We've become so focused on college for everyone that we've shortchanged any kind of technical track in high school that would lead to high-end technical training schools for things like welding and auto mechanics.

amen. And we've created this generation that looks down on technical work because they've been told all of their lives that college is the pinnacle, and doing "manual labor" is beneath them.

And we've created this generation that looks down on technical work because they've been told all of their lives that college is the pinnacle, and doing "manual labor" is beneath them.

When S. was a teenager, he worked on a fishing boat in Cape Cod while he was up there visiting his sister. About 80% of the guys on the boat had gone to college and graduated, but they'd come back to run the business, because they liked the freedom of it, the hard work aspect of it, and not taking anything home with them at the end of the day, aside from worries about enough catches, I guess.

< perks up ears>

ha! i take it you're in the area. i'll technically be in Joliet and will probably have a little bit of free time if anyone wants to meet up. only problem is i'll be carless. i'm using a car service to get to and from the airport and relying on others to get me to places i'll need to be for wedding stuffs.

i'm unable to stop myself from looking at reasonably priced shoes. any opinions on how these would look with the dress? [link] [link] [link] [link]

In NY, I heard that elevator repairmen and plumbers were both in shortage. I know good mechanics are needed in my current area.

They may have been raptured.

Heh. To Elevator Repairman and Plumber Heaven.

Happy birthday, Spidra!

So sorry about your job, Aims.

For my family it's mandatory that you get an education-related job that comes home with you at the end of the day. Anything else is highly unseemly, and your happiness is not relevant. Your income is almost irrelevant also. Severe education snobbery to do with Third World issues going on.

My god it hurts today. It hurts in my teeth and in my elbows and in my knees and I want to cry. I can't believe I haven't been at work for an hour yet. And my first meeting, important one with the CIO got bumped. And no one is answering my emails, so I'm not even sure they're going out. It's just not a day, and it's barely started. I can't believe I'm the only one with a sense of urgency, and I feel this blah.

I Guess He Likes Buffy or Whatever: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Back Tattoo [Geeky Tattoo]

This guy: “No, you don’t understand. I really, really like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Words fail me. All I can say is, "Oh dear."

I think I would have been very happy to be an electrician or plumber or someone who worked with their hands.

Is that a guy? He's awfully curvy for a guy.

Dang. Buffy might very well be one of the few things I've retained love for long enough to consider getting a tattoo, but I would damn well walk into the parlor with my own design for reference instead of just telling him "go wild, dude." And possibly I'd bring custom stencils for the tattoo artist to use.