Been away from DU a year - had to come back (at least briefly)

[Coventina]

Because HOLY MOLEY! I have a connection to a big news story!

Have you heard about the 19 year-old student found comatose in her prof's condo? Well, I know that guy! I had a close, PROFESSIONAL relationship with him for a number of years!

He really fancied himself as a "ladies man" and always thought every woman wanted to jump his bones all the time. Early on in our relationship he informed me that he wasn't interested in seeing me as I was "too old" for him.
:eyes:

This was somewhat off-putting as I wasn't even interested, I thought he was "too old" for me! (And I was seeing someone at the time anyway). Plus, who does that? "Just FYI, I don't want to date you, because you're super unattractive to me." :puke:

Anyway, I guess this is just gossip, as I have no connection to this case, but it's freaky to see his picture on national news shows. I'm pretty upset about the reflection it brings to the fine institution of community colleges, and the ones he worked at in particular.

I was prompted to make this post as I accidently saw coverage about the case on my local Fox affiliate, where they were slamming the college. As if ANY employer can control what their employees do after hours!

Anyway, for those of you who may remember me, I've had a pretty eventful year: spent about a month in Hawaii. I also went to SE Asia: Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam.

Lately I've been seeing really obnoxious vanity plates in my area. Two stick out in my memory: NEO CON (on a BMW) & GOP FMLY (on an Escalade). :puke:

Oh yeah, and I still think horse racing is wrong & the death of Eight Belles did nothing to convince me otherwise.

Hope all of you are doing well! :hi:

on edit: typo

[dana_b]

1. I don't know you, but I like you already.

Were you working in SE Asia or was it for fun/cultural reasons?

I don't like horse/dog racing/chicken or rooster fighting - none of it.

[Coventina]

3. Officially, I was a tourist

But I was there for mostly cultural reasons, as I have an interest in Asia.

I especially wanted to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which was one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far.

Now that we are back, my husband and I are working with charitable orgs in Cambodia, the place broke our hearts. We've even talked about joining the Peace Corps to go back there.

On edit: Corrected a misspelled word I had no business misspelling! :spank:

[dana_b]

7. Good for you!

that's amazing. Giving of yourselves is the most important thing we can all do.

I've heard Cambodia was tough. It's another world that most of us here wouldn't understand - I know that I don't.

[Coventina]

8. Going there changes your life - seriously

If you have any heart/soul/conscience or whatever you want to call it, you CANNOT go there and not be profoundly changed as a person.

The poverty and despair are beyond my ability to describe in words. And yet, they are a very proud and beautiful people. And what they have been through in the last forty years! I get choked up just thinking about it.

On edit: This might sound trite, but really, after having been there I can understand why Angelina Jolie came back from filming "Tomb Raider" there with a Cambodian child. I wanted to do the same! But alas, since I'm not a celebrity, the Cambodians are not as inclined to hand over a child to me. Unfortunately, because of the chaos in Cambodia for the last several decades, it has become ground zero in the world for pedophiles. As you cross the land border between Thailand and Cambodia, there are all these posters hung up begging you "Please don't harm our children."
:cry:

[dana_b]

9. omg - how heartbreaking!

I've seen shows about the sex trade and the kids that have fallen victim to that. That makes me sick enough but damn, there is so much pain and hurt in this world. It makes our problems seem small.

Kudos to you - I hope you realise that you will be making a difference.

[Coventina]

10. Thanks!

And you are right, it does give you a new perspective on your life.

After I got back, it took me awhile to get used to being able to brush my teeth with tap water, and to quit constantly spitting in the shower to keep the shower water from getting in my mouth. We take a lot for granted in this country. (Although if Bushco had their way, we would be living like that here).

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Hey you!!

Good to see you! :hi:

[Coventina]

5. Nice to see you too!

I didn't know if anyone would remember me after so long!

:D

[Warpy]

4. It's always weird to see somebody you know in the news

In my case, it was a local nutter who picked up a gun one day and went on a spree with it, leaving five people dead. It's tempting to congratulate oneself for a narrow escape.

I think in your guy's case, I'd have picked up a copy of "Moonstruck" and sent it to him anonymously. These guys never recognize themselves in any mirror, let alone an artistic one, but it would have made me feel a bit better.

[Coventina]

6. Yikes! Your story out-does mine!

I love the "Moonstruck" idea. If I'm ever in a similar situation, I'll probably do it!

:thumbsup:

[devilgrrl]

11. Is this the guy you're talking about?

Gee, you must have been so broken up about him not wanting to date you, I'm sure you could barely stand the disappointment.

:sarcasm:

I'm well aware that you can't control the behavior of professor's but it slays me that there aren't stricter rules about them have relationships with students outside of an academic setting. It seems rather unethical. :shrug:

Also, I'm with you on horse racing. I lamented about it in the lounge years ago and got roundly flamed. :crazy:

[Coventina]

12. Yep, that would be him!

Yeah, I cried myself to sleep for a week!
:D

I whole-heartedly agree with you about the teacher/student relationsip thing. It's much easier to police when the students are minors, but when they are both adults it makes it more difficult. But in no way would I condone what was done here. Just despicable.

BTW: he is being fired from the Community College District for violating their "amorous relationships policy". Which is kind of interesting, because the policy (put simply) says, "We recommend you don't date your students." It's not a clear statement that you CANNOT date your students, once again, because of the whole "consenting adults" issue.

I suspect that there will be a new policy statement after this!!

[sakabatou]

13. Who are you again?

:hi:

[Coventina]

14. you can just call me "trouble"!

:D

:hi:

[sakabatou]

16. Waruii no hito da yo

"Bad person"

[Lone_Star_Dem]

15. Good to see you posting.

Sounds as if you've had an extremely eventful year! :wow:

Is this the case where the professor she was with didn't ID the body and the parents had to file a missing person report? If so then I've heard of it. I thought he was some kind of jerk before your personal accounting of him. :puke:

The GOP FMLY plate on a gas guzzling Escalade has a certain poetry to it. Don't you think?

[Coventina]

17. Yes, that is indeed the case.

I don't know what he was thinking - obviously he wasn't thinking.
Did he really think that the truth would not be discovered?

Oh well...

Yes, the GOP FMLY must really be enjoying their trips to the pump! :eyes:

It has been an eventful year!

Oh yeah, I've lost 20 pounds too!

:woohoo:

[Lex]

18. Thanks for the post, Coventina.

Interesting stuff to be sure.

Hang around a while. (However, I strongly encourage you *not* to go into the GD: Primaries forum.)

:hi:

[Coventina]

19. LOL! Thanks for the warning!

I remember DU primary season of old....