Stripped of sex...

...is the title of this blurb I found in The Yale Herald:

Stripped of sex
Sadly, straight, white Cornell students who decide against rushing fraternities are no longer permitted to have sex—sex education, that is. After the university announced its decision to “decentralize” its sexual awareness programs this week (perhaps in jealous awe of Yale’s Trojan Sexual Health Report Card), it became the responsibility of specific cultural and ideological groups (including Greek houses, Latino and African American groups, and the LGBT community) to teach their members about the birds and the bees. This approach raised eyebrows, since many Cornell students had something more like Sex Week at Yale in mind. Rest assured, though: Students in Ithaca will still be given basic how-to presentations upon arriving on campus. If you forget anything during the subsequent four years, though, you may just be screwed.

Having been a Cornellian, naturally, I was curious on what in the world Yale Sex Week was, so I did some more searching, and here is what I found in the Yale Daily News. An excerpt from this article follows:

For most students, Sex Week at Yale may simply be an excuse to attend humorous lectures or participate in unconventional, even titillating workshops. But for the evaluators of Trojan's Sexual Health Report Card, the event represents much more: a valuable effort to increase understanding of the importance of safe sex on campus. Sex Week was one of the most important features in Yale's sexual-health arsenal that helped it earn the top ranking in Trojan's recent survey, Sperling said.

While I think it's sad that students going to college do not have enough information to know about safe sex practices, it's even sadder that Harvard received F grades in the sexual health report card. One of their own students said

"The thing about Harvard students is that they are so difficult to cater to and difficult to please, and it's hard to get information to people who are brilliant...I think there are things we can work on, but we definitely are trying."

Ouch. I have had that experience with some former Harvard students I've interacted with (difficult to cater to and please), but I think that I would have to edit the response to read "...get information to people who THINK THEY are brilliant". Big difference there.

Anyway, what I find more interesting is the response from Brigham Young University, which scored dead last in the Trojan Sexual Health Survey:

Terry Olson, a professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University - which came in 100th, with F grades in all seven categories - said students there do not seek the services that served as a basis for the survey since the school's honor code forbids extramarital and premarital sex.

Hey, I say more power to these students for claiming that they will not partake in sexual activity, but the school should be a little more realistic than idealistic here. Probably of ALL teens, it is this group that needs sex ed more than any other because they most likely did not receive the information at home or in high school! It's one thing to mess up and then go to confession to ask forgiveness for fornication, but it's another thing to die from HIV because you made a bad choice and didn't know any better!

So, kudos to Yale, tsk tsk to BYU, and how in the world did Cornell get pulled into this mess? It wasn't even included in the survey! Boy, we always get a bad rap.

Banning Tag - Pure Ridiculousness (is that a word?)

So get this...two elementary schools in Massachusetts have banned tag, touch football and other chasing games. The stated reason from one of the schools administrators that this is:

...part of a broader standing rule against hitting and inappropriate touching

Are you kidding me? These are innocent games that are played by children at recess. If there are problems with individuals, they should be addressed personally, not by taking away the rights of all the kids to run and scream and have a blast at recess. The school administrators then said that it's also just part of protecting the school against lawsuits. According to All Headline News:

"Recess is a time when accidents can happen," says Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.

Well, no, duh. Of course accidents happen at recess. It's a shame that we live in such a litigious society that schools have to be afraid of being sued if children get hurt. C'mon, it doesn't take chase games to have children get hurt, I have two kids at home, and they can get hurt just walking. They don't always pay attention...they're kids!

I am very disheartened by this news. So far this year our kids have lost the ability to make choices for themselves at lunchtime with the removal of vending machines and alterations of school lunches, video games have been regulated for being too violent (I agree with this on some level, but I think parents should regulate this, not government), and now they are not allowed to RUN AT RECESS. So if they can't be couch potatoes and they can't be athletes...what can they be?

Frustration Sets In (Again)...

So I went to a career fair last night, still trying to find a job around here. It was an incredible waste of time. I made my husband leave work early to watch the kids, I dressed professionally and even applied makeup for the first time in a LONG time, I fought the traffic to get to a hotel downtown where the event was to be held, and I revamped my CV for the umpteenth time. The only messages that I got while I was there were:

1. I'm overqualified for their position
2. They only do manufacturing, not R&D
3. They have no need for an immunologist
4. Check back in November and continue to check our website

The whole experience was very depressing. At least while I was pregnant I could justify to myself why noone was hiring me! Now I'm back to the drawing board, and no one wants to even interview me, much less hire me. What's even more distressing about the whole situation is that we live in the biotech/pharmaceutical capital of the US (more or less) and I can't get a job. Ironically, if I want to move to Maryland or California, I can get a job right away!

I know that I should just enjoy this time off to spend time with my new son and to get things done around the house, but I spent so much time and energy on my education that I can't bear to think that this is all my future holds. It's not that I don't love my kids. I adore them and I wouldn't give them up for the world, but I don't see why it's so much to ask to have the career that I've worked so hard for as well as the family that we've built. I guess all I can do is wait and see what comes up in November once companies get their budgets done and more positions are listed.

My biggest fear when I was laid off was that I would be unemployed for a year or longer. Now it looks as though my fear will be realized. Even though I had the consulting job that I truly enjoyed, I knew that it was just a fleeting opportunity, not a real position. And so, the depression sets in and my feelings of self-worth begin to decline once again. How sad is it that a great deal of my happiness is governed by my career rather than my family or health or other good things in my life?

Visit from mom

My mom came to visit us last week to spend some time with her grandchildren. It was nice to have her here, and fun to see the kids interact with their Grandma Bear. I seriously don't know where it comes from, and it certainly wasn't passed along to me, but my mom is like the Energizer Bunny. She has more energy than the standard teenager let alone a woman in her 60's. I forget because I don't see her very often since she lives out West. We had a wonderful visit, and we got so much accomplished!

The main thing that we accomplished was repainting the kitchen. It was a whirlwind few days of taping and priming and painting and cleaning. I am so glad to have it done, we hated the color of the kitchen since we moved in, and just never got around to doing anything about it. I'm not sure that my husband is thrilled with the final color, but I think it's growing on him (he did have a say in picking it out, don't worry!). I'll be thrilled to see it completed - mom and I went and picked out new drapes on Friday, but they're being made and won't arrive for a few more weeks. I think it'll look fantastic by Thanksgiving!

The other thing that mom did for me was give me a couple of hours kids-free last week to go and get pampered. I chose to go have a facial, it was wonderful and relaxing, although I have to say that I spent about half the time worrying that my kids were being extra challenging for my mom. They were... But, I forget that my mom was a stay-at-home mom with four daughters, three of whom were born within a four-year time span, so she can handle pretty much anything that a toddler and infant throw her way. Go mom!

Anyway, it was a great visit, and they don't happen often enough since we live so far apart. I guess that makes the time that we do have together even better. (I am tired though... ;-))

Thanks mom!

Brownie Points

My husband earned several brownie points with me this week. First of all, on Monday I had a job interview in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. We had taken a road trip back to college last weekend, and so drove straight from our alma mater to the site of the interview. Keep in mind that we have a 22-month old and a 7-week old child... My interview was from 8am to nearly 4pm. It was pretty exhausting for me, but imagine what it was like for my poor husband. We were literally in the middle of nowhere, he had no idea where playgrounds or museums or anything were, and he had to check out of the hotel so had no "home base" to work from. Needless to say, he was worn out when it was all over (not to mention the fact that we had to drive home that night - 5 hours without a child who needs to eat every two hours). The reason he won brownie points with me is not only that he was willing to take on the challenge of the two kids for a day in the middle of nowhere, but that he really didn't complain about it. What a guy!

Here's the even better reason for his brownie points. Yesterday I was very depressed and suffering from a massive migraine to boot. Don got home from work and asked me how my day was and I answered that it was awful and that I got nothing worthwhile done. Do you know what his answer was? He said "did you feed the baby today?", and when I answered yes, he responded "than you accomplished something". While it didn't cure my malaise at the time, in retrospect it did begin the process of lifting my spirits, but more importantly, it reminded me of how much I love and appreciate him.

Major brownie points...