Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tsk, tsk, tsk...
Haven't written in a couple of days! I had a lot of fun last weekend with a couple of stress-ness here and there during the week. I'm not feeling well this morning and I feel like such a slacker still in my pjs at 9AM. Well, I'll return to post like it's my job (and it's not) after I try to be semi-productive today.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
It takes time, but time is money that we don't have. Right?
I think that the right word is fuming. I was fuming yesterday morning. I just couldn't get a break yesterday!
I usually listen to Brad & Britt in the morning while I'm getting ready if I have the radio on. Yesterday's topic was about LEP persons (though they weren't called that in all that I heard) getting driver's licenses--or not--in Georgia. I have so much to say but don't even want to say it.
Look, I almost don't care what people really think or personally believe or whatever. I think it's valid to back something up with facts or with faith. But please, please, please, please, make a decent argument when sharing your thoughts, for goodness sake.
Ok, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I know it's a radio show and you have a few minutes at the most to say what you want to say, to give, I guess, your most important point. This world is too interconnected, there are a million factors in everything and all we do, so please refrain from using blanket statements that are a penny a piece and aren't worth your two cents.
Plus, I was quite disappointed with Brad and Britt's comments. Ok, maybe the first thing was that I thought that the two had the professions/services of interpretation and translation mixed up, but one of them made a slight attempt at pointing out that a translator (did he mean interpreter?) would be a such-and-such issue if he/she were at the actual appointment with an LEP person taking the driver's test. Anyhow, so these people call in the show who state that they are immigrants or born in another country, whatever, and they think that these non-English speaking people should learn English and that these tests shouldn't be offered translated in so many languages. So, whoopty-do, that was the hosts' big omgoodness, these people, immigrants themselves, are saying this!!! So either Brad or Britt was requesting a call from an immigrant that thought the opposite, that the tests should be available to LEP persons. I turned the radio off at that point.
Anyhow, before I turned the radio off, they brought up points about the LEP persons not being able to read road signs and such. So, along these lines, they also brought up illiterate persons driving...they can't read road signs, right? No, people, a sign is a sign for a reason. You see and arrow and "Raleigh" on a sign, not a sonnet about how sweet it is to merge left amongst the sparrows and the trees. So, illiteracy has gone down in NC but the immigrant and LEP population sure seems to be going up! So, hey, there are all of these new people here? Hmmm, so what do people do, these people, specifically? Ok, so they want to work, many raise families, buy groceries, oh, everything else that everyone else does, just about. {Sorry for my mega-use of commas, I'm sure}. Well, not only is this a country where everyone speaks English (not the official language, please don't distort the constitution) but be proud of the fact that it is a country of roads, highways, and all the signs pointing to everywhere we need to go. If you are going to insist on language as a way of life, why not the other addiction of ours, driving? I am not going to be naive, I would not be surprised if there were LEP persons out there who have no desire or are scared of speaking English; perhaps they think they can get by because of the neighborhood they live in or because they assume they'll always have the help of family and friends who do have more English-language capabilities. But other than that, learning English is not the issue here, right here right now. English is a life issue. Survival English is not enough, I think. But I love learning. I love languages. It's a hobby for me. I read elmundo.es for fun, get e-mail bulletins from MiGente, watched every episode of Julia--Wege zum Glueck and have a sanakirja in my Firefox bookmarks. But this is for fun, I guess, to exercise my brain and know a little more about something that I won't be a big part of. This is not survival. It takes time to learn a language no matter how you do it. Bringing your proof of Enlgish-language skills to the DMV before getting your license is not the same thing as bringing in your proof of residency.
If not driving was a real option not just in Georgia but in the U.S. as a whole--just look at Greensboro--than the story would be different. How would you go to work, or even find work, transport your children, go to the grocery store, anything without a car most of the time? I remember when I was the self-righteous urban planning student, living off of Cyburbia and refusing to get my driver's license, looking at downtown condos and relishing European high-density. Then I graduated from undergrad, started taking classes in Brown Summit, working downtown and living in an apartment...I got that license quick and put aside my holier-than-thou criticisms for reality.
Whew! What a rant. Tsk, tsk, Aden. Here's something to relieve the tension:
I usually listen to Brad & Britt in the morning while I'm getting ready if I have the radio on. Yesterday's topic was about LEP persons (though they weren't called that in all that I heard) getting driver's licenses--or not--in Georgia. I have so much to say but don't even want to say it.
Look, I almost don't care what people really think or personally believe or whatever. I think it's valid to back something up with facts or with faith. But please, please, please, please, make a decent argument when sharing your thoughts, for goodness sake.
Ok, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I know it's a radio show and you have a few minutes at the most to say what you want to say, to give, I guess, your most important point. This world is too interconnected, there are a million factors in everything and all we do, so please refrain from using blanket statements that are a penny a piece and aren't worth your two cents.
Plus, I was quite disappointed with Brad and Britt's comments. Ok, maybe the first thing was that I thought that the two had the professions/services of interpretation and translation mixed up, but one of them made a slight attempt at pointing out that a translator (did he mean interpreter?) would be a such-and-such issue if he/she were at the actual appointment with an LEP person taking the driver's test. Anyhow, so these people call in the show who state that they are immigrants or born in another country, whatever, and they think that these non-English speaking people should learn English and that these tests shouldn't be offered translated in so many languages. So, whoopty-do, that was the hosts' big omgoodness, these people, immigrants themselves, are saying this!!! So either Brad or Britt was requesting a call from an immigrant that thought the opposite, that the tests should be available to LEP persons. I turned the radio off at that point.
Anyhow, before I turned the radio off, they brought up points about the LEP persons not being able to read road signs and such. So, along these lines, they also brought up illiterate persons driving...they can't read road signs, right? No, people, a sign is a sign for a reason. You see and arrow and "Raleigh" on a sign, not a sonnet about how sweet it is to merge left amongst the sparrows and the trees. So, illiteracy has gone down in NC but the immigrant and LEP population sure seems to be going up! So, hey, there are all of these new people here? Hmmm, so what do people do, these people, specifically? Ok, so they want to work, many raise families, buy groceries, oh, everything else that everyone else does, just about. {Sorry for my mega-use of commas, I'm sure}. Well, not only is this a country where everyone speaks English (not the official language, please don't distort the constitution) but be proud of the fact that it is a country of roads, highways, and all the signs pointing to everywhere we need to go. If you are going to insist on language as a way of life, why not the other addiction of ours, driving? I am not going to be naive, I would not be surprised if there were LEP persons out there who have no desire or are scared of speaking English; perhaps they think they can get by because of the neighborhood they live in or because they assume they'll always have the help of family and friends who do have more English-language capabilities. But other than that, learning English is not the issue here, right here right now. English is a life issue. Survival English is not enough, I think. But I love learning. I love languages. It's a hobby for me. I read elmundo.es for fun, get e-mail bulletins from MiGente, watched every episode of Julia--Wege zum Glueck and have a sanakirja in my Firefox bookmarks. But this is for fun, I guess, to exercise my brain and know a little more about something that I won't be a big part of. This is not survival. It takes time to learn a language no matter how you do it. Bringing your proof of Enlgish-language skills to the DMV before getting your license is not the same thing as bringing in your proof of residency.
If not driving was a real option not just in Georgia but in the U.S. as a whole--just look at Greensboro--than the story would be different. How would you go to work, or even find work, transport your children, go to the grocery store, anything without a car most of the time? I remember when I was the self-righteous urban planning student, living off of Cyburbia and refusing to get my driver's license, looking at downtown condos and relishing European high-density. Then I graduated from undergrad, started taking classes in Brown Summit, working downtown and living in an apartment...I got that license quick and put aside my holier-than-thou criticisms for reality.
Whew! What a rant. Tsk, tsk, Aden. Here's something to relieve the tension:
Arrabbiata
Pasta for breakfast? Why not?! I'm doing it up italiano today, I guess. We've planned to finally go to Dioli's in Winston-Salem today. Someone first recommended it to me as I confessed my tiramisu obsession (thanks for perpetuating the addiction!). Maybe we can meet up with Marshall and Patricia there cuz that'd be two weeks in a row! Last week I met up at the Bog Gardens with them and Karen and Erika to get our walk on.
It was my suggestion although I was kind of embarrassed when I realized how short of a walk it is through there...it seemed longer when Chris and I went. Well, last week we walked the path a couple of times and Karen and Erika were melting over everyone's dogs, especially (as Karen puts it) the 'hotdogs'.
Yesterday, Chris and I had a short (and sunny) evening out. We basically skipped First Friday and left after dropping by the City View social, snagging up a couple of the Zen sushi rolls and then on a whim taking a tour of a one bedroom and two bedroom in the complex. I remember when they were still building that complex back in the day when I would stare at the construction while I was waiting for my train. I thought, who would live that close to the train tracks? Oh, wait, I did last year, when after I already signed the lease I realized that that wasn't a river like two feet from my back door.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Naners
It's not even 6:45AM and I already feel behind today. TGIF sure came up fast this week! But I still hear it pouring outside so I am sort of being a Debbie Downer right now projecting a wet First Friday, but I still plan on making the best of it. This weekend seems packed but hopefully it will be the send off I need before getting down to business and tying up loose ends for the semester.
Last night was a rainy mess outside but Chris and I decided to venture out and make the most of it by heading downtown to continue bulldozing through what seems like a million dollars in gift certificates to Solaris that we have. We got a few of the regulars and tried a few dishes but most are just O.K. I get the faint, I mean strong, feeling that most of the got tapas were frozen when I ordered them. But, the black bean cakes keep me coming back (well, until we run out of gift money) and I am a sucker for mozzarella so the Milano takes the edge off of my current battle against cheese (*whimper*). But, my goodness, Solaris, don't fret because you do have a winner and that is your--I don't even know the name of the dish--but that hot, pastry-wrapped cheesecake with the raspberry(?)-sauce drizzle drops us to our knees! For the first time last night, Chris and I each got our own. How unromantic but necessary.
But, it was nice to go out even though it wasn't nice out. It was good to hang out with Chris one on one since this week I seemed to be all over the place. My 9 to 5 plus one night of class has been offset by all the this-and-that I've been going to after work. Tuesday night, though, I caught up with him and a few others at Bar 40--wait, no we are actually going to College Hill Sundries--wait, wait, wait, forget that, we're headed to Old Town. Joel was here that night so it was good to see him!
Anyway, yesterday afternoon I decided to not go home for lunch; the concept wasn't as solid as I thought, going home to save money for lunch since all I had to do was drive up there and eat what I already had. I could totally jsut bring my lunch to work. There's also the cost for gas/time for driving to and from for a total of 30 minutes, leaving me only 30 minutes to indulge in, for example, Wednesday afternoon's delight of a handful of Doritos, oatmeal, really, really old chicken, and blackberry jelly on toast. The toast was the best part. Really, though, I just like to see Chris at lunch and take a little brain-break from officeness on the drive to and from the house, though I am usually stressing to make it there in 15 minutes or less.
Yesterday, I decided to hit up Friendly Center instead for two extremely pressing issues. First, I had to pay my late PO BOX dues (oh how lovely are grace periods)and get a bunch of bananas, stat! That's my new, or revised, addiction: banana in left hand and Skippy Natural (Creamy, of course) in the right, goodness in the mouth. My only revision was cutting out the bread, not to save calories, though, because the loaf is right next to the toaster to sop up the 40 ( or, three) jars of jelly I bought.
Well, it was kind of nice to go to the Harris Teeter for lunch. That used to be my lunch hang out spot, like a lot of people's it seems, but then I realized it was cutting into my not-really-a-budget-budget (even though it is way cheaper than going out to eat). You always see someone you know there at the Gucci Teeter, as Karen refers to it. It's the hot spot, right? Well, I remember when it really was when it first opened, and Kat and I would go and hang out at the couches in the back of the store. What happened to those?! It may have been getting too loiterishy but whenever we were there, well, after midnight usually, it was pretty quiet. Until we got there. But now, after all this time, I still get confused whenever I go towards the freezer section and realize that all the chips have been moved to my former living room space (sad face). Aaaaaanyways, the strawberries are on sale, the neon-petaled flowers are fresh and I know that a hungry Aden can curb mid-day hunger with some HT samples.
Time for work!
Last night was a rainy mess outside but Chris and I decided to venture out and make the most of it by heading downtown to continue bulldozing through what seems like a million dollars in gift certificates to Solaris that we have. We got a few of the regulars and tried a few dishes but most are just O.K. I get the faint, I mean strong, feeling that most of the got tapas were frozen when I ordered them. But, the black bean cakes keep me coming back (well, until we run out of gift money) and I am a sucker for mozzarella so the Milano takes the edge off of my current battle against cheese (*whimper*). But, my goodness, Solaris, don't fret because you do have a winner and that is your--I don't even know the name of the dish--but that hot, pastry-wrapped cheesecake with the raspberry(?)-sauce drizzle drops us to our knees! For the first time last night, Chris and I each got our own. How unromantic but necessary.
But, it was nice to go out even though it wasn't nice out. It was good to hang out with Chris one on one since this week I seemed to be all over the place. My 9 to 5 plus one night of class has been offset by all the this-and-that I've been going to after work. Tuesday night, though, I caught up with him and a few others at Bar 40--wait, no we are actually going to College Hill Sundries--wait, wait, wait, forget that, we're headed to Old Town. Joel was here that night so it was good to see him!
Anyway, yesterday afternoon I decided to not go home for lunch; the concept wasn't as solid as I thought, going home to save money for lunch since all I had to do was drive up there and eat what I already had. I could totally jsut bring my lunch to work. There's also the cost for gas/time for driving to and from for a total of 30 minutes, leaving me only 30 minutes to indulge in, for example, Wednesday afternoon's delight of a handful of Doritos, oatmeal, really, really old chicken, and blackberry jelly on toast. The toast was the best part. Really, though, I just like to see Chris at lunch and take a little brain-break from officeness on the drive to and from the house, though I am usually stressing to make it there in 15 minutes or less.
Yesterday, I decided to hit up Friendly Center instead for two extremely pressing issues. First, I had to pay my late PO BOX dues (oh how lovely are grace periods)and get a bunch of bananas, stat! That's my new, or revised, addiction: banana in left hand and Skippy Natural (Creamy, of course) in the right, goodness in the mouth. My only revision was cutting out the bread, not to save calories, though, because the loaf is right next to the toaster to sop up the 40 ( or, three) jars of jelly I bought.
Well, it was kind of nice to go to the Harris Teeter for lunch. That used to be my lunch hang out spot, like a lot of people's it seems, but then I realized it was cutting into my not-really-a-budget-budget (even though it is way cheaper than going out to eat). You always see someone you know there at the Gucci Teeter, as Karen refers to it. It's the hot spot, right? Well, I remember when it really was when it first opened, and Kat and I would go and hang out at the couches in the back of the store. What happened to those?! It may have been getting too loiterishy but whenever we were there, well, after midnight usually, it was pretty quiet. Until we got there. But now, after all this time, I still get confused whenever I go towards the freezer section and realize that all the chips have been moved to my former living room space (sad face). Aaaaaanyways, the strawberries are on sale, the neon-petaled flowers are fresh and I know that a hungry Aden can curb mid-day hunger with some HT samples.
Time for work!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Ramen for breakfast
I didn't post yesterday! Shame, shame.
Well, yesterday was quite busy. I spent most of the evening at La Iglesia Cristiana at another 287(g) forum, with Kathy as a great moderator.
Here's a pic from last night before I make up for not posting for the past couple of days:
Well, yesterday was quite busy. I spent most of the evening at La Iglesia Cristiana at another 287(g) forum, with Kathy as a great moderator.
Here's a pic from last night before I make up for not posting for the past couple of days:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
