Missions and California History

Fourth grade and that means California history. My daughter is doing a research report on a California mission. Specifically, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Which, by the way, was not originally founded for the same reason as the other missions in the chain of 20 or so missions that were built from San Diego to Monterey.

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa was founded because of its' close proximity to a massive bear population. Apparently several thousand pounds of bear meat will get you through a California winter just fine.

Once established, however, the mission began doing just what the rest of the missions were doing - "converting" the native american population.

I am, on occasion, absolutely dumbfounded by the amount of arrogance displayed throughout history. Take the Spanish, for example, here you have a group of greedy individuals taking over California and forcing Native Americans into slavery, essentially. They called it "education" when what they were actually doing was disrespecting and attempting to completely destroy another culture. Another classic example of, "my beliefs are right - because they are mine."

In a nutshell, of course.

Anytime someone chooses to discount, abuse, or change another person' s belief or way of life simply because they do not appear to coincide with their own - it's wrong, it's ignorant, and it's arrogant.

My secret addiction...

Ok, so this is 'My Guilty Pleasures' blog which means I can let my hair down a bit (tough to do since it's so short!) ~ I see this blog the same way I see my attraction to chocolate... only this is probably better for me because it gets excess weight off my chest - whereas the chocolate puts weight on my rear.

My (not so) secret addiction is... check this... "Gilmore Girls" - there are a few shows I never miss and while I was completely in love with the West Wing from the start, truth is, not so much now. They lost their way when Rob Lowe left... ANYWAY...

Gilmore Girls... my daughter and I are absolutely addicted. We never miss it. It's snappy, quick, not too heavy on the melodramatics and I have a soft spot for Lorelai and those who know me well know why. Anyway, after all this time it's finally happened. Luke and Lorelai! Could it be any better? I think not. I was concerned that they might change the characters dramatically when they hooked this pair up - but it's just not so. They are great together!

Which brings me to my dilemma. Christopher is back in the picture and hear me now... if L&L break up because of that jacka** Christopher - I am DONE with GG. Finished. My daughter is worried about this because I stopped watching "Charmed" when they broke Piper and Leo up. Haven't watched it since. But, I can honestly say, that was the last straw for charmed. The first was when Shannon Doherty left. I don't think much of her... but I think it was weak the way they filled in the gap.

I think the fans of GG have waiting too long to see L&L get together - if they break them up, it's going to really mess things up. Just my .02 worth.

The Baby Dance?

I like happy endings. I know they aren't always possible but I do pride myself on avoiding things that upset me unneccessarily. Movies like, "Terms of Endearment" "Beaches" "Cold Mountain" - things like that... I don't watch them.

Why? Not because I am some harda** who has a problem being emotional. But, life can be depressing enough. Watch the news - there are plenty of things out there to disappoint and upset you if you want to find them. Why subject yourself to fictional melodramas? Worse yet, if it takes something THAT depressing to make you feel better about your life... then you've got serious problems.

Late last night I couldn't sleep. Not sure why... probably the storm that was blowing in. My husband was snoring soundly and all the kids were fast asleep. I was skimming through the channels and came across a movie called, "The Baby Dance" starring Stockard Channing (whom I absolutely love) and Laura Dern. Laura Dern played a woman who was expecting her fifth child and she and her husband really couldn't afford to have any more children. Stockard Channing played a woman who had been through the infertility gambit and was desperate to have a child.

Ah... match made in heaven right? A guaranteed happy ending here... win-win situation, blah blah blah.

The baby was born with the umbilical chord wrapped around her neck. She was deprived of oxygen and the doctor had no idea if she had suffered any brain damage or not. There was obviously still a chance she would be normal.

And, what does this lovely, financially stable, educated, desperate couple decide to do? They decide NOT to adopt the baby - at the last minute because they just aren't sure if they want to deal with a child that might have "challenges." After watching this child's birth, they simply leave the hospital and fly home. In fact, both couples leave the hospital without the baby. The last scene shows a row of baby bassinets in the hospital, each cute little bundle with a little name tag, until you get to the last one... and it's a baby girl, crying, with a BLANK name tag on the bassinet. All the grown ups went home - and left a helpless child at the hospital.

That last scene broke my heart. I had to remind myself in the hour or so it took me to go to sleep - that this was a movie, a dramatization, and that the poor baby had a stage mother off to the side waiting for a director to yell "cut" so she could rush to her infant's side. I went in to check on all of my babies at least 3 times before I could finally settle in and sleep.

Just what is the moral of the story? What is the point of "The Baby Dance"? That people are selfish? Weak? Just why did they want a baby to begin with? What is the point of this movie? That there are some people who can't figure out how birth control works? That there are some people who can't have children and believe that that means the world owes them a PERFECT one? This movie stated that there are some really crappy people out in the world - and that was ALL it did. This wasn't shedding light on a major social issue, it wasn't spreading the word against abuse or domestic violence. It was just two freaking hours of what an imperfect world we live in.

So, apparently, being unable to have children allows you the marvelous choice to get the pick of the litter. A luxury that biological parents don't have and WOULDN'T want. I believe there is a reason why some people aren't capable of having children.They aren't cut out to be real parents and subconciously they know it... which is probably why they can't have them.

This is why I don't watch movies with unhappy endings. They always manage to get under my skin and bother me for days. This was just sad. Sad and depressing.

There is no excuse for poor reception...

I cannot understand what is up with the receptionist at my pediatrician's office.

I called yesterday inquiring about my daughter's flu shot appointment and the current vaccine shortage. I was told that they would not reserve dosages, even for high-risk patients no matter how far ahead you scheduled your appointment. My daughter is considered high-risk as she is only 10 months old.

So I asked to speak to the nurse because the receptionist couldn't tell me if it would be a good idea or not to try to get an earlier appointment...

The nurse got back to me and told me I could bring Maggie in that day.

There I was sitting in the waiting room and I heard the receptionist making phone calls, "I'm calling from Dr. So and So's office to let you know that because of the flu vaccine shortage we are going to need you to come in sooner so that your child can get their vaccine. If you have any questions call us at blah blah blah..."

Maggie got her flu shot and I was told to call back in a month so that she could get the second dosage - IF they have it. But, if they don't have it - it's no big deal and she should be fine. (More contradictions, I just LOVE modern medicine.)

When I got home I checked the answering machine and guess what I heard?

Oh yes, the very same ding-bat receptionist...

There she is calling my house and leaving a message to let me know that MAGGIE (who is in the office) can come in AT ANY TIME to get her flu vaccination - this was followed by TWO additional phone messages from her - telling me that Ethan and Katie did not meet the "high risk" requirement for the vaccine.

Three individual messages on my machine and the WHOLE time I am sitting right there not ten feet away from her.

This isn't the first time. Last July I showed up for an appointment that I had scheduled two months in advance for Maggie's immunizations. The receptionist looked at me like I was nuts. The doctor had already gone home for the day because she didn't have any afternoon appointments. I showed her the card that SHE had filled out at our last visit... and there was no apology or anything... just, "Oh... well, I'll have to reschedule you."

There are a lot of doctors around here that let their staff get away with everything short of murder. Of course, most staff members consist of the doctors wife or at least the person he's involved with in some way. And, no that wasn't a broad generalization.

Every dentist I know (I'm an ex-dental assistant/dental office manager) has his wife involved in his practice in some way. The first doctor I worked for had his wife managing the office - later I found out that while he was married to his first wife, he met wife number 2 (current office manager) while she was his RECEPTIONIST!!!

My old gynecologist has his wife managing the office. I'm not sure that I'd want to be in the office while my husband is in another room touching other women. Clinical or not... it's wierd.

Guilty Pleasures....

Yep, my other blog. My first blog, Amy's Musings is more light-hearted family-friendly fare. But, sometimes I'm just not family-friendly, sometimes I don't want to be politically correct and sometimes I'd just like to shoot my mouth off. This is my spot to do that... I'm giving myself a little freedom and a license to explode instead of just stifling my thoughts and imploding silently.

So, excuse the occasional negativity and what might appear to be whining... sometimes I just feel compelled to tell my truth, as I see it.

I'm An Adult, Right?

Yep... all grown up. Wife and mother of three. I take the kids to school, help with homework, do the laundry... all the usual grown up stuff.

My husband is in classes two nights a week. I'm a huge chicken.

I hate being home at night... the only "grown up" in the house. My husband blames it on the Stephen King collection in the bookcase. I'm pretty sure it's the Anne Rice collection...

I've become best friends with my dog. Yep... he's my little alarm system. Making noise when he hears anything odd, that's about all he's good for. My little chawiener. Half chihuahua and half dauchsund (not sure I spelled that right). So, I fed him a bunch of turkey tonight and this has kept him right on my heels all night long. I prefer it that way. There's nothing worse than being in one end of the house and hearing him barking like mad from the other end.

I don't like our den at night. We have large sliding glass doors. They look out into our backyard and beyond our fence is a breezeway that the utility company uses. It's big enough for a truck to drive through and there aren't any lights out there. Which isn't so bad, except we have big shrubs lining the fence. Shrubs that aren't incredibly dense, just dense enough to imagine all sorts of shapes in them. So... at night it feels like being in a fish bowl.
I avoid doing laundry late at night because it's right off the den.

I was listening to Bob and Tom on the radio as I took the kids to school this morning. Drew Hastings (a comedian) was on and he was talking about how he lived in a cabin in the middle of the woods.

"Did you know that a possum walking through the woods in the dark sounds exactly like three guys with an ax walking through the woods at night?"

Yes Drew. I do know that. Can understand that exactly.

I also know that innocent glow-in-the-dark Halloween glass clings can look like a guy in a ski mask leaping at you as you close the sliding glass door. And they weren't scary glass clings either. We're talking small, happy pumpkins, spiders, and cute little witches.

I'm a chicken. A chicken who has to wait another 40 minutes for her husband's key in the lock. After I make him slide his ID under the door.

Ok... I am kidding about the ID thing. Honest.

Tired of Being Polite and Politically Correct

Yep, my other blog could be seen that way. Certainly. A modern day Pollyanna. Except that Pollyanna gets BORING. And, when Pollyanna gets boring there is a little "bad" angel on my shoulder who just loves to pop up and shoot her mouth off.

I admit it. I know, it's not cool to do so, but I am truly tired of being politically correct all the time. Yes, I publish an ezine for at-home-moms and attempt to look like June Cleaver of the new millenium. I am a good mom, devoted wife, and I'm pretty open-minded, at least I like to think so. I'm also a human being with an occasional mean streak.

I whole-heartedly detest ignorance (although have been guilty of it myself, I never claimed to be perfect). I cannot stand people who trip around aimlessly online, filling out forms, joining safelists, subscribing to ezines, request more information and then complain that they are being spammed.

I recently went a few rounds with a gentleman (I'll use the term LIGHTLY here) who filled out a form that linked to my auto responder. I had his IP address and the time stamp for when he filled out the form. He, in turn, received 4 letters (over the course of 2 weeks) and decided he was being spammed. But instead of just removing himself, he wrote me (with some serious misspelled words and grammar worse than my 10 year old) and proceeded to give me the electronic version of a severe tongue lashing.

I attempted to set him straight. Only to have him write to me (in all CAPS) with multiple exclamation points telling me what kind of person I am.

To satisfy your curiosity, yes, I was called several colorful names. The thing that really cracked me up was that this guy's email address was godsannointed2004. He was your typical internet psycho-coward who loved hiding behind his monitor and saying all the things he didn't have the... er... guts to say in real life.

I made sure to tell him how much he amused me. Even through my irritation I was laughing, the laugh of someone slightly off-kilter, but a laugh nonetheless.

He kept emailing - spiraling himself into a black hole of venemous anger spread with mind-numbing stupidity the likes of which just HAD to give him a seizure. I pictured him gnawing through his tongue and bottom lip, hair sticking out every which way, foaming at the mouth with cujo-like insanity. And that little stinker on my shoulder popped up and said... "hey... let's see what we can do to make this guy implode..."

I don't even have the audacity to confess here the depths to which I sunk telling this guy what I thought of him. Although, suffice it to say it contained references to "COPS" (yes, the television show) "Trailers (mobile homes)" and "his lacking appropriately sized anatomical parts that rendered him only capable of attacking women with evidence of intelligence greater than his - which meant that a woman with the IQ of a toaster would be a threat."

And, he imploded. Over and over and over again... with foul language mixed with, I kid you not, quotes from the bible. Apparently, you can get away with swearing as long as you thump your bible at the same time.

I did not know that.

Finally, I just replied with something like:

The person you are attempting to reach
has installed software that is now blocking
your email address.

Your emails are no longer reaching the
addressee's inbox.

Have a nice day!

He REPLIED BACK:

THANK YOU JESUS GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, the little bad angel jumped up and said... DO IT AGAIN! So I did. Pasted the same exactly text and sent it off in response to his gratitude.

He wrote back AGAIN:

how many times do I need to say Thank you

I couldn't believe it. Then I realized that it was just SO sad I couldn't
even be irritated anymore.

Then I kicked myself for even getting caught up in it. Yes, I am a bigger person that that. On a typical day I have more compassion and tolerance. Honest, I swear this is true.

But, when you've been up all night with an infant and tangle all morning with a 9 and 12 year old - you start to get a little bit cranky.

No excuses. I behaved... inappropriately.

And, even so, I still believe there are some people who just shouldn't be allowed access to computers.