Wednesday, 28th July 2010

Paint your car and tie a yellow ribbon to thank the firefighters and other emergency personnel

Posted on 31. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, local news

Looking for a good way to thank the firefighters and other emergency personnel for all the hard work they’re doing? There’s a grassroots effort to spread the word that people should paint their cars with phrases such as “Thank you, firefighters!” or “Thanks for saving us from the fires!” My daughter and a friend painted my car last night:

They used “Go Team” glass markers that they purchased at Michaels. (Amy B. says they’re in Aisle 5 of the Glendale Michael’s.) If you don’t have glass markers, some people have said you can use shoe polish. Either way, hopefully it’ll encourage emergency personnel to see how much we appreciate all they’re doing. If you know Lisa S. in La Canada, you can stop by her house between 3 pm – 5 pm (“ish”) and her daughter and some friends will paint your car for you. Lisa is also collecting for the families of the firefighters who died and for the Pasadena Humane Society.

There’s also been talk of tying yellow ribbons around the trees on Foothill Blvd. to honor the two firefighters that sacrificed their lives in this fire. I spoke to Mayor Laura Olhasso, and she said that’s fine. Is there someone out there who can lead this effort?

The city is also trying to determine the best “big” way to thank the firefighters and other emergency personnel. Many are from out of state, and we don’t know when their job will be done, so it’s tough to plan. Stay tuned.

Again, many, many thanks to everyone who’s putting their life on the line for us. You’re truly heroic.

Another great fire info resource: LA Times Interactive Map

Posted on 31. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

The LA Times is updating an interactive map of the fire as it spreads from La Canada to La Crescenta, Tujunga, Altadena, Pasadena, Acton and…hopefully the list will stop there. You can zoom in and out, and click on an area to see the most updated information about it.

has also proven itself to be a great way to share/obtain information: Save a and see the constant updates.

Here are the other links I’ve found most useful:

Update:

Grand jury testimony reveals why truck driver in La Canada accident was charged with murder

Posted on 30. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

Wow. This NBC news video explains why Marcos Costa, the driver of the truck that crashed into the Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada on April 1st, was charged with murder. An off-duty firefighter testified that he’d been behind Costa and smelled his burning brakes, so he’d flagged him down and warned him not to proceed. Costa did anyway, and wound up killing two people and injuring many others.

Pasadena Humane Society out of space – help needed!

Posted on 30. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, local news

Here’s a notice I was just forwarded regarding the Pasadena Humane Society. They’re overburdened with dogs that have been evacuated from the fires, as well as injured wild animals. Please let them know if you can help, and please forward this information.

From Mary Temple, adoption supervisor at Pasadena Humane Society:
Can any of you rescuers and animal lovers help PHS out by bringing crates to our shelter for the fire victims’ animals and rescue some of our animals? 361 S. Raymond Ave. Pasadena, CA 91105  The Pasadena Humane Society is the only licensed wildlife center in the 30 mile radius of the wildfires. They are rapidly taking in displaced injured wild animals, in addition to domestic animals livestock. The dogs and bunnies are outdoors in this horrible air quality there are dogs in the P2, P3, P4, P5 kennels facing west w/no shelter from the sun in the afternoon. Please please, if you can adopt or rescue please consider: http://pasadenahumane.org

By the way, the cute little dog on the right is named Dolby. He’s available for adoption at the Pasadena Humane Society. Doesn’t he look friendly?

Drowning in smoke and concerned for neighboring towns

Posted on 30. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, local news

The sun is red, and the smoke is as thick as pea soup. The fires have receded here in La Canada, but they’ve fanned out to La Crescenta, Altadena, Pasadena, and Acton, which is over 10 miles to the north.

According to InciWeb, the fire

  • Has burned over 35,200 acres;
  • Is only 5% contained;
  • Is being fought by 1,804 personnel.

Those people are heroes. We need to throw a parade or a big party for them and their families. It’s incredible that no structures burned here in La Canada, and I hope they can continue being that effective in neighboring communities.

Besides InciWeb, the most useful websites I’ve found for information are:

The latter is amazing, but I had to turn it off after awhile. It was too stressful to have in the background.

So far, school is still set to open tomorrow. The district will notify parents by a phone call around 3:00 pm today to let us know what they’ve decided.

Now to convince my dog that he shouldn’t stay outside and bark at squirrels. I wonder how the squirrels are doing?

Here are some pictures I took yesterday around noon on my way back from giving a social networking talk to AAUW women in Carson.

Coming up the 110:

From the Glendale Freeway (2) near Eagle Rock:

From the transition from the 2 to the 210 Freeway:

La Canada Flintridge issues mandatory fire evacuation

Posted on 29. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

From the La Canada Flintridge website 6:00 am fire update:

Per instruction from County public safety personnel, the City of La Cañada Flintridge is announcing an immediate mandatory evacuation notice for residences on: Greenridge Dr., Forest Green Dr., Ridge Ct., and Starlight Crest Dr. (through address 502), Big Briar Way (off Haskell St.), La Canada Blvd. n/o El Vago St., Donna Maria Ln., Indian Dr., Alta Canyada Rd. n/o El Vago St., Hacienda Dr., Linda Vista Dr., and Alta Canyada Rd. n/o Linda Vista Dr.  Residents in this area are asked to assemble their families and leave the area. An evacuation center is set up at La Cañada High School, located at 4463 Oak Grove Dr., where the Red Cross is ready to receive those coming from the evacuation area.  Please heed directions from Sheriff’s deputies and fire personnel to ensure that all residents are able to depart in a safe manner.

I’m surprised it doesn’t include my old neighborhood, Angeles Crest Estates. Good for them, though I think that most people up there evacuated already on their own. Even if the fire isn’t immediately threatening, the smoke can be overwhelming.

La Canada fire update

Posted on 28. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

Here’s a picture taken from the top of Chevy Chase at 1:15 pm today. It’s the same location as the pictures in the previous post.

The parts of the mountain that burned last night look like they’ve had a buzz cut. The fire’s definitely spread out since yesterday. I was down at the high school for the Back to School Teacher Luncheon, so I stopped by the Red Cross Evacuation Center. They said they’d only had a handful of people stop by, but they’ve got the North Gym all set up with cots in case people need a place to sleep. The Pasadena Humane Society is there, too, ready to help care for pets, and AllState insurance has a tent set up.

Hopefully no one will need any of this, but it’s good to know it’s there.

The progression of the La Canada Station fire last night

Posted on 28. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, local news

Here are pictures I took at various times of the La Canada Station fire last night, each from the corner of Chevy Chase and Foothill. I’d take more, but it’s too smoky to see more than a block right now.

This was taken at 9:15 pm:

This was taken at 11:15 pm:

This was taken at 12:15 am:

I hope everyone and their houses are ok. Again, I’m in awe of firefighters. I can barely breathe outside. How do they do it?!?!?

La Canada fire crests mountain

Posted on 27. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

Although it’s 100 degrees outside, it looked like a Winter Wonderland this morning as ashes from the fire in Angeles Forest covered every exposed surface in La Canada. Here’s what my car looked like after an hour and a half in the open air:

Smoke has been rising from the mountains along Angeles Crest Highway since yesterday afternoon. Firefighters are working furiously to protect the forest and nearby homes, but it appears the fire is eager to cross the ridge above La Canada. Flames could be seen at about 2:40 pm today at the top of the ridge.

Hopefully the fire won’t travel any further south, and all the firefighters will be safe as they put their lives on the line to fight it.

Teach your teens about EANABs

Posted on 22. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in food, parenting

One of the first things I learned in RA training at Stanford in the mid-80’s was to provide EANABs (Equally Attractive Non-Alcoholic Beverages) at parties. This didn’t mean water or cheap soda: the non-alcoholic drinks needed to be just as enticing as the alcoholic ones. The goal was to make people who didn’t drink alcohol feel welcome, and to give people who did drink alcohol something to supplement it so they didn’t have too much. I didn’t realize that “EANAB” was primarily a Stanford acronym until I just did a Google search and most references involved Stanford. Maybe that’s why I felt so comfortable there.

I was reminded of EANABs this afternoon when my daughter hauled a 12-pack of Diet Coke to the shopping cart and declared that she wanted to bring some EANABs to a party this evening. I was impressed that she’d remembered what I’d taught her, and told her that any time she wanted to purchase EANABs, even through college, I’d be happy to pay.

Hopefully kids are making wise decisions this evening. Teens are scary sometimes.  :(

Top 10 Tips for the Perfect College Tour, plus Tips for the Tourguides

Posted on 20. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting

As the mother of a junior and a senior in high school, I’ve toured many colleges in the past year, and we’re not done yet. If you’re about to embark on this chapter of life, here are my top 10 tips for making the most of your college visit:

  1. Try to tour a school before you apply, so the school can see that you’re serious about them.
  2. If possible, set up an interview with an admissions counselor, a coach or someone in the department you’re interested in.
  3. Ask questions such as:
    • How many students are in the average class? (NOTE: This is different from the faculty:student ratio, which often includes faculty who do research and don’t teach.)
    • Do TA’s teach classes?
    • What percentage of students live on campus? How many years is housing guaranteed for?
    • How would you describe the students here?
    • What’s your least favorite thing about this school?
    • What percentage of students go on to graduate school, and what ones do they attend?
    • What are the most popular majors on campus?
    • What do students do on weekends?
    • Are there fraternities and sororities on campus?
    • Ask the tour guide why he or she chose to attend that college, and what their other choices were.
    • How many students study overseas? Is it through the school or an outside program? (This can affect how many of your classmates will be overseas with you, and financial aid may not apply if it’s an outside program.)
  4. When you see other students on campus, ask them what they think of the school. We’ve found it easiest to ask questions of students working at the student store or in the dining hall.
  5. Stay close to the tour guide so you can hear what he or she says.
  6. Bring a resume that details your GPA, test scores, advanced classes taken, sports and other activities. Give it to either your interviewer or the person you sign in for the tour with.
  7. Take lots of pictures. Post them to Facebook and see how many people know about this school and what they think of it.
  8. Have the student write down impressions of the visit right afterwards, so they can remember details when they’re making a decision.
  9. If possible, visit while classes are in session so you can get a feel for what the students who attend are like.
  10. If you get in and you’re seriously considering it, spend a night with a current student and attend the prospective freshman orientation.

After touring two schools on Tuesday, my kids and I realized we were becoming quite the connoisseurs of fine tour guides, and I promised to blog about it soon. Coincidentally, in yesterday’s NY Times article, Colleges Seek to Remake the Campus Tour, I learned that some schools are re-vamping their tours, often with the advice of an outside consultant. The article mentions two main recommendations: concentrate on anecdotes instead of statistics, and don’t walk backwards.

I’d beg to differ. If I were advising college admissions offices on how they should structure their tours, I’d advise them as follows:

  • If you have more than four people on the tour, walk backwards. We went on one tour that had about 10 people, and we had a hard time hearing what the guide was saying since she never turned around.
  • If possible, don’t have more than 15 people on a tour. If there are more, the people in the back will have a hard time staying engaged.
  • Ask the names, hometowns and potential majors and interests of prospective students at the beginning of the tour. If no one wants to be an engineer, don’t waste our time touring the engineering building.
  • Show us the inside of a dorm room. We don’t care if no one lives there at the moment. A student will spend more time there than anywhere else on campus, and we want to see what a typical room looks like.
  • Know your statistics. We may not remember all of them, but some of them stick, and can be deal breakers or deal makers. In particular, we want to know what percentage of students live on campus.
  • Don’t choose a tour guide just because he or she works in the admissions office. Choose guides that are personable and excited about the school.
  • Choose guides that are articulate. We went on one tour where the guide was enthusiastic, but had horrible grammar. I left with the impression that the kids at this school might not be too bright.
  • Keep us on well-traveled roads and paths. One tour guide brought us behind all the buildings, and had us enter the dining commons from the delivery entrance, passing by the dumpsters.
  • Show us the insides of buildings, including classrooms. We’re not here for an architectural tour; we want to see where students spend their time and hear about those places.
  • Don’t try to joke too much. The tour guide probably isn’t a comedian, and too many jokes seemed forced and often fall flat.
  • Don’t only let the creme de la creme of your university show us around. We went on a tour of a public university that had four tour guides, and all of them were in the school’s highly selective honors program. I didn’t feel like I got to hear from an “average” student there.
  • Give us a meal pass. Let us experience the school as much as possible by eating the food and hanging out in the student areas.
  • Give us a coupon for the bookstore. If we buy a sweatshirt, that’ll be great publicity for you.

Cheer someone up with a photo collage poster

Posted on 18. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in health, shopping

Exercise is only part of the reason I try to get to Curves at 6:15 am most mornings. The other big reason is that I get to see my fellow early-rising amigas! Yesterday morning, Lisa P. gave me a few great ideas for what I could do for my sister-in-law who’s hospitalized in a far-off land. I took her up on one last night, and created a photo collage poster on Snapfish for our beloved patient. I loaded pictures of her relatives into a new Snapfish album, and kept reshuffling the images on the poster until the ones I wanted to show up larger were more prominent. Here’s the result:

I considered creating the poster on Shutterfly or Kodakgallery, but those sites had very stiff, confining layouts. I think this Snapfish poster looks much more creative and cohesive than the ones I would have created on the other sites.

Diane, if you happen to be seeing this, look for the real deal to arrive in a few days. It’s 16″ x 20″, so it should go a long way toward personalizing your hospital room and reminding you that there are lots of people who love you.

Do you need a website, a blog or a Facebook page? Or something else?

Posted on 17. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in social networking, work

Café Pasadena asked an excellent question in response to Saturday’s blog post: How should a person decide whether they need a website, a blog, or a Facebook page?

A page is perfect for keeping in touch with friends and family. Most people make their pages private, so they can only be seen by people they’ve accepted as “friends.” It’s an easy and effective tool for sharing updates about what’s going on in your life, articles and links you find interesting, videos you like or have taken, and photos of your latest adventure. There are many levels of privacy settings. For example, you can specify that a certain photo can only be seen by a few select people, and yet share another photo with anyone. It’s all up to you. Facebook is also an excellent adjunct to email. When I send a Facebook message, I know it won’t wind up in a spam folder. Most people have Facebook set up so that they not only get messages in their Facebook inbox, but they also get an email letting them know they have a message. I love that Facebook groups messages by their string, so I don’t have to go back to search for what was said before. Because I know messages won’t wind up as spam, I’ve also ditched Evite in favor of organizing events on Facebook. It keeps track of who’s coming to an event, just as Evite does. Facebook groups are an effective way of updating people about a cause or interest, and allow people to contribute to the dialogue. Facebook can also be useful for businesses, organizations or public features that wish to start groups or fan pages. In fact, it’s quickly becoming necessary that they do so unless they want to be left out of the loop. Facebook is free.

Blogging is an effective way to communicate your insights, knowledge and opinions. You can customize the look of a blog, but the core of the blog will be the posts. A post is like an article. You can post as often or as seldom as you wish, but you’re more likely to have loyal readers if you post regularly. Nearly all blogs have no privacy settings, so anyone on the internet can see what you write or what pictures you post. You can create a blog for free, but you might choose to pay to host your blog so that you can have more design flexibility. I use a Facebook application called NetworkedBlogs that puts my blog posts on my Facebook news feed. I’m generally getting 5-10x more comments on my blog posts on Facebook rather than on the actual blog itself, and since they’re not anonymous, the comments are always thoughtful and respectful.

A website is usually updated less often than a blog, unless it’s a media website with constantly updated lists of stories or a retail website with new products and reviews. Websites can be designed however you wish, and are perfect for businesses or organizations that wish to provide information about their product or mission. In my case, my business website is kchristieh.com, my blog is kchblog.com, and I have a Facebook page under my own name.

Other popular communication tools you might consider include LinkedIn and Twitter.

functions much like an online resume, but with “connections” much like “friends” on Facebook. It’s much less dynamic than Facebook, however, because you don’t post status updates, links, vacation photos, etc. to your page. Because LinkedIn stays more professional, it’s great for people who are looking to network without getting too personal. LinkedIn also has a great feature that allows you to ask a professional question, such as “What software would I use for the following situation?” The responses are usually very helpful. I have a robust LinkedIn profile, but I only use it when I have a question to ask. I’d use it more if I were looking to hire or to be hired.

allows people to send out and receive short updates on their cellphone or email account. It’s a great way to quickly inform groups of people of an important event or breaking news. Many businesses use it to update customers. I’m signed up for Twitter, and although I have been notified that I have a bunch of followers, I’ve never “tweeted,” or posted an update. I prefer to update my Facebook status and let people see it if they wish to, and not inundate anyone or myself with useless chatter. I also prefer knowing that only friends and family see my updates. While much that goes on via Twitter is useful, I don’t want to get updates on my cellphone or email that so-and-so is eating a yummy burger.

Does anyone actively use MySpace anymore? Just kidding…sort of. While I’m sure many people still use MySpace, my friends and I appreciate the more robust features and privacy settings of Facebook, so that’s where we communicate.

Over 60 Ways to Help a Sick Friend or Relative

Posted on 16. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in health, religion

Over 60 Ways to Help a Sick Friend or Relative

This weekend my husband’s youngest sister found out she has acute myeloid leukemia. She entered the hospital today, and if the doctors determine she’s up for it, she’ll start intensive chemotherapy tomorrow.

Unfortunately, she lives halfway across the country. We’re praying a lot for her, but we’d like to find more ways to help and support her. I’m not an expert in these matters, so I turned to Google and compiled the following list of ways to help a friend or relative who’s sick:

  • Be supportive without expecting anything in return. In particular, don’t burden them with your problems.
  • Listen more than you talk.
  • Don’t judge them because of their illness. Have compassion.
  • Don’t try to take over their life.
  • Keep in touch, even via phone.
  • Send notes and cards frequently.
  • Allow the person to be scared, and to cry.
  • Keep your emotions under control. You don’t want to add to their burden by making them worrry about how you’re handling their situation.
  • If you talk for a long time and they’re in the right state of mind, share stories from your life, so that they can stay in touch with the outside world and have news to pass on to others.
  • Take pictures or videos of family or social events they can’t attend.
  • Learn more about the patient’s illness or disease so you can understand what they’re talking about.
  • Offer to create and maintain a page on CaringBridge or CarePages that will help keep friends updated and will allow those friends to communicate their get well wishes on.
  • Ask people who are in touch with the patient if they can think of anything you might be able to do.
  • Offer to pray with the person, if that’s appropriate.
  • Let the person complain about what their doctor has instructed them to do, but encourage them to follow the instructions.

If you can visit,

  • Call first to see if you can come.
  • Learn about the patient’s condition and about their illness before you visit.
  • Wash your hands and sanitize them before you touch the patient or anything you plan to give to them.
  • Don’t stay longer than 15-20 minutes.
  • Avoid close contact so you don’t spread disease.
  • Turn off your cellphone, or at least the ringer. Give your attention to the patient, not to your cellphone.
  • Be willing to sit and listen. Even watch tv. Your mere presence will be appreciated.
  • Ask to see what you can cook them for dinner. Bring it in disposable containers. Better yet, organize a calendar so that friends can make sure that food deliveries are spread out evenly.
  • Offer to do specific tasks such as: minor home repairs, care for pets, mow the lawn, drive the kids, wash windows, buy groceries, help set up for the holidays, buy birthday gifts, etc.
  • Ask the patient and their family “What needs to be done?” instead of “What can I do?” They might not realize the extent of your capabilities or connections to others who may help.
  • Tell them when you’re available to help. If you say you’re available on Tuesday morning, for example, they might ask you to pick up a prescription that’s ready then.
  • Offer to read to the patient.
  • Patients interviewed on various websites mentioned that they appreciated when someone brought perfume, a coloring book and crayons (from a granddaughter), music, magazines, knitting supplies, candy, flowers, books, lotion, Chapstick, gum, socks, t-shirt, phone card, a notebook, and non-hospital food. Of course, make sure it’s ok for the patient to have something before you bring it.
  • Offer to give the patient a manicure, a pedicure or a massage.
  • Bring healthy snacks and non-alcoholic, caffeine-free beverages.
  • If they’re not allowed outside, bring them fall leaves, winter snow or spring flowers.
  • If they can go out, take them for a ride.
  • Ask them if there’s anyone that you can contact for them.
  • Give them frozen cookies or brownies that they can either eat when they’re feeling better or that they can offer to guests.
  • Let them know they look great, all things considered.
  • Let them know you admire their strength.
  • Offer to write thank you notes and cards.
  • Give the person a chance to discuss their spiritual concern by saying something like, “It’s difficult to be sick and not have control, isn’t it?”
  • Offer a shoulder to lean on if the person needs to walk as either exercise or to visit the lavatory.
  • If it’s appropriate, bring humor and a light mood to them. Laughter can be a terrific medicine.

If you visit them in the hospital,

  • Speak to the nurses first to prepare yourself for the condition they’ll be in, and to see if there are any special instructions regarding what you can bring into their room.
  • If the door is closed, check with the nurse before you open it.
  • Don’t wake a sleeping patient before checking with a nurse first. It’s probably best if you wait until they wake up or if you leave a note and visit later.
  • Give them privacy. If they’re being attended to by doctors or nurses, you should probably leave the room.
  • Show respect for the doctors and nurses, no matter what your past experience has been.
  • If the room is crowded, it’s probably best to come back another time.
  • Sit down in a chair.
  • Offer to refill the water pitcher, answer the telephone, or call a nurse if necessary.
  • Ask doctors and nurses to explain things you don’t understand. Have faith in them.

Here’s a list of what NOT to do:

  • Don’t ask them how they’re doing. This one puzzled me, but the explanation that Associated Content gave makes sense: “You already know how they are. They’re in the hospital and don’t need the extra frustration of having to answer a question that has an obvious answer. People naturally use the phrase “how are you” to start a conversation. Using that phrase when we know what the answer is going to be can be annoying and aggravating for someone who is ill. Also remember that the majority of people in the hospital are usually being administered pain medications. The effects of these medications alone are enough to irritate someone.”
  • Don’t offer unsolicited medical advice. Of course, if they ask your opinion, give it. But be aware that they’ve already got medical professionals advising them, and what works for you or someone else you know might not work for them.
  • Don’t second-guess the doctor.
  • Don’t visit the patient or a hospital if you have symptoms of an illness that might be contagious.
  • Don’t promise them that God will bring total healing.
  • Don’t say “God wouldn’t give you something you can’t handle.” It makes it sound like the patient is being targeted with bad things by God.
  • Don’t gossip or relay bad news.
  • Don’t delve into their personal life.
  • Don’t tell them you know how they feel. You probably don’t, and even if you do, who cares? It’s not about you, it’s about them. Just listen to them, and don’t be judgmental.
  • Don’t visit if you’ll increase the patient’s stress or anxiety.
  • Don’t expect the patient to entertain you. They should not be expected to keep you occupied.
  • Don’t smoke, even if you step outside to do so. The lingering smell may make the person nauseous.

Remember, everyone’s different. Although the above suggestions may work for most people most of the time, remember that everyone’s personality and situation are different.

PS – If I’m ever really sick, please make sure I have a Kindle to read. Hopefully a hospital would allow it. I think that would be a great way to have books, magazines and newspapers without having to worry about the germs they might carry.

My life story as Venn diagrams

Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in my life

My world has expanded and become more and more complicated over the years. The best way to show this is through Venn diagrams.

In 1965, my simple world consisted of my family of four, my friends and my relatives. This was just right for a two-year-old.

When I was in high school in 1980, my world mostly consisted of church group and school. My parents had divorced and remarried, so my family was bigger.

By 1990, I was married and working. I wasn’t in contact with many high school friends, and I was becoming more active in my church and community.

In 1995 I was a stay-at-home mom with a nascent desktop publishing business. I was thrilled that my sister lived nearby.

These days, I overlay email and Facebook onto my diagram. They largely define how much contact I have with people. I’m back in touch with many former co-workers and school friends, mostly because of Facebook. However, there are still a few holdouts in my extended family and community who aren’t on Facebook yet. Hopefully they’ll come on board soon, because it would make it much easier to maintain a closer relationship with them.

How Obama gets his cellphone fixed

Posted on 14. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in politics, shopping, technical

Imagine my surprise when President Obama’s name showed up after mine in the queue at the Verizon store last night! He didn’t push on the “c” hard enough, but I’ve had that problem before, too.

Hopefully the Verizon folks were able to figure out how to work with his phone’s special encryption.

I wonder if he wishes Verizon carried iPhones. I sure do!

New website launched: La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA

Posted on 13. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in education, non-profits, work

When I sent my kids off to camp and Costa Rica last month, I finally found time to fulfill my 2008 New Year’s resolution and learn to incorporate a database into a website. You can see the results on the La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA website, lchs912.org. Events and news items are easy to enter and automatically show up on their correct pages and drop off the site when they expire. I’ve even set up sub-categories such as athletics and college recruiting events so that those events also show up on the appropriate pages. Although I took a PHP class last year, I chose to create this website using ExpressionEngine so that it would have a robust content management system that non-professionals would be able to use.

Another great feature of this website is the online One Check Order Form. This form used to be about 15 printed pages that were mailed to every school family. It would take a long time to fill out, as you’d need to re-enter your name and address on each page since they’d be sent to various committee chairs. I used Icebrrg to create this online form, and it takes about 3 minutes to fill out. It then takes you to PayPal to complete your payment. Icebrrg keeps track of all entries in an online or downloadable spreadsheet, so it’ll be easy for our Financial Secretary to pass the information input on to the committee chairs. Over 100 people have already clicked on the link in my Constant Contact email and completed the form.

I’m confident that this will make my job as PTSA President easier, and will make it easier to pass the website on to my successor in a few years when both my kids have graduated.

My hero: Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Posted on 12. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people

My hero: Eunice Kennedy Shriver

I can’t think of anyone that I’d consider to be more of a hero than Eunice Kennedy Shriver. I’m learning more than ever about this woman’s amazing accomplishments through the multitude of flattering obituaries that were published yesterday and today. Some people have said that if our country had been ready for a woman president, she would have been better suited for the job than her brothers. But she wasn’t bitter for lacking this opportunity; instead, she threw her energy into making the world a better place, particularly for the mentally challenged. She not only founded Special Olympics, but she dedicated her life to making sure that the world realized that mentally handicapped people have dreams just like the rest of us, and deserve our respect.

In the end, perhaps she had more of a lasting impact than any of her brothers have had. Here’s a quote from an NPR interview:

“When the full judgment on the Kennedy legacy is made — including JFK’s Peace Corps and Alliance for Progress, Robert Kennedy’s passion for civil rights and Ted Kennedy’s efforts on health care, work place reform and refugees — the changes wrought by Eunice Shriver may well be seen as the most consequential,” Harrison Rainie, author of “Growing Up Kennedy,” wrote in U.S. News & World Report in 1993.

This story in the NY Times captures her energy, humility and dedication perfectly:

“I was just a young physical education teacher in the Chicago Park District back in the summer of 1968, a time of horrific tragedy for the Kennedy family, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver wrapped her arms around the very first Chicago Special Olympic games held at Soldier Field,” Justice Anne M. Burke of the Illinois Supreme Court said in an e-mail message. “I will never forget at the start of the games when she asked me to go to Sears and buy her a $10 bathing suit so she could jump in the pool with the Special Olympics swimmers.”

I’ll keep trying to be more like this incredible woman.

How to kill a teen’s love of reading

Posted on 11. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in books, education

Shouldn’t one of the goals of high school English be to emphasize the joy of reading? If so, then the following isn’t likely to achieve that goal:

  • Step 1: Tell students which book they have to read. Don’t give them a choice.
  • Step 2: Make them read it over the summer.
  • Step 3: Require them to annotate at least three comments in the margins of every page.
  • Repeat with several more books.

I know someone who’s annotating George Orwell’s this week. Instead of appreciating the greater themes at the pace that the author intended, this teen is slogging through this book so slowly that all the life is being sucked out of it. It’s bittersweet when a kid says, “It actually seems like a really good book, but I’m not able to enjoy it when I do this assignment.” Big Brother, can you hear this?

I told the child that hopefully they’d remember that reading can be fun, and that when they graduate they’ll rediscover that.

Links:

Stephanie McGraw: A long life, well-lived

Posted on 10. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people

Back in January I blogged about two of my mother’s friends who both turned 104 on the same day. I’m sad to report that one of the women, Stephanie McGraw, passed away on July 31st. She lived a long, full life, as reflected in her obituary in the North County Times.

I wish the best for her family, and for her “birthday twin,” Doris Heard, who continues to be active in her 104th year. My mother took the photo below of Doris on the left and Stephanie on the right.

If Julia Child could do it, so can I

Posted on 09. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in books, food, inspirational people, international, movies

The new movie Julie & Julia inspired me so much that I’m half-tempted to make boeuf bourguignon for dinner tonight. Instead, I opened up my cookbook cabinet and told my kids that they could each choose a recipe that contains no ingredients that I’m allergic to and I’d make it for them this week.

I knew I’d love this movie. I loved reading both Julia Child’s and Julie Powell’s even before I knew a movie was being made about them. Although I perfectly fit the demographic for someone who’d love these books – a French-speaking, American woman blogger – I think the books and the movie have a more universal appeal. They portray passionate people looking for a purpose in life who are willing to work hard at what they do. I also appreciated both the literary and on-screen representations of their marriages. Both women were in loving marriages full of mutual support and respect. Nora Ephron did a wonderful job of knitting both books together, and Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and the rest of the cast are absolutely marvelous.

I can’t wait to see what my kids choose for me to cook.

White House | Black Market vs. Pakistan

Posted on 08. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, international, religion

Sometimes I think my brain has a brick wall between its different sections. Sometimes that’s bad, but sometimes it’s necessary in order to fully process what’s going on.

For example, the other day I was waiting to see whether my daughter liked a shirt at White House | Black Market when my cellphone started its merry little ringtone. It was my friend Majid, who’s a pastor in Lahore, Pakistan. He told me about an awful massacre of Christians in Gojra, a village near Lahore. We had an imperfect connection, not only because he was in Pakistan but because I was in the heart of the Glendale Galleria, but even as I gave thumbs-up to my daughter’s clothing selection, I heard about how a mob of 1,000 burned nearly 150 homes, killing 11 people. It was surreal to hear of such horror even as I stood in such a safe and comfortable place.

Majid said that the people of his church are not only giving aid to survivors of the attack, but on August 11th they’re going to bravely protest the government’s mistreatment of religious minorities. August 11th had already been declared a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s 1947 speech calling for impartial government, religious freedom, rule of law, and equality for all, so it’s fitting that this would be a day to protest for these things.

These people are very brave to protest, and deserve all the prayers and support that people can give them. I hope it makes a difference.

Links:

Here’s part of a message I received from Majid today. He said it was ok to publish it here, since he wants to get the word out about this tragedy.

The Gojra Tragedy is another shameful incidence of religious intolerance and violence against minorities in Pakistan. This is not the first time that the fanatics/ extremist amongst the majority community have committed serious acts of aggression and murder against the minority groups for no fault of theirs.

The brutal attack on Christians in a village called Korian near Gojra town on 31st July 2009 where more than 50 houses were burnt and the people were terrorized on the pretext of desecrating the Holy Quran which in fact never took place.

After two days the Christians living in Gojra town were attacked and seven members of a family were burnt alive, two shot dead and their houses were burnt completely.

An emergent meeting of all Church leaders and primary members of the community was called on 3rd August 2009 at NCCP Ecumenical Center and unanimously condemned the incident of Korian and Gojra.

It was further resolved that the NCCP along with the Catholic Bishop Conference and representatives of the community at large urge the Government and Parliament from the day that the Blasphemy Law was enacted, hundreds of Christians were subjected to prison and torture of no fault of theirs.

It was also resolved that the leaders of the community with the support of the community at large demand the government to repeal the 295 B & C and save the community from religious fanatics and terrorists. For decades these acts of extremism and intolerance have taken place in Shanti Nagar, Sangla Hill, Bahawalpur, Taxila, Murree, Bamian Wala, Kasur and now Gojra and many other places.

It was decided that a protest and prayer meeting be held of all the churches on 11th August, 2009 at Naulakha Church, Lahore in remembrance of the martyrs of Gojra as an expression of solidarity with the Gojra victims.

Why are Costa Ricans so happy?

Posted on 07. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, inspirational people, international, life lessons, startling statistics, travel

When I left for my week-long vacation in Costa Rica, I figured I’d come back with photos of monkeys, a few bug bites and a deeper tan. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I didn’t see a single monkey, get bitten by a single bug, or darken my skin by even one pixel. Instead, I returned home pondering the meaning of happiness and our place in the world’s ecological and economic crises.

The Happiness Question arose because before I left, I read an article about how Costa Rica was ranked highest on an international survey of happiness. How could a country be so happy when it contains so many squalid, makeshift shacks? Or when it has so much barbed wire and so many bars on the windows? Am I so materialistic that I can’t imagine being so poor and so happy, or were the people that live in those shacks not surveyed? Does the barbed wire exist out of fear, or out of a desire to protect what’s dear?

My daughter, who studied Spanish, Costa Rican history and ecology for the past month in San Jose, says that the reason that Costa Ricans call themselves “Ticos” is that it’s short for simpatico, which means “kind.” Between that and the Costa Rican motto, pura vida (which translates to “pure life”), it appears that the country tries hard to put a positive spin on things. My daughter also says that Costa Ricans are very proud of their beautiful country and their gracious countrymen. And who can blame them? Over 60 years ago, they abolished their military, and devoted their money and effort into security, education, and culture. This stable nation is home to five percent of all known animals on this planet, and has become a world-renowned ecotourism destination. And I will attest to the fact that every single person we met there was incredibly helpful and friendly.

When I returned home, I grabbed off my bookshelf to see if Costa Rica was listed as one of the happiest places that the author chose to visit. It wasn’t. So I went back and looked at the article again, and saw that the survey compared nations based upon their populations’ life expectancies, life satisfaction, and ecological footprint. Costa Rica definitely scored high for ecological footprint, considering its conservation efforts and the fact that people living in shacks don’t use many resources.

I doubt that our country could ever match Costa Rica’s ecological footprint. We’d need to severely limit our material consumption to do so, and I don’t think that on average we have the willpower to do so. And if we did, I doubt we’d be very happy about it.

That’s depressing.