Elephants

Have you ever sat down and realized that maybe you know too much about Elephants?

I'm going to guess the answer is, "no," for most people.  But I had that moment this weekend, visiting my sister and mother for Thanksgiving.  We were having dinner with my sister, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend's uncle when the conversation turned to Elephants as it naturally would.  Like, did you realize that Elephants walk on their tiptoes?  They have a cushion under the toes to help support them, but it means that they can sneak up on you if they want.  Which makes my mom's joke about elephants wearing sneakers irrelevant.

For me, the obsession with this Pachyderm really started with the free copy of Zoobooks that came in the mail.  It was always the one about the Elephant and my parents never subscribed for the others.  This was the source of most of my knowledge about Elephants and I remember it very fondly.

My favorite part about the Zoobook was the poster of all the extinct varieties of Elephants.  It told me that there was an extinct type of Elephant that was no bigger than a dog.  And part of me really wants a Bichon-sized Elephant to take on car trips with me.  Think about how awesome that would be.

My most recent information binge about the animal was a documentary about Elephants suffering from PTSD.  The elephants in zoos and circuses killing their trainers out of the blue is because of the PTSD they suffer from witnessing their parents getting shot by poachers.  The baby elephants are left with the corpse until a rescue organization whisks them away to protective shelters.  All seems fine and dandy until something causes them to snap and then they go on a killing rampage.  They method used most often to kill a human being: crush a person's chest with your massive skull.

Except for poachers and dwindling habitat, the adult Elephant has no natural predators.  The elephant's trunk can uproot a tree or pluck a single flower.   They are also considered as intelligent as dolphins and there's a zoo elephant that creates artwork. 

Counting Down to the GMAT

In exactly one month, I will take the GMAT.

I'm starting to get a little concerned about it.  I've signed up for grockit.com and the more math problems I do on there, the more my projected score goes down.

I saw the amount of work my sister is doing for school and I'm starting to worry that I will be biting off more than I can chew. 

Panic is good at this point, right?

Dad's 59th

My father's 59th birthday was this weekend and it amazes me how my parents seem so much younger than my grandparents did at the same age.  It could be because the pictures of my grandparents at that age were taken in the 80's, or it could be their behaviors.  Of course, I would never have seen the side of my grandparents that I see of my dad simply because of my age at the time.


Dad and his friend, Ona, circa Friday night



Mommom and Poppop, circa 1980's



New New Beetle

I've seen a total of three brand new 2012 Beetles out on the road recently.  The problem is that I didn't recognize them until I was almost past them.  I'm not sure if this is because I'm just not used to seeing the new body style yet or if they are truly blending in with the other cars out on the road.  To be fair, the three I've seen have been Grey, Black or White.

When sitting next to the Classic Beetle or even the New Beetle from a year ago, I can see the resemblance.  Though this 2012 Beetle looks more like the Classic Beetle than its previous incarnation, I don't think it stands out like the older Beetles do.  I was excited about this new version when I saw it in the showroom and I dared any salesman to try and talk me into a trade-in.  But now that I've almost missed them on the road three times, I wonder if I'm not better off where I am.

My favorite postcard from the last promotional campaign for the 1996 New Beetle was one that featured a fill in the blank.  On the front of the postcard was a picture of a Giant Space Shuttle and a line of cars the size of ants next to it.  At the top left-hand of the photo was written "Oh look, there's a ________." When you flipped the card over the answer was given as ". . .a yellow one."  Sure enough, down at the base of the Space Shuttle was a yellow New Beetle in the line of cars.

The problem is that these 2012 Beetles aren't jumping out from the crowd for me.  They are getting lost in the shuffle of traffic and what I've always liked about the Beetle is that it's unique.

Barbie

A friend of my sister's posted a link on Facebook today that really got my ire up.  She posted about how the Barbie Doll's measurements were unrealistic and included this photo.

First of all, let me say that the Barbie Doll measurements are in no way meant to be an indication of what a real life, full size, woman's measurement should be.  It's the nature of working with scale models.  When scaling something down, ratios have to be adjusted so that the miniature looks more realistic.  You can see from the photo that trying to take the miniature's ratios and apply them to a full size model creates a ridiculous image.  If you were to compare this full size model to an actual pre-1997 Barbie doll, you wouldn't think they were proportioned the same at all.  (I say pre-1997 Barbie Doll because she was changed in 1997 to give her fuller hips, a thicker waist, and a smaller bust.  The measurements quoted in this post were the ratios used on the pre-1997 Barbie Doll.)

Second, the post goes on to say that "Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 pounds with a book entitled 'How to Lose Weight' with directions inside stating, simply: 'Don’t eat.'"  People commented about how that fact takes everything that Mattel says to defend Barbie Doll and throws it out the window.  I would like to point out that this particular fact happened in 1965 and that no current Barbie Doll or any Barbie Doll introduced in the last twenty years has attempted to recreate that "dieting" tip.  (It could very easily say, "don't OVER eat," in a current incarnation, however.)   Any defense that Mattel has put up about Barbie Doll and creating unrealistic expectations has happened more recently than its 1965 Slumber Party Barbie.  Am I saying that I agree with the "dieting tip" presented in the 1965 set? No.  Do I think it's terrible that a children's toy ever had that on it?  Yes.  Do I think we can use that as evidence for why Barbie Doll is a poor toy choice for current boys and girls? Absolutely not.  Every brand is allowed to grow and change with the times, even Cookie Monster now tells kids that cookies are a sometimes food. 

In 1992, Mattel created a doll that would say 4 of 270 phrases.  One of those phrases was "math class is tough."  The American Association of University Women took offense at this and demanded it be removed from one of the possible phrases.  (FYI - this phrase is often misquoted as "Math is hard.")  Did she say she couldn't do math, or that girls in general couldn't or shouldn't do math?  I could understand demanding the removal of those phrases.  But, let me tell you, I'm studying for the GMAT right now and the part that's the toughest for me is the Quantitative, a.k.a Math.  We all have challenges we face and, yes, they are tough.  It's important to acknowledge when something is difficult and then challenge ourselves to improve.  Not every girl, or every person for matter, is inherently good at Math, or Languages, or Sports, or Cooking, or Artistry, or Computer Programming.  But you know who has done all of these things and more, successfully?  Barbie Doll.

Yes, in 1965, she was given bad dieting advice and shared it with her girlfriends.  Who hasn't?  When we focus on this one aspect of Barbie Doll, we forget all the other things she's done to inspire and empower girls.  A key phrase I remember from Barbie Doll commercials in the 80's was, "We girls can do anything."  She was the President of the United States, an Ambassador for World Peace, and a UNICEF Summit Diplomat.  She's had humble beginnings as a McDonald's Cashier, then worked her way from a Secretary to a Business Executive.  She may have found Math to be tough, but she was still able to be a Pilot, an Astronaut (twice), and a Computer Engineer.  She's been a Firefighter, a Police Officer, a Life Guard, a Military Service Member of four United States Branches of Service, and a Canadian Mountie. Barbie Doll is a blank slate onto which we project our hopes, our dreams, and our fears.  She is a reflection of our culture through the last 50+ years.  The things we don't like about the Barbie Doll are the things we don't like about ourselves, as individuals and as a culture.

7 Years Ago . . .

Guppy Gulch SCUBA Diving Quarry from Flickr.com member hergen family

Seven years ago today, I was on my way up to Guppy Gulch for my SCUBA diving class checkout.  My dad didn't want me to go and I was determined to overcome fear.  It was a beautiful place and the water was ice cold.  I'll just say it didn't end well and leave it at that.  I swore I would return within 5 years and successfully complete the checkout, thereby earning my SCUBA certification, but the very thought of putting on a wet suit still initiates a fight or flight response from me.

The sad part was that I really enjoyed the classes while I was taking them and I found SCUBA diving to be very relaxing.  There was something, at the time, very comforting about the silence being underwater offered.  Now, I go to sleep with the TV on to fill that kind of sound void.

This is what I thought of this morning.  There are things that never quite leave you no matter how much time passes.