Post by redheadbaker on Dec 31, 2021 10:00:00 GMT -5
We just got an email from our district's superintendent that my son's elementary school principal (who just started back in September) resigned effective immediately for "personal reasons."
I was upset when our previous principal resigned and thought no one could replace her. But he was really good and had the same goals for increasing diversity and inclusion in the curriculum. And the person they've named acting principal in the interim is .... the opposite.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 29, 2021 17:46:45 GMT -5
I use Goodreads to track books, and StoryGraph, too, because I like the Stats feature, and I think their recommendations are better than Goodreads. Plus, StoryGraph is not Amazon-owned.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 29, 2021 17:30:36 GMT -5
I beat my reading goal of 40 books -- I read 45.
Favorites: The Lost Apothecary (Sarah Penner) Salt to the Sea (Ruta Sepetys) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid) Anxious People (Frederik Backman) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)
Least favorites: What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty) -- just couldn't get into it, though I enjoyed her other books Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro) -- didn't keep my interest Commonwealth (Ann Patchett) -- same as the others, just didn't hold my interest
I'm thinking of taking my then 12 year old daughter and 14 year old niece in June to the Harry Potter thing.
Any suggestions on where to stay, hotel or airbnb is fine. Things to do? I imagine they'll want to shop and maybe see something Hamilton related if it's not too "boring". Not really into sports.
Independence Hall does a really good tour. They're very knowledgeable. The Constitution Center is fun, too. They could get a picture with a life-size statue of Hamilton and the other signers.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 28, 2021 21:07:31 GMT -5
Typically the weekend after New Years. Our decor is limited to a fake tree, a couple of indoor tabletop decorations, and two small outdoor lanterns (no outdoor lights -- our rental doesn't have an outdoor outlet).
weetabix the other consideration is what abstract salaries sound like to teenagers, especially those who come from relative poverty. At 18 years old I saw starting salaries of $40,000 and it was more money than I ever could have conceived of. More than both my parents’ incomes combined supporting a family of 4. I had absolutely no sense of what it would cost to live a middle class lifestyle, never mind keep up with the rising cost of living, pay back loans, deductions for health insurance (never had that growing up) never mind saving for retirement … It’s easy to see a number on a page and assume you’ll be set for life when you have no context for what it would be like to support a different lifestyle than the one all your family members have lived for generations.
My family NEVER talked about money. We weren't rich -- my dad was a cop, my mom stayed at home with me and my brother, and went back to work when I was old enough to walk us home from school and watch him until my mom got home. When she did go back to work, she did admin work. But they never talked about salaries. So, when I was offered $28K in my first job after college, I thought that sounded like A LOT.
Ms. Campbell is one of hundreds of thousands of students who have borrowed directly from for-profit colleges. These direct-lending programs have proliferated in the last decade, and almost never come with the safeguards guaranteed by federal loans. The colleges can demand payments while students are still in school. They can withhold transcripts for nonpayment. They can impose onerous interest rates, reaching into the double digits.
Many students are unable to make their monthly payments, leaving their credit ruined and their financial and professional futures in grave doubt.
So is imojoebunny going to come back and explain or acknowledge anything?
I will never agree that tax payers should pay off individual student loans. The federal loans are already subsidized by the government, as are the numerous state school options. Paying off some loans for some individuals and not for others, is not the best use of public funds. If you want to incent people to go to college, or to certain professions, the better way to do this is to lower the tuition for all, using public funds, not individuals. If you want people to go into public service, pay them more, but don't decide that what they must use the money for, or that only some in employees who meet some random configuration decided at the whim of politicians, should get extra money to pay off student loans.
This is not a poor people do not deserve skittles, this is universities and lenders taking advantage of students by lending much more than they could ever hope to repay, essentially saddling them with a lifetime of indentured servitude for degrees that will never pay enough for the loans to be paid off, knowing full well that these loans can never be discharged, unlike pretty much every single other kind of debt.
That is all I have to say.
So, absolutely no acknowledgement or apology for the offensive shit you wrote about music therapists? Fuck you.
I bought one of K's presents around Thanksgiving and put it away, hiding it from prying eyes. Now, I cannot find it. I have looked in my bags, drawers...apparently I hid it a little too well. Oh and it is earrings, so a small box. Fuck me. lol
On top of that, C and I have covid symptoms, so will be getting tested tomorrow. yay!
Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful day.
My mom did that ALL THE TIME. They would usually end up becoming birthday presents (my b-day is in March).
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 25, 2021 21:01:44 GMT -5
H and I shop off of each others' Amazon wish lists, so there weren't really any misses.
He got me an Aerogarden, a sweary coloring book, a sit-and-stand laptop desk; a Starbucks gift card, a few sheet face masks, and candy; DS picked out some cooking utensils, fuzzy socks and nail polish.
I gave H a FitBit, some music equipment, a book, and a mug that says "Hold on, let me overthink this." DS picked out Star Wars socks, a Star Wars travel mug, and a gift card for a music equipment store.
"Santa" gave DS two Nerf guns, a Nerf Captain America shield, and Nerf walkie talkies. We gave him two Lego sets, Snap Circuits, a "make your own comic book" kit, Battleship: Outer Space edition, and some books.
My brother works a part-time catering server position in addition to his paralegal job. He worked Sunday, and a fellow server tested positive on Monday.
He texted us to tell us, and asked if we wanted him to stay home from Christmas dinner. Dude, just text and say you're staying home! Don't make us be the bad guy and tell you we prefer you stay home.
In the end, he did decide on his own to stay home.
Is he vaccinated? If so, and he tested negative on a rapid test, I’d let him come. A lot of people don’t follow all the info on testing, etc, so he may have legitimately been asking for advice on ether or not he could come.
Vaccinated, but no booster. I don't think he tested.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 24, 2021 20:23:53 GMT -5
My brother works a part-time catering server position in addition to his paralegal job. He worked Sunday, and a fellow server tested positive on Monday.
He texted us to tell us, and asked if we wanted him to stay home from Christmas dinner. Dude, just text and say you're staying home! Don't make us be the bad guy and tell you we prefer you stay home.
In the end, he did decide on his own to stay home.
Huh? I’m not understanding your argument. What do you mean by “should they pay for people who chose to go in to debt….”?
I literally do not care if someone majors in underwater rhythmic gymnastics at Harvard and decides to work being a traveling acrobat for the rest of their lives even though I chose a cheaper school. That misses the whole point. In general when people get an education that is good for society as a whole., regardless of what they major in. Therefore the problem isn’t people choosing "bad" majors and going in to debt, the problem is that tuition is absolutely insane and interest rates are too high.
Sorry, I thought the reason for government funded education was to produce adults who could support themselves and their families. It is cute that we want to support people who cannot afford their loans, but it isn't realistic. I would love for working parents to pay enough for my pre-k teaching friend to be able to support a family on his salary with his master's degree, but I don't see many people being like, let me pay $50 an hour for what many consider "child care". That isn't a reflection of his worth, which is so much more. It is a reflection of societies ability and willingness to pay. There are more and more loans given to parents who are co-signing for children, and some of those loans are not necessarily captured in this data. www.forbes.com/sites/markkantrowitz/2020/11/22/who-owes-how-much-in-student-loans/?sh=32c18f215b2a You can howl at the wind, but the reality is, that people going into deep debt for student loans are creating a huge wall for themselves, that cannot be discharged, and it is an anchor for their entire lives.
I don't have an article yet, because this is happening right now, but I am watching the televised reading of the verdict and Kim Potter (the police officer who killed Daunte Wright, claiming she thought she was using her taser) was found guilty on both counts. I am pleasantly surprised by this outcome.
Same here. I thought they'd either acquit or be unable to come are on a verdict.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 23, 2021 13:08:27 GMT -5
I hate Lasership. They lost a package of mine from Nordstrom, which was just a splurge for myself, but I was really looking forward to it. It went from Virginia to North Jersey to a UPS hub in my county, back to North Jersey, to a shipping hub I could have driven to, back to North Jersey . . . .
After a month, I contacted Nordstrom customer service, and they wouldn't ship a new one, only gave a refund.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 23, 2021 10:05:44 GMT -5
Currently watching Charlie Brown Christmas. We watched Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph when they were on TV (I think last week?). I've watched Muppet Christmas Carol two or three times already. Also watched Noelle, It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Love Actually, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
I don’t have any food for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (the main meal each day is at my parents’, but we really should have nice breakfasts and a nice appetizer spread…meh. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Chinese food. Maybe PBJ. Whatever.)
We had done the same thing for Christmas Eve since I was born (party at my parents' best friends' house) -- it was canceled for COVID, and then they moved into their vacation home permanently, so no more Christmas Eve parties.
I have no energy to plan something nice for Christmas Eve, so we're just going out to dinner.
The article proposes canceling mortgage debt instead. Given that Black home ownership is at its lowest rate in decades, I’m not picking up what this article is putting down that that is somehow more equitable or racially and socially just.
LOL at the “it’s not fair” section. I can’t get it up for the righteous regard for those sacrificing, fiscally responsible Boomers it references.
I wouldn't cancel mortgage debt either. Were I dictator I'd spend my money on universal free healthcare or making the child credit permanent (even though I don't have kids and can't physically). But that misses the point.
We have paused student loan repayments during the pandemic, saving people thousands of dollars on their student loans. That's enough without addressing the larger issue of higher education affordability, unequal access to secondary education, and the resulting income inequality. I'd support a broad bill that would pay for community college for all. I'm fine with PSLF since we're essentially giving a grant to underpaid professions even though I would probably set the details a little differently. But again, universally cancelling student (or mortgage) debt is a one-time boost that benefits a narrow range of people and doesn't address the systemic issue.
Why can’t we cancel debt AND address the systemic issues? It’s not either/or.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 22, 2021 14:10:24 GMT -5
I already know I have depression. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder almost ten years ago. This is just different from my normal experience with depression.
ETA: Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder and seasonal affective disorder too.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 22, 2021 11:11:25 GMT -5
Is it possible to feel the side effects of depression -- no joy in things you usually love, no motivation to do anything -- without actually feeling depressed? Because that's how I feel right now. I have no motivation to finish my gingerbread house. I haven't baked a single Christmas cookie. I haven't wrapped a single gift (and I love gift wrapping). But I don't *feel* depressed.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 21, 2021 19:17:16 GMT -5
Our school's education foundation (a 501c3 that supports our school, separate from the HSA) has an annual clothing drive. The donated clothes are shipped overseas. That disrupts local markets, undercutting local artisans and has caused an 80% drop in jobs in the clothing manufacturing industry in those countries.
I joined their meeting tonight to explain why this is harmful, and proposed alternatives.
They said they'd consider, BUT (ugh), as one woman (who is also the president of the school board) put it, "Well, others are dependent on these clothes. After all, somebody's making money off of it."
I got DS 11 and DD 9 that Pokemon Battle Academy board game. Everyone says kids love it! DS wouldn't even try it; DD and I played once and thought it was really boring.
I saw that at Target today and almost bought it, glad I didn't.
DS' elementary school just announced "spirit week" for next week. Day 1: Winter White Out -- everybody wear all white!
Yeah, no. I'm already behind in the laundry. Besides, I never even buy anything all white for DS because it will get dirty even with him just sitting on the couch! How do kids manage to do that, anyway?
We had wear white day this week. My younger kid (6yo in kindergarten) had a meltdown getting dressed that he didn’t have white pants and could only wear a white shirt - he has one and it has stains everywhere.
Thankfully, DS has no interest in participating in spirit day activities, unless it involves wearing pajamas to school. Which is the Thursday theme.
Post by redheadbaker on Dec 17, 2021 15:50:39 GMT -5
DS' elementary school just announced "spirit week" for next week. Day 1: Winter White Out -- everybody wear all white!
Yeah, no. I'm already behind in the laundry. Besides, I never even buy anything all white for DS because it will get dirty even with him just sitting on the couch! How do kids manage to do that, anyway?
I want Biden to do so much more than he’s doing, but I think he’s also done a super job with many of the things I care about. He came into a totally fucked up scenario and, honestly, I don’t see how he can fix a lot of the things that Trump and his ragtag band of Congressional chucklefucks broke.
And while I think it’s important to push for the issues that are important to us, we also need to get the fuck out and vote like our democracy depends on it in both 2022 and 2024, whether we love the Democratic nominees or not.
I want loan forgiveness and I want free and easily accessible abortion and I want universal healthcare and strict gun laws and abolishment of the federal death penalty and legalized marijuana and increased federal minimum wage and environmental protections and marriage equity (not just marriage equality). And I want to overhaul our law enforcement and carceral systems. And a lot more.
But if we don’t get those things over the next three years (and I’m realistic enough to know that we won’t), I’m still going to sing Biden’s and Harris’s praises to anyone who will listen because THAT, friends, is where we fail as a party. If we don’t rally and champion and sing the praises where praises are due, we will lose. And if we thought things were grim when Trump was elected the first time, we are in for a really dark future if it happens again.
If that happens, we can kiss democracy goodbye.
I agree with this but I find it frustrating that we have moved farther right on many of these issues SINCE we've had Dem control. I know it's not all Biden's fault, but the hell I'm going to rally behind him like the republicans did/do with Trump and be blind to his flaws.
And to whoever said people expect Biden to have fixed everything Trump did by now is being extremely hyperbolic - no one said that and it makes real discourse impossible.
Uh, you can rally behind him AND acknowledge his flaws. It's not either/or.