I wish I could say that I wasn't expecting this, but I've learned that I am not essential to the workings of the State of Washington (although Borders does appear to be falling apart without me, just sayin').
I got to do the long walk to my boss' office this morning and after a brief chat was informed that I "have been identified for lay off." No severance. Which I suppose I can understand. State employees do get paid out for some leave, but I don't have much left - stress over the last several months has had me laid up more days than I would have liked.
Over the next 4 - 6 weeks, a "layoff committee" will search the state system for jobs that I might qualify for. Hopefully something that pays more than I'm making now, and while I'm hoping for the moon, something in Tacoma? I'll also be searching for employment on my own.
I don't know what this means for our house or possible move back to San Diego. I've declared that we were moving before when Frinklin accepted a last-minute job offer that saved our asses, until his crazy new boss fired him. He's waiting to hear on an interview from last week and has another on Thursday. If he is able to find a job we are still in a tough spot, having only one job between the two of us.
I've put in some promising applications and have my fingers crossed. I'm living the Lily Tomlin quote, "It's going to get a lot worse before it gets worse."
It's taken me a little while to get this blog entry up, and I hope Patricia will forgive me for it.
If you recall, I had my hair cut, colored, and highlighted at Embellish last January. It was a glorious thing. I reveled in my gorgeous hair.
And then Frinklin and I were both suddenly unemployed. And my hair cut/color/highlight budget became non-existent. I managed to maintain the illusion of presentable hair for a few months but it soon became obvious that my hair was not exactly living in a natural state.
I went through a horrifying year of progressively grown-out roots. I initially tried to cover this by wearing my hair up, but it eventually began to look as though I had a mismatched hair addition clipped to my head. Half of my head was naturally dark brown (with a few gray hairs that simply were NOT there previously) and the other perfectly colored and highlighted. I hated my hair.
Then one day the owner of Embellish, Patricia Lecy-Davis, inquired as to where I had been. She hadn't seen me in the salon in a very long time. I confided to her that I simply could not afford anything extra out of our tight budget. Her quick response was to call and make an appointment, and not to worry about the cost.
I wish I could say I immediately took her up on her offer, but I was truly ashamed of what was happening on my head and procrastinated for another month before setting a time and date.
Thanks to Patricia and Sae, the amazing and awesome woman who cut and colored my terrifying and scraggly mess, I am transformed. My hair is again healthy and shiny. It's a gorgeous dark chocolate brown with burgundy highlights. I can't stop looking at it. Or playing with it. Or accepting compliments. It is officially the BEST HAIRCUT I HAVE EVER HAD.
I cannot thank Patricia, Sae, and Embellish Salon enough for the complimentary cut and color. If you are in the Tacoma area, I highly recommend you check out the team of Daymakers at Embellish.
Awesome! The Ramona Unified School District apologized to student Natalie Jones for censoring her report on Harvey Milk. Natalie was allowed to give her full presentation to her entire class last Thursday. The letter to Natalie and her family reads, in part:
As we discussed with you and your mother in mid-April, we were exercising an abundance of caution in examining the facts at hand and were attempting to prevent what we thought might be an awkward situation for your classmates who may or may not have been prepared to participate appropriately as an audience for your research project," the letter stated.<
"When examining our school district's policies and procedures at that time, it appeared to us that the content of your report might have ventured into an instructional area which is often viewed as extremely sensitive and challenging for students, parents and teachers alike."
A letter was also sent to the parents of students in Natalie's class.
The fact that Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person elected to office is part of history, not an agenda.
The idea that the mention of someone's homosexuality is sexual education is ridiculous. Is it sex education to state that someone is married? Or that they have a boyfriend or girlfriend? Sixth graders are dealing just fine with these concepts, and are able to understand what attraction to the same sex means just as well as an attraction to the opposite sex. Presenting it as a fact does not encourage or discourage children one way or another.
Insisting that kids in school avoid mention of homosexuality is unrealistic and archaic. There are responsible and unbiased ways to present homosexuality in the classroom. Discussion of a topic allows for ideas to flourish and thinking to occur. Would we remove all gays in history from the classroom? Is it better to “white wash” history and the truth of their lives?
Parents have every right to be involved in what their kids learn. Take this opportunity to discuss your values with your kids. And to teach them that what they learn in the classroom is a jumping off point for further thought and learning. Not indoctrination into a way - any way - of thinking.
Please take the time to send a positive note of thanks to the Ramona Unified School District Superintendent Robert Graeff at bgraeff@ramonausd.net.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: The crowd at Divisoria Plaza here was celebrating a hero but this was no warrior, no peace worker or anticorruption advocate.
“Chief” died on February 12, saving two women from a cobra attack. He was a pit bull terrier.
“Chief saved 87-year-old Liberata la Victoria and her granddaughter Maria Victoria Fronteras, the wife of his master, from a cobra that snaked through an opening in the family’s kitchen shortly after 2 p.m.
“The snake struck twice at the women. Twice, the dog dashed from a corner and shielded them.
“Marlone Fronteras, the terrier’s owner, said Chief seized the venomous snake in the neck with its teeth and repeatedly slammed it on the floor until it died.
“But the cobra managed to bite the dog’s jaw. Chief died a few minutes following their battle, after giving its master a farewell gaze.
Read the rest of the story here:
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/feb/24/yehey/top_stories/20070224top6.html