the longer i work in the dorms, the more i realize that these kids desperately need something like a life skills class. DESPERATELY. it pains me that some of these kids can't do simple things. i realize it's probably their first time away from home and all that but there are some things you should just KNOW, you know? so here is my idea of for Life Skills 101, a class that should be required for graduation, preferably taken in the first semester, some of these are specific to SF State, but maybe there could be a Life Skills 102 for living in an apartment off campus as well. you would have to pass L S 101 of course.
section one: how to, cleaning
-a clogged toilet: how to plunge, turn off the water, and clean up afterwards.
-a loose doorknob
-a screen that has fallen off: how to reattach it.
-how to mop a floor
-how to use a vacuum
-if you need maintenance, do not be vague, details are important.
-garbage goes into the garbage room. same with recyclables.
section two: mail
-how to use a mailbox: find number, key goes in, turn.
-what do to if you have someone else's mail!
-how to send mail
-when and what days the mail comes: no mail on Sunday, dorms don't get mail until 6pm.
-when you might have a package, and when you don't.
section three: following rules!
-don't drink in the dorms, we know you are not 21
-leave the fire alarms where they are
-quiet hours are there for a reason
section four: food
-using a microwave
-using an oven
-using a garbage disposal
-when the DC closes
-where to eat after hours
-who delivers?
section five: respect
-the RAs know more than you do, and always will.
-never, on any occasion is it okay to SCREAM in the lobby or hallways, unless someone is dying.
-be nice to the person who is helping you. or they won't help you, get it?
-chances are, we don't want to hear you singing, or your keys jangling or the horrendous scraping noise you make when you shuffle your feet, so stop it.
-music: if you have in-the-ear headphones and anyone else can hear it, it's amazing you aren't deaf already.
-remember, UPD is only a call away.
-spilling of any liquid (including vomit) is not okay in the hallways, elevators or lobby. seriously, ew. find a trashcan.
section six: laundry
-different loads for different colors
-different water temperatures
-detergent
-bleach
-dryers and their settings
section seven: keys
-at all times, take your keys. ALWAYS.
-no matter how nicely or repeatedly you ask me, i will never give you a key without writing it down. you getting charged $50 is not an equal exchange for me possibly losing my job.
-if your key doesn't work, tell us.
-take your keys with you at all times.
section eight: miscellaneous
-telephones: voice mail, etc. also, how there isn't service in the lobby.
-labor: we are not it. bring your own.
-furniture: some of it's attached. check on that.
-if you lose your card, get a new one. i'm not going to get up every time to let you in.
-why you should really go to class: a breakdown of how much school is costing you and why it would suck to fail.
section nine: beyond the dorms; a look to the future
-how to write a check
-avoiding credict card debt
-how to find a roommate
-where to find an apartment
-when school isn't right for you
-where to find a job (maybe)
**so it's a work in progress. i think its going pretty well, right? i would have taken it freshman year. does anyone else have any other suggestions? i will gladly add them in and make sure you get credit.
1.28.2007
1.27.2007
ruth, this is for you
OH HO HOOOO! only a day after i got a request from my friend ruth to hate more things so she would have something to read, i come across this little gem:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070123/ap_on_re_us/flight_tantrum_1
a family of three is thrown off a plane because their three-year-old daughter is having a tantrum and wouldn't be seated.
well. let me say, i was going to write a post on this anyway because on my flight to chicago a mere five days before christmas, i had to sit next to an annoying little kid who refused to sit still. he kicked me and the seat in front of him continually for FOUR AND A HALF HOURS. seriously, no. he wouldn't listen to either of his parents at all. oooh it was soooooooo annoying. when his dad tried to get him to stop, he started whining. not crying, just kind of uuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!ing. gah, children.
anyway, so onto this story. i ENJOY this story so much. i am right there with the flight attendants asking the family to leave. for one, they were following FAA guidelines. she was over two years old, so she needed to be in her seat. they were already delayed 15 minutes, and this would have just delayed them longer. the attendants were just doing their job. chances are the kid would have been screaming throughout the flight, and it's not like it was her first flight (they were flying home) so don't try that excuse anyone. so thank you AirTran attendants! i applaud your decision to save that airplane of people the annoyance of yet another screaming child.
i get that people want to travel with their children. just like they take them to stores and to restaurants. but i LOATHE the fact that some parents let their children run about willy nilly! i realize i am not an expert, because i don't have kids and haven't had to take a child on an outing that wasn't under the age of 8. BUT i also see parents who have well-behaved children who sit quietly, don't bother other people, and listen to their parents. it makes me so angry at those parents who just watch their kids run around with this look on their face like, "oh look, how cute. oh, children..." its ridiculous. it is NOT okay to let your child do that. unless they are on a playground or some other designated play area. not only is it disruptive of everyone around you (how many times have you been almost collided into by some child RUNNING down the aisle at the grocery store?) but it also tells your kid that they can do whatever they want. no. so i guess i'm going into a little bit of parenting. (again, no experience, and i don't intend to, not for a long while anyway). i am a believer in making sure your kid knows that there are rules and they need to follow them. i have asked my parents about how it was when my sister and i were growing up. apparently we were well-behaved because if we weren't my dad would make us leave. i guess there was one incident where one of us was having a bit of a tantrum at a restaurant, and he we paid and left. there was no tolerating it. growing up we knew the rules, and if we disobeyed we were punished. and for the most part, i think i turned out okay. i'm getting off the point here. children need to have boundaries. i find it completely unacceptable for any child to run around a store or yell in a restaurant. and, if your kid is having a tantrum on a plane, and they kick you off, bully for you. you know what family? you should know better, and why do you have a child on an expensive airline anyway? you paid almost $600 for three tickets. screaming children belong on cheap airlines that poor people like me are forced to fly on.
i wait for the day i will be able to fly on an airline that doesn't allow children as passengers. i don't know if one exists, even if it does, i can't afford it. but one of these days... one of these days!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070123/ap_on_re_us/flight_tantrum_1
a family of three is thrown off a plane because their three-year-old daughter is having a tantrum and wouldn't be seated.
well. let me say, i was going to write a post on this anyway because on my flight to chicago a mere five days before christmas, i had to sit next to an annoying little kid who refused to sit still. he kicked me and the seat in front of him continually for FOUR AND A HALF HOURS. seriously, no. he wouldn't listen to either of his parents at all. oooh it was soooooooo annoying. when his dad tried to get him to stop, he started whining. not crying, just kind of uuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!ing. gah, children.
anyway, so onto this story. i ENJOY this story so much. i am right there with the flight attendants asking the family to leave. for one, they were following FAA guidelines. she was over two years old, so she needed to be in her seat. they were already delayed 15 minutes, and this would have just delayed them longer. the attendants were just doing their job. chances are the kid would have been screaming throughout the flight, and it's not like it was her first flight (they were flying home) so don't try that excuse anyone. so thank you AirTran attendants! i applaud your decision to save that airplane of people the annoyance of yet another screaming child.
i get that people want to travel with their children. just like they take them to stores and to restaurants. but i LOATHE the fact that some parents let their children run about willy nilly! i realize i am not an expert, because i don't have kids and haven't had to take a child on an outing that wasn't under the age of 8. BUT i also see parents who have well-behaved children who sit quietly, don't bother other people, and listen to their parents. it makes me so angry at those parents who just watch their kids run around with this look on their face like, "oh look, how cute. oh, children..." its ridiculous. it is NOT okay to let your child do that. unless they are on a playground or some other designated play area. not only is it disruptive of everyone around you (how many times have you been almost collided into by some child RUNNING down the aisle at the grocery store?) but it also tells your kid that they can do whatever they want. no. so i guess i'm going into a little bit of parenting. (again, no experience, and i don't intend to, not for a long while anyway). i am a believer in making sure your kid knows that there are rules and they need to follow them. i have asked my parents about how it was when my sister and i were growing up. apparently we were well-behaved because if we weren't my dad would make us leave. i guess there was one incident where one of us was having a bit of a tantrum at a restaurant, and he we paid and left. there was no tolerating it. growing up we knew the rules, and if we disobeyed we were punished. and for the most part, i think i turned out okay. i'm getting off the point here. children need to have boundaries. i find it completely unacceptable for any child to run around a store or yell in a restaurant. and, if your kid is having a tantrum on a plane, and they kick you off, bully for you. you know what family? you should know better, and why do you have a child on an expensive airline anyway? you paid almost $600 for three tickets. screaming children belong on cheap airlines that poor people like me are forced to fly on.
i wait for the day i will be able to fly on an airline that doesn't allow children as passengers. i don't know if one exists, even if it does, i can't afford it. but one of these days... one of these days!
1.04.2007
ugh, there are 11 of them?!
so today i am going to talk about a... plague that has taken over. some "genius" had an idea about a niche of the music market that hadn't been explored. you know what came out of it? KIDZ BOP. this is seriously one of the most disturbing things i have seen. i thoroughly HATE this product. it creeps me out to no end. in theory it seems like a brilliant idea. i think not. you get kids, CHILDREN, to sing popular songs. on paper, sure that seems great. but the songs they have these kids sing! oh my god. gnarls barkley's "crazy" (11), fuel's "bad day" (10), black eyed peas "pump it" (10, and i yeah, um, ever read the lyrics?), weezer's "beverley hills" (9), green day's "boulevard of broken dreams" (8), bowling for soup's "1985" (7), britney spears's "toxic" (6), jet's "are you gonna be my girl" (6), outkast's "hey ya" (5), dobie gray's (i think thats right) "drift away" (4), j.lo's "jenny from the block" (4), jimmy eat world's "the middle" (3), pink's "dont let me get me" (3), 3 doors down's "kryptonite" (2), ricky martin's "livin la vida loca" (1), blink-182's "all the small things" (1), and soooooooooooo many others.
does this disturb anyone else? now, im not about censoring music or not letting kids listen to certain things. mostly because i think its up to the parents to decide, and educate their children about what they are listening to, and what they issues are, so on and so forth. BUT, when you have kids singing these songs, thats just a totally different level. now im assuming that they change some of the lyrics. i mean, god i would HOPE so, seeing as some of the songs i listed discuss things that aren't meant for children. i dont know it just really creeps me out. i get that kids are attracted to music even if they dont know what the lyrics mean, i know as a kid i did the same thing. i was a HUGE fan of garth brook's "ive got friends in low places" and didnt have a clue about what he was talking about. but to have kids singing to other kids these songs, makes them think its okay... and its really not. maybe its because i dont have kids. but i think if i heard some kid singing "livin la vida loca" i would be shocked. ::shudder:: it just freaks me out to noooooooo end. yet at the same time, im slightly intrigued and im tempted to see if they have it at the library, just so i can be thoroughly creeped out, and at the same time say that at least i listened to it, even if its after i publish this.
oh god. it just creeps me out so much. like leering old guy across the street from a playground creepy. EW.
does this disturb anyone else? now, im not about censoring music or not letting kids listen to certain things. mostly because i think its up to the parents to decide, and educate their children about what they are listening to, and what they issues are, so on and so forth. BUT, when you have kids singing these songs, thats just a totally different level. now im assuming that they change some of the lyrics. i mean, god i would HOPE so, seeing as some of the songs i listed discuss things that aren't meant for children. i dont know it just really creeps me out. i get that kids are attracted to music even if they dont know what the lyrics mean, i know as a kid i did the same thing. i was a HUGE fan of garth brook's "ive got friends in low places" and didnt have a clue about what he was talking about. but to have kids singing to other kids these songs, makes them think its okay... and its really not. maybe its because i dont have kids. but i think if i heard some kid singing "livin la vida loca" i would be shocked. ::shudder:: it just freaks me out to noooooooo end. yet at the same time, im slightly intrigued and im tempted to see if they have it at the library, just so i can be thoroughly creeped out, and at the same time say that at least i listened to it, even if its after i publish this.
oh god. it just creeps me out so much. like leering old guy across the street from a playground creepy. EW.
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