Inner Nerd

So we've got 8 inches of cold, dry, fluffy snow, but it's the kind that puts 2 inches behind where you've already shoveled. In the words of Eeyore, "Oh bother." I know, I know, my dad will think I'm a baby complaining since he lived in Michigan, my BF would laugh after living in Minnesota, and I survived many blizzards in Maryland, but the fact remains that I HATE winter.

My Bear Bear (husky mix) is half white now (picture Balto rolling in snow), and the fir tree branches are now bending down like cedars from the weight of the snow. I will post pictures later, but right now, I'm toasty warm inside.

One thing the Christmas season has done this year is bring my inner geek out, which KT conveniently pointed out last night at work. Dr. Brian and I were talking about Ataris, NES and Star Wars video games, and about another RPh who claimed he had never played Tetris (this after I pointed out how part of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite reminded me of Tetris music). And then on the home front, I convinced the hubby to go to the hobby shop last week for more tracks for my Lionel train. After we got home, we had to rig our own ground after discovering the original one had been lost somewhere between Maryland, Florida and Washington. For the next trip, there are plans in the works for crosstracks, switches to trigger things, buildings and trees. Such a nerd. The important thing is I finally found a really cool hobby shop in the Everett area.

I guess I should go shovel some more snow, since we have to make it to work tomorrow come snow or avalanche. Thinking warm thoughts…

O bladee, O bladah…Life Goes On. Hey!

Oh thank God – dead week is finally over. Unfortunately, my dead week included both of my final exams, but that frees up my time this week to devote to my final project in Spanish and mailing out vast amounts of presents to my dozens of nieces and nephews across the US and to our dads and step-moms. Anyone seen Four Christmases? At least our families don't live that close together.

The great news is I scored an A in ECON201 and I'm thinking an A- in Español, but I'm crossing my fingers for the 4.0. During my break, I'll be working 40 hours a week in the pharmacy and working on tons of essays. I've got a couple of entrance essays for the Huxley College of the Environment at WWU and a few for some scholarships I'm applying for. This year's Possible Woman scholarships are aimed at working moms changing careers into Environmental Science. I am so applying for that $5,000.

Turkey Day went very well and was oh so yummy. We had a giant bird ala my secret ingredients and method once again. I cooked for our moms, too, but my mom-in-law had to get up way too early the next morning and decided to rest at home. Really, I can't blame her, because her house is in remodel chaos, too. No one should have to get up that early for a retail job (hint, hint you Black Friday monsters).

The hubby and I are going out on Wednesday to finish up the Christmas shopping and to get each other's gifts. I need outdoor work clothes like Lady Carharts for field work, and he needs an extension ladder and a new shotgun. We'll be putting bows on them under the tree, but with a limited budget, we're getting exactly what we need. We're so practical and boring sometimes.

Bueno, necesito para mí a estudiar mi Español ahora. Debo a preparar para mi proyecto. ¡Deses a me suerte!

Tastes (smells?) Like Chicken

You know how some songs or stories can inspire such detailed memories that you can actually remember how it smelled or tasted? I recently ran across an environmental story that triggered such a memory, but I would not call it pleasant. Scientists recently found in a toxin study that when riding behind a flatbed chicken truck (which I cannot find any pictures of), you are exposed to high levels of harmful bacteria, including some that are resistant to antibiotics. I wish I could find a picture of one, but try to imagine a large, full-sized, flatbed trailer full of cages that are stacked about 15-20 high, and inside of each cage is a full sized (and still alive) broiler hen with little room for movement.

First of all, if you've ever been to Delmarva, you already know how the chicken farms smell, and you know that the trucks smell just as bad. I always hated looking into their stupid eyes as you passed the truck on the way to the slaughter house, but oh God, the smell. Now I know we were being pelted with E. coli, Salmonella and who knows what else. So if traveling behind one of these trucks exposes you to such harmful toxins, my question is, what about if you swam in a pool and played in a yard right next to the chicken houses? What kind of pool water did we swallow on auntie's farm? Yuck!

Fighting the System

First of all, I have to get it off my chest - Redskins won! Okay.

I make a living billing insurance claims and fighting the system to help people obtain their medications. That said, I have found it easier and easier every year to "grow a pair" as one pharmacist calls it and put up a fight. And every quarter in school, my understanding of the law grows. The combination of fast coding skills with greater understanding of the law has made my interpretations in Political Science and law classes easier as well.

My stepson was recently a victim of discrimination, intentional or not, by the one person on his school campus that should be his advocate - the school nurse. I met with her in September when she admitted to me she had no experience with diabetes and knew nothing about it. I told her to simply follow the same protocol as last year, and she assured me she would "brush up" on diabetes. Last week, she called my husband's ex and accused us of not feeding him or providing him with medication on a daily basis. This all came about because my step-son had a packed lunch that day and chose to play basketball at lunch time and eat his lunch later (on a day after an away-game when he checked his supplies out of the office). Then she asked her to take time off of work to come in without us and sign an illegal contract regarding his blood sugar testing.

The nurse then told us that his teachers were concerned he was missing too much class for testing, and that he was failing two classes because of it. I challenged that, because he shouldn't be eligible for sports with failing grades, and so she blamed the "misinformation" on my husband's ex. And later that night we found out that she was calling him out of class on both days of the week she's there to ask him questions about diabetes and lecture him about blood sugar, which is a big DON'T in the world of Juvenile Diabetes. Do you see where I'm going with this? To make a reeeeally long story short, my husband adressed our concerns with the batty nurse, the violation of trust by the school, and I adressed every violation of the law that occured. Tag team. Technical verbal bitch slaps. And finally after a long talk of excuses and intentions, got an apology from the Superintendent and a promise it won't happen again.

But the bigger picture is that, Gregg, Mo and others my age, Mark said Bullshit to Mr. Johnston (remember him - Marysville Junior High?), Mr. Johnston started in about respect, and I told him respectfully and in very legal terms that in this case the harsh words were appropriate. Or in other words, suck it. That's right, we did it for the kid, but I got vindication for Mo, myself and others who were disrespected by a certain menapausal teacher, and then given ISS from Johnston so many moons ago -all in one meeting.

We also got a promise we won't have to deal with harassment from the nurse any more, or with the youngest's hearing accomodations either. In fact, everything should run smoothly from now on. Now about the WASL, the "new math" and the new numbers grading system...

Superstar CEOs

Some people like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are so talented they can be classified as superstar athletes. Some singers such as Whitney Houston (pre-crack of course), Celine Dion (hurl) and rock singers such as Steven Tyler and Chris Cornell can be classified as superstar performers. And then there are superstar CEO's such as Lee Iacocca who can take a near bankrupt company and turn it around into a profitable one.

Now here's a note to all the other CEO's out there. Just because you are a CEO doesn't mean you're a superstar. You are just one of thousands of CEO's in America, and you should not be paid superstar wages or superstar bonuses just because you are in charge of a company. Superstar wages and bonuses should come with superstar performance, like Bill Gates, Jack Welch (even though I don't like the guy) or Iacocca. Currently in ECON201 we are covering distribution of income and social programs used to reduce the GINI index (the rate between actual income distribution across the population vs. perfect income distribution across the population). I don't know how my uncle lasted so long in the public sector dealing with some of these programs in our country and others. I'm depressed just reading the chapter.

After watching the ABC News report of the Ford and GM CEO's flying in on private jets as they ask Congress for $25 billion, I come to wonder how these CEO's and others in different industries can be so out of touch with how their lifestyles compare with those of their workers and other average Americans. Is this Right of Luxury mentality instilled in them in business school, or does the job naturally attract self-centered people? I am so happy that Congress has decided to cancel the auto company bail-out vote. I hope this is the first message of many that restructuring the failing companies needs to start with a good look at the top and how much money they are wasting. Now here's another idea for Congress – NO MORE MONEY FOR AIG!

Kangaroo – The Other Red Meat

Australian meat producers may soon be borrowing this ad campaign slogan from the American Pork industry. Today in ECON 201, the Environmental Economics group presented, and included in the presentation was a new campaign by the Australian government to reduce methane emissions. They feel that if Australians would switch from eating beef or sheep to kangaroo meat, Australia's emissions would be significantly reduced. Grazing cattle and sheep are one of the largest emissions of methane in the world, and in most countries, forest land is cleared for grazing land, reducing Oxygen production. I really didn't think this could be true, but sorry Kangaroo Jack, I was able to easily find the real campaign online.

Naturally, I HAD to find out how this would work, so here it is. Apparently, kangaroos produce acetate in the digestion process instead of methane, and naturally graze on the low brush abundant across the Australian plains. No new land would have to be cleared and irrigated for grazing cattle or sheep, and it would only take 175 million kangaroos to replace the current hooved hamburgers. Now, I'm all for reducing pollution, but what's wrong with free range chickens?

Words to Vote By

This is one of my favorite quotes by President Harry S. Truman, and are truly words to vote by:

"Slanders, lies, character assassination - these things are a threat to every single citizen everywhere in this country. When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril. It is the job of all of us - of every American who loves his country and his freedom - to rise up and put a stop to this terrible business." - President Harry S. Truman