Here, there, and everywhere

It's been a long time since I've posted anything of substance. Life has been going great guns, at the usual rollercoaster pace.

That conference went extremely well. Our presentation was smooth and popular, with one exception. See, this presentation was meant to show how we solved a common administrative issue in our field. We wanted to share with colleagues our process and solution, but one that works for the way WE do business. The whole point was to show how to develop a solution tailored to each organization's needs. We are not a vendor.

This one jerk showed up for the session, but didn't want to hear how we developed our system (which was the point), but just wanted to go somewhere and download it. He literally raised his hand in the middle of our presentation, interupting what was being said, to say, "I just want to know where I go to download it." Pen poised. Waiting for a URL.

Back up, bud. Let me get this straight. We put in a year's work to develop this system that helps simplify a rather complex administrative issue. You waltz into this session and want it all handed to you. I don't think so.

Everyone else had a nice discussion on how our method could be adapted to their organization's needs. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

He was pissed. He slammed us on the session evaluation, but that's okay. I am the only person who got the evaluations. ::grin::

I missed the big socializing event on the first night of the conference, but that's a-okay. I snagged a flight and got to see Nickelback live. Man, that show is almost as good as sex. I'm always so sorry when it's over. Full throttle, wall of sound, rock 'n' roll. Chad Kroeger's voice is like pure testosterone washing over me and what's not to like about that?

So, I snagged a red-eye flight back to the conference. Rocker chick to brainiac professional in just a couple of hours. Rock on.

That week, I managed to travel each day. Conference, concert, back to conference, back home, off on vacation with the kids (which was a two-and-a-half day drive). Exhausting, but dang worth it.

Anyone surprised I came down with a cold on the way home from spring break vacation? No, I didn't think so.

Revisiting an old issue: my son and his hormones. To make a long story short, I discovered that the school is giving their students a little too much freedom, i.e. unsupervised time. He's 14. Not allowed to date, but there's a girl he likes. More importantly, she likes him and is aggressive about it. I found out she started school early. She's actually just 12, but much more worldly than her mother knows. I've talked to her mom. The poor woman needs to keep up with her daughter's Xanga page.

At 12, she's very manipulative and agressive towards boys. She talks about her many past boyfriends, by name. She calls our house at all hours, even though her mother told me she's not allowed to call boys. The child has been told our no-calling hours, but the phone still rings. To me, this is a serious disregard for our authority.

My son is showing little backbone, allowing her to call the shots. This little relationship has gone too far, too fast.

I asked him, "Whose idea was it to be called 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'?"
"Hers."
"Whose idea was it to kiss?"
"Hers."
"Whose idea is this 'going steady' thing?"
"Hers."

He didn't want it to go there, but did nothing to stand up for himself. Now, his grades are starting to tank and he has three weeks to fix it. You can bet I'm in all kinds of his business. He doesn't cross his eyes without me knowing it happened. His day is regimented. His freedoms at home with the phone and time alone are gone. That unsupervised time at school is gone. If he sneezes at school, I know it.

You'd think he'd be pretty sick of me. You'd think he'd be mad as hell at me. Know what? He's the happiest I've seen him in a long time.

He told this girl that they needed to get serious about their responsibilities and their grades, and not spend so much time on the phone and writing notes to each other. I've noticed she's chilled out since then. I listened to a smidge of their conversation on the phone the other night. He was trying to say something sweet to her, but she responded with, "Oh! Listen to this song! It sounds like Pink!" Her Xanga mentions another boy at school who likes her.

I smell a heartache coming. He's not playing by her rules anymore and I don't think she like it. As always, I can be there for him. The first cut is the deepest, but he's still my baby and I'll help back to his feet.

Take care all!
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