Parents of the HS Class of 2009 - Page 1874

downtoearth · 11-10-2012, 01:16 AM

I quote my brother "your opinion of me is none of my business". I find when you figure out who you are, you no longer feel defined by what people say about you. You realize the only opinion is your own and perhaps constructive critisism from ones who care about us. This is something I only come to terms recently with and its rather freeing. My H's attitude is if you dont like him whats wrong with you. And since we know you to be lovely Eddie, it must be something with them.
I cant find an expensive bracelet, what is the prayer again. Its really bugging me.

oregon101 · 11-10-2012, 02:13 AM

DT--some say a chant--but most of us just kindly ask St. Anthony to help us find such and such item. I often offer a gift such as doing a kindness or sending my lovely poor aunt a money gift.
Last August I lost my favorite silver bracelet that my GF gave me years ago. I looked and looked and beseeched.
Visitng my D in OCt....found it in her jewlery box where I had put it while moving her in.
Now I am missing my gold bracelet that the same GF gave me and I lost it in D's apt.
Weird! Praying to Tony for help. Sometimes he takes a little while.

kmcmom13 · 11-10-2012, 07:56 AM

Wow, you gus all had the Friday funnies going on! I'm still picturing the flaming stuffed animal fiasco and the guys' wife reaction, and now that image has mingled with euchre-playing eunichs...
Perhaps this frame of mind had me confused at first about whether T was a 56-year-old dog or not, but now that my imagination is settling down, I must say, Oregon, is t going to be okay?

My severely autistic 12 yr old nephew has a guide dog that is as useless as the day is long. The boy is completely non-verbal, so I believe the original idea was ensuring his
safety. However, it should not surprise me that there are no dog whisperers in that family, and as such, the dog just rips around as completely undisciplined as the rest of the clan. I don't think the service organizations properly calculate the impact of the future environment on the dog's training, frankly.

Moda, a year ago I swore off wallpaper after a protracted fiasco here removing what must have been superglued...and in places to raw plaster in the master bath. I used a heavy duty steamer and it still took forever. So kudos on finishing the job!

And euchre, I'm in -- virtually a national pastime in Canada...maybe it's the snow

eunichs, not so much

Dte, I like "your opinion of me is none of my business" -- will have to remember that one!

And yes Eddie, keep up that self affirmation!

Which reminds me of one of the stupidest, funniest ipadian faux pas of my week. Remember Daily Affirmations on Saturday night live? So, Al Franken was Stuart smalley, and is now a senator in Minnesota.

So to make a long convoluted story short, he had helped a kid out a few years back who'd had a run-in with bill o'reilly. I had bought the domain "bill-oreilly-is-a-pinhead" .com as a joke and it just kept auto renewing. So, the domain was about to expire, and I wanted to give it to the kid but didn't know how to locate him.

So I was using my iPad and sending a quick form mail to Senator Franken. The trouble is with any form mail on an iPad, you often can't SEE what you've just written because it disappears above the box. The form was also acting weird and not submitting correctly so I'd copied the letter to my clipboard.

After the form appeared to have submitted, I noticed in my copy that the iPad had changed his name throughout to

"senator Frankenstein" and mr "frankincense."

I was literally rolling on the floor laughing when mch came to the back room to see what was going on...tears were streaming down my face because I was picturing "Stuart Smalley" responding to this atrocious and inadvertent name-calling

Mch claims it doesn't take much to entertain me! Perhaps he's right.

Speaking of which, thanks all for the book recommendations! Ru isn't available yet on kindle, but major pettiness and boomerang were!

shawbridge · 11-10-2012, 11:22 AM

Well, the windows in another part of our house popped open -- expensive Pella or Hurd. They must have absorbed water and now won't shut. The heat is working overtime and maintaining a 59 degree temp. The adjusted hadn't responded since Wednesday to our contractor's detailed estimate. I left a voicemail, and email, and spoke to another adjust at the central number and let them know that I wanted to work cooperatively with them and expect that they will let me know what is going on as the house is sustaining further damage, but that if they aren't going to be cooperative, they should read my bio on my website. The adjuster called back and needs to go upstairs to get authority of some kind to deal with this. My contractor -- a reliable, honest, efficient guy -- estimated $44K for the roof and attic alone (and had brought in a slate guy to make the estimate). The insurance guy using software that takes linear feet as the input estimated $38K for the whole job (roof, attic, water damage throughout the house) of which something like $18K was the roof/attic. I trust my contractor on this. So, pretty soon I go into overdrive.

kmc, I do find the iPad corrections are sometimes hilarious but sometimes are really annoying.

oregon101 · 11-10-2012, 02:29 PM

kmc--delightful!
Shaw--goodness. 59 is just not comfortable at all. Perhaps you need to throw a number of space heaters and your electric bill in that estimate. Seriously.
Our friend "should" be ok but then there can be the normal aftermath of potential memory loss and such. Lovely family but not a calm one and this is making things more difficult.
I feel guilty today for feeling so impatient but after the 8th call/email/text about the simple task of fetching someone from the airport...

downtoearth · 11-10-2012, 05:06 PM

On my D's phone it corrects her last name to Butt all , and our name ennds wth an all, butmoste definately does not begin with a Butt.

Now amon steroids and antibiotics, had a chest xray but I dont think it showed pneumonia.

downtoearth · 11-10-2012, 06:56 PM

Shaw they do not know with whom they deal, go get em!

eddieodessa · 11-10-2012, 09:59 PM

DTE, you are one sick lady. I hope you feel better real soon.
Shaw, sounds like a pain in the rear. Try to stay warm.

Modadunn · 11-10-2012, 11:33 PM

KMC - I was laughing so hard in reading your story my H asked me what the heck was so funny! That was hysterical. So.. i take it you never heard back and 2, do you still have the site? I happen to know someone who knows that particular someone but not sure it's very umm.. politically correct?

Today I filled all the holes - toilet paper holder, old light fixture and where all the paper peeled the dry wall (which included every joint - walls and ceiling). I have to admit, the room looks completely brand new. My H asked if I could do such a good job, why wasn't I painting? I told him fat chance. That's detail work. However, I did spray paint a full length mirror on a stand that was added to my sister's bedroom when she was 16. She is now 54. It was very 70's (yellow, orange and green) but is now a nice shade of brown. It was always just more functional and now at least matches... finally.

I am ADD for sure, but there are two things I have going for me. I don't freak out in any type of emergency (actually quite the opposite) and I very much like order (or else I can't find anything). I am not very successful at KEEPING things organized, but Im constantly doing it. My mother was very big on "everything has a place and everything in its place" which is very helpful. My sister in law drives me nuts because EVERYTHING is some sort of cause for hysterics.. whether it be good or not good. Truthfully, she's very hard to read because of it.

TA.. care to share what MY S should be doing? I thought your insight into ShawS was awesome - especially for a kid you've never met, which is probably a testament to just how honest we can be with our kids' pros and cons.

DTE - feel better soon! My own D must be feeling better or else she would have called today complaining.

downtoearth · 11-11-2012, 12:24 AM

Yes as far as career planning for our kids unless you are a nurse I got nuthin', and always admire the excellent informed advice given

kmcmom13 · 11-11-2012, 08:06 AM

Shaw, go get em

your builder must have run into this before -- can he review the adjusters calcs and show him where he's wrong? Sorry you have to hassle with it all, but confident you'll win.

Moda, I can't tell that they actually even got it for sure (and I'd understand if they didn't pass it along

Technically, the domain expired oct 31st but I could likely get it back, or someone else could go pick it up now. Whenever I get mad at someone or something, I have a habit of buying domains to start a "truth" blog, kind of like the old school "letters to the editor rebuttal" but never get around to it. So I've started paring down this ridiculous assortment domains that folks with more time and energy might put to good
use

dTE, sending you some more of the be-well fairy dust, btw. We're having a lodge next Saturday here and if you're still feeling rough I may just have to put your name in the pipe

I think the deer somehow know it's four days til season opener here, because last night I heard what sounded like a herd of em nestlings down into the leaves by the lodge. I think word's out that these few little acres are a no-hunt zone.

H and I tried to go see Skyfall last night, but ended up unwilling to wait 2.5 hours for the first show not sold out. We're going to try again next Friday, but buy our tix online tues. This time.

Btw, TheAnalyst, I am thoroughly enjoying major pettigrew. What a nice debut for this author! Such deft handling. I aspire to such prose, but am far too addled to achieve it most times

TheAnalyst · 11-11-2012, 09:59 AM

kmc, I totally agree on Major Pettigrew. Somewhat difficult to find a book that is both light reading without being formulaic. Lots of food for thought in the way the relationships have been drawn.

moda, your S is athletic, has great grades, and will graduate from an elite school. He likes balance (work hard/play hard) and is not hyper-competitive. His easy going nature makes him well-liked by everybody, so he is confident any company will want to hire him. But he is torn between committing to a job now versus having a last summer fling devoted to epic fun because he secretly fears that work is where fun goes to die. From what you have shared it sounds like your S would thrive in a career that will allow him a lot of social interaction, either with co-workers or clients. He has high-end tastes, so the job needs to either pay well or be in an environment that gives him access to those perks on somebody else’s expense account. He won’t want to sit in a cubicle all day. Talented kids who take the summer off after college can find quirky, fun jobs once they start seriously looking, but are less likely to find quirky, fun jobs that also pay well. So as a mother I wouldn’t hesitate to advise him to get his you know what into gear sooner rather than later. Once he commits to his search, I agree he will be snapped up, but it won't just happen without some effort on his part.

H coached our local marathon yesterday (didn't run it himself but did about 20 miles he thought running with others for stretches). He now has a break and doesn't start training for Boston until near the end of this month. That means he is bored.

Modadunn · 11-11-2012, 10:17 AM

TA - I have cut and pasted your assessment for son to ponder. He knows I have been hooked into you guys since he applied, so he won't be surprised by the conversation but he might be surprised at the accuracy! I think you nailed it.

Yesterday was the ED deadline for my friend's son who is applying to S's school. I helped him format his resume and gave some input on his essay. His parents were out of town and he was having issue with the common application so he gave me his password etc to check it over. I think it ended up looking like a very strong application except for one thing... His test scores are all either at or above the 75% from last year's CDS, except for his writing score on the SAT. It was not only out of character for the rest of his scores but fell below the 25% for accepted students. How does he get an almost perfect score in both verbal and math and yet barely get above a 600 on this one part. I think this is where we can point to his very ultra rural school where they haven't really focused on writing? Even his very high ACT was confounded with an 8 on the writing part. Still.. I am hoping they will either overlook or at least rationalize it. His essays are strong IMO and on all other points is right up there with the kids on CC except for the fact that his AP count is low due to his school only offering 3. Send him some good 2013 mojo.. I am so proud of him and want him to succeed. He's so ready to spread his wings in a huge way. While not as angst ridden as with my own kids, it's close!!

TheAnalyst · 11-11-2012, 11:56 AM

moda, what's interesting is a kid who fits that profile might think every kids wants the same thing, except that's not true. S2 wants to work outdoors with a physical component to the job, likes predictability, doesn't care about money, and prefers a rural location where he can eventually own a horse and a dog. He values his downtime and his favorite pastime is drinking a beer with friends while watching sports on a big screen TV. S1 likes fast paced activities in an urban edgy environment. Sleep is optional. He enjoys hip, exclusive clubs and plays sports more than he watches them. He enjoys wearing a suit and tie, and likes lots of client interaction so front office rather than back office all the way. I like to work in as isolated an environment as I can construct with a minimum of interaction and lots of think time.

shawbridge · 11-11-2012, 01:58 PM

DTE, hope you are feeling better.

TA, sounds like very thoughtful analysis (again).

My first push with the insurance company (my suggestion that they should work cooperatively and also to look at my bio) led to a) several calls back with an explanation that the adjuster doesn't have the discretion to deal with a gap that big and would need justification to pay what the contractor says (or close); and b) a call to tell me that a "master builder" will be at the house Monday at 7:30 AM to meet with my contractor to figure out if they agree with my contractor's estimates. I sense that it is an $80K to $100K or more repair when all is said and done and not $40K. Let's see.

I looked at a recent solar installation in our neighborhood. Not clear our roof is well-suited to it from a shape standpoint. Two chimneys, angles, ... . Bit. I'll call the solar folks and ask.