At various points in time, there are little things that build up to be bigger things, and one day we are just royally pissed off for little to no good reason, other than just being pissed off in general.
My list:
1. Not feeling like I am listened to by anyone, whatsoever, which lends itself to not feeling respected. Many times I feel as though I say things to people, and through a course of conversations that follow, I can tell that they weren't listening to me at all the first time. I feel it with my students, parents, family members, everyone. What makes it harder is that because of the way I am, I usually do remember what people tell me, even if it's mundane and boring, so it's hard for me to understand that there's a good chance that I will have to repeat myself if I want anyone to listen. Yet sometimes I feel like I am not heard at all, no matter how many times I speak.
2. Dishes. I despise dishes. Ever since I was a kid, I have detested washing dishes. I have been playing tag with my dishes, and they have won, until today, as I angrily scrubbed each and every single pot, vowing not to cook dinner tonight, and maybe not all week. Can I get an amen?
3. Cleaning and cleaning while hubby plays games on X-Box with his friend EVERY SINGLE F-ING DAY. This morning he played X-Box at 10am until noon. After cleaning for a good while, I sat down on the sofa and watched a little TV. He sits down beside me and tells me he's thinking of playing a game. I looked at him and asked, "Are you serious?" He looked at me as if I had just asked if two plus two equals six. He didn't answer. I told him to go ahead, even though I thought it was a bit much. He turned on the X-Box in a sulking manner, and only played for a little while with his friend.
On to his friend: I think he's a good guy, but I also think he's a boring guy. When B told him we were planning a trip to Paris, he informed B that he knew what the Eiffel Tower looked like because he had seen it in Vegas. Ugh. And yet, in spite of his obvious lack of personality, they are best friends, and so B indulges his boring friend, and I am left bored. B mostly indulges him because he has a baby at home and his wife is pregnant, again. So the odds of his friend actually getting out for guy time are slim to none. And yet I sit, bored.
So onto the solutions.
1. Be patient. I lose patience and become irritated, but for the most part, I try to be patient with others.
2. Eat out every now and then and give myself a break. This afternoon B and I went to PetCo and got a scratching stand for our cat, and as we drove back home, we tried to decide what to have for dinner. I told him I honestly couldn't think of cooking. I didn't want to dirty another dish because I was sick to death of dishes. On to Wendy's we went, and I actually had a fairly healthy meal of a grilled chicken sandwich and side salad for 390 calories, total. I am happy B listened to my grievance.
3. I have made it known to B that he is playing way too much X-Box. It's ridiculous. I don't care if it's every once in a while, but when I am sequestered into another room because of his game playing, it gets old, very fast, and I make him well aware, and for the most part, I think he does listen to me.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
A dash of guilt mixed in with apathy
So on Friday afternoon I got home and I saw our answering machine (yes, we still use one because we don't want to pay for voicemail) blinking 1-1-1-1-1. I pressed play and could tell that the lady calling had the wrong number. I could tell this because she told me to cancel her order.
Well, I decided that if she didn't have sense enough to realize that the number she called was residential and not a business number, then I wasn't going to try an track her down to tell her she called the wrong number. Maybe I should have, but then again, it's fairly obvious that the message on our machine is not from a business.
So today I got home, groceries in tow, and I saw the blinking 1-1-1-1 again. No hello, no "I left a message the other day..." No, all it said was, "Well it would have been polite if you'd told me I had the wrong number." Click. Hm.
For a moment I thought maybe she was right. I could have called her back, but I didn't. But then again, she didn't listen to the message on our machine, and it's not my fault she wasn't paying attention when she left the message.
So although I felt a twinge of guilt, it was quickly replaced by apathy. And for that, I feel a little guilty.
Well, I decided that if she didn't have sense enough to realize that the number she called was residential and not a business number, then I wasn't going to try an track her down to tell her she called the wrong number. Maybe I should have, but then again, it's fairly obvious that the message on our machine is not from a business.
So today I got home, groceries in tow, and I saw the blinking 1-1-1-1 again. No hello, no "I left a message the other day..." No, all it said was, "Well it would have been polite if you'd told me I had the wrong number." Click. Hm.
For a moment I thought maybe she was right. I could have called her back, but I didn't. But then again, she didn't listen to the message on our machine, and it's not my fault she wasn't paying attention when she left the message.
So although I felt a twinge of guilt, it was quickly replaced by apathy. And for that, I feel a little guilty.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Outliers
I just finished reading Malcom Gladwell's book, Outliers, last week. For those of you who haven't read it, it's a book about what makes successful people successful. He looks at several seemingly unrelated variables, of which many of those successful people had to little to no control over. He looks at birth dates and birth years, and pinpoints several months in the year in which many successful people are born in, as well as specific years. He points to 1954-55 and 1930-31 as several years in which people were given amazing opportunities as a result of the years in which they were born. In his book, he also looks at Jewish people living in the 1930s in the states, and this is what I found to be most fascinating, because I can actually draw a parallel.
In his book, Gladwell writes about how when Jewish people were fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s, they came to the United States having already learned or mastered particular skills or a trade as a result of being confined to their own ghettos in Europe. They could not do business with those who were different from them, so they developed a specialized skill to help thrive in their own community. They brought their skills and trades with them, and when they went to New York, for the most part, they brought their trade skills with them and used them as they tried to survive in New York. Trying to feed their families and make it in the tough city that New York is, they saw potential opportunities for business and many of them became garment makers in New York. They worked long hours each night and prospered over their hard work. In some cases, their businesses flourished to the point that companies like Bloomingdale's began to pick up their lines, and the rest, as they say, is history, and New York remains one of the fashion capitals in the world.
As a result of this success, the garment makers' children learned the hard work ethic, business skills and survival skills necessary to thrive in todays' world. Many of the garment makers' children went on to go to medical and law school, eventually starting their own successful law firms and medical practices. It was through their parents that they learned how to specialize in a trade, and then to also start their own successful businesses. Some of those businesses are the largest in the world, one of which is Skadden Arps, a litigation firm based in New York.
I came away from reading that section of the book with a sense of enlightenment, but I hadn't realized that it also has something to do with my family, too. I didn't realize it until B was telling me about how the owner of the company where Barry works, who is Jewish, got his start in the family furniture making business, which fits in with Gladwell's observations.
My father is first generation American. His parents were from Norway and Sweden, and they both immigrated from their countries in the late 1920s, early 30s. My grandmother had no intention of staying in the United States, but the Depression hit, and she couldn't get back to Sweden. So she took up a job as a cook for a Jewish family in New York. My grandfather had been in a traveling singing group in Europe, but then he came to Hoboken, New Jersey in the same time period. He first got his start drilling doorways for speakeasies in Hoboken, but he eventually went to build ships in the Brooklyn shipyard.
Growing up, my dad lived in a community in Queens that was primarily Jewish. He actually thought that everyone in the world was Jewish, except for his Lutheran family. As a kid, he made money by doing little favors for the Jewish families, like digging holes for burying hair, climbing into windows to unlock doors (on the Sabbath, using a key to open a door is forbidden--even B's boss has a keypad to get into his house, because he can't use a key) and whatever else they wanted him to do. He was a poor kid, so he did whatever he could to make a few dollars here and there.
When my dad was older, he began learning how to make furniture. When I was very little, he had taken an old cabin and turned it into a woodworking shop where he began to make his own furniture. The only problem was that at this point, he was in Virginia, and very far away from any place where he could have made a viable business out of it. But still, he had learned a thing or two from the community where he was from. He learned that he had to have a trade, or a skill.
To adapt to the environment that was as constrictive as it was, he realized that people needed to have their furniture refinished. People in my hometown are notoriously cheap. I suppose it comes from their Confederate hardships that were carried down from generation to generation, but nevertheless, people weren't really interested as much in buying handmade furniture as they were in having their own furniture refinished so that it could last longer. He set up shop in the early 1980s, right when the recession was at its lowest point, and right when people were trying to make everything last for as long as it could.
My father owned and operated his furniture business for 15 years, with its start in a little cabin, to its end in a store on a main highway in my old hometown, which ended because of a divorce and because he was tired of smelling the chemicals that were used for stripping the furniture. He had managed to secure contracts with a local private college and he refinished all of the college's furniture each summer.
As a kid, I went to the store after school and learned the ropes of his business. I saw a strong work ethic everyday and even today, I know what it takes to run a business, which actually helps me with my current career. And it all started from my dad's roots in a Jewish neighborhood in Queens, New York.
I also realized that my uncle also benefited from these roots, too, perhaps even more so. He learned how to mould plastic, and from the 1970s through the mid-1990s he ran his own small business making plastic moulds. After giving up on running his own business, he started a consulting business for plastics plants. He met a man who offered to help him get started with his own large plant, and gave him the money he needed to get his business running. From that point, my uncle managed to do exceedingly well, and managed to get contracts with major cosmetic and pharmaceutical firms, and made plastic items for those companies. The best part of that is that he was approached by both Disney and McDonald's to make various plastic items for them, and he turned them down because they were trying to cheat him out of what he thought he deserved. He said that only a fool would take that money. I admire that part of him, and I know that sometimes the biggest companies will try to screw you the hardest.
My uncle also works LONG hours. He often goes to work at 6:30am, and will work until 8pm. There are times when he doesn't come home until 1am. He is tired, and his whole body aches from his hard work, but again, like the Jewish immigrants from the 1930s, he has prospered from that work ethic, and his kids are set for life. And now that my dad is no longer able to work, I also know that if my dad ever needs any help, my uncle is there to help him. Although I haven't reaped the benefits of my father's hard work in a financial sense, I did learn work ethic, and I believe that that work ethic is what is necessary for our country to survive. I only wonder if there are too little of us that actually have a trade or a skill to carry forward, so that our future generations will learn the same work ethic that I and my family did.
In his book, Gladwell writes about how when Jewish people were fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s, they came to the United States having already learned or mastered particular skills or a trade as a result of being confined to their own ghettos in Europe. They could not do business with those who were different from them, so they developed a specialized skill to help thrive in their own community. They brought their skills and trades with them, and when they went to New York, for the most part, they brought their trade skills with them and used them as they tried to survive in New York. Trying to feed their families and make it in the tough city that New York is, they saw potential opportunities for business and many of them became garment makers in New York. They worked long hours each night and prospered over their hard work. In some cases, their businesses flourished to the point that companies like Bloomingdale's began to pick up their lines, and the rest, as they say, is history, and New York remains one of the fashion capitals in the world.
As a result of this success, the garment makers' children learned the hard work ethic, business skills and survival skills necessary to thrive in todays' world. Many of the garment makers' children went on to go to medical and law school, eventually starting their own successful law firms and medical practices. It was through their parents that they learned how to specialize in a trade, and then to also start their own successful businesses. Some of those businesses are the largest in the world, one of which is Skadden Arps, a litigation firm based in New York.
I came away from reading that section of the book with a sense of enlightenment, but I hadn't realized that it also has something to do with my family, too. I didn't realize it until B was telling me about how the owner of the company where Barry works, who is Jewish, got his start in the family furniture making business, which fits in with Gladwell's observations.
My father is first generation American. His parents were from Norway and Sweden, and they both immigrated from their countries in the late 1920s, early 30s. My grandmother had no intention of staying in the United States, but the Depression hit, and she couldn't get back to Sweden. So she took up a job as a cook for a Jewish family in New York. My grandfather had been in a traveling singing group in Europe, but then he came to Hoboken, New Jersey in the same time period. He first got his start drilling doorways for speakeasies in Hoboken, but he eventually went to build ships in the Brooklyn shipyard.
Growing up, my dad lived in a community in Queens that was primarily Jewish. He actually thought that everyone in the world was Jewish, except for his Lutheran family. As a kid, he made money by doing little favors for the Jewish families, like digging holes for burying hair, climbing into windows to unlock doors (on the Sabbath, using a key to open a door is forbidden--even B's boss has a keypad to get into his house, because he can't use a key) and whatever else they wanted him to do. He was a poor kid, so he did whatever he could to make a few dollars here and there.
When my dad was older, he began learning how to make furniture. When I was very little, he had taken an old cabin and turned it into a woodworking shop where he began to make his own furniture. The only problem was that at this point, he was in Virginia, and very far away from any place where he could have made a viable business out of it. But still, he had learned a thing or two from the community where he was from. He learned that he had to have a trade, or a skill.
To adapt to the environment that was as constrictive as it was, he realized that people needed to have their furniture refinished. People in my hometown are notoriously cheap. I suppose it comes from their Confederate hardships that were carried down from generation to generation, but nevertheless, people weren't really interested as much in buying handmade furniture as they were in having their own furniture refinished so that it could last longer. He set up shop in the early 1980s, right when the recession was at its lowest point, and right when people were trying to make everything last for as long as it could.
My father owned and operated his furniture business for 15 years, with its start in a little cabin, to its end in a store on a main highway in my old hometown, which ended because of a divorce and because he was tired of smelling the chemicals that were used for stripping the furniture. He had managed to secure contracts with a local private college and he refinished all of the college's furniture each summer.
As a kid, I went to the store after school and learned the ropes of his business. I saw a strong work ethic everyday and even today, I know what it takes to run a business, which actually helps me with my current career. And it all started from my dad's roots in a Jewish neighborhood in Queens, New York.
I also realized that my uncle also benefited from these roots, too, perhaps even more so. He learned how to mould plastic, and from the 1970s through the mid-1990s he ran his own small business making plastic moulds. After giving up on running his own business, he started a consulting business for plastics plants. He met a man who offered to help him get started with his own large plant, and gave him the money he needed to get his business running. From that point, my uncle managed to do exceedingly well, and managed to get contracts with major cosmetic and pharmaceutical firms, and made plastic items for those companies. The best part of that is that he was approached by both Disney and McDonald's to make various plastic items for them, and he turned them down because they were trying to cheat him out of what he thought he deserved. He said that only a fool would take that money. I admire that part of him, and I know that sometimes the biggest companies will try to screw you the hardest.
My uncle also works LONG hours. He often goes to work at 6:30am, and will work until 8pm. There are times when he doesn't come home until 1am. He is tired, and his whole body aches from his hard work, but again, like the Jewish immigrants from the 1930s, he has prospered from that work ethic, and his kids are set for life. And now that my dad is no longer able to work, I also know that if my dad ever needs any help, my uncle is there to help him. Although I haven't reaped the benefits of my father's hard work in a financial sense, I did learn work ethic, and I believe that that work ethic is what is necessary for our country to survive. I only wonder if there are too little of us that actually have a trade or a skill to carry forward, so that our future generations will learn the same work ethic that I and my family did.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Bloggy blogging
So I just feel like blogging, even though I don't really have anything too fascinating to say (although I suppose one might also say that none of my other posts are fascinating either, but really, I don't care). I do have a couple of reflections to make:
~Reflection #1: People who don't know the difference between the Constitution and Declaration of Independence really should not give out any advice.
When people give you advice to take a certain vitamin supplement, like Zinc, do your research. I started taking Zinc in either October or November, and I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that it really messed up my body. Sure, I was more immune to the kids' illnesses, but as a consequence, it really disrupted my female sensitivities, and I am only now almost fully recovered. So yeah, do your research, and never trust any advice given by a girl who thinks that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the same thing.
What? you might ask...well, the same girl who gave the advice to take zinc also invited me to join this Facebook group called "Know the Constitution." So on the group's mission statement, they had the lines "When in the course of human events...all men are created equally..." that come straight from the Declaration of Independence. I didn't join the group because I could tell it was a group of idiots. I should have known better to take her advice. Really, my body was fine as it was.
~Reflection #2: Caffeine may be a Godsend to many of us, but really, be careful.
I have cut my caffeine consumption dramatically since I have been having issues with my health. I figured that I was probably drinking way too much anyway, so I decided to cut back. I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee in the morning, and wow! what a difference. I am much less irritable towards my students, and really, it makes a huge difference. Sure, it may keep up me awake for longer, but during the time that I am awake and with other people, being constantly irritated by others is no way to be. I am positive the coffee did this to me because today I cheated. I had a little coffee this morning, and I could feel the difference very quickly. I had less patience and was much more quickly irritated. I am still coming off of my caffeine rush. And I also think I am a little bit obnoxious tonight. Ha!
~Reflection #3: Even if you're afraid of losing your job, still enjoy life.
Last night I told B that while I took a bath I decided that he and I need to go ahead and make our travel plans for this summer. We need to go ahead and book the hotels and flights, and if something happens where we can't go, then we'll just cancel. But we can't wait to see what happens, because what if nothing happens? Then we will have missed out on what could be a great vacation to Paris, and we'll regret it. I do want to explore the possibility of going to Sweden. So I think this weekend that will be one of my missions. Vive la France!
~Reflection #1: People who don't know the difference between the Constitution and Declaration of Independence really should not give out any advice.
When people give you advice to take a certain vitamin supplement, like Zinc, do your research. I started taking Zinc in either October or November, and I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that it really messed up my body. Sure, I was more immune to the kids' illnesses, but as a consequence, it really disrupted my female sensitivities, and I am only now almost fully recovered. So yeah, do your research, and never trust any advice given by a girl who thinks that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the same thing.
What? you might ask...well, the same girl who gave the advice to take zinc also invited me to join this Facebook group called "Know the Constitution." So on the group's mission statement, they had the lines "When in the course of human events...all men are created equally..." that come straight from the Declaration of Independence. I didn't join the group because I could tell it was a group of idiots. I should have known better to take her advice. Really, my body was fine as it was.
~Reflection #2: Caffeine may be a Godsend to many of us, but really, be careful.
I have cut my caffeine consumption dramatically since I have been having issues with my health. I figured that I was probably drinking way too much anyway, so I decided to cut back. I stopped drinking caffeinated coffee in the morning, and wow! what a difference. I am much less irritable towards my students, and really, it makes a huge difference. Sure, it may keep up me awake for longer, but during the time that I am awake and with other people, being constantly irritated by others is no way to be. I am positive the coffee did this to me because today I cheated. I had a little coffee this morning, and I could feel the difference very quickly. I had less patience and was much more quickly irritated. I am still coming off of my caffeine rush. And I also think I am a little bit obnoxious tonight. Ha!
~Reflection #3: Even if you're afraid of losing your job, still enjoy life.
Last night I told B that while I took a bath I decided that he and I need to go ahead and make our travel plans for this summer. We need to go ahead and book the hotels and flights, and if something happens where we can't go, then we'll just cancel. But we can't wait to see what happens, because what if nothing happens? Then we will have missed out on what could be a great vacation to Paris, and we'll regret it. I do want to explore the possibility of going to Sweden. So I think this weekend that will be one of my missions. Vive la France!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Losing Our Identity
When I was in high school, I hated learning about American history. Maybe it was because it was something that was so fundamentally a part of me that I did not want anything to do with it, but regardless, I never enjoyed US History. As far back as I can remember, I have always enjoyed learning about the history of other people's cultures. I will never forget the sixth grade because that was the year I was introduced to world history: Mesopotamia, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, Elizabethan England, the Renaissance, etc. I remember a picture of Katherine the Great on my history teacher's bulletin board in my sixth grade classroom, and I was transfixed by the idea that there were so many stories that I had not heard. There were so many different points of view that I hadn't considered, and my world was blown wide open in that one year in school. Benjamin Franklin couldn't hold a kite next to Tutankamen. And Betsy Ross? Please. In my opinion, Michelangelo blows that lady out of the water. Yes, they all have their place in history, but to me, there is more to this world than just the United States. Given this little bit of information, it isn't hard to guess that I love having students from other countries in my classroom, and this year I have a student from China.
I love having Lin* in my room because she has a very unique perspective about the rest of my students. The rest of the kids often complain about not having this or that, or if we don't give them what they ask for, they whine. Lin,* on the other hand, works for her parents in a local Chinese restaurant, and from what I can see, she has a hand in running the business. When she returns to China each summer, part of her job is go to the town's well to pull water into buckets to take back to her house because they do not have running water. Yet her story is often untold because she is quiet in class, and only opens up to me after school while she waits for the bus. I suppose I know as much as I do about her because I ask, and because I am genuinely interested in her stories. I wish I could tell her stories to the rest of the kids, but I don't, because as the teacher, embarrassing a fifth grader is the worst thing to do. Today she and I began to talk about traveling, which began with my question of which city is from, because I had forgotten.
Lin pulled down the large globe and pointed to her city, and then she asked me where I wanted to go, and we began to point to all of the places in the world where she and I both want to go. She wants to travel all over the world, as I do. As we continued to talk about traveling, she confided that she wished that we weren't all the same. I looked at her and was puzzled for a second, but then a picture of a Kenyan wearing a Nike t-shirt in the Kenyan grasslands flashed through my mind, and I understood what she meant. She told me that in China, people don't wear special clothes anymore, and it makes her sad. So in adult words I said, "So you think people are losing their culture." and she nodded emphatically. She said that she wished that wherever she went, no matter the place in the world, she could see each country's unique identity, but to her, it's all gone.
I really found what she said to be interesting. When people think of China, they think of pandas, dragons, the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, The Forbidden City, temples and many other things that we think are uniquely Chinese. But to her, her country has lost itself. Like so many other countries that are eager to develop and have their piece of the globalized pie, China has traded its unique identity for commercialism, and in the process, has begun to lose itself. But I wonder, to what end?
I have always been on the fence about globalization. On the one hand, it can be a great means for stabilization of relations between two countries that may be enemies if they did not trade. Yet on the other hand, jobs that our country needs are sent overseas to lower wage workers who continue to be oppressed by their own society. If the government wanted them to make more money, and to be uplifted, then they would have paid them more. Proponents of globalization argue that the wages paid to the workers, while lower than US wages, are still higher than the wages paid by other companies in the same countries. And along the same lines, thousands (notice I did not say millions) of Chinese have grown wealthier through the economic boom (which is now a bust) and are able to afford things like cars. But in that growth, globalization has also spread across global brands and it has also taken away the unique identity of the people who live in that country. Is that what we really want? Perhaps it is to US-centrically minded people who do not want to change to travel, but I personally want to see other people's cultures and points of views. I don't want to go to another country and see a thousand McDonald's. It just might be my husband's saving grace, but I would prefer to well, be a Parisienne if I am in Paris. I don't want the world to be like me. I want to see the world for who it is.
Maybe it's a good thing the world economy has, in Warren Buffet's words, "fallen off a cliff." Maybe countries who have so heavily relied on the labors of others will have to return their focus back to themselves and look to strengthen from within, and in return, retain their unique identity.
I asked Lin if she would bring one of her ceremonial dresses to school. I would say that I want the other kids to see, but I would be lying. I really just want to see it for myself. I know she has so much contribute to my classroom, and it is my hope that when I have more students from her country, that they will still have their own unique identity, and that they, too, will still have their ceremonial dresses to share. I can only hope, because then I will know that they did not completely lose themselves to KFC and McDonald's.
I love having Lin* in my room because she has a very unique perspective about the rest of my students. The rest of the kids often complain about not having this or that, or if we don't give them what they ask for, they whine. Lin,* on the other hand, works for her parents in a local Chinese restaurant, and from what I can see, she has a hand in running the business. When she returns to China each summer, part of her job is go to the town's well to pull water into buckets to take back to her house because they do not have running water. Yet her story is often untold because she is quiet in class, and only opens up to me after school while she waits for the bus. I suppose I know as much as I do about her because I ask, and because I am genuinely interested in her stories. I wish I could tell her stories to the rest of the kids, but I don't, because as the teacher, embarrassing a fifth grader is the worst thing to do. Today she and I began to talk about traveling, which began with my question of which city is from, because I had forgotten.
Lin pulled down the large globe and pointed to her city, and then she asked me where I wanted to go, and we began to point to all of the places in the world where she and I both want to go. She wants to travel all over the world, as I do. As we continued to talk about traveling, she confided that she wished that we weren't all the same. I looked at her and was puzzled for a second, but then a picture of a Kenyan wearing a Nike t-shirt in the Kenyan grasslands flashed through my mind, and I understood what she meant. She told me that in China, people don't wear special clothes anymore, and it makes her sad. So in adult words I said, "So you think people are losing their culture." and she nodded emphatically. She said that she wished that wherever she went, no matter the place in the world, she could see each country's unique identity, but to her, it's all gone.
I really found what she said to be interesting. When people think of China, they think of pandas, dragons, the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, The Forbidden City, temples and many other things that we think are uniquely Chinese. But to her, her country has lost itself. Like so many other countries that are eager to develop and have their piece of the globalized pie, China has traded its unique identity for commercialism, and in the process, has begun to lose itself. But I wonder, to what end?
I have always been on the fence about globalization. On the one hand, it can be a great means for stabilization of relations between two countries that may be enemies if they did not trade. Yet on the other hand, jobs that our country needs are sent overseas to lower wage workers who continue to be oppressed by their own society. If the government wanted them to make more money, and to be uplifted, then they would have paid them more. Proponents of globalization argue that the wages paid to the workers, while lower than US wages, are still higher than the wages paid by other companies in the same countries. And along the same lines, thousands (notice I did not say millions) of Chinese have grown wealthier through the economic boom (which is now a bust) and are able to afford things like cars. But in that growth, globalization has also spread across global brands and it has also taken away the unique identity of the people who live in that country. Is that what we really want? Perhaps it is to US-centrically minded people who do not want to change to travel, but I personally want to see other people's cultures and points of views. I don't want to go to another country and see a thousand McDonald's. It just might be my husband's saving grace, but I would prefer to well, be a Parisienne if I am in Paris. I don't want the world to be like me. I want to see the world for who it is.
Maybe it's a good thing the world economy has, in Warren Buffet's words, "fallen off a cliff." Maybe countries who have so heavily relied on the labors of others will have to return their focus back to themselves and look to strengthen from within, and in return, retain their unique identity.
I asked Lin if she would bring one of her ceremonial dresses to school. I would say that I want the other kids to see, but I would be lying. I really just want to see it for myself. I know she has so much contribute to my classroom, and it is my hope that when I have more students from her country, that they will still have their own unique identity, and that they, too, will still have their ceremonial dresses to share. I can only hope, because then I will know that they did not completely lose themselves to KFC and McDonald's.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Worrying
I think my husband is a bigger worrier than I. I am a worrier, so, as I am lost in my worries, I hadn't really considered that he could possibly be a bigger worrier than me. It occurred to me today.
Today he came home and said that he had a good day because he hadn't been overwhelmed with work; which, in turn, caused him to worry that perhaps he was about to be laid off. It's true that those who are going to be laid off usually find themselves with more downtime than usual, but he has had work to do. He just hasn't ben slammed as he has been in the past few months, which, for him, is a source of worry.
Pretty much everyday that he comes home with less than 150% to do, he is worried he's going to lose his job. This of course causes me to worry. But then, in a matter of minutes, he tells me that his company is looking into buying a few new properties. This means that they aren't as bad off as many other companies. Also, given what he does, I don't think they are planning to get rid of him. This does not sway him into not worrying. I suppose it's okay to be aware that it could happen, but in the meantime, what can you really do, other than brace yourself for impact?
Usually I play into his worry talk, and a knot settles in my stomach. But today was a little different. Today I looked at him, and in so many words I told him to stop worrying and chill, both for his sake and mine. He agreed, and then settled into telling me about the rest of his day, a part of our daily ritual.
~~~
I wonder, do other couples have little rituals like we do?
Today he came home and said that he had a good day because he hadn't been overwhelmed with work; which, in turn, caused him to worry that perhaps he was about to be laid off. It's true that those who are going to be laid off usually find themselves with more downtime than usual, but he has had work to do. He just hasn't ben slammed as he has been in the past few months, which, for him, is a source of worry.
Pretty much everyday that he comes home with less than 150% to do, he is worried he's going to lose his job. This of course causes me to worry. But then, in a matter of minutes, he tells me that his company is looking into buying a few new properties. This means that they aren't as bad off as many other companies. Also, given what he does, I don't think they are planning to get rid of him. This does not sway him into not worrying. I suppose it's okay to be aware that it could happen, but in the meantime, what can you really do, other than brace yourself for impact?
Usually I play into his worry talk, and a knot settles in my stomach. But today was a little different. Today I looked at him, and in so many words I told him to stop worrying and chill, both for his sake and mine. He agreed, and then settled into telling me about the rest of his day, a part of our daily ritual.
~~~
I wonder, do other couples have little rituals like we do?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
What a difference one chicken can make
Okay, I know that making things from scratch is cheaper than buying pre-cooked or packaged food, but I really had no idea how much cheaper it actually is, until I broke it down.
Last week I bought one chicken for $4.83. Out of that one chicken, I got:
-12 cups chicken stock
-2.5 chicken quesadillas
-6 chicken tacos
-2 grilled chicken salads
-4 cups of chicken noodle soup
I decided to see what the cost would have been if I had bought all of these items, both from the grocery store and from somewhere like Taco Bell. The total cost would have been: $46.37.
Having made them all myself, even factoring in using ingredients like organic carrots and celery, which tend to be more expensive, the total cost was: $11.15
The total difference: $35.22
Wow, now I know why Hoover promised a chicken in every pot! I'm not even sure I can go back to my old ways of canned soup and all of that. That's a significant difference.
I only decided to do this when I saw that I had only spent $100 on groceries for almost two weeks. That's low for us. So I decided to see how much I would have spent on the same items, and yeah, that's a big difference.
So now I have to decide what soup I am going to make next.
Last week I bought one chicken for $4.83. Out of that one chicken, I got:
-12 cups chicken stock
-2.5 chicken quesadillas
-6 chicken tacos
-2 grilled chicken salads
-4 cups of chicken noodle soup
I decided to see what the cost would have been if I had bought all of these items, both from the grocery store and from somewhere like Taco Bell. The total cost would have been: $46.37.
Having made them all myself, even factoring in using ingredients like organic carrots and celery, which tend to be more expensive, the total cost was: $11.15
The total difference: $35.22
Wow, now I know why Hoover promised a chicken in every pot! I'm not even sure I can go back to my old ways of canned soup and all of that. That's a significant difference.
I only decided to do this when I saw that I had only spent $100 on groceries for almost two weeks. That's low for us. So I decided to see how much I would have spent on the same items, and yeah, that's a big difference.
So now I have to decide what soup I am going to make next.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Zen moment
I know, I've been bitching in the past two posts. So here are my warm and fuzzies.
1. I am very happily married, and I think I really lucked out with my guy.
2. I am happy that I have a job and will have a job next year, and even if B is laid off, I will be able to support the two of us with my salary. We will be tight if it happens, but if it does, I am thankful to have my job.
3. Of all of the things I complain about, I know they are petty and insignificant in the the grand scheme of things, and for that, I am thankful.
4. Family will always come first for me, and I have no apologies for that. I am sometimes looked down upon because I don't attend all of the after school activities, but I don't go b/c I am attending to my own family at home, and when we add another family member, I will be even less apologetic.
1. I am very happily married, and I think I really lucked out with my guy.
2. I am happy that I have a job and will have a job next year, and even if B is laid off, I will be able to support the two of us with my salary. We will be tight if it happens, but if it does, I am thankful to have my job.
3. Of all of the things I complain about, I know they are petty and insignificant in the the grand scheme of things, and for that, I am thankful.
4. Family will always come first for me, and I have no apologies for that. I am sometimes looked down upon because I don't attend all of the after school activities, but I don't go b/c I am attending to my own family at home, and when we add another family member, I will be even less apologetic.
A Wreath
I officially despise the Condo Association that regulates the complex where I live.
From December through February, I had a white wreath up on my front door. Sure, it was for Christmas, but since it was white, I decided it would work for the rest of winter too. The COA had other ideas. They literally sent a violation notice to the owner of the unit, citing that it was seasonal, and needed to come down. We were late in mailing the notice to the owner, so technically we didn't remove it quickly enough, so now they are having a freaking HEARING over the stupid wreath, and in all likelihood, we will be fined for the wreath.
I should add that nowhere in the Rules and Regulations book does it say anything about wreaths. It's nowhere to be found, and all of these other little old ladies have these gaudy spring wreaths up, but I guess it's okay because it's spring, and it makes sense! Give me a break. How it is that I can get in trouble for a wreath, while a condo a few units down has a bona fide business running out of its gym during the day, and not get in trouble, is beyond me.
Yes, I despise them. It's not like I was selling crack out in the front of the complex or something. It's a wreath. I hate feeling like I am being punished for doing nothing. What really gets me is that they cannot sell these units. I think part of the reason is b/c of the COA. The are terrible, and anyone who gets wind of it would be an idiot to buy a unit here.
Ack.
From December through February, I had a white wreath up on my front door. Sure, it was for Christmas, but since it was white, I decided it would work for the rest of winter too. The COA had other ideas. They literally sent a violation notice to the owner of the unit, citing that it was seasonal, and needed to come down. We were late in mailing the notice to the owner, so technically we didn't remove it quickly enough, so now they are having a freaking HEARING over the stupid wreath, and in all likelihood, we will be fined for the wreath.
I should add that nowhere in the Rules and Regulations book does it say anything about wreaths. It's nowhere to be found, and all of these other little old ladies have these gaudy spring wreaths up, but I guess it's okay because it's spring, and it makes sense! Give me a break. How it is that I can get in trouble for a wreath, while a condo a few units down has a bona fide business running out of its gym during the day, and not get in trouble, is beyond me.
Yes, I despise them. It's not like I was selling crack out in the front of the complex or something. It's a wreath. I hate feeling like I am being punished for doing nothing. What really gets me is that they cannot sell these units. I think part of the reason is b/c of the COA. The are terrible, and anyone who gets wind of it would be an idiot to buy a unit here.
Ack.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Revelations
I have always known this fact about myself, but I have not connected it to why it is that I just simply do not like some people. Well, I hate ass kissers. I don't like kids who are brown-nosers, and I really dislike adults who blatantly ass kiss. I could say I don't know why, but that's not true. I do know why. It's because ass-kissers are not nice for the sake of being nice. They are nice for their own benefit and do it insincerely, thereby making them untrustworthy.
There is a co-worker of mine who has been at the school for less than a year, and when I first met her, I could tell that there was something about her I did not like, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Well, today I figured it out.
As many schools are facing budget cuts, ours is no different. One of the reductions under consideration is eliminating all but one field trip during the year. We enjoy taking the kids on field trips, and so when this proposition came up, the rest of my team and I, with the exception of the aforementioned co-worker, took issue with it. Said co-worker emphatically said, "Well, I don't have a problem with it. This is how it is at most schools." Then, she walks over to our principal and loudly says, "I just wanted to tell you, that I support all of your decisions. I completely support what you are proposing." I said nothing to her and just walked away. What can you say?
Yep. That's it. She's an ass-kisser of the worst kind. And that is why I do not like her. I wonder though, am I the only one? Could it be that my boss feels the same way? Hopefully she's wise to others' ways and realizes the rift that is created by the co-worker's insincerity.
There is a co-worker of mine who has been at the school for less than a year, and when I first met her, I could tell that there was something about her I did not like, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Well, today I figured it out.
As many schools are facing budget cuts, ours is no different. One of the reductions under consideration is eliminating all but one field trip during the year. We enjoy taking the kids on field trips, and so when this proposition came up, the rest of my team and I, with the exception of the aforementioned co-worker, took issue with it. Said co-worker emphatically said, "Well, I don't have a problem with it. This is how it is at most schools." Then, she walks over to our principal and loudly says, "I just wanted to tell you, that I support all of your decisions. I completely support what you are proposing." I said nothing to her and just walked away. What can you say?
Yep. That's it. She's an ass-kisser of the worst kind. And that is why I do not like her. I wonder though, am I the only one? Could it be that my boss feels the same way? Hopefully she's wise to others' ways and realizes the rift that is created by the co-worker's insincerity.
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