(no subject)
On NPR, there was a story about UCLA's low African-American student enrollment rates. This year, only 96 members of the incoming freshman class are Af.-Am. Some people believe the root of this problem was the repeal of the affirmative action bill/law, but isn't the real problem that many, many of the Af.-Am prospective students live in poor communities with substandard schooling? What good is admitting students to fill a quota when those students haven't been prepared by elementary, jr. high, or high school to succeed in a competitive college environment? Instead of blaming colleges for rejecting prospective students based on failure to meet academic qualifications, shouldn't the government and communities work towards making the public school systems better?
But no, that would take way more effort on everyone's part. That would take more funding and time. Much better to create a scapegoat so that when the kids fail, people can feel their hands are clean.
I also hate how people get upset with schools for judging admissions on academic merit and that they don't seem to care if the students can make it through the program and graduate; they feel their job is done once the kids are admitted, then if a student fails, they blame him or her instead of the crappy educational system the student was subjected to as a child.
So many people treat diplomas like magical pieces of paper you receive for spending time (and not effort) in school. As if it doesn't matter if you absorb any information or skill while you're filling a seat in a classroom. Employers don't look at or care about how well you did in classes, just that you have the paper that says you graduated. A doctor that received all "C"s gets the same diploma and pay as a doctor that got all "A"s.
You of the Past
What year were you born?
1978
Were you the oldest, youngest, middle or only child?
Oldest.
Any sports as a kid?
I played basketball for about 2 weeks in 5th grade, but the coach was one of the kinds who didn't put you in to practice or play unless you were one of the stars, so I quit because I got sick of sitting on the bench. I was in marching band in high school and my friend Wendy and I played a lot of tennis (though we didn't follow any rules).
Oh, and in 5th and 6th grade, we would play a variation on baseball with our Koosh Balls (does anyone else remember those?)
What religion were you raised as?
Christian. Methodist.
Were you a good student?
Yup, though I underachieved a bit.
Popular in school?
Hells no. Though more people warmed towards me (and me to them) towards the end of high school.
How many girlfriends/boyfriends have you had?
10
What were their names?
Dave, Adam, Dan, Hans, Steve, Andy, Ed, Mike, Ashley, Dylan.
Why didn't they work out?
Various reasons.
If you're not a virgin, when did you lose it?
10 years ago. In May.
Where did you go to school?
Swanton High School
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A psychologist
Were you a fat kid or a skinny kid?
Slightly chubby
Childhood hobbies?
Drawing, video games, books, make-believe, barbies, ponies, cabbage patch kids, swing sets, cartoons, riding my bike, being nosy.
You of the Present
How are you?
Not too bad at the moment. ^_^
What's your sign?
Western: Virgo, Aquarius ascendant.
Eastern: Year of the Earth Horse.
What religion are you now?
I'm more of a "personal philosophy/moral code" person than a religion person. Actually, I'm not religious at all.
Republican vs. Democrat
Neither. Political parties all become/start out corrupt. I vote for individuals, not an entire group.
Are you in love?
With chocolate, art, my hobbies, and most of the time life (though life and I have a love/hate relationship punctuated by periods of seething resentment and giddy fun. ^_^)
What's his/her name?
Not in love with anyone at the moment.
Are you still friends with the ex?
They ask this question as if there is only one ex. There is one ex-husband; and yes, we are fabulous friends. ^_^ I'm not really friends with any of my other exes, though I am acquaintances with some.
Sexually active?
Not currently, dammit.
Birth control?
Not using any at the moment, as I am not having baby-producing methods of sex currently.
Favorite sexual position?
I have to pick just one? ^_~ Generally, the ones where I orgasm. It varies between partners (with guys, it's dependent upon size/girth/angle/technique/etc. for which positions work best with them).
Do you work?
All the damn time. If not my official job, than on various projects I have going (though I have been taking a lot of glorious free time this summer. ^__^)
Where do you work?
Hull & Associates, Inc., an environmental engineering firm.
Do you like it?
Yes, most of the time. It's an office, so it has a limit to how much I'm going to like it.
Are you attractive?
According to some.
Do you exercise?
Yes.
How's your diet?
Crappy currently, though potentially taking a turn for the better.
Current hobbies?
Drawing, reading, writing, cosplay, knitting, crocheting, making stuff, playing video games, listening music, talking, analyzing stuff, computer geeky stuff, mythology/legends/fairie tales/folk tales, the "why" behind things, gaining knowledge, making plushies, etymology, making costumes, watching anime, reading manga and manhwa, watching movies, dancing.
You of the Future
Where do you want to go to college?
Where I am going to college. :P For grad school, I'm not certain. Maybe U of M, somewhere around Chicago, New England/New York area, Toronto, or maybe California? Overseas would be really cool. I could go to England. ^_^
Do you want to get married?
Again? Yeah, but this time, I want to make certain I'm getting married to the right person.
What kind of engagement ring do you want?
Much smaller than last time. Something simple in white gold or platinum.
When do you want to get married?
As soon as I'm ready.
What kind of wedding do you want?
This time I'll probably elect for an elopement or a justice of the peace sort of wedding. Eloping overseas would be really cool. ^_^
Do you think you'll get divorced?
Already done so. I hope to not do so again.
Do you think your sex life will stay hot when you're married?
Realistically, it will cool down a bit (sorry to burst people's bubbles, but no sex life stays as hot as it was when the relationship first started), but I'm hoping it's still good. ^_^
When do you want kids?
Yesterday. My biological clock has been ticking for a few years now. Ugh. I just keep telling it to shut up because I'm not ready for children yet due to my current financial, school, and relationship statuses.
What will their names be?
I have decided on and forgotten more names than I can remember. They won't be normal names though.
What job do you want?
Comic book writer/artist, occasionally doing novels, essays, and individual art projects. Barring that, it might be interesting to do something with computers or be a professor. Or maybe I'll have to be a professor or professional computer geek in order to supplement my comic book income.
Do you think you'll get fat when you get older?
I hope not. That's why I work out (and you feel better/healthier when you work out)
What hobbies do you think you'll have in the future?
Same ones I do now. I just hope to be better at them.
When do you want to retire?
That depends on what job I ultimately end up doing. If I'm in offices for the rest of my life, I'd like to retire now. If I get my dream job, then never. I want to be a little 90 year-old lady still churning out art pieces, comics, and writings. ^_^
How many grandkids do you want?
However many my future children want to have (so long as it's at least one).
When do you think you'll die?
When my involuntary organs cease to function, which I hope will not be for a very, very long time.
But no, that would take way more effort on everyone's part. That would take more funding and time. Much better to create a scapegoat so that when the kids fail, people can feel their hands are clean.
I also hate how people get upset with schools for judging admissions on academic merit and that they don't seem to care if the students can make it through the program and graduate; they feel their job is done once the kids are admitted, then if a student fails, they blame him or her instead of the crappy educational system the student was subjected to as a child.
So many people treat diplomas like magical pieces of paper you receive for spending time (and not effort) in school. As if it doesn't matter if you absorb any information or skill while you're filling a seat in a classroom. Employers don't look at or care about how well you did in classes, just that you have the paper that says you graduated. A doctor that received all "C"s gets the same diploma and pay as a doctor that got all "A"s.
You of the Past
What year were you born?
1978
Were you the oldest, youngest, middle or only child?
Oldest.
Any sports as a kid?
I played basketball for about 2 weeks in 5th grade, but the coach was one of the kinds who didn't put you in to practice or play unless you were one of the stars, so I quit because I got sick of sitting on the bench. I was in marching band in high school and my friend Wendy and I played a lot of tennis (though we didn't follow any rules).
Oh, and in 5th and 6th grade, we would play a variation on baseball with our Koosh Balls (does anyone else remember those?)
What religion were you raised as?
Christian. Methodist.
Were you a good student?
Yup, though I underachieved a bit.
Popular in school?
Hells no. Though more people warmed towards me (and me to them) towards the end of high school.
How many girlfriends/boyfriends have you had?
10
What were their names?
Dave, Adam, Dan, Hans, Steve, Andy, Ed, Mike, Ashley, Dylan.
Why didn't they work out?
Various reasons.
If you're not a virgin, when did you lose it?
10 years ago. In May.
Where did you go to school?
Swanton High School
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A psychologist
Were you a fat kid or a skinny kid?
Slightly chubby
Childhood hobbies?
Drawing, video games, books, make-believe, barbies, ponies, cabbage patch kids, swing sets, cartoons, riding my bike, being nosy.
You of the Present
How are you?
Not too bad at the moment. ^_^
What's your sign?
Western: Virgo, Aquarius ascendant.
Eastern: Year of the Earth Horse.
What religion are you now?
I'm more of a "personal philosophy/moral code" person than a religion person. Actually, I'm not religious at all.
Republican vs. Democrat
Neither. Political parties all become/start out corrupt. I vote for individuals, not an entire group.
Are you in love?
With chocolate, art, my hobbies, and most of the time life (though life and I have a love/hate relationship punctuated by periods of seething resentment and giddy fun. ^_^)
What's his/her name?
Not in love with anyone at the moment.
Are you still friends with the ex?
They ask this question as if there is only one ex. There is one ex-husband; and yes, we are fabulous friends. ^_^ I'm not really friends with any of my other exes, though I am acquaintances with some.
Sexually active?
Not currently, dammit.
Birth control?
Not using any at the moment, as I am not having baby-producing methods of sex currently.
Favorite sexual position?
I have to pick just one? ^_~ Generally, the ones where I orgasm. It varies between partners (with guys, it's dependent upon size/girth/angle/technique/etc. for which positions work best with them).
Do you work?
All the damn time. If not my official job, than on various projects I have going (though I have been taking a lot of glorious free time this summer. ^__^)
Where do you work?
Hull & Associates, Inc., an environmental engineering firm.
Do you like it?
Yes, most of the time. It's an office, so it has a limit to how much I'm going to like it.
Are you attractive?
According to some.
Do you exercise?
Yes.
How's your diet?
Crappy currently, though potentially taking a turn for the better.
Current hobbies?
Drawing, reading, writing, cosplay, knitting, crocheting, making stuff, playing video games, listening music, talking, analyzing stuff, computer geeky stuff, mythology/legends/fairie tales/folk tales, the "why" behind things, gaining knowledge, making plushies, etymology, making costumes, watching anime, reading manga and manhwa, watching movies, dancing.
You of the Future
Where do you want to go to college?
Where I am going to college. :P For grad school, I'm not certain. Maybe U of M, somewhere around Chicago, New England/New York area, Toronto, or maybe California? Overseas would be really cool. I could go to England. ^_^
Do you want to get married?
Again? Yeah, but this time, I want to make certain I'm getting married to the right person.
What kind of engagement ring do you want?
Much smaller than last time. Something simple in white gold or platinum.
When do you want to get married?
As soon as I'm ready.
What kind of wedding do you want?
This time I'll probably elect for an elopement or a justice of the peace sort of wedding. Eloping overseas would be really cool. ^_^
Do you think you'll get divorced?
Already done so. I hope to not do so again.
Do you think your sex life will stay hot when you're married?
Realistically, it will cool down a bit (sorry to burst people's bubbles, but no sex life stays as hot as it was when the relationship first started), but I'm hoping it's still good. ^_^
When do you want kids?
Yesterday. My biological clock has been ticking for a few years now. Ugh. I just keep telling it to shut up because I'm not ready for children yet due to my current financial, school, and relationship statuses.
What will their names be?
I have decided on and forgotten more names than I can remember. They won't be normal names though.
What job do you want?
Comic book writer/artist, occasionally doing novels, essays, and individual art projects. Barring that, it might be interesting to do something with computers or be a professor. Or maybe I'll have to be a professor or professional computer geek in order to supplement my comic book income.
Do you think you'll get fat when you get older?
I hope not. That's why I work out (and you feel better/healthier when you work out)
What hobbies do you think you'll have in the future?
Same ones I do now. I just hope to be better at them.
When do you want to retire?
That depends on what job I ultimately end up doing. If I'm in offices for the rest of my life, I'd like to retire now. If I get my dream job, then never. I want to be a little 90 year-old lady still churning out art pieces, comics, and writings. ^_^
How many grandkids do you want?
However many my future children want to have (so long as it's at least one).
When do you think you'll die?
When my involuntary organs cease to function, which I hope will not be for a very, very long time.