Category: Life as we know it

The ’80s…

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I’m feeling very nostalgic today about Pennsylvania. It was four years ago today that I flew to Pennsylvania for what I was SURE was going to be the most boring summer of my life (because all Pennsylvanians are Amish, according to several people I talked to here in SoCal, LOL). Instead, I had one of the most life-changing and incredible summers of my life, and ended up returning the next summer. I have “family” in Pennsylvania now, as well as friends that will be friends for a lifetime. What an incredible experience the Lord allowed me to have. Who would have ever thought that being a summer missionary would impact my life forever? 🙂 I love Pennsylvania (except for their tax system, which I deal with each day at work)!

Today was a great day–approx. 5 mile bike ride with Ananda (with swimming afterwards, since it was 98 degrees today)…finally unpacking from last weekend’s trip home…getting an extension cord so that I can use my air conditioner…and celebrating Cindy’s birthday with a group of friends.

We had pizza, cake and ice cream (and some had alcohol, but not me because I was the Designated Driver), and played “Name That Tune: 1980’s Edition.”

Keep in mind that I was the youngest person in the room by at least 10 years.

I teamed up with Cindy, because she is the queen of this game–and it’s a good thing I did, because I only knew about 3 of the answers to our questions.

I knew more of the other team’s questions, but most of the questions were all about these obscure bands that I’ve never even heard of. Yikes–I felt so ignorant!

I don’t like most ’80s music–or really anything about 80s culture. I am more of a child of the ’90s, as I was at least in school by the time 1990 rolled around (well, I started 1st grade in 1990, I think).

Needless to say, I felt REALLY young tonight, and I think next time we need to play the ’90s edition. Heck, even the ’70s edition (because my Dad loves classic rock, so I know more about that time period). Yet, it was still fun and I learned a lot.

And I love riding my bike! 🙂

Great Evening…

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Ananda and I had a really great evening tonight. We had dinner at Chevy’s (always time for Mexican food!), then went to the mall–mainly because it’s air conditioned. After that, we decided to go see “The Break-Up” since we both wanted to see it.

What really got me was the previews, though. Ananda and I both had a hard time not shedding a tear when the preview of the 9-11 movie came on. That’s going to be a tough one. I haven’t seen the movie out right now about the Pennsylvania plane yet, because that one will be tough as well and I haven’t been in the right mood for it yet. I just hope that this movie isn’t cheesy–as most end up being–because I think it will be a great tribute to those who gave their lives that day.

Anyway, “The Break-Up” was really funny–but it also made us really think as well. Thinking is good! It was a fairly realistic view of how irrational people can be while going through a break-up…I’ve definitely been there. 🙂

I’d recommend it! It’s definitely worth your time!

Quick note…

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I know, I know. It’s been a long time since I have updated! Life has been busy as usual, but good. Life is really good right now. Work, church, friendships, etc. All is better than I could have hoped for!

I’m flying home this weekend to celebrate Father’s Day, and I can’t wait to share with you all exactly what we are giving my father. It’s pretty much the most amazing gift ever! Can’t blog about it, because he might happen upon my blog and find out. But next Saturday I will post about it for sure. 🙂

I bought a bike this weekend–and a helmet. 🙂 I can’t wait to begin riding it!

Anyway, off to work. 🙂

Why Our Schools Don’t Work…

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MONDAY MORNING MEMORANDUM

By Assemblyman Ray Haynes
May 15, 2006


Why Our Schools Don’t Work

This last week, a judge in Oakland said he thought the state’s high school exit exam is flawed, because it failed to account for English language learners’ inability to read the test. That is, since the test requires that those with limited English skills take and pass the test in English, it discriminates against those students.

Never mind that, no matter where you go in this country, English language skills are an important part of success. Never mind that a student should be able to read the high school diploma they are receiving when they graduate. Insuring competence in basic skills is apparently not the goal of our schools. Insuring that absolutely no school policy offends any person in this state is the most critical thing to this judge.

And that is one of the reasons why the state’s schools don’t work.

This week, based on a judge’s decision, the exit exam got tossed out because of its alleged discriminatory effect. The one thing in our schools that would make sure students actually knew something before they graduated from school has been tossed aside in favor of some alleged antidiscrimination ethic. Learning is not the most important thing in schools; advancing some liberal social ethic is.

This leads us to SB 1437, which passed the state senate on Thursday. SB 1437 would require, yes require, schools to teach about the contributions of gays, lesbian, bisexuals and transsexuals in history. Honestly, I don’t know what transsexuals have done in history, but, if my kids go to public school, they will be forced to learn about it.

Let me be clear. We don’t require that they learn about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, any details of the Civil War, or just about anything else in history, but we are going to require that they learn about gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals. In fact, any book that says anything that might be interpreted as hostile to those groups would be banned from the classroom, and the textbooks that remain must go out of their way to mention their contributions.

Once again, the state senate, like the judge, has decided to emphasize a political agenda over a learning agenda. Quite frankly, a great person in history is great regardless of their sexual orientation. It really wouldn’t matter whether Thomas Jefferson had a sexual relationship with his slave, Sally Hemmings. His contributions to our history through the Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase occurred even though we don’t know who he slept with. It really doesn’t matter if Abraham Lincoln was gay or not (as homosexual activist groups have long tried to prove), his effort to abolish slavery in this country, and his work in preserving this country as a whole are a testament to his place in history no matter what they allege he did with his law partners at night when no one was looking

We have a lot of problems in our schools. Our children are worried about their safety. We can’t seem to keep drugs out of the school. Sexual harassment, and in some cases molestations, seem to occur on a regular basis up and down the state. Our school buildings are crumbling, and we can’t fire incompetent teachers. Ten percent of the kids who enter school can’t prove they have an eighth grade level of knowledge when they graduate, and the judges and legislators are worried about discrimination and political correctness.

We give our schools $50-60 billion a year. Those that educate our children are supposed to make sure that our children know that two plus two equals four. One of the reason that they are failing at their jobs is because our political leaders are more worried about who is sleeping with whom than whether children can actually read a cereal box. We need to get our priorities straight.

What a Week!

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I haven’t blogged in a long time, and that’s for good reason. Though I can’t give details yet, it has been an emotionally exhausting seven days–in a very good way! As soon as I am able, I will give details. But, it’s been a pretty life changing week!

One thing I can mention is that I am being promoted at work! It will be official on July 1st (they have to wait until I’ve been there for 4 months). 🙂 Yay! I can’t wait!

I’ll blog more as soon as I’m able…

Long Day…

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Worked my first 10 hour day today–and it was great! I feel like I accomplished a lot, and I know my time was spent productively. I was given a special MAJOR project by my supervisor today–with a deadline of today…and I got it done. What a cool feeling! But I’m tired… 🙂