Wednesday, June 24, 2009
When Texting Goes Wrong: Tales From the Dark Side
Since the text message is officially the new email, I must devote at least one entry to the texting phenomenon. Admittedly, I was a little late getting on the textual bandwagon (until just a few months ago, I was still trying to type substantial messages using only a numeric keypad), but now that I've finally upgraded my phone, I am as reliant on sending and receiving messages as my high school students are. Well, maybe not as reliant. They report sending an average of 150 messages per day. Yikes.So recently my girl tells me about a text exchange between her and the guy whom she's dating:
HER: hey. i was just thinking about you and thought i'd say hello. :-)
GUY: Thanks.
Ouch. Sometimes the absence of a tone of voice makes a text so much harder to decipher. Was the guy being rude, or was there really appreciation embedded in that one word reply?
Got any magnificent or mortifying text banter to share? You know what to do.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Dress Code at the Club: Has It Gone Too Far?
As an educator who spends more than enough of my time talking to my male high school students about pulling up their pants, and to my girls about wearing longer skirts, I understand the importance of a dress code. I do believe that oftentimes, what we wear can influence behavior (anyone seen two men in business suits get into a bar fight recently? didn't think so). However, I went out the other weekend and saw the sign pictured right and thought, "Have I lost the right to dress comfortably?" The straw that broke the camel's back for me with this litany of banned attire was the one stating that women can not wear flat shoes. Really? I am ordered by the powers that be to wear heels? Is the thinking behind this that I won't be able to run as fast, should I commit a crime while inside the establishment? And is my annoyance at the specificity of these clothing guidelines something that men have been dealing with for years? All I know is that I should be able to wear my black patent leather BCBG sandals if I want to, even if they don't make me three inches taller. Am I asking too much?
