Kudler Fine Foods Too Fresh to Go Product Launch Essay

Kudler Fine Foods Too Fresh to Go Product Launch - Essay Example Kudler Fine Foods is an establishment that offers a variety of fresh food products. The grocer is a specialty food store that offers bakery and pastry products, fresh produce, fresh meat and seafood, condiments and packaged food, and cheese and specialty dairy products. The company offers a variety of food products which are used in the context of gourmet cooking. There is a need for the company to offer other types of food products which are more conducive to a customer who doesn’t have the time to cook the gourmet meal. By introducing a new line of prepared fresh meals, the customer can take home the meal to eat it for dinner that night or at another point during the week. Too Fresh to Go meals will encompass the spirit of Kudler Fine Foods while providing a healthy, time-saving alternative for current customers. Too Fresh to Go will be positioned in the front of the store for convenience and will include everything a customer needs for a meal, including the appropriate pack aging should the dish need to be warmed up to serve. These meals will be balanced, low-fat, and of the highest quality. For instance, a freshly prepared chicken dish, complimented by a leaf lettuce salad and couscous is one of the offerings. These offering will range from various meat and fish dishes to vegetarian meals. This new product line can help the company achieve sales growth and profitability by leveraging the existing product base and customer target market. From a foreign perspective, Too Fresh to Go can attract customers into the store for a fresh alternative for to-go food. Kudler Fine Foods and the introduction of Too Fresh to Go is a natural extension of the gourmet grocery store’s current product offerings. Kudler will also add to a customer’s convenience factor as well as appeal to those customers who may be hesitant to shop at a gourmet store if he or she is not a gourmet cook. These meals will fill a niche in the market whereby more working families are looking for healthy alternatives throughout the week to feed their families and do not want to turn to fast food. Whereas there are a variety of food preparation companies and local delivery companies, the pricing of these products prices them out of the market for some families. By extended this product offering at the grocery store, Kudler already has their target audience that would benefit from this type of product. In addition, Kudler already offers wine tasting classes and this product offering goes hand-in-hand with the nature of excellent customer service Kudler provides. Product positioning From a positioning perspective, the launch of Too Fresh to Go will be placed in the front of the store to add convenience to shoppers who do not have the time, as one of the key concepts of Too Fresh to Go is for working families who simply do not have the time to cook a gourmet meal each night. This section will be small at first in both locations, domestic and foreign, and will fea ture samples and a customer service specialist to answer any questions, nutritional and otherwise. The packaging will be bright and vibrant, but most importantly, this packaging will be able to be placed in the

Disaster Management Essay Example for Free

Disaster Management Essay Disaster management is a way to help when disasters happen but it is also to help prevent them or to inform everyone about what may happen. The main function is to helping the citizens to understand what is happening. The state will determine how severe the disaster is and then the ones who are responsible for reporting to the appropriate government or agency will then make the recommendation to getting help for funding, support, and any emergency supplies to those who are affected by the disaster. The disasters that happen can be unpredictable like earthquakes, while other natural disasters could happen with some type of warning like flooding. B. The state of California has manuals that they use that goes into details about statewide policies, procedures, regulations, and any other important information that was developed and authorized by the state offices, department of finance, department of general services, and the government offices (Disaster Management California Technology Agency State of California, 2013). III. Examine local, state federal legal and regulatory requirements A. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)- Has jurisdiction over all public and private sector places of employment in the state with exception of Federal employees, the USPS, private sector employers on Native American lands, maritime activities on navigate waterways of the US, private contractors on designated land under Federal jurisdiction, and employers that requires Federal security clearance. B. Joint Commission of Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) C. The California State Plan is operated under an agreement with OSHA. It is an occupational safety and health program in accordance with Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. D. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)- Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, Coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, Regional Emergency Coordinators, Emergency Care Coordination Center IV. Is there a Certificate of Need program for your state? A. Certificate of Need (C. O. N. ) programs are aimed at restraining health care facility costs. The Health Planning Resources Development Act of 1974 was put into effect across the nation. Over the past 30 years, there have been numerous changes and about 36 states retain some type of CON program. This program was used to approve the construction and expansion of health care facilities and services based on determination and community need. B. California does not currently have a C. O. N. in effect. Back in 1969, the state had implemented a C. O. N, ending in 1987. California’s C. O. N. program suffered from inadequate staffing and lack of data. V. What are the issues to consider when meeting the International Building Code for a facility? A. New codes vs. Old codes B. Updates to â€Å"I-Codes† done by diverse group of officials i. Corridor width ii. 8 feet of clear, unobstructed width iii. Defend-in-place practices iv. Visual and audible fire alarms. v. Elevator Lobbies vi. Floor openings vii. Smoke control viii. Ceiling and smoke partitions ix. Fully Sprinkler hospitals x. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers xi. Decorations on Wall. C. What Measurements may need to be done in advance of the new plan or renovation? i. Acoustical measurements to plan work zones accordingly to minimize decibels ii. Security measurements to ensure clear sightlines where needed, specialized door access and/or any visual monitoring via camera. iii. Measuring of equipment to ensure adequate planning of rooms iv. Safety measures D. List the stakeholders that may play a role in your development (Scott) Facility management i. Providers that are financially vested in the company ii. Depending on size of facility, CEO, CFO, VP, etc. iii. Input from floor staff to maximize area usage for patients iv. Patients-their input from potential comment cards or direct questioning in how to improve their care from a facility perspective. E. Conclusion i. Strong conclusion that provides details to what the State of California is working towards accomplishing safety awareness. ii. Existing disaster plans in the State of California. iii. State of California has financial instability affecting citizens as well as service. References Disaster Management California Technology Agency State of California. (2013). Retrieved from http://http://www. cio. a. gov/OIS/Government/disaster. asp HHS. gov. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. hhs. gov/asl/testify/2010/01/t20100125a. html US Department Of Labor. (2013). California State Plan. Retrieved from http://www. osha. gov/dcsp/osp/stateprogs/california. html What is disaster management? (2012). Retrieved from http://www. disastermanagement. in/2012/02/what-is-disaster-management. html Certificate of Need: State Health Laws and Programs. (2011). Retrie ved from http://www. ncsl. org/issues-research/health/con-certificate-of-need-state-laws. aspx

Government Strategies to Meet Individual Childcare Needs

Government Strategies to Meet Individual Childcare Needs Explain the benefits for children when their individual needs are met A child develops very quickly in their early years, they continue to acquire new skills and gain knowledge all the time. Child development covers growth, development and learning from the very moment they are born to 60 months old (August after a child’s 5th birthday). These three areas in bold text are connected and are vastly influenced via a child’s experiences, environment and genetic inheritance. Early Years practitioners should work extremely hard to help bring along and guide a healthy, well-rounded, ‘unique child’ by focusing on a child’s individual needs, characteristics and own interests these benefit each individual child because no two children are exactly the same! They all learn, absorb information and acquire new skills at different stages within their own development. UNICEF (World Wide Children’s Society) Believe that â€Å"Every child is special and all human beings have a right to basic standards, and all races and religions are to be treated equally and with respect†. UN (United Nations) Believe â€Å"All children have a right to have their own views and opinions listened to and have their best interests at heart†. So therefore if these guidelines and beliefs above are followed by all Early Years providers every child will benefit as a good practitioner will help to develop, nurture, support and promote their own key children’s personalities, talents and abilities regardless of ethnicity, culture or religion. Each child will benefit because they will Feel supported and protected with the care they are given Feel valued because their individual needs are understood and met Learn more successfully because they are in a safe and happy environment Be a more confident child with the variety of experiences they are exposed to In the Early Years – Development Matters booklet it talks about every Early Years practitioner works very closely with each individual key child they should be able to pick up any development issues they find earlier; and by identifying these issues early it will help and support the child’s learning and development without causing too much disruption, which in turn benefits the child even further with the extra support and guidance they receive. Every child has different circumstances and abilities, if each individual child is nurtured and their needs are met then they will benefit immensely because they will feel empowered, valued and supported which will therefore extend their own knowledge and promote their own personal learning journey. Describe how the principles of anti-discriminatory practice can be applied to practice Discrimination is when an individual or a typical group of people are excluded and treated unfairly. The ‘Human Rights Act’ and the ‘Equality Act 2010’ promotes ‘anti-discriminatory practice’. Typical discriminative behaviour is negativity regarding gender, disability, social class, physical appearance, race and culture, family background and traditions. There are several different ways of promoting anti-discriminatory behaviour within an Early Years setting Promoting a positive environment where everyone is welcome and greeted with a friendly attitude verbally as well as visually (i.e. Place welcome signs in different languages on the entrance walls of the nursery setting) Providing and promoting equality of opportunity and values for all children, building on an understanding, commitment and attitudes about themselves and others who are from different cultures Building strong positive relationships with both child and their families – even if they have another first language (learning some common words of their own mother’s tongue would help build a stronger relationship) Celebrating multicultural festivals and events throughout the whole year – which allows all the children to participate and gain knowledge Promoting non-stereotypical behaviour during play times allowing all children to choose their own preferred toys and not having typical gender type resources available (i.e. Prams/Dolls for girls and Train sets/Cars for boys) Ensure equal selection of toys, resources and activities which reflect different cultures and religions, and allow them to be an accurate representation and used in the correct way (i.e. Role play, books, crafts etc..) Use parental expertise and advice where needed to ensure there isn’t any element of ignorance within the environment when different types of activities are planned and set out. (Invite parents in to the setting to give a small talk about their own festivals or by sharing their own knowledge and skills with all the children from every background, this is involving the parents and helps them to feel valued within the nursery environment too!) If all Early Years providers and practitioners behave in a non-prejudice way and abide to the above rules any unnecessary conflict within a nursery setting could be avoided and everyone who visits the setting will feel valued, welcome, supported and a positive outcome will prevail, therefore everyone will gain positive emotional well-being. Finally, on a positive note if all the children within the nursery are included, valued and helped to understand differences from themselves they will grow and develop an understanding to accept others who are different from themselves, this in turn will encourage and help children to empathise with others no matter what their differences in background, providing a healthier society in the future! Describe why it is important to plan activities that meet the individual needs of children Children develop at different rates and there are several factors which may impact how a child grows and develops. When an Early Years practitioner is planning activities they should take in to consideration the following Pregnancy or birth difficulties, Disability, Illness, Environment and Stress, because these factors can make a big difference how an individual child learns and develops. Early Years Statutory Framework (EYSF) State thatâ€Å"Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development†. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) State thatâ€Å"Practitioners should help develop their key child’s personalities, abilities and talents to the fullest potential, and be given the opportunity to grow up in an environment of happiness, love and understanding†. If practitioners within the nursery setting follow the above guidelines the child’s key worker will have excellent knowledge of their key children within their care. It is their responsibility to offer each key child an individual way to grow and develop at a steady pace. It is advised by (EYSF) that an Early Years practitioner follow this typical cycle of (planning, observation and assessment) for each â€Å"unique child†. A good time to observe is during free play sessions. By being a good listener and observer practitioners can get a better understanding and gain good knowledge of the child’s preferred interests which they find stimulating and what they can/can’t do well independently! An example of this a child loves independently playing with cars and their key worker has observed they need to develop numeracy and creative skills – by providing a fun activity with several types of cars you should immediately capture their curiosity you could begin the activity by counting the cars together, then if the child is still focused and amused you could use the tyres of the cars to make different marks with coloured paints, this in turn will help develop their numeracy knowledge and creativity! By using the typical triangle cycle to plan and access you avoid choosing an activity which is either non-engaging or uninteresting for the child and which may be possibly too easy for the child to gain any suitable knowledge or stimulating enough for their individual learning outcome. Alternatively if a child finds the activity too hard it could provide a negative impact on them and in turn it could affect their self-esteem hindering their own learning journey in the future. If the key worker provides sufficient praise during the planned activity the key child will be supported and this attitude will help their self-esteem and they will continue to progress well. The advantage of using this type of planning cycle for your key child’s learning journey are it can be tracked appropriately and effectively for each individual child within your care and will therefore boost their own development, physical and social growth. Explain how the practitioner can promote children’s physical and emotional well-being within an early years setting Parents have to have immense confidence and trust by leaving their child in the care of practitioners within an Early Years setting therefore it is absolute paramount that their precious child is valued, supported, safe, loved and well cared for during those hours that the parents cannot be around. Every Child Matters: (ECM) is a UK government initiative for England and Wales it states that â€Å"There are five important factors to improve children’s lives as a whole 1. Being healthy, 2. Staying safe; 3. Enjoy achieving; 4. Making a positive contribution; 5. Economic well being†. These five factors may not all apply to Early Years children but by securing and helping them develop the first three skills as the child grows in to an older child factors four and five should be a natural progression/development as long as they continue to be nurtured, supported and valued individuals within society. If Early Years practitioners adhere especially to these first three factors these will provide them with an excellent base and grounding, practitioners can promote a child’s physical and emotional well-being within an Early Years setting in several different ways Safeguarding infants by keeping children safe and secure in a positive environment helps them to achieve the best they can achieve because they will feel secure and well supported Securing strong early relationships having a strong bond with key worker/child is very important for a good quality learning experience Teach children to become aware and to empathise with other people, this gives them a sense of belonging and shows them how to be a helpful and kind individual Being a positive role model by being a healthy key worker, keeping safe and helping them to enjoy achieving with like minded people Focus on positive attitudes and behaviour this type of focus helps the child to realise that good behaviour is rewarding which will give them a sense of achievement Allowing them to have a choice helping them to discover self worth and adapt to their own actions this promotes self-esteem and will build their confidence and will help them to feel empowered as an independent, confident learner Structured daily routine helps the child to feel safe, secure and well cared for which promotes positive behaviour A good practitioner should be able to promote a child’s physical and emotional well being by teaching and being an excellent role model. Children enjoy and like to copy others around them – that is how they learn and develop so it is very important to be a positive role model with a good, positive attitude because it helps them in their early years about the difference between good and negative behaviour. It is equally important to have in place a structured daily routine where the child feels safe, secure and well cared for. A child benefits in many ways when a routine is followed because children quickly adapt themselves and have a great sense of stability, comfort and organisation which in turn promotes positive behaviour and they also gain knowledge of self control. Practitioners should be able to encourage and guide a child during their early years helping them to realise that they have a choice, this will build the child’s own self confidence and they will become more aware of their own actions this in turn will promote independence, self confidence and assertiveness which should help them to develop a positive and healthy bright future.

Entrance to the Profession Narrative :: Essays Papers

Entrance to the Profession Narrative I remember seventh grade Open House at my suburban Catholic grade school in the southern curve of St. Louis’ Mississippi River. I remember the glaring, bowl-shaped auditorium lights hovering over milling parents and sheepish classmates, everyone looking for their own, or their own child’s work so they could make their exclamations and get on with the night. I remember it so well because on my orange poster-board balloon, under a fifth grade school photo—with the red pullover sweater, plaid Peter Pan collar, and bouffant bow—someone had written â€Å"Aspiring Author.† I didn’t know anyone knew. I didn’t even know myself. Maybe it was in the stories I wrote for our weekly vocabulary sentences. Or the dramas I enacted for book reports that ran fifteen minutes over our allotted five. Perhaps I revealed it in my Social Studies notebook with pages upon pages of illustrated, full-paragraphed definitions of Civil War details, in the three-page poem I recited from memory in front of the class, in zealous literature projects, in my natural ability to crank out grammar trees, or in the novella I turned in for a one-page writing assignment. It never occurred to me to articulate such an aspiration—perhaps because it was too close. But others could see it—this love affair with language. For whatever reasons, I continued to dismiss that orange balloon discovery until several years after I left—I thought—the academic world behind for good. I understand now why my undergraduate years were such a struggle. This bouffant-bowed aspirant hooked flailing arms around a biology major, when math and science had been only sources of tedium and misery. After a year of unbearable classes, I switched my major to English—more out of a sense of failure than a sense of right. My motivation for grasping onto science was the thought of a clear, and perhaps interesting, job-title after four years. My motivation for running back into the arms of my former lover was that it felt familiar and natural. I cringed every time I heard someone say, â€Å"Oh, an English major†¦what will you do? Teach?† Was that my only option? I couldn’t do it. Yes, I loved to read and write, to crawl into glittering tunnels of analysis, to discover ideas as they revealed themselves under my pen, but it all seemed so†¦removed from life. Entrance to the Profession Narrative :: Essays Papers Entrance to the Profession Narrative I remember seventh grade Open House at my suburban Catholic grade school in the southern curve of St. Louis’ Mississippi River. I remember the glaring, bowl-shaped auditorium lights hovering over milling parents and sheepish classmates, everyone looking for their own, or their own child’s work so they could make their exclamations and get on with the night. I remember it so well because on my orange poster-board balloon, under a fifth grade school photo—with the red pullover sweater, plaid Peter Pan collar, and bouffant bow—someone had written â€Å"Aspiring Author.† I didn’t know anyone knew. I didn’t even know myself. Maybe it was in the stories I wrote for our weekly vocabulary sentences. Or the dramas I enacted for book reports that ran fifteen minutes over our allotted five. Perhaps I revealed it in my Social Studies notebook with pages upon pages of illustrated, full-paragraphed definitions of Civil War details, in the three-page poem I recited from memory in front of the class, in zealous literature projects, in my natural ability to crank out grammar trees, or in the novella I turned in for a one-page writing assignment. It never occurred to me to articulate such an aspiration—perhaps because it was too close. But others could see it—this love affair with language. For whatever reasons, I continued to dismiss that orange balloon discovery until several years after I left—I thought—the academic world behind for good. I understand now why my undergraduate years were such a struggle. This bouffant-bowed aspirant hooked flailing arms around a biology major, when math and science had been only sources of tedium and misery. After a year of unbearable classes, I switched my major to English—more out of a sense of failure than a sense of right. My motivation for grasping onto science was the thought of a clear, and perhaps interesting, job-title after four years. My motivation for running back into the arms of my former lover was that it felt familiar and natural. I cringed every time I heard someone say, â€Å"Oh, an English major†¦what will you do? Teach?† Was that my only option? I couldn’t do it. Yes, I loved to read and write, to crawl into glittering tunnels of analysis, to discover ideas as they revealed themselves under my pen, but it all seemed so†¦removed from life.

Succubus Shadows Chapter 3

I worked until closing that night and didn't get home until around ten. To my surprise, I found Roman on the couch eating a bowl of cereal while the cats competed for who could take up the most attention on his lap. Honestly, they seemed to love him more than me lately. It was a betrayal of Caesarean proportions. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked, sitting on the armchair opposite him. I noticed then that the last of the party untidiness had been cleaned. Somehow, I suspected mentioning that would result in him never cleaning again. â€Å"I figured you'd be out chasing Jerome's succubus.† Roman stifled a yawn and set the empty bowl on the coffee table. Immediately, both cats sprang off his lap to get to the residual milk. â€Å"I'm on break. Been following her all day, though.† â€Å"And?† My natural curiosity aside, I was uneasy about the idea of Jerome's authority being called into question. The arch-demon might annoy me sometimes, but I had no desire for a new boss. We'd come dangerously close to a leadership change when he'd been summoned, and I hadn't been impressed with any of the candidates. â€Å"And it was incredibly boring. You're much more fun to stalk. She went shopping for most of the day. I didn't even know stores would let you take that much shit into dressing rooms. Then, she picked up a guy at a bar, and, well, you can figure out the rest.† I rather liked the idea of Roman suffering while Simone had sex. â€Å"Figured your voyeuristic tendencies would be into that kind of pornographic display.† He made a face. â€Å"It wasn't good porn. It was like the nasty, kinky porn they keep in the back of the store. The kind of stuff that only really sick people go after.† â€Å"So no clandestine meetings to report to Jerome?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Makes sense, I guess.† I stretched out and put my feet out on the table. With Doug incapacitated, I'd spent a rare day on registers, standing more than I usually did anymore. Unless I was mistaken, Roman's eyes lingered on my legs before returning to my face. â€Å"If she didn't see any immortal action today, she'd have nothing to tell on.† â€Å"Not until tonight, at least.† â€Å"Tonight?† â€Å"How scattered are you? Peter and Cody are having one of their things tonight.† â€Å"Oh, man. I forgot.† Peter loved to throw dinners and get-togethers and seemed unconcerned that I'd just had a major party of my own. As a nocturnal creature, his soirees always took place late at night. â€Å"And Simone's going?† â€Å"Yup. Mei's with her now, and I'll relieve her at Peter's.† â€Å"So you'll be there in spirit, if not in person.† â€Å"Something like that.† He smiled at my joke, and for the first time since he'd returned to town, I saw a genuinely amused sparkle in those teal eyes. It reminded me a bit of the witty, gallant guy I used to date. It also occurred to me that this was a rare non-antagonistic conversation for us. It was almost†¦normal. Misunderstanding my silence, he gave me a wary look. â€Å"You aren't thinking of wussing out, are you? Your day couldn't have been that hard.† I actually had been thinking of wussing out. After yesterday's drama and now my regret over yielding to Maddie, I wasn't sure I was up for my immortal friends' zany hijinks. â€Å"Come on,† Roman said. â€Å"Simone is so boring. And I don't even mean her activities. She's just bland. If you're not there to entertain me, I don't know what I'll do.† â€Å"Are you saying the rest of my friends aren't entertaining?† â€Å"They pale in comparison.† I finally agreed to go. Although, it wouldn't have surprised me if his interest in me making an appearance was just to bum a ride. Nonetheless, I was in a good mood as I headed over to Capitol Hill. It was a little weird having Roman with me and not with me. To continue his spying, he'd gone invisible and without signature. It was like having a ghost in my car. As usual, I was one of the last to arrive. The Three Amigos – Peter, Cody, and Hugh – were there, dressed in their usual attire now, rather than historically accurate costumes. That meant a perfectly coordinated sweater vest and slacks for Peter, jeans and a T-shirt for Cody, and business casual for Hugh. I held the door open a little longer than usual, to facilitate Roman sweeping in after me. From there, I took it on faith that he was hanging out. As soon as he let us in, Peter scurried back to his kitchen without a word. Simone was there too. She sat on the loveseat, long legs perfectly crossed and hands resting on her knees. Her body was slim with respectably sized breasts, clad in a black skirt and silvery silk blouse. Her hair was – unsurprisingly – long and blond. Most succubi seemed to think blond was a sure-fire way to get guys in bed. I considered that attitude a sign of inexperience. I'd been a brunette – albeit one with gold highlights – for a while and never had trouble scoring action. Hugh sat next to her, wearing the flirtatious face that was standard for him when it came to wooing women into bed. Simone regarded him with a polite smile, one she turned on me when I entered. She stood up and held out her hand. Her immortal signature smelled like violets and put me in mind of moonlight and cello music. â€Å"You must be Georgina,† she said. â€Å"Nice to meet you.† She kept that same polite expression, and I could tell it wasn't faked. It also wasn't mischievous or overly charming. Likewise, she bore none of the open hostility succubi had around each other, or even the sugar-coated passive aggressiveness that was also common among us. She was just averagely nice. She was†¦bland. â€Å"You too,† I said. I turned to Cody as I tried to identify the scents coming from the kitchen. â€Å"What's for dinner?† â€Å"Shepherd's pie.† I waited for the joke, but none came. â€Å"That's not Peter's usual style.† He was a great cook but tended to stray toward filet mignon or scallops. Cody nodded. â€Å"He was watching a documentary on the British Isles earlier, and it inspired him.† â€Å"Well, I've got nothing against it,† I said, sitting on the arm of the couch. â€Å"I guess we should just be grateful he didn't decide to make blood pudding.† â€Å"In Australia, they have a variant of shepherd's pie that has potatoes on the top and the bottom,† Simone said out of nowhere. â€Å"They call it potato pie.† Several seconds of silence followed. Her comment wasn't entirely off-topic, but it was just odd – particularly since she didn't deliver it in a smug, know-it-all voice that you found among people who always won at Trivial Pursuit. It was just a statement of fact. It also wasn't very interesting. â€Å"Huh,† I said at last, voice deadpan. â€Å"Good to know the name's accurate. It'll avoid any embarrassing confusion that might occur at dinner. God only knows how many wacky mishaps have happened when people ordered sweetmeats.† Cody choked a little on his beer, but Hugh gave Simone a high-beam smile. â€Å"That's fascinating. Are you a cook?† â€Å"No,† she said. Nothing more. Peter popped back in just then with a vodka gimlet for me. After last night's showdown with Doug, I'd vowed to lay off for a while – like, a few days. I suddenly decided I might need a drink after all. Peter glanced around with a small frown. â€Å"This is it? I'd kind of hoped Jerome might come.† Our boss used to hang out with us quite a bit but had been avoiding social events since his summoning. â€Å"I think he's got some business to take care of,† I said. I honestly had no clue, but I kind of hoped my vague allusion would trigger a reaction in Simone. It didn't. Peter put on a good spread as always, his kitchen table immaculately set, along with cabernet sauvignon to complement the shepherd's pie. I noted that Guinness might be a better pairing, but he ignored me. â€Å"Where are you from?† I asked Simone. â€Å"You're here on vacation, right?† She nodded, delicately lifting her fork. She'd cut her pie into perfect one-inch-sized cubes. It was enough to rival Peter's obsessive compulsion. â€Å"I'm from Charleston,† she said. â€Å"I'll probably stay for a week. Maybe two if my archdemon will let me. Seattle's nice.† â€Å"I've heard Charleston's nice too,† said Hugh. He apparently hadn't given up on getting laid tonight. â€Å"It was founded in 1670,† she said by way of answer. That weird silence followed again. â€Å"Were you there at the time?† I asked. â€Å"No.† We ate without further conversation. At least, we did until dessert arrived and Cody turned his attention to me. â€Å"So, are you going to help me or not?† I'd been pondering how Simone ever managed to score guys and if her use of adjectives expanded beyond â€Å"nice.† Cody's question blindsided me. â€Å"What?† â€Å"With Gabrielle. Remember? Last night?† Right. Bookstore Gabrielle who was only into Goth and vampire guys. â€Å"I didn't promise you I would, did I?† I asked uneasily. There were too many memory gaps from that party. â€Å"No, but if you were a friend, you would. Besides, aren't you some kind of love expert?† â€Å"For myself.† â€Å"And if memory serves,† said Hugh, â€Å"she's not even really good at that.† I shot him a glare. â€Å"You have to give me something,† said Cody. â€Å"I need to see her again†¦need something to talk to her about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd thought his infatuation with Gabrielle had been alcohol induced last night – seriously, was there anything alcohol couldn't be blamed for? – but that look of puppy dog love was still in his eyes. I'd known Cody a few years and had never seen this kind of reaction from him. I'd never seen it from Peter either, but my friends and I had secretly decided long ago that he was just asexual. If vampires had been capable of reproduction, he would have done it amoeba-style. I racked my brain. â€Å"I saw her reading The Seattle Sinner the other day on her break.† â€Å"What's that?† Cody asked. â€Å"It's our local industrial-Goth-fetish-horror-S-angst underground newspaper,† said Peter. We all turned and stared at him. â€Å"So I've heard,† he added hastily. I glanced back at Cody with a shrug. â€Å"It's a start. We've got it in the store.† â€Å"Are you guys done with the boring love stuff?† a voice suddenly asked. â€Å"It's time to get onto the real action.† The new voice made me jump, and then I felt the familiar crystalline aura signaling an angel's presence. Carter materialized in the one empty chair at the table – Peter had set for six, hoping Jerome would show. Seattle's worst dressed angel sat back in the chair, arms crossed over his chest and expression typically sardonic. His jeans and flannel shirt looked like they'd gone through a wood chipper, but the cashmere knit hat resting on his shoulder-length blond hair was pristine. It had been a gift from me, and I couldn't help a smile. Carter's gray eyes glinted with amusement when he noticed me. Hanging out with an angel might be weird in some hellish circles, but it had become pretty standard in our group. We were used to Carter's comings and goings, as well as his cryptic – and often infuriating – remarks. He was the closest Jerome had to a best friend and always had a particular interest in me and my love life. He'd let up a little since the recent debacle with Seth. Carter might be commonplace to us – but not to Simone. Her blue eyes went wide when he appeared, her face completely transforming. She leaned over the table, and unless I was mistaken, her neckline had gotten a little lower since my arrival. She shook Carter's hand. â€Å"I don't think we've met,† she said. â€Å"I'm Simone.† â€Å"Carter,† he replied, eyes still amused. â€Å"Simone's visiting from Charleston,† I said. â€Å"It was founded in 1670.† Carter's smile twitched a little. â€Å"So I've heard.† â€Å"You should visit,† she said. â€Å"I'd love to show you around. It's very nice.† I exchanged astonished looks with Peter, Cody, and Hugh. Simone's bland demeanor hadn't lit up exactly, but she'd suddenly become 2 percent more interesting. She wasn't infatuated with Carter the way Cody was with Gabrielle. She was just trying to bag an angel. Good luck with that, I thought. That was ballsy for any succubus. Certainly angels fell because of love and sex – Jerome was living proof – and I'd even witnessed it once. But Carter? If ever there was a staunchly resistant being, it was him. Except when it came to chain-smoking and hard liquor, of course. Yes, things with Simone had definitely gotten more interesting. â€Å"Sure,† said Carter. â€Å"I bet you could show me all sorts of places off the beaten path.† â€Å"Absolutely,† she replied. â€Å"You know, there's an inn there that George Washington had dinner at once.† I rolled my eyes. I doubted there was any part of Charleston she could show Carter that he didn't know about. Carter had been around to watch cities like Babylon and Troy rise and fall. For all I knew, he'd personally helped take down Sodom and Gomorrah. â€Å"So what kind of action did you have in mind?† I asked Carter. As entertaining as Simone's pathetic flirtation might be, I wasn't sure I was up to American History 101 tonight. â€Å"I am not playing ‘Have You Ever' again.† â€Å"Better,† he said. Out of nowhere, Carter produced Pictionary. And when I say out of nowhere, I meant it. â€Å"No,† said Hugh. â€Å"I spent years perfecting my illegible doctor's signature. I've totally lost any artistic aptitude whatsoever.† â€Å"I love Pictionary,† said Simone. â€Å"I think I have some things to do,† I added. I felt a shove on my shoulder and glanced around in surprise, seeing nothing. Then, I knew. Roman apparently still wanted me to entertain him. I sighed. â€Å"But I can stay for a little while.† â€Å"Great. That settles it,† said Carter. He turned to Peter. â€Å"You got an easel?† Of course Peter did. Why, I had no clue, but after he'd bought a Roomba and a Betamax player, I'd learned not to ask questions. We split into teams: me, Cody, and Hugh against the others. I went first. The card I drew was â€Å"Watergate.† â€Å"Oh, come on,† I said. â€Å"This is ridiculous.† â€Å"Don't whine,† said Carter, his grin annoyingly smug. â€Å"We all take a random chance here.† They started the timer. I drew some remedial waves that immediately got a â€Å"Water!† from Cody. That was promising. Then, I drew what I hoped looked like a wall with a door in it. Apparently, I did too good a job. â€Å"Wall,† said Hugh. â€Å"Door,† said Cody. I added some vertical lines to the door to emphasize the gate aspect. After a moment's thought, I drew a plus sign between the water and wall to show their connection. â€Å"Aqueduct,† said Cody. â€Å"A bridge over troubled water,† guessed Hugh. â€Å"Oh my God,† I groaned. Unsurprisingly, my time ran out before my teammates could figure it out, though not before they guessed â€Å"Hoover Dam† and â€Å"Hans Brinker.† With a groan, I flounced onto the couch. The other team then got a shot at it. â€Å"Watergate,† said Carter right away. Hugh turned on me, face incredulous. â€Å"Why didn't you just draw a gate?† Simone went after me, and I hoped she'd get â€Å"Cuban Missile Crisis† or â€Å"Bohr's Law.† The timer started, and she drew a circle with lines radiating out from it. â€Å"Sun,† said Peter immediately. â€Å"Right!† she said. I glared at Carter. â€Å"You. Are. Cheating.† â€Å"And you're a bad loser,† he replied. We played for another hour, but after my team got â€Å"Oncology,† â€Å"The Devil and Daniel Webster,† and â€Å"War of 1812,† and theirs got â€Å"Heart,† â€Å"Flower,† and â€Å"Smile,† I decided to go home. At the door, I heard a wistful sigh in my ear. â€Å"You're on your own,† I growled to Roman in an undertone. I left amid protests about being a bad sport and considered myself lucky when Carter said they were going to play Jenga next. The drive back to West Seattle was quiet this time of night, and after parking underneath my building, I was happy to see that today's unseasonable heat still hung in the air. Being so close to the water had cooled it slightly, bringing it to a perfect nighttime temperature. On impulse, I walked across the street to the beach, which was actually more like a park: grassy with only a few feet of sand. In Seattle, there were few places that offered much more. Still, I loved the water and the soft sounds of waves against the shore. A light breeze stirred my hair, and those costly glittering lights shone in the distance. I'd moved here partially to get away from Queen Anne and its regular proximity to Seth, but also because the ocean always brought back memories of my mortal youth. Puget Sound was a far cry from the warm Mediterranean waters I'd grown up near, but it soothed something within me nonetheless. That comfort was bittersweet, of course, but it was an unfortunate tendency of mortals and immortals alike to gravitate toward things we knew would cause us pain. The water was enchanting, glittering in both moonlight and street light. I stared off at a lit ferry moving toward Bain-bridge Island, then returned my gaze to the lapping waves before me. They seemed to be choreographed into a dance, an alluring pattern that urged me to join in. I might not be able to draw, but dancing was an art I'd carried from my mortal days. The water beckoned, and I could almost hear the music it danced to. It was intoxicating, filled with warmth and love that promised to ease that constant dull ache in my chest, the ache I'd carried since losing Seth†¦. It wasn't until I was calf-deep in water that I realized what I had done. My high heels were sinking into the sand, and warm day or no, the water was still at a low temperature, its icy touch seeping into my skin. The world, which had before seemed dreamy and hazy, now snapped into sharp relief, no longer an inviting dance that promised comfort and pleasure. Fear sent my heart racing, and I hastily backed up, something that wasn't easy as the sand wrapped around my heels. I finally stepped out of them and reached down, pulling them up from the water and walking back to the shore barefoot. I stared out at the sound a few moments more, startled at how much it now scared me. How far would I have walked in? I didn't know and didn't want to think about it too hard. I turned and hastily headed toward my condo, oblivious to the rough asphalt against my feet. It wasn't until I was safely back in my living room – having locked the door behind me – that I felt some measure of safety. Aubrey walked up to me, sniffing my ankles and then licking the salty water that still clung to them. I'd had one drink almost two hours ago, a drink that had long metabolized out of my system. This had been no buzzed delusion – neither had last night's sleepwalking or near-balcony jump. I sat on my couch, arms wrapped around me. Everything around me seemed a threat. â€Å"Roman?† I asked aloud. â€Å"Are you here?† My only answer was silence. He was still out with Simone and probably wouldn't be back the rest of the night. I was astonished at how suddenly and desperately I wished he were here. My condo seemed lonely and ominous. Water had splashed against my dress, and I changed out of it, swapping it for the soft comfort of pajamas. I decided then that I wouldn't sleep. I'd wait in the living room for Roman. I needed to tell him what had happened. I needed him to guard my sleep. Yet, somewhere around four, my own fatigue overcame me. I stretched out along the couch, both cats curled against me, and gradually lost track of the infomercial on TV. When I woke, it was late morning, and sunlight warmed my skin. Roman was still gone. I hadn't been able to wait him out, but I was still on the couch. For now, that was the best I could hope for.

Problems on Early Marriages

In our research paper we looked at young marriages especially of those in college. This topic was of interest to us because of our college careers and upcoming marriage. Jeremy is currently a junior in chemical engineering and I am a junior in elementary education. We ourselves feel that a college marriage would work although it will be hard. We will now discuss the literature we looked at regarding young marriage. To begin our discussion we will first give a definition of an adolescent. The term adolescent â€Å"refers to the post pubertal population younger than twenty years of age who have a distinctive life-style; for those immediately younger the term young adults is used†(John and Pat Caldwell, 1998). Adolescence is socially defined. It is seen there as an instrument for social change and prepares you for adult life in societies where adolescence is found. Adolescence is associated with the following: going to school, trying to achieve occupational positions, and creating boy- girl friendships. Adolescence is associated with the moving away from agrarian society to full-time education which is needed in complex societies (John and Pat Caldwell,1998). In the study of adolescence there has been a huge interest in adolescent marriage and childbirth. Marital instability has been directly linked to adolescent marriage and childbirth. When this occurs the adolescent is forced into the role of a parent and they are not able to fully develop their own identity or learn the importance of intimacy (Teti and Lamb, 1989). Adolescent marriage has been shown to have an effect on lowering their socioeconomic status and stability in the marriage. Adolescents that are married and have children with their new responsibilities now have less time for what is really important which is their education. Adolescence is a time that should be focused on education. Women who gave birth in adolescence completed less than eleven years of education. Those who had adolescent marriages and kids completed 11. 82 years of education. Women who only had an adolescent marriage and did not have children completed 12. 9 years of education (Teti and Lamb, 1989). Marriage and children at such a young age obviously have a negative affect on education. Education has a great impact on a person†s social and economic status. At the end of a person†s adolescent phase they are ready to enter college. Some college students today are not ready for college though. Parents should make sure that their kids can cope with everyday responsibilities such as food and transportation, budget money and time, resolve conflicts, be able to make decisions, and have goals suggests an excerpt from an article in USA Today. It is a large change from having their parents there to help them deal with their problems. College is the time to grow and find out who you truly are and what you want to do with the rest of your life. Some couples are finding themselves having to make compromises within their relationships when it comes to their careers. Less young couples have to compromise their careers for their partner. Universities are offering jobs to young couples to keep them together. Deans are even offering departments extra money to create new positions for the spouses (Wilson, 1996). Upon looking at our research material, we feel that couples should get married in college. In college you learn greater responsibilities and how to make life choices, which enables you to live a more mature adult life. After learning about these things in college you are able to take on the responsibilities of a married life. We have found that colleges are flexible with working with the married couple. We are now going to look at different marital roles. There are the instrumental or traditional model and the companionship or egalitarian model. The difference between the two is the difference between husband and wife relationship. In the instrumental model the husband brings in the majority of the household income and takes care of the finances, the wife on the other hand, stays home and takes care of the children. The companionship model stresses more of a friendship and mutual sharing of responsibilities between spouses. In this model the roles for spouses can be reversible (Pollock, Die, and Marriott, 1989). We feel that the companionship model works because it allows open lines of communication, which we feel is very important to a marriage. The method that we used was a survey consisting of five questions. The questions all dealt with our problem of should people get married in college. We used our sociology class as a convenience sample. The ages of the students in our class ranged from 18 to 30 or older. This gave us a broad age group to give us enough information on our topic. We decided to do a survey because it was the quickest, simplest, and most direct method to gather the information on our topic. We collected our data from the students at the beginning before class started. We handed out the surveys and allowed them to complete them at their leisure. As stated earlier all of our questions dealt with marriage and the ages at which it should be appropriate to marry. Our first question asked at what age is it acceptable to get married. We gave them a list of the ages above but broke them into categories. They were as follows: 18-21, 22-25, 26-29, and 30 and above years of age. We asked them to circle their response. The second question asked them the best age to get married. We used the same format as in question 1 for their responses. In order to distinguish between acceptable and best we can describe it in this manner. Acceptable ages in which to get married dealt with the way in which society would look at it. The best age to get married would show their personal views on the topic. Question 3 was what made the rest of our survey come together. This question asked should people get married in college. The same was asked as in question 1 and 2, to circle their answer; yes or no. The fourth question asked what characteristics you would chose in finding a partner. The characteristics are looks, race, religion, age, education, social status, and values. We came up with the above characteristics after reading Peplau, Hill, and Rubin†s article on â€Å"Sex Role Attitudes in Dating and Marriage: A Fifteen Year Follow-up of the Boston Couple Study† in the Journal of Social Issues. We asked them to check all characteristics that were important to them. In question 5 we asked them to indicate their gender and asked them to circle their age groups. In our five-question survey on marriage we polled a college sociology class which consisted of a sample size of 31. We broke up our age groups from 18-21, 22-25, 26-29, and 30 and above. Our first question was on the most acceptable age to get married. The majority of the students chose 18-21 to be the most acceptable at 47 percent. The minority, however came out to be 30 and above at 3 percent. * Note: One student survey was discarded because they indicated all answers as being correct. Our next question asked at what age is it best to be married. Students said 22-25 was best, being the majority, at 74 percent. On the other hand, the minority was 18-21 at 3 percent. All surveys now being included. The third question addressed the issue of whether or not people should get married in college. The majority of our sample size said no at 52 percent. The amount of students saying yes was close at 48 percent. The fourth question asked for characteristics of the person you would marry. The characteristics given are follows: looks, race, religion, age, education, social status, and values. We will start off with the majority being values, surprisingly everyone agreed. Looks, age, education, and race were all very close. Looks came out to be 65 percent, age and education were tied for 61 percent, and race was 58 percent. Social status was the minority in this case at 29 percent. Our last question had two parts to it. The first was to indicate their gender and the second was to specify their age group. Our survey indicated that majority was females consisting of 23 and there were 8 males. Majorities of students were ages 18-21 at 77 percent, then there were 30 and above which represented 13 percent, next was 26-29 at 6 percent. And last was 22-25 at 3 percent. The results of our survey were rather interesting. When looking at our results we found that there was quite a difference between the best and acceptable ages to get married. The majority of the students chose the age group of 18-21 years as being the most acceptable to get married. On the other hand, the students chose 22-25 years as the best ages to get married. We found this to be interesting because although you can get married at 18-25 it may be best to wait until ages 22-25 according to our survey. This may be because the majority of students surveyed were 18-21. The question can then be raised of if they really think they are ready to get married at 18-21 years of age, and obviously they do not since they chose 22-25 years as the best age to get married. At the ages of 18-21 people are just entering college and learning how to make it in the world and they are pursuing a degree if they are in college. At eighteen a person is just old enough to vote and serve in the Armed Forces, but they still can†t buy liquor. Society does not think that an 18-20 year old is mature enough to buy liquor, so should they be able to get married at that age. The first few years of college are good years to learn life lessons and the different characteristics that you will need to make it in the world as we talked about earlier in our research. I think that the students realized this and many of them felt that they would rather finish college around the age of twenty-five and then start their careers and their new family. The majority of the students surveyed agreed that you should not get married in college, but the it was only a very narrow margin between those who said that it was alright to get married in college compared to those who thought that you should not. Once married you have to be ready to start a family and of course be open to the possibility of having children. Children take up a lot of a parent†s time as well as a lot of a family†s income. Having children while in college could very well hurt your chances of getting an education as we saw in the data presented about adolescent mothers. At the age of 22-25 years many college students have a bachelor†s degree and are then ready to start their new careers. Their jobs would also bring along the financial stability needed to maintain the needs of a family. The age bracket of 22-25 would have the better financial ability to support a family and we are sure that the students took this into consideration when they filled out this survey. The characteristics that the students chose for the person that they would some day want to marry were interesting. Everyone selected the values of the person to be important to them, which truly is important since values are passed down from parents to children. Twenty students out of the thirty-one that were surveyed chose looks to be important to them. A person should and will be attracted to the person that they decide to marry. The interesting thing was the fact that nineteen people chose education to be important while only nine people chose social status to be important. These two things really go hand in hand though. Education is a way to that people can use to rise above their current social status. The data that we looked at showed us those adolescents that are married and have children have a lower chance of getting an education above the high school level and therefore end up having a lower social and economic status. Social status is also related to education in the way that some of the people in lower social status may not have the same opportunities that people with a higher social status might have. They may not be able to get into college or if they do not go as far in college as they could if they had more money at their disposal. They also may not know people in important places that may be able to help them get into the school that they wanted to or to get the job that they wanted. Social status also has to deal with a person†s values. A person who has less than someone else may be able to appreciate more what they have than others that take what they have for granted. There were characteristics that went hand in hand almost in the survey that people seemed to have overlooked. The question that we looked at in this paper was should people get married in college. After reviewing the data on adolescent marriages, we would have to agree with the information that we collected from our survey that 22-25 was the best age to get married. People in the 18-21 range are still considered as adolescents and still have a lot of growing up to do. By the ages of 22-25 students have learned how to live by themselves and have possibly even earned a degree to support themselves and a new family if it were their choice to get married. I guess we should really say that we agree with getting married later in your college years after you have learned how to take care of yourself so that you in turn can take care of someone else.