One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
I'm sure by now we've all seen the news about the supreme court finally hearing the case about the 13 year old girl who got strip-searched for drugs in a middle school in Arizona. She was brought to the Principal's office because someone else snitched that she had illegal drugs and was passing them out to people. Yes, the illegal drug was prescription Advil.
Let's look at this from the perspective of another students' mom. Here is a girl wandering around middle school potentially giving drugs to other minors. Yes, it's *just* Advil, but there are lots of drugs that interfere poorly with Advil. My own experience tells me that prescription strength Advil creates emotional imbalances in my system. As a random mom at this middle school I want to know the drugs my children are taking, and I don't want them passed out by anyone else. It starts with Advil, moves to Ritalin, and then where does it stop. So no, I don't think there was anything wrong in reacting strongly to the accusation that this girl was passing out prescription Advil.
Let's talk about the strip search part. What are the current laws related to strip searches? There are several differing philosophies. We've got the 'search is a search is a search' idea, then we've got the 'search beyond the reasonable limits' perspective.
In the first perspective we assume that because one has been granted permission to search a closet, a house, etc, one has also been granted permission to search a person. How are you searching a person without searching their current clothing.
Alternatively we have the perspective that a person's right to privacy outweighs the search, and that being exposed in this demeaning manner can constitute an invasion beyond that of the kitchen cabinets and underneath your bed.
In this specific case she was called to the Principals office, and the search was conducted in private by two females, one of whom was the school nurse. If we start at the basis that all schools have general guidelines which state that school lockers can be searched with permission, as can random searches of backpacks,etc. how much of a stretch is it that they decided to search her person.
Apparently the fact that she'd never been in any trouble before, and it was just Advil make people want to ignore the real issues of whether or not a principal can order a strip search, and then within this context if the strip-search that occurred was conducted properly.
I hate to say it, but with increases in violence everywhere, I'm a fan of voting with the principal.
On a totally ridiculous note, this girl says this experience traumatized her, which I don't doubt. However, I'm not sure how great of a model she is for the Arizona school system. Perhaps someone should have ensured she knew proper English before she left middle-school, Advil or no...
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Maybe Every Other Day...
One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
A while back I was so diligent I was posting everyday. I had a reasonable readership and I felt that I was able to communicate relatively effectively. Well, that's gone out the window, but I'm really going to try two to three times a week.
My sister got into town on Monday to finalize some wedding details and make things happen. Her bridal shower is on Saturday, so we're working on that as well. I have decided to make the cupcakes.
I know, I just finished the 9 person Passover dinner, I have to work on Sunday and I'm basically insane. But... I really want to...
Not only do I want to, but I want to try something new. This is basically my philosophy of life. Having multiple people over whom you are trying to impress? Try something new! Cook something new, bake something new, and just to throw it all in there, even add a new theme or location!
So, I'm baking cupcakes. I told my sister to pick a recipe out of my book. Then I've decided that I will make candied lilacs for the tops of cupcakes. Cute, adorable edible flowers. Throw on some of those little silver candy balls, and I think you've got something beautiful. All the better if I can get the little balls to be black, instead of silver.
So I'm spending my lunch on the hunt for organic, pesticide free lilacs. Then on the way to the dinner party I have tonight, I'm going to try to purchase some little silver or black candy balls.
Did I mention that as I write this I am trying to talk down the wine tasting tour company, answer 4 work e-mails, find a good tailor for my bridesmaid dress and figure out how exactly I can fight my speeding ticket. Yup- that's me. Those lazy days are long gone until Alaska.
**for those of you following along, Matthew and I got our first piece of mail addressed to both of us. Then my parents told me that I couldn't have my wedding in December. Please note, I did not mention anything about an engagement**
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A while back I was so diligent I was posting everyday. I had a reasonable readership and I felt that I was able to communicate relatively effectively. Well, that's gone out the window, but I'm really going to try two to three times a week.
My sister got into town on Monday to finalize some wedding details and make things happen. Her bridal shower is on Saturday, so we're working on that as well. I have decided to make the cupcakes.
I know, I just finished the 9 person Passover dinner, I have to work on Sunday and I'm basically insane. But... I really want to...
Not only do I want to, but I want to try something new. This is basically my philosophy of life. Having multiple people over whom you are trying to impress? Try something new! Cook something new, bake something new, and just to throw it all in there, even add a new theme or location!
So, I'm baking cupcakes. I told my sister to pick a recipe out of my book. Then I've decided that I will make candied lilacs for the tops of cupcakes. Cute, adorable edible flowers. Throw on some of those little silver candy balls, and I think you've got something beautiful. All the better if I can get the little balls to be black, instead of silver.
So I'm spending my lunch on the hunt for organic, pesticide free lilacs. Then on the way to the dinner party I have tonight, I'm going to try to purchase some little silver or black candy balls.
Did I mention that as I write this I am trying to talk down the wine tasting tour company, answer 4 work e-mails, find a good tailor for my bridesmaid dress and figure out how exactly I can fight my speeding ticket. Yup- that's me. Those lazy days are long gone until Alaska.
**for those of you following along, Matthew and I got our first piece of mail addressed to both of us. Then my parents told me that I couldn't have my wedding in December. Please note, I did not mention anything about an engagement**
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Happy Passover
One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Happy Spring Equinox!
Passover is my absolute favorite holiday. Every where I go people are discussing the difficult cleaning rules, the lack of pizza and the general dislike of our Exodus remeberance event. For me, it's a pure joy.
This year I succeeded in a way I would have never thought possible. I cleaned a house for Passover, feeling reasonably to entirely sure that all the non-allowed Chametz was actually removed. Now, granted, I didn't search my house with a candle and a feather, but that $120 cleaning sure did a great job. I attended two seders, one lasting until almost 1am. I hosted a third, though slightly irrelevant, seder where I introduced this beloved holiday of mine to many new people. I successfully convinced those who live with me that they should avoid not only wheat and flour, but also the requisite corn and corn syrup us wonderful Ashkenasik Jews love so much.
Additionally I managed to make not just one new dish, but 4, each of which turned out quite well. I basted and roasted two entire chickens, and I felt quite good about the whole thing. I did all of that cooking after having attended an Easter Brunch.
I'm not going to say it was perfect, there were certainly enough tears to tell me that, but I am going to say that I think it worked, and that I'm slightly sad it's almost over.
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Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Happy Spring Equinox!
Passover is my absolute favorite holiday. Every where I go people are discussing the difficult cleaning rules, the lack of pizza and the general dislike of our Exodus remeberance event. For me, it's a pure joy.
This year I succeeded in a way I would have never thought possible. I cleaned a house for Passover, feeling reasonably to entirely sure that all the non-allowed Chametz was actually removed. Now, granted, I didn't search my house with a candle and a feather, but that $120 cleaning sure did a great job. I attended two seders, one lasting until almost 1am. I hosted a third, though slightly irrelevant, seder where I introduced this beloved holiday of mine to many new people. I successfully convinced those who live with me that they should avoid not only wheat and flour, but also the requisite corn and corn syrup us wonderful Ashkenasik Jews love so much.
Additionally I managed to make not just one new dish, but 4, each of which turned out quite well. I basted and roasted two entire chickens, and I felt quite good about the whole thing. I did all of that cooking after having attended an Easter Brunch.
I'm not going to say it was perfect, there were certainly enough tears to tell me that, but I am going to say that I think it worked, and that I'm slightly sad it's almost over.
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Trying to find the balance
One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
It's amazing to me how much I struggle for balance in my life. Yes, I might be a libra, but I never thought that image of a woman holding scales would apply to me... it seems, however, that the more I struggle for balance the more I take on and the less balanced I become.
I try to excercise and achieve balance in my diet and my life. Then I end up going to the gym two times a week, missing phone calls and important dinners and feeling extremely sore.
I try to make new friends by attending events, joining organizations and participating. Then I'm so busy participating that when one of my new friends wants to do something I'm to busy.
I try to work hard and ensure that I'm an important part of the team. Then I end up working long hours and tired; to tired to volunteer to come in on the saturday when they need me.
I try to be in love, and acknowledge that my boyfriend isn't perfect. Then he goes out of his way to go to something with me, only to not enjoy it and we end up slightly unhappy and tired.
I try to do the dishes, keep a clean room and home for my mother. Then because I'm so busy and I can't make dinner I get yelled at- forget that I was the one who cleaned the kitchen from dinner the last four nights.
I try to be a good maid-of-honor, struggling to make plans that everyone can attend. Then when I finally get to finishing it all off I find out that I'm not trying hard enough, and that my thoughts are totally irrelevant.
I try to be a spritual person, with a Jewish note in my life. Then when I try to honor the fast I miss lunch with friend; when I want to say prayers in the morning shower my boyfriend thinks I'm weird.
The best laid plans of mice and men.
Men plan, G-d laughs.
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It's amazing to me how much I struggle for balance in my life. Yes, I might be a libra, but I never thought that image of a woman holding scales would apply to me... it seems, however, that the more I struggle for balance the more I take on and the less balanced I become.
I try to excercise and achieve balance in my diet and my life. Then I end up going to the gym two times a week, missing phone calls and important dinners and feeling extremely sore.
I try to make new friends by attending events, joining organizations and participating. Then I'm so busy participating that when one of my new friends wants to do something I'm to busy.
I try to work hard and ensure that I'm an important part of the team. Then I end up working long hours and tired; to tired to volunteer to come in on the saturday when they need me.
I try to be in love, and acknowledge that my boyfriend isn't perfect. Then he goes out of his way to go to something with me, only to not enjoy it and we end up slightly unhappy and tired.
I try to do the dishes, keep a clean room and home for my mother. Then because I'm so busy and I can't make dinner I get yelled at- forget that I was the one who cleaned the kitchen from dinner the last four nights.
I try to be a good maid-of-honor, struggling to make plans that everyone can attend. Then when I finally get to finishing it all off I find out that I'm not trying hard enough, and that my thoughts are totally irrelevant.
I try to be a spritual person, with a Jewish note in my life. Then when I try to honor the fast I miss lunch with friend; when I want to say prayers in the morning shower my boyfriend thinks I'm weird.
The best laid plans of mice and men.
Men plan, G-d laughs.
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Monday, March 2, 2009
I really did have good thoughts
One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
There were several times this week when I thought to myself that I should blog. I had interesting thoughts about the overdrive of America (read, panic attack over work, gym, boyfriend, weddings, etc.); thoughts about the impending doom of the American people (really, do we really have to talk about that); thoughts about arguments with significant others (I think they are okay, as long as their productive).
However, at this moment, all I can really think about is the feeling of impending doom of my school, my department and potentially my job.
I wrote a whole long thing... and then I deleted it. Then I remembered that by writing this down someone else could find it, and talk about it, and that was no good.
So I'll be a little abstract with my thoughts, and yet, a little more focused.
I've just gone through my first 'we're hiring a high-level administrator at a school' hiring process. It certainly was interesting. I had the opportunity to interact with two candidates. We had to do for one candidate what we did for the other, which confused me a little because one candidate already works here.
At the end of it though, the whole affair didn't inspire any confidence. How do you get confidence when you're asking an Interim position to help hire a permanent position. What happens if the new higher person doesn't like who the Interim hired?
I'm excited for one of the candidates, dreading the other. Only time, and a few guys sitting in a room, will tell.
On a personal note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI AND CHRIS!
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There were several times this week when I thought to myself that I should blog. I had interesting thoughts about the overdrive of America (read, panic attack over work, gym, boyfriend, weddings, etc.); thoughts about the impending doom of the American people (really, do we really have to talk about that); thoughts about arguments with significant others (I think they are okay, as long as their productive).
However, at this moment, all I can really think about is the feeling of impending doom of my school, my department and potentially my job.
I wrote a whole long thing... and then I deleted it. Then I remembered that by writing this down someone else could find it, and talk about it, and that was no good.
So I'll be a little abstract with my thoughts, and yet, a little more focused.
I've just gone through my first 'we're hiring a high-level administrator at a school' hiring process. It certainly was interesting. I had the opportunity to interact with two candidates. We had to do for one candidate what we did for the other, which confused me a little because one candidate already works here.
At the end of it though, the whole affair didn't inspire any confidence. How do you get confidence when you're asking an Interim position to help hire a permanent position. What happens if the new higher person doesn't like who the Interim hired?
I'm excited for one of the candidates, dreading the other. Only time, and a few guys sitting in a room, will tell.
On a personal note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI AND CHRIS!
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
I have decided that I really don't like King's fans
One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
because they are really annoying, and loud and just generally rude. And no, this has nothing to do with the fact that they beat my beloved Ducks at the game last night... nothing... I mean, you believe me, right?
There we were, Matt, Rick and I (and our very unfortunate empty 4th seat) eating hot dogs, pretzels and nachos just trying to enjoy a hockey game. I'll be the first to admit that I expect Hockey fans to be a bit rowdy. I expect there to be several good fights in the game, so why not some nice heckling from the stands. However, I expect that we are all adults, and therefore can understand how to communicate as such. I must have been the luckiest person in the world, because sitting right behind us I found the most annoying 6 King's fans. You don't believe me (I know you don't) but this woman must have been the spawn of the devil...
Not only the words that came out of her mouth (which are far to vile to write on my good, clean wholesome blog (yes yes, I hear your laughter)) but the sheer timbre of her voice. My ears are STILL ringing. Her voice could probably break glass. Thank g-d all those walls in front of her were plastic. Her and her boyfriend were such assholes. They were vile, and rude and stupid.
I agree with yelling at the refs (sorry dad!). Sometimes they suck it up, and sometimes I just need to express my distaste. However, if you're going to claim that a call was bogus, then you have to have some sort of idea what the hell you're talking about. This guy's favorite line of the night was the all not-to-intimidating "Disney Movie, you're team's named after a Disney movie!" ohhh.. scary. Yes, that's right folks. Not only was there a movie, but Disney actually OWNED the team for a while.
Moving on from the ANNOYING AND DISTINCTLY RIDICULOUS King's fans, the game was quite fun. At the last minute Matt's sister and Brother-In-Law had to bail, so I was lucky enough to be able to ask my new friend Rick. Rick is a really great guy. We work together, though not directly, so when we hang out it's a lot of fun. So far we've seen a movie, been to the game and we have plans to go to a Museum. Yeah! So Rick and I drove in from UCI and Matt met us at the game. Before the game I was even able to convince him that we HAD to have a delectable Mexican bakery treat from Molinos bakery off of Sunkist... yummy.
The game had LOTS of fights in it. Was anyone watching from home? There were at least two all out fist-fights. There would have been more, but the refs have been on this whole lets stop the fights kick... wonder why? Additionally, even though the Ducks lost (which was a first in my personal game attending history) it was a competitive game. It ended up being 4-3 Kings, which shows you that everyone was very involved. Lots of penalties and Power Plays.
When it ended we practically ran from the stadium so we could avoid hitting those annoying King's fans... you should be so happy stupid boy and girl in Row N 224... that's right, I could have taken you...
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because they are really annoying, and loud and just generally rude. And no, this has nothing to do with the fact that they beat my beloved Ducks at the game last night... nothing... I mean, you believe me, right?
There we were, Matt, Rick and I (and our very unfortunate empty 4th seat) eating hot dogs, pretzels and nachos just trying to enjoy a hockey game. I'll be the first to admit that I expect Hockey fans to be a bit rowdy. I expect there to be several good fights in the game, so why not some nice heckling from the stands. However, I expect that we are all adults, and therefore can understand how to communicate as such. I must have been the luckiest person in the world, because sitting right behind us I found the most annoying 6 King's fans. You don't believe me (I know you don't) but this woman must have been the spawn of the devil...
Not only the words that came out of her mouth (which are far to vile to write on my good, clean wholesome blog (yes yes, I hear your laughter)) but the sheer timbre of her voice. My ears are STILL ringing. Her voice could probably break glass. Thank g-d all those walls in front of her were plastic. Her and her boyfriend were such assholes. They were vile, and rude and stupid.
I agree with yelling at the refs (sorry dad!). Sometimes they suck it up, and sometimes I just need to express my distaste. However, if you're going to claim that a call was bogus, then you have to have some sort of idea what the hell you're talking about. This guy's favorite line of the night was the all not-to-intimidating "Disney Movie, you're team's named after a Disney movie!" ohhh.. scary. Yes, that's right folks. Not only was there a movie, but Disney actually OWNED the team for a while.
Moving on from the ANNOYING AND DISTINCTLY RIDICULOUS King's fans, the game was quite fun. At the last minute Matt's sister and Brother-In-Law had to bail, so I was lucky enough to be able to ask my new friend Rick. Rick is a really great guy. We work together, though not directly, so when we hang out it's a lot of fun. So far we've seen a movie, been to the game and we have plans to go to a Museum. Yeah! So Rick and I drove in from UCI and Matt met us at the game. Before the game I was even able to convince him that we HAD to have a delectable Mexican bakery treat from Molinos bakery off of Sunkist... yummy.
The game had LOTS of fights in it. Was anyone watching from home? There were at least two all out fist-fights. There would have been more, but the refs have been on this whole lets stop the fights kick... wonder why? Additionally, even though the Ducks lost (which was a first in my personal game attending history) it was a competitive game. It ended up being 4-3 Kings, which shows you that everyone was very involved. Lots of penalties and Power Plays.
When it ended we practically ran from the stadium so we could avoid hitting those annoying King's fans... you should be so happy stupid boy and girl in Row N 224... that's right, I could have taken you...
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Thursday, February 5, 2009
Contemplation
One would hope that I add something to the world- be it good, bad, or indifferent- Me
Work has been a bit crazy this week, I wonder if it'll get better or worse before May.... this is the worst time it's been in a few months, thank g-d people are tolerating me... Yeah Go To Vail, congrats on your 1-0 win...Interviewing prospective students takes a lot of time, I sure hope my ratio of they got in is better than last year... I'm not that suprised that she was able to climb into the front-loading washing machine... What are you doing for Valentine's Day... Top chef really isn't as exciting this season, Stephan is just to good to make the show any real fun... America's Next Top Model starts up again this month, thanks for that Rustin!... Is the recession going to make it really difficult for me to get a car loan?... The Hyundai Elantra, any thoughts?...Late night bathtime conversations are great, until you wake up the next morning with still wrinkly hands and feet...Co-workers shouldn't walk away from you while you're in the middle of a conversation, especially when you're just trying to collaboratively solve a problem... Should protocol dictate purchase power?... I wonder if I'll ever use AutoCad again, I sort of miss having that software under my belt as a tool.
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Work has been a bit crazy this week, I wonder if it'll get better or worse before May.... this is the worst time it's been in a few months, thank g-d people are tolerating me... Yeah Go To Vail, congrats on your 1-0 win...Interviewing prospective students takes a lot of time, I sure hope my ratio of they got in is better than last year... I'm not that suprised that she was able to climb into the front-loading washing machine... What are you doing for Valentine's Day... Top chef really isn't as exciting this season, Stephan is just to good to make the show any real fun... America's Next Top Model starts up again this month, thanks for that Rustin!... Is the recession going to make it really difficult for me to get a car loan?... The Hyundai Elantra, any thoughts?...Late night bathtime conversations are great, until you wake up the next morning with still wrinkly hands and feet...Co-workers shouldn't walk away from you while you're in the middle of a conversation, especially when you're just trying to collaboratively solve a problem... Should protocol dictate purchase power?... I wonder if I'll ever use AutoCad again, I sort of miss having that software under my belt as a tool.
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