Barbie: A Father's View -or- Don't give my kid Barbies

So when Kath and Lu got home from Gparents' house yesterday, there was a package on the porch for her (a bag, actually): the next door neighbors had gifted her 4 barbie dolls. Let's see, there was cinderella, and one in a short little red number with ripped nylons, and a ballerina, and a punky chick with a choker necklace and a black cat T-shirt. Oh, and a skirt too tight to move her legs around much.

There are a couple of assumptions on the neighbor's part here. I won't get into the prideful ones about us not being able to afford barbies, but what about parenting? Most likely we've all heard this before, but for those who haven't, humour me for a moment (the extra U was for Rachel)... Let's see: they all had blonde hair, their feet are shaped so that they can ONLY wear high heels (they show off the calves), and if I've been told correctly (haven't researched this)- the doll has breasts so big that if she were a real woman, she wouldn't be able to walk without toppling (especially since she would ONLY wear heels).

I'm not exactly Gloria Steinem, but we do try to model a little bit of equality for Lucy, and the ideas of feminist thinkers became more important to me the day I got married and even more the day my daughter was born.

Should women not be allowed to look dainty and precious? What do I have against high heels? Is there something wrong with blonde hair? No, of course all of these things (maybe not the hair) are choices that women can make, and of course are none of my business. But it's the unspoken-ness of the assumptions being "given" to my daughter by the (admittedly well-meaning) neighbors that isn't right.

In the same way that assumptions are made about me as a man (on a train once, in the dining car, a girl got up from the table she was sitting at, and went to get something from her seat. The man she was sitting with added alcohol to her coke, nodding at the guys sitting around and saying something to the effect of 'we are all guys, right?'.), and if I want to combat them I have to overcompensate, perhaps women should think about some of the 'Barbie choices' before they wonder why glass ceilings and objectifying attitudes exist?

I'm sure I'm in way over my head here, but I remember some church-going, smart women friends of mine in graduate school, who suddenly wore almost nothing and turned their brains off when we headed to a dance club. That's not what I want for my daughter.

"That's a collectible car, and Lucy was playing with it..."

Still early today, but already, we've gone yardsaling. (it's without the "i" because we were not in fact sailing, but going to sales). Got a nice Pace cycling cap for a dollar, and then got Lu a whole baggy of legos for another dollar (different sale). But even better, I got to cherrypick the best of a whole cardboard box for her bag (windows, doors, a little lego mouse, two horses, that kind of thing). Feeling a little bit of psychosis drawing me in with those legos... don't be a crazy parent, don't be a crazy parent...

Lu and Kath made cupcakes yesterday. Did you hear that, Rachel? THEY made me cupcakes!

All for now. Lucy was up til late last night. Oh, and while we drove around this morning? She cut her Barbies' hair. That deserves another post. I'll do that next.

Last Day of School

7:30am Hey, if anyone's waiting to surprise me with a job offer, today would be a good day. Last day here at Salem High for the summer. Reminds me of those inspirational posters, "today is the first day of the rest of your life" or some such.

There's the bell. Time to go see if we can retreive books the students haven't returned yet.

11:57am The kids are all gone now. So we're clipping locks and looking for books in lockers. I have some enthusiastic little helpers that do most of the work while I use the... what are they even called? Lock clippers?

It's at least something to do while we wait for the end of the day to come.

PS: We got to do the top two floors. I got a North Face backpack and some clear safety glasses. Cool. And I learned about locks. Hardened steel? It's not really harder to cut through- just more brittle. For safety in a lock, you're much better to make sure you get the smallest lock that will work, so that it is as close as possible to impossible to get those bolt-cutter teeth around the locking part. The one lock we couldn't break had just a tiny bit of the locking part exposed. But we had a very hard time with tiny little locks intended for briefcases or diaries, too! Just my two cents.

Willowdale FYI...

This is for informational and safety purposes only. (I say this because I'm sure this map is copyrighted somewhere- it is a state map).

If you're going to ride WSF, please check out the areas I've circled. The beaver dam has blocked off a trail that appears perfectly clear on the map, just after the circle of trail INSIDE the circle I've drawn. It can be crossed if the beavers don't get surly, but I highly advise you to just used the place marked "go this way".

The other area is on the other side of Rt. 1. This used to be one of my favorite sections of singletrack, but it is now seriously overgrown BECAUSE the thin bridge that used to cross over the end of the swamp was washed away by spring rain/floods/whatever. You're much better off to just follow the backroad until you're beyond the swamp (you can't miss it on your left while you go down the road.).

Keep it in mind.

Robbing from Peter to pay Paul...

Aaaargh! I feel like my head is going to explode from the pressure. Man, kids are great, but the $ that needs to flow in to keep a family going... I just wish I had access to more of it. Not for greedy reasons, but you have to pay the piper, y'know? The thing is, half the time I don't even like his piping! And yet, he still needs to be paid. (sigh)

Doldrums

Is the title the correct word for the time between when the winds blow? I'm waiting to hear about a couple of different opportunities right now, and it just seems like nothing at all is happening. Grr. I don't like that. In this day and age when communication is so instant and easy, why does it still take as long as it used to, for people to respond, as long as it did when we used the rotary dial telephones?

I'm an impatient man. Learning, but impatient.

No, No, a thousand times No.

We did not throw things away. But I did get to go on a trail ride with my daughter, so that's something, right? Frankly, I was a little confused by the whole thing, but we did get some cute pictures out of it. When I'm on home computer maybe I'll update this post with those pics. Not now though.

Still foggy outside. Beautiful day for a hike. Saw friends Grant and Sandy from Seminary yesterday. That was a surprise...

Computers and Housecleaning

Oh, crazy Sunday. Our friend Amy came over and tried to fix our computer (we're on her borrowed one now). Of course we ran into a snag. How didn't we see that coming? Now I'm checking the interweb quickly, then we're going to do some house cleaning.

Now, for us, this generally means throwing away the stuff we don't need or want. Why do we have it in the first place? Am I a packrat? Is Kathy? Are we like those people on Hoarders: Buried Alive on whatever network that is?

No. We have a source, an irresistable source, of all this stuff. I'll leave it to your imagination what this source might be, but from this source comes mounds and mounds of THINGS. And let me tell you, with a four year old at home, we need as few things as possible, because whatever we do have goes in every direction, every day, all over the house.

Toys that Lu doesn't like? Old shoes we don't actively wear? Boxes of stickers I promised I'd use "someday"? See ya. We don't have time or room. It's a good feeling.

So that's what the rest of my evening will look like. Then back to class. A happy Sunday evening to you all.

Congratulations go out to Friends Jim and Julie on the birth of their new baby.

App Preview: Mountain Bike Boston

So here's the first taster of what this thing is going to look like on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or whatever.

You can see from the above (in a way) that there are 60 entries to start off with (I can add more and edit after you've bought the app, and I will). The price is planned to be 99 cents, so don't walk, RUN to the app store and buy it without a second thought. Go! Now! (it's not out yet, I'm kidding).

You will be able to sort by various groups within these entries. I don't know all of them off the top of my head, but they are things like "dirt roads" or "Essential after-ride" or "Rugged or Unsigned Destinations", so that you can search for exactly the sort of experience you're looking for. I, for example, usually like less gnarly, faster, twistier trails. A dirt road park is a good place for me. I tend to want to explore more than follow a map. So I'd lean towards the rugged, unsigned. If you love trails where every intersection is marked, there are parks like that, and a group to search for them. (Bradley Palmer and Willowdale SF are good for you).

Because of the smartphone capabilities, I can put in a location, and the GPS in the phone will get you there. That's exciting, because it means I don't have to give you directions to get to the parks- the hardest part for both of us. Perhaps in the future I can get my own GPS and be able to identify parts of each park by their exact co-ordinates. Let's get this thing on sale first.



Again, will let you know the minute you can buy this thing.

Ps. added later: There are also many, many photos of the parks as part of each entry. Each entry you see above has an "icon" the most symbolic photo for each place, but within the entry, there are additional slideshows of the parks to orient you to what you'll see when you arrive, at the trailhead, etc. These too will be added as the summer progresses.

Change of Name

Just a quick note to let you know that we've dropped the 60X60 construction from the name of my app. What if it grows? (I already have about 11 new trails to add) Then is it supposed to be 75X60?

So anyway, now it is to be called Mountain Bike Boston. You know, like a command: (You!) Mountain bike Boston!

Happy that it's friday. think I'll try to take a ride this evening. Once I get home from work, though, it's so easy to just go along with whatever K and Lu are doing...

Over and out. For now.

App Update

I am almost ready, at long last, to publish my iPhone application, entitled: Boston 60X60. It includes 60 trails within one hour of downtown Boston. You should be able to check it out on the iTunes store very soon. (I know, I'm giddy- me, on iTunes).

Explanation of Name!

I should probably explain. I told myself I wouldn't use a cryptic quote. That I'd name my blog something common sense, like "My little pink notebook" (I really have one) or "Things I've seen", but then I remembered an old song that I love called "Travelog" (get it?) by Daniel Amos (that's a band, not a person).

Travelog

©1984 Twitchen Vibes Music (ASCAP)

This river channels out to my private shore
My boat's a magic couch on remote control
Confused, I now consult my jungle guide
Departure times, best bets, and four stars that shine
As I...

Bask in the blue light
Of my...Travelog

I laugh, I cry, I space each half an hour
Rerun sweet memories of days gone by
I'm given sixty seconds to catch my breath again
To me you sell your vision-

Here in my blue light
Of my...Travelog

Death on the battlefield, through flood and fire
I navigate my ship to worlds unknown
A black robed man now greets me 'neath southern skies
To him I make confession, from me he takes collection

Lost in the blue light
Found in the blue light
Here in the blue light
Of my...Travelog

Again, I love this song. I dedicate this blog to the song and the band, not TV. I watch it, but I don't worship it.