Village of Two

Girl Terror

2010-02-24T19:14:00.003-05:00

Ok... so I'm just a few years behind with updates - but someone recently left me an anonymous comment asking for an update, so here it is.
This is what the media had to offer me today: on NPR this morning I heard an extended piece about how 1 in 5 young women on college campuses is a victim of sexual assault, often with very little justice being served up to their attackers. Campus Rape Victims
Then I read an article online about a 15 year old girl who committed suicide because she was being mercilessly bullied by a group of girls in her high school. Untouchable Mean Girls
Which is all just a reminder of how persistently scary it is to parent a girl. I began worrying about Hattie's safety while she was in utero, and that fear has grown exponentially with her adolescent independence. Hattie's Hebrew name is Hasia, a name I chose for her because it means "protected by God". I thought it might increase her odds in the safety arena.

Leadership is Hard Work

2008-11-11T19:30:00.020-05:00

Now that she's in 7th grade, Hattie has long since moved on from her fleeting fascination with Club Penguin. She also moved on quickly from any passing interest in such cultural tween phenoms as Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers and all things High School Musical - all of them now symbols for everything that is uncool and lame. Seventh grade is all about instant messaging with friends.
Towards the end of her 6th grade year, Hattie was nominated to attend a Youth Leadership conference in Washington, D.C. The hitch to this nomination was that Hattie had to raise all the money for the conference tuition and travel if she wanted to attend. Hattie decided to put her musical talent to work and put on Cabaret Fundraiser. She spent about 6 months preparing for this with her piano & voice teacher - and damn if the kid didn't actually pull it off. She put on a great show and raised all the money for the conference tuition. She's going to D.C. in the spring. Here's a little sample of the song stylings of a middle school cabaret singer...

Bleak Igloo

2007-11-25T07:20:00.000-05:00

When I agreed to pay for a Club Penguin membership for Hattie, it was on a trial basis for one month. Hattie informed me that when her membership expired recently, the Bank of Penguin instantly foreclosed on her igloo and cast her naked into the world again.
She's back to living in a one-room unfurnished igloo, with no wardrobe - and 6 hungry puffles to feed. Geez... and I thought March of the Penguins was harsh.
She explained that she would get back all her previous trappings of penguin affluence once her membership is renewed. So I guess for the time being the Bank of Penguin is simply holding her lavish lifestyle hostage.
Hattie complained to me recently about what a responsibility it was caring for 6 puffles. This was after I had warned her about the potential emotional and financial burden of having so many dependents. When I asked what would happen if she failed to adequately care for her puffles (they have to be fed, rested and played with in order to thrive), she said they would simply run away.
This got me to wondering if there's a significant population of homeless, puffle street-gangs in Club Penguin - who spend their days dealing drugs, hustling and selling repossessed penguin wardrobes on the black market. But Hattie assured me that she's never seen a single puffle wandering the streets of Club Penguin alone.
So I can only assume that neglected puffles must be routinely taken into state custody - by something equivalent to the Department of Penguin Services. If a negligent penguin arrives home and discovers their neglected puffles missing, it's mostly likely the work of penguin social workers. I'm comforted to know that neglected puffles are probably finding better circumstances with caring foster penguins.

Club Penguin Membership Has it's Privileges

2007-11-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hattie begged me for weeks to allow her to have a membership in Club Penguin. I grilled her mercilessly about the benefits of membership before I agreed to cave to her request - and learned some fascinating things about this Antarctic playground in the process. It turns out that Club Penguin is just like the real world... full of class issues.
You can immediately tell the penguins who aren't paying members, because they're destined to waddle everywhere naked, their pathetic little igloos remain unfurnished and they're subject to the Club Penguin version of state imposed population control (you can't own more than 2 puffles).
That's right, while anyone can have a penguin identity in Club Penguin, if you really want to be a penguin of distinction you have to pay. And now that Hattie has club membership she's living the penguin high life... a split level igloo with a fireplace, a full living room set, a stocked fridge, a wardrobe with wigs that would make a drag queen woozy, and 6 little furry puffles to call her own.

Club Penguin - Tales from the Tween Tundra

2007-10-15T21:13:00.000-04:00

Hattie has recently been hanging out with her friends in Club Penguin. For those who have never heard of this parallel universe, Club Penguin is a social networking website for the 7-14 year old set. Visitors and members of Club Penguin assume a cute and colorful penguin identity and waddle around in their virtual world inviting other penguins to be their friends, playing games, decorating their igloos, taking the occasional part-time job, going on clothes shopping sprees and caring for furry little pets called 'puffles'. While Club Penguin seems to be a fairly safe and well-monitored site, I can't help feeling that somewhere in this virtual world there's a 48 year old penguin waddling around in a trenchcoat who lives in the igloo at the edge of town.