Tuesday, September 28, 2010

face paint

There was a really great face paint artist at Golden Corral tonight.





Pebbles asked for "rainbow princess."




She did this on a spontaneous request from him, from memory.  


I think that Princess had an artistic vision that wasn't communicated very well.  Oh, well.  We hear that she's there every now and then.  We'll have to go back some time.  She also works for tips only.   




 The flowers were awesome!

She painted a little boy's face to look like a dragon, complete with horns that appeared to erupt from his face.  She was very quick and detailed. 

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Big Two

My sister requested a reading of the whole document.  Be sure to leave suggestions.  I'm interested in fleshing this out even further just for fun.  It's due Tues morning.


The Big Two (M7.9)
            The first 20 minutes:  According to statistics found online, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 will kill “1,800 people at night or over 3,400 people during the day, and seriously injury about 8,000 people at night or over 12,500 people during the day,” (1, 31-32).  10,000 commercial buildings will experience structural damage, “or about 15% of all commercial buildings in the study region, and includes about 40% of all commercial buildings in San Francisco and San Mateo counties,” (1, 30).  About 600,000 will be displaced from their homes, requiring alternate shelter either from the public or among friends and family, (1, 30).  Sewer lines will be disrupted as well the primary waterways that deliver water to the city, (2).  There is also the significant chance that fire will become a dangerous issue within just a few minutes of the initial quake, (1, 24).  Loss of water flow to the city will hamper firefighting efforts.  Loss of electricity will happen, automobile infrastructure will shift, bridges will break, phone lines and cell phone towers will experience damage, and some radio stations may cease to broadcast, (3).  The Golden Gate Bridge may or may not have been retrofitted to withstand great seismic activity as the project to thus retrofit it is due to be complete in 2012, but knowing government construction time frames (as well as extensive cost cutting measures) it’ll be late (and poorly done), resulting in a massive collapse of the entire bridge within minutes. 
            24 hours after earthquake: Stores will be unstaffed and won’t have electricity.  Some foods will begin to spoil if the earthquake happens during warm months.  Freezers have failed.  Medicine requiring refrigeration may not be available.  Some people won’t have access to their pantries if their homes have been completely destroyed.   Those who had a 72 hour kit available and were able to flee with it will have food, water, and warmth.  Hospitals and any impromptu infirmaries that happen to spring up will be overwhelmed with those seeking help.  The death toll, either from untreated injuries or due to critical damage with delayed mortality, will rise.  Those who are trapped in collapsed buildings will need water and medicine very soon.  Rubble will continue to shift as environmental temperature fluctuates, wind and rain occur, and any aftershocks perpetuate.  Gas lines will need to be secured to minimize fire hazards.  Reporters are on the scene already, giving you live coverage of the devastation as it occurs. 
            72 hours after earthquake:  The National Guard has been mobilized and may be arriving.  Fires have spread.  Firefighters and law enforcement from other states may have arrived to help restore order in the city itself and surrounding counties.  Efforts to evacuate are hampered by destroyed roads and airports.   Outbound traffic will be severely strangled.  People will run out of gas while still miles from their destinations or even other gas stations.  Fuel may run out entirely due to demand and tankers’ inability to restock gas stations.  Communication is still hampered by power outages and downed cell towers.  Some radio stations may have generators to help make emergency broadcasts.  Residents are in serious need of water and food, and some are in serious need of shelter.  Sanitation is becoming more of a problem as human waste and trash are not collected and removed from the city.  Lost pets may be loose and scavenging.  Some people may be resorting to raiding grocery stores and pharmacies for need or profit.  There are language barriers as rescuers seek to locate or treat the missing and injured. 
            One week after earthquake:  Some sort of benefit concert featuring a number of celebrities and music stars has been arranged.  Outrage over how this emergency has been handled is all over the news, along with scathing analysis of how much of the damage could have been prevented.  Fires are either out or under control and one half of the homeless have been put up in tents or farmed out to neighboring counties.  Relief is finally starting to pour in at a pace that was needed days before.  Blame is in the preliminary rounds of discussion and everyone is attempting to use the situation to their advantage.  There is a heavy Asian population in San Francisco, so allusions to the Japanese-American internment camps following the bombing of Pearl Harbor are flying across the media airwaves.  Hopefully this emergency doesn’t occur during a presidential election year.  Funds are allocated to send emergency aid to the area and California goes into receivership, (4).  Many will rally around California but will quietly move away to Colorado, throwing the Colorado housing market and public schools into disarray.  Several companies with headquarters in San Francisco have a stiff upper lip in the media, but prices go up on such products as Dolby, Gap, Gymboree, Del Monte, and Williams-Sonoma, Inc.  Servers have been disrupted at Wikimedia, Blogspot, Craigslist, and Flikr, further disrupting national communication.  Many fruit crops are declared to be in danger causing the price of artichokes, strawberries, lettuce, celery and peppers to go up dramatically and people horde seed packets and canned goods (where available) of the same. 
            One month after earthquake: Hard data begin to be available concerning casualties and damage assessments.  Outrage still circulates concerning the treatment of various evacuees, with declarations of“it’s Katrina all over again” in more than one media outlet.  By now several people in political positions have been replaced by other people with similar levels of competence but with nicer teeth and fresher faces so the common people feel that the movers and shakers are finally placing blame on the appropriate heads.  A national holiday is proposed but shouted off the table since it wasn’t an act of war that caused the devastation.  Media are finally catching on to the damage in surrounding areas, including the Point Reyes National Seashore, the toppling of flora in Mt Diablo State Park, and Henry W. Coe State Park (home of TarantulaFest).  Many people question whether San Francisco should be rebuilt, to which lobbyists for those companies headquartered there respond with vehement schmoozing.  Candlelight rallies take place where half of the candlelight vigilees wear tie-dye rainbow t-shirts, eat dim sum and sing Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay to support the city of the now fallen Golden Gate Bridge.  The country has recovered from its shock enough to finally start making fun of the tragedy, with Jon Stewart’s Chief Earthquake Correspondent reporting live from the scene that the greatest tragedy of the day was the loss of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies factory.  California begins to relax its immigration rules when it becomes desperate for repairs to be stepped up so that tourists keep coming to spend their money in a state that was ailing even before the natural disaster struck.  Lax immigration regulation results in a sharp uptick in crime and drugs in the state, straining law enforcement resources.  It also creates a greater strain on state aid programs like WIC and some state health benefits, sapping away the money that the state was trying to bring in with cheap labor.
            6 months after the earthquake: Long term funds for reconstruction have been stymied in the senate since the Republicans are back in power and they don’t want to fund a city known for its socially liberal reputation.  They try to attach relief funds to a bill that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  Further argument comes up when they realize that with the large Mormon population in the state that they also want the bill to declare marriage to be between one man and one woman, (5).  Damage has been assessed in the many delicate aspects of California ecology.  Biologists lament the demise of an entire species of shrimp, the sickening of two species of seaweed, and the disruption of both sealion and monarch butterfly reproduction and migration patterns.  All other potential for major disasters is ignored by the public because they live in a culture of instant gratification and little thought for the past or future.  Disasters have happened, the government came to rescue them even though they didn’t prepare emergency supplies, and they now have an additional form of entertainment: recreational outrage.  The tv movie starring Dennis Quaid and the Olsen twins entitled The Day the Iron Horse was Put Down (with distinct animal rights and environmental awareness agendas) has been shown twice during primetime and put out on dvd, along with a documentary by Michael Moore entitled They Gelded the Iron Horse: Why FEMA and Obama Allowed a Golden Symbol to Fall.  The government has made, more aggressively publicized, or renamed a committee to predict future disasters and prepare for them.  They’ll call it CARMA: Collectively Addressing Resoundingly Maleficent Ado (since it’ll be name by a hippy liberal who is native to San Francisco).  CARMA is intended to work closely with FEMA.  They end up having a public squabble on CNN after CARMA refuses to divulge its prognostications, whereupon FEMA refuses to respond to any disaster which CARMA doesn’t publicly predict. 
            1 year later:  National media ask the country to observe a moment of silence beginning the minute when the earthquake first struck the year previous.  The victims of the tragedy are still largely displaced and some of them are still very angry at insurance companies or relief efforts that they felt were insufficient.  A new ribbon has emerged in memory of The Big Two (otherwise known as The Second Big One):  black and gold striped lengthwise.  This ribbon appears on cars and windows in an effort to renew anxious awareness of a tragedy which happened very recently in the context of human history, but so long ago in the age of text messages and speed dating.  
 
2 – A video found here:  http://www.1906eqconf.org/
5 – Full disclosure:  I’m LDS (aka, Mormon). 

Friday, September 24, 2010

part of my essay

This is for sociology.  I was told to write 5 pages on what the aftermath of another 1906 earthquake would look like.  Here's an excerpt from the half where I start to run out of serious material and now I'm just trying to fill 5 pages:

            One month after earthquake: Hard data begin to be available concerning casualties and damage assessments.  Outrage still circulates concerning the treatment of various evacuees, with cries of “it’s Katrina all over again!” in more than one media outlet.  By now several people in political positions have been replaced by other people with similar levels of competence but with nicer teeth and fresher faces so the common people feel that the movers and shakers are finally placing blame on the appropriate heads.  A national holiday is proposed but shouted off the table since it wasn’t an act of war that caused the devastation.  Media are finally catching on to the damage in surrounding areas, including the Point Reyes National Seashore, the toppling of flora in Mt Diablo State Park, and Henry W. Coe State Park (home of TarantulaFest).  Many people question whether San Francisco should be rebuilt, to which lobbyists for those companies headquartered there respond with vehement schmoozing.  Candlelight rallies take place where half of the candlelight vigilees wear tie-dye rainbow t-shirts, eat dim sum and sing Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay to support the city of the Wounded Golden Gate Bridge.  The country has recovered from its shock enough to finally start making fun of the tragedy, with Jon Stewart’s Chief Earthquake Correspondent reporting live from the scene that the greatest tragedy of the day was the loss of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies factory.  California begins to relax its immigration rules when it becomes desperate for repairs to be stepped up so that the tourists keep coming to spend their money in a state that was ailing before the natural disaster struck.
            6 months after the earthquake: Long term funds for reconstruction have been stymied in the senate since the Republicans are back in power and they don’t want to fund a city known for its socially liberal reputation.  They try to attach relief funds to a bill that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  Further argument comes up when they realize that with the large Mormon population in the state that they also want the bill to declare marriage to be between one man and one woman, (5).  Damage has been assessed in the many delicate aspects of California ecology.  Biologists lament the demise of an entire species of shrimp, the sickening of two species of seaweed, and the disruption of both sealion and monarch butterfly reproduction and migration patterns.

(5) - Full disclosure: I'm LDS (aka Mormon).

And that's where I sort of putt-putted out of ideas for the night.  I guess it's a good thing it isn't due until Tuesday.  The first few sections are missing from this, but it's mostly statistics and the demise of the Golden Gate Bridge since it is even now being shored up against seismic activity but we with military experience understand the integrity of government construction projects. I just need one more full page of jabber and then I'm done!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

So busy that I actually....

Busy.    BUSY.             .......busy.

There are some days where I have about one hour of downtime (in 10 minute chunks) and, unfortunately, blogging tends to come last.

This morning I was getting ready to head out the door and I hollered out to the Things.

"Princess, shoes, backpack, jacket, homework, lunch, brushed hair?"

"Yes!"

"Tag, shoes, backpack, jacket, homework, lunch?"  (he doesn't brush his hair)

"Yes!"

"Pebbles!"

"What!"  (her voice echoed in the distance)

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, on the potty!!"

"Ok.   Freida, got your backpack and shoes?"

"Yeth!"  (she has a slight lisp)

This whole time I was making a turkey and sprouts wrap in a low carb tortilla and cramming my binders into my backpack, running around with my head down in the sort of focus that running behind induces in large families.

"Princess, take my key and head out to the van please."

So they all troop out, buckle, I run out there, dump my stuff in the front seat, buckle Freida, and actually make it to the school in good time.  Everyone piled out when Princess suddenly asked "where's Pebbles?"


Oh.  My.  Gosh.


"Oh my gosh!  She's... she's.... on the potty!!"

A mom happened to be walking past with her little brood when the exclamation was made.  I looked around desperately and said "if my husband is still at home with her, does that mean I'm not actually a horrible mom?"   She laughed and said "of course not" and I laughed and then RAN back to the driver's seat.

So I put my cell on speaker, started to drive, and thanked heaven that Man had not yet left for work when he picked up my frantic phone call.  She was very upset since preschool is about her favorite thing in the whole world, trumping even Princess movies and ice cream. 

In my defense, Pebbles is by far the most quiet and, dare I say it?, almost the most compliant of all the kids.  Had she not been in the bathroom I know she would have gone out to the van like a shot and been happily belted and seated with her backpack and lunch box perched on her knees before I ever left the door.  She also sits in the very back of the van. 

There.  I've made my excuses.

All told I was only 5 minutes late for class which wasn't a huge loss.  We were discussing Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and I'm already sick of that book. 

And I cheaply learned a million dollar lesson today: always count noses. 

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Getting everyone on board

Home organization. 

It's an organic process and one that can be elusive to those with the best of intentions.  So many blogs, stores, magazines, and tv shows are dedicated to organization and home decoration, proving our desire to consume and produce the same. 

I've got the notebook prepared, the house sectioned off into manageable chunks, and sketchy plans to put into action.  All I desire at this point is input from the spousal unit and his expertise in sorting the cord boxes.   He hates "projects" but this is a project worth doing for the peace and happiness of the whole family. 

How can we make our home relatively easy to clean and maintain? 

It's a heavy question.  More to come as we work our way from one end of it to the other.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

a principal's principles.

Last week I went and had a chat with my kids' principal.  I had asked to observe Tag in class since that kid is almost totally refusing to do any work at all.  She said "sure! but we have this policy the county makes me observe.  I think it's from war time so many decades ago.  All you have to do it scribble a request in writing and I'll use my rubber stamp to approve it."   Done and done, and I went and observed my son in class.  That kid is bored out of his mind, but that's a different post.

I went back and spoke with her after my observation, asking what options we had available to us.  Can you switch teachers to one who's got, for lack of a better term, more engaging stage presence?  Can he be observed by the school psychologist to see if there's anything there that might impact him in the long term?  What study habits can I work with at home to help him see that schoolwork doesn't bite? 

She listened to my concerns and then said that one of the greatest mistakes parents make is to be afraid of allowing their children to be uncomfortable.  I was watching him with this teacher and wondering if he was bored and disinterested in her "oh, whadda widdle pweshus child who is NUMBER ONE IN MY BOOK!  Tell me how magnificent you are" routine.  This lady has got self esteem on the noodle and there's no shaking her.  I watched Tag play along with her over the top Carebear act and he was making fun of it.  I couldn't really blame him even as I told him to quit being impolite.  The principal assured me that behind that "rainbow ducky of extraordinary self worth where EVERYONE can be president some day" bit is a bulldog of a teacher who doesn't let any work slide under her radar and that if I want Tag to really be successful, I needed to leave him where he was with a teacher who wouldn't let him get away with anything.

Mostly she said (in a very kind way) that she was generally intolerant of parents who wanted to do things that made themselves comfortable, or well reflected in their child's education as opposed to advocating for the child himself.  I told her that I wasn't interested in my own image as a parent, but I was deeply concerned that this attitude would persist and he would end up being a slacker teenager who was too smart to do homework and too apathetic to care that not doing it would fail him.  She said to give him time, that the school was watching him and they already have plans A through F laid out with plans G through Z contingent upon the outcome of the observations available in A through F.  She welcomed me into the school as a volunteer as often as I wanted so I could continue to keep an eye on him and the school, welcomed my open and frequent communication with the same, and assured me that she didn't run a school that ignores any child.  Ever. 

I walked away from that meeting with hope and relief that I wasn't alone in trying to figure this child out.  I was happy that Ms. J didn't let my panic put her into a panic that might have resulted in some hasty and unwise decisions. 

Today I walked home from dropping three kids off and listened to the loud and obnoxious conversation behind me:

You see that principal over there?  I hate that woman.  You'd think a principal would be kind and nurturing but she's all business and policy and cold!  It was raining, you know not hard but it was raining and I came to the front of the building, you know with the locked doors and I knocked but she wouldn't let me in until I rang the bell and the office buzzed me in.  I said "why'd you leave me out there in the rain?" and she said "it's the policy to have people buzz in for safety" and I was like "all they do is push a button and I come right in why couldn't you have just opened the door?"  Then she sent all those poor little kids into the rain to wait for their parents instead of letting the parents come into the gym to get their kids.  Why would she make all those kids get wet?  I mean, that's cold!  Then she whined about all these parents coming to get their kids and said "why are all these parents here?  It's just a little rain, all these parents are going to make traffic so bad that someone might get hurt and it gums up the office to have everyone coming here right now, it's just a little rain!"  How cold is that?  She lets everyone get wet and then whines when they don't want to get wet.  I hate that woman.



And that's when I felt deep compassion for this principal who cares more for children than for their parents, who fights so many fights a day to see that they get the education they need and not just in math and science.  Next Friday is a volunteer orientation for parents to attend who want to volunteer at the school.  You better believe my butt will be in that seat.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Little wonders

Last Thursday, someone sent an email to my math class asking what the homework for today was.  I caught the email on Sunday night and sent one back on the off chance that three other people hadn't already done so.  Tonight, I went to class to find someone looking for me with a thank you and a gift for the one and only person to answer her plea for help.  I've got loot!  Pens and highlighters and Post-its galore!   Funny thing is, I may have been the only person in that class to truly delight in office supplies.  My appreciation was genuine and abundant. 

Funny how one little act can be so meaningful to someone struggling in a class.  I've shared 5 classes with one friend now and we're constantly getting notes from each other.  There are days when she sees that a new chapter of notes is up online and she surprises me with my own printed set.  I know what relief I feel to have that simple yet annoying and time consuming task already completed for me.  She often has to leave early to take care of her disabled child so I copy an extra set of notes for her as well.  What would we do without classmates like this?

Pay it forward, folks.  You never know how much it means.