From the Vaults

I have kept a journal for as long as I can remember. Writing is cathartic and has been my most reliable stress-reliever/problem-solver for a long time. I was digging through an old journal over the weekend and found this little gem:

"Things I Must Never Do To My Kids" - by Karla Smith, 1998

1. Give my kids nicknames with repeating syllables (ie. Mee-mee, Shay-shay, Tee-tee)

2. Call my children into my grown-up party to show everybody that they can do the latest booty dance.

3. Run loose around any store or restaurant.

4. Let them sit around the house all day and get fat.

5.Let my adolescent daughter dress in adult clothing.

6. Be seen strolling with my kids on Bourbon Street after dark.

7. Bring my kids to a sports bar to watch games. Kids do not belong in sports bars.


Okay, now that I've posted this, I will have to hold myself to it, right? Ha! We'll see. I'm really going to try!

Etiquette and The Chimp Debacle

Okay, I have two etiquette questions here. As a former debutante, I pride myself on being appropriately proper in most circumstances, but I had a moment of etiquette confusion yesterday (Where's Ms. Manners when you need her?)

So, I was at the bus stop and there was a 20-something guy sitting on the bench. I joined him. Then, an elderly lady and another 20-something guy walking with a cane approached the bus stop. Now, the bench only fits two adults comfortably. The kid sitting next to me made no motion to get up. After a minute, I asked him if he wouldn't mind giving his seat to the elderly lady. After looking at me like I was a complete idiot, he offered her the seat. Then, I felt bad for the guy with the cane. I felt like I should offer him the seat, but does a pregnant lady (who was extremely worn out from the day) have to defer to a physically handicapped person? Is pregnancy a handicap? When I wasn't pregnant, I always offered my seats to pregnant ladies.

Oy! Some people stress over the economy or world peace - I, on the other hand, fret for a whole day about bus stop etiquette. Go figure.

Now, about this thing with the New York Post chimpanzee editorial cartoon:
Racist undertones aside, am I the only one that thought it was insensitive and much too soon to be making fun of the chimp attack that almost cost a woman her life and may have cost her the structure of her face? There was nothing remotely funny about that chimp attack, a woman could have died and another woman lost her beloved pet companion. Whatever. I've been really disappointed with the Post lately.

Rants and Vents

We are hosting a transfer fair here at my beloved community college today. Bank of America sets up a solicitation table in our cafeteria every Tuesday. They were there today, smack-dab in the middle of the college tables taking advantage of the unusually high volume of student traffic.

As I ate my lunch, I grew increasingly frustrated watching them hawk their credit cards to students with promises of frequent flier miles and 0.1% cash bonuses. They downplayed fees and associated costs and encouraged students to "Just apply! You can always reject the card if you get it!"

B of A has already had their hand out for my hard-earned TARP tax bucks and I really don't appreciate that they still do business in a culture of risky lending practices. I was upset that they were pressuring students into these high rate credit cards when so many are already struggling financially.

I'm pissed that they get the bail-out when use regular folk could do such a better, wiser job of managing that money. Our students are at this community college most likely because they can't quite afford 4 years of university. Why not bail them out? Reimburse their tuition and books. Give them money to invest in themselves and then a bit more to reinvest in the economy. Not to these stupid banks who haven't learned a damn thing from the credit crisis.

In other disappointing news, I listened to an academic advisor dispell the lies the Army Reserve told one of her students. This student was born and raised in the US, but speaks English as a second language. The recruiter told her that she could join the reserves and only have to serve one weekend a month. They failed to mention that that one weekend a month was the minimum committment; and that, recently, reserve groups are being deployed for 14 to 20 month assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan. They told her that after 2 years in the reserves, they would pay for medical school, but failed to mention the part of the contract that required a re-payment of medical field work in an active zone after medical school completion. I listened as this student cried because she thought she had found the answers to her family's financial problems and a way to serve her country, get an education and stay close to home.

What is it the deception. Is this the new American way?

Feet? What feet?

This is a view "from the top" of me at 28 weeks - me looking down at my belly. That flat white panel at the top of the picture are my gigantic boobs, My belly is the roundish portion below. Notice that my feet are not present in the picture. Yeah, I haven't seen those standing for about 2 months now.

Was that a great Superbowl or what? I made too much food, then proceeded to eat too much food. So, it was a good day all around.