How do you feel today?

[Holsety]

I'm at work, and patiently praying for just three more calls, no less (more would be OK but isn't needed). That should be enough.

[Dread Poet Jethro]

Only three, good sir?
Would that not be uncalled-four?
(I could not resist...)

[Cagliostro]

I'm at work, and patiently praying for just three more calls, no less (more would be OK but isn't needed). That should be enough.

What is your number? I'll call.

[Spiral Jacobs]

Actually it's my second, our first decided to arrive 6 weeks early so we were ready for another early arrival...but no. Guess I'll just have to wait and see

[Seareach]

Good luck with the birth, SJ (both you and, of course, your Mrs). We'll look forward to the announcement!


I'm having a fun day. It's school vacations here so SoS is home. This is the third day in a row he has turned our loungeroom (including our sofa) into a pirate ship. He's dressed up and he's ready to sail! The place is a mess but at least he's having fun. He asked me for toast before. "I want toast with honey," he said. "Please," I replied, trying to remind him of his manners. "Mum, I'm a pirate!" he replied disdainfully--obviously he thinks pirates have no manners! hehehehe

[High Lord Tolkien]

Only three, good sir?
Would that not be uncalled-four?
(I could not resist...)

[Cameraman Jenn]

Congrats on the new bubbie SJ and that does sound like a fun day Sea. I worked again today. Missed the first train so I was an hour late. Tina said she just wants to make sure I know how to open the store but I probably won't be opening much.

The Bay Area has a multitransit card formerly called translink but now called clipper. It works on most bay area transit types, from AC transit (bus system in the East Bay) to Muni (SF bus system), Transbay bus system and BART. I got myself one of these gems when I started commuting recently. It works like a debit card. You put money on it and then it uses a microchip to deduct your fares when you hold it over the reader pad. Then yesterday when I went to go home it would not work. It would not even beep. I tried it on two different entrance readers. Then I had the station agent try to read it with the card reader and he couldn't get it to do anything either. I called translink today since I was too tired to bother yesterday and I knew I had a Bart pass with a few bucks left on it. Anyway, the guy at technical services asked me if there were any dings or dents or visible damage to the chip pad and I looked and there didn't seem to be any so he told me we were going to try reprogramming it before it has to be replaced. I said, "Ok, where do I need to take it to for reprogramming?" He said, "Just place it on the surface of a table or counter and I'll send the reprogramming signal and it should be able to receive the signal sometime between now and midnight." I find that a bit unsettling. What if they reprogram Moose's microchip locater by accident and he gets lost and the spca scans him and finds out he's worth $74.45 in transit fares?

Had a decent day at work. Started what should have been a simple assembly of the monster calculator display for the back to school stuff. It should have been a no brainer, print the labels, set the corrugate display boxes up and load it. HA! Turns out that the display only came with five out of eleven display cards. Display cards are cards that go in place of the actual merchandise on expensive easy to steal items. Two financial calculators and four scientific calculators were missing. I am going to have to figure up a nice looking replacement for the items. On the ones they did send they sent about a hundred because you have to have multiples out there and not a single one had the actual upc code or OD stock number on the cards so I had to hand label each card with the appropriate stock number. I was about half way through when Cheng came up and said, "Do you want some help?" and I said, "Oh heck yeah!" so I wrote and she labelled. So then I printed out the pricing labels for the display and went to put them up only to find out that half the labels were missing from the printout. Our store has only one out of three scan guns working so I had to manually enter all the numbers in the system and print labels because another manager was hogging the scan gun. Anyway, the stupid thing took up my whole day and I'm still not finished. I have to find all the calculators that the display is missing and stock it up and make display cards for the remaining items. I asked my boss if I could finish it up tomorrow and she said "ok" and I think it was because she knew how hard I was working on it as well as jumping to help whenever a cashier needed something from lockup or to cover registers or do the hourly sales update. This was on the heels of my first moment of getting in trouble with my new boss yesterday morning. I came in and she asked me, "How far did you get with your backer project I gave you?" I said, "I didn't get anywhere, I ended up helping Mary fix her display because she was short eight legs in the box they sent." She said, "I know and you need to worry about your projects, Mary is an assistant manager and if she can't figure it out then we have a problem. Let Mary get her stuff done and you get yours done." I then explained about how I suggested using the poster mailing tubes in place of the missing legs and made them sturdy with shims. Tina replied with, "OH REALLY? Mary told me that was her idea." I said, "No, that was all me." It was in that moment that I realized that the reason the store doesn't function as a "team" when it comes to management is that Tina doesn't encourage it amongst managers. It's a totally different style than I operate with and I will have some adjusting to do but I can play this game too. I may not like it very much but I can play. I can also understand and appreciate Tina's approach even though it's not the one I would take if the roles were reversed. She is a good manager and I like her and respect her. Its a method that trades efficiency for acoountabillity. Both work, I just think that I would trade efficiency for accountability overall and find a new way to hold accountability.

On another note:
This morning Tina told me she was very pleased with my progress on the backers from yesterday and I told her, "Yeah, I made good progress but I screwed up." and she asked me what I meant by that so I told her, "I started the labels and got called away and it was a disaster so I not only clocked out late but I stayed after clocking out to finish it so it wouldn't be a big mess." She got the mad look on her face and said, "You won't be clocking out and continuing to work again, understand?" and I said, "Yes, I do, I learned my lesson, I will never again make the mistake of starting a peg hook based planogram two hours before my shift ends." She busted out laughing and said, "I like you JennJenn, you are so funny." I have to admit, several people at the store call me JennJenn and I find it endearing and fun. Occasionally I am Miss JennJenn. I like that too. It amuses me.

[aliantha]

Hey Miss JennJenn! How do you carry your reloadable transit card? I ask because we have a similar card here in DC. Our Smartrip cards send their signals on a radio frequency. There's an antenna embedded in the card -- you can see the two thin wires on the back, around the edge -- and if you bend the card, you break the wires, and then it doesn't work any more. I used to keep my Smartrip card in my back pocket, and broke two of them before some less-than-patient Metro employee explained to me about the antenna. Now I keep my card in a Vera Bradley coin purse.

[Menolly]

While school has been out since the 11th, Beorn's junior year has officially come to a close with the receipt of his report card. My straight A student had a tough time this year, but he's hanging in there with a 3.50 average on a 4.0 scale for the quarter and a 3.75 cumulative GPA. His weighted cumulative GPA, where he gets an extra point for advanced and honors classes is hanging at a 4.425 on a 5.0 scale.

Could be better, but is way better than I ever did as a student...

Anyway, it is the summer before senior year. Because he uses my email addresses when he takes College Board and ACT tests, I have been inundated the past couple of years with emails from various schools. Basically, they have all just gone directly to SPAM. But I guess now I need to really start reviewing these things with him, huh?

Beorn really has not expressed an interest in anything as far as a course of study, or preference for a school. He talks of Harvard, Yale, and MIT; but not because of any interest in the schools or what they offer, but because of reputation and those are the ones he knows. He has not shown real interest in them, as far as I can tell.

Harvard did send him a hard copy application to fill out, once they received his SAT and ACT scores. They reiterated what we had heard regarding their current policy on tuition for students from families who make under $60K a year, which we most definitely are. They want him to take two SAT subject tests; we are thinking of three: Physics, Mathematics 2 and Latin. They will not recognize his Latin unless he takes the Latin AP, but we figure he can retake Latin as an easier course there then.

Still, I really do not know where to start. We don't have funds for campus visits this summer; nor do I see that changing over the course of the year.

For those who have recently gone through this, I ask your guidance. Where do we go from here?

[Savor Dam]

1. If possible, take those SAT subject tests as soon as possible. Since Beorn got an A in Math and barely missed the cutoff for an A in Physics (both in Cambridge program honors classes), taking those tests while the material is still fresh in his mind would bolster his chances to get top marks on the SAT exams. Similarly, since he is studying his Latin during the summer, it is freshly learned and good scores are most likely.

2. Pursue Harvard and any other school that offers the chance of a free-or-reduced-cost ride. Jump through the hoops. You do not have to take the offers, but those offers can be leverage to get him in elsewhere and surely will build his (and your) confidence in him. Just remember that some of those schools (Harvard especially) have a reputation for chewing up and spitting out freshmen. Don't let Beorn actually go to a school where he is not ready to run with the big dogs. He is plenty smart and hard-working, but an academic boot-camp atmosphere can shatter almost anyone's self confidence if they are blind-sided by it.

3 (and probably least welcome). Unless you are sure that he will be going to UF (a fine school, but only one of many excellent universities) and living at home (which I consider to be short-circuiting some of the non-academic benefits of college), I would encourage Beorn to broaden his social circle and as a parent do all I could to support and uplift his interaction with others. As the father of a boy just a little older than he is (and who has his own set of challenges), I know how easy it is to enable accustomed behaviors and not push for interpersonal growth...but these young men are about to come face-to-face with the Real World -- or something much more like it than they are now dealing with. We do not serve them well by sheltering them until someone else who loves them less gives them a crash course in reality. Prepare him to live in campus housing and deal with others as he will eventually have to do. Even if he lives at home throughout university, he will have to spread wing and leave nest eventually. The longer he waits to start learning how, the harder that transition will be.

Well, you Did ask...

Not going to rapsodize about west-coast schools. I know you and Hyperception are not inclined to consider that...and I know why.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Ali, I carry it in my back pocket while on the train.... Maybe I did bend it and not know it. It doesn't look broken though. I think I'll get one of the neck badge holders and use that while on the train.

[Cagliostro]

Good luck with the birth, SJ (both you and, of course, your Mrs). We'll look forward to the announcement!


I'm having a fun day. It's school vacations here so SoS is home. This is the third day in a row he has turned our loungeroom (including our sofa) into a pirate ship. He's dressed up and he's ready to sail! The place is a mess but at least he's having fun. He asked me for toast before. "I want toast with honey," he said. "Please," I replied, trying to remind him of his manners. "Mum, I'm a pirate!" he replied disdainfully--obviously he thinks pirates have no manners! hehehehe

That's awesome. I can't wait to play imagination games with Desmond. Right now, it's all about pulling all the books off the shelves, pulling all the dvds off the shelves, pulling all the CDs off the shelves, sticking balls in my mouth so that I will spit them out, having me stand up Walter the Farting Dog so that he can knock him over and giggle, and bouncing balls. I'm not complaining (other than cleanup time, which he helps with), but....I guess I'm ready for him to start talking. Then again, I'll have to watch my language closer at that point...

[aliantha]

Menolly, all I have to add to what SD said is that schools blanket high school juniors with marketing materials in order to encourage the kids to apply. The more applications they get, the more they can reject, which makes their acceptance rate lower -- which makes them look like a more exclusive school for the *next* batch of high school juniors. Seriously, it's a numbers game.

Also -- and I'm sure the school counselors have already told Beorn this, -- he should apply to more than just the top schools. I think the counselors at the girls' high school were recommending 5 apps -- a "safety" school where he's sure to get in, a few midrange schools, and one or two "reach" schools that are *very* selective. Some kids applied to as many as 10 schools; Magickmaker applied to 3 schools and was accepted at 2; Batty applied to just one and got lucky. (Twice. )

Visiting the campuses gives you a flavor for the school and the setting. But, like with destination weddings, the college-visit thing is turning into another opportunity for the travel industry to part you from your cash. I don't think visits are crucial.

Ali, I carry it in my back pocket while on the train.... Maybe I did bend it and not know it. It doesn't look broken though. I think I'll get one of the neck badge holders and use that while on the train.

Yup, that's what I was doing, sliding it into my back pocket for easy access, and it does, y'know, kinda conform to the shape of your butt when you sit. I could never see the break either. The only way I could tell was when the card quit working.

If the guy reprogrammed your card overnight and it still doesn't work, I would bet that's what happened. If so, you'll have to get a new card. But if the SF system is like DC, if you registered your card, they'll just send you a new one with the balance on your old card transferred to the new one.

Wow, I'm just freakin' full of advice today, huh?

Batty and Shara_Lunison were here last weekend -- did I mention that? It seems so long ago... Anyhow, Shara_Lunison had to go back on Sunday for classes this week, but Batty stayed here with us. So I've taken today and tomorrow off to hang out with her (and Magickmaker, too, I suppose ). Will be driving her back home this weekend. So, kind of a weird week at work -- two days on, two off, one on, and then a three-day weekend. I would've taken Thursday and Friday off, but I'm on a three-person secretarial team now and one is already off on Friday, and the other one kind of whines when she's there all by herself.

[Menolly]

Thanks SD and ali, I appreciate the input.

Again, Beorn isn't really expressing an interest in any school. I think he, like us, is expecting him to at least start at UF and commute from home. Between Bright Futures, if he gets it, and his pre-paid college plan, it seems the most feasible for us.

So far, what with Bright Futures and the pre-paid plan, I'm pretty sure UF and New College are fairly definite application-wise. He may try for Harvard and Yale, just for the experience of applying, if nothing else. Even with the free-tuition breaks, I don't see us affording the other costs out of state schools will generate, and yeah, the "chew-'em-up-and-spit-'em-out" aspect weighs heavily on me. I would much rather have Beorn pursue that level of education for his higher degrees than for undergraduate anyway.

I'll need to check availability of the SAT subject tests. We were planning on October, so he could sit all three at once, but taking the Mathematics and Physics while it is still fresh makes sense. I wonder if the registration rider he received to take the regular SAT a second time (he was automatically granted two riders, in case he needed a retake) can be applied to the subject tests if all taken on the same day. If he stays on pace, he will finish the year-long Latin III he just started before school school starts in mid-August. Hence the planning on having him take the subject tests in October. But while the Latin would be fresh, the other two will have faded over the summer.

He is continuing the Mathematics next year, on in to trigonometry and calculus. But he was unable to get in to the next level of Physics for next year.

hmm...

[Avatar]

We do not serve them well by sheltering them until someone else who loves them less gives them a crash course in reality.

Excellently said.

--A

[Menolly]

Not going to rapsodize about west-coast schools. I know you and Hyperception are not inclined to consider that...and I know why.

I will totally admit that your alma mater of WWU you took me on a personal tour of is a gorgeous campus. And I suspect Beorn could probably get accepted there. But I honestly see no way of making that happen. Plus I still have no idea what fields WWU is known for, or if Beorn would have any interest in any of them.

What I should have done when out there was go check out the school balon has mentioned to me regarding Library Sciences. I think he said it is called Evergreen? Or something like that? However, I also suspect UF and the other schools Beorn may consider may offer those fields as well.

I don't know if that is what Beorn wants to pursue; but his volunteering and internship at the local library has introduced him to the field and he found he did enjoy working there...

[Savor Dam]

Yes, perhaps we should have gone to Evergreen while we were in Olympia meeting balon.

I know Florida schools have a leg up in your consideration because the prepaid tuition plan you are in is in-state only. On the other hand if there are prestigious schools considering giving Beorn a free ride, there may well be others that would also do so.

[aliantha]

From the College Board website:

One form authorizes testing accommodations across College Board programs (AP, PSAT/NMSQT®, and SAT®), so if you have already received College Board-approved accommodations on any of these tests, you do not need to submit a new form. You will only need to submit Section I of a new Eligibility Form if you change schools. If you need different accommodations, your school's SSD Coordinator must submit an Accommodations Change Form for you.

Looks like October 9 *is* the next test date.

If Beorn's planning to go on to grad school, it almost doesn't matter where his undergrad degree is from.

And I, too, vote for an on-campus experience for all four years. It may be cheaper to live at home and commute, but kids who do that don't get nearly as involved in the university community as kids who live on campus.

Does Florida have a community college system, Menolly? That would be the dirt-cheapest way to go for the first two years. Here in Virginia, most 4-year schools (even the private schools) have agreed to take all state community college credits. (Not that either of my kids picked to go this route, sigh.)

[Menolly]

We do have a community college program here, ali.
It is how Hyperception got his AA, his national recognition as a first team member of the USA Today All Community College Outstanding Scholar Team (only 20 were recognized as first team members throughout the country, IIRC) and his fellowship to UF when he transferred in as a junior.

I can also say that although all credits leading to an AA degree are accepted, the difference between community college courses and university courses is overwhelming. At least it was for Hyperception when he transferred. And even with the AA, there was still a lot of back tracking for requisites for advanced in-field courses.

Community college is a terrific option. But based on Hyperception's experience, we would prefer Beorn start at a four year school.

I do agree living on campus, or in a shared off-campus apartment if one can't get in to on campus housing (my understanding is UF has a lottery for their dorms; there is not enough on campus housing to accommodate all who request it) is the best experience. For an NT student. I honestly believe regardless of exposure, Beorn will keep to himself wherever he is. Social opportunities will soar right past him. He is exposed daily to opportunities at his high school; he is perfectly happy alone.

I have come to realize it is my problem wishing he had friends and socialized. He has no concept of what he is missing. And is totally at ease with himself that way.

As long as he is happy...

[Cameraman Jenn]

I know, I am a total slacker for not posting a picture sooner. I haven't had any names really pop out at me and I name all my vehicles regardless of type. Even my boogie board has a name. It's "Scup" which is a slang term for a particular type of fish we used to use for bait when tuna and shark fishing back on Cape Cod. My moped is "Balou" since it is blue and my friend who set up the trade which got me it in the first place, I call him "Bear" on occasion and started doing so long before the moped came along so that name seemed perfect. So far I've been half calling the scooter "Kermit" but it's not making me say, "Badabing Badaboom we have a winner." I am putting it out to you, my fellow watchers to help me find a name that rings the bell.

Other Jenn notes: Today was the third day of opening the store. Monday, Tina showed me how to do the deposit and open the store and log the registers etc. Yesterday I did it myself but I took my sweet time to make sure I got all the steps and cemented them in my mind, sort of creating a rhythym pattern for store opening. Today I rocked it out. i went in and had all the paperwork done in record time, I came out to put out the registers and Tina asked me if I was putting the registers out first and that it wasn't a good idea to do that in case my safe count was off. When I told her I had already counted the safe and finished the deposits and everything she was quite impressed. Then she reminded me to check and deal with all the email I could deal with and I told her it was already done. I could see the respect in her eyes and I could not resist adding, "You can check me if you want and actually I want you to check me in case I made any mistakes because I want to know if I did." She just smiled. Later on in the day I learned how to do the pc checkups and how to receive the freight truck. Another note on a day in Jenn's life is that I get the feeling that she talked to the other managers about being ON it when anyone calls for help with something such as backup cashier or getting stuff out of lockup. I always respond as often as I can and today one of the managers who NEVER responds was actually helping. Im even more certain of it because one of the cashiers told me she appreciated knowing I would jump to help and that word on the street was that my response time and jumping to help attitude was making the other managers look bad. I also came up with a game to help me learn tech services better and Edward loved the idea so we are gonna start playing it not only with me but with the other sales floor people after I get back from Oregon. I think Tina will like it when I tell her about it. I also have a slight dilemma I need advice on. Today Tina was doing what is called real outs. It's basically taking a scan gun and checking tags to see if we have stock on hand in the inventory system and then giving a list to a manager to find and stock. Today she made an announcement that she was very unhappy that she was finding a lot of stuff top stocked that was out on the shelf that just came in and if she found out who was doing it they would be in a lot of trouble. Thing is, I know who's telling the stockers to do that and I don't know if I should tell Tina or just let it play itself out. The only reason I am considering telling is because when she hands me a list of real outs it takes a lot of my time that could seriously be better spent on my projects and makes the store seriously less efficient overall. What do you guys think I should do?