FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  Someone at work started calling this month Juneuary.  Very apt.  We are having very cold, rainy spring. In addition to feeling Spring-deprived, I am getting nervous about Ally's graduation next week - the ceremony is held outdoors and in the evening...When Maggie and Zac graduated 5 years ago it was one of the hottest June days on record.  So maybe we will have the coldest one for Ally's graduation!

2.)  Ally is shopping for a roommate on Facebook.  SF State has a set up so the students can meet online and try to  find themselves a good roommate match.  I hope it is more successful than the matches that the dorms made in my day - there was no rhyme or reason to a sheltered suburban, liberal, lover of music like Traffic and Chicago ending up with a girl who was raised on a ranch, listened to country, swore like a sailor and took one look at me and called me a hippy.  Turns out I was her second roomie - the first one was African-American and her family threw a fit.  The original roommate I was paired with might have been a better match for me!

3.)  Zac has settled into staff housing at the CSUMB campus.  He is going to be the AmeriCorps*  staff position in the Service Learning Institute.  He will earn very little money this year, but will be awarded an education stipend at the end of his service.  It is also a bonus for the grad school resume. 

He always said he was interested in the Peace Corps but does not have the second language skills they tend to require.  Plus now he is more interested in service and social justice studies and not so interested in teaching math.

By the way, I learned that people over 55 can join AmeriCorps and transfer the education stipend to their child or grandchild!  Pretty cool for those who want to serve the country and help their family, too.

4.)  I heard in passing that Brad and Angelina's kids are questioning their not being married.  Then I  read that the last census found that married couples are now in the minority in this country; down 4% - while couples living together have risen 13%.  They have found that many couples are waiting to complete their educations, get settled in jobs and just generally wanting to be older and more mature before marriage.  I think that is great.

My parents married while in college and they encouraged their children to wait to be married - my dad said 30 was a good age.  Four out of 5 of us waited and we are all still married.  The sister who married young has been married and divorced 3 times now!  Just saying...

Then again, my parents have managed to stay together 58 years!

5.)  Did you know that you can be ticketed for jaywalking if you enter a crosswalk with less than 5 seconds left on the countdown?  I didn't.  Six of out out of town hotel guests were ticketed today just trying to go out to lunch.  Hope the revenue raised is worth the bad vibe sent out to the guests visiting out city.


*AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency whose mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.