Fair Phantom

Adventures in the Panhandle

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:29:15 -0500

I am pretty wiped. The past two days have been fun but long. We are conducting a site investigation and have to take groundwater samples from wells on people's property. The sampling is easy. We take water quality samples first before collecting the water samples in bottles and vials. I helped a little yesterday and today with the sample control, but I much prefer being out in the field-sample control is just filling out all the required EPA tape to put on all the samples to make sure no one opens them when they are not supposed to. It is necessary but tedious. Field work is not glamorous (you get very dirty, it gets hot, and there are long hours), but I enjoy being outside and getting messy. Counting the drive to and from the site and our 30 minute lunch, we put in a 13.5 hour day yesterday. Today was shorter (11.5 hours).

You can imagine that it's easy to mess up something so simple and repetitive. Kim wrote "November 15" on the sample labels instead of July 15, so we had to untape alllllll the coolers and correct the labels. Then our PM realized she made a mistake on the lab forms (which were taped inside the coolers), so we had to untape alllll the coolers again. Then today, we were missing two samples. Guess where Jen had left them? On the truck bed. Of course, they fell off as our PM was driving away. Luckily, the samples were in plastic bottles and they were unscathed. It took all of ten minutes to pick them up, so at least my screw-up didn't take as long to correct as the others did.

I am not impressed by the city at all (let's say it makes Cowboy Country look like a fun, happening place), but the work is fun. We are all getting along pretty well and working well together. It's been interesting dealing with the people, too. Some just want to talk our ears off, and once they hear who we are associated with, they start ratting out their neighbors. Others seem impressed that it's a group of women conducting the study. Today I encountered a black widow in one of the sheds that housed the well. Yikes! And she had eggs too. I kept an eye on the spider the entire time I was conducting the water quality analysis and taking the samples.

Tomorrow we should be finishing up earlier, which is great. Kim and I are going to go shopping at the mall, and maybe hit up the local campus here and see what's there. Then we're staying in a nicer hotel. I'm excited about that. This motel we're staying at isn't terrible, but it's shady. And there are random, brownish-red splatters on the side of my mattress that I discovered tonight. IGNORANCE IS BLISS. I will not think about what those spots could be.

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Adventures to the Panhandle

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:22:47 -0500

Well, I am updating from some little northwest Texas town that is literally in the middle of nowhere. It has a population of roughly 1,000 people. There is not a single vacancy in the bigger city because apparently there's this huge FFA convention going on (damn those future farmers). However, we booked a rather expensive room for Thursday night. Luckily it is expendable and after staying in this um...motel for three nights, I think a fancy hotel stay for one night is warranted!

Usually before one of these trips I get apprehensive, but I told myself to enjoy this trip as an adventure, and it was. It ended up being a fun drive. Kim and I split up the trip; I drove the second half. The box truck was not even an issue (I even got on a freeway with it). I just drove a little slower and everything was fine (Kim made fun of me because when I first drove it in the parking lot, I must have been going 5 mph). I felt really happy that I did it. It was a cool drive (albeit a little flat and boring in some areas). One really cool part was the windmill farm. And these were not your stereotypical windmills.

Windmill Farm

These were freaky, alien-looking windmills. They were spread out in all directions for miles and it was wild and creepy at the same time.

Well I need to wind down since we have to be up early tomorrow (5).

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The Former Orchestra Geek in Me Loves This

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:18:16 -0500

From a violin shop commercial:

"If orchestra were easy, it would be called band."

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My Journal, My Soapbox: Teen Pregnancy

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:39:13 -0500

According to this article, the rates for teen pregnancy are up for the first time in fifteen years.

But according to another, teen pregnancy is at its lowest in 30 years.

Without considering the different sampling techniques of these two studies, it's interesting how teenage pregnancy has been, well, popular this past year. Juno, about the wise-cracking pregnant teen looking to give her baby up for adoption, was one of the most buzzed about movies last year. Gilmore Girls, the television show about a teenage mother who had successfully raised a brilliant daughter on her own, finally ended after seven seasons of acclaim. A group of 17 Massachusetts teens may or may not have made a pregnancy pact. And Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's seemingly innocent kid sister, announced on OK! magazine that she was pregnant at sixteen.

Teen sex and pregnancy is a touchy subject. And with good reason-adolescence is a heady time, where you can lapse between adulthood and childhood depending on the mood or situation. The media is rampant about lurid stories of teenagers who grow up too fast, like giving each other oral sex at thirteenth birthday parties. But then there are teenagers like the one I was, a naive innocent who scribbled about her crushes in her notes to friends and was confused by the mechanics of the Bill and Monica Scandal (my fourteen-year-old self couldn't understand why a white stain on Monica's dress was such a big deal.) Parents and schools struggle to find a balance between educating their teenagers and telling them too much.

My high school helmed abstinence-only education. Now, disclaimer-I think abstinence is a great concept to be teaching to teenagers. Obviously, it is the only method that is 100% effective against both teenage pregnancy and STDs. However, not every teenager is going to chose to be abstinent. They should learn how to protect themselves if they do decide to engage in sex. Here's where it gets tricky. Opponents of sex education say that teaching teens about birth control will make them to want to have sex. Really? There are going to be teenagers out there who will be having sex regardless of whether or not they "learn" what a condom is in class (and my county, ironically, had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country). Teens should know that how to protect themselves if they choose not to be abstinent. They should also be encouraged to keep the channel of communication between themselves and their parents open regarding their choices. Whether abstinence-only education is detrimental remains to be seen. Again, studies are conflicting. This much is certain: if teenagers are going to be trusted with making informed choices, they should know both sides.

Educating teenagers is even more important given what they see on TV or read online. How many teen soaps have you watched where teenagers engaged in consequence-free sex? And the rare "pregnancy" scare lasts one episode. Some argue that the recent glut of positive teenage motherhood stories in the media are responsible for the alleged rise in teenage pregnancy. Yes, correlation does not imply causation, but at the same time, having Jamie Lynn Spears appear on the cover of OK! magazine with her newborn daughter and lying how perfect motherhood is not exactly the best role model we need for the Nickelodeon crowd who grew up watching her television show. It sickens me that the media is just feeding into this frenzy. How terribly irresponsible they are to print an article about "how much fun" teenage motherhood is.

I'm not going to get too moralistic about this-Ms. Spears had the right to choose whether or not she wanted to keep her baby, and her youth does not mean that she will not be a good mother. But printing articles like this does a disservice to those kids who have a Gilmore Girls view of teenage motherhood. I'm not a mother, but I've been around enough newborns and new parents to know that sleepless nights and poopy diapers are not a whole lot of fun. Even my own parents don't lie about how hard parenthood is. Apparently I was some sort of devil baby who cried non-stop for three months with colic and never let my parents sleep. I don't think any seventeen-year-old would file that in the "fun" file.

Even when the media does decide to send a "positive" message about waiting to have sex, the message is skewed. An ad showed on the Disney Channel featured a teenage girl making out with her boyfriend. As the situation was escalating, she opens her phone, supposedly because her dad has called her. She angrily tells her dad that she thought that she could spend the night out at her friend's house. Cut to a scene where she is in the car, grinning happily at her dad. She had pretended that he had called her in order to get out of the situation with her boyfriend. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "I really needed to get out of there." What exactly are we teaching girls here? Instead of telling your boyfriend to back off because you're not ready, you have to lie and use excuses about why you don't want to have sex?

However, I can't blame all the problems on the media or education in schools. One of the most effective solutions to this situation comes from home. Parents need to talk with their teens, keep an open channel of communication, and educate them. It's as simple as that.

No matter what politicians or optimists may promise, teenage pregnancy is a problem that will not easily be solved. But glorifying it or completely ignoring the problem does nothing to alleviate the issue. Teens should be made aware of the adult decisions they must face if they choose to have sex. Hollywood and the media need to stop making teenage motherhood look like something that's easy and enjoyable. At the same time, teens, especially girls, need to learn that it's okay to say no if they're not ready, and to be assertive. Finally, parents need to talk to their children and not make sex a taboo subject. Maybe then we will finally get a consensus on these conflicting studies.

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Three Things: The Briefingly Brief Edition

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:43:09 -0500

1. I had a rather frustrating day yesterday, and I wrote out a spectacular blog full of the eff word. I had it up but unless you are an early riser and already read it, I took it down. Some things are more cathartic when they are kept to yourself.

2. About to go spend a couple of hours with some people who can't stand me. Can't wait!

3. I got my electric bill yesterday. I feel raped.

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HELL YES

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:34:31 -0500

Guess who Patrick and I are seeing in September?

Foo Fighters

I just bought the tickets ten minutes ago. This is one of our favorite bands. It'll be Pat's first concert ever, and it'll be the first concert I'm going to where I'm actually a huge fan of the music. I'm really excited and it's even more kick-ass that Patrick will be there too!

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TV Sucks

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:05:16 -0500

There is nothing worse than watching campy acting, bad period clothing, and "period lighting" that makes me feel like I'm watching a Barbara Walters special.

Swingtown, I'm talking to you.

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Three Things, Plus One

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:02:08 -0500

1. So guess what I'm driving on Monday?

Enterprise Box Truck

...yeah. I'm not excited about it, but it could be much worse. I mean, people go off to war every day and I'm worried about driving a bigger vehicle? Dumb. I was going to offer to help Kim drive it anyway, because I'm the type of person to where if I'm being a wuss for no real reason, I push myself out of my comfort zone. But she took away my thunder by asking me to help her out. I told her I'd drive it on the open highway. The city and freeway are pushing it. But I figure there (should) be fewer complications driving it on a highway. And Kim is tinier than me, so if she can drive it, why can't I? I plan on driving this baby at 55 mph. I figure being old granny Jenny is much better than being my former, scary speedster self. (I drive Pearl Jr. at 65 mph now on the freeways and highways anyway-it's safer, and plus the fuel savings are amazing.)

2. I'm being really good with ebay. I bought two more items for my collection and now I am taking an extended break. I got these items for a really good price, but it's time to step back a little.

3. Today at work, someone told me, "You're getting really good with the phone calls!" (The one thing I hate about being in a cubicle-everyone can hear your conversations). I thought I handled the call well today too, which is funny, because yesterday I completely botched a call. You win some, you lose some. It was interesting because the person who called me today was all annoyed at me, and by the time I was done explaining what was going on, he was a lot nicer and joking around. The power of my charms can extend through a telephone line.

4. There are so many things I want to do and change, and I just don't know how to start.

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Things That Make Me Snicker: Addicted to Technology Edition

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:56:17 -0500

I was in the ladies room today when I heard the unmistakable rapid clicking of a person texting in the stall beside me. Really? You can't tear yourself away from your Blackberry or whatever for two seconds of peace in a BATHROOM STALL? Were the texts that fascinating that you had to multi-task?

The only thing I can think of that's worse than texting in a bathroom stall is when I hear people actually TALKING on their cell phones while using the restroom (and sadly I have heard this happen more than once). I lose a little more faith in humanity every time.

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QotD: QotD

nobody@vox.com(healthypanda) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:41:05 -0500

What criteria do you feel makes a good QotD?
Submitted by stueykins.

1. I like questions that are out-of-the-box and intriguing, not something that has been asked ten times in ten different ways.
2. I like questions that let me blabber on about some insignificant part of my life in an interesting way.
3. I dislike really stupid questions. Like what was that one really bad one? "If you wrecked your friend's car, would you pay the deductible?" What a stupid fucking question.

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