Back to school, sort of

Well.

Wubby came home from college for Christmas break and stayed. His first semester of on-campus college was “unsatisfying”. I love that word in that context; stole it from “The Breakfast Club” which is the best high-school movie ever.

Yesterday he and I went to the local community college and registered for the semester. It took a while because we had to go back to his high school and get a transcript and then go back to campus. There’s all this great technology the schools use in NC. NCWISE: every high school student in NC has a NCWISE ID. Their teachers use this site to store grades, etc. Then there’s CFNC, where high school students register and apply online for any college they choose, request that transcripts be sent to those colleges, check on their enrollment status w/ the colleges, etc.

You’d think that in our advanced technological society these 2 systems could somehow communicate such that yesterday, when the community college needed his transcript, they could have gone online somewhere and requested it, then had it certified and delivered electronically.

You’d be wrong.

So, we drove into Winston-Salem, back down here to the high school, back to Winston-Salem, then to another campus 15 miles east where he will have English on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I was uneasy about Wubby and all this college stuff. I wonder what went wrong. Did we not prepare him adequately? Did he goof off? Probably some of both.

So today he started the semester, went to his first class and met up with a friend from middle school that he hadn’t seen in three years or so. Good sign. His second class is a religion class that’s taught by a good friend of ours. She’s told me several times that she’s been impressed by conversations she’s had with the Wub regarding his faith and spirituality. Another good sign. The third class is Western Civ II; seems you can take history survey classes out of order. Anyway, he called when he got out and immediately said “I love my Wester Civ professor!”

Three for three. We’ll see about English tomorrow and hope for a home run.

But I said “we” went to register yesterday.

I’m taking Chemistry. I didn’t take it in college. I may need a job sometime in the next 4 years, and there this Nanotechnology program that looks like my kind of stuff: math, science, physics, with a tiny bit of engineering thrown in.

Really. I took Engineering Calculus at Virginia Tech, in summer school (4 hours of calculus a day, every day), for fun. I wanted to know why the engineering majors were failing it and changing majors. I aced it, and had a blast.

Yes, Virginia, there’s still a geek in here.

Did I mention, the chemistry class is 100% online?

So, I come in this morning to log on and get started and I can’t log on. Tried everything. Went down their list of potential problems: was my caps lock key on? did I put the userid in correctly? did I enter everything exactly as instructed, including the case-sensitive stuff?

Yep. Yep. Yep.

I changed the settings on my firewall.

I took the firewall down.

I tried IE7 and Mozilla 3.

Nothing.

Wubby gets home and we see if he can log on, since it’s the school site and everyone has an email account there, plus some other junk, even if not taking an online course.

Well, yeah, he can get on just fine.

Must be me.

I called the help desk and, of course, had to leave a message. They haven’t called me back yet.

I hope it’s not a sign.

P.S. I just tried to post this and the post failed. It’s a sign.

 

Fun with teenagers

Gotta love these kids!

 

worth the risk

The contractor finished up this morning, and we now have a new house on the outside. The inside is still a mess, and now I have no excuses for not “getting my house in order.”

Time to start thinking up some, huh?

Tomorrow is Hubby’s birthday, and it’s also ‘Freshman Academy’ day at Little Girl’s high school. She’s really, really, REALLY not thrilled about going. But, sometimes we all have to do things we’re not not thrilled about, don’t we? Like me and the clutter. So, tomorrow she’s going to F.A., I’m going to my Thursday morning Truth Project study, tomorrow afternoon I’ll start where I left off in cleaning out Wubby’s room, bless his heart. Then we get to celebrate Hubby’s birthday. Delayed gratification. (Wubby’s room, and the contents therein: could be an excellent inspiration for NaNoWriMo!)

Wubby was not thrilled about high school. He had been to a middle school that was not a feeder for his high school. So, in order for him to engage in high school, he had to take some risks, put himself out there, make an effort to to meet new people, yak yak. Now he’s started college, and we’re having those same conversations with him, again. Is it a guy thing or what? I really don’t understand this. I changed schools tons of times, nine or ten anyway, and I will admit that I got tired of “putting myself out there” after a while. But, I did participate in some club stuff, music ensembles and such, and those things made a difference in how I experienced high school then, and how I remember it now. The Wub, on the other hand, went to class. Period. And his perception now is that high school stunk, everyone hated him, more yak yak.

Little Girl is shy, like her mom. Her friends love to say things to her like “Would you not talk so much? Gosh!” Behind her shyness, though, is a sparkling personality, an amazing intellect, and a blossoming wicked sense of humor. I want her to take the risk and let some people see that incredible side of her that only we get to see.

There’s a quote I picked up from an episode of “Seventh Heaven” a few years back. I don’t remember it verbatim, but it was something like this:

I know how scary it can be to hear your own voice, and what a risk you take when you put it out there.

It’s true, but the rewards are worth the risk. Heck, I was nice to a guy I barely knew in 10th grade because he was in a leg brace. Was it risky? Yep. Was it worth it? Yep.

He married me, bless his heart.

 

of summer camps and contractors

(The video is a spoof on a series of videos called ‘Carter the Church Assistant’, a hit from last year and this year’s Centrifuge camp. Some of our kids put this together; the church staff willingly participated, bless their hearts. And the star of the show…well, he’s a friend of mine.)

I have this theory. Actually it’s two theories on potential income-producing ventures. The first one: summer camp for adults only. Picture it. Sleeping in dorm rooms where you can stay up giggling ’til all hours of the morning. Complaining about the yukky camp food and pigging out on donuts and trail mix. Dividing up into teams and participating in team-building activities…or not. Playing silly games involving water, shaving cream, relay races, baby food and frisbees. Soccer. Volleyball. Swimming. Canoeing. Horseback riding.

In short, a place where an adult can be a kid for a week.

I’ve been going to Fuge for 4 years now as a chaperone. Fuge is a Christian summer camp experience for teens and is just way too much fun. Sometimes being a chaperone isn’t as much fun, like this year when we had two kids in the emergency room at two different hospitals the first evening. One had an injury to his hand when it was in the way of a slamming door. The other became very ill very quickly and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. The responsibilities of being a grown-up, scary stuff.

That’s why I think summer camp for grown-ups would be a hit.

Here’s the other theory: I truly believe that someone with a contractor’s license who will do a good job, in a timely manner, could make a decent living. I remember when my parents built their house and what a nightmare it was. Constant delays, miscommunications (a polite way to say….outright lies), broken promises, yak yak yak.

We contracted to have some work done on our house. Contract was signed in May, work to be done within 6-8 weeks. At first, work was starting the week of July 7. But that didn’t happen. Then it was scheduled to begin last Friday. Hubby was going to camp with us and we could have used him. But he didn’t go because they were going to start working on the house before we got home from camp on Saturday.

But that didn’t happen either. So, work was going to start Monday. Got a call Sunday night. Not coming on Monday. Got another call Monday night. They would be here first thing Tuesday morning. Got yet another call 30 minutes later. They wouldn’t be here first thing Tuesday morning.

My son leaves for college August 13. Maybe they can start working on the house after we get him settled in the dorm. But I’m not crossing my fingers on it. Has anyone ever had a good experience with a contractor? I’d love to know.

 

sunburn on my shoulders (and other things that hurt)

So, we just got home from a day at the regional amusement park with five, count them, FIVE teenagers. Son, son’s girlfriend, daughter and her two best friends, both of whom might as well live here. One of them practically does live here. As the basketcase in The Breakfast Club (Ally Sheedy) said, her homelife is “unsatisfying.” The other friend met our little girl when they both entered third grade at a new charter school. She lives on a horse farm, so it was preordained for the two of them to become fast friends. But, since she lives in town and we don’t—yes, the horse farm is in the city—they don’t get to see each other as often.

What happens when you spend the day at an amusement park, walking a little and spending the rest of the time next to the wave pool, under an umbrella, without SPF 50 sunscreen? I wouldn’t want to find out, because I had the SPF 50 and I still have sunburned shoulders, and a sunburned face. Yes, I look as old as my old friends this evening. And my feet hurt…..I wore Merrel sandals all day, and my feet hurt. This is not supposed to happen, it says so right on the Merrel box. Ouch.

My son splurged and purchased an iPod for me. A used iPod, which is fine except for the lack of information on how to work the darned thing. What did we do before the internet???? I ask myself this question a hundred times a day. Some niggling thing starts rummaging around in my brain, like when I see a rerun of Star Trek:TNG and recognize a quest star as someone from a movie I’ve seen recently, only I can’t remember which move it was. What to do, kiddies? My brain will not let me rest until I remember what movie, so I hit imdb.com, find the episode of ST:TNG I’m watching, figure out the actress’ name, then search on her movies and ta-da! Instant answer. (Her name is Fionnula Flanagan, she was in the movie The Others with Nicole Kidman, she played a ghost, and she also played Lt. Cmdr. Data’s “mother”, an android.)

Where was I? Oh, internet, iPod, and things that hurt. The iPod decided to put itself in disk mode. I had absolutely nothing to do with it, like randomly pushing buttons trying to get the thing to turn on or off since I didn’t know what I was doing and didn’t have documentation because if I had I would have known not to randomly push bottons to turn it on and there’s really no such thing as turning it off. So, I had to reset and reload. Ouch.

It’s time to start considering what to pack for Arizona. I like going on trips; I hate to pack. Ouch.

Little girl and I are going on a trail ride while we’re out west. I had not been on a horse since before my knee surgery last October, so I decided I’d better give it a try before we leave. Tuesday evening we went to the barn, chased down a green quarter horse named Henri who reminds me of my quarter horse we sold last year, saddled him up and I rode. Henri hates being made to stay on the rail, like my horse did. We argued a bit about where he was supposed to be until he finally gave in and stayed on the rail. He did try once to push me into the rail. He did not succeed. But, having not ridden in seven months, I awoke yesterday morning sore all over, and remembered reading that horseback riding is second only to swimming as the best overall body exercise. Ouch.

Things that make me say “Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…”:

My list of activities that have caused ouchies this week are things that are fun. Well, maybe not the reset and reload. But, playing with kids, or just spending time with hubby in the shade under the umbrella next to the wave pool at the amusement park, riding a horse, taking the trip after the painful packing is done. There’s something profound in there somewhere, I know it. Sort of ‘no pain, no gain’, only I can’t find words for ‘fun’ and ‘ouch’ that rhyme, because I just scratched my head.

I think my scalp is sunburned.

Ouch.

 

 

in the crowd

Wubby is graduated, and lived to tell about it. He almost didn’t because his grandma and mom and dad just about cleaned his clock before we left home Saturday morning. For some reason he just wasn’t in a hurry, even though he was supposed to be at the church auditorium where the ceremony was held AT LEAST 1 HOUR before things started. We left 90 minutes early, to make a 15 minute drive that took almost 30 minutes because of traffic (everyone else going to graduation), arrived to find an almost full parking lot and a line of parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. wrapped around the building. We headed for the crowd as Wubby joined his classmates inside.

As we stood in the crowd waiting for the doors to be opened, I noticed an old acquaintance of mine in the crowd ahead of us. Actually, he and I used to work together. Our sons were born about three months apart. Later in my career I worked FOR him. Then I left and went to work for another company two blocks over. He’s still at the same place; his job went from programming to managing to outsourcing. I guess he’s one of the few, maybe only, people left in the systems area. I wasn’t surprised to see him there. I knew his son was in Wubby’s class; they just didn’t run in the same crowds. But I was really surprised to see how he had aged since I’d seen him last. I like to think I don’t look my age (don’t burst my bubble here, please!), but he and his wife both seem to have aged way past their late-40s / early-50s actual age. I suppose outsourcing your friend’s and co-worker’s jobs could have that effect on you. Thank heavens I don’t know about that.

Once the actual ceremony began the teachers all came filing into the auditorium wearing their black robes and graduate hoods (those that have advanced degrees…) and another face in the crowd caught my eye. Another co-worker, from the same company and systems team, now teaches math at the high school. Again, I knew this. But seeing him, wearing the robe (no hood) on the faculty of the school where my daughter will be starting in August, threw me. He and I, how to say…….well, we worked together. Our families were friendly for a while. The working relationship, the family relationship, both, ended badly in that, hubby and I will not allow our daughter to be in any of his classes. He looked old too, and I’m older that he is.

As each of the 400+ graduates crossed the stage, he or she had an opportunity to “smile for the camera”, as the entire event was being professionally videotaped. Wubby was his somber, serious self. Other students gave various thumbs-up signals, etc. It was entertaining. More so were the various cheers offerred by parents, siblings, friends, etc. of the graduates. Individual applause was not allowed, but shouts of “Hallelujah!” et. al. were present in large numbers. The crowd favorite was a father who shouted “I love you!” as his son crossed the stage, then shouted even louder “Get a job!!!” as his son received his diploma. There were also families with kazoos and rehearsed cheers. The video should be a hoot.

So, for now, wubby is officially allowed to wear his cell phone on his belt if he chooses, go to the bathroom when he wants, without a hall pass, and various other things he couldn’t do in school. The class valedictorian recited an exhaustive list of these little jewels; I stole two of them. In addition, wubby has a job at the church, which means he’s getting paid to do something he would do for free. Except he did call me at home this morning to ask me something and prefaced his question with “I’m not trying to get you to do my job, you just know more about this than I do….” and then asked me to help him do part of his job, sort of.

At least he still asks.

Next week we’re heading to the Grand Canyon for a few days. Then it’s another 10 days and it’s off to teen camp in the mountains. Another three weeks or so and he’s off to college. And before we know it, his sister will be following right behind him.

But I can’t be this old!

 

Almost graduation day

Yesterday was 8th grade graduation for little girl, and she won an academic medal for science. She earned one for social studies as well, but the teachers on her team decided to spread the joy around and give it to another student. Three cheers for affirmative action and political correctness!!! It was miserable in the gym, as we’ve been in heat wave mode since last week and the middle school gym is not air-conditioned adaquately, if at all. Yepper, here in the sweltering south, a gym with no a/c.

Back to little girl…she’s come a long way this year academically, in spite of public schooling I suppose. Actually, her school isn’t as bad as some, an advantage of living in a rural county. She called me from school Monday and asked me to pick her up early. So I jumped in the car, barefoot, and grabbed the chihuahua from he!!, and off we went. When I got to school I remembered that I have to go inside, sign her out and show a photo id. I went, barefoot and carrying the dog. Yeah, I’m a proud redneck.

On the way home, Rush was on the radio talking about global warming. LG asked me if global warming was real. I said I didn’t know, and I didn’t think the experts knew either because, in my opinion, they would need to have empirical (is that right?) data for more than the last 150 years. Like maybe for the last 10,000+ years, I don’t know. Anyway, it seems that Seattle or someplace on the left coast has decided to ban bonfires on the beach this summer, because bonfires contribute to global warming. Rush started talking about forest fires being much larger and more prolific than beach bonfires, so why don’t we ban forest fires? Oh, wait, because most of them are caused by lightning. Well, let’s ban lightning, alrighty? Little Girl was amazed at the obvious-ness of the argument. Miss Science!

Son had his last exam yesterday, finally. The past two weeks have been dragging for all of us. Graduation is this Saturday, 9:00 AM. He nailed the guinea-pig year of the new state-mandated senior graduation project. Thank heavens. Saturday is party day, complete with Lexington NC barbecue and family to help celebrate. It hasn’t hit him, or me, that he’s finished with high school. We’re both wondering when the shoe’s gonna drop.

Today has been the last semi-calm day for the next week or so. Tomorrow and Friday are get ready for graduation, Saturday is graduation, Sunday is recover from graduation. Monday is son’s first day at his summer job (student intern at the church). That leaves us about a week to pack for the first major family trip we’ve ever taken, to the Grand Canyon. LG hasn’t flown before, and she’s excited/terrified. I’m dragging the computer along so we can re-book canceled flights, etc. and we’re trying to pack everything in carry-ons to avoid any missing luggage issues. Fun and games.

Life is changing again, quickly. My babies aren’t babies any more. One of them is grown! The other one is officially a high-schooler, with honors assignments to do before August 25. My mom’s gentleman friend has been away from his home this week, but he’ll be back soon. Son’s relationship with girlfriend is rather serious as well.

Changes, changes, changes….

 

Taxi! Taxi!

Is it OK for parents to enjor their kids’ sufferring? I hope so, because I’m enjoying this.

My son just left here annoyed because he’s driving his sister and a couple of their friends to a birthday party for Lydia, the girlfriend’s girlfriend. He’s not thrilled about the idea, but his sister assumed he would be going to the party, since Lydia is the girlfriend’s girlfriend. So of course she and the friends would just ride with him.

Only, he didn’t really want to go to the party. Or, judging from his level of personal annoyance when they left, he didn’t really want to go to the party. Sis and friend were waiting in the car for the other friend to walk over from his house and son comes back inside grousing about having to drive people everywhere and not knowing about things until the last minute and so on and so forth. My little ears perked right up when I heard the words “at the last minute” in his rantings. This kid has been the king of “at the last minute” for, what, most of his 18 years? The delicious irony of hearing him utter the words we’ve been screaming at him was just too much. Of course I had to point it out to him. It was fun.

This same kid calls me after school last week and says “I’m going to give Jordan a ride to his guitar lesson before I come home.” I ask, “Where is his lesson?” The answer, “Downtown.” Downtown is a 20 mile roundtrip from school, to downtown, back to home. Mind you, son VOLUNTEERED to do this for Jordan. He didn’t have to, but hey, he’s a nice guy. It would have been OK if son was going to stay home once he got here that afternoon, but he wasn’t. He had a commitment he was supposed to attend (NOTE: WAS SUPPOSED TO.) You’ll never guess where it was? Go ahead, give it a whirl…

 

DOWNTOWN.

 

Gas is expensive and son doesn’t have a job at present, but he’s such a nice guy and all. And he’s dependable. And trustworthy.

Well, there was that speeding ticket last month….