Let's just agree to disagree!

After our first midterm exam was graded and return to us during class, the results seemed to come as an awful shock to the entire class. After hearing that basically half the class failed, I was SURE I was part of the failing half. I even told the professor I didn't want to see my score. Knowing of my chances of failure, I could've just tried and worked harder for the next one, I just didn't want to know HOW badly I did. However, when the professor told me I did want to take a look, I just hoped that wasn't him being mean. When I saw that I had passed with a good score, I gave a sigh of relief. This semester was turning into one of my most difficult semesters so far and this was good news. However, half of the class didn't get the same good news I had.

It surprised me when the professor let us decide the next exam's format and the grading for the one we had just received back. It turned into chaos at first until Bailey took initiative and began to mediate everyone's ideas. These ideas included extra credit to add points to the current exam, take home exam for the next midterm, and getting rid of the essay. Part of me took the accommodating approach. I didn't really care if I got extra credit or not and since I had passed this first exam, I was suddenly felt more at ease and confident about the testing format.

However, when I realized people began to vote against EVERY part of the testing format, I figured it was going to affect me as well in the next exam. It was also not fair! I even heard someone propose a multiple choice take-home exam. At that moment, my approach changed into collaborating more with the class discussion. I didn't want to get rid of "multiple-multiple choice" because it made it possible for me to obtain more points than the regular multiple choice format. I didn't want to get rid of the essay because it was a free format that could give me partial credit even if I had not answered every part of the essay correctly.

Participating was great and it gave me some sort of say, but it didn't always work to my advantage. When the class was asked how they felt about curving the grade instead of extra credit, I was probably the only one who wanted to keep the curve. I don't think anybody else realized that the curve would've been a better choice at the time due to the fact that we weren't deciding how much extra credit we would be receiving instead. We could've gotten 5 extra credit points when the curve would've improved some of our grades much more than that. Even though I didn't need the curve, I was just disappointed at such quick decision-making without considering all of the facts. By the end, I felt myself avoiding the discussion. I was discouraged and didn't want to participate anymore. At times, when I rose my hand to object something, it was ignored. I no longer saw the point of it.

Perhaps if I had been much more assertive and would've used the "compete to win" approach, I would've seen a result that I agreed with. However, the end results weren't so bad themselves. It was a fair decision at the end and I think the time limit on the decision-making made it all the more difficult and rushed. Perhaps  if there hadn't been a time limit, our decision would've came to us quicker.

-Pam

Comic relief!

I'd like to mention that I am not the artist of this drawing or any other art posted so far in this blog. If I know who the artist is, I will credit the artist.  If I post any of my own art work in the future, I will make sure it is credited appropriately. However, I found this image along with the one in the previous post on Google images and do not take credit for them. Whoever is the artist for this uterus, they should know that it is adorable!

I happened to be on stumbleupon.com, a website that helps you discover random websites around the internet at every click of the "stumble" button. The websites it directs you to obviously depend on the preferences you choose in the beginning of registering such as arts, movies, music, science, self-improvement, etc. I came across a random blog that didn't look anything special, a jewelry blog. I figured i'd give it a chance since i'm exploring. On the page was what the blog's author claimed to be a letter to Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine product, a letter that allegedly won PC magazine's 2007 editor's choice for best webmail award-winning letter. I must warn you, after reading this letter, I did more research and found a business blog that told me this wasn't so. However, whether the letter was a winner of anything or not, it is a legitimate complaint written by a real person, and it has gained popularity around the internet probably because its author is not alone in how they feel.

Here's the letter:

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from 'the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the viole nt urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep. 

Always. . .

Wendi Aarons

Austin , T X

The author of the blog "Everything About Business Except the Bottom Line: FunnyBusiness", posts in an entry on April 7, 2009:

http://funnybusiness.typepad.com/funnybusiness/2009/04/have-a-happy-period-letter-did-not-win-pc-magazines-2007-editors-choice-award.html

I didn't bother to do any more research because I honestly didn't think it important whether the letter was award-winning or if it was actually sent to Mr. James Thatcher or to someone of authority in Procter and Gamble. However, it is indeed hilarious, and joke or no joke, the message surfaced from a real place and real thoughts. I wonder how many women feel like this about the slogan? I wonder what the company did as a response once it got around? I even wondered what I would've done if I had been in the position and had the power to respond and make a change as a manager. Then again, as a woman, I don't think the words "happy" and "period" would've ever crossed my mind in the same sentence.

-Pam

No use crying over broken eggs...

Okay, so I know the saying usually applies to milk, but hey! They're both in the dairy isle of the grocery store, right? I think it counts.

In our class project, " An Eggs-cellent Way to Play", the class was assigned to plan, design, and create a devise that would protect an egg from breaking in case of a fall. My group failed this group project but it wasn't all bad. With the bad, there was also some good, and the bad is always there to teach us a lesson for the future. Here are the pros and cons of our strategic planning:

Step 1: The goals and objectives in our project were clear: design a contraption that would protect the egg in the case of a fall. We understood that at least fifty percent of the egg must be visible and what resources and the amounts that would be given to us. However, there were a lot of things we weren't clear in while planning, such as "HOW MUCH is fifty percent?" and "Are there any UNFAIR designs?"

Step 2: As for determining our resources and current project status, we knew what our resources were, eight jumbo straws and two feet of tape. Nevertheless, I don't think this was enough to plan a good design for the device. We didn't know how strong the material of the straws were, which affected how it would bend. We didn't know how long they were exactly, which affected our decision in whether to cut them up or not in order to make more pieces and how long the pieces should be. We knew how big the egg was and we figured the shortest person should drop it because it would mean a shorter fall. I guess it is also inevitable that a group leader would stand out, but we seemed to have two group leader, or more of a president/vice-president sort of thing. This leader thing sort of just happened, and because nobody else spoke up, their voices were barely heard.

Step 3: When one's voice is barely heard, it also means your input will most likely not count. Our team leaders decided on a plan and because they were so sure that it would work, there was no use refuting it. Some attempted but they were shy and their voices were overshadowed. I tried to make an input and it seemed like it was considered for a few seconds, but the time limit seemed to pressure everybody to get one solid plan and get it done with. We certainly didn't explore different options and designs, and perhaps if everyone's opinion had been considered, we could've came up with a mix of all ideas and integrated it into one solid idea. But as I previously mentioned, time puts pressure on people (besides, it was worth five extra points on our exam if we succeeded!)

Step 4: Since we didn't have "alternatives", we just ran with the one design that was decided on. As soon as we were given our resources, our plan changed slightly. There was a little bit of panicking because some of us became unsure of how much tape we would use. Some thought it wasn't enough tape, others thought it was enough. We decided to cut our straws and forgot pieces when they started falling off the desk and forgot, which resulted in a different device at first. We later found the missing pieces but it was no longer the same device we had originally designed. There was one person assigned to design and draw the device out, and later I noticed that it slightly resembled what we had designed, but it wasn't exactly what I had pictured. There was too much tape, inefficient placement of straw pieces, some improvisation as to how the rest of the egg would be covered, and by the end I was afraid we had covered more than fifty percent of the egg. Everyone was looking so confident that I thought maybe I was being the paranoid one so I let it go. When it was our turn to drop the egg, we failed. Our plan was not idiot-proof.

Looking back at it, there were many things we should've done that we failed to do. We should've planned different alternatives in case our vision changed once we had received our resources. We should've had more input from everyone and others' opinions should've been considered. We also should've taken longer to decide on a plan, the best ideas come later in the planning process. We should've asked if some ideas would've been unfair (the majority of the people complained about the winning group because their device didn't seem fair but it did indeed play by the rules). However, this will only serve to remind us on our next planning project on the steps should be taken in order to create a successful plan in the future. Thank goodness this time it was only an egg.

"Find yourself, I'm right here": Living through the culture shock

My father lived in New York during his teens and later served in the United States Air Force, so having spent a substantial part of his life in the U.S, he had developed an "American lifestyle". I was raised under this hybrid of American and Ecuadorian value system, which might explain why every time I would watch Home Alone, I'd ask my father "Daddy, when are we moving to the U.S?"

At the age of nine, my family and I moved to New York. Even though my household was relatively Americanized, the culture shock still impacted me. For nine years, I only truly knew one world and that world was Guayaquil, Ecuador. It only took a seven hour plane ride to change everything.

This new land was amazing! It had all four seasons, not just two, which was pretty exciting to tell you the truth. I mean, shopping for four seasons? The thought of it was just nuts to me! It was also the first time I had heard the now familiar summer jingle of the ice cream truck, a jingle that soon replaced the simple bell ringing from the ice cream man riding his bicycle around the unpaved neighborhood. But the biggest change wasn't material but more of a change of perception of the world.

When I started the fourth grade classes in the Middle of February, classes were already in session and I was put into this elementary school in Brooklyn, New York, in a bilingual classroom that was supposed to make it easier to learn English. In a classroom full of bilingual kids, you'd think they'd have some sympathy for someone who only knows one language? They didn't. No mercy. I was on my own when it came to learning the language, and I learned that the key was repetition. One thing I kept hearing kids say was "I don't feel like doing this" or "I feel like doing that". I didn't know what this meant exactly and I asked my parents, but they didn't really know how to explain it. Even once I learned what it meant, I didn't know how to translate it into my own language.

The idea of an inner motivation that was so intense that it could keep you from doing your chores or wanting to eat the liver stew your mother made for dinner was so strange to me. It's not like people in my culture didn't voice their choices of not liking something or doing something because they liked it. The difference was, or at least what it seemed to be, that when you "feel like doing something" or "don't feel like it", you're indirectly showing preference for no apparent reason. You just did it because you did it and that was that.

As I got accustomed to the American culture, I understood the concept better, and later I realized that Americans valued the individual and his or her points of views and input much more than my culture, where the value and focus was more on the family and not as much on its individual members. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Being raised as an Ecuadorian in a place where American values must be adapted was much more intense than the original mixture of American and Ecuadorian values. It made figuring out life and my priorities a whole lot more difficult. However, it made me a stronger person because of it.

It's been eleven years since I stepped out of that plane. Seeing myself as a bilingual Hispanic woman, getting an education and working hard towards my career, i realize the culture shock was not in vain.