Relief

Mr. BTEG, until recently, worked downtown. I would drop the Musician off at the high school, take Mr. BTEG to the nearby Park-N-Ride, then come home. In the mid-afternoon, I would pick the Musician up from high school. Then, about an hour and a half later, I would go get Mr. BTEG from the Park-N-Ride. I hated the way it broke up my day, and that I had to get up so early (for me, anyway.) But it wasn't until Mr. BTEG got a new job that is not downtown, and started driving our car to work, that I realized how much of a burden our schedule was on me. I feel much happier and freer, even without transportation during the day.

Of course, having one car presents its own difficulties. I'm going to have to drive Mr. BTEG into work and pick him up on the days when the girls have activities. But hey, Mr. BTEG is making more money, too, so we're hoping to pick up a pre-owned vehicle in the not-too distant future. And for what we're saving on bus fare, we can buy more than two tanks of gas. And I can be more productive at my own work here at home!

Holiday Parade

The family attended the local Memorial Day parade today. The Musician marched in the high school marching band. The Dancer's friend rode on a float created by the local dance school. (I like the school the Dancer attends better.) Lots of flags and red, white and blue. Also lots of candy tossed by paraders. After the parade there was a small program at the local cemetery. I have blogged about the cemetery here.

I'm getting over awkwardness at thanking a member of the military in person for his service. I still find any kind of Memorial Day tribute I can put into words, embarrassingly cheesy. Still feeling it, all the same.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Remember that little container garden that we started earlier this spring? Well, we have been getting so much rain that we have to drag the containers under shelter so they do not get any more water. I can only hope farmers' fields are draining better than our little pots. We don't need the price of food to go up more than it has! As it is, I'm hoping we can plant more containers next year. I discovered our town has a small community garden, but I think all the plots are taken. There is still a bit of open land in this area, now that I think about it. I wonder if more of it will be reverting back to farmland?

Get Me My Rocking Chair

I'm asking for your input today: what do you think about people who work in service jobs (cashiers, waiters, bartenders etc.) who have facial piercings or a myriad of visible tattoos (facial or otherwise)? It seems to be more and more accepted and I find it off-putting, and therefore perhaps not acceptable for a job where you interact all day with the public. Mr. BTEG broached the idea that perhaps this is just because I am getting older. While this is certainly a possible solution, I still harbor this crazy idea that permanent additions to one's face or hands, especially, might be a little different. This trend of increased piercings and/or ink will probably continue (they currently have at least one cable show about a tattoo parlor,) and prove me wrong. But I'd like to know whether you find such bodily decorations bleah, meh, or yeah.

On that subject, yes, the girls are wearing their skirts almost impossibly short at the moment. That doesn't alarm me so much; girls have been trying to shorten their skirts for decades. They've been trying to slyly break the fashion rules to attract the opposite sex for centuries. What I don't understand is why adults seem to be letting it slide. Everyday I dropped the Musician off at school, I saw girls with skirts that barely covered their posteriors. During a concert/fundraiser for the school band department, one girl was sitting in the front row, wearing a skirt so short that you could see all the way up her legs. Fortunately, she was wearing black tights, so there wasn't really all that much visible. But is this how the band director wants his band represented? Does a school's dress code (or lack thereof) mean anything anymore? Or have we been flashed by so many celebrities that it's all just old news? Is this when I start yelling at kids to get off my lawn?

Bad Weather

Our little bit of excitement for the night was going to the Dancer's orchestra concert and being told before the program started that everyone needed to get to the basement. Seeing how the weather was shaping up on the way to the school, I was really not surprised. Before everyone got down the basement, however, the superintendent showed up and told everyone that the concert was canceled and everyone should go home, as the bad weather went by us. The Dancer was not pleased about having her concert canceled almost literally at the last minute, but I imagine they will reschedule it.

This has been an awful spring, hasn't it? So many people have lost their lives, have lost family members, pets, possessions, their homes. The Evil Genius family has its own problems right now, but we also have so much that is good.

Just heard the emergency blurb squawk from the television. Going to see what's up now. May be just a flood warning, though.

Work, School, Family

I care a great deal about children and how they are brought up. Yes, it's important to our future, but children can also be so very vulnerable, and a great deal of their future health and habits and outlooks on life can come from their upbringing. Children need people who care about them, love them, look after them.

It's bad enough that the state of California may need to cut some weeks out of its school year, although not surprising given the long record of financial mismanagement. What made me sad was that the first thought seemed to be not, "What about our childrens' education?", but "Who will watch our kids?" Why is this a bigger issue? I just don't understand it, perhaps because I know so many moms who do manage to stay home with their children, and so many families where when both parents work, they also blow a lot of money. Many of the dual-income parents at my daughter's dance school, for example, have two cars, take a lot of vacations, and pick up pizza or fast food for dinner on their way home from a late afternoon crammed with activities. If more moms stayed home, or worked from home, or worked part-time, etc., day-care slots would not be so "scarce." Of course, sometimes both parents do have to work, or sometimes there is only one parent. But the people who really needed help might find it easier if everybody else, who maybe didn't have to, wasn't going to work also.

For that matter, what do these parents do with children over the summer? This question is never answered. Of course a lot of day-care centers, churches, etc. offer "summer camp" which is basically a glorified day-care for older children. I'm sure they'd love the chance to make more money by extending this service. I also find it odd that the one mother quoted solved the problem of a week off in October by taking her children on vacation. She protests however, that she can't take the kids on vacation for five weeks. Strangely, she is not quoted as saying she can't afford it, or she doesn't have that much vacation time, but "How many times can I go to Happy Hollow?" Is this really her biggest concern, or is she poorly quoted? I have, sadly, seen parents who don't really like being around their children. Is this the case here, where they have to be kept busy on vacation or she gets unhappy being at home with them?

The other thing that stands out to me as making this article poorly written, is the quote at the end by a high school sophomore that points out that there is not much work done at the end of a school year anyway. I won't argue that point. My youngest daughter is taking several field trips, having fun days, and spending some extra time in school practicing for end-of-the-year concerts. But if you shorten the school year, you won't really get rid of "that end-of-the-year mentality." You'll just move it up a bit.

There are lots of things to discuss when deciding to shorten the time our children spend on education. I just think this article didn't emphasize the right ones very well, and made me sad about how we look on watching out for our children.

Let's Have a Party

I miss the big old-fashioned weddings. No, they're really not practical, especially not in a recession. And of course the marriage is more important than the wedding. And the actual wedding ceremony is more important than the reception. But large wedding receptions did something also--they created memories; they stood out. You'll never forget spending time with your friends and family celebrating a momentous event in a family's history. In a time when extended family seems to be drifting apart anyway, getting up to dance and act a little wild and move from table to table or even to a bar (horrors!) seems to me more likely to create some small ties than sitting at a table staring at each other. Sometimes we need to put on our fancy clothes and our impractical shoes and go out and party. It seems there are fewer and fewer opportunities to do so. Why not for something as great as the creation of a new family?

I See We're Back

Just a quick post to say hello now that Blogger appears to be back up most of the way. I see a few missing comments, but it looks like home sweet home otherwise. In my misspent youth as a COBOL programmer, I remember a few occasions when a programmer would accidentally take down the mainframe that was located a few miles away. Good times, good times.

And since we're talking about blogging, I've been meaning to write about how much I have seen my writing skills improve over my long years of blogging, especially since I've picked up the pace again recently. I like writing, but I'm not in a good place right now to do much else other than blog, if I ever got the notion to do more. But it's still nice to improve a skill.

Nothing New Under the Sun

As the Dancer's parents, we received a letter from the principals of the local intermediate, middle and high schools. It contained a urgent plea that parents become aware of what their children are texting, and what they are saying on Facebook. Apparently enough students are affected by rumors and threats posted in these two venues, that their school attendance is suffering, and the schools want the behavior to stop. What the appropriate authorities see when they have stepped in (after kids stop coming to school) is language that is "beyond inappropriate," X-rated, slanderous and/or threatening. Schools are right to be concerned about this kind of activity. What I find interesting is how negatively they look at texts, and Facebook (which word they put in italics for the entire letter.)

Kids have been mean to each other, well, probably since Cain and Abel fought as young boys. Anyone remember Nellie Oleson and Laura Ingalls? It's beyond stereotypical, the mean kids and the nice kids. The only thing that is new is the medium. Granted, texts and posts can reach the entire class with one click, whereas it took a little longer for the rumor mill to work back in the old days. But kids who wish to hurt someone else badly enough are not even shy about saying unkind things to their classmates faces, either. Did you all see that video that went viral a few months back, of the overweight kid hauling off and punching one of the boys who had been teasing him for years about his weight? The aggressor was going so far as to physically push his victim. The Dancer knows very well who the "cool" kids and the "popular" kids in her school are, because they have no compunction with going around and saying so.

Are teachers and school administrators right to be concerned? I think so. Would you like to go to work after the guy in the next cubicle threatens to beat you up at the end of the day? (Sub sandwich commercials notwithstanding.) Or loudly calls you a slut while everyone is in the lunch room? Children should not dread or be afraid of coming to school. But texts and Facebook are not the enemy, and reading all your child's texts and postings (as the letter suggests,) will not stop the malice and the desire to hurt others that lies in the hearts of children.

That's the real problem, you see, that we are all poor miserable sinners. The school can't say that, of course. But what parents really should be doing is teaching their offspring kindness and self-control. We're never going to like everyone. We probably all think unkind, negative things about people. But we should be taught to curb our tongues and not say hurtful things aloud, or seek forgiveness if we fail. If we're Christians, we should even go as far as recognizing that our very thoughts are sinful, and seeking forgiveness from God for them. The real problem is ourselves, as it has ever been.

A Little Piece of Land

I've been feeling kind of cruddy in the mornings lately (don't go there!) but yesterday Mr. BTEG and I did go to the garden center at a local big box hardware store. We're living in a condo at the moment, so a big garden is not feasible, but we are doing a little container gardening. We were successful with tomatoes and green peppers a couple of years ago. This year, we're trying tomatoes, green peppers, strawberries and oregano. We also discovered mint and some kind of onion in the bed at the back of our place.

The front of our home has enough shade that I am going to try some lilies of the valley. I've only tried them once before and they didn't really take; I'm hoping I'll do better this time. I love the smell of lilies of the valley.

We moved into this place last November. It is amazing how much more at home I feel getting a few plants growing and prettying up our entryway outside. We may never have an enormous garden, although goodness knows it would be economical, but it is nice to have a little bit of the outdoors as our own.

Mother, Madre, Mutter

How will you celebrate Mother's Day? At La Casa de Evil Genius, we'll have a meal with my favorite foods: steak, potatoes and bread. Yes, I'm still a Philistine when it comes to food, and I don't think that will change.

Honestly, I never wanted to be anything other than a wife and mother. Yes, I do have my own interests and activities, but I wanted the main focus of my life to be caring for my family and for our home. Most of the time, I don't regret it at all. Sometimes I feel like the world has left me behind, but one of the benefits of having a loving family is having the strength of the others to draw on when one member is feeling discouraged. And after all, my husband and daughters are the ones for whom I work, so if they are happy, I can't be doing too badly, I suppose. :)

Go Kasich

Our governor gave a very good reply to our president, who likes to meddle in state politics; basically, it was that the president better get his own policies in order before he criticizes anyone else.

Also, the president's remarks about shared sacrifice and the burden not falling on just one group of people, infuriates me. The rest of the people here in Ohio that have to work for a living are already suffering. The people who are fortunate enough to even have jobs are finding it harder to make ends meet, while our president plays golf, throws lavish parties, and jets around the nation to appear on talk shows, and the world to give our hard-earned money to other nations. It's about time that union workers see what the world is like for the rest of us.

Hot Air

Since I mentioned the box of sandwich bags that was partially produced via windmills the other day, I thought I would share this little article about how cost and energy efficient windmills actually are. The sandwich bags box implied that windmills provided about 40% of the energy necessary to make the bags. This article, and several other works I've read on the subject, seem to belie that claim. Ask your liberal friends why "green" proponents hate poor people. Higher prices are harder on those who don't have a lot of money (rather a duh statement but some people don't seem to get this stuff.)

Oh, and we have tried the store brand sandwich bags. They didn't really seal. And of course there are plastic containers that can be re-used, but they also need to be washed in between uses, which uses hot water, detergent and electricity to power the dishwasher. And yes, I use a dishwasher; I have skin issues. Why do you hate people with skin issues?

Christians, to the Paschal Victim

A friend who does hymn podcasts has come out with his first hymn video. You can check out his blog here. By the way, one of the churches featured in this video is the one where the Dancer received new life in baptism.

How Does This Work Again?

Liberals are at times pretty open about actually wanting higher gas prices. They want to force things on the public that the public doesn't really want, like little impractical gas-saving cars, preferably hybrid. I have a post simmering in my mind that I may put up when I am not too tired, concerning this desire. However, right now I want to make a quick observation about the unintended consequences.

The main reason liberals want us to drive smaller cars and use less gas, is to "save the environment." Product manufacturers are responding to a market for "green" products. However, green products come at a higher price. Part of this is because recycling is not always cost-efficient, and so products using recycled materials tack on the extra cost. I honestly don't know enough about the manufacture of dishwashing or laundry detergent to know why the green stuff costs more, but generally it does.

However, the sandwich bags I saw at the grocery store today really made me laugh at the craziness of it all. There were two types of bags, made by the same brand name company. One was the regular bag moms have been using in brown bags for years now. The second bag is the new and improved "green" bag. It uses less plastic (better for the environment) and real wind-powered energy to produce the bags! (When the wind is actually blowing, that is. Otherwise, they have to use plain ol' electricity off the grid just like everyone else.) Even the cardboard used to make the box is recycled.

Anyway, after checking to see that they were truthful about the windmill issue, since wind technology is nowhere near being able to steadily power a manufacturing plant, I took a look at the price. What I forgot to do is check how many bags came in each box. I do know that the prices for each box were... equal. A quick trip around the internet seems to suggest that you actually receive fewer green bags for your buck than non-green bags. You get less plastic, reused cardboard, no skyrocketing electricity costs, for a higher or equal price.

So here's the kicker. With gas prices, and necessarily food prices, being as high as they are, how many people are going to shell out the extra dollars for a recycled sponge or flimsier sandwich bags? How many people are looking to cut things out of the budget as much as possible, and will just reach for the cheapest item on the shelf? For that matter, how many people will even take the time and spend the money to drive to a specialty store, where a lot of these special detergents and so forth seem to only be located? Can greenies have it both ways, with higher prices for everything? Human nature being what it is, I doubt it. Lower gasoline costs, and a large percentage of the population will go right back to their minivans and SUVs. The only way I can see it working is if they force non-green products out of the market too. But that, well, that would have consequences too intricate to deal with at the tail end of this post!

Where I Am Is Not Where I Want to Be

I've had a bad week, physically. I know a lot of other people can say this, but right now I am just so resentful of all that my health issues have taken from me. I suppose part of it is a mid-life crisis thing, but I look at how much of my life is gone and how little I have done of what I wanted to do. I'm married and raising a family, which I wanted to do, and I didn't have any big plans for traveling the globe or whatnot until the girls were this age or older anyway, but a lot of my little personal dreams and goals seem to have been set aside so often due to mental issues and their effects on me. And yet I'm still oddly hopeful. Next week, for example, the girls have their Spring Break. I'm hoping it will be a good week. Hoping I feel better for this special weekend as well.

Going On and On

There is so much debate and anger and vitriol going on about schools lately. In the end, what I am thinking about it all boils down to a few things.

1. More money does not provide a better education. You've probably heard this over and over, but my school district is pushing the opposite like crazy since the state is cutting back on funding for all public schools. That is, they are pushing for more money from the local taxpayers by asking us, "You don't want to lose the great school district you have, do you?" I'm not sure if they are deluded enough to believe more money makes a better school district, or if they just want the money. I mean, all of you know that here in the USA, many of the school districts that receive the most funding per child, like our very own Washington, DC, perform the worst academically.

I won't deny that this whole formula can be complicated. There are many wealthy families that live in this school district, which could be used as an argument that of course our schools are better. But my family is far from rich, and there are many less than wealthy neighborhoods in this town. The main issue, I think, is people wanting their children to perform up to their potential. Some parents here do ground their kids for less than an A. I don't agree with that, but I think my kids are more than capable of doing mostly A and B level work, and I wouldn't be happy if they were consistently getting Cs and Ds. Mr. BTEG and I also expect them to pay attention in class, study for tests and do their homework, which goes a long way.

Sure, wealthy families and fancy technology and flashy new textbooks can contribute to a good school district. On the other hand, kids from wealthy families can also spend their time doing drugs and having sex. And a teacher who can't educate without an electronic whiteboard and the latest textbook doesn't really deserve the title of teacher.

2. Teachers cannot be immune to economic downturns. I can understand that teachers don't like the idea of no raises, and/or having to pay more for their pensions and health care, maybe even taking a salary cut. But when unemployment is high and the economy is bad, teachers just can't expect not to have to suffer a little financially as well. It's not always about "greed." Look at how your neighbors are doing, how your city is doing, how your state is doing, before you complain.

Oh, and a pet peeve of mine. Teachers are important. So are firefighters, policemen, EMS workers, doctors, nurses, etc. A small collective of people paying salaries simply can't afford to pay all these important people an "important" salary. An actress can't save a life, but she can get more people to see one of her movies on one day alone than a doctor can see in an entire year. For that matter, I think being a mother, the kind that works hard to raise decent human beings, is the most important job there is. But there is absolutely no pay at all for us. Salary does not equal overall worth.

A lot of words for only two points! But this topic is so loaded that I wanted to make myself clear. Thank you if you made it this far!

Running Away

Many years ago, when my girls were still rather young, I used to have a strong desire at times to pack up what would fit in our minivan, drive off as a family, and start another life. Somewhere else, anywhere else. Now we've committed to one place, getting the girls through one school system, for the next six years. However, I still have the desire for something new. I don't feel like I belong anywhere. I'm tired of being hurt by people, by not connecting with people. And I'm releasing my frustration here, as I really don't have anyone else to talk to about it besides Mr. BTEG. He's great to talk to, but of course having only one person to talk to is not always good enough. So here I am, getting it out. Hope this makes me feel better.

Trapped

I have little to no energy during the day. I get major things done, like dishes, shopping, and driving Mr. BTEG and the girls to where they need to be. Otherwise, I'm a slug. Then, too many late evenings, I am wide awake and full of energy. I'm already taking all of my medications at night, because they can cause drowsiness.

I'm trying to exercise during the day. It's not going very well. Walking bores me to tears, so I have to force myself to do it, and I don't have good shoes to walk in. I am trying to do some ballet, because I actually like that, but my body was complaining, so now I am trying to do stretches beforehand. I feel chunky and awkward doing ballet, even though I find it interesting, but it is not exactly aerobic, either. I used to love to bicycle, but don't have a bike and can't afford a bike, plus it's not practical for a good portion of a year in Ohio anyway. It's not a sufficient excuse, but I don't really have an athletic body. I am not only short, but I have short legs proportionate to my body as well. I feel awkward and funny-looking.

I'm trying to eat better, but it's difficult being such a picky eater. I have to literally force myself to eat a few grapes or some broccoli with dressing or butter. And those are tastes which I can live with. I wonder if my eating affects my energy, but I'm not sure of a correlation. For example, I got no real exercise today and my eating was only so-so, I was blah today but right now my mind is racing and I'm feeling more awake than I have all day.

I'm seeing my psychiatrist soon, so I will talk to her, but I'm not sure what will come of it. The main issue seems to be that I am mostly stable. Other than that, you get told to exercise or handed a pamphlet on healthy eating. I need a little bit of extra help and I'm not sure where to get it.

Stepping Back

Now that I am in my forties and have several decades of life experience, I wish I could talk to my grandparents, my maternal ones in particular, with new eyes. My grandparents died at a time when I was still relatively young; I didn't realize then that many people's grandparents got to spend more years with their grandchildren. My grandfather passed away when I was in high school, my grandmother when I was a senior in college. And my grandmother was never the same after my grandfather died. Sadly, my grandmother never seemed to be very content with her life or her past, which was one of the reasons I think we never talked about it. For most of the time that I really knew my grandmother, she was ill with leukemia. However, she also seemed bitter about her youngest days, spent in Europe in grinding poverty, and her life as a young adult. Understandable, but there could also have been tales of endurance and overcoming hardship.

My grandfather also had a hard life, although typical of the poorer families of the time in this country. He didn't seem to relish much about his past either. So while my youth kept me from even knowing how to ask the kind of questions I would like to ask today, my grandparents also weren't eager to share their experiences.

Which is a long lead-in (whew!) to say that I have been thinking of them quite a bit lately. What we are in now may not match our vague impressions of the Great Depression (no dust bowls, no long unemployment lines), but things are certainly tight financially for so many families. High gas and food prices, high unemployment, real estate markets dried up. If my grandparents could bear to talk about it, I'd love to know what it was like to try to raise a family in those days. What ways did they use to get by? I have ideas of how things might work out today, if life gets harder for the majority, but I'd like to know if my thoughts about a possible future in any way resemble what was in the past. Automobiles, phones, televisions, so many things are different now. Maybe someday I can share wisdom with grandchildren of my own.

Projects

I think I've mentioned before that my attention span is something akin to a toddler's. I also need to have more than one thing going on. I have an awfully hard time getting projects done. I generally only knit, for example, while the Dancer is in one of her classes, because I can multi-task. Watching the Dancer, listening to the music and knitting occupies all of my mind. Just sitting and knitting would bore me immensely. I have two projects I ought to get done before the Easter weekend, as they are birthday gifts that are already rather belated. It just occurred to me the other day that I should make myself a case for my glasses. I have to take them off when I am doing anything close up. Isn't that the opposite of what is normal? Anyway, a case would give me someplace safe to put them. I don't like to just stick them in my purse where my keys and so forth are.

I also do better even at household chores when I have music to listen to. I'm so thankful for satellite radio. It's not that expensive, and I can listen to it on my phone. It is hard to pick up radio stations out here, even though we're definitely part of metro Cleveland. And talk radio, you guessed it, bores me. Plus, the quality of "old school" radio is decreasing. Like so many other things, there is less offered for what I'd imagine is the same amount or more in advertising intake.

Speaking of music, I find it funny and heart-warming that the girls like older music and not just the current pop stuff. The Musician likes AC/DC and GNR, and we can rock out together to "Don't Stop Believing." The Dancer is singing "Footloose" as part of her school concert, so she's all "Been workin', so hard, I'm punchin', my card." It's nice to have things that bring us together. :)

On This Economy Thing

I thought I might as well mention where I get a lot of my economic news from, in case you're interested. I enjoy reading Monty's work at Ace of Spades. He makes things simple for people who are interested in where the economy is going but who aren't steeped in the minutiae of economic policies. Kind of Economics for Dummies. :) On the other hand, he does use a lot of facts and links to make his points. Unlike leftist economic articles I have looked at that say, the economy is not doomed, because shut up, that's why. No concrete evidence or specifics. Here is an example of his latest work. Be warned; Ace of Spades very often has a locker-room atmosphere. But there are also has a large number of readers who consistently comment. Not only are they very knowledgeable, but they are there day after day, so if someone says, I own my own business and we're not hiring until the economy improves, you are more likely to believe a regular than a drive-by commenter.

Here is a good place to get economic analysis in a little bit more detail. He also offers a lot to back up his claims.

Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams are economic professors, regular columnists for various publications, and good reads. Here Dr. Williams recently took on the Broken Window Fallacy. In this article he writes what I also believe, that government cannot keep spending at its current rate.

Mr. BTEG pointed out something interesting to me when I was complaining about the leftie friends we have. None of them are what is referred to as a Trustifarian, but they have all lived comfortable lives. They may have never heard, "Sorry, we can't afford that right now." Which probably explains why when I try to talk economics with them, I can't get anywhere. Their argument seems to boil down to: we need it. We need NPR. We need a social safety net. We need, we need, we need. Mom and Dad will pay for it. Or as a rioter in Greece put it, let the rich and the bankers pay for it. There will always be someone to pay for it.

Wandering

I'm having a hard time blogging lately, and I feel at times like just giving it up. The problem is that blogging is one of the few ways I currently have of interacting with the outside world. I've been hesitating about how to write this, because I don't want it to sound like a big Pity Me thing. It's just that I have always found it hard to create real friendships, relationships. I used to think poorly of myself and blame myself for this. Now I wonder if the bipolar is mostly behind it. Becoming more aware of people who are bipolar, at least on the internet, shows that many of them have very few friends, among other things that we have in common.

Oddly enough, my parents did not have a lot of friends either. The people they socialized with the most were a group they had known since they started a "Young Couples' Club" at their church. They were fortunate I suppose in that all the couples stayed intact and in the same area for so many years, even after leaving for other local churches. My mother also is friendly with a former high school classmate, but they had lost track of each other until this classmate became the kindergarten teacher of myself and my sisters. My mother's closest friend all these years is a woman that met my mother at a vacation camp when they were young and single. My father really only seemed to have one friend from his past, and that man sadly killed himself about twenty years ago. Now that I think about it, it's odd that my father didn't keep up any friendships with, for example, people with whom he served in the Navy. Can you believe that only occurred to me while I was writing this?

I've thought about going to bipolar support groups in the area, but never seriously looked into it. I've had bad experiences trying to get involved in groups, and I have to admit I've made excuses about not going without knowing if they are valid, such as location or meeting times. I wonder if I would "click" better with bipolar people?

All Good Things

I love the Greater Cleveland area. I've lived here for most of my forty-something years on earth. I wanted to live here for the rest of my earthly years. But as my readers in this country probably know, the state of Ohio is on the downturn, and the city of Cleveland is trying hard to be the next Detroit. Here's the latest on our race to the bottom: enormous water fee hikes. And why? Because of "falling revenues and declining consumption." That's right; there is less water usage so you get to pay more. Not only that, but most of the increase will be "a fixed fee charged to all customers regardless of how much water they use." So you won't be able to save money out of the new enormous fees even by cutting back on what water you do use.

I also see that the water company is a billion dollars in debt. How does a company that provides a service get that far into debt? In the real world, a business that was losing that much money would go under or cut drastically. From both first hand and anecdotal knowledge, the water company is terrible at both billing and customer service already. But is the problem not enough workers, or incompetent workers? If you've ever dealt with bureaucracy before, I bet you have an answer for that.

So I'm starting to think about our options once our daughters are out of the local school district. It would hurt me for the rest of my life to have to leave this area, but you know what happens to all good things....

Then and Now

The Musician just asked me today if I thought that clinical depression has always been as prevalent as it seems to be now. Of course we can't be sure, but I opined that it has probably always been there at a level at least something close to modern levels. Famous people throughout history are now being diagnosed as having been clinically depressed based on their writings and actions. Abraham Lincoln, for example, showed signs of severe depression, even as a young man. In 1835, according to a biographer, he was so depressed after a death of someone close that he had people with him most of the time to make sure he did not harm or kill himself. But it was probably seen as more of a personality trait than a chemical issue at that time. I'm also thinking of people like the fictional "Mrs. Brewster," with whom Laura Ingalls Wilder boarded as a young teacher. She was definitely heavily depressed at the very least, very likely assisted by gloomy winter days and isolation.

In Julia P. Gelardi's book, Born to Rule, she writes about the behavior of Princess Beatrice, youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, after the death of Beatrice's husband. She would be "crying one moment, raging at a picture of her dead husband the next. After this, the despondent young widow went out to ride her bicycle in heavy mourning. Then she read a book on piety or talked for hours about the small economies being made on all the candles in her homes." Sounds very like bipolar mood swings, or some other mental disturbance.

Then today I also started re-reading Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. And there is a description of famous fictional movie star Marina Gregg: "It's more that her ups and downs are so violent. You know - far too happy one moment, far too pleased with everything and delighted with everything and how wonderful she feels. Then of course some little thing happens and down she goes to the opposite extreme." In 1962, when the book came out, this was put down to "temperament." Today abnormal highs and lows are bipolar.

John Fixmer asserts in his online article that today Lincoln would very likely not be elected President due to a stigma of mental illness. I'll have to think about this for a while. My moods may fluctuate, but I am still as smart as I have ever been. I read about politics and economics, as well as history and light reading like Agatha Christie. My daughters are turning out to be decent people, based on compliments by others and not just by my biased maternal self. :) Still, stress can severely affect my mood, more than is normal, I think, and I try to avoid it as much as I can. I might want to avoid a press conference or meeting with a foreign leader if I was in a raging manic state. On the other hand, now that I am aware that I do have a chemical imbalance, and the world is not a horrible stinking rotten place even if I feel that it is, I have managed to be in public and not show what is churning inside. Maybe if I felt that leading a country was important enough, and I wanted to do it, being bipolar might not be an issue. I certainly try to control it to be a wife and mother, which I feel are far more important than being a national leader.

The Last Stage Is Acceptance

Many of the political-type writers online that I think make the most sense are saying that a financial collapse is coming for this country. I find their arguments, and the facts they use to make those arguments, persuasive. For one thing, there are several countries in Europe that are well ahead of us on the race to bankruptcy, and we're doing the same things they did. Meanwhile, we're piling up debt in our own country like a soon-to-be divorced woman using her husband's credit cards. What I'm coming to accept is that a lot of people in this country will refuse to see this until we are completely out of money. I don't know why I am surprised. People were making fun of Noah until those raindrops started falling. People were probably making fun of those who predicted bad things at the turn of last century (or so) when we started our slide towards socialism.

There are two things that bother me. One, is that we are very likely going to have to take this ride all the way to the bottom. There are just too many people who don't see impending disaster, who think we just have to "tax the rich" or raise taxes to make things all better. That bothers me because it will not only affect people my age, but my children, grandchildren, and possibly my great-grandchildren. I don't want that for them.

The other thing is, even if my little family manages to prepare adequately (and in this economy and with other difficulties we've had, it's questionable) it's going to be hard watching other people suffer. It's going to be a big shock and there's going to be a lot of unpleasant things to deal with. At least I have an idea that bad times are coming. Some people won't know until those first raindrops start falling.

She's Got Personality

It is fascinating to me to see, now that my two girls are approaching maturity, how much of their characters they have retained even from babyhood. I won't give too many details, to protect the innocent (grin), but here's a few examples.

The Musician has always been extremely laid back. I like to think my good parenting helped with this, but she was an extremely easy baby to care for. The only times I ever remember her getting upset as a baby was making her do something that she didn't want to do. By this I mainly mean things like when I held her down while a dentist corrected her frenulum (she was tongue tied like her mommy.) Let her hang out and play with her toys, and she was fine. She also decided around the age of two, that she was not a girly-girl, and she still isn't.

The Dancer, on the other hand, has always been rather active. That's why I started her in gymnastics in the first place, to positively channel her energy. You might remember that her first nickname on my blog was Wild Child, and she has always deserved it. When she got a little older, she chose ballet for herself, and now she is taking three dance classes per week and assisting with another dance class, and loves it. She spends a lot of her time bouncing and dancing around the house.

I also love seeing bits of myself and Mr. BTEG in some of the things they do, things that seem more inherent to their natures rather than learned. I tried, for example, not to let my picky eating create bad food attitudes for the girls, and fortunately neither of them learned food dislikes from me. Sometimes I wonder if the nurture part of the whole nature/nurture balance consists mainly of teaching them polite manners and things like respect for others. Other than that, they really seem to have chosen their own courses. Of course, Mr. BTEG and I decided before they were born that we wanted to give them free reign, up to a certain point, to develop and express themselves. I know that sadly a child's personal growth can be messed up by such things as an overly strict or overly lenient parent.

Lastly, about the tongue-tied thing. I always thought, because it passed through my maternal grandfather all the way down to my daughter, that it had a strong genetic component. I only know of meeting one other person who was tongue-tied. I find that interesting. I did discover recently that Jeremy Brett, mainly of Sherlock Holmes fame here in the States, also reported himself as tongue-tied, although different sources seem to describe it differently. He was also bipolar and left-handed (they used a "hand double" during scenes where Sherlock was writing although he is shown during one episode boxing left-handed.) I would have loved to meet another tongue-tied, left-handed, bipolar person!

Unrest in Ohio?

Honestly, I haven't been following Ohio's S.B.5 as I should have been. Of course, I don't trust Cleveland's local rag to tell anything but the far-left side of the story, so I avoid them as a source of news. I'm thinking I should get on some sort of news feed to get stories in which I have an interest.

I was glad that S.B.5 passed, but I'm wondering about this story from The Other McCain, in which a lawyer representing the Ohio FOP tells a Ohio Senator who voted for the bill, "Funny thing about cops, they hold grudges." Fortunately, the guy was dumb enough to do it on Facebook, where it was screencapped for posterity. Does this sound like a threat to you? Should Senator LaRose be looking out for a horse head on his bed next??

Sins of the Parents

I'm so tired of seeing the effects of divorce and parental neglect in the lives of too many of the kids that go to high school with the Musician. They're desperate for love and attention, but they don't know how to have real, meaningful relationships, either the dating kind or the friendship kind. I want so badly to mother these kids but I can't fix everything. All I can hope is that I have the right words if God wills me to say something.

Risking It

I made a decision early on to keep my blog completely separate from my Facebook life. That was my personal decision, and it was so I could be completely myself over here. A lot of people that are my "friends" on Facebook are actually extended family and friends/acquaintances I know I don't see eye to eye with on everything. So I could let it rip here and keep my "company manners" for over there. Well, I admit to posting links about egregious things. Like the woman who thought Arizona would have more room to talk about illegal aliens if it was a border state. O_o

However, I've had to speak out to an extended family member and a wife of a college friend recently, both of whom have asked people to call their representatives to keep supporting NPR/PBS with federal money. Their reason: the wife, because she's "addicted" to NPR; the family member, because her child watches PBS shows. Yes, I'm risking ruining relationships with family members and very old friends because I'm ANGRY. My family, a "working family" is barely hanging on in this economy. Lots of "working families" are barely hanging on in this economy. We're probably going to be even worse off when our national economy goes boom. Which it will if we keep on at our current rate. But some people are still like little kids. "Please, Mommy, don't turn off my TV show!" Not that losing federal funding will even guarantee these two stations will go off the air. Sesame Street, or I should say the products sold featuring Sesame Street characters, could probably easily pay for both. Maybe the show should spread the wealth.

Union Blues

My grandfather was a blue collar, union man. Very stubborn. Honestly don't know if he'd accept the rot that today's unions have become. But I'm sure he never would have approved of using his pipefitter's union dues to purchase a golf course. iOwnTheWorld comments on the irony of the class envy: it's only bad when you're not the one doing it. So I was thinking. My grandfather loved opera. Maybe some pipefitters should buy an opera house.

Late Night Weirdness

I had the problem today of my mind racing and not really being able to concentrate on much of anything. I'm starting to wonder how many times I've had this issue and not pinned down what was going on. I used to be on ADD medication, until I was hospitalized and diagnosed as bipolar. Now I'm not sure what to do. I could mention it to my doctor and play a round of medication roulette. Or not.

Speaking of bipolar, I'm also beginning to wonder how much more fun I could be having if I cashed in on it. People have been talking on the interwebs today about how Charlie Sheen might have bipolar or another mental illness. Or maybe he's just addicted to crack. Hey, don't mind my drunken binge! I'm bipolar!

And lastly, what kind of doctor gives a bipolar woman an abnormal boob job? What's next, cutting off limbs for those people who are obsessed with getting rid of them? Oh, and by the way? I feel so ugly without a diamond tiara. I'll be a better role model for my daughters once I get one.

Driving Me Crazy

I'm so glad the weather is beautiful, because I feel like crud. Not because of any illness I have, but because I am just worn out today. Remember how I said it's always easier to solve other people's problems? Well, I feel like I've cut just about everything non-essential out of my life, and can't cut anymore. I think the real issue is that, only having one car, I'm spending a good deal of my life driving people around, and after all, Mr. BTEG can't stop going to work and the Musician can't stop going to high school, can they? And the Dancer, well, there are several good reasons for her to keep dancing. I just keep telling myself that this too shall pass. The Musician is gung ho to get her student driving license this summer; if all goes well she will be a real live licensed driver this coming winter.

It's Pouring Sunshine and Rage

I've been a fan of Plumb for years, but I happened to stumble across this video tonight for a song I hadn't heard before. It says a lot in a few words about the manic state.

Mad World

And it's really kind of funny
It's really kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had

Phoning It In

Via Pastor Peperkorn (on Facebook,) an iPhone app for Confession. What do my Catholic friends think?

I enjoy using the internet for keeping in touch with people that live far away, and I obviously enjoy broadcasting my thoughts and ideas via blogging. But I hope we don't start using things like Skype or cell phones to replace the importance of the physical interaction between the pastor (representing God,) and the congregation. Not that I'm saying that this app does that.

Mental Exercises

It's been a tough month here at la Casa de Evil Genius. Mr. BTEG still continues to suffer health issues; although new medical possibilities seem to be on the horizon, we still have a little longer to wait on them. Thus in many ways I feel at times like a single mother. There are a lot of things that my dear husband just is not physically capable of doing at the moment. I am extremely thankful that Mr. BTEG is able to be gainfully employed, at least.

Of course, we're also feeling the same financial crunch that a lot of other families are. In some odd way, I do enjoy the challenge of stretching the budget, finding ways to lower our gas and electric bills, looking everywhere for things to cut. Although, as some author who I can't remember put it, it resembles the exhilaration the Texans must have felt at the Alamo. Still, if you are a fighter, a challenge can give you something to live for, to work for.

Too much stress is not good for anyone. As a person with mental health issues, I have found it particularly hard to deal with. I try to be involved in as few outside activities as possible, to put as few demands on myself as possible. Health and finances, one could say, are attacking from within. I was really letting things get to me, until I saw how much I could be doing to help, often in small ways, but still making things better. It's amazing how often we see the problems of others as being so easy to solve, but can't see a way around our own. I think that's because it's hard sometimes to change what you've become used to, even if it puts you in a bad place. Certainly we value different things, so what one person would find easy to give up, another might declare next to impossible. Still, I remember being in group therapy and seeing people whose difficult situations were exacerbating their mental health issues, and yet the one thing they couldn't seem to do was take a step to bring things around. This is certainly not an upbeat, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow kind of post. This is just me saying that I've found some adjustments I can make which hopefully will improve my quality of life.

Help Me Out

So can anyone name an special occasion for girls at which the girl wears a veil on the back of her head, besides a Catholic First Communion? I ask because the latest American Girl catalog is out, and there is a doll-sized cream dress with a veil. Of course, the dress has a lilac sash, which is not the custom with First Communion dresses, but what's up with the veil, then? The interesting thing to me is that they didn't have to include the veil. Any little girl making her First Communion could easily pin a handkerchief or a piece of tulle on the back of her doll's head. Or even get a bridal style dress that is made for the 18" doll. Of course AG wouldn't make money on an item they didn't produce.

It also comes with a charm that says "Proud." I don't get the current trend of flinging "positive" words around everywhere, either. You know what I mean, the large wooden shelf sitters that spell out LOVE or BELIEVE. Or the little rocks with "inspirational" words on them. Is wearing a charm with a word on it really going to induce more of the sentiment expressed?

I am reminded of a special outfit made several years ago for AG's doll Bitty Baby. It very clearly conveyed baptism dress when you looked at it, being a long white dress with white bonnet. I could see why they wouldn't want to call it a baptism dress, and I imagine they would be sued if they made an out-and-out First Communion dress. I still find the veil weird.

Education and Being Exceptional

So would you go to see Juan Williams and Hugh Hewitt if you had the chance? They are coming to the greater Cleveland area on some kind of tour to promote changing our educational system to promote school choice and America's ranking internationally. I know Juan Williams has been mugged by liberalism, but from some things I've read (I don't watch Fox News or any other TV news program) it seems he is still toeing the liberal party line on a lot of things. Hugh Hewitt, I don't remember too much of what I've read or heard about him except that he was pushing Mitt Romney, which is not a plus in my book.

I'd also like your input on what you think "American exceptionalism" means. Should Americans strive to be number one? Yes. Will we always get there? No. For that matter, why should be be exceptional in anything other than our system of government? Yes, we've been blessed in that we have a large country with many resources and strategical advantages (such as ports in the Atlantic and Pacific.) But I don't think America has to or will be number one in everything, all the time. What do you think about that?

Work Smarter

Mr. BTEG is very good at getting new phones for free or at very low cost when it comes time to renew our cell phone contracts. Thus, every member of the Evil Genius family is now equipped with a smart phone. I am amazed at how much I love my new phone. There is so much to do on these crazy things! Right now, I especially love being able to read books on the phone, and the to-do list. I seem to function better when I have a concrete list set up. Maybe it helps me focus. I loved the Franklin Day Planner, but it got too expensive, and while a to-do list handwritten in a notebook is functional, I'm liking the smart phone route better. And one of the things I have on my to-do list is to blog. :)

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Okay, so I know what the true meaning of Christmas is. But like poor Charlie Brown, I didn't really have much feeling for Christmas this year, either in the spiritual or secular senses. I got a nice gift, the warm winter coat I've been wanting for a couple of years. The girls were happy with their gifts, even though they were by no means extravagant. Mr. BTEG even scored himself some free Christmas gifts: a Google TV keyboard and the latest in smart phones. And of course the most important thing was the remembrance that God became man, became incarnate for us and for our salvation. I was rather numb to the whole thing. Not getting to Christmas services due to various health issues may not have helped this, although I was not tuned in to Advent very well either. I am taking two things from this season. One, I need to stay on top of my mental processes, even though I can't twist them into something perfect. Two, thank God that His incarnation and my salvation do not rest on my feelings being "right."

Don't Blink

Wow, the days are going by quickly! In a couple of days, the girls will be home for winter break. The Musician will also be celebrating a birthday soon. I have most of the gifts purchased, although I have to exchange some earrings. The Dancer came home today, and her friend had given her the same three-pack that I bought the Dancer for Christmas. Oops. They were, of course, ballerina-themed earrings.

Speaking of dance, the Dancer has started assisting at a tap class for 7-8 year-olds. Great experience for her, but another day to be at the dance studio. We do get the Dancer's tap classes for free now, though.

The Dancer's Winter Concert was tonight. The chorale did sing the J-word in one of the songs. :O The Dancer participated in the String Orchestra, and the band also played. The high school freshmen musicians in attendance, including my Musician, were scoping the band for future members. :) Yes, these current 6th graders will be getting Freshmen Wake-Up from the current crop of freshmen, in only three years. I'm sure it will come all too quickly.

Winter Is Unofficially Here

I was so glad yesterday that Mr. BTEG and I have cell phones. Due to the inclement weather, poor Mr. BTEG ended up playing Escape from Cleveland as his usual bus was non-existent (some people were waiting at the bus stop for over an hour) and traffic was almost at a stand-still, so he advised me not to come and pick him up. He ended up getting to Tower City and taking a train out to the near west side, where I came to get him. It would have been awful if we hadn't been able to communicate with each other throughout the fun.

Picky PIcky

I was surprised and slightly heartened to see this article about picky eaters. It's nice that someone even floats the idea that picky eaters are not people who just don't want to eat healthy food, or who just don't want to try new things. I'm a little miffed at the speculation later on, however, that picky eaters may still be made, not born, by unpleasant experiences at the dinner table or stomach issues. They still can't quite bring themselves to accept picky eaters completely, it seems.

My name is Barb the Evil Genius, and I am a picky eater. It started in babyhood, when my skin turned yellow. My concerned mother took me to the doctor, only to find out that I did not have jaundice. Instead, it was my refusal to eat strained green vegetables that led to my skin tone. My current general practitioner is skeptical about the tale, although I have met another extremely picky eater who claimed her skin turned orange as a child, for the same reason.

Later on, when I graduated to solid food, I lived for a time on hot dogs and applesauce, being all that I would eat. It's easy to say, now, that my mom should have simply waited until I was really hungry. A neighbor tried this with my youngest sister, who refused to take a bottle. My sister outlasted the neighbor, and screamed for what she wanted the whole time to boot.

I am blessed to be able to say that my picky eating has not negatively affected my marriage or my social life. I did get scolded once on a college group outing to Louisiana and back, when a Chinese restaurant was chosen one night for dinner. I don't really eat Chinese, and there were protests as to why I hadn't spoken up. It was difficult for me to explain that I hadn't really wanted any of the other choices, either. And I didn't want to chain the entire group to my pickiness.

Mr. BTEG urges me to try new foods, but it's not a relationship issue if I don't like something. Occasionally the family will go out for something like Chinese, and I will eat something from somewhere else. It's not the end of the world. I will admit I can now eat sweet and sour fried chicken (hold the sweet and sour) and white rice, but not enough to really fill me. My daughters also eat more kinds of food than I do, although they also have likes and dislikes. My eldest currently favors a four-alarm level of spices, but then she ate salsa with a spoon when she was two.

I do find it interesting that we picky eaters tend to have very similar tastes in what we eat and drink. To me, it points toward the idea that we are indeed wired differently somehow when it comes to eating. I also look to the example of a pastor we used to know, who had his own taste preferences. He did not care to eat anything sugary. To him, it all just tasted like... sugar. No variation in the flavor experience. However, he could not get enough salt. That always tasted wonderful to him. For me, I have to agree with the final quote of the article: "We don't all have the same experience when we eat."

Head Cases

My mind has been straying back to this article several times during the past couple of days. It bothers me not as a what-could-have-been but as a what-could-be. I have never struggled with mental issues to the extent that the author's son has. I made it through college with honors and successfully held down a number of jobs before becoming a full-time mom. My children are also currently doing well in their lives. Yes, I should place my trust in God, but in my frailty I wonder at times if my mind will deteriorate more, or if one or both of my daughters will suffer from mental illness, which does seem to have a definite genetic component. I do have a whole host of changes before me, God willing, even thought many of them will indeed be positive. In the end, however, there is nothing I can do to alter things, so I have to rely on God, and on my loved ones working through Him.

On a second note, I do agree with the author's assertion that we should rely on ourselves as much as possible. As was pointed out somewhere else on the blogosphere, for middle class taxpayers, what usually happens is I support your unique need through my taxes, and you support my unique need through your taxes. If we weren't paying these taxes, we could just take care of our own needs, with a lot less waste of money. Plus, I stated this when my husband was going through his mysterious health issues, but I cannot say it often enough: bureaucracy does not care. The person who was the most help to us through all of our issues was our primary care physician, who has known our family for several years. From other places, we either received no help, often for reasons that made no sense, or extremely delayed help, due to the number of hoops required first, and that fact that managing our issue was just someone's job, and not a vital issue as it was to us.

One last thing; the author wrote that he did manage to find manageable coverage for his son despite the health issues, but fears it may become out of reach under Obamacare. I believe this is an intended consequence. God be with us all.

Questioning

I am going to be posting on higher education, in regards to my family in particular, but as I was planning the post out in my mind, I took a side trip. I have always been disappointed in my college career. I wrote too much trying to explain, so let's just say I don't know why I went to the college I did, or took some of the courses that I did. However, when I get down to it, I always get back to the fact that I met my now-husband there, so I can't completely regret my college choice.

Which leads me to a point where I get theologically muddled: what was God's involvement in this? Dawn Eden, in her book, says that a man's wife is chosen for him by God. How does God plan things for us, however, which involve the actions of other people? How did my husband and I end up going to the same college, and both make friends with the same person who would eventually introduce us? I never felt a "call," or anything similar to go to the college I did. I went because they supposedly had a good program in a major my father pushed towards. I ended up not really being interested in that major, and not seeing the program as that good anyway. I completely fumbled my way through the whole higher education process. God knew all that would happen, since He is omniscient, but did he *direct* any of it? And if so, how?

Not Absolute

My life is flying by, and I am feeling more and more caught up in the small but rewarding world of family. I am so thankful that we decided to stay in the same school district, even though it really limited our options for a new place. The girls' friendships with fellow students continue to grow and develop, and it would have been hard for them to start with a new bunch of kids this year. I think those who are natural extroverts and who make friends easily might find this hard to understand, but from the perspective of my husband and myself, this was the right choice.

I'm trying to be more active in the girls' schools this year. Signed up for the local PTA and was horrified to get an "advocacy alert" for a Congressional bill, with which I don't even agree! Our local PTA is part of some large email client, and the national PTA seems to want to use us for its agenda. Laura is also not a fan of the national PTA. When did this become a top-heavy, self-important organization, and not just some moms passing out candy canes at the Christmas holiday party?

As you might guess, I really hate this push for everything to be centralized and bureaucrat-ized. My guess at the reason is for the accumulation of power. Think about how much more "important" one would feel as the head of a national organization, telling people how to vote and making them fill out useless forms? At times it does sound nice to have the perks and privileges of the influential. A private jet instead of getting groped by the TSA is appealing at the moment, for example. Thinking about it, though, I don't know that I would be any happier in the long run. I can't imagine the climb to get and maintain power would help my soul. It wouldn't improve my relationships, which to me are what life is all about. How many people think beyond what will get them ahead today, though? How many people have gotten to the top and jumped off in despair?

Businesses Are Evil

The other week I skimmed the headlines of the local newspapers at the grocery store, and saw that American Greetings, a local greeting card company, with product carried nationwide, is once again making noises about leaving their current headquarters. They claim to want another city where they can pay fewer taxes, and are suggesting they may even leave the state. What's funny about this is that they worship Ear Leader to the extent that they created a Christmas ornament of him a couple of years ago. They were probably disappointed that it wasn't prominently featured next to that other fascist dictator, Mao, on the White House Christmas tree.

Anyway, yes, the company has been solidly Democrat for decades. So, Mr. CEO of American Greetings, I need to tell you something. Don't be a greedy fat cat. At some point, you have made enough money. You need to spread the wealth, especially for all those children in your headquarter town. The city is only levying taxes for your own good.

As for the city itself, well, I don't know how high their tax rate is, but I do know that they are proud of being the first city to have a seat belt law, and they also have a no cell phone while driving law. So the leaders of this town also seem to be pretty happy to tell others what to do. This Dem on Dem squabbling is funny, except the prospect of losing thousands of area jobs? Not quite so funny.

In Between

Settling down in our new place. Hasn't helped that we all got sick, but that's to be expected this time of year when your immune system is worn down by stress and extra exertion. My brain is unfortunately too confuzzled (a term coined by the Musician) to write coherently about what I want to write about, this late. I have strong attitudes about things, but I don't feel like I can do serious writing any real justice, right now. Hopefully soon!

Mad at Ohio

At my daughter's dance lesson tonight, I was talking to a father who happens to be a teacher in our school district. He informed me and the other mom there that the state of Ohio is shifting to mandatory full-day kindergarten AND mandatory *preschool.* I'm angry and appalled! Yes, I sent my daughters to preschool, and they enjoyed it, but it was only mornings, not every school day, and I certainly wouldn't want it to be forced on every child. I also don't see five-year-olds as necessarily being ready for all-day school, either. They're still so young! Of course, too many children that age are in all-day daycare anyway, and I have to wonder if parents who do have children in daycare were a driving force behind this. It also makes me mad that I am subsidizing their daycare, basically. They are probably using some sort of excuse about helping the children academically, but seriously. When my daughters were kindergarten age, they were still solidifying letters and numbers. I don't see going to a whole day making a difference in that. Not to mention that there is evidence that even Head Start ends up not giving kids an advantage in the long run. Where is the evidence that all-day preschool will work?

Another issue is the cost. Our school district is blessed to be in a financially good place at the moment, but adding all those extra kids, and the extra hours, will put a strain on the district's budget. How will districts that already struggle financially deal with it? Especially in this economy? It will mean more levies, and of course the schools know how to manipulate parents, by cutting "non-essential" classes like art, extracurricular activities and busing. Of course, so many parents work today that they are apparently happy to pay the extra taxes to ease the burden of having to drive them to school, and pick them up right after school.

I'm so disappointed in Ohio. I'm definitely contacting my legislators, although it's a bit late at this point. I wish I had a place to get good Ohio news besides the local rag. Homeschooling did not work out in the long run for us, but I think I would probably homeschool during the preschool and kindergarten years if I had children of that age. It's a sad development.

Moving Along

So we've moved, and it has been stressful and exhausting, but not as bad as it could have been, so I'm being thankful for what we have. I've been rather busy, and I have to admit it is fun getting everything arranged and put away. I'm trying to concentrate on the good instead of the bad, which is a great idea all the time, but I find myself concentrating on the bad too often. Looking forward to Thanksgiving. We'll be guests, not hosts, so I won't have to worry that there are boxes all over the house. Which there will be. Also plotting ways to keep my winter active and upbeat. Will be getting to back to "real" blogging, too!

Time Flies When You're Moving

Wow, the days when I don't blog seem to fly by so fast. At least this time I have a good excuse, and that is because we are moving early next week! We are looking at it as a positive, as I think it will be. One of the only negatives I've found so far is that the Dancer will be picked up by the school bus about half an hour earlier. She seems pretty cool with it, though. She's very good about scheduling her shower, lunch packing, etc. Fortunately, both of the girls are very good about getting themselves up, as I am just awful about it. Getting to sleep and getting up at the right times seems to be an issue for bipolar people. I personally also seem to need a lot more sleep than the normal recommended amount. Not sure why this is, but I just try to arrange to get enough.

Turn and Turn About

One of public education's problems is the teachers' union, which often uses parents' desires to have a good education for their children, to gain excessive wealth and benefits for themselves. How do we define excessive? Here's some of my ideas. When many occupations don't see raises for years, but the teachers' union demands raises every year, that's excessive. When unemployment numbers are soaring and taxpayers find it harder to meet their own family's needs, but teachers' unions still demand the same size raise, that's excessive. When health care premiums are rising for just about everyone, but a teachers' union still demands absolutely free health care benefits for its members, that's excessive. When a state is going bankrupt, but a union insists they still receive what they're used to, in the end, that helps no one. Individual teachers can be great (winks at Katie,) but the union is too demanding and uses "the children" far too often.

Watch Chris Christie here as he takes apart the teachers' union in his state. One thing I like about Governor Christie is that he uses facts and hard numbers when talking about the issues. Also, he doesn't need a teleprompter.

Here We Go

I may be passive-aggressive posting this here, instead of dealing with things head on. On the other hand, I have tried expressing my ideas when issues come up, and have gotten nowhere. Once, when I said straight out that I was hurt and offended, I got "You don't need to be offended" as a reply. Well, thanks! I guess that fixes everything! Right now I just feel the need to spout off about what I see as a problem I don't know how to change.

Here's my biggest issue right now. I'm tired of seeing people say to my face, on the one hand, that if public school works for your family, hey, great. This comes after I say something if someone says, oh, you really must love your kids since you homeschool them. So I guess I must hate my kids? Well, they aren't going to say that. Then they put up some article that talks about how the public school system was created to dumb kids down, and the education establishment is just out to get your kids and make them stupid. So what does that mean? Public school as an entire entity is a mind control factory determined to turn your children into mindless cogs of the state. But hey, whatever works best for your family, you know?

I think part of the problem is that because of a few people that I am friends with, I have fallen into a larger group with whom I have next to nothing in common. I'm starting to see the group as a homogenous entity, and feeling out of place because I don't buy into what they say. Often I feel like chucking the entire thing out the window. At this point, I don't know how to cut ties with many without cutting ties with everyone. Oh bother.

Blank Slate

Goodness only knows, there's enough to blog about out there. For some reason, I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together enough to write a good blog post. Of course, we are moving in just over a week, so perhaps that is a contributing factor. I'm mentally unpacking and arranging things in the new place already. I suppose that's more fun than packing and sorting things here.

And now I just realized another reason for my mental vacuum. The Musician came in to my bedroom talking nineteen to the dozen, and the Dancer was not far behind. I'm starting to feel like I need a social secretary to keep up with them and their plans! Not to mention a dedicated car and driver. I keep going by reminding myself that these days will go by very quickly, so I should enjoy them while I can.

Food for Thought

Just read on Facebook that the Mythbusters are going to be doing a show with President Obama. I love the show, and I am so disappointed in this. Mythbusters should not involve politics. I don't want to know which way Jamie and Adam's politics fall, and I take this news to confirm what I strongly suspected, that they are leftists, perhaps even with socialist leanings. With this administration charging into socialist territory, and the Mythbusters being filmed in a very blue area of California, I suspect the cast of Mythbusters does lean socialist, but I really didn't want to know either way.

The President is also a very divisive figure right now. Even die-hard Democrats are starting to lose enthusiasm, although they often blame it on staff, rather than the top guy. Why make a decision that will make a good bit of your audience unhappy with the show?

As I was thinking over this, I remembered that the cable show Cake Boss did an episode where the bakery made a cake for Governor Chris Christie. I wouldn't ask Buddy to turn down such a offer that would give him publicity in high places, but if we're going to be fair, that shouldn't have shown on television as well, I guess. Am I being partisan when I feel that Buddy was making a very lucrative and high-recognition business transaction, while the Mythbusters are very likely (to me) doing this for the "ooh, we get to do a show with the Lightworker" factor? Buddy's cake reflected a lot of pride in his home state, at least, as well as being for the Governor. As I read on the linked webpage, Mythbusters has already tried this myth *twice*. Why do it again?

Am I overreacting? I doubt the Mythbusters would *do* a show with Governor Christie, or with someone like Sharron Angle or Sean Bielat. I wonder if Buddy would make a cake for anybody.

Talk to the Hand

So Justice Alito plans to skip the next State of the Union Address. I think this is a great decision. This way he won't have to sit there like, as he says, a "potted plant" while the President of our country demeans our Supreme Court, which was designed to be a check and balance to Presidential and Congressional power. But what happened to our President being bipartisan and bringing everyone together? Yes, this is a rhetorical question. He is really only pushing people further apart. Let conservatives unite to decrease governmental control over our lives.

I Hate Guilt

I am excited about the changes that I see coming up in the political world. I like the idea of more conservative candidates, who actually listen to constituents and are real people instead of elites. But it nags me that I'm not doing anything to help. I hate cold calling. Heck, I hate calling people who I do know, but not very well. Would prefer not to have any yard signs at this moment. Signed up with Americans for Prosperity, and I understand they are still getting things underway, but the "local" events they have held so far would have been about 30-45 minutes away from me. I also hate knocking on strange doors. Knocked on a few neighbors' doors to try to help the Dancer sell magazines for her school, and it was *excruciating*. I know some of you who read my blog can identify with this. I do believe in conservative principles, but then I also believe Christianity and would not want to knock on strange doors "selling" it. Will still try my best to spread conservative ideas where I can.

So Much to Do, So Little Time

The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

I go through dry spells where everything is dull and boring and the world a yawning wilderness. Then I go through periods like where I am now, where I want to sew things and knit things and buy things and sell things and be wildly crafty and do it all all at the same time! Right now I feel like the world is *too* full of wonderful things! Since I am getting better at understanding my motivations and my moods, I'm hoping to have a productive winter, but not getting unrealistic. :)

Quick Observation

My tendency to emphasize words in my writing is so Victorian. I can picture myself penning a letter and underlining or even double/triple underlining words. Don't know why I do it except to better get across my "voice." It doesn't bother me although at the same time I hope I don't come across as weird. :)

Parenthood

I may have made an important discovery. I think a medication I was taking temporarily has contributed to my *extreme* tiredness. I'm hoping this will turn out to be the case. There's so much I want to do in real life, things I want to discuss here on my blog, and I hate being too tired to do anything but the very basics.

I've been thinking a lot about raising children, as I drive my two daughters to and from and all over town. What I see as an important thing for my child to do, or be, or know, may not matter a great deal to another parent, even one that shares many of the same religious and political values I do. In my case, some of the things I want for my daughters are things I feel I lacked while growing up. I imagine this applies to all parents, but it's still interesting noting it in myself. There are of course all the cliches, like a mother wanting her daughter to be Homecoming Queen just like she was, or a father wanting his son to be the star quarterback because the father always rode the bench. I'm trying not to relive my teen years through my daughters nor try to make them fulfill dreams that I couldn't. What I want to do is spot places where I was "weak" and make sure my daughters get a little more support in those areas. Ultimately my parenting will be imperfect, like everything else I do. But I want my daughters to think I did a good job.

Children and Church

I saw a sign yesterday at a local megachurch that happens to run a daycare. The sign was advertising a reduced rate at the daycare for employees of the hospital directly across the street. I disliked it. Let me tell you first a bit about my feelings about churches and daycare. It is true that the Christian church has a long record of providing all sorts of aid. I'm not an expert on medieval history, but a lot of this help seemed to come from monasteries, from priests and nuns who made it their vocation to live to serve others for the glory of God. Nowadays, everything seems to be a "ministry." In my view, doing things for people in the hope that some of God will rub off on them in some way. This includes daycare at some churches.

If a church-going person feels called to help out a fellow church member, neighbor or family member with childcare, that's one thing. However, I'm not sure a church should be directly running a daycare, anymore than they should be directly running a soup kitchen, a hospital or a homeless shelter. The church is the Church. It is there to give Word and Sacrament. Individual Christians are supposed to help others in need. I also dislike seeing a church daycare being run as a straight-up business, instead of just helping those who need help. This includes running a discount program as an incentive to sign your kid up there. I'm sure some of the people who work at the hospital do so because they can't afford not to work. As always, there are of course other people who work for the extra clothes, fancy house, vacations, etc. The Church should support the family, and that means encouraging a parent be at home when possible.

I'm not sure how I feel about church schools. It is my understanding that church schools started in the Catholic church because of anti-Catholicism. Lutheran schools were started in the age before homeschooling vs. public school, and I believe were started to give Lutheran students some catechesis as well as the education they would have received at a public school. I don't see anything wrong with that, since the children are presumably mostly children of church members and the church is proclaiming God's Word to them. Obviously however, a school is not a requirement, nor something that should take resources from the church that are needed elsewhere.

Now We See the Violence Inherent in the System

Did you think over-aggressive Muslims were the only ones that wanted to blow you up? Well, think that no more, because now devotees to AGW, or climate change, or "Hey look, there's a cloud in the sky," now wish to explode you as well. At least, however, they've given you a head start by letting you know that if you don't reduce your "carbon emissions" by 10%, you're going to get blown up and leave nasty spatter everywhere. And it'll be funny. Or something.

Be True to Your School

Too tired tonight to do a serious post, so I'll just talk a bit further about the American high school experience, as this week is Homecoming week at my daughter's high school. Tomorrow is Hogwarts Day; every class is assigned their own house. Freshmen are Hufflepuff; the Musician is wearing black and yellow and planning to speak with a British accent all day! Tomorrow night is a bonfire at the high school; the band is playing so the Musician has to be there, but I'm sure she'll enjoy it. Friday at school is of course Spirit Day, when the school colors are worn. Friday night is the big Homecoming football game, then Saturday is the Homecoming parade. Crazy busy, but will be very fun!

Botox Never Dies

I had to report on this story from The Blaze, since I talked about this ridiculous plan for young people's health care in a previous post. What kind of parents tell their children to take their time following their dreams? If a dream is worth doing, it is worth doing as soon as possible, not just dreaming about it. For that matter, what it is a young adult supposed to be doing if they do have to work for a while towards their dreams, that they still need their parents to provide health care? And if a young adult can't provide his own health care, does that mean Mom and Dad also have to provide food, housing and clothing? I'm sorry; I'm going to raise my children to be better than that, thankyouverymuch.

On a side note, as one of Beck's commenters said, if Ms. Botox doesn't like pledges, does that mean she doesn't pledge to protect and uphold the Constitution? Does her word mean anything?

A Slice of America

One of my college professors, an immigrant from Germany, said that she didn't completely understand American culture because she hadn't gone to an American high school. That may or may not be true, but as I attend high school football games with an adult eye, I realize how much of it is uniquely American. Now, American football is played in places outside of the United States. As a matter of fact, a team from Canada came down to our area to play earlier this month. Of course, the article shows that there is still a difference in popularity between football here, and anywhere else.

Are high school age level marching bands a mainly American thing? I did a little searching on the internet and couldn't find much on foreign marchers. I have read that teenage sports can be taken as seriously in other countries as high school athletics here. However, is there that "Friday night lights" feel? The cheerleaders, the marching bands, Homecoming, the age level of spectators--from octogenarians to toddlers? Do school boosters have concession stands, serving local versions of our pizza, hot dogs and popcorn? Do other countries have similar jock/cheerleader stereotypes?

I am having fun attending all these high school games. I'm also finding I enjoy watching football at the high school level.

Tell Us What You Really Feel

Ohio Tea Partiers, if you weren't sure before, now you can know exactly what the Ohio Democratic party thinks of you, straight from the mouth of the Ohio Democratic Chairman. You know, back in the old days, when the economy was good, your kids didn't have to be on your health care program well past the age of majority. They could go out and, you know, get jobs that provided health care insurance. Or pay for it themselves. Or go without. No, I'm not thankful you're "giving" me things I don't want, and worse yet, making me pay for other people's little pweciouses. I will show you how I feel about you and your party in November.

h/t Ace of Spades

A Parody

There's a hundred and eighty days of school attendance,
Summer comes along just to end it.
So the annual problem for our generation,
Is finding a good way to spend it.

Like maybe ...
Buying some groceries,
Or fighting in traffic,
Or climbing up the laundry tower.

Discovering dust bunnies under the bed,
Bunnies: Hey!
Or giving the dog a shower.
Surfing the internet,
Creating some dinner,
Or locating our missing brain.
Mom: It's gone forever!

Finding a lost sock,
Painting the bathroom,
While trying not to go insane.
Kids: Mooooooom!

As you can see,
There's a whole lot of stuff to do before the kids come home this fall.
Kids: Mom, we're home!
So stick with us,
'Cause busy moms can never do it all!

So stick with us,
'Cause busy moms can never do it all!

Kids: Dad! Mom's been home alone too long!

High School Bands

The Musician took part in an event called Band-O-Rama last night. Six Ohio high school bands, including hers, performed at our high school. Let me get the awful part out of the way, which is that there was a freak accident last night and a young man was taken away in an ambulance. I'm going to try to find out how things went this week; I really hope he's okay. Don't want to post too many details online.

So, on to the fun part. It was interesting seeing all the different approaches the bands took. Team F danced into the stadium, with their band director dancing beside them. They also had a colored red light in their sousaphones, red being one of their school colors. Sousaphones, let it be known, are the slightly smaller version of a tuba, and are usually used in marching bands. Tubas wrap around the waist and not the shoulder and are generally used whilst sitting down.

Team S had 287 band members!!! That's almost 3/4 of the entire population of my high school alma mater when I graduated. It took 12 buses to haul them and their instruments into town. Their trombone section did a "suicide line" at the beginning of their program. A suicide line is when a player alternately bends forward, and swings his instrument over his neighbor who is bending forward. Someone in the stands behind us kept commenting how their band must have so much more money, since there are so many more band boosters, etc. Yeah, and they also have more members to fund, costume and transport.

Team A had an electric guitarist as part of their band. They also did a four-season musical theme, with their color guard using a seasonal flag for each song. Alas, the only two songs I can remember are "Summertime" and "Hazy Shade of Winter."

Team E was absolutely the most fun. They also did a catchy dance routine coming into the stadium, and they did a fun little moment in the middle of one of their songs, where they put down their instruments and played leapfrog, pantomimed cat fights and fist fights, and some of the drum guys in the back even threw around a football. They also did a little act at the beginning of one of their songs where some of the band members were pushing and shuffling around like they didn't know where to stand. Their last song even ended with a field full of smoke, from what looked like fire extinguishers but I can only assume were some kind of safer smoke propellant. However, the Musician did think that their performance of Seven Nation Army was not as good as her band does. This is a whole other band in the video, although coincidentally also a local one.

So speaking of the Musician's band, they performed last, as the home band. Their band director is very stiff and formal. No dancing, no smoke, no goofy routines. They were also the only ones that performed several pieces outside of the general pop and rock genre. Their theme this year is "La Nouba," featuring songs from Cirque du Soleil. They played three songs from "La Nouba," and also Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." They had, I believe, the largest color guard, and their baton twirlers had the fanciest costumes. The baton twirlers' costumes were a step up from their normal ones, however, and seem to be only for competition type events. The color guard and baton team also did a nifty number where large balls made out of six hoops were brought out onto the field. These balls were pulled apart to form hula hoops, which the dancers than tossed around the field. They were very good musically, and the dancers fun to watch.

Hate You Can Believe In

So the First Lady supposedly hates her current position. You can believe this or not, of course. Ms. Bruni is not all sweetness and light herself, it is said. Plus why would Michelle say something so damaging to someone with whom, by many reports, she does not get along?

The sad thing is, Michelle acts like she hates her current position. The constant scowling, the talking on a cell phone while walking up to where our citizens lost their lives on September 11, 2001, in Pennsylvania, the being proud of her country for the first time in her adult life. There is even starting to be discussion that she is intentionally wearing bad outfits and making all sorts of gaffes as some sort of passive-aggressive move, because she is so unhappy. Honestly, when she is being compared unfavorably to Liberace, the Grimace, and drag queens, you'd think someone around her would figure out what was going on. Unless she just doesn't listen to anyone who isn't fawning over her. It's all very interesting speculation. I just wish it wasn't being made about someone who is supposed to be representing us as a country.

We're on the Road to Nowhere

Okay, so this doesn't actually concern roads, but this "stimulus" deal has mostly been used on roadwork, for what it's been worth. And heck, right now it feels like our country is on the road to nowhere! Anyway, I happened to drive by this site where there is an expensive stimulus sign, and... absolutely nothing happening. Not shovel-ready, is it?

Never Gonna Give You Up

Due to the incredible pop culture movement that is rickrolling, Rick Astley has returned to the music scene!

This, after rickrolling the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

XKCD also caught rickrolling fever.

H/T: Ace of Spades

Communication

Not only do we access our daughters' grades, homework and other notes online, the "newest thing" among our daughters' teachers seems to be having blogs. Do you think time putting up homework assignments, updates on what the class is currently working on, and pictures, time well spent? It certainly can help give parents a handle on exactly what their child is learning.