Tuesday Stew

Welcome Michele's Readers!! The place is a mess, but make yourselves at home. ;)

Today is Tuesday Stew with Interstellar Lass.  You just better stand outtta the way.  We are gonna btch like there's no tomorrow.   Join us every Tuesday and rant yourself a new one!  I have two stews to stir today.

Today, (TODAY!) is the first day of school for my girls.  Both seniors at their respective middle and high schools this year, they are strutting around like the big shots they are.
Next year, they go down to the bottom of the heap again.

I am not in the mood for school at the moment.. It's still summer in my mentality and it's too HOT to be thinking about school right now.  The legislature had the grand idea of making the school starting dates earlier in the year so ethat the kids would have more time to prepare for the FCAT, which is Florida's state wide testing program.  It caused enough controversy that after a few years of bitchin, they will finally move it down to the middle of August next year. 

August should be vacation month.  Laying around the house month. It's just too hot to deal with  the car line, the PTA, homework and the forms.... oh the endless FORMS! Our public school motto: "We LIKE forms and we're gonna shove 'em down your throat!"

By evening tonight, I will have a case of major carpal tunnel from filling out 6 forms per kid. Thank God I have two kids.  If you have 4 kids, I feel for ya. 
And you know the drill, and I can see you nodding already.  You'll have the school ID form, followed by the School Medical Clinic Form, the School Yellow card form, followed by the blue card form, followed by the Lab release form, the school insurance form, IRS form 1136 and anything else they can slip in.
All of the text is this big and there is plenty of space to write in the little tiny boxes, provided you also write this big.   

You know what.... why not put the forms online?  When my kids took the FCAT, we were able to go on the website, enter a school name and ID code and then get the results of their test.  Why not do the same thing with the kid's ID info?
That way, each year we could simply sign in to our account and check to see if the information is correct.  If it's not, just click "edit", change the information and click "submit."  If there are NO changes, then you're done in a nanosecond and FREE at LAST.

We can pay bills, do the banking, track our stocks online.  We can order license tag replacements, check our property taxes, shop for clothes and book a whole vacation online. You can even buy a house on the Internet.  Why not automate our school systems?  The paper forms would still be available for those without computers, too.  Anyone on board with this? What obstacles would prevent it?  
We need to start a revolution!
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My second issue today is not a bonafide rant. But SOME people are ranting, and they are up in arms over the clown shoe issue.  I'm not sitting on the fence here, folks. I'm totally on board with CROCS.

A few months ago, my good friend Nils sent me a pair of these unbelievable rubbers, mainly because I made a derogatory comment pertaining to his taste in shoes.  He wore his crocs everywhere and kept insisting they felt like second feet.  "You can even put them in the dishwasher!" he chirped.   Oh come ON.  Even his daughter Allison was so aghast at his lack of taste that she forbade him to wear them off the premises.

He was smart enough not to send me neon orange.  They come in funky colors, check out the website.  My daughters took one look at the box and rolled their eyes.  I happen to have chicken ankles and instantly became fodder for a variety of  clown comments, because that's how my feet looked in them.
Fast forward: several months later.

I LOVE these shoes!  I wear them all the time and they're easy in and easy out.  They slip right on like second skin and I can go from mowing the lawn to cleaning the pool without taking my shoes off.  I wear them all over the house for painting and other chores and often forget I have them on.  They're THAT comfortable, people.   I know that Dooce  hates them, but her hub  not only loves them, he linked to an article about the HEALTH BENEFITS of wearing them.

Pammy is wearing them now as well.  She has 'em in pink.    I've now seen nurses at the hospital wearing them and even Mario Batali wears bright orange Crocs on his show.

Some people hate them because of the way they look.  What say you?

Comments

[Nils]

Crocs make my feet happy. They are the most comfortable shoes EVER. And if you embrace their hideousness, they slide right across the scale into "adorable", much the way a new baby or a bulldog puppy does.

Everybody should have them. And let the haters hate ... I loves my Crocs. And yours, too.

[InterstellarLass]

I'm with ya on the form thing. I think this was on of my first rants a couple of weeks ago! We got our forms in the mail. I'm sure there will be more when school starts TOMORROW. We can view grades online, pay after-school and lunch fees online, and a couple of other things. I HOPE forms are next.

I don't have anything against Crocs other than they're ugly. And rubber shoes remind me of jellies. I'm sure Nick would love it if I got another pair of shoes though!

[rampantbicycle]

I'm not especially fond of Crocs myself, though this is partly because I have a sense that they would fall right off if I tried to walk in them. (I have extremely narrow feet.) Besides, I prefer a good sturdy leather shoe that goes with everything and lasts forever (and laces up, so I can make it just as snug as I like. ;))

Congrats on being site of the day, and hello from Michele's!

[Linda]

I would like some Crocs, but my hubby said he'd shoot me if I wore 'em, lol! My 5 1/2 y/o wants them too. We may just WIN this battle.

Michele sent me today!

[Chrysalis]

Sorry to hear about the un-summer-school.
I just can't get into the CROCS, though.

Hi from Michele's!

[jen]

Omg i can't beleive that your kids have to go back to school right now. That is the worst thing I have ever heard. They must be so upset. Personally, I'm not so sure about the crocs but hey, to each his own right? Congrats on being site of the day. Here from Michele's

[Sue]

Congrats on being SOTD chickie,,,Here via michele's today but normally here anyway LOL -- CROCS NOT my thing but you go girl!!!

[Laura]

For the record, I still can't bring myself to wear them out in public!@

Hiya Sue :)

Thanks to all who came in from Micheles. I've really enjoyed going to your sites as well. (Although, I have been to Linda's a few times. Good to see you back in the States again!)

[Leanne]

I have wicked tie-die blue generic crocs, because I'm cheap. They're sweet, and I love mine, too! I love the color Nils chose for you. Perfect!

Congrats on being site of the day!

[Tammy~Kentucky Gal]

I think you need to head up PTA this year and demand Form Reform!!!
:-D
tell anybody that don't like your crocks to honk Bobo's nose!

[pablo]

All of the nurses at the hospital where I worked wear Crocs. They love them. I was disdainful of them myself until my wife gave me a pair for my birthday. I doubted they would give my feet the support they need. But now I wear them all the time too (well, not to work).

[Laura]

Leanne, Thanks! I haven't seen them in tid-dye yet.

Tammy, ROFL! I'm gonna remember that one.

Pablo, I was at our local hospital this past week and noticed a lot of the staff wearing them. They must have enough staying power to support their feet all day long.

[Shephard]

Congrats on being site of the day!

Those CROCS look fun... very tempting. I'd never seen them before. Thanks for sharing that. I wonder if they have periwinkle blue? ;)

~S

[Gypsy]

I love Crocs! Yes, they are the ugliest shoes ever made, outside of Uggs, but hot damn are they comfy. I wear my purple ones everywhere, especially to the beach.

Hey from one Florida girl to another. Here from Michele's today.

[Gypsy]

P.S. My boyfriend is a chef and he wears his Crocs to work every dangdiddly day.

[guppyman]

I am the most out of style person ever, and i wouldn't be caught dead in shoes that look like that!

My daughter starts school on Thursday.... Bummer...

Michele says howdy!

[Chrissie]

Here from Michele's - Congrats on Site of the Day!
I've seen those shows all over lately & no offense, but I absolutely hate them.... i'm hoping my 12 yr old doesn't get the notion that she wants a pair. LOL

[Karen]

Congrats on being Michele's Site of the Day! Hope you enjoyed your fame and fortune!

What a drag that your kids are starting school already. I guess that's one of the few advantages we have up here in the North. The kids at least get through most of August before we send them off.

Have a great day. Michele sent me!

[FloridaCracker]

I rate the ankles a 9.8 and the CROCS a garish -2.

Great point on the school forms...I sent bundles of them home with my first period charges today.
Here's how technology works in the public school system. Only one person at the school will be authorized to do any technology fixes to school computers...even the most basic things such as installing a new program or the printer driver software that came with your new printer. Got a computer problem? Get on this person's waiting list and then wait.
Waiting....
Ho hum...
Still waiting...
No private business would run this way (I hope). The school system is so afraid that someone will load an inappropriate program or see an inappropriate website that they take draconian prevention methods that effectively remove most of the wonderful benefits of networked technology.
My classroom computer has sat almost usesless for a week now because I am not authorized to LOAD THE STUPID PRINTER DRIVERS SO MY DELL CAN TALK TO MY HP PRINTER!
It feels like a MASH episode sometimes...

[Laura]

Thanks Shepard and yep, I bet they come in periwinkle. ;)

See, now I have Gypsy to back me up on this issue. They ARE comfy! LOl

Come on Guppy, live a little, huh? :)

Chrissie, thanks! I haven't seen any of the middle school crowd wearing them yet. Kinda doubt they ever will! LOL.

Thanks Karen. But.. fortune? Where's the mooolah??!! oh yeah, we do this for free. *sigh* ;)