This morning I randomly opened to pages of the wonderful Schott’s Miscellany (thank you for the gift, Helen & Lars). Behold:

State Names Etymology
Ohio – Iroquois for “beautiful river”
Indiana – “Land of the Indians” (really)
Missouri – “those who have large canoes”
Vermont – derived from the French for “green mountain”
Iowa – Dakota name for “sleepy heads” or “dusty noses” (hahahaa — put that one in there for you, BoomR)

All-time Best Film Costume
The top five: Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement; Marilyn Monroe’s white halter dress from The Seven-Year Itch; Audrey Hepburn’s black Givenchy in Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Olivia Newton-John’s pants in Grease (whaaaaat??); Kate Winslet’s blue gown in Titanic. Interesting choices.

Alas, now I must fly. Maybe if we decided to love the long days and oh-so-short nights and weekends, we’d all be better off. But hey…Route 66 calls. We’re getting there.

FO

Times change.

There used to be a day when everyone was so hot to get to college to get started on a high-paying career (because you can’t get a good paying job without a degree), it didn’t much matter if you were ready or if you had your mind made up about what you wanted to be. Oh wait — that’s now, too. Anyway, the conventional wisdom was that you can go higher and advance further and get mo money if you go to college.

That ain’t necessarily so.

Teachers, social workers and pastors come to mind. I know some who have advanced degrees — something that would catapult their salaries in the business world — but who still make the same dismal wages, year after year. College doesn’t always mean higher pay, or even an assured job. An interesting article about it in the Times yesterday stated:

Among the top 10 growing job categories, two require college degrees: accounting (a bachelor’s) and postsecondary teachers (a doctorate). But this growth is expected to be dwarfed by the need for registered nurses, home health aides, customer service representatives and store clerks. None of those jobs require a bachelor’s degree.

My son has been a steel hauler for a year. He often takes in more on a weekly run than what I make per week after 18 years in the public schools and two masters degrees. He provides a nice living for his family and likes his job.

The sacrifice, you may say, is in the time spent away from home. Anyone who knows the life of a high school choral director — or is one — knows that the sacrifice is comparable. The same could be said for many other “degreed” professions for which the time spent on task is not commensurate with the salary.

The article mentions that “…some high school graduates would be better served by being taught how to behave and communicate in the workplace.” Why stop at the workplace? But that’s another post altogether…

Can the words “happy” and “Monday” occupy the same sentence? Icky. But at least it’s the penultimate Monday for me this school year. Yay.

FO

Random Neuron Firings

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1. And you thought actors could be snarky and mean. Check out some rock stars hurling the insults at one another. Axl Rose is the first one listed. If I’ze pulled that tight and Botoxed that heavy, I’d be crabby, too.

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2. Speaking of crabby: this would make it all go away. My own shoe-shaped bath, constructed of mosaic glass. There’s a faucet at the top of the heel that washes your hair. This definitely goes on the Stuff I Want III list.

3. If people would just remember that the word finite is inside the word definitely, they’d never spell the latter incorrectly again. The “deffinatly/definately” (and yes, even “deffly”) gaffe is one of the more pervasive mistakes I see on Facebook and in text messages. It makes me want to club puppies.

4. There is no shame in having scrambled eggs and deli turkey slices for breakfast.

5. I have five more rehearsals before my high school concert on Monday the 24th. We’re about eight rehearsals away from being ready. Thumbs up.

6. Nineteen seniors are graduating from my choir this year, almost all of whom I have had in class every week since they were in the third grade. Thassalongtime to put up with the likes of the Fink.

7. OK, here’s a funky game that does not require you to surrender your personal information to Facebook. It’s called “If I Were in a Band.” At the end, you will have your band’s name, a photo, and the title of your first album. Do this:

• Click here and copy the title of the first article you get. That’s the name of your band.
• Click here and copy the last few words of the last quotation on the page. That’s the name of your album.
• Click here and grab the third picture on the page, whatever it is. That’s your album’s cover art.
• Open up your graphics editing program (Paint, PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro, etc.) and combine the three elements.

Here’s mine:

Fun, ja? Post yours here, or email me the information and I’ll post them here for you. Who says I don’t know how to have fun?