pancake madness

My sister came damn near close to getting arrested at IHOP this weekend, all over an order of cheese blintzes.

This has been an ongoing struggle for my family, as we fell in love with IHOP's cheese blintzes back when the restaurants still made them correctly. Over the past few years, they seem to have gradually transitioned from serving these thin pancakes filled with a delicious mixture of cheese with preserves to fresh fruit--a key factor. Although the preserves, our topping of choice, are still listed on the menu, servers often stare in confusion when we request them, usually replying, "Uh...let me see if the kitchen can do that," as if we're making some outlandish request for an ingredient not on their menu.

So of course, when Shannon visited our local IHOP in the wee hours of Sunday morning, she was annoyed, but not at all surprised, when her cheese blintzes were served with fresh strawberries, despite her request for preserves. She reminded the waitress of her order, who replied that she didn't think they had any, but she'd check if Shannon insisted. She did insist.

Instead of the waitress returning to the table, however, the manager arrived to inform Shannon that they did not have any preserves. Shannon politely reminded that manager that the preserves are, in fact, listed on the menu, and that perhaps if they do not plan to keep them on stock, perhaps they should consider removing them from the menu. Imagine her surprise when the manager responded by instructing Shannon to leave.

She did not say, "I'm sorry, is there something else I can get for you?" or even, "If you don't like it you can leave." This was a command. "We don't have any preserves and you need to leave. Your friends are welcome to stay and finish their food"

Shannon, stunned, sat for a moment after the manager walked away, considering the exchange which had just occurred. "Did she really just order me to leave?" she thought. Staring at a plate of food she did not want, and dashed of any hopes that the restaurant would replace it with another dish, she got up from her seat. As she walked toward the door, she heard the Restaurant Manager From Hell screaming across the restaurant, "STOP HER! She's trying to leave without paying!"

WTF?

The off-duty police officer hired to work security detail, likely thrilled to finally have something to do besides sit all night staring at pancakes, rushed out the door after her, and promptly declared that he had every intention of arresting her.

Somewhere between Shannon crying in frustration and her boyfriend throwing the receipt at the manager after paying the bill, the cop decided to let her go. The bill was, after all, paid, although I disagree that she should have been forced under threat of arrest to pay for a meal she did not want and did not eat.

She's now embarked on a personal mission to have that manager fired, calling everyone from the store manager to the area supervisor until she gets her way. I suggested that she instead request free pancakes for life, but apparently IHOP has lost its appeal to her.

posted by Just Call Me Fabulous @ 6:26 PM |

23/you said you'd be interested

I turned 23 on Saturday, which brought to my attention the fact that I have now been "maintaining" this blog for over two years. Which, likewise, reminded me that the most interesting happenings in my life are now wedding plans and thesis work.

I do still socialize, mind you. On Friday night some of my favorite girls came over and we spent the entire time on the back porch chain smoking over cheap wine and intriguing conversation. It was fabulous.

Nick gave me a bottle of Chanel No. 5 and took me to eat at my favorite fondue restaurant, and although another couple we know and only semi-like was seated directly across the aisle from us, making for an awkward meal, and our pot became overheated, causing all of our food to burn after thirty seconds of cooking, we still had a great time together.

On Sunday we drove to my parents house, where mom cooked me birthday dinner. I had asked for a scale that could measure body fat, and they got me the super-diet scale that will measure and track weight, body fat, hydration level, and goals for up to four different users. The irony of eating birthday cake immediately after opening the gift was not lost on me.

Also significant is that we have settled on a location for the wedding: The Old Governor's Mansion (pictures available here).

However, contrary to all my feminine urges to cast my career and life as I know it aside in pursuit of The Perfect Wedding, what's most exciting to me is that I drew up my thesis contract with my chair last week. I know you're all dying for the details, so I'll share it in all its glory.

1. PROPOSED THESIS TOPIC:
Restorative Justice and Juvenile Recidivism

2. RELEVANCE TO STUDENT’S AREA OF INTEREST:
I am very interested in juvenile justice, and hope to work in policy, reform, and program development in this field upon graduation.

3. DESCRIBE HOW PROPOSED THESIS RESEARCH CONTRIBUTES TO KNOWLEDGE BASE:
In 2004, juvenile courts handled an estimated 1,660,700 delinquency cases and had more than 31 million youth under their jurisdiction (Stahl et al., 2007). Guin (2004) reported that Louisiana’s juvenile arrest rate ranks eighth nationally. Guin also found that Louisiana has 646 juveniles incarcerated in state juvenile prisons and 5,275 juveniles on probation or parole.
According to McLaren (2000), about 15-20% of juvenile offenders will continue to repeatedly break the law throughout adolescence and into adulthood—meaning that a small percentage of juvenile offenders are responsible for quite a large proportion of crimes committed. Data collection by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP; Snyder & Sickmund, 2006) found that about 25% of juveniles who offended at ages 16–17 also offended as adults at ages 18–19. The OJJDP also found that, of youth leaving custody, four in ten reported having been in custody two to four times before, and four in ten reported having been in custody five or more times before. This shows that of the youth sentenced to custody, eight of ten will return as a juvenile, and some will return several times before reaching adulthood. Additionally, the Louisiana Office of Youth Development (2007) reported that, in 2006, 17.8% of juveniles in custody were there as recidivists, and 221 individuals formerly in youth custody recidivated as adults.

Developing interventions to reduce the likelihood of juvenile recidivism is vitally important. Equally important is that these interventions are tested to measure their effectiveness. This study will evaluate the impact of restorative justice practices on juvenile recidivism, thereby increasing the knowledge base of potential interventions for juvenile offenders.

4. DESCRIBE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THESIS:
1. To examine whether participation in a restorative justice program, contrasted with lack of participation in any restorative justice program, will significantly reduce the incidence of recidivism among a sample of juvenile offenders.

2. To examine whether participation in a restorative justice program, contrasted with lack of participation in any restorative justice program, will significantly impact the timing of recidivism among a sample of juvenile offenders.

3. To examine whether type of offense (e.g., status, property, violent, sexual) will significantly impact the relationship between participation in a restorative justice program and rate of recidivism among a sample of juvenile offenders.

4. To examine whether the gender of the offender will significantly impact the relationship between participation in a restorative justice program and rate of recidivism among a sample of juvenile offenders.

5. IDENTIFY TASKS TO ACCOMPLISH STEP #4:
1. Conduct review of literature on the topics of juvenile recidivism, restorative justice, and resilience theory (which will be used as a framework for this study)

2. Write proposed methodology and data analysis sections of thesis

3. Defend thesis proposal and submit IRB application

4. Upon IRB approval, obtain contact information from the Department of Juvenile Services and/or the Office of Youth Development for juvenile offenders who have participated in restorative justice court diversion programs within the past twelve months

5. Conduct mail survey.

6. Analyze data

7. Complete results and discussion sections of thesis

8. Final thesis defense

7. STUDENT’S ANTICIPATED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. To determine whether participation in a restorative justice program impacts the rate and/or timing of recidivism rates among juvenile offenders.

2. To determine whether the type of offense impacts the relationship between participation in a restorative justice program and juvenile recidivism.

3. To determine whether gender impacts the relationship between participation in a restorative justice program and juvenile recidivism.


8. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION:

1. Complete thesis proposal by August 1, 2008

2. Obtain contact information for juvenile offenders who have participated in restorative justice court diversion programs within the past twelve months by September 30, 2008

3. Conduct survey of juvenile offenders from October 1 to November 15, 2008

4. Work a minimum of three hours per week on this project

5. Complete data analysis by February 1, 2009

6. Complete results and discussion sections of thesis by March 1, 2009

7. Submit thesis to committee by March 2, 2009

8. Defend thesis by March 20, 2009

9. Submit thesis to SSWR, CSWE, & NASW-LA

10. Submit thesis work for publication with the assistance of Dr. Lim (thesis chair)

posted by Just Call Me Fabulous @ 2:31 PM |