Another Rant--but this one a bit more serious

I was reading an article on a 17 year old girl who got the bright idea to start something online and is now a millionaire. Her business is taking up so much of her time that she had to quit school and hire friends to help her with it. One of the comments on the site was directed at her dropping out of school, saying that it wasn't a good idea and that they hoped she went back and got her GED or something.

You know, I'm wondering if this girl has the right idea.

Now granted, I'm not in favor of dropping out of high school. I have teenagers of my own and I'd like to see that they get at the very least a diploma, however with the way the government has completely fucked up the education system, I can seriously understand how this girl would take running a business over finishing school. I mean seriously, I bet she's learning a hell of a lot more useful stuff running that business than she would sitting in a classroom, stressing over advanced algebra and literature classes.

My two kids are not natural students. Both have ADD/ADHD (and yes, they are on medication so don't even start with me) one is dyslexic and the other has test anxieties. They have to work their assess off in school to get mediocre grades. And the government, despite their claims of "No Child Left Behind" has created such a mess my kids, as well as thousands of others, will be lucky to get out of it with their sanity intact. Thanks to our wonderful government, they've managed to take the "kid" out of being a kid and thrown today's students into a situation where our educational system is as much, if not more stressful than the working community.

They've created a system based on test scores of "book knowledge" and completely forgot that kids need "life knowledge" as well. They complain that the kids today are obese from staying inside and playing those bad, bad video games....helloooooo, did you ever think they're getting obese because they sit in school all day then have to come home and do five more hours of homework to keep up their grades?????? This girl had the glorious ability to think outside the standard academic box and create an answer to a problem thus starting up a successful business and that she pulled it off showed she's not lacking in the brains area.

But did she pass the standardized testing?

You know, I barely squeaked by in school but I don't consider myself dumb. And you remember those stupid occupation tests we had to take? Well they told me I'd be either a domestic servant or a park ranger. Okay, so maybe to my 16 year old, I am a domestic servant ("I'm hungry", "I need laundry done") but it seems I've done pretty darned good for myself. I can string enough, somewhat grammatically correct sentences together to write a novel and I have enough smarts to hold down a job where the information I analyze and report to the state drives the funding for a pretty good sized school district program. I can even calculate change without using a cash register (now ask any teenager today to do that and see what it gets you besides a blank stare!)

Not to shabby for an academic loser, eh?

So, uh, tell me, Mr. President, if the mean weight of three team members on a bobsled team is 161 lbs and the added (fourth) driver brings the mean weight up to 165.5 lbs, exactly what is the weight of fourth person? Oh, and don't forget to show your work. Remember, you don't graduate if you can't answer it correctly--no pressure or anything.

Don't try this at work, people....

Okay, this one wins the year's biggest 'DUH' factor. A woman, specifically an aspiring romance novelist, was fired from her job when her boss got suspicious that she was typing too much (huh?) and had an IT tech look at her computer. They found her novel that she'd been working on as well as an email from a friend calling her work "a tawdry lust novel" (ACKKK...can you see my eyes rolling back in my head? That ranks right up there with the curse of "bodice ripper" and an insult to all romance writers. If one of my friends called my work they'd die, die I tell you!!! Good thing they're smarter than that). She tries to get out of it by saying that it didn't violate the "personal use" part of the company policy because she really didn't care who looked at her novel.

WTF??????

I don't know which is worse, this chick or the one that was blogging about how much she hated her job....WHILE SHE WAS AT WORK! I don't even think a good smack upside the head would help these two they're so far gone into stupid land. They rank right up there in intelligence with the teachers and school administrators who get busted for having porn on their school computers. Now THAT takes brains.


Okay, listen up people:

rule #1: don't ever put anything personal on your work computer.
rule #2: If you do put something personal on your computer -- TAKE IT OFF!

If you remember nothing else, remember these two rules. Misuse of the computer is near the top on list of reasons employers fire their employees. And don't even think about whining "I'm getting my work done so what's the big deal?" Helloooo, you're being paid to work, not slam the people signing your paycheck, shithead. If you don't like your job, find another one. If you want to write, do it on your lunch hour on your own laptop. If you can't afford a laptop, use a pen and a piece of paper for cripes sake. QUIT YER BITCHING AND USE YOUR FUCKING BRAIN!!!

Like Happy Bunny says..."Make the stupid people shut up" because if they don't, they need to get off my planet.

Things People You Work With Should Never Know

The people I work with know I'm a writer and most know that I write in the romance genre. The problem comes in that when you're a writer, people want to read what you write. Now, in most cases, it's okay, but when it comes down to people I work with reading my books, I get a little....uh...no a LOT....creeped out.

I see these people ever day. I work with them. But I DO NOT want them to know what's going on in my head! Talk about TMI (too much info). I mean just because I'm a romance writer does NOT mean I wonder about other people's sex lives and I'm sure they don't think about mine (ewwww!) so you can see where them reading a romance novel of mine might be a tad bit out of everyone's comfort zone.

People who aren't writers don't realize that a love scene in a book is about one of the most difficult things in the book to write. Their impression is that you're focusing strictly on the physical when, in reality, it's completely the opposite -- you're really focusing on the emotional which is far more difficult. This isn't Penthouse Letters!!! Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am is much easier to write. Unfortunately, it's not what romance is about. The proof is all the sweet and inspirational romance novels out on the market where the characters do nothing more than kiss.

Romance is about romance. The relationship. Two people overcoming conflict to end up HEA (happily ever after). It's about finding love and committment in a world where you have German polititions lobbying for laws to make marriage null and void after a certain number of years. Call me sappy or call me unrealistic, but I enjoy seeing love win!

So why do I still get all grossed out thinking about my co-workers reading?

Because it's just icky, that's why! And it's just another reason I need to get off my butt and get writing....so I can quit my job and not deal with it!

Ohhhhh, Muse! Get your bitch-ass over here and give me some help, will ya?

Fine! I give...I give....

Okay, it seems like everyone I know is blogging these days. I don't really see the point...can't imagine too many people wanting to read about my hectic, highly uneventful life. But hey, call me a lemming and watch me jump off the cliff.

Yes, there are days where I really do feel on the edge of insanity. I have this goal, you see. A goal of writing full time and making an actual career out of it. Doesn't seem too difficult. At least not until you throw in a family....one I'me convinced wouldn't know how to do a darn thing to survive should I step off the curb tomorrow morning and get run over by Tony Stewart in his bright orange #20 Home Depot car...and a job from hell that sends my blood pressure through the roof and turns my brain to pudding.

I'm supposed to write through this???

Yes! At least that's what I'm told. I'm supposed to make this happen! Put my butt in the chair and write that story...conflict, plot, sex....all without falling asleep. Hey, no problem! Just let me grab those trusty clothespins of mine to hold the old eyelids open. Ouch! Splinters in the eyelids are not fun.

Oh, and let's not forget the the sixteen year old who thinks my writing is her mortal enemy. Why? Uh, hellooooooo, you're not paying attention to me, mom . I'm bored. I'm hungry. I'm bored. I need money. You're ignoring me! Any of those people telling me to "write through it" wouldn't last five minutes with her standing in front of the desk tapping on the printer to get my attention. Teenagers....now I understand why lions eat their young.

It's difficult forcing myself to write through all this, but I do. Not nearly as much as I should or as I want to. But when I'm dragging into the house after working late yet again to find the dishwasher still hasn't been unloaded, the sink is overflowing with dirty dishes and the mountain of laundry is approaching a height that would bring tears to any thrill-seeking mountain climber, I think about that goal. Someday, I'll be sitting in that chair, in my pajamas, living in my make-believe world and actually getting paid for it. Someday, I'll be able to laugh at those teachers that told me to stop daydreaming in class and focus, or give an Italian salute to the guidance counselors that told me I was destined to become either a park ranger or a domestic servant (and no matter what my teenager believes, I do NOT fall into that second category). Someday, I will be one of those fortunate people who actually get paid for doing something they love!

I just hope I have enough tequila and margarita mix to get me through until that day comes.