Why Monterey Still Sucks Furry, Nit-Infested Balls, IMHO

So many things have reminded me this week of my time in Monterey, which I have come to think of as "two to life." It really was a sentence, but more something I'd imagine encountering in a Mexican jail. Except for the weather.

This week, talking to a milpeep friend who's got the medical what-what, I learned I might have a root cause for the rheumatoid arthritis I hadn't considered. Then when I researched this new root cause, I found a few sites claimed that its genesis often coincides with toxic mold ingestion. Yanno, like if you live in a house full of toxic mold, and it gets into your foodstuffs. Sweet. Eat it, Monterey.

This weekend, the temperature dropped, and it's been similar to that which I experienced in Monterey - in the 40s and 50s, overcast if not foggy, dismal, and bone-chilling. I fell into a bit of mini-depression, probably out of habit. Then I remembered it gets warm here. In fact, it'll be back in the low 70s as of tomorrow, and the clouds cleared up today. Eat it, Monterey.

I was called in to talk to my elder sprog's teacher. I was worried, as I have been since the first experiences at Foothills Elementary in Monterey soured me on teachers and school administration. But Elder Sprog's teacher is the fucking bomb. She's an aviator's wife, she's won teacher of the year, she's energetic, and she's amazing with the sprog. She called me in to find out things she could alter in her class to make Sprog's classroom time more comfortable. Not once was I made to feel like a shitty mom. Not once was Sprog labeled a problem child. She presented his issues not as behavior problems (they're caused by sensory overload, and his hands-on-ears-while-rocking response would have created huge issues in Monterey, despite the child-centric and granola view of life there) but as a recognition that there was something else going on that was not behavioral and not a personal affront to anyone at the school. The convo was awesome and extremely helpful for both of us. Eat it, Monterey.

Also during the convo, I explained to her the issues we had with Foothills in Monterey (one of the worst schools I've ever had the misfortune to encounter, IMHO) and a bit with the issues at La Mesa (the best school in Monterey fo sho', but far from the best school I've ever encountered). She was agog and expressed her intention not to teach when they PCS back to California after this school year. I told her I don't blame her. I don't blame her at all. The California system is broken beyond repair. Only a hard reboot will save the education system there, and meanwhile, the teachers who actually give a shit are the ones stuck in a horrible crevasse. Monterey is the worst since apparently the school district finds the best schools, dismantles them, and spreads those students throughout the worst schools in order to bring up the bad scores. Problem is, they've just laid off all those excellent teachers who gave a shit, and those teachers are mostly leaving the state for other work. Eat it, Monterey.

People might say that Monterey is so beautiful and so awesome. And it did have its high points. No deployments. Most evenings with the husband home, even if he was preoccupied with studying and programming. Weekends with the husband around, even if he was itching to study and finish his projects. Lots of great sight seeing, and some incredible if daunting hiking trails. Wonderful, fabulous, amazing friends abound. But overall, Monterey can eat my ass and lick it clean. I will never return to that area to live. Ever. I value my health, my bank account, my sanity, my core body temperature, and my kids' education way too much to be a sucker for the fresh agriculture and fun people.

No, Monterey can definitely eat it.