Jessica's LiveJournal

Apparently someone in the McCain campaign needs to be demoted or fired...


So Barack's the elite one, right?

I've been thinking about the concept of #4 lately in my own life, so it was appropriate when Jason shared this article.

7 'Psycho' Money Traps and How to Avoid Them - http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/retirement/20081009_psychological_money_traps_a1.asp

"I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find her “down home” talking with her darn tootin’ and dropping every freaking ‘g’ from every ‘ing’ word ridiculously offensive. That doesn’t make me feel like she’s “one of us.” It just makes me feel like either she’s completely uneducated, or thinks that we are. Neither is a trait I’m looking for in a Vice President."

It's my impression, though, that many Americans love this kind of stuff coming from politicans. George Bush got elected twice, after all, and he certainly doesn't speak as if he's the most intelligent person. What does everyone think?

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago, some friends and I tried to re-create the YouTube sensation that is popping popcorn using only cell phones. It was a big failure. Here is the video proof:

"Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

When Couric pointed to polls showing that the financial crisis had boosted Obama’s numbers, Palin blustered wordily: “I’m not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it?”

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDZiMDhjYTU1NmI5Y2MwZjg2MWNiMWMyYTUxZDkwNTE=

( This is your Nation on White Privilege )

In a crazy turn of events, my part-time job count is now at 5.

Can you say "not sustainable"?

• Moved into new, smaller apartment. I like it so far, but we have to get creative about where to put things in the smaller space. Very glad to be back in Oakland.


• Working 4 part-time jobs right now, and it's pretty crazy. Two schools, the New Teacher Project, and Teach for America.


• Jon got offered a job at the school district, but the HR department is giving him trouble. Ridiculous bureaucracy.


• The school board/superintendent are considering closing down or consolidating some of Oakland's small schools. This is the most ludicrous idea imaginable. Perhaps I'll post why later.


• Had to call 911 for a kid at school yesterday - it was a scary situation for a minute. He's going to be fine, though. Never boring when you work at a middle school.


• Funny story - I get a call on my cell phone at school the other day. It's from a kid (I have her number saved) who should be in class. She's a great kid who wouldn't be breaking rules, so I was very surprised that she'd call me during school. It turns out that her and three other girls had accidentally gotten locked in the gym bathroom and they didn't know what else to do. Haha - again - never boring.


• We have really cool new neighbors, one of which brought us fresh fruit the other day since she was leaving town and didn't want it to go bad. Three cheers for kiwi.


• Going to Auburn this weekend. The game will be exciting for sure. Let's hope it's also a good turnout for Auburn. War Eagle either way.


• Going to the all-staff conference of The New Teacher Project next week in San Antonio - I'm very excited about it.


• Last week, Jon was dropping me off at school. I opened the car door, and right next to me (under the wheel of a parent's car who was dropping off their kid) was a tiny kitten! I grabbed it up and then realized I didn't really know what to do. So I first named him - Peter Pan. Then I put him in the car with Jon and he took him home for the day to feed him and let him play in a less dangerous place. We realized that three cats would make us the Crazy Cat People, so we ended up taking him to the shelter that afternoon (little kittens are easily adopted, so I only felt moderately guilty). I hope Petey's in a good home already. He was so little - much smaller than Barnum and Bailey when we adopted them.

Saw this posted on another blog today, and the poster said it was the best presidential ad they'd ever seen. I agree.

Jason shared these with me earlier today, and I thought they were interesting. So I'm here to share with those of you who might be visual people like me. It's based on a study from the Tax Policy Center. I like these types of things because they make very concrete what political speeches and commercials can make really fuzzy and confusing.



And a Fox News article about McCain's tax plan.

I won't say that Obama beats McCain on all issues, but he definitely has the best plan for taxes if you are looking to pay less (unless you make over $600,000 a year, but I don't think anyone that reads this falls into that category).

These kids have the right idea...

"Northfield, Ill. - On what was supposed to be their first day of school this week, about 1,000 Chicago Public School students got a different sort of education.

Rather than go to classes, they boarded buses with parents, church leaders, and activists to try to enroll in a wealthy suburban district – a symbolic protest against school funding inequities that are among the most glaring in the US."

The reality is that it hurts all of us when education funding is different from school to school and county to county. Though I can understand the argument of "I want my tax dollars to go to my own kids' education, not the kids in the next county," it doesn't really address the fact that poor schooling for any child impacts all of us as a larger society. Poor education leads to a lot of society's ills, so poor schools hurt all Americans. It's also an injustice for children to have their life path largely determined by their zip code. If we want America to continue as a strong world leader, we have GOT to do a better job than this.

And just to add another bit of craziness to our jobless and wisdom-toothless lives, we are moving in a few weeks.

We might be nuts, but we realize that a 2-bedroom apartment is kind of a luxury if you don't have jobs. So we're moving to a smaller apartment to save money.

Too bad moving is about the least fun thing to do ever.

Life is kinda crazy right now. I could probably write several pages to describe it all, but I just don't have it in me. Here's the abridged version.

• The contract that I'm working on for TNTP is not being funded again for next year and my last day of work is tomorrow. I found this out just a few weeks ago.


• Jon found out on Tuesday that the OUSD superintendent has gotten rid of all consulting jobs in the school district. This includes his job, and his last day is also tomorrow.


• My job situation is very up in the air right now. I want to help out at ECP again this year, but I'm not sure if the money will work out. It's a complicated situation for a lot of reasons, and I really want it to get settled soon.


• I went for a last dentist appointment on Tuesday to get a cleaning before I lose my insurance tomorrow. I found out that I needed to get my wisdom teeth out ASAP. So that happened this morning, all of a sudden. Pretty sore, but otherwise OK. I'm very glad that a few helpful dental-type folks were able to make it happen on such short notice.


• We have put down a deposit for a wedding venue and sent out save-the-dates. The website is finished. www.jessicaandjonathon.com I'm really excited about the bridal party - they are going to be awesome.


• Jon, though he started his new job (that is now ending) in July, has still not gotten paid for his work. He might get paid in September. We've already used up most of our emergency money because his last paycheck came in June, and now we're both unsure of when either of us will get paid again. I'm trying to stay positive, but man. When it rains, it pours.


• I love kids - it's been great to see them back at school the last few days as I've been helping out with the start of school. I miss Daniel a lot - his funeral was so tough. I never want to have to talk to a grieving mother of a middle schooler ever again.


• Trip to Alabama for Joseph's wedding was awesome - nice to be back home and show Jon where I grew up. Great to see old friends as well.


• Jon and I joined Weight Watchers and that's also awesome. I've always heard good things, and now I'm a believer. 7 pounds so far for me.


• We've done some route support for walkers who are training for the Susan Komen 3-day walk for breast cancer, and that is FUN. Handing out snacks and coffee to walkers, playing good music to pump them up when they're on tough hills, and providing ibuprofen and bandaids as needed. This might be my calling if I don't choose to walk again next year. Those folks kept me going when it was tough during the Avon Walk, so I want to give back in the same way to those who are walking now.


• Cake tasting for the wedding is fun. So is picking out music for the reception. I might be way ahead on these things, but I don't care. :)


• Jon and I are going to a home buyer's workshop next month to figure out how in the hell folks buy houses out here when the median price is $650,000 and a 2-bedroom condo is $400,000. We shall report back to all of you if we figure out the secret.


• Sold something from my old classroom and bought a bunch of wooden benches for the school. They look great, and the kids love them. Good idea from Matt.


• Got prescription sunglasses (I had no idea that I could afford them before now - did you know that insurance covers almost all of it?!). I am IN LOVE. If you've never had them, make an appointment for tomorrow. I can see and block the sun at the SAME TIME.


• Auburn football starts in 43 hours. Yay everybody.

If Auburn University would have been its own country in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, its 18 medals would have tied for 14th place in the world with Spain and Canada.

Favorite part of wedding planning - buying songs on iTunes for the reception.