No child left behind (and none up ahead either)

I came across an article in Time today, while looking for something else, that's so good I'm going to encourage you to read it for yourself instead of trying to elucidate on it. The US government spends 10 times more money on educating retarded children than it does educating gifted children. Those with IQs 55 and below are just as likely (5%) as kids with genius IQs 145 and over, to drop out of high school. The kids who could grow up to cure cancer, stop global warming or become the next world leaders, are being ignored, neglected and otherwise squandered in pursuit of the "thoroughly American notion that if most just try hard enough, we could all be talented."

I feel like I've been talking around this issue for months, but can now pinpoint how this problem starts in our schools. In my old job (the one that "inspired" this blog), I was kept from doing what I did best in order to help less qualified colleagues learn something new. The entire company suffered because management believed anyone could do anything. I've written that I need to be challenged in a job and that I need to be afraid of not being smart enough. I've written about how this President's administration values loyalty over ability. And I've written that most marketing is aimed at the lowest common denominator, completely alienating the smart and savvy core customer.

As a gifted child who skipped two grades, my status was debated each time I transferred to a new school. School administrators agreed that as long as I was well-adjusted, being intellectually stimulated was important enough to keep me advanced. The article states, however, that since the "mid-1980s, schools have often forced gifted students to stay in age-assigned grades--even though a 160-IQ kid trying to learn at the pace of average, 100-IQ kids is akin to an average girl trying to learn at the pace of a retarded girl with an IQ of 40." I'm not a genius and my IQ was at the more "socially optimal" level between 125 and 155, but I am aware, even today, of how I was formed by experiences in those gifted classes.

There's a perception that smart people are just smart and don't need help, so we should focus our help on those that need it. We've all heard the story about Albert Einstein leaving school at 15, but like anyone with a gift, athletic, musical or otherwise, without proper nurturing, may not achieve what they are capable of. A study conducted in Australia showed that gifted kids not allowed to skip grades had a jaded and negative view of education, had few friends, dropped out of school early and were treated for depression as adults. By contrast, the kids in the group that skipped at least three grades were socially adjusted and had gone on to earn Ph.D.s. In this country, the rate of growth in students earning Ph.D.s has dropped dramatically as funding is cut for gifted students and more social stigma is attached to being smart.

Despite my early years in gifted classes, I was not challenged for most of high school where honors meant more "busy work" (as we called it) and less actual teaching and understanding. My physics teacher used to read the newspaper in class while we were supposed to be teaching ourselves. I had more than a few hostile run-ins with my teachers. I remember one incident where I had received a B on a paper in English, a well-written and thoughtful piece on a book we'd read. My neighbor got an A and I asked to read her paper.

I scanned it and then raised my hand during class to ask my teacher (who lectured to a mirror on the opposite wall of the classroom by the way - I swear to god!) why I received a B for original thinking and clear understanding of the material while my classmate got an A for merely regurgitating his lecture. I was sent to the Principal's office and told by my counselor that with my grades and "attitude" I wouldn't even make it to a UC school. No longer in a gifted-only environment, I defended my young age to my peers by insisting that I wasn't smarter than them, I had just started reading early. But after hearing them talk about what they were learning in their English class, I transferred out of honors English and into standard English with Mrs. Pecht, the only teacher in four years who taught me anything. I loved her.

Instead of special schools and classes, why can't we just have a way for kids to learn at the level they're at, for every subject? That's how it was done when I was in first grade. I went to a fifth grade class for reading, a third grade class for math. No, I wasn't popular and the other kids didn't like this tiny girl sitting in their classes answering questions but what if I wasn't the only one? What if we didn't have grades and instead all kids were learning at their pace and making their way through a curriculum, excelling at some subjects and struggling in others? We'd have a system that much more closely resembles a free-market work place, which is exactly where we need these genius kids.

Mrs. Anything Can Happen

I am such a bundle of emotions these days, it's hard to even pinpoint what I'm feeling. Friday was my last day at the old job, after two days in meetings for the new job. Everyone was very sad to hear that I was leaving and I felt like someone who'd won the lottery and wasn't going to share with anyone. The absolute joy I'd felt for the past two days really hadn't changed my view of this current job. It's a fine job, it's just not one that I want. But it's become very clear that I was the best project manager they've had on the job yet and in a short three weeks, I'd already made an impact.

The account manager hired on contract for this job was out of town to a wedding and even thought it was impossible to get anything done, I felt obligated to accomplish something for her to come back to. We bonded and had become instant friends when we realized that we shared a philosophy on how to get work done. It's called creative project management. While most companies expect project managers to create and follow process, spending all day drafting status reports and updating project plans, the best ones are those who can creatively problem solve. Projects don't just hum along a set plan, there are always problems and difficulties and solving them, for me, is the best part of the job. Cracking the human code to discover how to make everyone happy is the only satisfying part of project management.

One moment, my head is swimming with the amazing ideas I get to work on and execute in the coming months in the new job, the next I'm overwhelmed with sadness over what I'm leaving. Good friends, a beautiful apartment by the beach, the pursuit of acting (for sure now) and the ability (that I was only just coming in to) to shoot a movie at a moment's notice. The irony, of course, is that this new job has just skyrocketed me to the top in terms of opportunity and connections. My chances of actually directing a feature film have just increased by a thousand. The catch is that I really have to do the work now, of writing and making films to prove that I have something to say. I think I've been lazy about it the past because I could see that no matter what a talented person creates in this town, if they don't have the right connections, success can and will probably still elude them.

This job is like marrying a dishy guy with money, connections and a name that opens doors who says "honey, do whatever you want, I support you completely." I just married opportunity so I better get busy doing what I want!

Soon, we'll ALL have blogs!

A couple of years ago, my brother was visiting and we took his nephew to the Ventura Harbor and there was a live sea animal display and information about the Channel Islands and its unique habitat. All five islands are protected National Park and camping reservations have to be made three months in advance. Because it's an island chain, it's home to many unique animals including the cutest little red fox that lives only on these islands. There are fantastic photos of the islands on this photographer's site.


So it was with great enthusiasm that I asked about my co-workers trip there last weekend and was delighted to hear that it was highly eventful. She stayed on a boat, setting foot on land for only about ten minutes out of three days. They cooked on a stove suspended by the ceiling that swung with the boat so pots and pans wouldn't slide off. Does it work I asked? "Kind of."

Her Sierra Club group took rafts into sea caves and were stampeded by a herd of sea lions who appeared to be trying to sink them. She and a friend discovered a 26-foot shark carcass on the beach and later returned to the sea caves in scuba gear to explore the pitch black water. She then made reference to other trips like a shark diving expedition in which she threw up in the ventilator (apparently it's made to handle that, somehow) and I was just so amazed at her level of adventure.

Turns out, she has a blog! She promised that the Channel Islands trip will eventually be posted and I can't wait.

Stars in my future

I know that horoscopes are silly but I enjoy them anyway. I tell myself that I have a scientific interest in that I like to measure the likelihood of them being correct. Usually I read the month's full horoscope near the beginning of the month, so it would stand to reason that it doesn't resonate as the month hasn't happened yet. Invariably, when I forget get to it mid-month, I'm often astounded at the relevancy looking back.

Today, realizing that I hadn't yet read my predictions for August and given all the change that's going on, was incredibly curious to see if this was the case. It's so amazing, I have to share it with you.

It starts out saying that I’m getting a promotion, possibly at a new company. Take my time to review the offers, it advises, it will work for me. (Now they tell me!)For the past two years it says I’ve worked hard and been “on display,” needing to prove myself. “Think back to July and August 2005. At that time, Saturn had just entered your prestigious career sector and began to groom you for much bigger things.” August 2005 is when I started working in marketing again, after five years of pursing acting. I was an unemployed waitress/actor and was having a hell of a time convincing people that I was anything but. Life, it says, is about to get much better. I’ve paid my dues and I’m about to earn a lot more money.

It continues: An excellent day to open talks is August 2. (The day of my first interview) By August 6, you should have the answer you want, or if not then, shortly thereafter. (I got the job on August 8!) One day that will likely be a tough one will be August 21, in fact, it may turn out to be the hardest day of the year for a work-related episode. (This is the day I start the new job.) Mars will move into your eighth house, suggesting you are about to spend quite a bit of money and your high-spending period will last until the end of September. (Yes, yikes!)

I got a little worried when I read that "the last part of the month will be a turbulent time for everyone. A particularly difficult full moon lunar eclipse in Pisces is due, and will force a decision about a romantic relationship, particularly if you are not yet formally attached." I don't even want to think about what would happen if the guy I told I would marry and follow around the world decided to take me up on that right now. Let's hope this horoscope stuff is a bunch of crap!

Do nothing or do anything - it's not real!

One of my regular readers asked if I was hoarding entries, planning to release them in another batch of five. I'm failing my readers! I have no time to write and because I know there are more important things going on in the world than my silly little life, I resist writing updates on my car (it's fixed), the job (starts next week) and the love life (I received a postcard from the long-distance friend).

In fact, I went to the New York Times just now to prove that there was something more exciting going on than my life I FOUND IT! It has been predicted that there is at least a 20% chance that we are living in a computer simulation of an advanced post-human race. There's even a guide on how best to survive in a simulated world.

The theory is a possible explanation as to why there are dictatorial figures in the world whose selfish and insane actions serve only their needs. They are obviously the creators of the simulation acting out their own fantasies on simulated people (us). The scientist who produced the study claims that we will have computers who can simulate life at this level by mid-century and wonders, can we create a simulation within a simulation?

Honoring my accomplishments

I’m backdating again. I just wrote and published three entries as if I hadn’t suddenly fallen off the edge of the blogging planet.

I’m starting to wonder if I’ll be able to keep up the blogging now that I have a job that actually requires me to work all day. I started the blog when I had a job without very much work (which naturally led to me being laid off) and then nearly three months of unemployment. There were days when just writing a blog entry was accomplishment I was proud of.

I already miss those days! If I could do whatever I wanted, I’d live in a villa on the Amalfi coast and write. I guess it gives me something to work towards, eh? So, I apologize for getting behind, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep blogging. I especially love comments, even the ones that tell me I’m being a judgmental twat.

I started the new job a week ago and it was in chaos the minute I walked in the door. A month behind schedule, and no clear leadership, I was being “trained” by a woman who considered project management to be running reports and setting meetings. She taught me how to upload documents to the extranet and fill out my timesheet like I was starting an after-school job. She’s off to get her MBA at a fancy school and in seven days didn’t think it necessary to explain anything about the actual project.

After a week of inserting myself into meetings and discussions, I took charge. So just as I gained control of this thing, I got my exit schedule negotiated with the two companies (basically I’m working every single day and somehow moving with no time off to accommodate the old and new bosses' vacation schedules). What’s wrong with this picture? I hate that the individual is made to feel so bad for quitting, as if it’s personal, but when we get laid off it’s just business.

Today I had a kick-ass day managing this project myself and people have taken to me being in charge and are reporting to me in a way that I never saw them do with the woman I’m replacing. And I’ve learned quite a bit, like about how data is ingested and what a data model is. My predecessor just wasn’t interested. She’s not a hands-on manager like me. This project will be on a smooth track to production when I leave and I’m pretty proud of that.

One fell swoop

Last week was extremely difficult. It’s hard enough starting a new job, learning a new commute and schedule, but I was also interviewing for another job and feeling like a liar and a traitor. They had a welcome party for me Monday night and the people at this job are so nice. Smart and cool people that I would love to know. And yet, I knew when I took this that it wasn’t going to be something that would make me happy. Did I announce it on the blog? No. That’s pretty telling.

So my interviews were at a building in Century City where I had to valet. I had used my wrecked car as an excuse for my late arrivals at work but in reality, I pushed the car appointment to make the interview. When I pulled up for the valet, he saw the crunched car and I explained that I had to crawl out the passenger side. Okay, he said to which I added, “which means you have to crawl IN that side too.” He got a kick out of that and chose a valet driver to perform the taskIt was even funnier the next day when I showed up for the second interview. The guy saw me coming and just shook his head “no, no, no.”

The new job opportunity came from a recruiter who was referred by my boss at the company that laid me off. Things come full circle, eventually. It was so stressful to invest and being invested in a job without knowing if I was leaving. Although the new company said they would make a decision quickly, it wasn’t as quick as they said. After two in-person interviews, a phone interview on Monday and some questions by email on Tuesday, I finally got the job yesterday! I am so excited.

In one fell swoop I’m getting four things I have been asking the universe for:

1) A reason to move to the Bay Area
2) A senior level position
3) A job that combines my marketing, online and film industry experience and interest
4) Experience with a global company that opens up opportunities worldwide

In less than two weeks, I start working as a Senior Brand Manager for a major internet company in San Jose. That's right, I'm moving to the Bay Area!

Ask and you shall receive (but maybe not when you expect)

I must have been asking the universe for too many different things at the same time because in the last year jobs, opportunities and men have come and gone but none seemed like the perfect fit. They all were close to but not quite what I wanted. And yet now I realize, they all had their purpose.

Last year, I first considered giving up acting for a guy, then for a job and eventually happily quit acting. Then a friend got me another job that would bring my resume up to date, and with a real salary, I was able to pay off all of my debt in three months. In January, things got serious with a guy who lived in San Francisco and he asked if I would consider moving. I started questioning what my purpose was in Los Angeles, now that I wasn't acting, and remembered that I had always loved the Bay Area. Despite having just landed in Santa Monica and having my own apartment for the first time in six years, I was feeling done with Los Angeles. I decided I would take the leap but the relationship ultimately didn’t work out. Two months after taking another job, I was laid off.

That's when the major soul searching began. What kind of job did I want? Where did I want to live? Would I ever have the relationship I wanted in Los Angeles? I committed to a couple of film projects, told a man that I loved him and then, I took a job I didn't really want. Two days later, I got a call for a job that would change my life. A recruiter I had worked with before called to say she had my dream job. It sounded like exactly what I had been looking for, a senior level job that would require my marketing and film experience.

I shuffled time, missed sleep and stretched the truth to find several hours two days in a row to interview. I had to explore this opportunity, but I also wanted to be realistic. I had a job, a good job, and I needed to take ownership of it, despite this dangling carrot.

Violence is so not cool anymore

I had a weird day in Santa Monica yesterday. There seemed to be more violence around than usual. I went out to buy a ticket for the 7:30 movie, it was still sunny and I was going to the bookstore first, then the movie. On the way, I was confronted by a large and frightening woman with no shoes who yelled at me "if I wasn't something something, I'd fuck you up!" She was literally foaming at the mouth. She continued down the street screaming and cussing and on the other side, people stopped what they were doing to see who was making all that racket.

Then when I found out the movie was sold out, I bought a ticket for the later show and headed home. I walked by an ATM where a young woman was trying to get money and was being harassed by a guy who could have been homeless, it's hard to tell. She was explaining "actually, I'm late for a play and just trying to get some money." I don't know what she was apologizing for but he continued to talk at her anyway.

When I got home, there were some kids on the stoop across the street practicing their rhymes. They were rapping at the top of the lungs the same two lines over and over again. I could hear windows and doors closing, the sound traveled for a whole block in each direction I'm sure, of all the nearby apartments. Only one woman yelled "shut up!" but it didn't do any good.

A few hours later, I headed out again to see the movie and I passed two women walking. They were talking but it quickly escalated to yelling and the younger one tried to grab the bag of the older woman as she shouted "will you just stop drinking already?!" They went on down the street like that, the younger one yelling and trying to grab the bag and the older one shushing her as other people walked by. I passed a couple on my side of the street, clearly in a fight, as the guy said something mean to his girlfriend.

Before the film, there were several trailers. I'm always tuned in to how people react to trailers. Whether they laugh, or talk the whole time or are engaged. During two for movies about random violence, the kind that doesn't make sense and makes us into crazy people, the feeling from the audience was not good. It felt angry. When the Bourne Ultimatum came on though, even though there's violence, the feeling is uplifting. He's fighting for all of us, and the people who get hurt are generally bad guys. People laughed and cheered and went along with it in a way that they absolutely were not going to for those two other films.

I'll venture a guess that random acts of violence are sliding down the backside of cool.

Previously covert activities

I just saw the Bourne Ultimatum and I thought it was fantastic. I'm a huge fan of the first two and now, of the series in general. The theme song qualifies to join the ranks of Mission Impossible, James Bond and The Pink Panther. Some lame review criticized the performances as wooden, giving no credence to the fact that people who work in these kinds of positions are not exactly the emotional and heartwarming types found in romantic comedies. She clearly thinks the movie isn't very good but still praises it for "non-stop action, unbelievable car chases, exotic locales, and cool shoot-'em-ups." Yeah, isn't that the point? Hitchcock was also criticized for wooden performances and was notorious for his low opinion of actors (unless they were attractive blondes), yet his movies transcended performance with suspense and intrigue.


I only read reviews after I see a movie and just thought hers was kind of hilariously bad. Especially where she goes out on a limb to say that she thinks there will be another one. Despite the fact that it was written as a trilogy, I think we can count on Hollywood to continue raping this series as long as possible. This is what irritated me the most though: She says she still can't buy Matt Damon as a tough guy. On what basis? He's got the same build as Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis and a host of other previous tough guys with smarts. What about the other assassins in the movie? They're all different, that's the beauty of it. A person can be trained - look at soldiers in the military - they don't have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. What about La Femme Nikita, could she not buy a woman as a killer? I can't believe I'm arguing against something so stupid.

But I find it interesting, that these movies are so popular. BU grossed $70 mil in it's first weekend, an incredible turnout for a non tent-pole movie like Spider-man. I tried to go at 7:30 and it was sold out, and at 10:20 on a Sunday night, the theater was packed. The story is about a guy who worked for the government but then discovers that he's a bad guy and wants to be a good guy. But the government, the CIA, keeps trying to kill him and kills everyone around him. It's a great story because it's about redemption and trying to be a better person, but the overarching theme is that the government has gone too far. They're drunk with power and want less and less intervention from people who don't "understand."

Isn't it ironic that the weekend this movie opens President Bush signs a law that basically legalizes the NSA's previously covert activities, by making wiretapping for any reason, legal? The telecommunications companies have been in bed with the government for a while now but started to get nervous about lawsuits because they were voluntarily giving the information over. So they started pressuring the administration and they responded by passing a law that makes handing over the information mandatory. Oops! But don't worry, they're targeting foreign nationals so they're only using American citizens to get to the ones overseas. Can you believe we can pass a law here that makes it legal to infringe on the rights of citizens in other countries?

With the new iPhone and all the other impending technology, more communication is going to be done over the phone and now, it's all up for grabs. Consider yourself warned.

Heinz 57, the user-generated way

Asking consumers to make their own commercials for a product has been a cool, new idea for so long, it's no longer new and I'm not sure how cool it ever was. People like user-generated content, for sure. They like to see other people acting stupid, looking stupid and and doing stupid things. That's funny, but it doesn't sell product and it generally doesn't make for very good commercials. People also like more professionally produced online content, if it's a good concept. But most people don't know what makes a good concept and if you've ever watched and voted for one of these contests you know what I'm talking about. Which is why I'm so bummed I don't have an entry for the $57,000 prize offered by Heinz 57 ketchup.

I had every intention of producing several commercials for Heinz 57's Top This contest. I came up with ideas but many things colluded to keep me from having the time, energy or organizational head space and I never got to them. They're due in a week and I'm having a hard time letting them go. I still wish I could shoot them but starting the new job, and getting into an accident (on the way home from San Francisco - another good reason for the High Speed Rail!) - I'm just too overwhelmed.

So I thought at least I could tell you what my ideas are/were:

1) The BBQ - A guy is out on the street, he gets a text message on his phone. He looks at it and in reads "From Jeremy: BBQ at my house, tomorrow 2pm, we'll have grillin's, bring your favorite topping." The guy reacts, "Sweet!" Cut to the guy walking with a bottle of Heinz into the BBQ, he stops when he sees another guy giving a bottle of Heinz to the hostess. A look of concern on his face. The host approaches with a burger on a plate and gives it to him, the hostess approaches and puts Heinz on his burger. Then she takes his bottle. "Thanks for the Heinz, we were just about to run out." She sets the bottle down on a table of food and about 15 empty Heinz bottles. Back to our guy's reaction, "Sweet!" He takes a bite. Voiceover: Everyone's favorite, Heinz 57.

2) International grocery - Establishing shot of a woman pushing a cart down an aisle with a little girl in it. She stops at the ketchup and looks up to the row of Heinz. As she takes a bottle, we look at her from the POV of the Heinz and the little girl says "hot dogs!" Cut to a series of different people from the same POV, all taking a bottle of ketchup. A German guy, "Bratwurst!"; A Mexican lady, "Huevos Rancheros!"; A Jewish woman, "Corned Beef Hash"; A British guy, "Bacon and Sausage"; and finally, a Belgian woman who makes sure no one is listening before she says "Les Frites." (Subtitles read "French Fries"). Voiceover: Heinz 57, spoken worldwide.

3) James Bond - Closeup of a guy's feet in dress shoes and slacks, walking. Swanky music plays. Pan up to reveal a guy in a tux shirt and tie. The entire spot is in extreme closeup. He spots a woman about to eat a French fry without ketchup. He pulls out a bottle of Heinz and saves her. She eats the fry with ketchup and smiles. He straightens his bow tie and spots another woman who's trying to feed her little boy a hot dog. He rushes over, puts Heinz on the hot dog and the boy eats it happily. The mother smiles. He adjusts his cuff links and sees yet another woman with eggs and toast trying to get ketchup out of an empty bottle. He swoops in and squirts ketchup on her plate. We now zoom out to reveal that the man is actually a waiter in a cafe. He takes his job very seriously and the ladies appreciate it. He spins the bottle like a gun and puts it in his apron. Voiceover: Heinz 57, it's THAT good.

4) ESL class - In an ESL class, students of all nationalities are huddled around their teacher naming things they like to eat with Heinz. A bottle sits next to the teacher on the desk and the class eats French fries. They have trouble saying the words but are really happy when they get them out. "Omelet, potatoes, meatballs..." One student says "cold noodles," and they look at him funny. He shrugs like, it's true. An Asian student struggles to say "French fries." The class is intently watching, she gets a real "R" sound out for the first time and is elated. The class cheers. Voiceover: Heinz 57, it's universal.

Life seems to be a never-ending stream of missed opportunities but there will be more contests and more ideas, so until then!

I'm not talking to you

Every morning, an army of mommies set out with their kids in strollers to walk around Santa Monica. I see them on my way to work. But something strikes me as odd: they're all on the phone. Facing them in the stroller, the babies and toddlers look for some kind of engagement but mom is on the phone to someone else.

My neighbors have a newborn. Ben is nine weeks old and cries a lot. His mom has people over all the time, other moms, or is on the phone. She talks all day long to other people. The only thing I ever hear her say to Ben is "shhhhhhhh." One day I went by and he was napping on one couch while she laid on the other and read a book. I know that having a newborn can be overwhelming but I also know that bonding with the mother through touch, eye contact and speech is critical. I can't help but wonder if Ben cries because he's not getting enough of those things.

What kind of kids will this cell phone generation grow up to be? Will they be ultra-demanding, stupid, distracted, or just cell phone addicts as well? I have to believe that people spend more time on the phone as a result of the mobility. Certainly we don't have more to say, do we? Nothing crucial is happening on these phone calls, we're just using them for entertainment and a way to avoid doing something else, like paying attention to our children.