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Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Happy fun times in San Francisco and Santa Cruz
"Man, this has been the best day!"
"Good, maybe now you'll finally have a happy blog post to write."
"Haven't I written any happy ones lately?"
"No! Nothing for months and months."
I reviewed it myself later. I suppose, except for the Christmas music one, that he's quite right. It's not that it's been a bad year. In fact, lots of things have been very good. Obviously, there have been some genuine down sides, too, but overall, really I have a great life that I'm exceptionally grateful for. But as with many of my friends, much of my social media sharing has moved to Facebook. And Facebook is good for sharing positive, quick things. "Hey look, we are at the nature center and the sun is shining!" No one wants long-form gushing, right? And second, when I feel those political rants a-comin', I realize I should probably restrict them to you: mostly friends and family, and a few strangers. But strangers are easier than acquaintances. If a stranger thinks I'm too wacko-liberal, they quit reading (or read in a "get a load of this" way), but if an acquiantance does... Awkward!
Which has had the effect, overall, of turning this into a sinkhole of ranting.
But no more! (Or at least, not today.)
This was a brilliant weekend, and I am going to bask in its glory, reliving it by writing it.
First, we went to San Francisco. Properly, we barely went to San Francisco: we went to the Exploratorium. If you've never been, imagine a museum of science and technology where you're invited to touch and manipulate everything. The old one was at the Palace of Fine Arts, which is a gorgeous building, but in order to expand, it has moved to piers 15 and 17 on the Embarcadero. The downside was that there were about a million people there, and the line stretched for about a quarter mile (I found an accidental and mostly ethical way to skip it that will never work again). Honestly, I love watching Z explore things, but I could easily see spending 6 or so hours there all by myself. We played with magnets, built rube Goldberg devices, stood in a slowly turning structure and a camera obscura, watched beetles eating a dead rat, smelled things, looked at optical illusions, experimented with sound, spun wheels, built motors... It was awesome.
But we had other destinations ahead! After some GPS-related difficulty getting out of town, we hit pretty good traffic towards Santa Cruz. We checked into the hotel and walked to Saturn Cafe. We headed back to the hotel and started to change into our bathing suits (Z has talked of little else but getting into the hot tub here since we first booked the trip), when I slapped my hand to my open mouth. "You didn't!" "I forgot her suit!" With not too much difficulty, we convinced Z to draw and watch cartoons until bed.
On Saturday morning, we went to Cafe Brasil. I think Sweetie and I look as forward to that as almost anything. We both order gallo pinto, a rice and bean dish with eggs and a vinegary sauce, plus fried plantains. Z had a massive pancake.
We drove to the Seymour Marine Science Center and parked outside the gates. There's a nice walk to be had, and we were a little early. We walked to the cliff edge and watched some surfers, and slowly wound our way to the center, where we stood looking out at the ocean. Sweetie spotted an otter, and we watched him for a long time.
Inside Seymour, Z completed a scavenger hunt at record speed (we think the idea was to get people to actually look around, but Z took it as a timed challenge), then did some puzzles, almost touched the swell shark (she gets closer every time), and touched a few things in the starfish-and-whatnot tank.
After that, we went back downtown, this time for a longer visit. The shops on Pacific avenue have changed a lot, and the small, independently owned joints are being encroached upon by the Gap, the Urban Outfitters, the American Apparel... But they're still surviving, many of them. The book shop, the used bookstore. Palace Art, the stationery store, the sock shop, the lingerie store, a comic shop... We walked around quite a bit, and Z and I got Jamba Juice for lunch. I looked in several surf and outdoor-type shops for a bathing suit for Z, and finally found one in the Gap. It is a bikini, but I relented and she loves it. After a long shopping trip (during which many books and cards are acquired!), we returned to the hotel to swim in the pool.
It's heated to about 80, so not uncomfortable even though it's only about 70 outside, and there's no sun on the pool area. We also enjoy the hot tub.
For dinner, we have mediocre Mexican food. We've never had great luck finding restaurants we like for dinner. Breakfast? Hell yes! Lunch? Many fine, casual options. Dinner? Mainly just Saturn.
But after dinner, we stop for a scoop of Marianne's ice cream. Sweetie was skeptical of the long line, but I forced him to come in, and I think we were all pleased. I had Mexican chocolate, he had mandarin chocolate, and Z had rainbow sherbet.
On Sunday, we had a lighter breakfast - pastries and bread at the French bakery. We drove back to the hotel, then walked downtown for a few things we had missed before (mainly comics), and on the way back, hit the Trader Joe's for picnic lunch fixings.
We took our lunch and took a long drive down West Cliff to Natural Bridges state beach. We stopped briefly at the visitor center, which was packed with people wanting to see the butterflies, and then had our picnic. We walked down to the beach and I spread out a blanket and Sweetie and Z disappeared. I read. Then I tried to nap. Then I read some more. They were gone a long time! Apparently, they were on a voyage of discovery, and had walked almost all the way back to the Marine Center! We fooled around on the beach as you do, kicking feet in the waves, making little sand castles, and when we'd been in the sun for a couple hours and Z was thoroughly wet and sandy, we walked back toward the butterflies.
They overwinter at this park, and they're only active when it's above 65 degrees, which it was today! There are a whole bunch of monarchs that chill in the eucalyptus trees, and they flutter and fly about above the heads of the crowd. It's marvelous.
We came back to the hotel for another swim, and then we had a fancy dinner at the hotel restaurant, Solaire. It was mostly lovely, although I didn't care for the gnocchi as much as I have elsewhere. And now we're back in the comfortable beds, having enjoyed a treat from Donnelly's Chocolate (yum!), and Z is sleeping soundly.
Tomorrow we leave, and Sweetie and I both just realized that eventually, we have to go back to work. But not right away. And the sunshine and the ocean have been just shy of miraculous. 70 degrees in December? Thank you, forces of good. Or possibly global climate change.
Other notes: Z has taken up comic reading in a big way. She will stay engrossed in a comic, not even hearing our questions, and then pop up to tell us, "Mom! An artist wanted to make his painting heat up, and Hot Stuff took him too literally and set the painting on fire!" "Dad, Richie Rich was going to give his friend a gift, and she said she couldn't take one that was so lavish, so he said it only cost a quarter, but he meant it cost a quarter of a million!" It's really fun to see her reading things that she has exclusive access to. Like, we're not reading it along with her, so she tells us about it if she chooses to. It has also made her a much better car traveler. I haven't heard "when are we going to get there?" once.
I won't go into great detail, but one of the things that's great about my and Sweetie's relationship is that we crack each other up. Yesterday, we saw a sign for Rexford wines, and we invented a character called Rexford Wentworth the Fourth (or sometimes Rexford Wentforth the Third or Rexforth Wentworthingtonford), a British-accented, mildly stupid, insensitive pun-lover of the upper class. We've been trading off Rexford-isms all weekend, usually when Z is engrossed in a book. It is so good to have someone to be irresponsibly goofy and sometimes off-color with. I'm still crazy in love with this goofball.
"Good, maybe now you'll finally have a happy blog post to write."
"Haven't I written any happy ones lately?"
"No! Nothing for months and months."
I reviewed it myself later. I suppose, except for the Christmas music one, that he's quite right. It's not that it's been a bad year. In fact, lots of things have been very good. Obviously, there have been some genuine down sides, too, but overall, really I have a great life that I'm exceptionally grateful for. But as with many of my friends, much of my social media sharing has moved to Facebook. And Facebook is good for sharing positive, quick things. "Hey look, we are at the nature center and the sun is shining!" No one wants long-form gushing, right? And second, when I feel those political rants a-comin', I realize I should probably restrict them to you: mostly friends and family, and a few strangers. But strangers are easier than acquaintances. If a stranger thinks I'm too wacko-liberal, they quit reading (or read in a "get a load of this" way), but if an acquiantance does... Awkward!
Which has had the effect, overall, of turning this into a sinkhole of ranting.
But no more! (Or at least, not today.)
This was a brilliant weekend, and I am going to bask in its glory, reliving it by writing it.
First, we went to San Francisco. Properly, we barely went to San Francisco: we went to the Exploratorium. If you've never been, imagine a museum of science and technology where you're invited to touch and manipulate everything. The old one was at the Palace of Fine Arts, which is a gorgeous building, but in order to expand, it has moved to piers 15 and 17 on the Embarcadero. The downside was that there were about a million people there, and the line stretched for about a quarter mile (I found an accidental and mostly ethical way to skip it that will never work again). Honestly, I love watching Z explore things, but I could easily see spending 6 or so hours there all by myself. We played with magnets, built rube Goldberg devices, stood in a slowly turning structure and a camera obscura, watched beetles eating a dead rat, smelled things, looked at optical illusions, experimented with sound, spun wheels, built motors... It was awesome.
But we had other destinations ahead! After some GPS-related difficulty getting out of town, we hit pretty good traffic towards Santa Cruz. We checked into the hotel and walked to Saturn Cafe. We headed back to the hotel and started to change into our bathing suits (Z has talked of little else but getting into the hot tub here since we first booked the trip), when I slapped my hand to my open mouth. "You didn't!" "I forgot her suit!" With not too much difficulty, we convinced Z to draw and watch cartoons until bed.
On Saturday morning, we went to Cafe Brasil. I think Sweetie and I look as forward to that as almost anything. We both order gallo pinto, a rice and bean dish with eggs and a vinegary sauce, plus fried plantains. Z had a massive pancake.
We drove to the Seymour Marine Science Center and parked outside the gates. There's a nice walk to be had, and we were a little early. We walked to the cliff edge and watched some surfers, and slowly wound our way to the center, where we stood looking out at the ocean. Sweetie spotted an otter, and we watched him for a long time.
Inside Seymour, Z completed a scavenger hunt at record speed (we think the idea was to get people to actually look around, but Z took it as a timed challenge), then did some puzzles, almost touched the swell shark (she gets closer every time), and touched a few things in the starfish-and-whatnot tank.
After that, we went back downtown, this time for a longer visit. The shops on Pacific avenue have changed a lot, and the small, independently owned joints are being encroached upon by the Gap, the Urban Outfitters, the American Apparel... But they're still surviving, many of them. The book shop, the used bookstore. Palace Art, the stationery store, the sock shop, the lingerie store, a comic shop... We walked around quite a bit, and Z and I got Jamba Juice for lunch. I looked in several surf and outdoor-type shops for a bathing suit for Z, and finally found one in the Gap. It is a bikini, but I relented and she loves it. After a long shopping trip (during which many books and cards are acquired!), we returned to the hotel to swim in the pool.
It's heated to about 80, so not uncomfortable even though it's only about 70 outside, and there's no sun on the pool area. We also enjoy the hot tub.
For dinner, we have mediocre Mexican food. We've never had great luck finding restaurants we like for dinner. Breakfast? Hell yes! Lunch? Many fine, casual options. Dinner? Mainly just Saturn.
But after dinner, we stop for a scoop of Marianne's ice cream. Sweetie was skeptical of the long line, but I forced him to come in, and I think we were all pleased. I had Mexican chocolate, he had mandarin chocolate, and Z had rainbow sherbet.
On Sunday, we had a lighter breakfast - pastries and bread at the French bakery. We drove back to the hotel, then walked downtown for a few things we had missed before (mainly comics), and on the way back, hit the Trader Joe's for picnic lunch fixings.
We took our lunch and took a long drive down West Cliff to Natural Bridges state beach. We stopped briefly at the visitor center, which was packed with people wanting to see the butterflies, and then had our picnic. We walked down to the beach and I spread out a blanket and Sweetie and Z disappeared. I read. Then I tried to nap. Then I read some more. They were gone a long time! Apparently, they were on a voyage of discovery, and had walked almost all the way back to the Marine Center! We fooled around on the beach as you do, kicking feet in the waves, making little sand castles, and when we'd been in the sun for a couple hours and Z was thoroughly wet and sandy, we walked back toward the butterflies.
They overwinter at this park, and they're only active when it's above 65 degrees, which it was today! There are a whole bunch of monarchs that chill in the eucalyptus trees, and they flutter and fly about above the heads of the crowd. It's marvelous.
We came back to the hotel for another swim, and then we had a fancy dinner at the hotel restaurant, Solaire. It was mostly lovely, although I didn't care for the gnocchi as much as I have elsewhere. And now we're back in the comfortable beds, having enjoyed a treat from Donnelly's Chocolate (yum!), and Z is sleeping soundly.
Tomorrow we leave, and Sweetie and I both just realized that eventually, we have to go back to work. But not right away. And the sunshine and the ocean have been just shy of miraculous. 70 degrees in December? Thank you, forces of good. Or possibly global climate change.
Other notes: Z has taken up comic reading in a big way. She will stay engrossed in a comic, not even hearing our questions, and then pop up to tell us, "Mom! An artist wanted to make his painting heat up, and Hot Stuff took him too literally and set the painting on fire!" "Dad, Richie Rich was going to give his friend a gift, and she said she couldn't take one that was so lavish, so he said it only cost a quarter, but he meant it cost a quarter of a million!" It's really fun to see her reading things that she has exclusive access to. Like, we're not reading it along with her, so she tells us about it if she chooses to. It has also made her a much better car traveler. I haven't heard "when are we going to get there?" once.
I won't go into great detail, but one of the things that's great about my and Sweetie's relationship is that we crack each other up. Yesterday, we saw a sign for Rexford wines, and we invented a character called Rexford Wentworth the Fourth (or sometimes Rexford Wentforth the Third or Rexforth Wentworthingtonford), a British-accented, mildly stupid, insensitive pun-lover of the upper class. We've been trading off Rexford-isms all weekend, usually when Z is engrossed in a book. It is so good to have someone to be irresponsibly goofy and sometimes off-color with. I'm still crazy in love with this goofball.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
My top ten Christmas songs
I'm not a religious person. I don't know whether I'm an atheist or agnostic, exactly, but it's something like with aliens: I don't really believe they're out there, but hey, it's a big universe, so… meh, could be.
That said, culturally I participate in a couple of Christian holidays, and Christmas is my favorite!! I put up a tree, I put up house lights, I wear Christmas socks, and I bake while wearing a Christmas apron, listening to Christmas music and utilizing Christmas potholders. I think Christmas is just wonderful!
I am crazy about Christmas music, too. I've been thinking about doing this list, and I know in advance it will be hard to narrow it down to ten, but I'll work at it!
Bowie and Crosby Little Drummer Boy
This is hard to justify: It's schlocky and schmaltzy (and that's a lot of Yiddish to describe a Christmas song!), and apparently Bowie was kind of a dick when recording it, and the video version is awkward… and NONE of that makes me love it less. First, I like the original song. It's about a kid who has nothing to give to the baby Jesus, so he does the only thing he can for him. Giving all you have when you have nothing is just about the most beautiful of the Christmas morals, and that song has always gotten to me. And even though Bowie's "Peace on Earth, can it be" vocals over the top kind of bastardize the original song, I don't mind. I like his voice, I like the way their voices blend, and I actually think it works overall.
Do You Hear What I Hear
There's something I like about the little shepherd boy and the little drummer boy both. I like the way the songs are about the ripple effect of Jesus' birth on regular old people. These are just poor kids, and I like the way the songs foreground them. In fact, I like the last verse, "Said the mighty king to the people everywhere; listen to what I say!" the least. For every other verse, it's a question to another; do you hear? Do you see? Do you know? And the mighty king is all "Listen to me! Pay attention to me! I'm a king!" But then I forgive him, because he follows it up with "Pray for peace, people everywhere," which is the kind of sentiment I can get behind. Plus, when this song is good, it's very good, with lovely light harmonies and junk.
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
In general, I prefer religious music to secular. I think it's all that minor-key seriousness. And so many secular songs are about crappy subjects, particularly like how Santa is stalking you, or you want to whore it up with the fat man. That's weird. But I find Walking in a Winter Wonderland charming. You know what I love about it so much? That stupid snowman that they're going to pretend is Parson Brown. And the conspiring. I love a good conspiracy by the hearth.
Fairytale of New York
This song by the Pogues didn't come to my attention until a few years ago, and it's about homesickness and regret and dreams vs. reality and it's SO sad, but a little hopeful, too. And I love maudlin drunk, black-humored Irish songs. Which is why I picked the next one as well.
St. Stephen's Day Murders
This is on my all-time favorite Christmas album. I own a lot of Christmas music (if I just hit "play" and let it go, we could listen for over 8 hours), and I listen to The Chieftans' "The Bells of Dublin" at least twice as much as any other album I play. All 23 tracks are brilliant, but this one has Elvis Costello, murders, grumpiness, and lilting Irish pipes, and I'm just SO into it.
The Cherry Tree Carol
I like this one because it tells a whole little story: Mary and Joseph got married. One day, she asked him to gather her some cherries, "for I am with child." And he gets mad, because obviously! And there's this real Maury Povich moment where he says "Let the father of the child gather cherries for thee!" But then the baby Jesus speaks from her womb (okay, that part is creepy) and a cherry tree branch bends down to Mary's hand. It's just a tiny miracle and a sweet personal moment, and no towering angels spake from on high or anything. A pregnant lady wants some cherries. It's sweet. (This version by Sting isn't my favorite -- I like the Peter, Paul and Mary version. Mary Travers has a knockout voice.)
Linus and Lucy
The vast majority of the other songs on the Vince Guaraldi Trio are jazzy piano arrangements of traditional Christmas songs. This original composition is the one that pops into my head when I think of A Charlie Brown Christmas, however. And it's pretty hard to think of that Christmas special without feeling some serious warm fuzzes.
We Three Kings
Talk about your dark, melancholy, minor-key motherfuckers. It's all, "Hey, we're here to bring you some presents. This one symbolizes death!" (I'm serious: "Myrrh is mine: its bitter perfume/ breathes a life of gathering gloom. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying/ sealed in the stone cold tomb.") You are literally waiting with bated breath for an Easter palate cleanser. Some sort of springtime, "Hey, it's cool, he got resurrected!" song. And yet that repeated "guide us to thy perfect light" line is a plea, a lament, and a hopeful belief all wrapped up in one. Lovely.
2000 Miles
Yeah, it's another non-traditional, secular, pop song. What of it? Much like the Fairytale of New York, this song recognizes that Christmas is a little sad, too -- for the people who are far away from their loved ones, for the people who feel lonely for other reasons, for the people whose holidays are less light after a loss... And I just can't get enough of Chrissie Hynde's voice.
O Holy Night
This song, performed half-way well, can make me cry. It's the "Fall on your knees" part. The song just builds and builds and builds until you finally get to that beautiful, climactic moment (it actually keeps building until "O night divine," but that high point really starts at "fall on your knees"). It's so suspenseful, so poignant, and so perfect.
That said, culturally I participate in a couple of Christian holidays, and Christmas is my favorite!! I put up a tree, I put up house lights, I wear Christmas socks, and I bake while wearing a Christmas apron, listening to Christmas music and utilizing Christmas potholders. I think Christmas is just wonderful!
I am crazy about Christmas music, too. I've been thinking about doing this list, and I know in advance it will be hard to narrow it down to ten, but I'll work at it!
Bowie and Crosby Little Drummer Boy
This is hard to justify: It's schlocky and schmaltzy (and that's a lot of Yiddish to describe a Christmas song!), and apparently Bowie was kind of a dick when recording it, and the video version is awkward… and NONE of that makes me love it less. First, I like the original song. It's about a kid who has nothing to give to the baby Jesus, so he does the only thing he can for him. Giving all you have when you have nothing is just about the most beautiful of the Christmas morals, and that song has always gotten to me. And even though Bowie's "Peace on Earth, can it be" vocals over the top kind of bastardize the original song, I don't mind. I like his voice, I like the way their voices blend, and I actually think it works overall.
Do You Hear What I Hear
There's something I like about the little shepherd boy and the little drummer boy both. I like the way the songs are about the ripple effect of Jesus' birth on regular old people. These are just poor kids, and I like the way the songs foreground them. In fact, I like the last verse, "Said the mighty king to the people everywhere; listen to what I say!" the least. For every other verse, it's a question to another; do you hear? Do you see? Do you know? And the mighty king is all "Listen to me! Pay attention to me! I'm a king!" But then I forgive him, because he follows it up with "Pray for peace, people everywhere," which is the kind of sentiment I can get behind. Plus, when this song is good, it's very good, with lovely light harmonies and junk.
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
In general, I prefer religious music to secular. I think it's all that minor-key seriousness. And so many secular songs are about crappy subjects, particularly like how Santa is stalking you, or you want to whore it up with the fat man. That's weird. But I find Walking in a Winter Wonderland charming. You know what I love about it so much? That stupid snowman that they're going to pretend is Parson Brown. And the conspiring. I love a good conspiracy by the hearth.
Fairytale of New York
This song by the Pogues didn't come to my attention until a few years ago, and it's about homesickness and regret and dreams vs. reality and it's SO sad, but a little hopeful, too. And I love maudlin drunk, black-humored Irish songs. Which is why I picked the next one as well.
St. Stephen's Day Murders
This is on my all-time favorite Christmas album. I own a lot of Christmas music (if I just hit "play" and let it go, we could listen for over 8 hours), and I listen to The Chieftans' "The Bells of Dublin" at least twice as much as any other album I play. All 23 tracks are brilliant, but this one has Elvis Costello, murders, grumpiness, and lilting Irish pipes, and I'm just SO into it.
The Cherry Tree Carol
I like this one because it tells a whole little story: Mary and Joseph got married. One day, she asked him to gather her some cherries, "for I am with child." And he gets mad, because obviously! And there's this real Maury Povich moment where he says "Let the father of the child gather cherries for thee!" But then the baby Jesus speaks from her womb (okay, that part is creepy) and a cherry tree branch bends down to Mary's hand. It's just a tiny miracle and a sweet personal moment, and no towering angels spake from on high or anything. A pregnant lady wants some cherries. It's sweet. (This version by Sting isn't my favorite -- I like the Peter, Paul and Mary version. Mary Travers has a knockout voice.)
Linus and Lucy
The vast majority of the other songs on the Vince Guaraldi Trio are jazzy piano arrangements of traditional Christmas songs. This original composition is the one that pops into my head when I think of A Charlie Brown Christmas, however. And it's pretty hard to think of that Christmas special without feeling some serious warm fuzzes.
We Three Kings
Talk about your dark, melancholy, minor-key motherfuckers. It's all, "Hey, we're here to bring you some presents. This one symbolizes death!" (I'm serious: "Myrrh is mine: its bitter perfume/ breathes a life of gathering gloom. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying/ sealed in the stone cold tomb.") You are literally waiting with bated breath for an Easter palate cleanser. Some sort of springtime, "Hey, it's cool, he got resurrected!" song. And yet that repeated "guide us to thy perfect light" line is a plea, a lament, and a hopeful belief all wrapped up in one. Lovely.
2000 Miles
Yeah, it's another non-traditional, secular, pop song. What of it? Much like the Fairytale of New York, this song recognizes that Christmas is a little sad, too -- for the people who are far away from their loved ones, for the people who feel lonely for other reasons, for the people whose holidays are less light after a loss... And I just can't get enough of Chrissie Hynde's voice.
O Holy Night
This song, performed half-way well, can make me cry. It's the "Fall on your knees" part. The song just builds and builds and builds until you finally get to that beautiful, climactic moment (it actually keeps building until "O night divine," but that high point really starts at "fall on your knees"). It's so suspenseful, so poignant, and so perfect.
There are several more that should make honorable mention, but this will do. Merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate, if anything.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Raising the minimum wage
is fair and just and I cannot BELIEVE there's even a debate about this. I hardly ever yell at the radio DJs anymore (and it wasn't the morning morons, either), but seriously, it was SO STUPID.
"I lived on minimum wage when it was $4.25!! And these jerks want $15 an hour?!"
Hey, guess what you're leaving out? That your rent was $325 and gas was $1.10 a gallon. Apartments now are $1000 a month and gas is $3.50 a gallon. Let me do some quick math on my fingers… OH.
"If these losers want a better wage, go get a better job!"
10% unemployment rate in this town, suckers. There IS no better job.
"They can work their way up like everyone else does. If you want better pay, work your way up to manager!"
Because obviously those positions are plentiful and everyone is equally able to get those jobs!
"I can't believe MacDonald's regional managers make more than I do!"
Is that right, Mr. 23-hours-a-week* and dropped out of school in 7th grade? (Yes, really.) Did you consider that they probably supervise a couple hundred people?
"If a single person with a kid can't raise a kid on one income, they shouldn't have had a kid!"
I suspect you didn't MEAN to be a misogynist when this popped out of your face hole, but 72% of single parents are mothers, and many of them have little choice in the matter.
"Why can't they live on what they make?"
Could you live on $10,000 a year? That's what most "crew members" make. Even if you're full time (and ask yourself how many McDonalds' employees are getting 40 hours), the company itself suggests that you take on a second job of about 32 hours to make ends meet. Here's what a living wage looks like: In my city in California, a single parent (of one child) would need about $54k to get by with a modest living. That's about twice the poverty level. It's about five times as much as a shift manager at McDonald's makes.
"If you can't make it, then get a second job!"
Many people do. But should you have to work 72 hours a week to have shelter and food? Really?
"If they raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, that's double. The price of a Big Mac will double like THAT."
Well… McDonald's may use that as an excuse to raise prices, but obviously not all of their budget goes to salaries, and if they charged $8 for a burger, no one would buy it. Something between five cents and 68 cents is more likely.
A caller actually called in and said, "I was making a lot of money in my field living in San Francisco. Then I got laid off and divorced, and now I'm a highly skilled worker making $9 an hour." I THOUGHT the next thing she was going to say was how absolutely ridiculous that is, and how impossible it is to live on that wage… "And if I'm only making $9, why should fast food workers make $10 an hour? That's ridiculous!"
Oh, honey. First of all, if the minimum wage was raised, and your pay was below it, yours would be raised, too. Second, why is human nature so prone to thinking, "If I don't have something, no one else should have it either!" instead of "hey, they deserve that, and so do I"? I've seen this so many times in the debate about public employee retirement or health benefits. People scream, "I work in the private sector and I don't get a retirement!" I always want to say, "You're right, that's totally unfair. Go demand a retirement! Hell, unionize! " What impulse makes you wish everyone were as miserable as you rather than wishing you were as happy as others?
Anyway, off my soapbox. I hope it happens soon, and I am thankful for Obama (with reservations), Elizabeth Warren, and the Occupy movement, which has kind of died down, but which did bring attention to income inequality in this country.
*I don't know the ins and outs of radio DJ contracts. This guy is ON the radio 23 hours a week, but I suspect he also has to prepare, go to meetings, and do publicity stuff.
"I lived on minimum wage when it was $4.25!! And these jerks want $15 an hour?!"
Hey, guess what you're leaving out? That your rent was $325 and gas was $1.10 a gallon. Apartments now are $1000 a month and gas is $3.50 a gallon. Let me do some quick math on my fingers… OH.
"If these losers want a better wage, go get a better job!"
10% unemployment rate in this town, suckers. There IS no better job.
"They can work their way up like everyone else does. If you want better pay, work your way up to manager!"
Because obviously those positions are plentiful and everyone is equally able to get those jobs!
"I can't believe MacDonald's regional managers make more than I do!"
Is that right, Mr. 23-hours-a-week* and dropped out of school in 7th grade? (Yes, really.) Did you consider that they probably supervise a couple hundred people?
"If a single person with a kid can't raise a kid on one income, they shouldn't have had a kid!"
I suspect you didn't MEAN to be a misogynist when this popped out of your face hole, but 72% of single parents are mothers, and many of them have little choice in the matter.
"Why can't they live on what they make?"
Could you live on $10,000 a year? That's what most "crew members" make. Even if you're full time (and ask yourself how many McDonalds' employees are getting 40 hours), the company itself suggests that you take on a second job of about 32 hours to make ends meet. Here's what a living wage looks like: In my city in California, a single parent (of one child) would need about $54k to get by with a modest living. That's about twice the poverty level. It's about five times as much as a shift manager at McDonald's makes.
"If you can't make it, then get a second job!"
Many people do. But should you have to work 72 hours a week to have shelter and food? Really?
"If they raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, that's double. The price of a Big Mac will double like THAT."
Well… McDonald's may use that as an excuse to raise prices, but obviously not all of their budget goes to salaries, and if they charged $8 for a burger, no one would buy it. Something between five cents and 68 cents is more likely.
A caller actually called in and said, "I was making a lot of money in my field living in San Francisco. Then I got laid off and divorced, and now I'm a highly skilled worker making $9 an hour." I THOUGHT the next thing she was going to say was how absolutely ridiculous that is, and how impossible it is to live on that wage… "And if I'm only making $9, why should fast food workers make $10 an hour? That's ridiculous!"
Oh, honey. First of all, if the minimum wage was raised, and your pay was below it, yours would be raised, too. Second, why is human nature so prone to thinking, "If I don't have something, no one else should have it either!" instead of "hey, they deserve that, and so do I"? I've seen this so many times in the debate about public employee retirement or health benefits. People scream, "I work in the private sector and I don't get a retirement!" I always want to say, "You're right, that's totally unfair. Go demand a retirement! Hell, unionize! " What impulse makes you wish everyone were as miserable as you rather than wishing you were as happy as others?
Anyway, off my soapbox. I hope it happens soon, and I am thankful for Obama (with reservations), Elizabeth Warren, and the Occupy movement, which has kind of died down, but which did bring attention to income inequality in this country.
*I don't know the ins and outs of radio DJ contracts. This guy is ON the radio 23 hours a week, but I suspect he also has to prepare, go to meetings, and do publicity stuff.
Monday, December 02, 2013
What's your excuse?
Sorry I'm Not Sorry
When I posted the above image on Facebook, I was just trying to say that I am extremely well-educated. I'm naturally smart, but I also make education a priority. I'm sorry you responded to the image by reflecting on your own failings. I won't go into details about how things were hard for me too -- how I struggled with science classes and worked 35 hours a week while taking a full course load at school, too. I won't even mention how it took ten years for me to get the three degrees I have, and how I got both my teaching credential and my Masters while working full time as a teacher.
What I will say is this: it's not my responsibility if you're too dumb and lazy to get an education. If you're jealous of me and my high levels of attainment, you can work to improve yourself and alleviate those feelings of inferiority. Stop being inferior to me and you won't feel inferior anymore.
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Update
Wow, what a whirlwind! It seems like people really hate me over this. Many people are saying that I must be naturally gifted, or have circumstances that allow me to advance my education in ways that others don't. Of course it would be silly to say that everyone should be exactly like me! Not everyone is born with the intelligence I was gifted with. People are different! I just wanted to inspire people to be as good as me. With hard work, anyone can attain high levels of education, and that's something you should strive for. If that makes you feel bad about yourself, that's not my fault. I am the product of discipline, dedication, and desire. I just wanted to inspire you to start on your own educational path. I feel so misunderstood. I'm an inspiration!
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New Blog Post, Y'all!
This morning I saw in my news feed a bunch of posts and news items about people who had dropped out of school for a life path they found more fulfilling. I can't believe that in America in 2013, we would be celebrating people who choose to be dumb! They were saying that school wasn't for them, and they were proud of it and loved themselves anyway! I know getting an education is hard, but I can tell you -- it is worth it. I just think we are breeding a strange mentality when we celebrate people who choose not to be smart. Smart and well-educated go hand-in-hand, and there's really no way these people can be smart while choosing not to get their education. It's really shameful, and they should be ashamed of themselves. And we should all be ashamed for giving them a platform to celebrate their stupidity. Shame is really the message to take away from this.
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I'm Banned from Facebook.
So, apparently some people thought that last blog post was too critical of dummies and I was reported on Facebook for it, so they took the post down. But I made sure to include it here because, hateful or not, I think everyone deserves to hear my thoughts on the subject! Again, if you feel bad about yourself for being really, really dumb, that's not my fault, but yours. But some people took my words to mean that you shouldn't love yourself if you're dumb, or that you should be ashamed of yourself. I didn't mean that. I meant, you shouldn't love yourself and you should be ashamed of yourself until you strive to get smarter. And then, when you are smart like me, you can love and accept yourself as you are. I have a passion for intelligence and education (and, can I make this point often enough? I believe the two are interchangeable and inextricably linked), and I just think everyone should value the same things I do. In fact, I don't really understand that there are other things out there that people value. So, sorry-not-sorry for ruffling some feathers out there, but I have to stand up for what I am passionate about!
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If it was unclear, the above was satire. And though I hate to drive even more traffic to this gal's page, here's the link if you're so inclined.
Maria Kang been making the news a lot (like, a LOT a lot) lately for her views about obesity. And obesity is a problem. But poor health and fat aren't as closely related as she makes it seem -- I know plenty of people who have a high BMI and are very fit athletes, and of course there are the people in terrible health who are slender. And she says we should celebrate people who are a result of discipline and hard work. But that's sad to me -- that she believes the only kind of discipline is the kind that results in physical fitness. People have other priorities, and can and should be celebrated for the successes they have in other areas. Nevertheless, even though I disagree with Ms. Kang on many things, I was going to decline to comment on it. But the rant that was removed from Facebook was egregious. It was aimed at a group of women who were celebrating and loving themselves, and who had put themselves out there, quite bravely, only to be lambasted by the likes of Kang, who finds their bodies unappealing. Kang is a fitness model, and she sells fitness and diet-related products for a living. I'm happy for her that she looks as great as she does. But the bottom line is that the women in the Curvy Girl campaign announced, "I am beautiful and I am deserving of love," and Kang replied, in effect, "No." That's some bullshit right there.
It's good to eat right. It's good to be healthy. I wish I wasn't so fat. And I agree with Kang that it's important to work towards improvement goals (not only physical ones, but including those). But my question for you, today, is "What's your excuse… for not loving yourself as you are?"
P.S. I don't think the smart/well-educated and thin/healthy analogy here is a perfect parallel (for example, I don't think people who are fat have "dropped out" of trying to be, you know what I'm saying?), but I do think that the idea that linking fat to unhealthiness in every instance is fallacious, and I think Kang's statement that you can tell if someone is unhealthy "just by looking at them" is both insulting and weird.
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