School out here in Vacaville California

Its been a year since my child started attending school in California. Rules seem to be a bit different than back in New York.  Last year when we were finding out information we were informed that we had to register our child at the local school on August 1st.  The school we were zoned for depended on our address.  When we finally got an address we called the district again, confirmed which school we were zoned for, and what we needed for registration.  

August 1st came and I was still living in New York with my child, so my husband had to go to the school and do all the registering.  They said he was lucky to get it, many people don't get to attend their zoned school when it fills up. And this particular school happens to be one of those.  This school apparently has one of the highest ratings in the district and they allow kids zoned for other schools to attend, so it fills up fast. I don't know the exact in and outs on how it works but apparently you can register your child for any school in any county. How crazy is that?

Well since she was registered for August 1st, she was expected to attend school beginning the first day of school.  The first day of school was Wednesday, August 14th, and well we were still living in New York.  Since we were driving from NY to CA we knew we wouldn't arrive in CA until at least the following Thursday, August 22nd.  We thought nothing of it, I mean the first week or so is basically review right?

Wrong!  We took our journey across the country and did arrive in California on that Thursday, so I figured we should have her attend school that Friday to feel it out and get into the swing on Monday. School started over two weeks sooner than in New York, that alone is something to adjust too.   It was a short time after that we started getting letters from the school and the police about truancy. No joke here, at first I was tossing them in the trash cause I thought it was a mistake. Turns our my child was labeled a truant because she missed 7 days of school, which was too many days in a short time. I had to speak with the school cause it was a crazy idea.

The people on the office were really nice to me about it. I find out that this is Standard Operating Procedure for absences and I couldn't do anything about it. I explained that we were living in NY at the time and she couldn't attend school, and mind you it was also told to them upon registration. The process is based on the number of days of school that have passed and the number of absences and some kind of calculation that figured the percentage was too high. It was going to be 'months' before she fell off the list of truancy.  They were able to indicate the absences were 'excused' the only thing it stopped was the letters from the police department.  I mean those letters were general, they weren't addressed to me personally, just another form letter that was mailed out. It may not have even been from the police, it could have been the district sending them out. 

She did end up missing another few days of school last year but we were able to 'excuse' them in advance cause we knew about them. No issues with those and the 'percentage' wasn't high enough to get those letters again.  

The school it self is decent.  My child is a straight A student and a peer tutor. Not that Im bragging! 

We did have a small attendance incident this year. One day I had gotten a call and an email telling me my child was not in school today. I freaked out!  I mean I know we dropped her off why would they tell me she was not in class. So on I go marched into the office the very next morning to complain and was even able to see the teacher that morning.  Everyone was apologizing to me for the error.   Its all computerized and with the click of the button you can easily marked the wrong child absent.  I was ready to throw down! Like she ate lunch how is that possible if she wasn't there! She did her homework that was graded by the teacher, again how can that be if she was absent!  It was an easy fix, easier than I thought it would be. 

My brother had told me that the schools in California are not that great but my child seems to be doing well. He's lived in Southern  California for a number of years.   So either its too easy or maybe he was wrong. 

The one thing that bothers me is that there are no school buses in this area. I mean I have seen them around but I believe its for special education students only.  Budget cuts are probably the reason for it. The school zones are pretty large, we reside just over a mile away from the school. I would not allow my child to walk that distance alone as some of the streets are very wide and well the crossing guards are only on the street where the school is or immediately across from it.  If we had school buses I could put her on it and not have to drive over there.  There are SO many cars on the front and back side of the school entrances, people that live in that neighborhood complain almost on a daily basis due to the traffic and congestion all these cars bring.  We've seen the principal directing traffic as well as the police.

Disclaimer: Do you own research, all my writing is just my experience and is not to replace any professional advice.   

My irritation from this weekend

This past Sunday I went to the market, no big deal everyone does this. Parked, went in and  shopped, checked out and walked up to MY car and for a bit I thought it wasn't MY car.  It was the same make, the same model, the same color.. but something was wrong.  I noticed these silver frames around the license place and I knew it wasn't MY car. I don't have that on my car, never had anything around my license plates before.  So whats going on?

Looked at the plate again and well, no I do not know my plate number by heart, yet.  I walk to the door and it opens, so it is my car.  But wait, walk back to the rear and again see these ugly silver license place covers on my car. Where did they come from?

It rattled in my mind all Sunday until my husband woke up, he works nights so he sleeps during the day, he laughed when I told him what happened.  We guessed that when he took my car in for an oil change the Friday before the dealer must have put them on the car. I haven't driven since then so hadn't noticed.

I was irritated! Like why would they do that? Who gave them permission to do that?  Its like defacing my car? I never purchased the car there, I only took it there for an oil change.  We go to the dealer cause we have this prepaid oil change package at Toyota so we go to a dealer for service. Any dealer that takes the plan, I didn't call the dealer about what had happened cause whats the point, I just won't return there anymore.

Monday morning I walked to my car, screwdriver in hand and removed them from my car.  Into the trash they go!  It was victorious for me.  I told my husband when he woke up and he asked why, saying they looked good.  So there I was irritated again....  these people did not sell me the car, they have no right to advertise on MY car, I don't go around wearing a "----------" (INSERT STORE NAME HERE) T-shirt because I purchased something from there.  I don't like purchasing those kind of shirts, tons of stores do that. You buy those shirts for $5 and advertise for them. You think 'hey I got a deal a shirt for a low price' but in the end you become A walking billboard for that company.  They don't pay you to do that.  You can say we have shopping bags indicating we shopped there but that bag is there for a matter of minutes from the time you go to the cash register, to your car and then to your house. How long does anyone really sees those bags? A license plate cover is on your car everywhere you go!  Maybe you want to show everyone where you purchased your car and thats your prerogative, but I refuse.

Having a retail business I know how expensive it can get to advertise but was I slapping stickers on people cars? Or leaving flyers on windshields? No,  I sold custom invitations and never placed advertising on the back of the cards, its just tacky!  

Besides with them being silver and reflective, worry wart that I am imagined someone behind me getting hit with the sun flashing in the frame and crashing into me or someone else driving.  Not only that, if the frames cover the sticker on your plate you could potentially get a ticket, now who wants that?

Shopping in California

Its taken us a while to locate a supermarket we like to shop at.  We have shopped them all, the expensive ones, the 'cheap' ones, the dirty ones and the one that we like. While Im not going to mention the store names cause they aint paying me, Im just going to talk about things Ive noticed.

Being out here 6 months and shopping all over the place I figured Id mention this:

Stores: There are a TON of stores to choose from and depending on your style of shopping it will tell you which store may work better for you.  You got the national chain shopping stores, the local to the area stores, and the west coast chain store.

Brands:  Many brand names you are familiar with on the east coast dont exist here on the west coast and vice versa.

Same logo different name:  I thought this was funny, I recognize the logo but the name is different.  These brands actually have a little sentence on their product saying something like 'known as *** east of the rockies' so you know its the same product just different name. I dont get why but many companies do this.

Found items:  Items I was searching for 'FOREVER' in New York exist out here in California!  I had been searching for this cereal which happen to be sold out here in California, again I dont get it.

CRV: No not the car, CRV stands for California Redemption Value. Beverages you purchase they will charge you a CRV - its similar to bottle deposit in NY - it varies based on the ounces of the continuers either 5 or 10 cents per bottle. So your beverage cans, bottles and plastic drinks will be charged an additional 5 or 10 cents upon purchase.  You then have to locate a recycling center to return them to get your money back. Thing is your refunded by weight, do you get your money back? Dunno exactly a glass may be heavier then a plastic container but if you paid 5 cents for each you may get 10 cents back, you may get more or less. Its hard to calculate.

Recycling: Not sure if some places require it but where we live they dont but we opt to do it. Thing is it involved taking everything to the center, what a pain in the butt!  No you dont get paid for the 'other' items you recycle.

Prices:  Well this is a tough one as I do not remember prices of things in NY, we are not spending any more then we were while living in NY so I guess they are pretty much the same as they were in NY.

Disclaimer: My messages are not meant to replace any professional advice its just my experience with various events. 

Driving in Northern California

Well Ive been here for about 6 months now and Im going to talk about drivers out here.

While living in New York every time we encountered a horrible driver we would say 'They must be from Jersey' lol - No offense but thats just what everyone would say.  Like  when we were bowling if you hit the pins on the opposite side we would call it 'Jersey'. Any who, I learned how to drive at a driving school some 20 years ago in New York City, or the Chelsea area of Manhattan. If you have ever driven in NYC you know what I have been through learning how to drive around taxi cabs and all.  Im starting to wonder if drivers here are from Jersey.

Driving around here in Northern California Ive seen so many things that would warrant a HUGE ticket if they did that in NYC. Maybe they are just not getting caught but I cant believe the rules are any different - aren't those things universal?

1. No one signals! You know that little clicky think on the left side of the steering wheel you push up or down to let others know what your doing!  No one uses it around here and it makes me nuts! OK I know if can happen in NY too but its outrageous here.  And sitting in the turning lane doesn't exempt one from using one.  Use the freaking signal!

2. Wrong Lane! People turn into the wrong lane! What do I mean?  Your sitting in the right lane waiting to make, well a right turn, what lane do you go into when you actually complete the turn?  The right lane right?  No, people out here will make a turn into any lane they want and thats dangerous.  Especially since right turns are allowed on red lights, with so many turning lanes and the ability to make U-turns at many intersections it leaves to many chances of causing an accident.  Ever been at an intersection with two turning lanes?  Yes many drivers will cross over into the other lanes while traffic is moving during the turn! Talk about scary and dangerous, stay in your lane people! It makes me bonkers, they must hate me when I make the turn into the correct lane and then switch into the other lane like your supposed to. Thing is if I dont move fast enough other drivers will go into the lane to be sure to pass me by!  The DH just had this happen today!  Two lanes making a left and the person along side him decides to merge into his lane!

3. Tailgating! OMG its all over the place I swear they are in my trunk when I look in the mirror.  Someone is bound to rear end another!

4. People with trucks (F150, Tundra, etc.) are very aggressive, especially towards Prius drivers!  If you haven't figured it out I drive a Prius and every time there is a truck near by they rev the engine and do what they can to get in front of me.  Im not a slow driver but I follow the rules and obey speed limit laws.

5. Yellow is basically the signal to speed up and get thru the intersection as fast as possible.

6. Red lights! OMG - I have never in my life seen so many people going thru red lights! There are postings at various intersections that say minimum red light ticket is $400! I wouldn't even chance it as many locations take pictures of violators.

7. Speed Demons - Get on the highway and there speed demons everywhere! Just a few days ago I was driving on I80 heading to San Francisco. This Corvette flew by me like I was standing still. Of course I said 'jerk, I hope you get pulled over.' About 7 minutes later I saw that same car pulled over by 2 CHP! Justice finally....

I recently took a job which involved driving and so I had to take a driving class and go thru driving training, most of these things I have spoken of are against the law.  If I didn't drive that vehicle correctly I wouldn't get the job. The one thing they actually told me was if they light turned yellow just go thru it as everyone in California does it and it wouldn't count against me. Furthermore you don't want someone to rear end you.

Living in a new place can cause you to change your ways and pick up bad habits, keep yourself sane and safe by not doing that.

Drive Safe people.