even more quiddities and agonies of the ruling class - a new rolling new york times thread

I like the implication that the nanny sometimes knows the difference between quinoa and couscous but it's an awareness that comes and goes. Also that the nanny is a total fucking bonehead.

i like that this was posted on both quid ag threads, we're vigilant

It's deserving.

Yeah, I posted it on the old quid ag thread because I didn't search for "most recent first": quiddities and agonies of the ruling class - a rolling new york times thread

In any case, these people need to be nuked from orbit.

i am agonizing over the quiddity of this thread remaining unlocked

New quids thread 4eva

"I always thought I would be a dean for a few years and then eventually end up as a provost. But I discovered that there are only a few places that meet all my criteria for where I'm willing to work: flagship university, mild weather, appropriate water for sailing and rowing."

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-I-Am-Dropping-Out-of/142027/

couldnt get past graf 1, throw these ppl to the wolves

college administrator, certainly in the top ten list of jobs i would think of under the heading 'leaders'

who relishes chairing search committees? what a wack job

i love how the only two times teaching shows up, it's as part of 'research and teaching', 'teaching and research'

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/business/emotional-support-with-fur-draws-complaints-on-planes.html?_r=0

that one is perfect -- one elite's pleasure is another's agony

I uncomfortable calling the use of service or support animals an issue for the elite. Flying certainly isn't an elite pastime. Neither is depression or anxiety or allergies.

Maybe more like an issue of some people exploiting an opportunity.

maybe you can get a little dog to sit on your lap and provide you with some of that missing comfort

Maybe I will.

Yeah I don't find that to be much of a ruling class thing either. People using the "emotional support animal" thing as a scam to take their dog everywhere is just something some people do.

i support these people in their time of emotional need

who do you think can get away with that kind of scam best?

one time i was on a plane and this little girl was telling me all about how her cat was under the seat and i was like ok sure how nice you little lunatic but the cat did turn out to be under there

The ruling class part might be how it's usually well-off people who have the resources to get a pet certified, or know somebody who knows somebody who will do it for not a lot of hassle

Kind of like how there's a bunch of "pain management specialists" on the upper east side who are happy to write you a prescription for vicodin if you will pay the consultation fee

OTOH

To serve the needs of the animals and their owners, a cottage industry of websites and doctors advertising documents that certify emotional support animals has emerged.

Carla Black, a psychotherapist in Marina del Rey, Calif., began receiving enough requests for emotional support animal certification that this year she began advertising on her website. For $99, she provides an hour of her time, over the phone or Skype, and a clinical assessment, along with a prescription letter, which is valid for one year.

Ms. Black said in a telephone interview that before she issues a letter she ensures the client is eligible under criteria set by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. “I make sure they qualify for depression or whatever, P.T.S.D.,” she said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.

There are also myriad places on the Internet that cater to the growing demand, including a robust market for service animal vests.

$100 seems like a good deal

I'm going to get my pet turtle certified

I have a friend who has a certified emotional support dog, actually, and showed me the cert

She says her family friend who is a doctor wrote it for her and it was no big deal

It was only valid for a year

So I imagine she always remembers to send her family friend a christmas cards to grease the wheels

I have a bunch of friends who are touring actors with big national shows and they all own dogs and they all do this.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/healthy-trips-to-exotic-places/

Not sure if this really falls into the quid and ag set but the premise of this sort of bothered me

Probaby because I regularly visited a country as a kid that I am sure would make her list of places to be extra-vigilant with your children about

10 best countries to abandon your children in

Things you have packed in your suitcase for your trip to Turkey: two seatbelts to be installed in cars that don't have one

Other things you may want to pack in your suitcase: Enveloping plastic bubble to protect you and your family from the dangerous miasma you will find yourself in. Make sure it can comfortably envelope two adult sized persons and up to three children sized persons

unsafe driving/lack of seatbelts is for sure #1 by a wide wide margin of things that worry me when traveling in countries that have unsafe driving/lack of seatbelts

some destinations/styles of travel like say backpacking in india that ive seen people do with children seem like the most tiring thing possible

the parents always look very tired too

youd think youd just want to go chill on the beach or w/e

i guess if yr kid is like 10+ then you could go more mobile easier

"kids, remember india?!"
"THAT SUCKED!"

haha yes

tho tbf a lot of people have that experience, then later theyre all ahh india magical

yup revisionist family history is usually the most magical

i read some study that claims thats just how memory works too which is why its better to spend money on experiences than possessions cause later you can cherish them and it doesnt even really matter if you had a good time idk people are super weird and messed up

i mostly travel to make people jealous on facebook

High school reunions man xp

yuup

Anyway I don't think I've felt that unsafe driving around w/o a seatbelt in a foreign country

Probably most unsafe I felt was in peru where the cars would honk when driving on a mountain road so that cars coming the other direction would know that there was a car coming right at them

I get my recommended vaccinations

But that's about it

It's true that there should be a ban on kids under the age of 13 being allowed to travel

OTOH the traveling of teenagers should be especially encouraged

Bringing teens to the Taj Mahal and having them go "this sucks"

riding in cars on shitty mountain roads in countries with terrible drivers/cars is basically my nightmare

p sure ive gotten ptsd from it before

The cool thing about those countries though is that all the cars are three cylinder eastern european joints w/ like 50 horsepower

The most danger they pose is what if you drive off a cliff

But if that were to happen it'd be going slow enough where you could see it coming and then dive out of the car before the car goes off the cliff

You'd probably have at least 5 seconds to realize and dive

lol sure buddy

some stat i read the developing world has like 10% of the cars and 50% of the traffic fatalities

Ok well the other consoling fact is that the lack of adequate crumple zones in the car means that your death would be swift and certain instead of drawn out and painful in a dirty hospital

Hospitals are probably very free with the morphine though

That's the main lesson I got from watching 'The Darjeeling Limited'

was talking to a friend who lived in india for ten years and she was kind of poopooing the danger of the roads there and then right after she recounted this horrific list of accidents she had been in witnessed or heard about that included people being cut in half heads run over like watermelons cars plunging off cliffs etc

in a lot of places you can get valium over the counter which ime helps w fear of automobiles, so at least you can be not scared enough to avoid dangerous situations