Julie Pippert: Using My Words

I slinked into the geometry classroom with a nasty attitude. That year began my third year in the terrible town and horrible school district that I had grown to hate. Each day I plotted how I would be able to escape. At the library---no Internet back then, friends---I looked up information about boarding schools, and mailed weekly inquiries to get brochures. I researched different schools in the area, and even called a few to find out if I could transfer. My mother scuttled each plan. She was sure it was simply typical teen angst; nobody actually enjoyed middle or high school. I was sure anywhere was better than there. So, stuck there another year, I began the year with a surly demeanor. Geometry, I thought, another math, another waste of time, another horrid teacher. The previous year I'd had a newbie teacher for algebra and had learned nothing. The truth is she was actually a mathematician, not a teacher. She began the year with the goal to make us all stellar math students who ...

This is part of the Monday Mission. We're to leave a voice mail. Check out Painted Maypole's spot for more... "Hi...umm...Mitch? It's Julie, Julie from high school. I doubt you remember me; we only knew each other for about five minutes. You mowed our lawn a few times, dated my friend's sister, and were in my AP English class senior year. That's why I'm calling---about what you did in the English class. It made a lasting impression, really made a difference in my life. That probably sounds dramatic but it's true. You see, I'd spent a lot of years being the kid who fell through the cracks in school. I think by high school I'd gotten tired of being the good enough and compliant student. Senior year, I was one inch from dropping out, and I probably would have if I'd had the guts or I thought my parents would let me get away with it. Instead, I just created a lot of unnecessary sturm and drang for myself, and cut school so much that by the end ...

I got meme'd and I sincerely hope I caught (recalled) them all. First up...the fab Jenn from Serving the Queens started a cool meme about "the me in my room." She wants us to show our bedrooms and how they reflect who we are. So here, I am: All righty then. You can't see a single one of my notes. Sorry about that. What if instead...you tell me what you see. **** Ten things I don't get... I stole this one because (a) Slouching Mom told me I could and (b) I like it. So ten things I don't get: 1. The new Toyota ad campaign. How much do I never, ever want a Toyota sedan if its chief selling point is you can fire a cannon beside it and not wake a sleeping badger who would rip my face off? And then...she does it anyway? Great scott! ACK and YUCK! I hope Toyota can get their money back. 2. People who think 100 calories means healthy. No, it just means less calories. 3. Why I keep falling for the "sugar free" ad campaign. It doesn't mean they left a ...

Several days ago, Liz at Mom-101 wrote Political Death by Middle Name? for MOMocrats. In that article, she informed us that some conservative right wing talk show guy had decided a good political tactic was to employ the George Bush Manufacture Fact By Proximity and Repetition technique to link Barack Obama to terrorism. How? Because he happens to be named after his father, which means his middle name is Hussein. That's right: Hussein. It's a name. That's all. Not everybody named Wayne is a serial killer, and not everybody named Bush is...well, best to not hoist myself on my own petard here. I read Liz's informative article, made a mental note, was annoyed, but thought, well, that's just too stupid to go anywhere. I underestimated the mental immaturity and reckless irresponsibility of some right wing talking heads. I overestimated people's sense of honor, mistakenly assuming that all of us have this interior gauge that prevents us from going too low. I overesti...

Little known blogger Julie Pippert was swamped by a big wave of life yesterday. When she surfaced---thanks to swimming help by her Labrador retriever---she noticed she was missing a veterinary appointment, two return phone calls, more than half the blogs in her feed reader (count now well over 100), a multitude of email and a promised blog post. "I think it just sank to the bottom of this vast sea," she said sadly and resignedly, beginning to hum, "My Heart Will Go On," the popular Celine Dion song from the movie Titanic . The wave, which Ms. Pippert refers to as a mini tsunami, began with over-reaching expectations and overcommitment. "I think a lot of people get sucked under the tide of plans and goals," she said, "Some never come back up. I'm just glad I resurfaced. I'm going to seize this second chance and scale back." Her scaling back process began yesterday afternoon when, instead of reading the accumulated blog posts in her feed re...

She herself was not strong-willed...so she quickly recognized the futility of attempting to alter the course of unalterable events. Enduring what couldn't be cured, she supposed, was what people meant by being adult, though it was ironic that so few of them---including her parents---had mastered the skill themselves. By age twelve she'd already learned to cut her losses and derive what comfort she could from doing so. Generally she was happy or, failing that, reasonably content, though she sometimes wondered if she'd conceded the inevitable too quickly. What if the only thing concessions got you was the habit of conceding? "All and Sundry," from Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (p.324) (if you aren't reading this book, you should) Marie A. Sherrett, past president of the Prince George's County, MD, chapter of the Autism Society of America, in her article, " Assertiveness and Effective Parent Advocacy, " wrote that parents of special needs kids c...

I've noticed a sudden upsurge of spam the last couple of days. My personal domain is getting slammed despite filters, and some are slipping through here as well. It seems to come and go in waves, but I wanted to tell people I've noticed it. I'd turn on my comment moderation, but I can't moderate comments today and don't want them clogged up and invisible. So I hate to say it, but for today and maybe tomorrow I'll have the word verification feature on. Sorry. You might also check your settings. Thanks, Julie P.S. Real post with topic below: What things make our children successful in the classroom?

I want my daughters to be successful---personally, educationally, and professionally. That sounds like a boring statement of the obvious. It is. What's not so obvious is how to achieve that. There are many obstacles: personal foibles (mine and theirs), a larger world to work within, and so forth. The key to achieving goals successfully is to break them down into realistic, smaller parts. We all need to feel a sense of completion and accomplishment. It motivates us, keeps us engaged. So I'm focusing on the here and now: school. How can my kids be successful in the classroom? As I researched factors that contribute to success in the classroom, I ran across a lot about assertiveness, primarily assertiveness with humility. Ah ha, I thought, I'm not surprised. But I am worried. Why? It's because of the feedback I consistently get about Patience from teachers. I'd like to think that each and every teacher my daughter encounters is in the classroom out of a love of childre...

Yesterday it was a sunny and hot 85 degrees here.* We spent a great deal of time outdoors, including a family outing to a popular local restaurant with a shaded patio that surrounds a playground for kids. Alert-eyed parents scouted for available tables and staked claims to tables clearing out. In most cases, the dads were sent ahead and they did a good job of staking claims rather genially. One dad approached the table next to us and began to move in when another dad popped up and said, "Oh you know, we were going to sit here," the first dad hesitated for a second---should he challenge? He had to weigh: disappoint his approaching wife who told him to get. that. table. now! or follow his instincts to move on---then he said, "Right, sure, sorry," and began to move away. The second dad, his territory respected, said, "Well maybe we can split the two tables, if your family doesn't mind being tight? How many do you have?" The dads proceeded to negotiate the...

Elvin Bishop singing "Fooled Around and Fell In Love," an oldie but goodie and fave of mine through the ages (literally). I'd have preferred to put up the Rod Stewart modern cover of it but Rod says no. It's true: the mighty has fallen. After all my kvetching and questioning about social media, all my fooling around with Flickr, Twitter et al. you could call me a player. I dabble with Facebook, but it was clear: I was not really ready to settle down. But then. Michael Stelzner introduced me to LinkedIn . I fooled around. And fell in love. That place has purpose, use, functionality and fabulous resources. It's everything I was looking for. I think we'll live happily ever after. Even better...you can join us. Like one, big, happy family. ************************************************************************************* Drawing Winner In last week's Hump Day Hmm , I asked you to deliver and offered an incentive (art or editing). You followed through won...

Image Source: Hillary Clinton photostream at Flickr . Last night I live blogged the Democratic debate for MOMocrats , a fantastic group of writers who use their words to share political views and news---a group I am happy to have recently joined. During the debate, I noticed one of the moderators' favorite things to do was take Hillary Clinton to task for her detracting remarks of Barack Obama. Obama hasn't been a perfect choir boy during this campaign, but Clinton is the one who has taken some fairly low potshots that smack either of self-righteousness or desperation. Both self-righteousness and desperation smell like weakness and appear as a challenge. Shark like reporters and detractors scent blood. Indulge me as I backtrack for a minute here... I always had a pretty good mind of my own. But in eighth grade we moved to an environment that was harshly unaccepting of that in me. I had a choice: bend and go along to get along, or break and be alone. I chose the former. By the t...

Contestant Kady Malloy poses on the tarmac in Santa Monica. ( Photo Credit: Timothy White, Fox Photo, American Idol. ) February 21, 2008 By Julie Pippert HOUSTON -- After last night's American Idol women's competition, 5.3 million teens boys from around the United States decided to move to Oklahoma and Texas. "Oklahoma and Texas seem to be the epicenters of hotness in girls," said Shane Smith, 17, leader of the group Boys Just Want to Have Fun, "We're young---our average member age is 17---and we like hot girls. We also like music. So the only logical thing to do is move to Oklahoma and Texas, where there seem to be a lot of hot girls who can sing. American Idol opened our eyes to this." Smith and the Boys Just Want to Have Fun members wrote and signed a manifesto citing Texan Kelly Clarkson and Oklahoman Carrie Underwood as their major inspiration. "Kelly Clarkson said one time in an interview that she was not the hottest thing growing up, that m...

Image source and story of image: National Galleries of Scotland If you were to ask me, I'd tell you that I tend to say things other people dare not say. I speak my mind. I don't always coat my words with a generous dollop of ass kissing. Many people consider averted eyes, swallowed words, and sugar coating their due. Skipping this is perceived as disrespectful. It never quite got me to bite my tongue, though, even at times I perhaps should have. I was bold, arrogant, and defensive about this, as the youth often are about their immaturity. But as I entered my mid-thirties and beyond, I began noticing a disturbing pattern: a tendency to swallow my words and sugarcoat. Was this maturity? Wisdom? Or was it a desire to please? Was I tired and worn down? I sat down and looked backwards--- Russo-style , through the opposite end of the telescope---and tried to figure out if I'd ever been as bold out loud as I was in my mind. Was I? Had I been? Could I be? Should I? I believe I was...