Post 180: Happy (Un)Birthday!

It has officially been one week since my birthday. But, I have now decided that I am not counting last Friday as my birthday. Today is now my birthday.

Because today was like…top notch. I slept in a little late, but my hair wasn’t doing anything particularly weird after I brushed it so I decided I could shower tonight. I left on time, got to the station a little early because I didn’t hit every light and, because of the three day weekend, half the parking spots were empty so I could pick where I wanted to park. I got a pretty good spot too.

One of my friends that usually takes the earlier train was running late (not good for her, but good for me), so we got to take the train in to together. And the train was mostly empty so we weren’t squished either. And no one was annoyed with us. (Last time we were on the train, I was reading and she came on and the lady I was sitting next to us got up and was like “I wanted a quiet ride”. Like…we weren’t even being that loud. I mean, I have no problem with her leaving. If she wants a quiet ride, then, by all means, it is best if she changes seats to find people who aren’t going to talk. But the fact that she said it and the way she said it was kind of rude. Why couldn’t she just say excuse me and change seats? She didn’t need to tell us why. But, whatever. It didn’t happen today.)

I got to work and free breakfast. Bacon, potatoes, and scones. There were eggs and vegetarian sausages but I took a hard pass on those. I almost tried a vegetarian sausage, but figured it would be better to leave it to actual vegetarians would be more likely to actually eat it after taking it.

Then, I got my eyebrows waxed, which 100% counts to why today was great. Last time I got them waxed it went HORRIBLY and I got two giant blisters under my eyebrows from chemical burns that faded into scars. Thankfully, the scars have since faded away entirely. But today’s waxing (which I was super nervous about) went really well. It was quick, she explained why she choose the shape she did and asked for a lot of feedback to make sure I was happy, and I had no reaction (physical)! Well…I mean, it was a little red, because my skin is super sensitive. But no blistering, scaring, peeling, or burning. So, I call that a big win.

Because I didn’t bring my lunch and took my lunch break but forgot to pick up lunch, I was just figuring I would skip lunch today and maybe get a snack on the way home, not a big deal. But then...more…free…food. An event that ran today had too much extra food, so everyone was told to go get some. And this wasn’t like sandwiches, salad, and cookies basic lunch, this was a steak, chicken, salads (plural!), farrow, potatoes, risotto balls, and macaroons fancy lunch. So, I had steak, salad, and potatoes for lunch and a lemon poppy seed macaroon for dessert. For free.

Then, on top of all that, I got out of work at 3:00pm. Then I went to Sephora and got a mini makeover, which was a lot of fun and killed time. Because the first train from downtown towards home doesn’t leave until 3:50 (only 3:45 now). I could have taken the sky train. But the sky train takes longer, is more crowded, involves switching trains, and is just kind of high stress in comparison to the commuter train. And even if I left right at 3:00pm and went right to the sky train, I would not have gotten back to the station where my car is until approximately 4:00pm. If I instead do what I did by spending 30-40 minutes enjoying downtown, the mall, or just reading on the 3:50pm train before it leaves, the train ride is short (23min from station to station) and relaxing (ocean views). It isn’t as overcrowded, loud, or busy. And I get back to the station at around 4:15pm. I arrive only 15 minutes later with a far more relaxing trip.

So, obviously, that is what I’m going to do. With traffic, you can’t even guarantee that there will be much of a difference in final arrival time.

And then after I get home and say “hi” to my dog, Mexican for dinner! And since (unlike on my birthday) there will be other people home, I won’t be the sole person responsible for cooking dinner and cleaning up dinner. I also don’t have to water the plants, feed the dog, walk the dog, and then put the dog to bed. Which is a process, because she won’t make up her mind about where she wants to be in the bed and then she really likes to be tucked in. I can eat dinner (then help clean up obviously), hang out with my family, and then go downstairs and play video games or read. Or really do whatever, because I don’t have to wake up early tomorrow morning to take the dog out and give her breakfast. I can sleep in! I probably won’t, but I have the option too.

So far, today has been great. My actually birthday…kind of lame. I worked at a different location that was closer, so I was able to sleep in a little bit. But mostly it was just like any other day with soup for lunch. Then a can of lima beans and a brownie for dinner. I was supposed to go to dinner with friends, but they had a bit of an emergency so we had to postpone to another day. The brownie was only okay. And then I was tired from work and the dog (and I also was getting over having bronchitis), so I went to bed at like…9:00pm. And then I was up early Saturday. Overall…kind of a sad birthday. I talked to my dad which was nice and he sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. But that was about as festive as the day was. Today, on the other hand, despite the lack of singing is far more festive and it leads into a three day weekend. So, I do declare today is unofficially my birthday. Or, perhaps, it is just a sign that it is time to start celebrating un-birthdays. 

Post 179: What is QD (Quora Digest)?

I have now had two posts relating to Quora Digest, so now might be a good time to better explain what it is for those who don’t know. In the second post, I believe I compared it to Yahoo! Answers. That is a fairly accurate comparison. It is a website where you can post questions and people can answer. When people answer they can provide “Credentials” to better bolster their answer with experience and authority. The answers are then voted on and while all are visible, the top voted answer is at the top. You can comment on all answers given, allowing for more discussion that Yahoo! Answers. Unlike Yahoo! Answers, questions can be submitted anonymously as can answers.

Questions on QD fall under five main categories: LMGTFY, Tell Me About It, Ask Abby, Fandoms, and That Depends.

The first LMGTFY (Let me Google that for you) questions are ones that they could easily Google for themselves. They have a right and wrong answer. These show up less often than the others. Examples of this are: “what professional basketball teams does Washington have?”, “what is a word that rhymes with doctor?”, “how many people live in New York?”.

The second kind, Tell Me About It, is less of a question where they are looking for an answer and more about “tell me a story when…”. They don’t really seem to serve as much a purpose as the other questions, beyond entertainment. They’re the kind of question you might ask on a first date when the conversation starts to go dry but you don’t want to resort to asking about the weather. Examples: “what was the saddest meal you ever ate?”, “what did the ‘weird’ kid at your school do to make them seem weird?”, “where was your first vacation?”, “what was the silliest reason you had to pick your kid up from school?”.

Ask Abby is basically the same kind of questions one would submit to an Ask Abby column, like “my son is doing this weird thing, how can I approach him about it?”.  Questions don’t have a right or wrong answer, as they tend to fall into grey areas, but it is asking an opinion rather than for a story. Other examples: “my boyfriend cheated on me, he wants to make it work and says I should cheat on him to make it even, but I don’t want to. What do I do?”

Fandoms are sort of a mix of all three of the previous categories. They are fandom specific questions that often involve a mix of stories, opinions, and facts. They ask about things related to specific fandoms. Like “why didn’t they use the Time Turner to kill Voldemort before people died” or “why didn’t Darth Vader know Luke and Leia didn’t die with their mom, couldn’t he have sensed them with the Force the way that Leia and Rey could sense when Luke died?” Some of them have definitive answers, others have answers that can be assumed from information provided, and some are totally a matter of opinion. These questions can also be things like “which character from this show is the best?” Which is asking people’s personal opinion, but relates just as much to storytelling as it does opinion because people tend to include stories about why they like that character.

The final type of question is That Depends. This generally works more as a subcategory of LMGTFY (where there is a definitive yes or no answer but they didn’t provide enough information to find it) or Ask Abby (where they are asking for opinions but didn’t give enough information). “Who gets custody?”: is one such question. Without more information, no one can really give a definitive answer. It would basically take an essay to guarantee they get the answer they are looking for because it doesn’t include information about the living situation or even what state/country they are in. Other times it is asking people’s opinion but only provides a little bit of information, so people are left guessing and saying things like “if X, then Y but if W, then Z. And if W and Z, then B”. So, almost every answer will have “it depends” in it somewhere. Other examples include, “is marijuana illegal?”, “my boyfriend says I cheated, but I don’t think I did, who is wrong?”, etc.

So far on my blog, I’ve answered a Tell Me About It (“What is the funniest reason you have been sent home from school?”, which I believe was actually “your kids have been sent home”) and an Ask Abby (“What do most people like, but won’t admit to liking?”). The post I have about Ross from Friends was also inspired by a question about whether or not he actually cheated on her, but I had been planning to post about it for a while. But I’ve answered more on QD, the ones I posted on here, I didn’t post on QD. Either because they were locked for answers or because I didn’t feel like sharing. Some people really just LOVE Ross. And I am already tired of arguing with strangers online about things that are more important (like women’s rights and common sense) than a fictional character.

Post 178: Can you get a man's haircut as a woman?

I have short hair. It isn’t exactly a bob, but it doesn’t reach my shoulders (when it gets close to them, it is my sign that I need a haircut). Meanwhile, one of my male colleagues has hair almost to his waist. He works very hard to maintain it. Now, I’m not writing this to say that there is anything wrong with him having long hair as a guy or my having short hair as a girl. What I feel is wrong is that despite him having more hair, I will still pay more than him at basically every hair salon.

I looked it up, just to confirm. And every hair salon had separate prices for men and women. Even hair salons that had different prices depending on the length of the women’s hair had nothing for the length of the men’s hair. And a haircut for women with short hair still cost more than any male haircut.

At the first salon I checked (Jeff and J Hair Salon), it is $32 for a Master Men’s Haircut. That is a flat rate. The woman’s haircut started at $50 ($50+)! That is an $18 difference regardless of the length of hair for the man or woman. Mint Salon had a $15 difference, with women paying $50 for a haircut and men paying $35. Shine has a similar price difference with women’s haircuts starting at $51, while men’s start at $35. Angelo’s is the closest in price for salons that don’t specify a different price by hair length, with a $4 difference (Women’s: $44, Men’s: $40). At Kast it is $47 for a women’s haircut and $32 for a man’s haircut.  At Refresh women will pay $40 and up, men will pay $30 and up.

The next salons (starting with LUXE) did specify hair length for women, but still not for men. A haircut for a woman with short hair at LUXE is $46. The same service for a man of any hair length is $40. Melika Salon also specifies by length for women and for a woman with short hair it costs $25, for a man it is $22. Which is the closest of any of the salon’s prices that I checked in difference by gender.

That means that women with short hair will be spend an average $11 more than men for a haircut. Which seems super weird to me. When I get my haircut it takes like 10-15 minutes. It is basically just a trim; a snip-snip here, snip-snip there and I’m done.  It is more common with men’s haircuts to need to also get out a razor to clean up the back of the neck and do that kind of shaping, which seems like it would be more work.

And if you are going to specify by length, why both by length AND gender? Why not just length? Or even by time it takes? Is it because salons assume women are  more willing to pay more and don’t have an alternative? Men have barbers which are cheaper, if they want to go that route instead.

I did some research to see if anyone else had these questions, or if anyone had the answers. I found someone who was also surprised by the cost difference (Alexandra Haddow – “Why do women have to pay so much more than men for their haircuts?”). She is located in England and did a price comparison as well. She compared five different places and found an average difference of £16.80 (like $28CAD) more for women than men, the highest point of difference was £40!

She spoke to various hairdressers and they seem to support my thoughts. There was an assumption that women will require more effort and products then men and there is an assumption men will have short hair and women won’t, things just haven’t been updated with the times. And that there is an idea that women are more likely to go for a haircut rather than go to a barber or do it themselves, so they because they are willing to pay and pay more for a good haircut, salons know they can charge them more. One brought up that there is now a “dry cut” where they spritz your hair rather than shampoo it, but when I looked at prices to compare I used the lowest comparable cut for a man and woman. One of those was a dry cut for a woman, for the men’s it did not specify dry or not and it was still cheaper for the men’s.

Her article was posted in 2017 and she suggested some salons were starting to change. If that is reflected in the difference between the $28 difference she found and the $11 difference I found, then maybe it is hopeful it will continue to improve. She also talked about changes in other facets where women were charged more than men, like how women’s razors are more expensive than men’s tend to be priced, and how companies are starting to bring the prices closer. Which, I suppose, is all well and good. But, why bring the price’s closer rather than just make them both gender neutral? Is a man’s skin and hair so different from a woman’s that they need to have separate products? I mean, really? What would happen if I just bought a man’s razor? Sure, it wouldn’t be pink but it would still work.

Actually, there was an event that gave out free men’s razors and it is probably one of the best razor’s I’ve ever used. It is The Gillette Fusion5. It has a mostly metal handle and it takes reusable blades. It costs approx. $13 for the handle and two blades. While most razors for men have a metal handle and made to be reusable, rather disposable, women’s tend to be plastic and disposable. So, it was hard to find a comparable razor. The Gillette Venus Swirl, is most comparable. It has an almost fully plastic handle with a metal ball to allow for more swiveling (the Fusion5 swivels just fine, as is so it seems unnecessary). They both have five blades as well. It does have a little like comb before the razor, to pull up hair better that the Fusion5 doesn’t have. But the Fusion5 has a precision trimmer on the back (which means it has an additional blade), which the Venus Swirl doesn’t have. The Venus Swirl and 2 blades costs $15. It looks cheaper and more breakable and it still costs more. Significantly more considering that I got my Fusion5 for free.

It just seems weird to me.  I wonder, if I asked for a man's haircut, would it be cheaper or would they just look at me like I'm crazy? 

Post 177: QD: "What do most people like, but won't admit to liking?"

I get daily email updates from Quora Digest. I don’t really know why. It isn’t all that different than Yahoo! Answers. There are a lot of people who ask questions they could easily look up themselves, but don’t. There are people asking dumb questions or giving stories about their life that sort of relate but don’t actually answer the question. But sometimes, you get some thought provoking questions or some educated answers. The question that I was thinking about today is: “what do you think most people secretly like, but won’t admit?”

The top answer was something about sex and how all people are perverts. But, that doesn’t seem like much of a secret. I don’t know anyone is like “I hate sex” or will deny liking it, if they are in a situation where they are asked and it is an appropriate situation to ask. I mean, if a stranger asked me if I liked strawberries, I might say no because I’m weirded out by the random question. I mean, it isn’t saying something that people like/enjoy but don’t tell strangers they like/enjoy. This is something they hide, something that probably even their friends wouldn’t necessarily know. Plus, it is talking on a wide scale. It is “most people” not some. I know people who have declared that they like the smell of their own farts or that they like cutting the dead skin off their feet. So compared to those kinds of things, that maybe they shouldn’t be telling others, sex just doesn’t seem like an answer that fits the question.

So, I thought about it and I think I got it. I think I have an answer that fits, but is actually really quite the opposite to the top answer. Kid’s stuff. I know a lot of people who like kid stuff but don’t want to admit it. There are adults that have closets full of stuffed animals, that like kid’s movies like Barbie, that like Build-A-Bear, etc.

Do you know the stigma around walking into a Build-A-Bear as an adult? I read this woman who wrote an article telling adults not to go into Build-A-Bear as an adult because it was a horrible experience for her, do you know why it was a horrible experience for her? Because they treated her like a customer. They were friendly, they encouraged her to do the things they ask kids to do when getting a bear, they asked her to name the bear. She was basically traumatized by the fact that they thought she wanted to buy a bear for herself. When I was 17, my friend and I both went in and she got a bear. I didn’t that day because it is expensive and I didn’t really have cash. She wouldn’t go by herself, despite wanting the bear, because she was scared of going alone. When we went, I think we both giggled as we tried to nonchalantly enter the store because we felt awkward and judged, despite the fact that no one probably cared that much. It was weird how awkward it was. We were still teenagers, we were not far off from being kids, but we still felt somehow too old to be in the store. It felt like we didn’t really belong, like being underage in a liquor store. But we were overage in a toy store.

“Aren’t you a little old to have stuffed animals?”

“Aren’t you a little old to be watching that?”

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing that?”

People roll their eyes at Barbie movies and won’t say out in the open that they like them, but if you find them on YouTube there is inevitably a comment saying they are an adult that still likes Barbie movies and they will have hundreds of likes. Through the anonymity of a screen name, they can admit that they still like “kid’s movies”.

Even with Disney, they have worked hard to market themselves as a “for all ages” kind of brand and yet a lot of people won’t watch the movies or admit to watching them after a certain age. And you certainly don’t see as many people dressed up as Dinsey characters after the age of 16. Those who do, are often in more sexualized versions of the costume to make it more “adult appropriate”.

I think this is something that is getting better as more people come to the attitude of “why should I stop doing what I enjoy, just because I am older?” And with the prevalence of the extreme cases of people doing this (i.e. Bronies, who are adult men obsessed with My Little Ponies sometimes to the extreme of sexualizing the animated ponies), being an adult that just enjoys watching cartoons isn’t quite as shocking.

I sort of like Spongebob Squarepants. Now, I’m not clamoring over myself to keep up with new episodes or buying the merchandise. Mostly I like it because it is mindless, but not annoyingly so. It is like Family Guy/American Dad for kids. Saying I like American Dad or Family Guy seems more normal than saying I like Spongebob. Both with American Dad/Family Guy and Spongebob, they are more like white noise. I put them on while doing something else because I enjoy it enough that it provides a nice sort of background thing, but doesn’t demand so much attention that it distracts from whatever else I’m doing. And yet, one seems more acceptable than the other.

There are a lot of shows, games, and other things that have come out for kids now that seem so cool. I mean, sometimes I’m jealous that I was born twenty years earlier than their release. I mean, they different kinds of Monopoly alone these days is crazy. Apples to Apples was a game I really enjoyed too, (it is basically like Cards Against Against Humanity for kids). And now it seems like a kid game.

There are so many people that talk about how they like babysitting because it is an excuse to have tea parties, watch Disney movies, etc. So, I think that in the end, more than sex, people secretly like but won’t admit that they like kid’s stuff.

Post 176: Why Ross Wouldn't be My Friend

I don't like Ross. When Rachel got off the plane to be with him. I was more than a little upset. She was giving up a major opportunity to be with a guy who clearly did not appreciate her work or support her dreams. I mean, she didn't say she was going to stay in France forever. And he considered moving to England to be with Emily, but decided not to because of Ben. But Ben is older now and Emma, his other child who is younger so less able to travel to visit him, would likely be going with Rachel. Really, if he cared about her, he would have encouraged her to go live her dreams. She was really excited about going and it was a great opportunity. If it continued, I would be willing to bet that she resented him for keeping her from that opportunity.  He showed little to no growth, he never stopped being possessive of her and clearly never learned how important her work is to her. None of the things that they fought about in the past are resolved, it is only a matter of time before they come up again except now she will have this major opportunity weighing against them.

Anyway, here are a few of the reasons I dislike Ross. Though, there are many more. 

Cheater:

The whole "we were on a break" thing for starters. Psychology Today defines a break as "not a breakup: It's a pause from the other person—a period to think without having to be around the other person during the thinking period." As Rachel said "we should take a break" the implication is that it is, in fact, a break not a break up. And, therefore, they were technically still together and Ross cheated. His constant insistence that "we were on a break" doesn't help this either, because even in that he says "we were on a break" not "we were broken up". 

Also, some people have said it was never even decided on. She said, "Look, maybe we should take a break....from us." And then he stormed out. So, it was technically left at "maybe".

Now, as it is a bit of a misunderstanding where he took it to mean broken up, not on a break. It could be argued that it wasn't really cheating. 

If we take out the "we were on a break" thing, Ross still doesn't have the best romantic track record in that regard. He said Rachel's name at his wedding with Elizabeth. He cheated on Julie with Rachel. He cheated on Bonnie with Rachel.  When on a date with another woman, he spent most of the night flirting with his ex-wife. He kissed Charlie despite her being with Joey. Despite dating Mona, he said he would marry Rachel when he found she was pregnant. 

Even if it is taken as a break up rather than a break, he waited less than three hours before sleeping with someone else. And it wasn't just someone else, it was someone that both his closest friends also liked. 

Hypocritical: 

Despite being a cheater himself, he is constantly controlling and overprotective of his girlfriends and love interests without taking into consideration how they feel. He follows Elizabeth, his college age girlfriend, on Spring Break. Because he doesn't trust her not to cheat on him. He embarrasses Rachel in front of a guy she is talking to and throws away phone messages for her from other guys when they are not even dating. When they are dating, he constantly embarrasses her at work and is incredibly paranoid about her even spending time with other guys, which leads to them needing to take a break to begin with. He even considers having one of her love interests departed even though she and Ross hadn't even gone on a date. 

Meanwhile, as he gets upset at Rachel for talking to a male coworker, he is going out to strip clubs. When Elizabeth is rightly worried about him spending time with his first love, ex-girlfriend (who I believe he has actually dated on and off like three times at this point), and closest female friend who also happens to be the person whose name he said at the their wedding, he says he won't do it. Actually, he says he will do it and that he won't spend as much time with her, but then does anyway. He practically asks Rachel to quit her job so she won't be around Mark, and she never even went on a date with him and last he knew Mark was seeing someone else. 

He is constantly talking about work. He does not leave it alone and is constantly trying to get his friends to come to his talks and other talks about his subject area. He practically has an emotional breakdown trying to get them ready to go to a work dinner. He interrupts his first date with Rachel to go to work and constantly puts work first. He expects her to understand that he takes his work seriously, but cannot be bothered to even fake interest in hers. He insists on going with Rachel to a fashion talk (just so she won't go with Mark) pretending he is interested, but then gets bored and basically acts like a child trying to get her attention for the first few minutes and then falls asleep. When she brings up the talk she went to with him and her lack of interest, he basically responds "well, that talk was interesting". He doesn't even concede that they like different things. 

When his child comes over with a Barbie, after picking it out himself, he spends the entire time that Ben is there with him trying to manipulate his son into picking a more "masculine" toy. Considering we learn that he actually used to dress up as a woman, that is even more hypocritical. Other than being against his son having a Barbie, he also ends firing his daughter's male nanny because it seemed weird to him. Despite the fact that the nanny was perfect otherwise and got along great with Emma. 

Insecurities and Overconfidence: 

Based on his insecurities and inability to trust that his girlfriend won't cheat him if given the choice, you'd really think he wouldn't be as overconfident as he is. Rachel makes it very clear that she thinks what he did was cheating, so when she calls to meet with him the fact that he just assumed that she had stopped being crazy and realized life without him sucks is presumptuous (exact quote is: "Well, maybe the crazy fog has lifted and she realizes that life without me.... a-sucks..." from The One With the Tiny T-Shirt). 

And then after they sleep together and she gets pregnant, she tells him she wants to talk to him. She wants to talk to him, because she is pregnant but he assumes it is because he is just too good a lover (I guess?) that women can't just sleep with him once (exact quote is: "I’m just not the type of guy women can have just one night with. Y’know, they-they always seem to want a little bit more." from The One Where Rachel Tells...). Despite the fact that they have slept with each other on more than one occasion while dating. 

This comes a lot with his relationship to his parents. They constantly brag about him and are far more supportive of him than of Monica. In only the second episode of the show their parents are over and basically tell Monica that she isn't made to do great things like Ross is and they go on for along time, with him right there. He literally says nothing. When they go home and it turns out that their father used Monica's boxes of memories to create a wall to protect his Porsche, he helps move his stuff into Monica's boxes (though, clearly doesn't remember their childhood well enough to know what she was actually like). He still makes it about himself wanting to hear his dad tell him about he is a medical marvel while they work. He then gets upset that Monica gets the Porsche instead of him because of it. 

He is incapable of admitting he made a mistake. He gets married to Rachel when they are drunk and instead of getting divorced, he lies to her and tells her he did it because he doesn't want to be "three divorce guy". After their break up, he had a chance to get back together with her if he admitted it was his fault. Which it was. He was the one whose insecurities, jealousy, and lack of respect for her work led to the their constant fighting and the break. On the break, while she contemplated getting back together with him, he slept with someone else. Even if he didn't think he cheated, she made it clear she thought he did and he never apologized for hurting her that way. Most of their fighting about it and running joke for the next season or so was him asserting that "we were on a break". Not, "I made assumptions that we were broken up and that was wrong". He would rather be "right" and deny any culpability, than be with her. Even after he showed up at her office for their anniversary, despite her saying she was too busy, he took over her whole desk and accidentally lit things on fire. He got in her way, he distracted her, he could have burned down the office and when she gets home exhausted after he expects her to apologize for asking him to leave and doesn't see how what he did was wrong or obtrusive in any way.



When she had dreams about the other guys in their friend  group he was jealous but then he practically jumped her while she was having a dream about him. As if the dream was consent to actually do something. She didn't want to sleep with Joey or Chandler after dreaming about them, so why would she want to sleep with him? Honestly, with this in mind rewatching the show makes more sense why he is possessive of her, she exists as his ideal. He always liked her because of her looks and so when it comes to her personality when they are actually together, they often clash (he expresses at multiple points that he thinks she isn't very bright, she is spoiled, and is often vain). He keeps other guys from getting her and doesn't want her with anyone else, even when he is with someone else for that reason. This I think comes up in the fact that he kept count of every time they had sex, which seems really weird and not normal.

Bad Father:

There were 236 episodes of Friends. Of those, Ross's son Ben only appears in 24 of them. Of those 24, one of them involves Ross entrusting the care of a then infant Ben to Joey and Chandler, who leave him on the bus. In another he leaves Ben with Rachel, who couldn't even look after his monkey for one night without losing him. Despite Ben only being in a few episodes, Ross uses his son to get out of things by claiming to watch him to get out of things. He says he can't move to England because of Ben, but he got married without Ben so it doesn't seem like Ben is that big a factor in his life. And then after he has Emma with Rachel, we essentially never see Ben again. 

Emma is also very rarely seen and even when she is seen, she is seen just as often with other friends in the group that Ross. In fact, Joey seems to have a closer relationship with her than Ross. And Ross seemed to have no issue with Emma going to Paris with Rachel. In fact, all of his concerns were around Rachel going. Not once did he bring up being separated from his daughter, or show any indication that he was going to spend any time with his daughter before she went to Paris with her mom or that he had any plans to visit her. 

I mean, Emma was staying with Rachel's mom while she got settled in Paris. Why wouldn't the child's father be the one watching her? Why couldn't he be the one to take her to Paris? Better yet, why isn't he the one taking her? He is her father, shouldn't he actually be acting like it? 

Post 175: QD: "What is the funniest reason you have been sent home from school?"

Recently I saw a question come through on Quora that asked "what is the funniest reason you have been asked to pick up your child from school?" After that I started to think about the reasons I was sent home from school when I was younger.

Three, in particular, stood out. Though, I don't know if any of them would be considered funny. All stories are based on a combination of my memory of the events and what I've heard about the event. I cannot guarantee that they are 100% factual, as memories from when I was young are not always clear.

The first is when I was relatively young and still had some of my baby teeth. One of them was starting to come out and I could tell it was loose. I told the teacher but she didn't believe me and wouldn't let me go to the nurse. I didn't leave it alone and eventually ended up sort of just...pulling it out all the way. Which led to a fair amount of blood coming from my mouth. So, I remember walking towards the teacher with my tooth in hand and blood dripping out of my mouth, because I was a drama queen, and asked to go to the nurse. I don't remember if I was sent home, but I know I didn't go back to music class that day.

I don't know what it was about music class, but the second story also happened in music class. I think, even the same class, which explains why the teacher might not have believed me when I said I didn't feel well. To be fair, my tooth actually did come out, so it wasn't like I lied about that. Anyway, I said I didn't feel well, and once again I was not allowed to go to the nurse. So, about five minutes later, I threw up on the xylophone that I had been assigned to play. After that, I was allowed to go to the nurse. I remember the teacher practically dragging me by the collar down the hall while shoving a garbage can into my stomach as we went. They sent me home for sure after that.

To be clear, I didn't choose to throw up on the xylophone. It was a music circle and we randomly got instruments and I was playing and then...it just sort of happened without much warning.

If I remember correctly, I was fairly sick and my mom had an event so I just slept underneath the registration table. But that might have been a different time I was sick.

My mom says I used to say I was sick a lot, in particular on school days. But that was before I knew I was lactose intolerant and the school only had the option of a tiny like 1/4 cup juice box or a pint of milk. And I liked milk and there was more of it, so I got that. And sometimes I would trade some of my fries or food for my friends' milk because they didn't want it. So, it could be that I was suffering the effects of lactose intolerance, but it could just be that I didn't want to be in class because I had ADD and got bored easily.

The third time that I remember being sent home, I was not sick. I was on my way to school, I'd been riding on a scooter and I guess I fell in a puddle? I don't even really remember falling. But apparently I arrived at school (on time) but covered in mud and so the teachers/nurse insisted that I had to go home and change if not also shower. At the time my mom worked pretty far away and could really just leave to take me home to change, especially because we lived like five blocks away at most. So, she gave them permission to take me home and (I think) it was an office aid who ended up driving me home. I vaguely remember the car, but mostly I remember thinking the entire way home, "I hope the door isn't locked, because I don't have my key and how am I supposed to explain that". Thankfully, it wasn't locked. I think my stepdad was home but had been on a conference call or something so I couldn't call him? I don't really remember. But it worked out because after I changed I was able to actually find my key and then the lady from school drove me back.

My clothes were pretty messy, but it was not all that bad and I probably would have dried just fine. Meanwhile, one day on my way home I was so drenched it looked like I jumped in the pool fully dressed. Which I ended up actually doing just because by the time I got home it was like, "why not? And then I can say I've done it". Part of the reason was because the crosswalks were low and curbs were high and the city didn't usually get much rain so they were backed up pretty high with water. Like up to my knees. A lot of people walked in the road to try to avoid some of the water.

If I had been on my way to school, they definitely would have sent me home to change again. But I wasn't, so it worked out. Those are really the main times I remember being sent home that aren't just a very basic "was sick, was sent home".

I do remember being sick for like a week and I missed school because I had bronchitis and then when I went back, for three days following my return I wasn't allowed to cook in Foods class. And if I so much as coughed or sniffled or yawned the following week and a half, I wasn't allowed to cook that day either. But I wasn't sent home. I just had to sit at the table and do nothing. It was not unlike study hall or detention, which was so frustrating because it was the last class of the day! I'd have much rather gone home.

Post 174: What’s next? Pineapple Pepsi?

There is a bit of fitness and health trend that has led to less people drinking soda and more people avoiding artificial sweeteners. Which isn’t great for the soda industry. In response, a lot of soda companies are making some pretty weird flavors. Pepsi has come out with Mango, Berry, and Lime. I get lime. Restaurants often had a lime or lemon to your drink, so it is often associated with cola. Mango and berry…seem pretty weird. I have now tried both Mango and Berry. Berry is okay, it isn’t that different from cherry. It tastes kind of like you are drinking Pepsi and eating gummy worms at the same time. Mango was not bad, really. Or good. I have had the Pepsi Mango (591mL) bottle for over a week. I’m starting to get concerned it will go bad before I finish it. It is just too very strong, very sweet flavors competing. It definitely tastes like mango, with kind of a chemically cola aftertaste and a weird fizziness.  It was weird.

Coca Cola also game out with new flavors. Including six different flavors of Diet Coke, each seeming weirder than the last. The newest are strawberry guava and blueberry acai. I haven’t tried either, and have not been eager to try either, despite liking strawberry. The other flavors are ginger lime, twisted mango, zesty blood orange, and feisty cherry. Orange and lime aren’t too weird. They tie into the citrus flavor that is not uncommonly associated with cola. The mango isn’t as sweet as the Pepsi Mango. Feisty cherry is like a cinnamon cherry flavor. It is weird. It’s like a slightly spicy version of diet cherry coke.  There was also raspberry Coca Cola. Which is a really similar flavor profile to Pepsi Berry. There is also a lime Coca Cola and they brought back a vanilla Coca Cola.

Overall, I don’t think I actually really like any of them. I like Feisty Cherry probably the most of all of the ones that I have tried. But maybe I would actually like the Diet Coke Strawberry Guava, Diet Coke Blueberry Acai, or Pepsi Lime.  I don’t know. Overall, the new flavors seem weird more than anything else.