, etc. (as opposed to a potential surgery which hopefully we can avoid because she is so young) While Steve was taking her to el doctoro, for whatever reason my insurance wasn't going through for her, so I had to talk on the phone to my HR department at work to figger out that situation (which was a pain because I was doing some classroom observations.) During that whole time Steve had to sit in the dr. office for over 1.5 hours waiting for them to approve the insurance situation. He is my hero.
I have had many years of good luck traveling so I can't complain but... I would really like the bus to show so I can get outta here.
Sun-Tues Conference in St. Louis. Saw a roommate from the BY who I haven't seen since 1996!! It was great to see her and her adorable kids. Her son was a super outgoing and mischevious 3 year-old, my favorite kind.
Tues night I was supposed to take a flight with a co-worker from St. Louis-Chicago-Cincinatti. Only, as in the immortal words of Winston Churchill: Never, never, never, never, never, never book a flight through O'Hare. Cuz of course the flight outta St. Louis was delayed so we woulda missed our flight. What would you have done?
The same as me, rent a car and drive from Missouri to Ohio. So we did and got in at 2:30 in the morn. and then had two days worth of incredible meetings for work. Also thank goodness for the Westin and that green leaf-shaped soap that I adore.
And btw, I adore Cincinnati, it is highly underrated. To answer Tiff's question, it is underrated by the media. The only thing anyone knows about Cinci is WKRP and Loni Anderson hardly counts as a beautiful view of the city.
Then on Thurs night I drove from Cinci to Ft. Wayne which is in the NE corner of Indiana. After having a fantastic day on site with a wonderful school, I got to go to a ward party complete with some awesome (and not so awesome) singing groups--I accompanied a friend from my mission who lives in Ft. Fun and saw her little baby who is oh-so-yummy. Fri night I drove down to Indy--got in around midnight and then got up at 3:30 AM so I could catch the 5 am Indy-Charlotte-Phoenix-SB.
First class upgrade btw which is actually underrated by me previously as well. Cozy chairs and all.
On the final stretch however, my plane couldn't land in SB due to weather (which is bizarro because people in SB were telling people on our plane that there were other planes landing. Turns out that our pilot didn't have the level of rating to land without some equipment which was broken or something. Anywho, that landed me in Bakersfield where I now sit awaiting a bus to go home. I didn't get to see memzy but she sent me some good cheer via text which I deeply appreciate.
I am mucho tired so hopefully I can catch some zzzzs on the bus.
I am anxious to get home to see my family.
Oh I forgot to add in that Gillian has been limping for a few weeks and it turns out that she has a disease called Perthes which has something to do with a lack of blood circulation in her hip which causes the bone to die. It is not life-threatening but we will need to do some physical therapy with her, etc. (as opposed to a potential surgery which hopefully we can avoid because she is so young) While Steve was taking her to el doctoro, for whatever reason my insurance wasn't going through for her, so I had to talk on the phone to my HR department at work to figger out that situation (which was a pain because I was doing some classroom observations.) During that whole time Steve had to sit in the dr. office for over 1.5 hours waiting for them to approve the insurance situation. He is my hero.
I have had many years of good luck traveling so I can't complain but... I would really like the bus to show so I can get outta here.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Beautiful City, Beautiful People
My friend Vivian had the grace to take pictures of our family today in spite of my having knocked her out of the dessert competition last month. True friendship.
Vivian is a great photographer--she has thousands and thousands of great pictures and videos of her own hilarious toddler plus she takes pictures for other peeps all the time.
She selected the venue and I have to sadly admit that I rarely take advantage of the wonderful buildings. I have not asked her permission to post the pics so I can't show the first few yet but I have to brag about living in a city that features this kind of courthouse. If you have never been to SB, I highly, highly recommend it. It is December and we get this kind of day? Plus, if you break the law you get to spend some quality time right here:
Vivian is a great photographer--she has thousands and thousands of great pictures and videos of her own hilarious toddler plus she takes pictures for other peeps all the time.
She selected the venue and I have to sadly admit that I rarely take advantage of the wonderful buildings. I have not asked her permission to post the pics so I can't show the first few yet but I have to brag about living in a city that features this kind of courthouse. If you have never been to SB, I highly, highly recommend it. It is December and we get this kind of day? Plus, if you break the law you get to spend some quality time right here:
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What I Do These Days
I haven't done a real post on what I have been up to for many moons. At least two moons.
Why you ask? The law prevents me. I have been up to my ears in politics and I really had no idea what I was getting into when I was appointed member of the group that governs the charter of my kids' school. It has been a totally wild ride that has occupied my thoughts, dreams, actions, and allll my time. Currently our school has no principal which requires me to read an extra 50-100 emails a day since I am the executive responsible for the organization until we have an administrator.
If I did not have a job that occupied a significant portion of my time it would be so fun! I love using my skills and knowledge acquired through working in education to benefit (I hope) their school. Why shouldn't I spend day and night fighting for this school; both to keep it open and to make it better?
But as it stands, I do have this job. And I love my job. And I must be loyal to my employer who really and truly takes care of me. So as this year wraps up and I have no idea what happened to my plans of grandeur regarding Christmas preparation, I must refocus my efforts on the nation at large and the state of education elsewhere and spend significantly less time addressing the issues at the school that has the most immediate impact on my life. I have the most supportive husband who though he thinks I am loco, believes in me and the choices I make.
I wish I could tell you all the lurid details of the painful decisions I have had to make, but in the end I am a Californian and here, we don't keep secrets from the public. Which means I can't write them on my blog. Sound contradictory? Welcome to my world.
Why you ask? The law prevents me. I have been up to my ears in politics and I really had no idea what I was getting into when I was appointed member of the group that governs the charter of my kids' school. It has been a totally wild ride that has occupied my thoughts, dreams, actions, and allll my time. Currently our school has no principal which requires me to read an extra 50-100 emails a day since I am the executive responsible for the organization until we have an administrator.
If I did not have a job that occupied a significant portion of my time it would be so fun! I love using my skills and knowledge acquired through working in education to benefit (I hope) their school. Why shouldn't I spend day and night fighting for this school; both to keep it open and to make it better?
But as it stands, I do have this job. And I love my job. And I must be loyal to my employer who really and truly takes care of me. So as this year wraps up and I have no idea what happened to my plans of grandeur regarding Christmas preparation, I must refocus my efforts on the nation at large and the state of education elsewhere and spend significantly less time addressing the issues at the school that has the most immediate impact on my life. I have the most supportive husband who though he thinks I am loco, believes in me and the choices I make.
I wish I could tell you all the lurid details of the painful decisions I have had to make, but in the end I am a Californian and here, we don't keep secrets from the public. Which means I can't write them on my blog. Sound contradictory? Welcome to my world.
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