Real World Wednesday

I would talk about the fires in Southern Califoria (and the subsequent smoke that's making it's way up the state), but Brandy has covered that in a unique way.

So, for this week's edition of Real World Wednesday: Child Labor and the Gap.

Gap started in San Francisco, and before the brand grew to be known as the place for middle-class and/or 1980's yuppy jeans or factory shopping in bulk, Gap had a reputation for doing business differently. Maybe it was the start in San Francisco, but the brand didn't seem to get tossed around with the same disdain as other chain stores and over the past (nearly) forty years has grown to be a part of the International middle-class fashion vocabulary.

So, when I learned that they were having a child labor problem, I grew concerned. Many of my clothes come from the Gap, or their sister stores Banana Republic and Old Navy. It would prove quite the challenge for me to boycott the store. So, unlike my willingness to believe, for such a long time, that Tommy Hilfigger was an awful person, I simply couldn't accept that Gap had gone so, so wrong.

Certainly, I've seen the labels in my clothes. Made in Bangladesh. Made in India. Made in China. But I had hopes of employee owned cooperatives and happy people making decent wages. Instead, I saw that, "children as young as 10 who said they were working 16 hours a day for no pay." I went over the clothes in my closet, in my drawers, my beautiful ivory colored coat bought straight out of the front window of Seattle's Banana Republic four years ago. I held my breath and kept reading.

A Gap executive says (in the Article on CNN.com), "In 2006, Gap Inc. ceased business with 23 factories due to code violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ensure compliance with our Code of Vendor Conduct."

Clearly, at least one of those 90 people wasn't exactly doing the job right.

The article goes on to say that the particular factory, with which the Gap will no longer do business, was producing blouses for the Christmas market, not necessarily anything that I happen to have in my closet right now. So, that's a sigh of relief. But I have not been a responsible shopper, blindly purchasing from Gap for years. Obviously "made in Bangladesh," cannot be a good sign, can it?

Gap is scrambling for handle the PR mess, and has placed a statement on their website that basically reiterates everything already stated in press coverage around the world.

I am not clear on what to think of the Gap story. I won't stop wearing the clothes I do have, because, quite frankly, they make up so much of my wardrobe that someone would need to give me a large check in order for me to search out clothes not made by seven year olds. I will, however, strive for more caution when making purposes.

In contrast to the Gap story, Oprah Winfrey has truly handled her awkward scandal with gusto. Instead of releasing statements with multiple meanings, she has flown to Africa twice in two weeks. If Oprah made clothes, I would probably buy them.

More Info on the Oprah story:

From People.com

More People.com

Video Report from Yahoo

Resources On Child Labor Violations Around the World

Human Rights Watch

Unicef

U.S. Department of Labor

Sweat Shop Free Brands

A Beautiful Weekend

1) Starting out Friday evening with dinner at my parents' house. A fabulous time was had by all - there was roast beef, and perfectly done potatoes, and these loverly brussels sprouts. Then we watched Heroes. It can't get much better than that. It was also quite endearing to watch WG explain to my dad the he doesn't really want to see American Gangster (the movie my dad and I have been going on and on about to each other for months).

WG: Eh, I don't really want to see it. I don't like those kinds of movies.
My Dad (with an open mouth and an unbelieving expression in his eyes): You DON'T LIKE THOSE KINDS OF MOVIES? How can you not?
Me (trying to change the subject just a tad): They had an article with the real life guy's daughter in Glamour...
My Dad (now mumbling to himself): Sarah and I love those movies...
WG: Well, I'll see it...
My mom (perky in the background): Maybe we can all go together!

2) Pumpkin Carving with fabulous library friends! Yay! Our wonderful hostess provided the pumpkins, the carving gear, the yummy snacks...the works. A fabulous time was had by all. That seemed to be the order of the weekend. I greatly enjoyed getting dressed up with my blue wig and the rest of my martian costume, and it was fantastic to hear WG laugh heartily at himself as his costume makes him look just a tad silly.

3)Bridge School Benefit Concert- hearing Regina Spektor live for the first time and John Mayer live for the fourth time was amazing. I sang along, listened to the music and said to WG (my own personal band geek who can play three instruments well), "You know, I may not play music, but I listen to music. Just as there are leaders, there must be followers. There are those play music and those who listen. I listen." During the concert, with a perfect Hollywood movie blue sky speckled gently with whisphy white clouds, I worried that I would wake up from a dream. I also realized fully and for the first time that I have been with this man for over a year, that we are a couple, that I have survived a year with a man in my life, and I was happy.

Friday Song Lyrics

I am SO excited that WG and I are going to the Bridge School Benefit this weekend (the very concert we found out about at the marvelous event that sparked my interest in getting a new apartment...). In honor of the concert, here are some lyrics from the performers (and yes, I care mostly about John Mayer and Regina Spektor - when else will I see those two together?).

1) Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young
I wanna live
with a cinnamon girl
I could be happy
the rest of my life
With a cinnamon girl.

A dreamer of pictures
I run in the night
You see us together,
chasing the moonlight,
My cinnamon girl.

2) Enter Sandman by Metallica
Say your prayers little one
don't forget, my son
to include everyone

tuck you in, warm within
keep you free from sin
till the sandman he comes

3) Halleluja, I Love Her So by Jerry Lee Lewis
Let me tell ya about a girl I know
She's my baby and she lives next door
And every morning before the sun comes up
She bring me in my fav-o-rite cup
That's why I know
Yes I know
Halleluja, I Love Her So
When I'm in trouble and I need a little friend
That woman she sticks by me through the end

4) Lonely by Tom Waits
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely face, lonely lonely in your place.
Lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely face, lonely lonely in your place.

I thought that I knew all that there was to, lonely, lonely, lonely...

Melanie Jane, won't feel the pain.
Lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely eyes, lonely lonely in your place.

And I thought that I knew all that there was to
Lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely eyes, lonely lonely in your place, and
I still love you, I still love you, lonely, lonely...

5) Heart of Life by John Mayer
Pain throws your heart to the ground
love turns the whole thing around
no it wont all go the way
it should
but I know the heart of life is good

You know it's nothin' new
bad news never had good timing
then the circle of your friends
will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
love turns the whole thing around
no it won't all go the way
it should
But I know the heart of life is good


6) I Will Sing You Songs by My Morning Jacket
I will sing to you of greater things... money, gold, and diamond rings
just don't make it last any longer than it has to
stories of the greater things... fill your heart and soul with beer (tears)
just don't make it last any longer than it has to
I will sing to you of greater things... money, gold, and diamond rings
just don't make it last any longer than it has to
stories of the greater years... what's in here won't disappear
just don't make it last any longer than it has to

7) Are You Ten Years Ago? by Tegan & Sara
If you're taken I am yours
I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours I'm up and doing circles
I'm taken, I am yours I'm up and doing circles
I collapse
I might stay out longer than I left the light on for you
Then if you show, you show
If you show, you show
When I feel like this
When I get so in
To myself

8) Field Below by Regina Spektor
I wish I'd see a field below
i wish I'd hear a rooster crow
But there are none who live downtown
And so the day starts out so slow
Again the sun was never called
And darkness spreads over the snow
Like ancient bruises
I'm awake and feel the ache
But I wish I'd see a field below
I wish I'd see a field below

I wish I'd see your face below
I wish I'd hear you whispering low
But you don't live downtown no more
And everything must come and go

Indulging

I give myself one time each year to indulge myself in an, "Oh Dear God, I'm having a birthday!" moment.

Apparently, I usually do this in some proximity to my actual birthday, but people, November is a frantic month (see my list of complaints), and I just won't have time for my yearly indulgence (well...maybe just a little).

Yes, it is nearing that time when people shower me with gifts, but since I was sixteen, I have used my birthday as a measure of the year's success and a way to set goals for myself. With its proximity to the New Year, it works well.

My birthday is exactly one month from today.

Apparently, last year I didn't mope. Well, screw that. I need my annual mope. And here it is, folks. My list of complaints (note that, for your reading pleasure, I have turned this into an easy, simple to read list).

*November is the most ridiculous month in which to have a birthday. Each and every year it is an absolute mess of obligations and big huge projects and full, busy work days. I have a major event at work in 3 weeks, that only gives me one week after that to ponder my the anniversary of my birth. That's just not fair. And it's like this EVERY YEAR.

*The November picture on calendars is always the ugliest.

*My birthday has fallen on Thanksgiving several times, which makes it rather difficult to celebrate. I'll probably have a birthday party sometime in mid-December, at which no less than half of the attendees will ask me why I didn't do something closer to my own birthday. To them I say, "Because you all have other plans for Thanksgiving weekend. That's why."

*It has just started to sink in that I will be in the OK Corral on my birthday instead of with my mom, hearing the story of my birth repeated over and over again.

*What I will miss most is hugging my mom on my birthday.

*It sometimes sucks having a holiday birthday and traveling on said birthday.

*I worry that no matter what happens on that special day, WG will not be able to satisfy me completely.

*I have already started to accept that my birthday will not actually be about me this year, seeing as how we will be surrounded by WG's friends.

*It is sweet that WG's step-mom has offered to throw me a birthday party. That one's not a complaint.

*Twenty-seven seems like a momentous year. I want to do great things at 27. No, I don't know what.

*Twenty-six was a learning year. I have a feeling 27 offers more of the same.

*Twenty-seven is only three years from 30.

*Yet, being three years from 30 doesn't make me a grown-up.

To please those who think that Thanksgiving week (and, thus, my birthday) has something to do with being grateful (whatever...), I offer "Things about 26 for which I am thankful" (I just have to say that I have been Ms. Grammar throughout the post. Sheesh, it's like I'm a second-generation English major or something).

*I fell in love.

*I fell in love without losing myself.

*I learned to appreciate my job (sort of).

*I taught my parents that, just because I moved out, it doesn't mean I don't love them.

*I am blessed with lovely and amazing friends.

Okay. Indulgence over. Only happy, smiling faces over here at Pink Cereal and Raspberries. Riiiiight.

Real World Wednesday

Religious Freedom

I don't tend to think about religious freedom as an issue that I need to confront on a daily basis.

I spent twelve years in Catholic school, where it wasn't exactly odd that my family went to church. Then I went to Berkeley, where, though my continued practice may have weirded some folks out, the general attitude of acceptance and open communication tended to win out over any direct prejudice. Right now, I'm a Catholic going to a non-denominational church, and I feel less and less that I need anyone's approval of my own, personal faith.

Now that I'm older, I can also realize that this is a Christian country, in a lot of ways, and many people of other faiths may not agree with my statement that we have religious freedom in the USA.

I remember a few years ago when a local Sikh community wanted to build a temple in the rural part of the city. People freaked out. First, they claimed that the temple would be on land zoned for agriculture, but that argument fell flat against the dozens of essentially Christian churches out in that "agricultural" part of town (I say "essentially," because I'm still not clear if Mormons are Christian...). So, unless the city council wanted to come out and say they were uncomfortable with the Sikh religion, they couldn't get out of the temple being built. I drive by that temple several times a week.

In Church on Sunday, the pastor talked about a Chinese Christian who was pulled out of his house, reading the Bible, and taken to jail. The government held his 77 year old mother hostage, in the hopes that he would give over the names of other Christians. The pastor was amazed at the strength of this man, to sit and read the Bible as the police stormed his house.

As the words about a man who is not free to practice his religion flowed from the pastor's mouth, I knew that I needed to write about religious freedom, something I am allowed to have in this country primarily because I practice the dominant faith of the nation.

I will now make the "duh" statement of the post: People should be allowed to practice their religion without prejudice.

For example, those who practice Judaism should not have to come to work on Yom Kippur, and we should find a way for people who are not Christian to get time off for their holidays without having to take leave. I get Christmas and Easter off without even trying (though I do have to take leave on Ash Wednesday if I want to make it to mass on time). Can't we have some kind of barter system where those who aren't Christian can earn leave to celebrate their own religious holidays?

But beyond what needs to happen in the US, there need to be changes on the international level. People are fighting to be part of a particular religion; people are fighting to practice any religion; people of different faiths are flighting over whose is best.

There are resources that can encourage us all to help fight for world-wide religious freedom (or, even, the freedom to not practice any religion whatsoever, if that's your choice.

(while these sites offer interesting information, before giving money to any of these organizations, make your own investigations into their viability).

* International Coalition for Religious Freedom
* Center for Religious Freedom
* Compass Direct (information about persecuted Christians)
* Workplace Religious Freedom Act (information on a government bill)
* The Pope Speaks Against Violence in the Name of Religion
* Buddhist Monks Under Attack

If you have information you'd like to share about your own religion or another resource about religious freedom, please let me know!

Update: An interesting article in the NY Times talks about a possible solution to some global warming, or at least one worth investigating before it's too late to be of use.

On Being Average

So, it's a completely ridiculous source of inspiration, but watching Transformers last night made me realize that my entire family is average (the main character's great-great grandfather was an Arctic explorer). Going back generations, you won't find a mention of us in the history books. We're obscenely middle class, middle management, humanities majors who exist as small fish in small ponds, or, closer to retirement, medium fish in small ponds.

That's not to say that we don't make a difference. I've got musicians and coal miners and teachers and tailors in my family tree. My dad has changed more people's lives than I can count (and I know this from times walking through the mall with him, running into previous juvenile delinquents who simply had to thank him for the huge impact he'd had on their lives). My mom taught school and taught kids that they have value beyond what their parents and peers may think of them (which often wasn't a whole lot). And my French relatives battled the Nazis as part of the French underground. So, it's not that we've not made an impact, historically, it's that we've been one of a number, a member of a team.

I don't mind being part of a good group of people, of a team that makes a difference. Genetically, I'm wired to be a small or medium fish in a pond of whatever size.

Theoretically speaking, I accept that I am not destined for greatness. One of my best friends used to introduce me like this, "This is my friend Sarah, she's going to work at Marie Claire." That was back when I thought I wanted to go into magazine journalism. Clearly my friend was more excited about it than I was, because I never quite made that leap to life in New York City.

I have also come to realize that, like Spidey says, with great power, comes great responsibility. With great impact, comes great sacrifice. In order to be the kind of person the historians talk about, I would need to sacrifice the time I spend with family and friends. I would, perhaps, need to sacrifice a husband and kids. The people who are remembered for their accomplishments often have little else in their lives.

Perhaps it's not such a bad thing to lose my drive to be an overachiever. Perhaps it's acceptable to fall back into average, making my small impacts where I can and quietly daydreaming about a sun-filled apartment where I can pass the hours writing a novel that a few people will enjoy...without worrying that it should be a prize winner.

Those Times When We Don't Have Any Money

AKA "The Hungry Years."

Now, my life, lest this e-mail indicate otherwise, is just fine. I make enough to lead a happy existence. I can afford to travel (well, small weekend trips). I am not lacking in clothes. I eat well.

I also am spending far too much on rent.

The reason?

I am living in an apartment that is the same quality of my parents' house. Well, it's close enough, an apartment of the same quality would likely take up my ENTIRE monthly income, rather than nearly half of it, but still, I am living in the manner to which I have become accustomed.

And I can't do that anymore.

My parents worked themselves up from the bottom, from military housing to a four bedrooom with three bathrooms and a pond in the back.

Luckily, I won't have to start as far down as they did, with just a couple of pennies to rub together, but I still need to accept that I'm just starting out.

It's funny, I can phathom that when I get married, I'll have to start fresh with my husband. I can imagine us in a not-so-perfect neighborhood, trying to save up for our own house. But when it's just me? Oh, I'd like the nice place with the fitness room and the gourmet appliances, thank you very much.

And that's what I've had for the last year, and now it's time to reorganize my priorities, to decide whether a fitness room is more valuable than putting money away for the future (not to say I've neglected this entirely, but, well, food and electricity are expensive...).

So, I have officially begun the Sarah process of thinking about the possibility of moving.

Here are somethings I've decided.
1) I don't want to become a roommate in an already existing roommate situation.
2) The cat will continue to live with me.
3) In-house laundry is a must.
4) I may be willing to get a multi-bedroom place and THEN find roommates - that way it's my furniture, my cat, my rules :).
5) I really do enjoy living on my own, but prioirities must be evaluated.

This will be a months-long (or at least weeks-long) process and depends on several factors beyond my control, but the process has begun and I am embracing the "hungry years."

Real World Wednesday

Just to bring home an already proven point, here are the top stories that caught my eye on Yahoo today:

* The Spice Girls (is it 1996?)
* Tom Brady (at least it's not about his baby with Bridget Moynahan)
* The iPhone learns how to play well with others

There were bits of important, but these were the ones my eye darted towards at first glance. I clearly have a problem.

I've been going back and forth about whether, if I had more money,I would get cable tv. I claim that I'm "out of touch," because I don't have cable, but were I to subscribe (given that much needed "more money"), would I watch the news? No. I would make sure to watch Heroes and The Office when they are actually on. I would surely get addicted to one of those 1,052 reality television shows on MTV.

I think a better investment would be a newspaper subscription - that way, if I wasn't reading it, it would simply pile up and make a nice scrap pile for when I need to lay down newspaper so I can paint.

But the real topic of the day, seeing as there's clearly not enough news coverage of this, is the 2008 Presidential Election.

I got my absentee ballot in the mail and was (mildly) shocked to realize it's a compeletly local ballot. Of course, I know my California politics well enough to know we're nowhere close to the primary, but with all of the news coverage, with Al Gore's fans attempting to "draft" him into running, it seems that it's about time for me to have a say in who is actually going to be a candidate.

Currently in the news are three candidates (or fake candidates or possible candidates insisting they won't run).

1) Stephen Colbert
2) Rudy Giuliani
3) Al Gore

So, Stephen Colbert is a fictional candidate, but I wouldn't be suprised if he gets more votes than other candidates, simply on name recognition alone. I know that this shouldn't be a popularity contest, but when unknowns run against the likes of Barak Obama (who currently has three books as the primary author and is featured as a writer in another three), youngling though he may be, the odds aren't in the favor of the unknowns. All this to say that given the current pack of unknown conservatives and celebrity Democrats, Stephen Colbert has a shot at being the next man of the year.

Rudy Giuliani is in the news only because the governor of Texas has endorsed him. Why should I care about this? Apparently, it is of great importance to the nation whom the governor of Texas endorses. I wasn't aware of this important fact. Clearly, I have a lot to learn.

And finally, Nobel Prize winner Al Gore. If he ran right now, he would win. If the elections were held right now, he would win. He would win because green is in, and Al Gore is the poster-boy for green. I know others have said this, but it frightens me. It frightens me, because he's become a one trick pony. He's got a cause, and he's educated a lot of people - conservatives and liberals alike. What would putting him in office accomplish?

I have no idea who I would vote for, given the current candidates, but I sure wish we could hurry up and pick someone, because I'm awfully tired of seeing headlines about who is endorsing whom when we're still months away from anything even remotely decisive.

Things I Said I'd Never Do That I Have Now Done

I realized, when talking with my dear Irene as we perused clearance shelves and decided never to raise our children in Walnut Creek, that I have made a lot of "never again" type statements in recent history (and I have to give a nod to Brandy).

When I was a wee girl, I, of course, claimed that I never wanted to leave my parents' house, that I would live there forever. Everyone assured me that this would change, but until I was about twelve and starting to realize that my mom and I didn't exactly see eye to eye on absolutely everything, I assured them right back that I would never want to move out.

Obviously, I changed my very adamant stance, seeing as how I moved out for college at 17 and have been in-and-out since.

In my more aware years, I've actually had some idea of what it means to make "never again" statements, and I've still done it. I'm also still completely shocked when my friends call me out on these statements.

It seems that everything I said I'd never do, I'm doing right now or will do in the near future.

1) My long-standing belief that I needed to date a Catholic fell apart before Wine Guy came on the scene.

2) I've said, more times than I can count, that I wouldn't go back to online dating, kept going back on that statement, and actually met WG online.

3) I've said I want oodles of children, and now seem quite satisifed with the notion of two at some point in my future.

4) I've insisted that I have to live exceedingly close to my family and have now come to realize that the notions my parents and I have of where to set up a life (they're very city, and I would be happy in the country) differ enough that within easy driving or easy flying distance would be just dandy.

5) I've said that I'd just as soon not drink and am now my family's go-to gal for wine recommendations.

And now, one final "never" or "always," that I'll certainly contradict at some point, 'cause, you know, that's the me we all know and love: I'm never going to make
another adamant statement about my future.

Quite frankly, I'm just tired of having people call me out when I break my own promises to myself!

Friday Song Lyrics

It's that time again! Here are some songs in honor of everything that's going on in my life and the lives of the people I love.

Also...I have a problem. My name is Sarah, and I am a Facebook addict. I believe that I can break the addiction and begin to have a healthy relationship with this social networking platform. No more thrice-daily status updates. No more throwing chickens or sheep until someone throws one at me. Ah, it does just feel better admitting I have a problem.

Now onto the lyrics!

In honor of Mama and Daddy commencing their return trip from their week and a half in the land of smiling, multi-childrened, gun-toting Mormons in Utah.

1)Homeward Bound by Simon and Garfunkel

Im sittin in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination
On a tour of one night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one man band

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my musics playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

In honor of Irene and her changes and her confusion and fear about said changes.

2) Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae

Three little birds, sat on my window.
And they told me I don't need to worry.
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same
Oh, don't you hesitate.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

In respect of the fact that California does in fact have weather, and changing leaves and pouring rain in October, I present the only song I know that speaks the truth about my great state.

3)The Lady is a Tramp by Ella Fitzgerald

I like the free, fresh wind in her hair
Life without care
I'm broke, it's o'k
Hate California, it's cold and it's damp
That's why the lady is a tramp

In honor of having a day off, all to myself, to do whatever I want with my time, to listen to the cheesiest music I want (and I will likely spend a portion of the day with Mr. Buble playing the background) and to otherwise occupy my time however I see fit.

4) I've Got the World on a String by Michael Buble

I've got the world on a string
I'm sitting on a rainbow
Got that string around my finger
What a world, what a life - I'm in love

I've got a song that I sing
And I can make the rain go
Any time I move my finger
Lucky me, cant you see - I'm in love

Life's a wonderful thing
As long as I've got that string
I'd be a silly so-and-so
If I should ever let you go

In honor of the first anniversary of number 2 on this list, a song that is truer than anyone can ever believe until they suddenly do.

5)You Can't Hurry Love by Diana Ross

But how many heartaches
Must I stand before I find a love
To let me live again
Right now the only thing
That keeps me hangin' on
When I feel my strength, yeah
It's almost gone
I remember mama said:

You can't hurry love
No, you just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take

As it's the closest thing to "our" song.

6) Hands Open by Snow Patrol

Hands open, and my eyes open
I just keep hoping
That your heart opens

Why would I sabotage
the best thing that I have
Well, it makes it easier to know
exactly what I want with my...

Hands open and my eyes open
I just keep hoping
that your heart opens

It's not as easy as willing it all to be right
Gotta be more than hoping it's right

I wanna hear you laugh like you really mean it
Collapse into me, tired with joy

Bay Area State of Mind

Irene, the hearer of my woes, my constant e-mail buddy, my relationship twin (in some ways), is moving.

She's not moving any farther from me than she is now, but she'll be on the flip side of the Bay Area :(. I also don't know if I'll get my daily e-mails from her (I think our record was about 20 e-mails over the course of a couple of hours, my favorite of which was an entire e-mail that consisted of the statement "What a great use of company time!"). So, I'm happy. I'm sad. I'm proud. I'm worried. I'm like a bundle of emotions, and I'm not even the one moving. But it is all about me, after all.

In any case, on Saturday, I got to spend a WHOLE day with JUST my dear friend. That's right, you read correctly. No men present, trying to ruin our shopping experience or ask for freakin' directions. We could get lost in peace (and we did). No random gathering with an assortment of fabulous people. Just the two of us.

And. It. Was. Awesome.

We did nothing that would matter to anyone who has not lived in the Bay Area, but we accomplished the full set of fabulous things to do...except go to San Francisco, although I was oddly pushing to a drive down to Fillmore to look for earrings at the over-priced chi-chi shops down there. I rarely push for an unnecessary trip into the car un-friendly city.

But we got pho in the Asian Mall. I was reminded just what a wimp I am at a flea market in Berkeley, when I tried to bargain for a ring and practically got laughed out, while another vendor dropped her own price without Irene even having to ask. We got frightened by rich teenagers in the upscale "Broadway Plaza" shopping center.

A conversation we witnessed.
Mother: Oh, here's the dress you wanted. It's got a hole in the lining. I don't think you should get it.
Daughter: Mom, get in line.
Mother: You already tried it on at another store, I don't think it's a good choice.
Daughter: Mom, GO GET IN LINE. I'm going to try on the dress.

Us witnessing the conversation:
Irene: She makes me not want to have kids.
Me: I would say, "It's my money, it has a hole in it. Don't you dare talk to me like that."
Irene: I will have to spank my kids.
Me: Remind me never to move here.

We got Jamba Juice. We walked around stores we can't afford and wondered why they charge so much for satin jackets with boustierre ties on the front. We hopped back in the car, thinking we might be up for a home cooked meal and then instead drove to our favorite Bay Area island and had the best sushi in the land. And did more shopping.

Then, back to Irene's place for a Sarah and Irene sleep-over. We watched Sex and the City. We moaned about our boyfriends. We said good things about our boyfriends. We kvetched about life in general. And then we ate bacon and eggs for breakfast, and I went home and got ready for my over-time shift on Sunday.

It was the perfect, unrushed, completely full, peaceful way to spend a Saturday. Ahh, I got to "spend" time like it was a currency. I love that.

Real World Wednesday

School Violence

I can't profess to know a great deal about this. I can't even pretend that I can possibly understand what it means to go to school in fear each day.

I graduated high school the year before the Columbine shootings, and I know that the general attitude in high schools changed after that. I was in the last of the high school classes in America to not live with the images of Columbine as I walked up the front steps to my own high school.

With the latest incident in Cleveland today, I am speechless. Apparently the school's security guard was on vacation (shouldn't the company send another guard to cover the absent guard's shifts?), and two full-time guard positions had been eliminated in recent years. One guard in a large public high school in a metropolitan area doesn't seem like the best idea, but I don't have the background knowledge.

I could relate Columbine and the "Trench Coat Mafia" to memories of my high school. I felt grateful that the two guys in my class who were ignored by everyone and actively hated by several of the popular kid never came to school with weapons. We had gangs in my school, but they kept their violence off-campus and kept their outbursts to tagging the lockers.

The myths about the perpetrators of high school violence inlcude such statements as, "He was a loner," and "We did everything we could to help." It's true that these are the myths surrounding the shoot-outs involving a single perpetrator, but what about violence on campus in general? What about kids going to school in fear for their lives because of kid-on-kid gang violence? According to the myths, as well, school violence isn't nearly as rampant as we think it is, with "only" 12-20 homicides per year, nation-wide. Yes, maybe "only" 12-20 people are killed by a seemingly unexpected shooter during the school day, but what about someone who gets shot on campus by a rival gang member or who is an innocent by-stander. What about violence that doesn't involve guns? What about schools that care more about the color or your shoes than about the knife someone brought to school? What about the schools that break up smooching couples but let the guy getting high get by without even a warning?

I can't pretend to have answers. Real World Wednesday may sometimes be about directing people to resources, but today, I have nothing. I could encourage those of you who are teachers to learn mediation techniques. And I've already talked about after-school programs and getting involved in your community.

So, today, I simply mourn the fact that in the mini-societies we have let teenagers create, violence is an accepted part of life. I mourn that television and video games have desensitized kids to the point where they don't know what it means to snuff out a life.

I pray for the soul of the fourteen year old child who thought the only answer to his problems was to shoot up his school and then end his own life.

Star Gazing

Three things.

Not necessarily beautiful.

1. If even one more person asks me if my possibly (possibly) moving to the same city as WG means we are moving in together, I may well scream. I didn't realize living in the same city as my boyfriend meant that we had to live together. It might just be nice to live in the same city for a while, right? Sheesh. Good thing I haven't mentioned this to one of my co-workers. She'll demand to stare at my (going to be naked for a while) left ring finger, to confirm that I have not, in fact, gone and gotten engaged without notifying her.

2. Facebook still manages to freak me out. I saw, months ago, that an old crush/old friend (yes, he was an actual friend) from high school was on the great timesucker, and I refused, refused to "friend" him myself. Then, this morning, I see the message in my inbox, "Old Crush has made you a friend on Facebook," and I felt oddly flattered.

3. Last night, walking the dogs with WG while my parents are out of town, I looked up and saw the Big Dipper in the sky, so close I felt like I was looking at a projection of it at the planet-A-rium (kudos to you if you get the cartoon reference). The sky was so clear. I saw Cassiopeia and Orion's Belt, and then I stopped staring open-mouthed up at they sky and looked ahead to see WG trying to trick my German Shepherd, Bailey. Bailey never walks in a straight line, but the person walking him usually does. But WG was behaving like an adorable six year old and decided to try walking a crooked line, too, so when Bailey would turn back towards WG, WG would already be there, and Bailey would run smack into his thigh with his head. WG found this amazingly funny, and I found it strangely endearing. The dog just found it confusing and kept walking his crooked little path.

Roll On You Bears

CAL IS NUMBER TWO.

Go Bears!

Maybe I'll Take a Pottery Class

Having feng shui-ed my office (well, it's a two-walled cubicle more than anything else), done some yoga and even tried a meditation DVD, I can just about believe that I'm ready to add a regular commitment of some kind to my life.

As I sat in the most ridiculous training of all (customer service training for library staff by someone who has no hint of a clue what happens inside a library), I started making a list of some things I'd like to possibly do with my time. An art class. A creative writing class. A photography class.

I was just a fly's hair away from pottery class.

And isn't that what people who REALLY have nothing to do go and do? Isn't that what middle-aged women who are still fifteen years away from retirement say they want to do when they can finally stop working?

And didn't Charlotte say she might go spend a day at Color Me Mine after she quite her lucrative job at the art gallery (cheers to all who get the reference)?

Yeah, I'm 26. I'm waaaaay too young to be thinking it's about time to take a pottery class.

Now, since I want to make creative writing a career (or something like it), then that creative writing class may not be such a bad idea.

But please, let's not have me running off every Tuesday evening to throw pots with a few hip college students and a lot more bored retired women with a penchant for crafts.

Real World Wednesday/Delurking

Fossil Fuel.

At the risk of sounding even more ignorant that previous Real World Wednesdays have already made me sound, I have to say that until I started reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, I had no idea how all we use this rapidly depleting resource.

Whenever I heard someone on the news talk about American's addiction to fossil fuel, I really thought it had to do entirely with our gasoline consumption, with how large our cars have gotten, with the large number of nearly empty SUVs being driven around by soccer moms who simply like the safety of a vastly large automobile surrounding them as they cruise down the highway. I prided myself on the notion that now, and whenever I'm a soccer mom, myself, I will drive an environmentally friendly, or at least environmentally friendlier car, like my little Civic.

I was mistaken.

Here is what the Department of Energy has to say about fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas -- currently provide more than 85% of all the energy consumed in the United States, nearly two-thirds of our electricity, and virtually all of our transportation fuels. Moreover, it is likely that the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels to power an expanding economy will actually increase over at least the next two decades even with aggressive development and deployment of new renewable and nuclear technologies.

Did you know that it takes fossil fuel to grow corn? That's right. Corn. The fertilizer, whose use is highly encouraged by the US Government, consists almost entirely of fossil fuels. And, at least according to Michael Pollan, farmers tend to overuse the fertilizer, "just in case."

Then fossil fuels are used to produce the item that scientists are trying to turn into a fossil fuel replacement.

I'll say that again.

Americans are using fossil fuel, in mass quantities, to develop ethanol (i.e., corn alcohol that can be used to power automobiles), a source of "alternative" energy.

Now, I understand that there has to be some of that going on, and pardon my ignornace, but couldn't researchers use solar power to generate the electricity they need to turn corn into ethanol. Would that result in something environmentally friendlier?

This is no longer simply about going green, about bringing my handy-dandy pink water bottle to work each day, instead of an endless train of bottles of the disposable variety. This is about encouraging the US government (and other world powers) to fund and otherwise support the research that will allow us to ease our addiction to fossil fuels, without using more fossil fuels in the process (or at least using less!).

I don't entirely know what to do about this growing problem, other than share my concerns with my government, learn more about the topic and otherwise educate myself before I go mouthing off to someone in a position to institute change.

Do you have any ideas?

...and if you are delurking today (and if you already have THANK YOU and WELCOME :p), here are a few comment starters...just pick one and run with it:
1) Just say how you found the blog.
2) What's one thing you can do, will do or are doing to help the environment?
3) What's your favorite 1980's cartoon?
4) What's your favorite comfort food?
5) Cupcakes - icing or no? Sprinkles or no? Or the works? What makes a good cupcake?

Making Uncool Cool

At least three times in less than a week, someone has told me what an excellent teacher I am. I don't take such compliments lightly, as I've had a lingering flirtation with the idea of becoming a teacher. I also don't take them entirely seriously, as my teaching consists of an hour and a half session about various computer related products (including this here Blogger platform), or five minute reference transactions when I "teach" customers how to use library databases. An in-the-trenches teacher, I am not.

And now that I have, for the moment anyway, settled into appreciating my job for its good parts, I am not taking the compliments as a sign from above that I need to rush out and spend $10,000 and a year of my life to get a teaching credential. No. Thank. You.

But I have learned something in my time working with teenagers in what amounts to a classroom setting: Look 'em in the eyes, folks.

See, I wasn't a particularly good teenager. And what I mean is that I was very well behaved, completely absorbed in my studies and focused on jam-packing my college applications as much as possible.

In other words, I wasn't very good at being a teenager. I didn't hang out with a passle of gossiping girls at the mall. I was only snarky about annoying people when within the comfort of my own social group, never actually voicing a bullying word to someone who just happened to be below my near-the-bottom rung on the social ladder.

So, working with a certain breed of teenagers means that I have to entirely forget what it felt like to live at the bottom. I know they can see right through me, because let's face it I'm a bookworm who plays Warcraft with her boyfriend...I'm still not exactly at the top of the coolness pile.

But today, in a room with eleven pregnant or parenting teenage girls, all who struck me as having come from their own version of the "cool" group, I sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Start" and bounced in my seat as I read aloud from "Ten in the Bed." I sacrificed what little bit of cool I may have, and I didn't mind one bit.

I looked them in the eyes, and I sang, and I made the accompanying hand gestures. I smiled through their rolling eyes.

And then, when it was over, I led them in a discussion about careers, resumes and job hunting.

When I asked them the sample interview question, "Why should we hire you?"

One girl said, "Because I need a job!"

And, perhaps because I didn't care whether or not they thought I was cool, a few of the other girls jumped in and said, "Well, then, thanks for coming in, bye bye."

So, try though they did to look cool, they knew they didn't have much to stand on...only two girls had EVER had a part-time job, and they had to rely on my experience and my knowledge.

I'm not saying I won them over, but I am saying that I have successfully moved beyond worrying whether or not high school girls think I'm cool.

p.s. if you haven't already notice that nifty pink button over there in the right hand corner, please take a look now and think about de-lurking tomorrow, as part of the Great MoFo Delurk (much as I may prefer if the phrase "mofo" wasn't in it, I miss my commenters! apparently I'm not the only one who has noticed a drop...so...join me returning to the land of commenting blog readers). I may be over getting high school students to think I'm cool, but I still want to know that the folks who read this blog like what they see!

You are Not Overlooked

Yesterday's sermon was just what I needed to hear.

The preacher (as I've taken to calling anyone who is not a Catholic priest...) went on for forty-five minutes about 1 Corinithians 7, which is a chapter about...SEX. Essentially, it's a chapter about how folks who aren't married shouldn't have sex but that folks who are SHOULD.

Other than the hilarity of having a preacher tell a congregation that they need to have sex, the sermon actually offered a great deal of insight into the...uhm...plight of the single person.

The preacher is over forty, unmarried and looking. He's not skeezy, he just turned his life around at thirty and hasn't found the right woman. But he is just a bit bitter, and he had some words of encouragement for other singles (single, here, embracing everyone who is unmarried, even if in a couple relationship). What he said that most resonated with me was, "You have not been overlooked. God has not forgotten you. If you are unmarried now, it doesn't mean that you will be unmarried forever.

I've gotten a bit emotional when getting caught in the trap of feeling sorry for myself because people all around me are getting married, people I used to babysit are getting married. There is no limit to the trap. If I get started thinking about the unfairness of my own personal plan for my life not quite working out the way I saw it, the only way out is to force myself out.

I've heard my mother say it, but I've also heard my mother wonder aloud why I hadn't yet met the right guy.

I've heard my friends say it, but I've also had them describe some fairly unattractive guys (meaning quality-wise, more than looks wise) to me in the hopes that I would just get a boyfriend already.

To hear a preacher say it, and to hear him say it after last weekend's conversation with WG, well, it was just what I needed.

I have not been overlooked.

Being unmarried right now is what I need to be, for the betterment of God's plan for my life...and let's face it, God's the one whose plan is going to win out in a battle between His plan and mine.

I have not been overlooked.

You have not been overlooked.

We have not been overlooked.