February 1, 2018

(Facepalm) Stuff and Things 2/1

+I gave my class a writing prompt and it was "If I could change one thing about myself, it would be..." and I could think of a hundred things off the top of my head that I would change about me and I could give them gentle ideas about what they could change about them ("I would remember my homework", "I would study my spelling words", "I would be a better friend", etc). However, each and every one of them said, "I wouldn't change anything because I'm perfect the way I am". THESE ARE THE CHILDREN WE ARE RAISING. They see no room for improvement and they are being taught that they are perfect. Yes, you are the best you, but NO ONE is perfect. No WONDER they are so hard to get through to. NO WONDER. (sorry, this makes me shout)


Oddly, a lot of them wanted to dye their hair though?


+Scott sold our old pop-up camper on Craigslist last week. He'd had it listed for two weeks for $300. This camper had rodent damage and wind damage and, even though he cleaned it out pretty thoroughly, he was adamant that no one buy it to live in. The frame and trailer were still like-new so the idea is that you can strip out the "camper" part and use it to haul ATVs, dirtbikes, side-by-sides, etc. A lot of people use them for that. He wasn't going to take the time to strip it down (and be able to charge more), so he just sold it as-is with "not suitable for camping or living" in the ad, but then left the description of what you could use it for instead. He included almost a dozen pictures.

He got a lot of emails from people who wanted to live in it.



He kept saying no. A lot of people wanted it for free. He kept saying no. Finally, some missionaries (a couple), just back from Africa, wanted him to give it to them for a tax write-off. He said no. They said they'd pay for it and they wanted to use it for camping/living when they go to their next destination. He was not happy with this but reallllllly just wanted to get rid of it and, therefore, be able to remove the listing and stop the weird emails.
He sold it to them for $150 because they claimed they didn't have $200, which he lowered the price to just because we wanted to get rid of it.
When they showed up to look at it, they were using different names than the ones they'd given him online, it was getting dark out, and they were being odd about signing the bill of sale. He came in to get the title and also put the pistol in his pocket. He said if I heard a shot, stay in the house. This was mightily unsettling, so I loaded up the 20 gauge and set it by the door. The dogs thought we were going snake hunting because that's what I use that gun for, under normal circumstances.
However, no shots were fired and Scott came back in the house saying, "Well, they're going to live in it", and I just shook my head. Whatever. It's not like we overcharged them.

+I had to deactivate my Facebook account (a.g.a.i.n.). What set me off this time was the fact that people will not stop posting sad animal stories. I can't deal with lost pets, abandoned animals, etc. I spend 5 days a week without my dogs right now and that was the last straw on Sunday (when I saw a sad dog video). I've tried to unfollow these people but MORE people keep posting MORE sad animal stories and I can't deal with that. Plus, I realized I had a lot of spare time on my hands without the temptation of needless scrolling. Imagine that.



And finally...

Me: How are the dogs?
Scott: Good. I'm feeding them milk out of little bowls. 
Me: Don't do that. 
Scott: They love it. It's lactose-free. 

What has made you facepalm lately?

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12 comments:

  1. i pretty much unfollowed everyone except the UPS dog facebook page. it's the best...it's a bunch of UPS drivers who post pics of their route and the animals they come across!

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  2. YES all of the dog videos need to stop. Especially the ones with wounds, etc. Now I really want to deactivate my account, only I am using it to find a cleaning person.

    The kids make me LOL. I mean, yay confidence? But that is a little troubling.

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  3. Oh my gosh, I can't believe every single one of your students had that same answer! I can't remember what age you teach, but maybe they thought it was a trick question or something??

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  4. That's why I don't sell anything. People are,ridiculous & want you to give everything to them. I'll just donate,& get a tax write off. Haha.
    Ohhhhh girl, I just had that conversation with someone about kids today. Where that 8 yr old got handcuffed for slapping & hitting a teacher. The dad said, I was shocked tp see my son handled like thay, i was like, how are you not shocked your 8 yr old son was beating a teacher? Ughhhhh

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  5. Oh gosh, I can't handle sad animal videos or stories. We don't need to see that people!!

    Omg, those children. Yeah, nobody is perfect. Don't tell your kid that or them failing at something is going to be like a catastrophe!! Sigh.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  6. It's going to be really tough for those kids the first time they really fail at something. Self-confidence is great; failing to see the need for growth and improvement is not. :(

    What a headache about the camper! I'm glad you were able to get rid of it, but wow!

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  7. I'm so with you on the animal posts! My friend uses Facebook to post 15 animal abuse stories EVERY SINGLE DAY and not one person ever comments on them. She probably thinks she's doing some good, but I don't see how. I really hate Facebook, but it's the only way my book club and PTA communicate. Ugh.

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  8. LOL the lactose free milk.

    I don't sell anything because of the idiots who contact you about buying it.

    Perfection is not something to aspire to or teach children about.

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  9. ugh. i get where the 'i wouldn't change anything because i'm perfect' is coming from, like with good intentions, but it's stupid. so stupid. it doesn't have to mean your looks or whatever.
    oh my gosh that couple sounds so weird and terrifying.
    i can't handle the sad animal stories either.

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  10. A student of mine told me about his older brother eating a Tide Pod... That's what made me facepalm most recently. Then I had a discussion with the group about how dangerous that kind of stuff is.

    I am seeing the same thing with my students, they think they are perfect just the way they are. While I applaud their self-esteem, it makes me cringe that they don't see anything about them that they can improve upon.

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  11. The responses you got for that writing prompt ... Jesus. My mom is a retired teacher, so I can at least somewhat understand the frustration teachers deal with on a daily basis. Obviously not entirely, but some of the stories I heard about both the kids AND the parents ... It was just insane, and I hated that my mom (or anyone, for that matter) would have to deal with that kind of bullshit.

    The story about the shady couple freaked me out a little, I'm not going to lie. I'm glad it turned out okay ... Well, as okay as possible in that weird ass situation.

    I feel like I should deactivate my Facebook account because I never use it anymore. I guess not using it has allowed me to rid myself of all the unwanted things that kept popping up in my feed, but I wish Facebook hadn't turned into such a nightmare. I remember it used to actually be fun. Good times.

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  12. I was having a bad week last week and my husband came and told me a very sad animal story on Friday evening. I was like, why would you do that to me?? Then he tried to make it better by telling me a happy animal story only that turned out to be sad, too. I cannot handle sad animal stories. Luckily I get none of that on Facebook, my account is only for blog stuff. And I very, very rarely use it for that anyway. I'm glad about this state of affairs.

    I have no words for the kids thing. I don't know how you do it without totally losing your mind!

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