Bed Head Hokie

I get the phone call from Ashley at NBC..."I'll be there in 15 minutes!" Thank goodness I threw on my special (needs) Target tshirt, pried open my crusty eyeballs, and let my hair go au naturale. I love being on TV in my natural state. No putt'in on airs for me. Nope. Oh, that Gina! She's so comfortable with her appearance, that she can roll out of bed and in front of a camera without so much as a wince or a sigh...

My Favorite A. I. Contestant Ever.

They say he is stupid. They say he is a stoner. They say he isn't talented.

"A Happy life Consists Not In The Absence, But The Mastery Of Hardships"

I went on a teensy weensy shopping trip this weekend. Just to try and cheer myself up. Boy, Bad idea. Now I'm broke , exhausted, and still down in the dumps. Actually, I feel fantastic but I'm trying to cover up the fact that I'm one of those women that needs retail therapy to snap out of a funk. It worked. I'm super thrilled.



Bfriend got his hair cut by Dusan, who looks and acts gay but isn't...



And Baby really stuck it to me on this trip. This child will eventually grow up to be a typical guy. One that hates shopping with a passion. Feels its a waste of time. His future girlfriends are really not going to like that too much. Anyhow, Baby threw himself on the floor screaming multiple times today. Back arching, snot flying, he even started chewing on his hand he was so mad that every balloon, every toy, everything wasn't his for the taking. He even threw a fake apple at a little girl in Pottery Barn Kids. She had a fake pineapple and wouldn't give it to him. I was very close to carving out my reproductive organs with plastic cutlery at the food court. I actually debated trading my son for 10 pairs of shoes at Neiman Marcus because they don't take Visa. Alas, the sales help didn't go for it. They probably thought I was kidding! HAhahaha.



Got a fun tiny game for ya'll-

What famous person said these words at an Award show?

"Make...me...beautiful...duet!"

An Article in 'The Chronicle of Higher Learning' Yesterday

Dispute Arises at Virginia Tech Over a Professor's Comments on the Shootings and the Provost's Response

A business-school professor at Virginia Tech who used last spring's massacre as an example in a lecture on risk is at the center of a minor dustup at a university scarred by the tragedy. The professor says his academic freedom has been stifled. The university says it is being sensitive to the needs of a traumatized student body.

On August 20, Vittorio A. Bonomo, a tenured associate professor of finance at Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business, began his first class of the semester, "Survey of Investments," by asking the 40-odd students in the course if they would prefer that he lock the classroom door -- a new security feature put in place in response to the April tragedy.

From there, he said, the discussion led seamlessly to one of the fundamentals of the class: how to evaluate risk when making investments. "Risk arises from a lack of good information," he said he told his students. For example, he said, locking the doors only diminished the class's risk if a shooter was outside the classroom, rather than inside. Without knowledge of who or where the shooter was, he explained, the risk to students in a locked or unlocked classroom was the same.

Mr. Bonomo's example then took a more concrete turn, when he openly criticized the university's handling of the April 16 shootings, in which a gunman killed two students in a dormitory, then a few hours later killed 30 more students and faculty members in Norris Hall, a classroom building.

By waiting over two hours before notifying students of the initial shootings, the professor told his class, the university had increased the risk for students and others on the campus that morning. The same type of monitoring that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission conducts of companies' financial reporting should also apply to the university, he said. If his own grandson had been in Norris Hall because information about his risk had been withheld, he told his students, he would have sued the university.

The next day, Mr. Bonomo said, he received word through his department head that his lecture had prompted complaints from students, and he was told he should apologize for his statements.

At the next meeting of his class, last Wednesday, the provost, Mark G. McNamee, was there waiting for him, the professor said. Mr. Bonomo said he began the class session by saying he was sorry if his lecture had offended any students, but added that he stood by his example as an appropriate illustration of investment risk. "I don't admit I did anything wrong," he said.

According to Mr. Bonomo, the provost told the class that most members of the university community had been cooperative in helping Virginia Tech move on from last spring's tragedy, but that he was there to talk about an exception. Mr. Bonomo said the provost apologized to the class for the professor's remarks and assured them that such an incident would not happen again. Incensed at the perceived rebuke, Mr. Bonomo told his students soon afterward that he would no longer teach the class and left the classroom, he recalled.

The provost's account of what was said in that class session differed. Mr. McNamee described his visit to the classroom, and the comments that precipitated it, as a "minor situation" that resulted from one student complaint. He said he visited Mr. Bonomo's class to inform any students who might have been upset of the counseling and other resources available on campus, and did not in any way reprimand Mr. Bonomo.

Mr. McNamee said he interpreted Mr. Bonomo's preliminary comments to the class as a voluntary apology. "In my view, that was the end of it," he said, adding that he was surprised to hear later that Mr. Bonomo had decided not to return to class. "He's more distressed than I would have thought," he said.

"We have great respect for academic freedom," said Mr. McNamee. "He can talk about any topic he wants."

Mr. McNamee said that the university has held workshops for faculty and staff members and has offered suggestions to them for dealing with the aftermath of the massacre. But, he said, "we were very careful not to try to impose on the faculty members what they should or should not say." He said the university encouraged faculty members to discuss the shootings. "But we're asking people to be sensitive to how students might react."

At an institution with 1,400 faculty members and 26,000 students, said Mr. McNamee, the controversy over Mr. Bonomo's lecture was the only incident reported to him during the first two weeks of the new school year.

Mr. Bonomo, who has taught 39 years at Virginia Tech and earned a prestigious teaching award there, the Wine Award, said he is not sure whether or not he will return to the classroom.

"I cannot teach in an environment where a discussion of how what the government does -- and the university is a government entity -- affects risk or investment decisions is off-limits," he said. "If those things are off-limits to me, and I don't know what is off-limits, I'm not comfortable in front of a classroom."

In the meantime, his classes have been assigned to a substitute.

Like Mr. Bonomo, some students in the class interpreted the provost's comments as a rebuke.

"I don't think it was handled properly," said a graduate student in the course who asked not to be named and who called the provost's actions "harsh." He said Mr. Bonomo's example may not have been the best one but added, "Students and faculty have a right to voice their opinion. I don't think he should have been reprimanded."

"Part of the healing process is talking about it," said the student, who had helped students escape Norris Hall during the April 16 shootings. "It might be a little soon to talk about it, but it can't hurt to start."

While many on the campus were unaware of the incident, some faculty members have taken umbrage at the perceived threat to academic freedom. One associate professor in the School of Architecture and Design, David Dugas, wrote in an e-mail message to Virginia Tech's president, Charles W. Steger, that the incident had "profoundly shaken" his "faith in the position of the university regarding academic freedom."

"That the provost saw fit to enter a classroom and deliver a message that was ultimately humiliating to the faculty member," wrote Mr. Dugas, "is beyond my comprehension, as it was to many of the students who were present. To my mind, humiliating someone in public is a species of violence that we as a university community cannot tolerate under any circumstances."

So that's the article. Whew. Sorry no knitting content today.

CNN called and wants to interview my Dad on camera tomorrow.

Llama Luv

My love for fiber extends far and wide...

Fun Night, Hot Man

Tonight Knitless and I walked to lane stadium and watched the benefit concert put on by Dave Mathews. John Mayer performed and I squealed like a 16 year old. Reminded me of the Duran Duran and Van Halen days...I promise I'll post knitting content tomorrow. My ears are ringing and I need to get some shut eye.

The Results.

Why do I have this picture on my blog? Not sure. I found it on Facebook and it happens to have 3 of my X-boyfriends from highschool in the front row, so it makes me smile. Such hot teenage boys.

Anyway,
The results are normal. The baby does not have Down Syndrome. Thank you to all my friends and well wishers for helping me get through the hardest time of my life. What am I going to do this weekend? Go buy amazingly sexy maternity clothes. I find out the rest of the details next week, like the sex. Then I can start knitting.

How One Blanket Found It's Home

Today I loaded the 32 Hokie Healing blankets into the back of my car and went over to the Va. Tech basketball arena. The crew and I spread them all out and from 1pm to 3pm, anyone could come and view them. Things were going along smoothly. There didn't seem to be alot of crying, just quiet. Lots of quiet. I walked around looking at the blankets, smiled at the folks, joked with the regulars. I was sitting on the sidelines watching my Baby run around when a pleasant looking woman sat herself down next to me.
"Are you the one responsible for all of this?" she timidly asked.
" It was my idea. But everyone else did most of the work, really." was my modest standard reply.
"Well, it's a wonderful idea. My daughter was killed that day. This means so much to us."
We continued to talk for about 20 minutes. Everything that came out of my mouth seemed wrong. Seemed cliche. Seemed ridiculous.
"Before you leave, you and your husband, please look over the blankets and pick the one you want and take it home today. I want you to find one that speaks to you."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, totally sure. To know that you were able to pick the one that reminds you most of your daughter...the one that gives you the most comfort...that would make alot of people very happy."
So she did. She and her husband slowly walked amongst the 32 blankets, leaning in close sometimes, touching them. They finally decided on one and she and I got on opposite ends of it and folded it up. I handed it to her. We hugged. And she didn't let go. She collapsed into intense sobbing as I held her. I've never felt such sadness pour into my heart. She held on and cried for a good 2 minutes before she let go. I hugged the tearful Father, not much older than me, his eyes were so weary. They thanked me, turned and left. I have to be honest, I'm changed. I don't know how yet, but I'll never be the same.

Because I Can! A week's worth of Socks.

My Next Project

Hence...a fence.

I went to the Gap yesterday to buy Baby some more clothes. (I buy for him now. Not for me.) I usually like their clothes. Usually. Then I spotted their newest arrivals in the front of the store. What, to my wondering eyes did appear? Lovely, sexy, Camouflage. Blaze Orange. Hum. Right. I want to dress my child like a hunter. A man that goes out into the forest and stalks Bambi and then kills it. The last "theme" the Gap had was "Welcome to San Francisco". Again, a little on the controversial side. Why can't they just focus on soccer and bumble bees? Am I just too sensitive right now? Overly emotional due to a cracked out few months? Possibly. But needless to say, I didn't buy any new no clothes for him. Instead, I shuffled down to Old Navy and bought some "surfer" stuff. (so now he's dressed like a pot-smoke'in surfer dude? I can't win). I know that my desperation in helping project a certain image to the world for baby is a waste of time. I just want him to have a peaceful life, people to be nice to him, and not stuff him in a trash can. But, alas, it's his life. I can't control it. No matter how badly I want and need to.

Moving on! I decided on the Chevron scarf from "Last Minute Gifts" for my Fleece Artist yarn. It's turning out sweet. But it's a race against time before boredom sets in...story of my life.



This afternoon, my Dad and Bfriend measured the yard for a fence to keep the Baby and Purl inside the compound. (again, trying to control). I have nightmares of both of them getting run over. They are so unbelievably wound up. Baby is like a Whirling Dervish and Purl is a Tazmanian Devil...hence fence.

Eye Spy a Shrug Redux from Scarf Style!