Weird Potty Women

I am ready to start a group against women who urinate all over the seat in public restrooms! I mean, seriously? This is the behavior for which we have been railing against the male of the species since the dawn of time. You don't think the first cave woman threw a rock at her mate the first time he got pee all over the outhouse!

I saw a news report on a study which said that women's restrooms actually had more germ activity than the men's room, the reasoning being that children often went into the restroom with their mother. I think it's because some of these women are pigs. I can totally understand you not wanting to sit on a public toilet seat. For the love of God, cover the thing in toilet paper, or at the very least, wad up a piece of paper and dry the seat when you're done. Be considerate of the people who'll come after you. Restrooms for women are already notoriously guilty of fewer stalls, so why make it harder by rendering one unusable?

I'm sorry to be on a soapbox about this, but when I went to class last night, at a college, where there were only ADULTS present, I encountered this problem, and it's just unacceptable.

Golden Rule folks! Do unto others!

I had to take a break!

The last couple of weeks has been exhausting, and I guess you can see by the fact that I haven't posted in a while. Some sad things have been happening. My supervisor's husband died this morning. One of my daughter's professors also passed away, and this is really her first time dealing with the death of someone she admired. My husband took her to the visitation.

I've also noticed a disturbing trend with my family as of late. Everyone walks into the house, goes to their room and plugs into a television or a laptop, sometimes both. Even the six year old pulls up YouTube and pulls up her favorite Miley Cyrus song. I know I should be disturbed by this and I am, but it's hard to get this family all together at one time these days. I've got to come up with something to get them to reconnect. I can't stand the idea that the next few years are going to be like this. One day I'll wake up and we'll all be strangers.

Back in New Orleans

While I enjoyed the little bit of free time my Americorps conference in Pittsburgh allowed, I'm glad to be back home in my bedroom in New Orleans. Pittsburgh in February is a dreary place piled high with soot stained snow and equally damp weather. The people are very nice, and I'd love to see this city during the spring. There's a lot of history there.

We helped out in the very first Carnegie library in the United States. It's a beautiful old gal who's been badly neglected over the past few years. Unfortunately, she's in the center of a town named Braddock, a steel town which has been hit hard by the economy. Once a town of more than 20,000, it now has less than 3,000 residents. To make things even worse, the town's only hospital closed recently, taking more jobs from this already depressed city.

It's hard to return to New Orleans and continue to complain about the recovery. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure we'll all be complaining about something city related tomorrow. But in Braddock, there's such a sense of despair. I can't imagine any parent urging their high school seniors to stay, or encouraging their college graduates to return. The job of bringing the city back seems insurmountable, but they have a dynamic young mayor who's making an effort and as the economy of the country improves, slowly but surely, I'm hoping some good luck will trickle down to Braddock, Pennsylvania.

First Night in Pittsburgh

It was a long travel day! We had to be at the airport for eight this morning and we didn't get into our hotel rooms until seven this evening, after which we went out for dinner. I couldn't wait to get a shower and fall into bed. It's funny when you travel without your family. Of course, you miss them, but at the same time, you relish the time you'll get on your own. I can blog, read, write, or watch television without interruption. Did I mention I'm in a very nice hotel room which I don't have to clean? It can't get much better than this.

Of course, my heart strings took a little beating when I talked to my six-year-old. She was very cheerful, her dad was struggling with her hair, and the teenager was caught in between. I know they'll survive the next few days, but the vanity in all mothers hopes they'll miss me just a bit.

Happy Mardi Gras!!

It's a beautiful but cool day in the Big Easy. Still on a high from the Saints' victory in the Super Bowl, New Orleanians filled the streets of the city to celebrate Fat Tuesday. My hope is that this feeling stays with us for a while and that we take this positive energy and turn it into positive changes for our city. Be safe everyone and laissez les bon temps!

February: A Crowded Month

Congratulate us! For the first time in history, the New Orleans Saints are Superbowl Champions! While I'm not a football fan, I'm really happy for the Saints and the City of New Orleans. On top of that we have Mardi Gras, and what else? Oh yeah, today's my birthday.

When you hit your forties, you're not exactly sure how to feel about birthdays. I'm back in school, working full time and still raising a family with all of the ups and downs that entails. The only thing I've come to realize is that I look at the beginning of each new year of my life with optimism and hope. It's always the hope that I've learned something from the past year so that I continue to celebrate the positive and try not to repeat the negative.

So, what's on the agenda today? I plan to go to the gym and workout, and I'm told that around three there's going to be a birthday celebration of some sort. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to leave obsessive compulsive Kevin behind today and enjoy whatever it is the family has planned.

New Orleans Has a New Mayor......

Mitch Landrieu is the new mayor-elect of New Orleans. This is almost as historic as Barack Obama becoming President. Landrieu is the first white mayor of this majority black city since the 70's. And as usual, everyone is now pledging to work together, just as our new President, the Congress and the Senate promised in 2009 on Inauguration Day. And as usual, they've been at each other's throats ever since. No matter what your political leanings are, don't you just get tired of it?

There's something to be said for not having one party controlling everything. When one party controls everything, there is no incentive to work together. At the beginning, Democrats had no reason to really work with Republicans, just as Republicans had no incentive to work with Democrats from 2000 to 2006. Don't you ever wish it was really all about the voters and what's best for the country, as opposed to what's easier for politicians who are always in 're-election' mode?