The Rabbit-Hole

In a buffalo stance

I am in Louisville, Kentucky, this week for College Board AP exam scoring. Being here opens up some tremendous opportunities, only part of which are related to my teaching. One opportunity that I’m determined to make the best of is the local bourbons. In the hotel I’m staying in, they have 120 bourbons at their Johnny Silks bourbon bar. I want to try at least 8.

Tonight I tried Buffalo Trace, the first on my list. I sipped it both straight and with a bit of ice. Straight there seemed to be a good deal of front-end burn, but the ice mellowed it nicely. The burn became spice and the caramel flavors enhanced. Since I’m not a bourbon connoisseur, I am limited in what I can say about it. I hope that after I try a few more, my palate will become more nuanced. But this newbie would liken Buffalo Trace to Knob Creek. Smooth and a bit sweet. Personally, this is my kind of bourbon. I’d love to have a bottle for drinking on summer nights.

While enjoying my bourbon, I met another AP reader named Will from Florida. In his third retirement, he teaches part-time community college, among other jobs. He mentioned his wife is a counselor/administrator at a middle school. It’s her job to decide whether a student is ready to advance. In regards to this, he made an interesting point about advancing students who aren’t academically ready:

“Take a kid who has repeated 8th grade so many times that he’s now 16. He can drive. He’s going on 17 and he’s asking the 13 year-old girls in class if they want to take a drive with him, look at the stars. People don’t want to support social advancement, but at a certain point, it is too detrimental not to move the kid on to the next level.” Creepy thought.

I want a semi-permanent tattoo. And Kyle should too.

Scientists need to develop a tattooing process that lasts 5-10 years. Not only could you avoid the droopy Mickey Mouse breast tattoo when 60 years of gravity takes its toll, but as the ways we sport our identity change, so can the affectation.

Now, some tattoo artists claim to have a semi-permanent ink or alternatively a process of inking closer to the surface of the skin that allows for a gradual fading of the tattoo, but apparently this is hogwash.

The best that appears to be available is a more natural ink, stored in teeny-tiny capsules under the skin, that requires only one laser treatment to remove. Meh. This isn’t quite what I was hoping for, but it at least offers a non-scam option, and on the good side, the tattoo could last as long as it was interesting to its owner.

I’ve often been struck by a desire for a tattoo, but what specific tattoo has changed over the years. At one point, I wanted the Rebel Alliance symbol to sit at the base of my neck (geek!). At another, I wanted a cheshire cat on my shoulder blade. Most recently I’ve wanted an elaborate Celtic-knot Tree of Life with a cat shaped in the branches and a rabbit in the roots to cover the majority of my back. I’d loved to have gotten them all to symbolize that particular point in time, but I’ve always known that they wouldn’t appeal to me for more than a handful of years.

A senior I had in class this year came in one day with fresh ink on his arm. It was a five-inch high, dark pink ribbon. A ribbon?! Kyle* is what I would describe as a high-fashion skater-punk. He had large gauge ear piercings and a woven, hemp necklace. Somehow the ribbon didn’t jive. But then, I lost the desire to sport the ribbon even on my jacket collar when I saw a minivan with three different magnetic ribbons showing the owner’s support for the troops, their concern over breast cancer, and their love for the U.S.A. Like sayings, even the most clever become cliche with overuse. The ribbon is about as meaningful as the LiveStrong plastic, yellow bracelet.

When I asked Kyle about the tattoo, he explained that his mother was a breast cancer survivor and that the tat was a show of love and support for her. I had great respect for his motivations but thought he could have come up with a more personal, artistic and expressive symbol to display. Were I his mom, I would even have dug the classic Mom on a heart over the pink ribbon alternative. I imagine in a few years, Kyle will wish he had waited for a better design.

*Name changed to protect the relatively innocent

Birthday goodness

My lovely husband got me an ASUS eeePC for my birthday.  This baby-sized, Linux-driven laptop is beyond adorable.  I’m hoping to make it a constant companion for writing, emailing, surfing, and generally keeping my life straight.