The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[MOXOMUMD]

So I have had quite a day of some ups and downs...and I have to share because I'm still a little freaked out about the downs. So sorry if it is a little long. The day started with a phone call from school we had a two hour delay because of icy roads. This was a good thing for me, it meant getting a little extra sleep and getting some stuff done around the house. As I live only 2 blocks from the school I teach at I didn't have to worry about icy roads.

Once I get to school the kids are all crazy because it is Friday and we had the 2 hour delay. I was a little late getting into my classroom to start as I was chatting with our librarian in the hallway and I noticed our principal with one of our students at the students locker which was right across from the doorway of my classroom. I thought it was strange if this student was already in trouble as it was at the start of the day. About 45 minutes later in between the next two classes another teacher told me she saw that student being taken out of school with the police. Anyway, soon after that we found out that the student had brought a loaded gun to school. And turns out it wasn't the first time, he showed the gun to his friends and his friends did the right thing and told our principal. It is just really scary to think that a middle schooler would bring a gun to school and it was loaded (and cocked). If you don't remember I teach in a very rural district and we all have the feeling that something like a shooting would never happen here. Luckily the student didn't use the gun and it didn't go off accidentally. But it is still sickening to think of what could have happened. Hopefully that is the only brush I or anyone I know have with that situation.

So when I came home from school we booked our summer Disney trip, as I needed some joy and magic to hold on to today.

We never had a lot of safety protocol put into our schools until three years ago. As a day was ending at my daughter's school, a mom picking her kid up went to a classroom and smacked the teacher around. The father had left the mother to date the teacher and mother wasn't happy! After that incident entrance cameras and a buzz in system was installed.

 

[Gabe1]

But what you're talking about with a child having a meltdown in Disney is different because that child is accompanied by an adult. That person is responsible for their child. This woman is an adult and in the parks by herself. If someone is drunk and unruly, Disney would deal with that. And I know it's different with a person with a disability, but if she is that unstable, she shouldn't be by herself...it's not safe for her, or for others. And whether you are disabled or not, there ARE guidelines to be followed and while in some cases special allowances are made for certain disabilities, it's probably not Disney policy to let anyone with a disability just cut in whichever line they choose. I'm assuming there would be special passes, or special lines or some other provision for disabled patrons to discreetly be helped without causing problems with the other patrons. If she doesn't qualify for special arrangements, then they shouldn't let her take advantage of other patrons. And if she DOES qualify for special arrangements, then she needs to use THOSE, not just make her own, if that makes sense. And that she's kind of become famous for this behavior...That is sad in a way to me because if she really does believe that she's Luke's wife, then it's kind of mean to encourage her in that...like "Take a picture with the bearded lady", "come see the freak"..like they are making a spectacle of her. And if she's not that delusional, then she's taking advantage of every other patron in the park, playing on a disability, which is unfair of her to do. I have no way of knowing whether or not she sincerely believes it, but I think it's a disservice to her, either way.

Reminds me a bit of all the original tales about the Teddy Bear Lady at the Grand Floridian until the real sweet story unfolded. There always seems to be more that Disney knows that guests do not. My gut tells me that the CMs are keenly aware along with management. Sad nonetheless.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

no problemo!
Im exhausted but was awesome!

tomorrow going home.

Your trip went fast!

 

[MOXOMUMD]

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Cute pictures of E.B. from Hop.

 

[Gabe1]

If that is his motive, that is really using his own DD.

I think she already established he has manipulated the DD to get what he wants over what is likely best for the DD. Makes me angry.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

9 days until National Snowman Day.

 

[catmom46]

Cute pictures of E.B. from Hop.

I thought so, too.

 

[Gabe1]

See, I wouldn't hold you responsible just because you were the messenger. I would be upset and might write a letter if it was something like overbooking...especially if I had somewhere important to be. Like with the Disney trip. I have reservations at the resort and will have ADRs. If I miss an ADR because I was bumped from the flight, that costs me money and I would expect to be compensated for what I had to pay for missing my reservations. I shouldn't have to pay for it when I had the contract with the airline. So THAT I would write about or ask to see a manager, but you, as the face, can't do anything about it, so I wouldn't be yelling at you unless you were really rude to me. I'm not really a yeller. And if I was compensated and could rearrange my schedule, it wouldn't bother me to be bumped for a vulnerable passenger. If I got there and was told "yeah, sorry..we overbooked, so we've decided to bump you. You'll have to fly tomorrow. Bye!" then I'd be very angry...still not at you, but I would be demanding compensation for the inconvenience. I guess it would depend on how it was presented to me and what the circumstances were. If I was late checking in, that's my own fault and I can't get mad when they resell my seat to someone who was there on time. And if it was for a vulnerable passenger and that was explained to me, I'd be willing to give up my seat as long as I could make other arrangements. But just a "We overbooked and you'll have to wait till tomorrow"(translation: "we messed up and you get to pay the price for it") wouldn't fly with me.

Yep, I get it but both scenarios happen every day. They compensate for hotel, food expenses for the layover. Not so much for consequential losses like a missed dinner elsewhere as they are picking up your meal meals while delayed. It has all been vetted legally for decades. They will still overbook 'cause there more times than not that passengers do not make it to there flights, missing a connection do to a delay at another airport, security lines being long, being late to airport-like caught in unexpected traffic, denied boarding, all sorts of things. On the occasion that it doesn't work out they ask for volunteers or they bump someone. It is annoying, frustrating but seldom something a passenger can do about it beyond collecting the standard consolation offerings. Another reason why I pay the extra $$ to Southwest, it cuts down on the possibilities of it happening to me.

 

[catmom46]

I think she already established he has manipulated the DD to get what he wants over what is likely best for the DD. Makes me angry.

Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and he's truly only doing this for DD's best interest, it does not excuse his attempts at alienating me from her by making false allegations of abuse/neglect, calling me a liar and saying that I'm playing games in front of her, and other bullying tactics. It's really quite sickening and he has no idea what he's doing is so very wrong.

 

[Gabe1]

I didn't think about the privacy laws. I did see one candidate for president that wants to put involuntary admittance laws into effect for mentally ill people. I can't remember which one it was, he appeared on Morning Joe, and this was one thing he wanted to do.

But this is why these laws were put into place. So many times a narcistic person getting rid of a spouse by persuading a doctor to put them away when there was nothing the matter with them. There are reasons why it is difficult to get legal power of attorney over someone else's health care to prevent abuse of power. Judges have very high criteria to take away an individual's rights. There were so many cases of adult children declaring Mom was incompetent to gain control over family estates. Too many unscrupulous people in the world.

Ever see the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

 

[Gabe1]

Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and he's truly only doing this for DD's best interest, it does not excuse his attempts at alienating me from her by making false allegations of abuse/neglect, calling me a liar and saying that I'm playing games in front of her, and other bullying tactics. It's really quite sickening and he has no idea what he's doing is so very wrong.

I pray karma catches up with him. It is difficult to give him the benefit of the doubt. Blahhhhhhh

 

[Gabe1]

Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and he's truly only doing this for DD's best interest, it does not excuse his attempts at alienating me from her by making false allegations of abuse/neglect, calling me a liar and saying that I'm playing games in front of her, and other bullying tactics. It's really quite sickening and he has no idea what he's doing is so very wrong.

I pray karma catches up with him. It is difficult to give him the benefit of the doubt. Blahhhhhhh

 

[catmom46]

But this is why these laws were put into place. So many times a narcistic person getting rid of a spouse by persuading a doctor to put them away when there was nothing the matter with them. There are reasons why it is difficult to get legal power of attorney over someone else's health care to prevent abuse of power. Judges have very high criteria to take away an individual's rights. There were so many cases of adult children declaring Mom was incompetent to gain control over family estates. Too many unscrupulous people in the world.

Ever see the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

Ugh, great movie, so depressing.

 

[catmom46]

I pray karma catches up with him. It is difficult to give him the benefit of the doubt. Blahhhhhhh

In a way it's already caught up to him because he only has one friend (and even that hangs by a thread frequently), and some family (although he wasn't talking to his mom for a few years until recently), and he constantly feels like people have betrayed him or don't appreciate his efforts. He plays the martyr card all the time, so how happy can a person like him be?

However, if karma does exist, it would reveal itself in court when the judge tells him to stop acting like a jerk and straighten up.

 

[Gabe1]

and they are not built like the older ones anymore.
I swear I have gone to like 30 stores.. and noone has a comfy pillow like my old18 year old one.
the new ones are either too hard (rock solid) too hot (plastic memory foam), or too soft (nailon or other compressed shredded stuff)

These are the pillows I now use. There are cheaper versions by the same manufacturer however they are not the same.

These are soft and mushy however there is a center core to keep your head from mushing all the filling to the sides and plopping down to the mattress. It is a Goldilocks pillow, not too soft and not too firm. I now have four of them as does my DD. They breathe too. And when they start to flatten you put them in the dryer for 20 minutes and they come back out puffy again. As I am now, I can prop them up behind my back in bed while playing on here and yet they give enough for your body to mold into them. Sleeping my head doesn't plop to the mattress level nor is it at a right angle. I am not a cheap person, I am frugal but am willing to pay $$$ for these pillows.

http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Coast-Standard-Pillow-Pillows/dp/B0027USND2

 

[Figgy1]

I'm thinking either late June, since school gets out June 23, or mid-August. I'll be sure to let you know once I figure it out!

True, it is mostly great that he's moving out. It was supposed to be this weekend, but he pushed it back until the following week.

I'm so sorry to hear that! I have a walking tour he might want to take

 

[Figgy1]

So for my birthday "trip" at DLR, I decided I'll stay one night at the Disneyland Hotel and the other night at Grand Californian, so I can experience both of them!

Congrats! That's wonderful!

 

[Figgy1]

Oh my, yes. Many, many times over the years.
The main reasons I've never seriously pursued it are cost and time involved.
Plus, I have a heart condition called supraventricular tachycardia. In an instant, and out of nowhere, my heart rate can jump to well above 200 bpm. I've been in the ER twice when it was at 215 bpm and 230 bpm.
Had the first episode in my early 30's. I had no clue what the heck was going on. In the ER, they had to administer through IV an antiarrythmic called adenosine to knock my heart rate back down. Craziest darn feeling...it basically flatlines you for a few seconds so that the heart can then resume a normal rhythm.
They told me it would get worse over time and that I would eventually need heart ablation surgery to correct it.
After that, I started carrying around a prescription med called verapamil to take in case of an event. It has kept me from ER visits a few times.
Crazy thing is, despite what the docs said, the frequency of these events has actually substantially lessened over time. The last time I had an event (knock on wood - my head ) was about 8 years ago. And, although I've never lost consciousness during an event, the lightheadedness and a straining feeling on the body is quite unnerving.
Anyway, if I ever see myself getting close to having the money or time to go for a pilots license, the first thing I'll do is research the heart condition thing.
I still have dreams about flying all the time.
It would be about the coolest thing in the world if I could someday get a pilots license...!

ETA: thrill rides and such have all been doc approved. Apparently, that stuff has no bearing on the condition...!

I am so sorry to hear that. You seem like you'd love every minute in the air.

 

[Figgy1]

One of my favorite stories about my dad was he was in elementary school and they had the old fliptop desks. He was making homemade firecrackers and one went off. He was busted by the smoke coming out of the cracks.

My younger ds has one of those flip top desks. It's nice and big so he might get a few more years out of it for doing homework. My fil saw somebody putting them out to the curb at an old school and then rescued them with permission (we think)

 

[Figgy1]

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Thank you!!!!!!! I see flowers beautiful flowers!