Changing Tides

What can I say, but today, I am irritated. Yesterday, as I was driving to the Library with my daughter, the oil light came on. I know that this means there is a problem. I know this with every fiber of my being and yet, because I am a woman, they treated me like I didn't know what the light means. Seriously, it was not need an oil change light, but the oil can symbol light, which means there is low oil in the vehicle! Today, when I took the vehicle back to have a gasket changed, I asked about something else (just to get a price so I could know how much it would cost to fix it) and the mechanic (a man) gets into the car and changes from hot to cold and back again and says that it is not broken. When I explained again that this is something that is in the dash and requires getting up in the car underneath the wheel to fix and I asked did he do that? "No" says the woman in charge. The reason there is a woman in charge because women don't like to take their cars somewhere to get work done on them because men do tend to talk down to them. They are trying to get more of the female population to bring their cars to them for service (very expensive service). Now here is the fun part, the leak that was just fixed is actually an old one that was not noted on earlier visits. This was put off as not cared for by the master mechanic. Seriously, the guys you are hiring don't know there is a leak! Then this, he moves the controls and there isn't anything wrong with the vehicle. I would like to put that man in the back of the van on a very hot day, with the windows closed and the airconditioner (that is not broken according to him) on....after he has been back there for a good long time, we can discuss this "dumb" female's knowing or not knowing her vehicle.

Then to add to the frustration. My daughters are participating in a program at school called "I've Got the Facts." When the paper work came home, it read that a box is used for every 10 minutes. So I had been marking off the 10 minutes on their sheets. Today, the Assistant Principal sent home a note saying that it is to go by the day! Now when did that change take place? Why wasn't this information sent home earlier? I don't know about you, but the principal of this school doesn't make me very happy with his job performance. He ignores parents and teachers that he doesn't like. He pretends that they don't exist and he refuses to respond to them when they greet him. I have seen this and in fact, when I have greeted him, he looks over my head (an interesting thing since I am almost as tall as he is) and pretends that I said nothing to him. I will be very glad when I no longer have to work with him. But I have two more years, unless he is replaced first. Because of these things, I am seriously reconsidering my position on voting for the increase in taxes to pay for the school. I mean why would I pay for this behavior. You put this with the aid who treated my child so horribly in front of me in the cafeteria! Seriously, is this what I am paying for: A principal who pretends that I and many others do not exist! An Assistant Principal who changes the rules on a program because someone is completing it too quickly! An Aid who yells at children in the cafeteria, for of all things, taking too many ketchups, when she actually didn't her mother brought them for her!

I guess I better tell that story. My middle DD requested that I come to lunch with her and I brought her a sandwich from a restaurant. I requested additional ketchups for her because she likes the stuff. She had the sandwich, the ketchups, the bag (with the name of the restaurant) and the wrapping to the sandwich (also with the name of the restaurant) in front of her. This woman demands to know why she has so much ketchup and does she really need it. When I got to my daughter, I had to work to get her attention. Then I had to let her know that I brought the ketchup. Does this woman apologize? No not in the least, but then when this is the behavior of the principal, why should she? She huffed and left the area, but the damage was done, my daughter was in tears and shamed in front of her friends. Is this how a public school employee who is dependent on the funds of another should be treating the children? No!!! But she still has not apologized for her behavior and I am still irritated that it occured.

So if you are uncertain as to whether you are voting for an increase in taxes, consider the above. Many of the teachers that were low on totem pole are already searching for new jobs, so they may be gone and then the tax increase will not be needed but they won't reduce it and they won't cut their spending on people in administration.

By the Way, can you tell that today was not a good day!