Update to Observations and Tangents

Well, I reviewed three senior projects last week and was incredibly disappointed. The first girl did hers on becoming a bakery chef. She created a concoction called "Dirt." The recipe for which included vanilla pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms all mixed together in a flower pot. Now, I don't fancy myself the cooking/baking expert, but I don't think any of the above ingredients actually require BAKING. Not to mention that the rest of the sub-2 minute presentation didn't appear to have involved any research or effort.

The best of the three presentations was about the life and times of Tupac. The presenter used a tri-fold presentation board with uneven lettering and poorly cut out Internet photos as his "visual aid."

Who will take care of me in my old age?

Observations and Tangents

Thanks to my job at The Record I have paid many visits to elementary, middle, and high school classrooms to do presentations on the newspaper. One consistency I have found in every single classroom is that there is never a clock with the correct time. I have a difficult time understanding how kids (or speakers for that matter) are supposed to keep track of class time without a properly functioning timepiece. It is very disconcerting. Do they just wait for the bell to ring? Does the teacher have to wear a watch? After so many hours in such close proximity are they all functioning on the same internal clock? I don't know the answer, but I do know that it is very problematic if I forget my watch.

On a related note:
Tomorrow I get to sit on a panel to review high school senior project presentations. Let it be known that I LOVE high schoolers (and junior highers for that matter), so I cannot wait to hear what creative things they come up with.

On an additional related note:
I chaired the Lodi Chamber scholarship committee a few weeks ago. We met with six AMAZING high school seniors and were forced to narrow down our choice to three. It's so much fun to see these kids at the cusp of their futures . . . and to wonder if any of them will actually end up in their chosen field after 4-5 years of college.

Tangential Path #1:
Speaking of futures. Back when Sommer was graduating high school and Justin and I were graduating college we used to joke that the favorite question at friends/family get-togethers was "so, what are your plans for after high school/college." We always thought it would be funny to make up some really grandiose or complex answer that would get us off the hook. I had an intern this semester who did exactly that. Her response was "I want to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company."

Hmm.

Can't really compete with that.

I asked her to give me a job.

Professor Perry

I got the graduate assistantship I applied for at UOP, so I get to teach a section of public speaking next semester at UOP.

I

AM

SO

EXCITED!

Don't Make Me Hate You This Summer (at the movies edition)

Special Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for following refresher:

With the summer movie season in full swing, it's a good time to review proper movie theater etiquette:

1) No matter how bad the movie is, no one wants to hear you talk through it.
If you go to the bathroom during the film, you are allowed one 5-second recap upon your return. If you can't hear it or don't "get it," sorry.

2) Try not to laugh when a fellow audience member yells out something funny. You will only encourage him.

3) If you show up after the previews have begun, you've forfeited your right to ask someone — especially an elderly person — to move seats so your six-person party can sit together.

4) While we appreciate you leaving your seat to make that call on your cellphone, we can still hear you if you're standing inside the theater doors. Step outside.

5) If you're one of only a few people in a theater, do not sit directly in front of one of them. Even in stadium seating.

6) Do not spend five minutes looking through your bag for something after the movie starts. It's dark. You're not going to find it.

7) Open the candy quickly. Yes, it will be loud, but only for a second. As opposed to what happens if you try to do it slowly. And you make noise anyway. And your friends feel the need to laugh at you.

--My own personal additions

8) If it is occupied, under no circumstances should your foot come in contact with the chair in front of you. Chair kickers are the worst!

9) Do not bring your small child or baby to a late night showing of any film. There's nothing worse than having an epic film or summer blockbuster ruined by crying, incessant chatter/whining, or frolicking in the aisles.
(Clearly I'm not a mom yet.)

Anything I missed? Have fun at the movies this summer!

RIP Big Red

Justin's loyal Ford Ranger was the innocent victim of a traffic incident on Tuesday.

The Ranger sustained fatal injuries.

Justin's were less serious, but still got him an exciting ambulance ride to the emergency room at Dameron.

We mourn the loss of our red friend.

The driveway doesn't look the same without him in it.