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Apr. 11th, 2008 12:59 pmSo, do you swash the buckles, or do you buckle the swashes?
Apr. 11th, 2008
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Apr. 11th, 2008 01:01 pmI figured I'd subject y'all to a bunch of pictures that somehow landed on my cell phone. They're not the best quality- I need to start carrying my digital camera again.
( We had a small jam session at the 'Nidge the other night )
which is a nice segue into....
( Habibi has discovered the music room at the 'Nidge )
which again segues nicely to...
( Habibi at the park )
Just a non-sequitur
( Apropos of nothing )
And finally....
SPRING!
( We had a small jam session at the 'Nidge the other night )
which is a nice segue into....
( Habibi has discovered the music room at the 'Nidge )
which again segues nicely to...
( Habibi at the park )
Just a non-sequitur
( Apropos of nothing )
And finally....
SPRING!
Oh, I almost forgot
Apr. 11th, 2008 04:03 pmOur new housemate, Queen Esther Marie Peacock:
Well, okay, she came with her human, Lauryn, who is now occupying the room across the hall. Esther has decided that that is Lauryn's room, and this is her room. You can see my pirate sheets and teddy bear in the background; she has colonized my bed.
All the kitties seem to be adjusting to each other well. I believe the humans are, as well.
Well, okay, she came with her human, Lauryn, who is now occupying the room across the hall. Esther has decided that that is Lauryn's room, and this is her room. You can see my pirate sheets and teddy bear in the background; she has colonized my bed.
All the kitties seem to be adjusting to each other well. I believe the humans are, as well.
(no subject)
Apr. 11th, 2008 04:41 pmFrom the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
altfriday5:
1. How old were you when you started walking or biking to some places (e.g. school or a friend's place) on your own? What were the circumstances?
Really early. Really, really early. The neighborhood we lived in until I was ten was super poor, but it was a safe community. My sister and I were walking to the pool by ourselves when we were, like, 4 and 5, and biking to the park, and playing with our friends in the backyard common area each block had. I don't remember a time our parents censored us from going somewhere alone. Granted, we didn't try to go anywhere alone that wouldn't have been perfectly safe for us, but we were allowed a lot of freedom.
2. How old were you when you started taking public transit on your own? What were the circumstances?
There is no reliable public transit in the suburbs, but I was taking the Metra train into the city at fourteen to go to youth symphony practice. I did go with a friend or two, but we all went together- took the train downtown, walked to the rehearsal hall, walked back to the train station, went home on the train.
I finally started taking the bus and el downtown in my early twenties. I got tired of driving all the way downtown for stuff, and would drive to the end of the Blue line, park, and take the el down. Not spectaularly early, not like urban kids.
3. How old were you when you first took a long-distance trip (unaccompanied on the bus, train, or plane, even if you were met at your destination) on your own? What were the circumstances?
Not until a few years ago, but it was a doozy-flying to Palestine on my own, via Milan, knowing neither language. But my family didn't travel much when I was a kid, we couldn't afford it. Any trips us kids made to visit family, et al, were done as a family, in the car. I went to Washington, D.C. in eighth grade, and Paris senior year of HS, but those were, of course, chaperoned trips in large groups of students. My parents wouldn't have been particularly opposed to us traveling alone, we just didn't do it.
4. This set of questions was inspired by a news story about a woman leaving her nine-year-old in downtown Manhattan to find his own way home on transit and the controversy it caused (http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2008/04/07/is-9-too-young-to-ride-the-nyc-subway-alone/). What's your reaction to this story?
The first time I saw young kids in Chicago taking the bus or el by themselves, I was kind of appalled- in fact, I'm pretty sure the CTA has official age limits for kids traveling alone. But the more I observed urban life, the more I realized that most kids who grow up in the city don't even have a lot of options- owning a car in most of the city isn't even logical, and where there are cars, having parents drive their children around takes ridiculous amounts of time. If they go to a school outside their immediate neighborhood, outside walking distance, the kids will need to take public transit. I think the kerfuffle over this story is unwarranted. The woman armed her child- who she obviously deemed intelligent and mature enough to handle it- with cash, farecard, quarters for a pay phone; he was well prepared, and had probably been taking public transit with his parents his whole life. Obviously, not all children are ready for that when they're nine, some of which is due to the individual development in children, some of which I'm sure is due to parents not raising their kids to be independent at early ages.
5. At what age would or did you let your kids (hypothetical kids, if you don't have them) do those things where you live now?
It would completely depend on the kid, but if I had kids I'd want to to teach them to be as independent as possible as early as possible- which includes not pushing a kid to be so if it threatened them. Part of preparing your kids to be independent, especially in an urban environment, includes preparing them for the reality of things like the proverbial Stranger Danger, etc. I think independence is a great gift that parents can give their kids.
altfriday5:1. How old were you when you started walking or biking to some places (e.g. school or a friend's place) on your own? What were the circumstances?
Really early. Really, really early. The neighborhood we lived in until I was ten was super poor, but it was a safe community. My sister and I were walking to the pool by ourselves when we were, like, 4 and 5, and biking to the park, and playing with our friends in the backyard common area each block had. I don't remember a time our parents censored us from going somewhere alone. Granted, we didn't try to go anywhere alone that wouldn't have been perfectly safe for us, but we were allowed a lot of freedom.
2. How old were you when you started taking public transit on your own? What were the circumstances?
There is no reliable public transit in the suburbs, but I was taking the Metra train into the city at fourteen to go to youth symphony practice. I did go with a friend or two, but we all went together- took the train downtown, walked to the rehearsal hall, walked back to the train station, went home on the train.
I finally started taking the bus and el downtown in my early twenties. I got tired of driving all the way downtown for stuff, and would drive to the end of the Blue line, park, and take the el down. Not spectaularly early, not like urban kids.
3. How old were you when you first took a long-distance trip (unaccompanied on the bus, train, or plane, even if you were met at your destination) on your own? What were the circumstances?
Not until a few years ago, but it was a doozy-flying to Palestine on my own, via Milan, knowing neither language. But my family didn't travel much when I was a kid, we couldn't afford it. Any trips us kids made to visit family, et al, were done as a family, in the car. I went to Washington, D.C. in eighth grade, and Paris senior year of HS, but those were, of course, chaperoned trips in large groups of students. My parents wouldn't have been particularly opposed to us traveling alone, we just didn't do it.
4. This set of questions was inspired by a news story about a woman leaving her nine-year-old in downtown Manhattan to find his own way home on transit and the controversy it caused (http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2008/04/07/is-9-too-young-to-ride-the-nyc-subway-alone/). What's your reaction to this story?
The first time I saw young kids in Chicago taking the bus or el by themselves, I was kind of appalled- in fact, I'm pretty sure the CTA has official age limits for kids traveling alone. But the more I observed urban life, the more I realized that most kids who grow up in the city don't even have a lot of options- owning a car in most of the city isn't even logical, and where there are cars, having parents drive their children around takes ridiculous amounts of time. If they go to a school outside their immediate neighborhood, outside walking distance, the kids will need to take public transit. I think the kerfuffle over this story is unwarranted. The woman armed her child- who she obviously deemed intelligent and mature enough to handle it- with cash, farecard, quarters for a pay phone; he was well prepared, and had probably been taking public transit with his parents his whole life. Obviously, not all children are ready for that when they're nine, some of which is due to the individual development in children, some of which I'm sure is due to parents not raising their kids to be independent at early ages.
5. At what age would or did you let your kids (hypothetical kids, if you don't have them) do those things where you live now?
It would completely depend on the kid, but if I had kids I'd want to to teach them to be as independent as possible as early as possible- which includes not pushing a kid to be so if it threatened them. Part of preparing your kids to be independent, especially in an urban environment, includes preparing them for the reality of things like the proverbial Stranger Danger, etc. I think independence is a great gift that parents can give their kids.