Who wants cake? Anybody? Cake? No? Just me?
About Me
- Name: Pops
- Location: The 951, California, United States
I'm very interesting. I would describe myself as witty and insightful, but that wouldn't make either true. I have two degrees in history from the least prestigious University of California campuses. As a result, I stay home full time with my kids. If anyone can think of anything useful to do with a history MA, please don't hesitate to share.
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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Parking
For those of you who have young children, have no children but plan to, or have no children, don't plan to but will anyway, I would like to share one observation about Catholic school to help you as you decide the educational future of your child.
The two basic cornerstones of Catholic school education are not God and effort, not Jesus and disciplinen nor even the Holy Spirit and respect for people's boundaries (I'm talking to you, Father Touchy-Feely). No, the two principal principles at our school are Service Hours and Fund-raising.
Every family is required 25 hours of service to the school (and they watch very closely, so no cheating) plus a certain number of funds raised by various means over and above your annual tuition rate and unrelated to the various school-sponsored events and sales over the year. I'm particularly looking forward to the annual Chocolate Jesus sale in March.
The Grand High Event of all this, giving the most opportunities for (required) service as well as raising a pantload of cash is the annual School Festival. It happens this weekend and we need a whole week just to get ready for it.
One incontrivertible thing I've learned from these last 4 days: Festival Week sucks much ass.
Everybody at the school is all stressed out and cranky, plus the whole thing is a horrific shambles because it relies on volunteer help. But somehow, every year it gets done.
I don't want to bore you with alot of details (I know, "Too late!", very funny) but all this nonsense has complicated the already complicated parking problem.
The presence of the carny rides in the school lot has effed everything up, making me have to park my van at a nearby city park in order to walk my kid over to school.
So yesterday I'm getting out of the van, getting the stroller ready and lo, there just in front of my feet I found a used condom there on the ground.
Bea-ut-i-ful. I have a question: why even have urban parks? As soon as the sun goes down (or even before in some places) the wholesome place for kids to play becomes a haven for every vice known to humankind.
The faint libertarian streak in me (buried way down deep beneath all the fluffy cotton-candy-like partisan Democrat) says "You know what, if you want to fuck a hooker in a park at night, that's your business" and I applaud your committment to protected, responsible hooker sex, but honestly, if the guy who left it there is reading this, please, pick up after yourself. There are an ample number of trash receptacles in easy-to-locate areas throughout the park for your convenience. Please make use of them.
If it weren't for all this festival bullshit this particular encountered would never have occurred and my life would have been so much richer for it. So there's one more reason to hate Festival Week. Add to that the idea of a bunch of carny folk milling about in close proximity to a school full of Catholic school kids and I'll be very happy when this nonsense is over.
Public school is the way to go, people. They never bother you for anything except that one night a year when you have to make the solar system out of styrofoam balls for the science fair.
This post on the Narcissus Scale: 7.8
Pops
- posted by Pops @ 9:55 PM
Comments:
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Ack, really? When I went to public school (all my life) I don't remember ever having to do anything like that. Maybe I just don't have that salesman look so they spared me.
And secondly, that's the Church trying to be pro-active about the whole divorce thing, trying to get people to go into marriage with their eyes open. And if they can make a few bucks along the way, well, that's just a coincidence.
And secondly, that's the Church trying to be pro-active about the whole divorce thing, trying to get people to go into marriage with their eyes open. And if they can make a few bucks along the way, well, that's just a coincidence.
ROFL, Pops. I shall use the phrase 'sucks much ass' all the time now. I think the condom was not even used on a hooker but more likely a 16 year old girl. (sigh) Have a great festival weekend.
Amy: A-ha! See, I knew there was something... That's the thing about public school. They punish involvement with expectation, but they meet apathy with apathy.
SJ: Hooker or sixteen year old girl, hmm... well, knowing that park and where it is, I would say it isn't impossible that both are true.
SJ: Hooker or sixteen year old girl, hmm... well, knowing that park and where it is, I would say it isn't impossible that both are true.
LOL, we were going to send our kids to Catholic school, but that was when my hubby was a Catholic.
Public schools here in the great state of Oregon (read in the sarcasm here) cost a buttload. We're paying for the class party fund, the yearbook, a dance pass, school directories, t-shirts, and a general "we don't know what we're eventually going to do with this money, but we want you to pay it anyway" fund.
All in all, I've written checks for well over $150 for my three kids to attend *public* school, and that doesn't count what I spent on back-to-school supplies. My kids are just now bringing home the book orders, wrapping paper and chocolate brochures.
In Oregon we have the wonderful Measure 5 to thank for this. It sucks much ass. :-)
Rory
PS - I, too, attended public school when it was "free." We didn't even need to buy school supplies.
Public schools here in the great state of Oregon (read in the sarcasm here) cost a buttload. We're paying for the class party fund, the yearbook, a dance pass, school directories, t-shirts, and a general "we don't know what we're eventually going to do with this money, but we want you to pay it anyway" fund.
All in all, I've written checks for well over $150 for my three kids to attend *public* school, and that doesn't count what I spent on back-to-school supplies. My kids are just now bringing home the book orders, wrapping paper and chocolate brochures.
In Oregon we have the wonderful Measure 5 to thank for this. It sucks much ass. :-)
Rory
PS - I, too, attended public school when it was "free." We didn't even need to buy school supplies.
# posted by 
: 9/24/2004 8:56 AM
: 9/24/2004 8:56 AM
Well Rory, I'm a couple of years younger than you, but it sounds like you went to school in some kind of Marxist paradise where school supplies grew on trees. By the time I came up, it was the Reagan era where they punished us for being poor by making us wear Toughskin jeans and get a big bright stamp on our hand to show to everyone we couldn't afford hot lunch, but they were giving it to us anyway.
> If anyone can think of anything useful to do with a history MA, please don't hesitate to share.
i think that is a good background for writing .. fiction, non fiction, historical, or modern and even scifi.
i think that is a good background for writing .. fiction, non fiction, historical, or modern and even scifi.
Thanks for the comment. I've been in the process of becoming a Failed Writer for the last several years now, so I basically agree with you. This blog is part of the deep fantasy world where I can pretend to be "published" without having to do all the work.
OK, Pops....first of all, I didn't think I was older than you. But that's beside the point.
I had a nice bright blue lunch ticket just so everyone would know that I was on the free lunch program. Everyone else had white tickets.
Now that I think about it, maybe it was all free because my mom was poor and everyone just kept me in the dark so that I didn't know.
The only tell-tale sign was the blue lunch ticket.
Rory
I had a nice bright blue lunch ticket just so everyone would know that I was on the free lunch program. Everyone else had white tickets.
Now that I think about it, maybe it was all free because my mom was poor and everyone just kept me in the dark so that I didn't know.
The only tell-tale sign was the blue lunch ticket.
Rory
# posted by : 9/24/2004 6:49 PM
: 9/24/2004 6:49 PM
Welcome to the fray, Bill.
And there is a non-specific "Christian fellowship" church on the other, non-Catholic side of the park. I suspect them.
And there is a non-specific "Christian fellowship" church on the other, non-Catholic side of the park. I suspect them.
Rory: I just turned 30 this year. You said you've been married for 15 years, so I did some math, assuming you didn't get married at 15...
And I loved the subtle ways they had to single us dirty poor folks out. As if the ratty clothes were a dead giveaway already.
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And I loved the subtle ways they had to single us dirty poor folks out. As if the ratty clothes were a dead giveaway already.
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