LeAventure:DivaLea

First the bike-riding and the LJ stuff, then the latest in the idjit clown fuckdown rodeo that is the Northside Independent School District and some ninny at John Marshall High School.

Biking: 4.5 mile ride today. I went from the bike shop to home, and would’ve been door-to-door in 45 minutes, but my chain popped and I stopped a good long while making sure it was okay. Tomorrow: Round trip, 3.8 miles each way. Hell, yeah.

The guys in the bike shop spend about forever putting on a pair of fenders I was pretty sure were too damn small, based on how they struggled. They eventually came to that realization for themselves and installed the correct fenders. I also had a basket installed on the back for my bag, and for groceries.

LJ: People have reported back that comments in crossposts from here to LJ are disabled. They’re not supposed to be! I’ll look into it.

Yet another damn school problem:

I was told last fall that Summer could not re-enter school no way, no how, without a birth certificate in her hot little hands. No matter what other ID we possessed. I was told this by the admissions lady at John Marshall High School in San Antonio, Texas. Even though the certificate was being ordered, no sir.

This is important.

We sent off, via the Internet, for Summer’s birth certificate through VitalChek, since California has human hands touch as little as possible. I called today, and there’s no order. I called because I found out today, when checking my order, that no info is kept online after 60 days.

I decide to call the district to see if I can get Summer in without the certificate if I can show it’s on order.

Which is when I find out Summer could’ve gone back to school last fall. Why? Because there is a 30-day grace period to get documents. We likely would’ve gone past that, but because public schools are loathe to kick out warm, get-state-money bodies, she’d have been fine.

I told the not-nice admin lady That that was not what I’d been told. She never outright said I was wrong, but she was mighty impatient when I asked what I should do if the school pulled the no way no how again. She said they wouldn’t. “But what if they do?” “Then call administration,” she said and hung up the phone.

It’s not her fault she has no idea who I am, so she has no clue why I’d be cynical and mistrusting.

I burst into tears of frustration. Summer has been home, depressed and out of her mind, waiting five months to return to school FOR NO GODDAM REASON. I am furious, and if I knew a lawyer who would put us in court pro bono, I’d fucking be there. Northside has been failing my children since Summer was in second grade. It’s goddam criminal.

So many teachers complain parents aren’t involved, and so many people believe this is true. I wonder how many parents have been trained not to be involved. They’re told everything’s good, even though it’s not, but they believe the school people because they have no idea how much school people lie, how much keeping their jobs requires lying, how many spiteful martinets reside in admin, and they believe it and never ask again. Or they simply exhaust parents, and their parents give up.

I don’t know how it is elsewhere (and fucking spare me to-be-fairs and stories about how awesome your school(s) is/are), but here, if you are involved, you are punished. You are treated as a troublemaker, overbearing, nosy, unwelcome, interfering. You are treated the same as a student who dares to ask “Why?”

Luckily, this shit doesn’t work on me, I’m far past the age where I can be terrified by a pissant who has his or her shoes on a desk behind the door with “principal” on it. This is bullying, diminishing, demeaning, and it just pisses me off.

I will make people miserable because my daughter has been at home FIVE FUCKING MONTHS when she could have been where she wanted to be: with her friends, socializing, being a teenager.

Every single failure of Northside ISD has been because of bullies, louts and idiots, mean little people doing their mean little jobs, and teachers scared shitless they’ll be fired if they tell a parent the school owes their child an education.

I will be writing a letter that will cover this latest fiasco and reach back in time to the first time NISD fucked up and lead back to the present day, and it will be going from the top down to the principal at John Marshall. There was absolutely no excuse for me not to be told about the 30 day’s grace period, and I am furious because my daughter, once again, could’ve been spared so much misery.

Ask yourself, the next time a parent seems to not care, if they just don’t know their fucking rights, or they believed someone they’re supposed to be able to believe in but who has done nothing to have the privilege of that trust.

After I had my stormy but brief howl, I wiped my eyes and said, “Summer’s going to school on Monday.” Knowing we have a grace period, and I can lay that on the table if some clown tries to say otherwise, means they will fold.

Now off to draw before this firey mad wears off.

I have finally lost a pant size. Maybe two, my biggest pants were damn tight.

My recovery and travel times are getting better. I don’t need to keel over when I am done.

I’m learning how to finesse shifting, which is a big part of getting up slopes without having to get off and push the bike, but not feeling like throwing up, either.

I’m getting the feel for pushing off, so I’m getting over my fear of falling over on starting up. (Did that once, hurt myself badly, got no assistance from passers-by.)

I’m definitely smaller and more flexible. A month ago, I could barely fit into the truck’s jumpseat, and I could barely get out again. Today, I got in, was reasonably comfortable, and unfolded back out again.

Today’s ride was about 4 miles round trip. The route has uphill and downhill slopes each way. There are no sidewalks, really, but there is a well-worn hard dirt path. Going was pretty easy; I had daylight and empty baskets. Returning was a challenge:

It was dark.

The terrain was uneven.

My rear baskets are attached to my seat post, and when they’re full, the seat will not stay at the right (high) height and pedaling becomes very inefficient. Have to change how the basket attaches. Having it attached to the part of the seat post that has to be raised and lowered is dumb. (I did not install it, and I don’t know what the bike shop guys were thinking.*)

Fifty-ish pounds of groceries on board.

And headed into a 17mph wind.

Getting back was an adventure.

Back to work!

*ETA: Never mind. I fixed it. The clamp had loosened. Must remember that things always loosen, and need tightening. Except for–well, never mind.