Ammunition control

Good point!

Info about guns in the home

This is so powerful~

Newtown, Connecticut massacre

Random thoughts:

Basically, just WTF.

I told the rabbi that I would not want to have to represent God after an event like this. (What kind of fucked up Supreme Being lets 20 kids be slaughtered a week before Christmas?)

Why wouldn't Nancy Lanza (the killer's mother) store her gun collection away from her troubled son?

I think we should bring some sanity to our gun policy, since what we have is barbaric. But these mass killings are much more a matter of mental health access than they are about gun control. That being said, you'd think the so-called "greatest country in the world" could figure out a way to keep assault rifles out of the hand of schizophrenics.

Great quote: "It's harder to adopt a pet in the US than it is to buy a gun."

Nic Kristof's column, "Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?" is a wonderful breath of sanity, of course.

Jezebel's column, "Fuck You, Guns" (part of a series) is great, of course.

Gawker republished a column called "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" by a woman with a violent, mentally ill 13 year old. Terrifying.

I heard an absolutely fascinating commentary over the weekend - the guy was a former official in the Bush administration (I think - wish I had noted his name) and he said that when the 2nd amendment was written, the average citizen could have the same weapon as the military (i.e., a musket) and therefore could, in theory, protect themselves from "tyranny," but now, the military has drones and nukes and chemical weapons, etc, and the average person, no matter how many guns they have, could not truly face down a "tyrant" backed by this arsenal. His point was, it's just a matter of where we draw the line - obviously we don't let citizens own their own drone, but no one considers that an affront to the 2nd amendment. Super thought-provoking.

"Good Things" jar

I'm doing this!!

Remember this advice!

If you're feeling blue:

1. Write down 5 things you're grateful for.

2. Do a random act of kindness for someone.
3. Write someone you care about an email or letter, or, better yet, call them.
4. Watch a movie that makes you laugh, like John Hughes' "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off."
5. Reread a book that you love.

6. Exercise hard for 20 minutes.
7. Relax, meditate, or pray for 20 minutes.
8. Take a walk for 20 minutes, preferably in the sun.
9. Cuddle with a pet (yours or someone else's) for 20 minutes.

Another unfriending, this one on FB and real life

I had yet another unfriending experience on Facebook recently. I had posted this graphic:




One of my friends got very offended and said it "smacks of prejudice" and then she unfriended me. She works on my floor at work (her name is Barbara). I've seen her in the halls a couple of times since, and she's been very cool, but she's always been a bit on the chilly side (several people on my floor are like this - not unfriendly, but just sort of brusque and reserved).

So, each month we have a lunch to celebrate the birthdays for that month, and they send around a card for each person, and everyone signs it. I got my card earlier this week (even though my birthday was last month), and, you guessed it, she didn't sign my card. I'm so surprised and disappointed - it's just so cold. And all over a stupid FB post that wasn't even very confrontational (not nearly as aggressive as the last one that caused a kerfluffle - and the person that unfriended me over that post is still friendly toward me in person).  I can't decide if I should try to talk to her. Part of me feels like just forget it, but on the other hand, it's such a little thing to lose a friend over (especially now, when I feel like I need everyone in my corner that I possibly can).

Abrupt change

Holy fuck, I lost my job today. The chair called me in and said they were terminating me. I've got 3 weeks to find a new job right in the middle of the holiday season (I feel like Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs Kramer). I can't believe how cold the chair was, not even a "sorry" or "thanks for 5 years of your life." Wow.

It wasn't totally unexpected - I knew the department had serious financial problems, and I half expected the chair to fire me as soon as he arrived this summer. But so much time had gone by since July 1, that I thought I had dodged the bullet. Frank was very optimistic after he met with the chair this fall, and I was just in his office a couple weeks ago for a quality assurance project. And they need a research person. But they will no doubt hire someone else, a research nurse like Kim, despite crying poor.  I would bet on that.

They certainly could have given me more notice, or let me go at a less difficult time of year. And it was rather galling to ride up in the elevator with lunch for the staff (a new weekly tradition apparently) and then be told they have no money. 

But it was never a very good fit.  Most of the faculty was completely dismissive of me, almost hostile, except when they needed something. And I was so under-utilized - I hardly did anything except the projects that Frank designed for us, and lots of low level tasks that any secretary could do, like IRB paperwork and Excel spreadsheets. A little editing. This really could be a blessing in disguise, if I can find something more challenging or more satisfying or more meaningful. Except for the money and the health benefits, I'm glad to be quit of the place.

But it's gonna be tough to get something else - I've been looking off and on for several years. Most of the time, I don't even get a boilerplate rejection letter.  I've only gotten 2 interviews and I've applied for at least a dozen jobs. Super scary.

Thank goodness I've lined up the teaching job for the spring. It's not much money, but it could lead to something more.

Two big advantages over my last Syracuse job search - I can collect unemployment this time, so I won't be completely broke. And I know about a gazillion people now - I've already sent my resume to several people, and already applied for an awesome-looking research position at SU regarding veterans returning to school.

If I don't get something lined up by the end of the year, and I'm pretty sure I won't, it will actually be nice to have some time to do projects around the house. And I'm always complaining that I have no time to use all the Groupons I bought - I can finally do that!

Except for losing the money and health benefits, it will be nice to have some time off.  Funny thing, I just placed a huge order with No Nonsense, so I'm stocked with pantyhose that I won't be needing.

Time to review expenses and make some choices. That's not gonna be fun. (I sure wish I'd known a month ago - I would have cut way back on the holiday shopping!) And the trip to Hawaii is looming, and of course Cal's bar mitzvah. I guess that's why they invented credit cards.

Technology rules!

Latest movies

Two in theaters and one on video~

The Sessions - A wonderful gem, not for the faint-hearted, but just amazing performances and a thought-provoking look at the life of a man determined to live life to the fullest despite limitations.

Lincoln - What can you say about a sterling cast presenting one of the most vital moments in American history (the passage of the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery). Epic not in scope but in impact. I cried several times - so moving and meaningful. Oscar will come calling, I'm sure.


Carnage -  Not quite as much "there" there as I had hoped, and not a whole lot of laughs for a "comedy" but not a bad movie. A little too real at some points - almost painful to watch. But the end was clever and it was definitely worth watching.

"We can do better"

From the Post Secret website - my feelings exactly.