Next week I’m jetting off to New York City for four days of fun and adventure, alone, participating in a conference for beauty bloggers. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement but I’m also feeling a little anxious about it.
I do occasionally post photos of myself to my blog and consider it mostly a function of luck that so far I haven’t gotten nasty comments about my appearance or weight. I’m a big girl. I am not slim or slender. You could probably fit a few fashion models into the width of my behind. In other words, I’m fat.
Usually, I’m okay with this. Yeah, who wouldn’t want to be thin (or even just thinner) etc. and shopping for clothes is a real bitch. But I’m feeling particularly anxious about going to what is in many ways the beauty capitol of the US, feeling like the complete anti-thesis of what is considered modern American beauty. I’m a short, fat, 30 year old who happens to prefer short, spikey hair and brightly colored eyeshadow. Deep down, in my heart of hearts, I am afraid that my happy facade is going to crumble in the face of a world that considers size 0 to be the epitome of fashion and beauty.
I expect the trip will be a blast. But the self-conscious part of me, the part that worries about what others think, is concerned that all anyone is going to see, and care about, when they meet me is that I’m a fat girl. That my whole worth is contained in the size of my body. I’m afraid that people will secretly be laughing at me.
On the one hand, I know that I’ll hold my head high and represent for the fat girls, that we like to look and feel pretty too. But, late at night, I’m scared that I’ll just end up embarrassed and humiliated – will the makeup chairs, when we have our “makeup touchups” be big enough for my butt? Oh god, what if they’re too small? I will crawl off and die.
I wish I was brash and brazen like other women I know. I wish I didn’t care about this stuff. But late at night, I do care. I pray that my trip is as fun and exciting as I hope it will be.
Since we put up our “Now Hiring” sign in our window, we get all kinds of people coming in wanting applications. We’re in a mall, so I suppose some of the more interesting people are ones who were shopping and just wander in.
But seriously. People, if you want to apply for a job, please don’t waltz in wearing cut-offs and flip flops! At least try to clean yourself up a little, show me that you are attempting to make a good impression.
Don’t go from store to store clutching a sheaf of applications either. Bring a folder or something to put them in. Absolutely DON’T fold the app into quarters and stuff it in your pocket! Geez.
BRING YOUR OWN PEN! One of my biggest pet peeves is people who come in on a Saturday, when we’re busy, ask for an app, ask to “borrow” my pen, and then proceed to fill out the application on my cashwrap counter. It’s small, there’s only one register, and HELLO! I need to ring people up, dumbass! But really, bring your own damn pen. Come prepared.
Don’t keep coming in every few days to bug me about the status of your app. How many times do I have to say “We’ll call you if we’re interested” before you get the message?
When filling out the application, DON’T put “see resume” in the job section. That means you’re either too lazy to fill it out, or you think you’re special and don’t have to fill it out. Either way, FAIL!
Please don’t list your mom, best friend, boyfriend, fiance, or kindergarten teacher as a reference. I am not interested in talking to these people. Former co-worker is marginally acceptable, but former supervisor will be a WIN! Seriously, if you can’t come up with at least ONE person who supervised you in some capacity then you are in trouble. I’ll take volunteer experience, if the volunteer coordinator can say things like “kept their commitments” and “showed up on time for events” etc. I will accept teachers if you were their student aide. But your kindergarten teacher? Hello?
Keep track of where you have submitted applications. I called a chick once for a phone screen, said the name of my store, and got HUH? as a response. Look Dumbass, if you can’t even remember where you left applications, why on earth would I hire you??
Oh the joys of hiring.
One of my favorite summer desserts is blueberry shortcake. We have two blueberry bushes, one on either side of the steps in front of our house, and this year we’ve had a bumper crop. There are few things better than fresh-picked blueberries.
For shortcake, I like to buy the shortcakes from New Seasons Market, they’re kind of like a cross between a scone and a biscuit. The cream biscuits at Whole Foods are okay too. I could bake my own, but it’s too hot to bake.
Get real whipping cream, it’s way better than the stuff in a can. I will often use my food processor to whip it, it works like a charm! Just add a smidgen of sugar and some vanilla extract (or almond extract for a different taste) and whip it good.
First, shortcakes go in bowl. Dump a heap of blueberries on top. I just rinse them, don’t even bother with sugar or anything, they are sweet enough on their own. Add a dollop of whipped cream, voila SUPER TASTY!
I hate the heat but summer does have its perks.
A jury in Clackamas County found parents, who prayed while their child died instead of calling 911, not guilty of second-degree manslaughter.
In explaining their mixed verdict, the presiding juror emphasized that the Worthingtons did not intentionally cause Ava’s death, even though intent was not a requirement for a guilty verdict on either charge.
“Regardless of what the instructions were, a lot of people on the jury believed there was supposed to be intent,” said Ken Byers, one of two jurors who believed Carl Worthington was guilty of manslaughter. “Some people couldn’t clear that hump.”
Mind the word “regardless” here. The judge explains the laws that are to be applied to the case and says that intent is not necessary for a guilty verdict. And yet the jury disregards this instruction and doesn’t return a guilty verdict because the parents didn’t intend to kill their daughter – they just let her die. Oh, wait, they prayed too.
Justice was not served for that poor little girl. The way I see it, if you are relying on faith instead of modern medicine, you do have intent to kill your children – you intend to let nature take its course, if God does not see fit to miraculously heal your child and save their life. In other words, you intend to let your children die.
But all that is neither here nor there. Intent is not needed for a guilty conviction of manslaughter. It doesn’t matter if they intended to kill their child or not. Here’s the law, go read it yourself. Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree. Seems pretty cut and dried to me. It’s laid out pretty clear in the definition of neglect:
Neglect or maltreatment means a violation of ORS 163.535 (Abandonment of a child), 163.545 (Child neglect in the second degree) or 163.547 (Child neglect in the first degree) or a failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter or medical care that is likely to endanger the health or welfare of a child under 14 years of age or a dependent person.
Then there’s this: “Other jurors backed off on the manslaughter charge, he said, because they were convinced that the Worthingtons were good people and they felt sorry for their loss.” (Ken Byers again.) REALLY? REALLY? Oh boo hoo, you let your child die, we’re so sorry for you, we won’t hold you responsible for her death, you didn’t really mean it!
Jury FAIL.
Okay, how cool is this?? Sock Summit 2009 takes place August 6-9 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland OR. It will be:
the biggest gathering of sock related stuff we know of, and an absolutely unprecedented gathering of North America’s hand-dying community. More than 150 vendors gathered together in a hall to bring you the best of everything we could think of that relates to socks and sock knitting. (There’s some regular knitting stuff there too. Although we can’t imagine it, you might want to make something other than socks sometime.)
Check out the list of vendors! I have August 7 off, so you can guess where I’m going to be!!
