Random Tid bits

1. Travis and I haven't fought in a very long time. It's good, but I think it's healthy to fight every once in awhile. Last weekend was that time. No worries...we made up. It actually was in regards to Mica. If you have kids, have you ever fought about them with your spouse, ex, boyfriend or girlfriend?
   
   One morning Mica was typing a one page paper, for a homework assignment on my work laptop. Good thing: He can log on to Office365 anywhere with his school account. I was making breakfast.
   
   Mica said, "Mom I think I know a way to make this paper longer faster. I'll just bump up the font size 2 more points."
   
   I said, "No! I don't want you doing that. Just take your time to do a good job. That seems like something one of my students would do; just to get the paper to go from one page to two."
   
   Mica said, "Mom it's fine."
   
   I said, "Honey please don't do that. If anything...don't do that for me. What's the standard size?"
   
   Mica said, "She didn't specify."
   
   I said, "What size are you taught is the standard?"
   
   Mica said, "11 pt."
   
   I said, "Use that then. It used to be 12 pt when I was a kid. I teach my design students that body copy in a magazine is 9 or 10 points. If 11 pt size is what you're taught, she didn't say otherwise, you should use that size. You can always email her to ask her as well."
   
   Mica said, "Mom I'd be doing her a favor. She is older, has glasses, and can't read all these paper well."
   
   I said, "It sounds to me like you're old people shaming. Move the font size back!"
   
   Later that day:
   
   Mica said, "I'm done."
   
   I said, "Did you move the font size back to 11 pt like I said?"
   
   Mica said, "Oh I forgot. Now I can't because I sent it already."
   
   I lost it! I don't feel like I yell that much, but I was full on yelling at that point! Then Travis came in, and started yelling too.
   
   Travis said, "I think you need to stop, cool down, and Mica will learn from his mistakes. Think about how you're handling this!"
   
   I did handle it good in the morning. When he didn't listen, is when I lost it. It's like all respect went out the window for me and Mica's teacher. It seems like I don't get backed up all the time, so I was upset the rest of the day. What a way to spend a day off! The whole day Mica didn't see what the big deal was. The next day we talked it out. It's all ok now. I do think fighting has to happen in any relationship at times. Although I think Mica is still in the clouds about the whole incident.


2. Travis texted to me that the leaf Isaak and I crafted for his work won a $20 GC to Red Lobster.
   
   
   
   
   

   He texted, "Date night!"
   
   I texted back, "I don't know Isaak helped me create it. Maybe it should be a Mother Son night."
   
   He texted a grumpy emoji face back.
   
   Should Isaak and I use the gift card, should Travis and I go out on a date with it, should Isaak, Travis and I go out, or should we just use it for our whole family? Part of me was messing with him, but another part of me was thinking, Isaak deserves some of that.
   
   
3. Travis and I have been battling out what I should or shouldn't give Isaak's teacher for the holidays. I always give something! But it's hard because she's not our fav not a good teacher. I said, "What if we gave her something impersonal like school supplies? She could still use them. It's for the kids too." He was ok with that. Then my mom said, "Alissa you have to give her something fun!" I can't win!
   
   
4. I have a student that cracks me up almost every day I have him.
   
   He asked me why he doesn't have a girlfriend, and said he understands girls so well because he has 4 sisters. All while he was talking to me he was adjusting his man parts. Certainly not anything, any girl want to see!
   
   He told me he was going far for Thanksgiving to see his sister's new kid. I said, "Oh what's his name?" He said, "I don't know." I said, "You better find out!" When he got back he still didn't remember his nephew's name. He had to call his mom to ask. When he found out it was Rowen he was like, "What kind of name is that?" I said, "Someone could say the same of your name. Don't judge. Just love him, and remember his name."
   
   
5. Isaak has kind of hit a downward spiral with basketball. He gets anxious ever since his team switched from the Y to a bigger better league. I was beginning to think he was alone in feeling this, but as it turns out he's not. You can read about sports anxiety here. Now we just need to try and learn how to combat it. He was a great basketball player before!

I Wish I Had a Magic Wand

The week started out with a call from my mom saying, "Your Grandpa is in the hospital. He was driving down Dodge Street the wrong way." We're lucky he didn't get in an accident. Dodge Street is a busy street. He's in his 80's, and totally with it prior to this incident. The doctors found out he has a Urinary Tract Infection. He's been in the hospital with one of these before a few times. He doesn't remember Monday at all. Since then he's been seeing cats in his hospital room.

I picture this:

Source

My Grandpa is still seeing cats. My aunt moved his bed in hopes that the cats had something to do with the light above his bed.

I wish I could swish a magic wand in the air to make my Grandpa better. 

Yesterday I had a student show up with tears running down her face. She just had a baby a month ago. It's hard enough to go to school full time after having a baby, but she also works.

Her boyfriend is an ass! He has 5 other kids with other women. He had a job, but quit because child support was taken out of his check every week. A real stand up kind of guy! NOT! He's uber controlling.

My student had to remove her guy friends off facebook, she had to change her name to be his on facebook (they are not married), he tells my student that he doesn't want her to go to class because he does everything around their apartment, he complains about making dinner, he has hit her, and he threatened to leave if she left to go to school.

I told my student to number 1, go check on her baby. If her ass of a boyfriend threatened to leave after she left for school then that would leave the baby home alone. Then I told her I'd leave phone numbers for her to call for help, paper, and pens to try and get help in an office no one, but her could use. She left to go check on the baby at 10 AM, and didn't get back until 1 PM. I think she gave up the idea of getting help.

Some women think their emotions are running high due to postpartum issues. You and I know full aware that this dip of a boyfriend is an ass. My student is smart and kind, but not smart with the current situation she's in. She wouldn't make those phone calls. I gave her the sheets of papers with the helpful organizations, and told her to hide them. She needs support.

I stalked checked out my student's ass of a boyfriend on facebook. He said hurtful, awful things in reference to my student. Like, "It would be nice if I was made dinner every once in awhile." Hummm...she was working last night to support them. and "History repeats its self. The women in my life have to just do their own thing." Going to class is doing your own thing!? I wish I could kick his ass. All he does is watch their kid. He lives off my student's Target job, and student loans. Shaking my head!

I wish I could swish a magic wand in the air to make my my student get out of the current state she's in. 

Model Molecular Organic Chemistry Student Set Review

I recently got Model Molecular Organic Chemistry Student Set to review.

Inside it's filled with pieces. 

Set Contents: 

• 1 - Storage Box with Four Compartments
• 22 - White Hydrogen Atoms 
• 14 - Black Carbon Atoms
• 6 - Red Oxygen Atoms 
• 4 - Blue Nitrogen Atoms
• 2 - Yellow Sulfur Atoms
• 4 - Green Halogen Atoms
• 1 - Purple Phosphorus Atom
• 1 - Gray Metal Atom
• 28 - White Small Connectors
• 30 - White Medium Connectors
• 12 - Gray Long Connectors 
• 1 - Molecular Tool (For Disassembly)

It has instructions on the inside of the case that explains the pieces that you need to make different molecular structures. The company also sends a PDF that shows pictures and instructions of things to make. Their website has models on it as well.

Product Highlights:

• The set contains 54 atoms to provide students a visual, hands-on experience for learning chemistry functional groups and molecular structures.

• The durable, high quality plastic atoms are color coded to universal standards.

• Instructions are included on the inside cover to easily identify all of the atoms and connectors included in the set.

• The box contains four compartments for simple storage and organization.

• Molecular tool included to quickly disassemble molecules and atom connectors. I read that some people had trouble getting the pieces apart, but we did not. They were snug, but not difficult to get apart.

Product Description:

The Model Molecular Student Set will bring to life concepts such as chirality, conformations and isomers to help you relate the physical and chemical properties of compounds to their molecular structures.

Get hands on experience with three dimensional topics covered in Organic and General Chemistry courses such as Lewis structures, Newman projections and wedge-dash diagrams. The versatile molecular set accelerates memorization by allowing you to visually create common functional groups such as ketones, aldehydes, alcohols, thiols, amines, aromatics and most other families of organic compounds.

Cost:

$34.99, but on sale for $23.95.

What We Thought: 

My husband loves this! He asked, "Why can't you give this to me?" Then he thought that Isaak would enjoy this set along with him. Here I thought Mica would love it. Now I don't know who to give it to? It's a fight for this Christmas gift. They all would want it. If you're a regular reader you know my family, who would you give it to? Maybe Santa should just set it on the coffee table with no name. It could be a family gift.

• It's a Chemistry Set
• It's an Art Set

In my family we would totally use it to make little marquettes for little sculptures.

    
 

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free in exchange for a review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Copyright Infringement

• What happened to the days where you could just trust that art students did everything on their own?
• Yesterday I was showing my past student examples of good work. There was one campaign for the new Spider-Man on Broadway. 
• A student said to me afterward, "Hey Mrs. Apel look at this!" It was the same piece that someone turned into me for his whole campaign, on the internet! I was annoyed to say the least. He got a good grade for coping someone's work. 
• I so wish I could take grades back! Ha you don't have your degree anymore because you don't deserve it!
• Morally I just could not have done that in school. I took all my own photo's. In those days I had to walk, develop the photo's and walk again to pick them up.
• I did do something just to slap it in his face. I posted on his facebook page the link to the work found. I said, "This looks familiar!" He made some silly comment back about sending into all kinds of competitions too. Then said he was being sarcastic by the way. But I do know it ended up in his portfolio!
• The guy's girlfriend is pregnant. She had made a comment on his page saying something like, "Oh I get to handle wedding plans all day, while you get to lay around on your lazy butt." I so wanted to comment, but refrained. 
• One of my co-workers said that I should say this to him, "Did you really get your girlfriend pregnant on your own, or did you have someone help you with that too!?!" I think I'll pass on that comment, but it is super funny! 
• He knows that I know that he was a lazy, and that I'm not happy with that. I will never give him a good recommendation. 
• This is happening more and more now! I'm not sure why, or how students can justify doing that! They are ok with it! It makes me mad, but it also makes me sorry for them. They spend a lot of money to go to school; they feel the need to copy their way through it. 
• They have multiple lectures on copyright issues by the way. There is only one of me, and I don't have time to look up 40 x 3 projects on the internet every other week. Even if I did, the internet is HUGE. The possibilities of me finding what they copied is slim.

• It's kind of like when you put a bucket of candy out on the porch for Halloween time because there is only one parent home to take the kids trick or treating. 
• You have to trust each kid to take a few, and just know that one bad apple is going to come and take the whole bucket of candy for him/herself. 
• That bad apple has to live knowing that he/she did the wrong. They will probably live their whole life being a cheat! Some parents support that. They train their kids to cheat through life.