So yes it has been awhile and frankly, I have no excuse. So instead of excuses I'll give you some updates and then maybe we'll go out for coffee.

The job hopping continues. I'm no longer working for Allstate. There wasn't ever a problem with Allstate; I recommend them as an employer to anyone any time in fact. But, I got an opportunity to take a job where I get less pay, no benefits and have to stand on my feet 8 hours at a time. Have I mentioned how famous I am for sound financial decisions?

Actually though, it's a job at a used bookstore. If you are from town, you know the one and it is fantastic. All of the drawbacks of this job are made up for and then some by the simple fact I get to touch books all day. It's like a fetish come true for me.

I even have my own rooms that I am in charged of shelving incoming books and keeping nice and tidy. For the most part, they are not incredibly interesting topics in my room. I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction, and all my rooms are is history books and the hard sciences. But there are a few notable exceptions that keep me entertained while I work: Sex, the history of, Ghost section, and all new age wackiness. The other day, I found a book by The Christ. It wasn't signed though, I checked.

I also have the parenting section. Oddly enough, it is next to the sex section. After shelving the parenting section for the last few weeks, I've noticed something. We don't give teenagers enough credit. Every single book about how to cope with raising a teenager treats the subject much like a dog training book. You have to show authority in order for them to respect you. They will rebel with ridiculous fashion statements, don't worry this is just a phase and with proper training they can be house broken.

Now granted, it has been more than a couple years now since I was a teenager, but I am still closer to 19 than I am to 30, so I think I remember a little bit of the time period.

Yes I was young. Yes I did stupid things. Maybe I was over emotion. But I was also a person by then. I was forming my own thoughts. I was influenced by everything around me, yes my friends, but also books I read and even the politics of the time. And I wasn't even exceptional in this. The tv we watch and the books trying to help us related continue to talk down to these teens. It is no wonder they don't respect anyone. They are going through a fantastic time, when they can finally decide things for themselves because they finally understand things for themselves. And us, stupid adults that we are, insist on thinking of them as a particularly difficult form of child.