The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[MinnieM123]

@Cesar R M How to kill a cactus (or ANY plant for that matter): give it to me. I'm an expert plant killer. I don't even have to try. I suspect they look at me and go "OH NO! She's TERRIBLE with plants" and they commit suicide so it's a quicker death. I had a cactus type desert arrangement for a couple of months in college. One of those kinds where they are better left alone and you just water it once every 3 weeks and they are good to go...I killed it. I still have no idea how. My husband has banned plants from our home...I'm not allowed to have them because I name them and then cry when they die.

I do believe I have met my soul sister here, in the plant killing division! I ALSO had a cactus plant (actually plants in an arrangement), that one of the executives at work gave to me a few months ago. It only needed to be spritzed with water once a month. I did that, and it's still dying (after about 3 months . . .) Meanwhile, I've managed to kill every plant that ever came into the house! (I do not have a "green thumb" obviously .)

 

[Songbird76]

I hate wearing shoes.

Same here. I'd only wear flip flops or go barefoot all the time, if I could.

Ditto.

Wow...I couldn't deal without shoes. I have this thing about getting stuff on my feet like sand, or hair, or fuzzies, etc. I keep my slippers right by my bed and put them on immediately without my feet touching the floor. Same with getting in and out of the shower. I step out of the shoes and straight into the shower and then when I'm showered, I dry my feet and put them straight into the slippers. I'm weird, I know.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

I do believe I have met my soul sister here, in the plant killing division! I ALSO had a cactus plant (actually plants in an arrangement), that one of the executives at work gave to me a few months ago. It only needed to be spritzed with water once a month. I did that, and it's still dying (after about 3 months . . .) Meanwhile, I've managed to kill every plant that ever came into the house! (I do not have a "green thumb" obviously .)

I think you both have a sister in @figmentfan423.She kills plants on a regular basis and call it food

 

[MinnieM123]

@MR FERRET , do you have any plants at home? If so, do you take care of them or does Mrs. Ferret?

Switching gears here for a moment, for some odd reason on the train ride home from work last night, I was thinking about your HM picture/pearls design idea again. If you decided not to hang up the pearls (Im still trying to figure out how you would place them), I came up with an alternative idea.

I'm not sure what is under your HM picture (nothing at all, or a bureau, or a small table, or a shelf), but what if you bought a smaller frame and put the pearl necklace in that. So, you'd have your larger HM picture on the wall, and then (somewhere) underneath, (on a small table, bureau or a little shelf), you'd display the small frame with the pearls. The color of the small frame could be very subdued, as to somewhat fade into the background and not "compete" with the bigger frame or picture hanging on the wall. Yet, the framed pearls in the vicinity of the HM picture would be a very subtle connection . . . but only to those who understand the "meaning" of the pearl necklace . . .

Anyway, just a rambling thought I had last evening while my mind wandered off into its usual state of insanity.

 

[MinnieM123]

Wow...I couldn't deal without shoes. I have this thing about getting stuff on my feet like sand, or hair, or fuzzies, etc. I keep my slippers right by my bed and put them on immediately without my feet touching the floor. Same with getting in and out of the shower. I step out of the shoes and straight into the shower and then when I'm showered, I dry my feet and put them straight into the slippers. I'm weird, I know.

You're no weirder than the rest of us!

 

[MinnieM123]

I think you both have a sister in @figmentfan423.She kills plants on a regular basis and call it food

No, please, she's in a different class all together. I don't eat my kill . . .

 

[Songbird76]

Work places for sure. Schools I don't know will ever be free of the incidents but hopefully will be far more reactive to complaints. Kids at that age are little twits trying to find themselves with peer pressure and hormones combined with real bad judgement, most of which their own conscious is telling them the bullying is wrong.

We have a CAPS program that teaches students how to be aware of bad things happening to them and how to report it. CAPS is wonderful in theory, it brings awareness to those that have been abused, bullied or assaulted. On the flip side it does make students a bit petty. We as a school board receive a breakdown each month for the reports of tardy, in school suspensions, out suspensions, expulsions (which the board has to vote yes to) and harassment complaints. In the fall when the schools all have CAPS presentations to the parents and students there is 4x the harassment complaints students file with the social worker for 2 months and then it tapers off.

As we look at the complaints so many of the complaints are kind of twisted and a leap by the complaint filer while a token amount have true validity. I'll take the weed out process though to reach the few students that are genuinely be harassed in some way. I just don't believe no matter how well we educate these kids it will every leave the schools, ya can't fix the hard wiring of those brains. I read recently that boys brains don't finish hard wiring until they are 23-25. Still I've found some of the girls to be far more methodical in their bullying techniques especially in middle school.

I've gotten so frustrated with my kids' school. They have Kanjer Training, which is basically supposed to teach kids how to stand up for themselves and use words and think about their own behavior. So they have different colors of caps and they say for example the yellow cap is being a whiner/cry baby. Red is being bossy. Black is being a bully. And the kids can just say "Hey, you're wearing a black hat today" which is supposed to make the bully think about his actions and change the behavior. And if they don't, the kid is supposed to tell them 3 times to stop whatever it is, that they don't like it. If, after 3 attempts, it doesn't stop, only then are they supposed to go to a teacher. But bullies don't really care about what hat color they are wearing, and it's my son telling them to stop that they find amusing and it gives them more incentive to continue than it does to stop. I actually walked around the corner to the school to pick my kids up to find my son being held up against the wall by a boy 3 years older than him, shaking him. My son was in tears and screaming for him to stop, and the bully's friend was standing on his other side so DS couldn't get away. I went up and ripped them off of him and screamed at them. They ran off, I went and reported it to a teacher and the only thing that happened was that my son had to go with the teacher the next morning to ask the kid why he did that and to tell him he didn't like it, and the boy had to apologize and promise not to do it again. It was apparently never recorded, because a month later, another parent saw the same boy following DS around on the play ground nudging him and intimidating him, DS using the kanjer method of telling him to stop. She reported it to a teacher, who then did the exact same thing as the first incident...DS had to ask him why he did it and tell him he didn't like it, and the bully had to apologize and say it would never happen again. Then a few weeks later, there was ANOTHER incident. The bully was never punished in any way and it was never recorded by the school, so no one knew to watch for it. I WISH there was a program in place like your CAPS!!

 

[MinnieM123]

I've gotten so frustrated with my kids' school. They have Kanjer Training, which is basically supposed to teach kids how to stand up for themselves and use words and think about their own behavior. So they have different colors of caps and they say for example the yellow cap is being a whiner/cry baby. Red is being bossy. Black is being a bully. And the kids can just say "Hey, you're wearing a black hat today" which is supposed to make the bully think about his actions and change the behavior. And if they don't, the kid is supposed to tell them 3 times to stop whatever it is, that they don't like it. If, after 3 attempts, it doesn't stop, only then are they supposed to go to a teacher. But bullies don't really care about what hat color they are wearing, and it's my son telling them to stop that they find amusing and it gives them more incentive to continue than it does to stop. I actually walked around the corner to the school to pick my kids up to find my son being held up against the wall by a boy 3 years older than him, shaking him. My son was in tears and screaming for him to stop, and the bully's friend was standing on his other side so DS couldn't get away. I went up and ripped them off of him and screamed at them. They ran off, I went and reported it to a teacher and the only thing that happened was that my son had to go with the teacher the next morning to ask the kid why he did that and to tell him he didn't like it, and the boy had to apologize and promise not to do it again. It was apparently never recorded, because a month later, another parent saw the same boy following DS around on the play ground nudging him and intimidating him, DS using the kanjer method of telling him to stop. She reported it to a teacher, who then did the exact same thing as the first incident...DS had to ask him why he did it and tell him he didn't like it, and the bully had to apologize and say it would never happen again. Then a few weeks later, there was ANOTHER incident. The bully was never punished in any way and it was never recorded by the school, so no one knew to watch for it. I WISH there was a program in place like your CAPS!!

Let me preface this by saying that I don't have children, and am not in a position to add much value to a solution of the problem at hand. However, here's a random thought only. The bullying of your son progressed to an actual assault, more than once. Twice now, the Kanjer Training has been an epic failure, and I suspect that the Kanjer Training is more to keep the teachers safely out of a volatile situation, and protect both the school districts and the teachers from possible litigation--if the teachers get in the middle of a scuffle the kids are having. As a random suggestion only, call the cops.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

@MR FERRET , do you have any plants at home? If so, do you take care of them or does Mrs. Ferret?

Switching gears here for a moment, for some odd reason on the train ride home from work last night, I was thinking about your HM picture/pearls design idea again. If you decided not to hang up the pearls (Im still trying to figure out how you would place them), I came up with an alternative idea.

I'm not sure what is under your HM picture (nothing at all, or a bureau, or a small table, or a shelf), but what if you bought a smaller frame and put the pearl necklace in that. So, you'd have your larger HM picture on the wall, and then (somewhere) underneath, (on a small table, bureau or a little shelf), you'd display the small frame with the pearls. The color of the small frame could be very subdued, as to somewhat fade into the background and not "compete" with the bigger frame or picture hanging on the wall. Yet, the framed pearls in the vicinity of the HM picture would be a very subtle connection . . . but only to those who understand the "meaning" of the pearl necklace . . .

Anyway, just a rambling thought I had last evening while my mind wandered off into its usual state of insanity.

No plants in this house we believe in letting them live free They don't seem to like bright Halo light either .
Might well put your fine suggestion to Mrs F later .

 

[Songbird76]

You're no weirder than the rest of us!

We all have our quirks, don't we?

 

[Songbird76]

No, please, she's in a different class all together. I don't eat my kill . . .

Well, at least she probably does it quick...they don't have time to feel it. I, on the other hand, torture them slowly. Not intentionally, but still.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

12 days until Labor Day.

 

[Songbird76]

View attachment 107719

12 days until Labor Day.

Not that you're counting....

 

[betty rose]

I'm the same way when it comes to chicken. I love gnawing on the bones, chewing the cartilage. But I think that's my Chinese genes kicking in.

My sister did the same thing with chicken and pork chop bones. Not me, I don't like eating the meat down to the bone.

 

[betty rose]

Hey, almost looks like Chinese BBQ!

That's the kind of meat, I like. Off the bone.

 

[Figgy1]

I've gotten so frustrated with my kids' school. They have Kanjer Training, which is basically supposed to teach kids how to stand up for themselves and use words and think about their own behavior. So they have different colors of caps and they say for example the yellow cap is being a whiner/cry baby. Red is being bossy. Black is being a bully. And the kids can just say "Hey, you're wearing a black hat today" which is supposed to make the bully think about his actions and change the behavior. And if they don't, the kid is supposed to tell them 3 times to stop whatever it is, that they don't like it. If, after 3 attempts, it doesn't stop, only then are they supposed to go to a teacher. But bullies don't really care about what hat color they are wearing, and it's my son telling them to stop that they find amusing and it gives them more incentive to continue than it does to stop. I actually walked around the corner to the school to pick my kids up to find my son being held up against the wall by a boy 3 years older than him, shaking him. My son was in tears and screaming for him to stop, and the bully's friend was standing on his other side so DS couldn't get away. I went up and ripped them off of him and screamed at them. They ran off, I went and reported it to a teacher and the only thing that happened was that my son had to go with the teacher the next morning to ask the kid why he did that and to tell him he didn't like it, and the boy had to apologize and promise not to do it again. It was apparently never recorded, because a month later, another parent saw the same boy following DS around on the play ground nudging him and intimidating him, DS using the kanjer method of telling him to stop. She reported it to a teacher, who then did the exact same thing as the first incident...DS had to ask him why he did it and tell him he didn't like it, and the bully had to apologize and say it would never happen again. Then a few weeks later, there was ANOTHER incident. The bully was never punished in any way and it was never recorded by the school, so no one knew to watch for it. I WISH there was a program in place like your CAPS!!

Sympathy like. The one problem my younger ds had with a much older student was handled quite quickly. Seeing the much older boy was a constant problem the school just called the police no more problem. He was accidently put on the elementary bus due to a scheduling mix up, they never did that again if an older student has such a problem they now have the older student taken home by van

 

[betty rose]

Sympathy like. The one problem my younger ds had with a much older student was handled quite quickly. Seeing the much older boy was a constant problem the school just called the police no more problem. He was accidently put on the elementary bus due to a scheduling mix up, they never did that again if an older student has such a problem they now have the older student taken home by van

I'm glad more schools are addressing the problem, but we have a long way to go.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Apples and oranges so far though. Target doesn't know my name as I enter the store, or have a data base on where I go within the store. Yes the security cameras can go back and find me however not my every move is in a data base. If I pay cash it is hard to track. It is at Disney. I found it very creepity when they issued the MB to cast members and were able to track the every move of their employees. Where they ate, where they drank, how often. Many CMs once they are in the parks don't carry the MB especially if they are not doing FP+ They lock it up in locker until they leave. I like the idea of 10 CMs MBs in the same locker. Gave me a good giggle. Many refer to it as the ankle bracelet philosophy.

I look back at the first of leap year 24 hour party prior to the MB. My kid went in after a long nap and stayed until they cleared the park. Went to breakfast and went off to work. Nobody knew. Now there is tracking for that. It is a bit big brotherish for the CMs.

If you have one of those pretty red store cards for Target they certainly do know your name, your address and probably your phone number. If they are tracking you via camera then no they don't, but, that doesn't mean you aren't being tracked. The problem with this big brother line of thought is that it is personal and someone has been waiting for weeks for you to go there so they can see what you specifically are doing. It is a general (and sometimes security) purpose.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying about camera vs. MB. With a camera it is real time visual. They not only can see where you are (if they care that much personally) but can also see where you are going as you go there. With the MB there is a span of time when they do not know at all where you are and until you get to a check point it's a mystery.

When it gets exposed that the government has the ability to constantly track and identify our every movement then I will personally lead the revolution, however, this type of tracking does nothing to us, but, it does help to manage people flow and identify general habits of the public. Not everyone's move is a database either. That's paranoia! There are way to many people to have a personalized data base that isn't just general knowledge, the same knowledge that can be obtained by having a staff of people just watching and taking notes. It has some personal quirks I will admit, but, other then for park use, it has no use.

 

[Figgy1]

I'm glad more schools are addressing the problem, but we have a long way to go.

I'm lucky that problem never got past verbal, my school really has a zero tolerance policy! First day of school there's an assembly for each grade outlining the policy. In HS it's one and done if you bully a special ed student. They do call the police for that.

 

[Figgy1]

Wow...I couldn't deal without shoes. I have this thing about getting stuff on my feet like sand, or hair, or fuzzies, etc. I keep my slippers right by my bed and put them on immediately without my feet touching the floor. Same with getting in and out of the shower. I step out of the shoes and straight into the shower and then when I'm showered, I dry my feet and put them straight into the slippers. I'm weird, I know.

Nope just a different type of weird. If we were all the same it would get rather dull around here xoxo