Insanity

I just got back from a visit to the Jersey Shore.  This means spending time with my egg donor. As I have previously referenced my mother, you are all aware that she can be an interesting character.  I have learned that a visit must be limited to 3-4 days.  She can "behave" somewhat, with a few snarky comments here and there.  After 4 days all hell will break loose. 

During the good old days, when I was a child,the common treatment for schizophrenia was electric shock treatment.  I believe that my mother has undergone this 20+ times.  The result was a zombie-like persona that had no ability to lash out for at least 2-3 months. One of the therapists must have suggested that she write a daily log of her activities, since she couldn't remember much. This resulted in "the book".  This daily log has been done ever since I can remember and has always been left out for all to view in the kitchen.  Since acknowledging our contributions are pretty much only ever done in writing and never out loud- the goal of any stay at my mother's house is to be mentioned in the book. 

My brother-in-law has had a good run lately.  I believe during the weekend of the 4th he made the book on 3 separate occasions. Basically, in order to make the book you have to do a chore that improves the quality of life for my mother.  Just coming to visit is not book-worthy.  You must answer the Janet  Jackson question- "What have you done for me lately!" Unfortunately for my brother-in -law, he did not make the book when I was there.  Poor guy cut the tree branches from the neighbors trees, hedged the grass and fixed the lawn around the newly dug city water meter. He did not make the book.  Absolute defeat! I took everyone out to dinner and made the book.  No sweat necessary.  I have learned my lesson from previous visits.

Albert Einstein said- the definition of insanity is: repeating the same behavior and expecting a different result.

The summer of the "DL"

Well- today is the big day.  My 21 year old just got her driver's licence. Hallelujah!  I learned what the hand rail above the the passenger seat in your vehicle is used for this summer!  I generally use the two in the back seat for hanging dry cleaning.  The one up front is for parents that are teaching their kids to drive and for trying to hang on for dear life while also trying not to appear to have any fear!  The first two weeks of driving lessons were very tense.  I have a beautiful, smart, creative daughter-but common sense and basic sense of  direction is not part of her normal persona. 

If you wonder, why is she just getting her license now and she is already 21-good question.  We did get her the permit when she was younger.  We did practice driving then.  But the primary reason that WE did this was because I made her.  The problem is that she has no reason to learn.  She takes a bus everywhere at college and has no need to get a licence.  Hopefully for her last year of college she will take the car and live in an apartment instead of a dorm and try to be an adult.  Have I babied her?  absolutely!  It is totally my fault.  I am always trying to make her life so much better than mine was that I unfortunately made it too Kooshy!  I hope I haven't ruined her by making her life easy.  Time will tell-but I have a feeling she will become a wonderful young artist and although this summer has been full of internal strive for me ( actually both of us).  It was worth it!

U2

I recently had the opportunity to go to the U2 extravaganza in Philadelphia.  The makeup concert from 2 years ago- the 360 tour.  The tickets were an early birthday present form my sister and it was the best concert EVER!  I think there were 70,000 people there.  The stage could be seen from all sides of Lincoln Financial field.  there was a circular LED screen that towered over the stage and the digital images and camera work made it certain that everyone could have a great view of the band.

My favorite part was when Gabrielle Gifford's husband got on the screen and introduced the song "Beautiful Day" from up in the space shuttle.  That was really special. My daughter got the whole concert experience because we were siting close by a girl that threw up and an obnoxious guy that smoked a joint and practically had intercourse with his girlfriend after starting a verbal battle with the guy next to him.  Those two were not in the same group by the way.  We truly had a great time and we laughed at the A-holes next to us and just focused on the show! 

The concert tickets my sister gave us was one of the best birthday presents ever.  My very best present ever was when she  threw me a party for my 21st birthday (back in the dark ages).  It was a complete and total surprise. I mean- I was about to cry because no one at college had remembered or mentioned my birthday and I was feeling very sad. One of my friends offered to take me out for a drink at the last minute and brought me over to the party.  I had the greatest time and even did a beer bong.  That is when you hold a huge funnel up and fill it beer and you have to suck it down in one swallow.  Good times!  So I did sow the wild oats in my younger days.  I guess Karma is a bitch!

Chat with Momma T: Way to go Carson K.

I was watching "Watch What Happens Live" last night and I must say Carson Kressley was in rare form. My daughter and I got a real belly laugh when he was commenting to a 67 year old caller from La. He couldn't understand her accent and said he needed a translator. That was great comic timing! He also didn't miss an opportunity to insult ( whether intentionally or unintentionally) Alex McCord and her husband Simon. Way to go Carson! I am over the whole New York housewife drama. I think Alex and Simon are pathetic in their attempts for more camera time. I was really sick of Sonja's pathetic attempts at the beginning of the season and now Alex and Simon have replaced her as the most pathetic!

In other news- I saw that Rupert Murdoch's newspaper in London was forced to go out of business due to a hacking scandal. I think this just proves what I was talking about yesterday. "By any means possible" is a common force in unethical decision making of many rich and poorer people. I can not believe that the reporters were getting into email accounts and listening to voice mail messages. Shame on all of you!

By Any Means Possible

Chat with Momma T: By Any Means Possible I wanted to make a comment on the cheating scandal in the Atlanta school system. I was watching Good Morning America yesterday morning and the ticker at the bottom of the screen said something like 200 school officials and teachers have been arrested for cheating in the past year. I just felt a little twinge of anger and feel compelled to respond. It is really difficult to be a successful teacher and there are so many dedicated teachers out there. What this does is to forever stamp Atlanta with a negative mark. Why did this happen? Well, what I am going say here is controversial but in my experience accurate. I previously worked at a school that was able to bolster their test scores by cheating. They got the test a week ahead of time and went over the questions in "study sessions". I refused to participate in these activities and applied for a transfer to another school. Everything has always been very much on the up and up at the school I work at now. How do you get to a point where this -by any means possible - attitude happens? The cheating that I mentioned previously happened before the No Child Left Behind Act. So that can't be the only reason. There is definitely too much pressure on educators to show test score improvement. I also strongly believe that some educators don't really believe that this is cheating. I can guaranteed that if we went back 15 years to my old faculty and interviewed the teachers and administrators involved that they would be surprised to hear that they may have been implicated in a cheating scandal. It is not something I completely understand, but I witness this on a continuous basis since I work with a varied segment of our population. Typically students from lower income homes and also very wealthy homes seem to have a totally different moral compass. For example- if something, such as an Ipod, is out in the open and they need it- it is free for the taking. If they are taking a test and they can text and look up answers-so be it! I actually took a chemistry class for my master's program in the late 1980's and some of the Atlanta school system teachers in there cheated on tests. I was pretty horrified,because it was very flagrant. They didn't understand why they couldn't work together on the test when the professor left them alone the whole exam period. Does this just represent a difference in social class or culture? I still don't understand and I am old now! Let me know what you think! Link: http://chatwithmommat.blogspot.com/2011/06/chat-with-momma-t.html?spref=bl

10:30:00 AM

by Momma T

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the Anthony verdict

Was I shocked by the Anthony verdict yesterday?  Absolutely not.  Personally I have been called for jury duty six times and have served on three trial juries.  The jury that I did not get picked for last month was a case against a doctor that was accused of Medicare fraud.  I sat in the "Voir dire" for over six hours while the potential jurors were questioned about their occupations, depth of knowledge of computer programs and medical backgrounds.  I was in the back, so I was pretty sure I was not going to be selected.  When the jury was finally picked, not one person with any background smarts was selected.  Most of the people had blue collar jobs and no college education. My point is- juries are picked by lawyers.  The state has the burden of paying for expensive tests to prove guilt.  The state can't always spend a lot of money on jury anyalsis. selecting just the right jury is the key to a criminal trial. 

Every judge always is very positive and thanks the potential jurors for taking their time to serve and makes a point to say that -although our system is flawed- we still have the best system in the world. I mean some countries make You prove your innocence.  Other countries have no trials- just a judge and  public stonings.
Two things put a damper on a fair trial- money and the media.   

I am upset that Casey Anthony was declared not guilty.  I do not blame the jury. I think that our society expects perfection from the police and prosecution.  TV shows like CSI make people think that every case should have tons of DNA evidence and "magical" science answers.   Casey Anthony was obviously an unfit mother and must have some deep- rooted dark issues.  Any mother accused of murder that doesn't have the guts to get up and present her own side of the story must have some serious mental issues. Her family was put through the media wringer. Casey will forever be OJ'ed.  She will have a free life but never be totally free.   Her family relationship with her parents and siblings will always be damaged. She will probably make a lot of money on movie and book deals. Remember people- you can choose not to read her book or watch her movie.  Make a statement and don't support her at all.

Chat with Momma T: Wimbeldon

What do you think of the men's final today? I thought Djokivic was very strong. It is nice to have a new face in the winner's circle! Is it me or does it seem that Nadal and Djokovic really hit the ball harder than ever before. I grew up watching Bjorn and John Mac and they had a great rivalry, but it does seem that the ball is really being slammed harder by the guys today. Is it the quality of the equipment? I also have noticed the lack of tennis stars coming from the US. It seems your name needs to end in -ic or -ova in order to be in the top eight players. Are we moving away from tennis in the US? Do you have to be from a war-torn country to still have the fever for winning?

Who was your favorite tennis player? I loved John McEnroe he was such a bad boy. I also love the rivalry between Federer and Nadal. The Williams sisters are also crowd pleasers. Unfortunately, I tend to love the controversial players- the ones that question the calls and don't play nicey, nicey! What do you think?