Photoessay #963 - Harassment

Sometimes Doonesbury gets it right. Or not?

Yesterday's Doonesbury strip really struck me yesterday. How oppressing sexual harassment can be. How it can be all around you. And so degrading. Certainly that hasn't happened to me in recent years. Though you find, as a woman, that you must restrict your activities and movements to some extent. And I have been in sexual harassing situations in my past. Where every dig is meant to get you. You feel degraded very quickly though the perpetrators will protest "oh, it's just a joke!"

You could take a revisionist view, which he hints at in today's comic. The dark haired character muses how much more attractive they are perceived to be in their deployment situation. The original character continues to grumble.

But don't fall into that trap. That, if you just played along with it, maybe though it was meant to be fun, well it could really be fun. I don't believe this. Recognize your oppression, don't deny it. the more you play along, the more exploitation you will discover. Becoming the ally of those who torment you.

Photoessay #962 - Lassie newspaper

We could do some newspaper pictures occasionally, that could be fun. But they would almost always be about Susanna. Who got a lot of press. But didn't read her press. Lots of players don't. Just doesn't occur to them. I showed her UPS picture to her last night when she came by to collect some jewelry and silver from her grandmothers. "Oh", she says dismissively, "I didn't see this". I asked her if she told them she played shortstop. "I didn't tell them anything", she answers.

But this clip features Naomi and the Lassies. March 9, 2008 Seattle Times. During the band dress rehearsal before their trip to Ireland. A really fun event, I've written about it before. On years when they travel to Victoria or Ireland or somewhere, they put the whole deal together and march around the neighborhoods around Shorecrest. The police close the streets and the residents of the modest homes get out their lawn chairs out and enjoy the show. And the parents and community members can too. It's really fun to march along with the band. One neighborhood member thought there should be a special property tax levy specifically for the Shorecrest band.

One year, I remember walking along with the clarinet section watch Toni (a softball player) futilely trying to organize the clarinets in the parade. Another year, I remember April (another softball player) march the entire Ballard parade in her softball cleats. The spring marching events coincided with the softball districts tournament. I also remember Dennis quickly loading a bunch of softball band members into the car after the tournament and making for the border so that they could participate in at least part of the Victoria band trip. Didn't occur to him until afterward that he was transporting girls under 18 across an international border with absolutely no parental permissions.

Anyway, I'm marching along with the Lassies on this trip. Naomi is in the foreground closest to the camera. Lassies was a great affiliation for her all through high school. The uniform is supplied except for the blouse and the socks. You have to send away to Ireland to get the socks and they cost more than $150!!

Naomi's got the pole position here, I think Curtis is way at the back on the right. You can see the drum major behind the dancers and the band. All wear kilts. They all love it. Whoever thought of this kilt uniform uniform for the band was brilliant.

Photoessay #961 - UPS coach

All of the colleges are gearing up for the start of the softball season. D1 season for the major schools starts this next weekend. (University of Oregon plays in the prestigous Kajikawa Classic, a huge tournament hosted by Arizona State University featuring many Pac 10 and other ranked teams) We attended that tournament twice in Tempe (and greater Phoenix) and had a great time.

D3 schedule doesn't start until early March.

University of Puget Sound has finally updated their roster including the coach's page

But the more that things change, the more they stay the same.

The jocks can never get it right. I know often the University of Oregon just could not get the bio information on the website correct. If you challenged them, they would accuse them of providing them with the wrong information. After awhile, I just gave up. If they wanted to list her height as 5'6" (she's 5'2" on a good day) and MVP of the high school basketball team, just let them. I was tired of fighting about it.

So here's the verbiage...who can see the error?

--------
Suzie Barnes
Prev. College: Oregon
Title:Assistant Softball Coach


Suzie Barnes joins the Loggers coaching staff this season. A four-year letter-winner at University of Oregon, Barnes played shortstop and center field for the Ducks.

---------

Right she played 2nd base for UO, never shortstop.

WhatEVER!

Looking forward to seeing some of the Loggers games this season. Susanna says she will be the first base coach.

Photoessay #960 - Our Japan trip

That's a snow leopard for a photo. What does a snow leopard have to do with our Japan trip? Read on.

Our Japan trip is coming together, big time. I knew we needed to decide on the dates, just decide and then we could look for flights. Dennis and I came to an agreement April 15- April 26. Thanks to my friend Gin who likes to plan trips for her assistance and ideas. I had been watching the fares a bit. Ranged from $850 on up with most in the $1200-$1400 range. No Seattle-Tokyo nonstops at a decent price. Depending on the day, the best deals were through Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Really wanted a non-stop. What's up with that? Seattle is a major Pacific rim port of entry. Then Gin and I came upon a new site vayama.com and over an hour or so, they offered the United Air Lines non-stop on those days for $816. Go for it! Go for it!

Gin and I studied the map. Where's Yamagata, Tokyo, Kyoto? What about those bullet trains? When I hang up, I decide to try to call Nobuko. Nobuko had mentioned her daughter Natsuko, a graduate student in Tokyo, she could show us around, Nobuko would talk to her.

Phone rings, it's Natsuko! I start going on about our trip. Oh yes, she would be glad to show us around. But she has something else. She's coming to Seattle for two weeks at the end of the March to work with the Snow Leopard Trust.

From her post to me

I am Natsuko, 29years old, graduate school student studying animal conservation and human-animal relations in Cultural Anthropolog. Conservation of Snow Leopard, which lives in high mountains in central Asia, is one of my research theme. Ive got a small fund for my visiting to the Snow leopard conservation organization in Seattle.

Maybe, could we help her find a place to stay? I look it up, the Snow Leopard trust is in Wallingford, she can stay with us! I'm sure she can work out the bus. So Natsuiko will be here for twoo weeks and then two weeks later, we go to Japan. How cool is that?

I check out the Snow Leopard Trust. Thir modest office is at the Good Shepherd Center. I check it out after my team meeting in Wallingford this morning. I am really looking forward to learning more about Snow Leopards!

Photoessay #959 - True Colors

On Wednesday, I decided to try one of the seminars offered by my local Worksource location (at North Seattle Community College). They provide services for unemployed folks. Their lobby is filled with computers as well as phone lines, printers, fax machines. All for job seekers use free.

True Colors is actually a professional seminar...

Learning who your are can affect how you plan, control, and shape your life. This workshop will help you gain new and exciting information about yourself (using the True Colors personality tools taught by a certified instructor) and how to apply it to your job search.

But they offer it for free here. I foolishly showed up fifteen minutes before the start and they told me that it's restricted to 20 people (first come first served) and you had to show up 1 1/2 hrs early to get a spot. Oh. I decided to sign up for another workshop, took my parking permit but was called back (thanks to my fellow jobseekers). Someone had dropped out just at that second and I got the spot. Sweet.

They classify you into one of 4 colors...

Gold - interested in order and routine
Green - interested in knowledge and analysis
Orange - creative and spontaneous
Blue - interested in people and relationships

I'm a Blue but Green and Orange are also strong. Gold? Forget it, no chance, can't relate. Interesting because the largest group (by far) was Gold.

Towards the end, we all sat with our groups and made a poster about our color, our values, strengths, concerns, etc. No limit on what you could put on but everybody had to agree.

The Gold people really were concerned on following directions and making sure that their job was done.

The Green people had a hard time agreeing because they were all sure they knew what should be on there

Only one Orange person.

But, the Blue group, we all bonded immediately and launched into peace, love, harmony, community. We had lots of ideas. We made the heart with hands clasped within it. Our goals involved a path into the future, music, nature. Our house built with collaboration and vision. Our concerns; a cyclone causing disharmony. We did this in 20 minutes. By FAR, the best poster. I won't lie, the man who did the actual drawing is a talent, you can tell.

The instructor mused that sometimes the Blue Groups go out to luncb afterwards. We were pretty close to that, for sure.

Fun!

I always need to be reminded that a straight administrative job keeping order is wrong wrong wrong for me.

Photoessay #958 - Rainbow Point

I love letterboxing because it takes you to all kinds of crazy places in your own community that you never knew existed. Yes, it often does involve mucking around in the woods and the mud.

Dennis had the day off today. Me? I got all kinds of time right now. How about an excursion. Fine with him especially if I figure out where we're going to go. Actually, it's adaptive on his part, usually he can have suggestions but I'm going to decide anyway.

So how about some letterboxing? Haven't done that in awhile. I find several recent ones we haven't looked at. Two in Woodland Park, involving rummaging around at the base of trees right near where Aurora cuts through the park. I mean right near! The other box was in a crevice of a log between a path and a stump. Pretty standard letterboxing stuff, little used paths, logs, stumps. We found the right stump but couldn't find the right log.

Fortunately, that was right near the Woodland Park Dog Park, so we stopped in there and Teddy ran around and fetched and made acquaintance with some new dogs.

On to an interesting place right near a freeway on-ramp. How could there be a park there? Actually Rainbow Point was delightful, if noisy. Beautiful vistas, been by there a million times and never knew about it.

Letterbox easy to find in this case.

Both shots from Rainbow Point, standing in the same place. First, Dennis and Teddy looking south over I5 with downtown Seattle in background. Second looking west over the north Seattle neighborhoods and the Olympic mountains beyond. Between these is Puget Sound. Church tower included just for general interest.

Photoessay #957 - Claire still has it!

My mom still has it. Claire always prided herself on getting things done. And if you had to push a bit, she wasn't afraid to do that. Brian (I don't have picture of him?), an older man who just doesn't look like a chaplain but he's a darn good one, came into her room and asked what was on her mind.

"It's election day" She replied, "and I want to vote. How can I do that from here?"

A very good question.

But Brian looked into it and figured something out and, by the end of the day, everybody in the "medicare unit" of the skilled nursing unit who wanted to vote was able to. I don't know how that was done or even if it really was done. Doesn't matter.

Claire thought she should be able to vote and got it done. That's my mom. As far as I'm concerned, she's a great candidate for rehabilitation.

Go Mom!

Picture taken Thursday of last week during the day of the Care Plan at dinner in the Medicare Unit dining room. With my brother.

Photoessay #956 - Duck Softball 2004

Pre digital camera. I'm working through our photos mainly tossing sports photos of teams and kids we can't even identify.

From 2004; Susanna's freshman year playing for the University of Oregon Ducks. She played center field her first two years before she challenged for second on Erin Goodell's graduation. Hard to outperform Susanna at second in those days. A lot of softball is the 'small game' which I enjoy where you score runs with bunts, slaps and steals. So the second baseman needs to be covering first all the time. I don't know how she could get over there so quick, it was like magic. Her teammates could always throw the ball, they didn't have to stop and see if she's there. Because Susanna was always at first, ready for the throw.

Clearly the Ducks are playing the University of Washington Huskies this day. UW always has a strong program, they won the national championship in 2009. We're looking at 2004.

The first shot features one of their senior pitchers that year, Anissa Meashentubby. At Howe Field. You can see Susanna (slightly out of focus in center. The centerfielder runs the outfield; she's already playing it as a freshman. She did collide one day with another fielder. Annoyed, she said "the other fielder has GOT to call it, if she doesn't, it's my job to go get it"

Unidentified runner on second. Looking back at the archives, I believe this was May 1, 2004, Oregon mercied Washington 10-2. As time went on, Pac 10 wins would become increasingly elusive as Coach A's tenure went on. Last year, I saw the Ducks play at Husky stadium last year and, ouch, the Ducks lost bad. The middle infield so weak and the Ducks were always known for their strong infield play.

Second shot showed the UW pitcher Tia Bollinger (nickname T-Bo). She was one of the players who was involved in the prescription painkiller scandal that toppled softball coach Teresa Wilson and Washington Athletic Director Barbara (can't remember). But Tia Bollinger pitched poorly that day and they kept her in. She very well could have been in pain. Susanna's on second. The box showed her with two at bats, scoring two runs, no hits with 1 RBI. So I'm guessing she walked in a run and maybe got on with a fielder's choice? That year, they had her hitting away from the right.

The last shot must be Coach A conferring with her runners. Count 'em, we must have had the bases loaded. Nice! Ashley Richards (3b) must be up, Jenn Poore (c) on first, Susanna on second, Breanne Sabol (ss) the other player? Sun's out at Howe field and the bases loaded against the Huskies, those are good times!

Photoessay #960 - Called to Research

My first official day of unemployment. Some interesting developments on Day 1. I had applied for a job at University of Washington (one of the biggest employers though they show about 3 jobs available, I'm exaggerating but not much) as a data coordinator for a project in the School of Social Work. The website shows that my application has gotten through the first cut and has been sent to the department. I count that as a major triumph.

I also went to a meeting as a parent representative for a juvenile justice program. The director and I discussed the possibility of putting together a research project involving Parent Group. He's looking for something that can win him a faculty position. This could happen, it really could. It's a germ of an idea but a good one.

Something could happen, even on day 1.

It's a theme....