Today's Society is Too Easily "Offended"

I receive an email newsletter from a medium-sized Florida accounting firm. It pops up in my inbox every week or so, and I browse the titles and taglines, looking for something that piques my interest. Well, this last one did: an article addressing "danger zones" in interview questions.

Apparently, chatting about sports is discriminatory. Why? Well, if the interviewer is male, and the interviewee female, then that is broaching a topic she may not be "interested" in, therefore being biased and practicing discrimination.

Huh. Okay.

So what about this one: it is discriminatory to ask interviewees questions pertaining to their resumes and personal experience. Why? Because the questions may then be considered "subjective," skewed toward each applicant, and by some logic, therefore an act of discrimination.

We are on a roll here.

Here is one last "danger zone:" brain teasers/critical thinking problems. According to the article, such puzzles are considered to discriminate against persons from cultures other than that of the United States, because they may not understand the question. An understandable concern, perhaps, as there may be multiple definitions, some rather obscure, of various descriptions involved in such a puzzle, that persons who do not speak English as their primary language would understand. But I say that if an individual is proficient enough to make it in the U.S. long enough to have work experience, a resume, and qualifications for an interview, either a) they will be able to understand the question and solve it, or b) they will be able to explain why they do not comprehend the nature of the question. If an interviewer is truly using such questions to just thin out foreign interviewees, such responses should negate said intentions.

So, am I being insensitive here? I hope not. I hope that this seems as absurd to you as it does to me. "Fairness" is only good so far--but have we not been told while growing up that "life isn't fair?"

Think on that.

Late Nights in Tuscaloosa

Yes, here I am, a college student declaring 10:30 p.m. "late." But really, it is! After an eight-hour day on the job, a lunch break combined with thank-you card addressing, cutting "mini furniture" out of graph paper to furnish our graph paper apartment depiction, making dinner, examining the last month's budget, eating dinner, beginning work on this month's budget, and generously sprinkled time spent holding, snuggling with, and communicating with Stephanie, it has been plenty full.
However, the days have not been quite as draining as the roller coaster schedule of 16-hour days alternating with eight-hour days that are Avanti and UAPress days during orientation weeks. I worked a full day yesterday, and will again tomorrow, wrapping up a 24-hour work "week," considering that Friday is a holiday.
Now, though, it is a good time to head to bed.
Goodnight!

Of WALL-E, Cluttered Offices, Stargate, Ducks, and Lawnmowers: A Tale of a Three-Day Weekend

So it is already July, and it has been two fast months since I was here last. Stephanie and I finished up summer session one with the Avanti team last week, and we started off our break with an "End of Summer I Celebration Picnic" at Carissa's last Thursday evening. On Friday, I worked the full day at the Press, and then Stephanie and I left for a weekend at her home.
We met up with a couple of her friends Friday night as we got into town to see Pixar's latest addition to the animated movie front: WALL-E. It was creative, well-animated, and had a fairly well-written plot line. I liked The Incredibles and Monsters, Inc. better, though.
Saturday was pretty lazy. During the morning at least. We slept in for a while, and then arose to some delicious pancakes made by Stephanie's mom. Then we talked about what we were going to do for the day...and then didn't start it until nearly three hours later, or finish until another five hours after that. We were decorating/cleaning/revamping Stephanie's dad's office space for him while he is out of town for a while. That evening, Stephanie, and I watched the Stargate movie (she has been introducing me to the series, and finally showed me the movie that kicked everything off).
Sunday, we went to Mayfair and sat in on the college-age Bible class so Stephanie could see some of her friends, since they were in town for the summer. During the afternoon we did some more laundry, and I watched the EURO2008 final between Germany and Spain. Spain won, 1-0 on a terrific goal from Torres in the first half. It was an intensely-fought game for all 90+ minutes, but Spain pulled it out and brought back their first major title in 44 years! In the evening, we drove over to Ben's for the weekly Bible Study at his place with Ginny, Christian, Michael & Lindsay, Sean, Rob, and Bethany. Afterward, Stephanie and Ginny were able to hang out for a bit, and I went with a few of the guys to play some "beach" volleyball (sand courts only, though, no ocean).
Monday, after another slow start, Stephanie and her mom went out on the town for some time together, and I took her younger brother--my brother-in-law...it seems strange to think I have a brother-in-law...--into town to hang out, too. We went to KidSpace, which is a large, wood-based park similar to "Castle Park" in Altoona, PA. It has lots of towers and stairs, bridges, tunnels, etc. to play in, and it's fun for kids of all ages. Like me! We also went to a park and fed the ducks and the fish some bread, and had lunch for ourselves at Krystal. It was the first time I had eaten at the burger place, and I got chicken. I was quite pleased with my choice after seeing the "burgers" that were their specialty. We headed back to the house, and I let Chris drive around in the yard for a while before we took out their dog, Piper, and I ran around with her while Chris mowed the lawn a little. After a bit, we went inside to cool down, get some water, and play the Wii.
Later that evening, we got everything packed up, the car loaded, and headed for home! Now that I have a home again, one that is Stephanie's and my place, I really look forward to going home.