I did that in my head afterward, actually. It was really fun except I couldn't think of the right participle to pair with "human rights."

No, the money was for diamonds. I didn't make that clear before. Or, well, I didn't know that was the One True Reason to spend money before. Because diamonds are forever, don't you know. They will always remember that diamond bracelet I bought them and think about how fucking awesome I am.

Are you buying the diamonds, or are you just giving them money, and you know they'll be spending it on diamonds? I still can't tell.

I'm giving my grandmother money, and she'll get good diamonds from India.

K-Bug amazes me. High school was a lot easier when I went. I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to coast now the way I did when I was in school. Which is good: yay better education! I might have learned something. But also bad in that kiddos are so stressy so much earlier. They've figured out their majors in college by the time they're sophomores in high school now. Insanity.

I knew I was early in figuring out my major at 13, but I'm still perplexed at the idea of not knowing by the time you start university. In the English system we severely narrowed our options at 16, because we were trimming down to 3 or four subjects to be studied in the next two years.

I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to coast now the way I did when I was in school.

Wrod. I don't remember stretching myself at all in high school. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that everything being easy was a sign that I was smart instead of classes simply being cakewalks. I only ever struggled in algebra and just assumed I was dumb that way. Geometry was insanely easy for me, and it never dawned on me that geometry was math, too, which meant I was capable of math. I thought the teacher was just being nice when he said I had a real talent for it.

I'm trying to put together a cute Hello Kitty costume for niecey. What do y'all think?

• Tights: >[link]
• Dress: >[link]
• Undershirt: >[link]
• Mask: >[link]
• or Hat: >[link]

Shoes would be black patent leather Mary Janes. Could also cut a big heart out of felt and attach it to the front of the jumper.

I'm giving my grandmother money, and she'll get good diamonds from India.

Ah. Okay. I'm sorry I'm so slow on the uptake. The Indian women I see around have the loveliest jewelry. You're probably thinking, "How *nice* for them," right about now. Your "good diamonds" just made me think of it. It's the gold I've noticed, in particular.

I know this custom would burn my ass if I were the one who was expected to cut the check. That said, most cultures have some misogyny built in, and so it's nice (as a woman) to see a particular cultural custom like this. Maybe you can think of it that way (not the 'as a woman' bit, just the 'nice' bit). Maybe you can think of this as your reparation for any misogynistic customs or attitudes from which you might have inadvertantly benefited.

(I know, I'm reaching, and it's easy for me to reach, since I'm not reaching for my checkbook. But since you have decided to participate, to keep the peace, maybe you can find some peace of your own. Somewhere. I'm glad it's over for you.)

ita, I think it has to do with what used to be the American philosophy about liberal arts higher education. It used to be a lot more about getting an overview of a wide range of subjects and slowly figuring out a speciality in the first two years at the university--the idea that the point isn't what you are going to "do" in life, but more what you should know/understand about how the subjects are all connected and how they influence each other. I know some areas have always been more prescriptive (medical school, law school, etc.), but I'm hopeful that those students like me--who major in English because they love books but are just as excited to take psychology and anthropology--don't become such "specialists" that they miss out on the big picture.

GC - I would say the hat. She's little and those masks can be hard to see out of.