Of course I have much to be thankful for. I am gainfully employed at a job that challenges me in a whole host of way, I'm healthy, have a roof over my head and family, that for the most part, actually like being around me!
This years Yule time will be different though. I've given up shopping at the big stores for gifts. After watching store after store be inundated with people who are almost killing each other for the "best deal" I've decided that I have had enough of the crass commercialism that is being foisted upon us by the likes of large corporate entities.
But I'm not putting all of the blame there. I've said it all along that we have become a society of greedy, self absorbed ingrates...we really are. We aren't grateful for what we have and are always looking for more. When did this stop being the case? I've been guilty of it myself and have really had to do some mind erasing of those pervasive thoughts.
So this year...screw you big companies, I'm going to the Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem today with my brother. I want to find those little gems of artisan skill that I can give to my loved ones. Should be a hoot...and afterwards, we are going to put up my Yule tree, play Christmas music that annoys the crap out of my son, drink hot chocolate and remember to embrace the spirit of Yule as a time of reflection, rest and recuperation.
Happy Yule everyone!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
I got a JOB!!
OK, so for some people that may not be such a great thing but for me, I am thrilled to the core!
My original unemployment just ran out this week so I would have to file for extended unemployment, a little less than usual and would have meant more belt tightening...as if it weren't tight enough already.
The company that asked me to be their new safety and health manager is a very large company. 23 facilities in 6 countries. I've looked at their financials and they are indeed an extremely stable company (something that my last job wasn't) and thus far, everyone I have met has been extremely pleasant and professional. They seem to have an interested work force and one of my interviewers made the comment that the employees were "thirsty" for safety and I can appreciate that. This position has been unfilled for some time and I am certain that I will have my work cut out for me but honestly, I am certainly up for the challenge.
Being unemployed is hard. Not just financially but emotionally as well. Never knowing if something will go wrong and your unemployment won't come through. Watching your budget to ensure that you have adequate supplies of food and other necessities in the house. My food budget worked out to be about $40 a week. There was no money for activities since even gas to get anywhere had to be conserved. So yeah...I am very happy about going back to work and ensuring that I can take care of my family.
Onward and upward!!
My original unemployment just ran out this week so I would have to file for extended unemployment, a little less than usual and would have meant more belt tightening...as if it weren't tight enough already.
The company that asked me to be their new safety and health manager is a very large company. 23 facilities in 6 countries. I've looked at their financials and they are indeed an extremely stable company (something that my last job wasn't) and thus far, everyone I have met has been extremely pleasant and professional. They seem to have an interested work force and one of my interviewers made the comment that the employees were "thirsty" for safety and I can appreciate that. This position has been unfilled for some time and I am certain that I will have my work cut out for me but honestly, I am certainly up for the challenge.
Being unemployed is hard. Not just financially but emotionally as well. Never knowing if something will go wrong and your unemployment won't come through. Watching your budget to ensure that you have adequate supplies of food and other necessities in the house. My food budget worked out to be about $40 a week. There was no money for activities since even gas to get anywhere had to be conserved. So yeah...I am very happy about going back to work and ensuring that I can take care of my family.
Onward and upward!!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Budget...we don't need no stinkin' budget!!
So here I sit as lawmakers try to figure out a way to piss on each other without getting themselves wet. Honestly, I am so sick and tired of all the coverage about this budget issue for one simple reason: It's like watching competing drunken frat houses try to "one-up" the other. "Well if you are going to demand this, then we are going to do that and shut down the government, so blah!"
Is this what government has come to? Grown adults so invested in themselves that they can no longer see the forest of people that they took an oath to represent. So self-centered and self-absorbed that they have zero concern for the people affected by the shutdown. (FYI, Congress doesn't shut down and they will still keep getting a paycheck.) Non-essential services are shut down but that begs the question, if is the government job to take on a task (like running our national monuments and OSHA) wouldn't they ALL be considered essential services? or are some more essential than others.
I voted in the last election but I didn't vote for any of this. I thought I voted for people who would have not only my best interests at heart but the interests of my fellow man as well. I will admit it, I got screwed on that one!! I was hoodwinked, snookered, and in some instances outright LIED to by people in office.
There is no compromise, there is no mercy, there is no justice in this group of elected morons who foolishly believe that they are representing their constituents and that they are representing the people of this nation. I wonder how any of them can look at themselves in the mirror every morning and tell themselves that they are "keeping the best interests of the nation in mind" as they work so hard to prove that "They" are right and that "They" are wrong. How much nicer would it be if "They" worked together to create a legacy that people will admire and point to for years to come as a model form of government.
Lincoln's Gettysburg address comes to mind and it fit in with this whole situation too. Here it is in its entirety:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
I'm so sorry Abe that the people that we elected to represent us have so badly screwed all of this up. We have dishonored those who fought and gave their lives for this country by our pettiness, our insincerity and our callous disregard for our neighbor. Instead we fight for higher taxes on the poor, we fight to remove services that will make our country healthy and we ensure that the upper 1% of this country actually have the ability to purchase Congressmen on the open market. We bully those who don't look like "us" or think like "us" and we demand that anyone who isn't like "us" "go home".
I love this country. I really do. However, these polarizing entities that have come to power do not. They want what they want and everyone else be damned. Don't tell me that you care about the people who elected you and then remove funding for the Affordable Health Care Act. Don't tell me that you care about women and minorities when you do everything in your power to ensure that they are unable to control what they do with their bodies and remove their right to vote and have a voice in our government. Actions speak louder than words and trust me when I say that I will remember each and everyone of them come November.
Is this what government has come to? Grown adults so invested in themselves that they can no longer see the forest of people that they took an oath to represent. So self-centered and self-absorbed that they have zero concern for the people affected by the shutdown. (FYI, Congress doesn't shut down and they will still keep getting a paycheck.) Non-essential services are shut down but that begs the question, if is the government job to take on a task (like running our national monuments and OSHA) wouldn't they ALL be considered essential services? or are some more essential than others.
I voted in the last election but I didn't vote for any of this. I thought I voted for people who would have not only my best interests at heart but the interests of my fellow man as well. I will admit it, I got screwed on that one!! I was hoodwinked, snookered, and in some instances outright LIED to by people in office.
There is no compromise, there is no mercy, there is no justice in this group of elected morons who foolishly believe that they are representing their constituents and that they are representing the people of this nation. I wonder how any of them can look at themselves in the mirror every morning and tell themselves that they are "keeping the best interests of the nation in mind" as they work so hard to prove that "They" are right and that "They" are wrong. How much nicer would it be if "They" worked together to create a legacy that people will admire and point to for years to come as a model form of government.
Lincoln's Gettysburg address comes to mind and it fit in with this whole situation too. Here it is in its entirety:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
I'm so sorry Abe that the people that we elected to represent us have so badly screwed all of this up. We have dishonored those who fought and gave their lives for this country by our pettiness, our insincerity and our callous disregard for our neighbor. Instead we fight for higher taxes on the poor, we fight to remove services that will make our country healthy and we ensure that the upper 1% of this country actually have the ability to purchase Congressmen on the open market. We bully those who don't look like "us" or think like "us" and we demand that anyone who isn't like "us" "go home".
I love this country. I really do. However, these polarizing entities that have come to power do not. They want what they want and everyone else be damned. Don't tell me that you care about the people who elected you and then remove funding for the Affordable Health Care Act. Don't tell me that you care about women and minorities when you do everything in your power to ensure that they are unable to control what they do with their bodies and remove their right to vote and have a voice in our government. Actions speak louder than words and trust me when I say that I will remember each and everyone of them come November.
- 1st — Rep. Robert Brady [D]
- 2nd — Rep. Chaka Fattah [D]
- 3rd — Rep. Mike Kelly [R]
- 4th — Rep. Scott Perry [R]
- 5th — Rep. Glenn Thompson [R]
- 6th — Rep. Jim Gerlach [R]
- 7th — Rep. Patrick Meehan [R]
- 8th — Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R]
- 9th — Rep. Bill Shuster [R]
- 10th — Rep. Tom Marino [R]
- 11th — Rep. Lou Barletta [R]
- 12th — Rep. Keith Rothfus [R]
- 13th — Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D]
- 14th — Rep. Michael “Mike” Doyle Jr. [D]
- 15th — Rep. Charles Dent [R]
- 16th — Rep. Joseph Pitts [R]
- 17th — Rep. Matthew Cartwright [D]
- 18th — Rep. Tim Murphy [R]
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
An Open Letter to Michael Douglas
You are not alone. As someone who has watched a child or other loved one go off to prison, the anguish we feel is often unbearable. Even when we know that because of their choices, they are going to the place that was inevitable for them. It was touching to see your shout out to your son during the Emmy's. I hope that he was able to see it.
You are right to question the system. The system is by no means perfect. If it was, organizations like the ACLU or CURE (Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants) would not have to exist. The topic of solitary confinement is especially relevant at the moment considering hundreds of inmates in a California prison recently ended their 60 day hunger strike because of this issue. The inmates went on this hunger strike to draw attention to the barbaric use of solitary confinement and demand the end of its use within correctional facilities.
You already know what solitary confinement is doing to your son, multiply that by thousands of others who are being victimized by this practice. Studies show that extended solitary confinement just does not work and in fact increases psychiatric problems in those who are subjected to long term confinement. In short, if people aren't messed up to begin with, solitary confinement makes them unstable and for those who have mental issues when they go in, solitary confinement makes them worse. According to your statement, your son was put in solitary because of a violation and has been in there for 2 years. Your son is an addict who needs serious treatment rather than placement in solitary confinement. When inmates are in solitary confinement, their access to prison medical services, (which are usually laughable to begin with) are even more restricted. In many cases, people who are placed in solitary confinement are usually the ones most in need of psychiatric related services.
Your son is not the only person suffering. The ACLU estimates that over 80,000 inmates are currently undergoing solitary confinement. Each and every one of these is the child of someone, the parent of someone. Isn't it enough that whatever their crime was that originally landed them in jail, they are paying for that already? Do they really deserve to be further punished (some organizations consider solitary confinement to be torture) by being stuck in what is tantamount to complete and utter isolation from any human contact? Humans are pack animals...we need the company of others even if at times we do things that negate our ability to engage in appropriate social contact.
Inmates in solitary confinement have no voice. Your son has no voice. It is up to you, me and thousands of others willing to speak up on their behalf to ensure that while they are doing their time that they don't come back in to society more damaged than they already were. Many of us who volunteer for prison reform organizations do this because we believe that people, no matter who they are or where they are, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe in the power of redemption and in those instances where the state has limited the freedoms of someone due to their actions, people in confinement of any kind don't give up basic human rights or basic human dignity.
I would invite you Mr. Douglas to find an organization to work with on this issue. Lend your very public voice to this issue to assist those organizations that could possibly help end this practice for not only your son, but for thousands of others. Help these organizations end this cruel punishment so that no other child has to go through what you and your family are experiencing with your son.
You are right to question the system. The system is by no means perfect. If it was, organizations like the ACLU or CURE (Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants) would not have to exist. The topic of solitary confinement is especially relevant at the moment considering hundreds of inmates in a California prison recently ended their 60 day hunger strike because of this issue. The inmates went on this hunger strike to draw attention to the barbaric use of solitary confinement and demand the end of its use within correctional facilities.
You already know what solitary confinement is doing to your son, multiply that by thousands of others who are being victimized by this practice. Studies show that extended solitary confinement just does not work and in fact increases psychiatric problems in those who are subjected to long term confinement. In short, if people aren't messed up to begin with, solitary confinement makes them unstable and for those who have mental issues when they go in, solitary confinement makes them worse. According to your statement, your son was put in solitary because of a violation and has been in there for 2 years. Your son is an addict who needs serious treatment rather than placement in solitary confinement. When inmates are in solitary confinement, their access to prison medical services, (which are usually laughable to begin with) are even more restricted. In many cases, people who are placed in solitary confinement are usually the ones most in need of psychiatric related services.
Your son is not the only person suffering. The ACLU estimates that over 80,000 inmates are currently undergoing solitary confinement. Each and every one of these is the child of someone, the parent of someone. Isn't it enough that whatever their crime was that originally landed them in jail, they are paying for that already? Do they really deserve to be further punished (some organizations consider solitary confinement to be torture) by being stuck in what is tantamount to complete and utter isolation from any human contact? Humans are pack animals...we need the company of others even if at times we do things that negate our ability to engage in appropriate social contact.
Inmates in solitary confinement have no voice. Your son has no voice. It is up to you, me and thousands of others willing to speak up on their behalf to ensure that while they are doing their time that they don't come back in to society more damaged than they already were. Many of us who volunteer for prison reform organizations do this because we believe that people, no matter who they are or where they are, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe in the power of redemption and in those instances where the state has limited the freedoms of someone due to their actions, people in confinement of any kind don't give up basic human rights or basic human dignity.
I would invite you Mr. Douglas to find an organization to work with on this issue. Lend your very public voice to this issue to assist those organizations that could possibly help end this practice for not only your son, but for thousands of others. Help these organizations end this cruel punishment so that no other child has to go through what you and your family are experiencing with your son.
Monday, September 16, 2013
How to deal...
When I figure it out I will let you know. It seems that we are wired to deal with all the excitement in our life a certain way. While some of it is certainly genetic, the old "fight or flight" manifestation. Some of it is as a result of our programming.
For example, recently my brother and I traveled north to attend the internment of my uncle, my father's brother. I won't go into all the gritty details but I will say that my uncle had an undiagnosed mental illness that most of my family wrote off as him "just being Joe". His death certificate said he died of an accidental overdose of a drug that is used to treat bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. As for me, I tried to remember a single happy memory of this man. I hadn't seen him since 1992 and a few years after my grandfather died, he just decided he was going to go live on the beaches in Hawaii and he did just that. Literally took a bus to Syracuse and bought a plane ticket to Hawaii. No one knew where he was until my father received a phone call from a social worker in Hawaii saying that he had been found living on the beach. My uncle claimed he had no family left, everyone was dead. The reality was he had a brother and a set of twin sisters.
When I found out that my uncle had passed away, I tried to remember a single happy memory of the man. I could not. I was chubby as a child and he never let me forget it. Forget playing a game of checkers with him, he'd beat the pants off you every time and then call you stupid and a loser if you couldn't beat him. for the record, I never did and to this day I hate playing checkers. He was an avid fisherman and my brother and sister were usually asked to help him catch minnows with his big walking net. I was never asked because I was "fatso" and therefore unable to hold a net. No...not a single good memory of this man.
Before the funeral my father outlined what he was going to do for the service. It was a very pleasant, simple service. It was then that I told my father that I had no happy memories of my uncle and that my sole purpose for being there that weekend was to offer him emotional support. (I'm not a complete bitch ya know!) He was my father's brother and I know that he loved him dearly and I know that he was deeply saddened by my uncle's passing.
Those who were in attendance were given an opportunity to share memories of him. My sister wrote a lovely poem about some of the things he used to do, my brother spoke about how important it was that we live our lives to the fullest since we just never knew when it would all end. One of the twin aunts said a prayer and my father read from the Book of Common Prayers and then we all joined in to say the Lord's Prayer. After the service, I went back to my parents place and put out the beverages and food for the wake.
As an adult, I can look back and see that my uncle was mentally ill. Unfortunately, you don't have that luxury when you are a child. At my uncle's funeral, I cut off a piece of a lovely plant that was growing on my grandparents grave and told my uncle that I understood now why he was such an asshole all those years. I was saddened that he had not been able to get the mental health he needed and that I knew that he was in the grips of mental illness. Some of our interactions as a child created the insecure little girl who grew in to an insecure woman.
I forgave him all that but letting go and forgetting are something that I don't think will happen for a long time.
For example, recently my brother and I traveled north to attend the internment of my uncle, my father's brother. I won't go into all the gritty details but I will say that my uncle had an undiagnosed mental illness that most of my family wrote off as him "just being Joe". His death certificate said he died of an accidental overdose of a drug that is used to treat bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. As for me, I tried to remember a single happy memory of this man. I hadn't seen him since 1992 and a few years after my grandfather died, he just decided he was going to go live on the beaches in Hawaii and he did just that. Literally took a bus to Syracuse and bought a plane ticket to Hawaii. No one knew where he was until my father received a phone call from a social worker in Hawaii saying that he had been found living on the beach. My uncle claimed he had no family left, everyone was dead. The reality was he had a brother and a set of twin sisters.
When I found out that my uncle had passed away, I tried to remember a single happy memory of the man. I could not. I was chubby as a child and he never let me forget it. Forget playing a game of checkers with him, he'd beat the pants off you every time and then call you stupid and a loser if you couldn't beat him. for the record, I never did and to this day I hate playing checkers. He was an avid fisherman and my brother and sister were usually asked to help him catch minnows with his big walking net. I was never asked because I was "fatso" and therefore unable to hold a net. No...not a single good memory of this man.
Before the funeral my father outlined what he was going to do for the service. It was a very pleasant, simple service. It was then that I told my father that I had no happy memories of my uncle and that my sole purpose for being there that weekend was to offer him emotional support. (I'm not a complete bitch ya know!) He was my father's brother and I know that he loved him dearly and I know that he was deeply saddened by my uncle's passing.
Those who were in attendance were given an opportunity to share memories of him. My sister wrote a lovely poem about some of the things he used to do, my brother spoke about how important it was that we live our lives to the fullest since we just never knew when it would all end. One of the twin aunts said a prayer and my father read from the Book of Common Prayers and then we all joined in to say the Lord's Prayer. After the service, I went back to my parents place and put out the beverages and food for the wake.
As an adult, I can look back and see that my uncle was mentally ill. Unfortunately, you don't have that luxury when you are a child. At my uncle's funeral, I cut off a piece of a lovely plant that was growing on my grandparents grave and told my uncle that I understood now why he was such an asshole all those years. I was saddened that he had not been able to get the mental health he needed and that I knew that he was in the grips of mental illness. Some of our interactions as a child created the insecure little girl who grew in to an insecure woman.
I forgave him all that but letting go and forgetting are something that I don't think will happen for a long time.
Monday, August 19, 2013
I should be an advice columnist
I really should be. I think I give great advice despite the fact that no one follows my advice. Over the years I appear to have developed a reputation as someone that people feel they can talk to. I can honestly say that this was NOT something I cultivated..AT ALL and there were times when I wished people didn't seek me out to get advice from me.
This became very apparent to me at my last job. Our HR manager (former one especially) was hated by the employees...and I mean HATED by the employees. Because I was out on the floor so much with my job responsibilities and the employees knew that I worked closely with that department, people tended to confide in me, just about everything. There was truly very little that I didn't know about almost all the employees there. Personally and professionally. I knew everyone's secrets and it was empowering (in a "I can blackmail you" kind of way) and humbling in the fact that they trusted me to not only help them but in most instances, keep their confidences too. If I needed to involve someone else, like an outside agency, then I always told them that I was going to do that before I did it.
But I digress...I really don't like to give advice. But I know that my advice is respectful, insightful and does not fail to call people on their bullshit. I'm also very good at seeing both points of view and of seeing just how others see you as you describe a situation. Most importantly, I know what I don't know. If I cannot give you good advice on an issue, my advice will sound something like this "I don't know enough about that to give you good advice, perhaps someone who knows more about that issue would be better suited to advice you" OR "I just don't know".
Over the years I have given tons of advice (I would like to say that all the advice I give is ASKED for, it is unusual for me to give unsolicited advice unless I feel compelled to speak) to people. The minute someone turns to me and asks "What do you think?" it's on like a house on fire. But then they nod their heads in agreement and then do the exact OPPOSITE! I get the whole free will thing, certainly you are free to do as you please but don't ask for advice if you aren't even bothering to consider it! Nothing is more frustrating than to give advice, explain how the situation will play out should they fail to heed your advice and then stand back and watch what happens. I'm not one to say "I told you so..." but I will remind you of a previous conversation we had where we discussed the possible outcomes should you X or if you did X. If you ask me for advice and I give it, you can bet that it is solid advice and you would do well to heed my advice.
But if you choose not to take my advice, you should know I'm still here. Bad choices not withstanding, I'm still a good friend (and this time you had better take my advice!!)
This became very apparent to me at my last job. Our HR manager (former one especially) was hated by the employees...and I mean HATED by the employees. Because I was out on the floor so much with my job responsibilities and the employees knew that I worked closely with that department, people tended to confide in me, just about everything. There was truly very little that I didn't know about almost all the employees there. Personally and professionally. I knew everyone's secrets and it was empowering (in a "I can blackmail you" kind of way) and humbling in the fact that they trusted me to not only help them but in most instances, keep their confidences too. If I needed to involve someone else, like an outside agency, then I always told them that I was going to do that before I did it.
But I digress...I really don't like to give advice. But I know that my advice is respectful, insightful and does not fail to call people on their bullshit. I'm also very good at seeing both points of view and of seeing just how others see you as you describe a situation. Most importantly, I know what I don't know. If I cannot give you good advice on an issue, my advice will sound something like this "I don't know enough about that to give you good advice, perhaps someone who knows more about that issue would be better suited to advice you" OR "I just don't know".
Over the years I have given tons of advice (I would like to say that all the advice I give is ASKED for, it is unusual for me to give unsolicited advice unless I feel compelled to speak) to people. The minute someone turns to me and asks "What do you think?" it's on like a house on fire. But then they nod their heads in agreement and then do the exact OPPOSITE! I get the whole free will thing, certainly you are free to do as you please but don't ask for advice if you aren't even bothering to consider it! Nothing is more frustrating than to give advice, explain how the situation will play out should they fail to heed your advice and then stand back and watch what happens. I'm not one to say "I told you so..." but I will remind you of a previous conversation we had where we discussed the possible outcomes should you X or if you did X. If you ask me for advice and I give it, you can bet that it is solid advice and you would do well to heed my advice.
But if you choose not to take my advice, you should know I'm still here. Bad choices not withstanding, I'm still a good friend (and this time you had better take my advice!!)
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Dear Russia...
I'm sure that this is a little late in coming but congratulations on winning the 2014 Winter Olympics. Generally I enjoy watching the Olympics. I love to watch the Luge and bobsledders and sometimes the downhill skiers.
However, this year I won't be watching them. I wish I could do more to protest your lack of humanity towards gay people who live in your country. I also don't believe you when you say that gay athletes will be protected from current anti-gay laws in your country. I can't think of a time in recent Russian history except under the rule of Gorbachev, where gays have not been tormented but now you've turned it in to a law that says it's ok to harm people who are gay.
I'm not surprised that this type of action has been taken or that this type of action is being condoned by Russian leadership. The new Russia, its predecessor the USSR and prior to that Czarist Russia, all have well documented histories of genocides of people who fail to conform, either as individuals or whole segments of specific cultures. If people don't agree with us, it's "off with their heads"!
I'm not sure how all these incarnations of Russia have been able to survive this long without tearing itself apart...oh wait...they haven't. When you look at your history, you can see where the people that you have oppressed have risen up against you, violently, and made sweeping changes to the status quo. Admittedly, not all these changes have been good and most of them led to other, larger uprisings.
However, today the world is watching you. Activists from inside Russia, at much great danger to themselves are working diligently to show the world just what is going on inside Russia. They are being aided by activists outside Russia in ensuring that pressure is brought to bear not only on Russia but on the International Olympic Committee to ensure that gay athletes are not incarcerated because of this ignorant law.
I agree with the athletes who say that a boycott is not the answer. This is one of those things where people must make a visible and poignant statement to the world that the LGBT community is just as deserving of civil rights and equal protection under the law as everyone else. Perhaps this issue can also be a starting point for all the oppressed ethnic cultures still under the thumb of "Mother Russia".
British actor Stephen Fry makes an eloquent case for a boycott in his blog and I do see his point. It's giving a stage to a crazy man and an unfeeling country but things are different than they were during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The biggest difference is the power of the press, not only the mainstream media but the independent folks who write about their experiences, the blogs, the podcasts that will surely take place despite how hard Russian officials will try and crack down on them.
So "Mother Russia" it is time that you put on your big girl panties and start promoting tolerance and respect for the LGBT community in your homeland. As a mother, I can't imagine taking my son and tossing him away like garbage or allowing him to be abused simply because of his sexual orientation. It is time that you started acting like a Mother and hold ALL your children close to your breast and protect them from harm.
However, this year I won't be watching them. I wish I could do more to protest your lack of humanity towards gay people who live in your country. I also don't believe you when you say that gay athletes will be protected from current anti-gay laws in your country. I can't think of a time in recent Russian history except under the rule of Gorbachev, where gays have not been tormented but now you've turned it in to a law that says it's ok to harm people who are gay.
I'm not surprised that this type of action has been taken or that this type of action is being condoned by Russian leadership. The new Russia, its predecessor the USSR and prior to that Czarist Russia, all have well documented histories of genocides of people who fail to conform, either as individuals or whole segments of specific cultures. If people don't agree with us, it's "off with their heads"!
I'm not sure how all these incarnations of Russia have been able to survive this long without tearing itself apart...oh wait...they haven't. When you look at your history, you can see where the people that you have oppressed have risen up against you, violently, and made sweeping changes to the status quo. Admittedly, not all these changes have been good and most of them led to other, larger uprisings.
However, today the world is watching you. Activists from inside Russia, at much great danger to themselves are working diligently to show the world just what is going on inside Russia. They are being aided by activists outside Russia in ensuring that pressure is brought to bear not only on Russia but on the International Olympic Committee to ensure that gay athletes are not incarcerated because of this ignorant law.
I agree with the athletes who say that a boycott is not the answer. This is one of those things where people must make a visible and poignant statement to the world that the LGBT community is just as deserving of civil rights and equal protection under the law as everyone else. Perhaps this issue can also be a starting point for all the oppressed ethnic cultures still under the thumb of "Mother Russia".
British actor Stephen Fry makes an eloquent case for a boycott in his blog and I do see his point. It's giving a stage to a crazy man and an unfeeling country but things are different than they were during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The biggest difference is the power of the press, not only the mainstream media but the independent folks who write about their experiences, the blogs, the podcasts that will surely take place despite how hard Russian officials will try and crack down on them.
So "Mother Russia" it is time that you put on your big girl panties and start promoting tolerance and respect for the LGBT community in your homeland. As a mother, I can't imagine taking my son and tossing him away like garbage or allowing him to be abused simply because of his sexual orientation. It is time that you started acting like a Mother and hold ALL your children close to your breast and protect them from harm.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Whining get's you nowhere...
There are times when stuff like this alternates between ticking me off and getting a well deserved "huzzah" for an important life lesson.
This particular situation got a "huzzah" for some great life lessons. You may have seen the dust up about the 12 year old Jeopardy contestant who felt he was "cheated" when he misspelled the correct answer on his Jeopardy final round. If you didn't you can read about it here.
In any game show, contestants are given a thorough explanation of what the rules are. I'm sure in this case, the rules were explained in such a way that a 12 year old could comprehend. I'd be willing to bet that they even did mock game runs to ensure the kids understood the rules as they are implemented in the game.
The young man in question was in second place, had zero hope of winning because he was far enough behind the leader that even if he had bet it all, he still wouldn't have won. (The leader amassed a $66,000 lead to his $9,600 end amount) As it was, the leader bet big thus ensuring his victory.
After his answer was disqualified due to it's misspelling, the boy later went on to state that he felt cheated because he had the correct answer and it was just a simple spelling error. It would seem that the Twitterverse was on his side as well, calling out Alex Trebek and the show in general for penalizing a kid over a spelling error. I disagree with with them and here's why.
1. There are times when you don't have SpellCheck available and you must know how to spell the words yourself. The over reliance on spellcheck by people has left this blogger in a tizzy at times because while a word may be spelled correctly, it's not the right word (think to, too and two). The lesson...you have to know how to spell and you must check your work. Always. Spelling counts. Always. Even as an adult educator, I tell anyone who does work for me that spelling does count. It can make a huge difference in how a sentence is given context within the rest of the paper. Growing up means that you have to understand the importance of being detail oriented in the work that you present to others. I've had students write great papers conceptually, but their execution was so poor that I wondered if this person would ever be able to get a job that didn't include the phrase "do you want fries with that?".
2. Learn how to lose gracefully. Not everyone gets to be number 1. The cliche that fits this one is "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." You were outplayed, simple as that. Given the disparities in the final money amounts, there was no way you could have won anyways. You don't have to like losing and I hope this spurs you on to greatness but whining about being cheated when you knew the rules ahead of time is just a case of sour grapes. The lesson...learning how to lose gracefully means you don't blame others for things YOU did. I promise you that this will not be the only time that you will feel cheated about something.
3. Don't settle for wanting to be rewarded for mediocrity. You may have felt cheated but what you were really asking for is to be rewarded for being mediocre. I hope that your parents will have a chat with your about always doing your absolute best in any situation. One shouldn't be rewarded for putting a 95% effort in. (But you did since you still went home with $2,000 anyways).
To the young man I would tell him that in the scheme of things, he had a chance to learn some great life lessons and that I hope that this small moment in his early life doesn't define the person he will grow to become. He can choose to feel cheated or he can take the life lessons and run with them, becoming a better man for it in the end.
This particular situation got a "huzzah" for some great life lessons. You may have seen the dust up about the 12 year old Jeopardy contestant who felt he was "cheated" when he misspelled the correct answer on his Jeopardy final round. If you didn't you can read about it here.
In any game show, contestants are given a thorough explanation of what the rules are. I'm sure in this case, the rules were explained in such a way that a 12 year old could comprehend. I'd be willing to bet that they even did mock game runs to ensure the kids understood the rules as they are implemented in the game.
The young man in question was in second place, had zero hope of winning because he was far enough behind the leader that even if he had bet it all, he still wouldn't have won. (The leader amassed a $66,000 lead to his $9,600 end amount) As it was, the leader bet big thus ensuring his victory.
After his answer was disqualified due to it's misspelling, the boy later went on to state that he felt cheated because he had the correct answer and it was just a simple spelling error. It would seem that the Twitterverse was on his side as well, calling out Alex Trebek and the show in general for penalizing a kid over a spelling error. I disagree with with them and here's why.
1. There are times when you don't have SpellCheck available and you must know how to spell the words yourself. The over reliance on spellcheck by people has left this blogger in a tizzy at times because while a word may be spelled correctly, it's not the right word (think to, too and two). The lesson...you have to know how to spell and you must check your work. Always. Spelling counts. Always. Even as an adult educator, I tell anyone who does work for me that spelling does count. It can make a huge difference in how a sentence is given context within the rest of the paper. Growing up means that you have to understand the importance of being detail oriented in the work that you present to others. I've had students write great papers conceptually, but their execution was so poor that I wondered if this person would ever be able to get a job that didn't include the phrase "do you want fries with that?".
2. Learn how to lose gracefully. Not everyone gets to be number 1. The cliche that fits this one is "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." You were outplayed, simple as that. Given the disparities in the final money amounts, there was no way you could have won anyways. You don't have to like losing and I hope this spurs you on to greatness but whining about being cheated when you knew the rules ahead of time is just a case of sour grapes. The lesson...learning how to lose gracefully means you don't blame others for things YOU did. I promise you that this will not be the only time that you will feel cheated about something.
3. Don't settle for wanting to be rewarded for mediocrity. You may have felt cheated but what you were really asking for is to be rewarded for being mediocre. I hope that your parents will have a chat with your about always doing your absolute best in any situation. One shouldn't be rewarded for putting a 95% effort in. (But you did since you still went home with $2,000 anyways).
To the young man I would tell him that in the scheme of things, he had a chance to learn some great life lessons and that I hope that this small moment in his early life doesn't define the person he will grow to become. He can choose to feel cheated or he can take the life lessons and run with them, becoming a better man for it in the end.
Monday, August 5, 2013
I liked Expendables 2...I'm sure I am in the minority
But then I've always kind of walked to the beat of my own drummer so that shouldn't surprise anyone.
But it was Sunday and with very little interesting programming going on I decided that tuning in to Netflix would be a stellar idea. So I brought up my "I wanna watch this movie" queue and picked The Expendables 2. I had seen the first one and enjoyed it. OK, so it's not Gone With the Wind or anything like that, it's a movie that one goes to see, enjoys and most of the time, doesn't think twice about it.
I like the fact that the original had all these action stars in it so you know that there was going to be a lot of shit getting blown up and a lot of ass getting kicked. I wasn't wrong. So how could The Expendables 2 disappoint? It didn't!
If you saw the first then you know that some of the characters in there quoted some of their most famous lines...placed nicely throughout the script, it was a pleasant, self-deprecating way to look at the roles that got them their action star status.
The Expendables 2 did much of the same thing only better! More screen time for Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a couple of cameo appearances by Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Van Damme playing the bad guy this time around.
So here were the majorly funny parts...not just the quips mind you. In one instance Chuck Norris saves the day. Mows down 20 bad guys, takes out a tank and walks down the middle of the street to the theme music for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". When asked if he was the one who did all that he replies that yup, it was him. Stallone asks him to join their group and Norris tells him that he always works alone and Stallone quips "yeah, I heard you're kind of a lone wolf" and of course with all the Chuck Norris jokes out there, they had to crack one about Chuck being bit by a King Cobra to which Norris replies, "yes but after 5 pain filled days, the cobra finally died". Loved it!
And let's not forget some really great fight scenes. Jason Statham has two excellent ones and we see Jet Li in the first 10 minutes of the movie kicking a couple of guys asses with frying pans...FRYING PANS people!! But the one fight scene I wanted to see was something with Van Damme in it. He's known for his epic roundhouse kicks in which he seems to get about 6 feet off the ground and just connect with someones head and he did...twice...to Stallone's head. The dude has springloaded feet, I swear he does!!
Would I have paid to go see this in the theater...probably if I had the cash to spare but I didn't. But I did enjoy the movie quite a bit; loved the fight scenes and all the shit blowing up but I think best of all was just all the funny quips about themselves and each other. Favorite quotes came from Arnold...In the middle of a firefight, Norris pops up again and saves the day...Arnold sees who it is and quips, "who's going to show up next? Rambo?" In another, Arnold tells Bruce that "I'll be back" Bruce tells him to stay put and runs off to get the SMART car, Arnold pops his head up to provide cover fire for him and says "Yippe kay ay". And who would have thought that Arnold AND Bruce Willis could fit in a SMART car? Not me...of course Arnold quips that he "has shoes bigger than this" and they proceed to drive around in a SMART car inside the bad guys airport shooting everything that moves...funny stuff right there!
If you have Netflix, watch it...it's a great movie to pass the evening away and listening to the dialogue between all the stars is comical!
Watch it!....go...watch it!
But it was Sunday and with very little interesting programming going on I decided that tuning in to Netflix would be a stellar idea. So I brought up my "I wanna watch this movie" queue and picked The Expendables 2. I had seen the first one and enjoyed it. OK, so it's not Gone With the Wind or anything like that, it's a movie that one goes to see, enjoys and most of the time, doesn't think twice about it.
I like the fact that the original had all these action stars in it so you know that there was going to be a lot of shit getting blown up and a lot of ass getting kicked. I wasn't wrong. So how could The Expendables 2 disappoint? It didn't!
If you saw the first then you know that some of the characters in there quoted some of their most famous lines...placed nicely throughout the script, it was a pleasant, self-deprecating way to look at the roles that got them their action star status.
The Expendables 2 did much of the same thing only better! More screen time for Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a couple of cameo appearances by Chuck Norris, and Jean Claude Van Damme playing the bad guy this time around.
So here were the majorly funny parts...not just the quips mind you. In one instance Chuck Norris saves the day. Mows down 20 bad guys, takes out a tank and walks down the middle of the street to the theme music for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". When asked if he was the one who did all that he replies that yup, it was him. Stallone asks him to join their group and Norris tells him that he always works alone and Stallone quips "yeah, I heard you're kind of a lone wolf" and of course with all the Chuck Norris jokes out there, they had to crack one about Chuck being bit by a King Cobra to which Norris replies, "yes but after 5 pain filled days, the cobra finally died". Loved it!
And let's not forget some really great fight scenes. Jason Statham has two excellent ones and we see Jet Li in the first 10 minutes of the movie kicking a couple of guys asses with frying pans...FRYING PANS people!! But the one fight scene I wanted to see was something with Van Damme in it. He's known for his epic roundhouse kicks in which he seems to get about 6 feet off the ground and just connect with someones head and he did...twice...to Stallone's head. The dude has springloaded feet, I swear he does!!
Would I have paid to go see this in the theater...probably if I had the cash to spare but I didn't. But I did enjoy the movie quite a bit; loved the fight scenes and all the shit blowing up but I think best of all was just all the funny quips about themselves and each other. Favorite quotes came from Arnold...In the middle of a firefight, Norris pops up again and saves the day...Arnold sees who it is and quips, "who's going to show up next? Rambo?" In another, Arnold tells Bruce that "I'll be back" Bruce tells him to stay put and runs off to get the SMART car, Arnold pops his head up to provide cover fire for him and says "Yippe kay ay". And who would have thought that Arnold AND Bruce Willis could fit in a SMART car? Not me...of course Arnold quips that he "has shoes bigger than this" and they proceed to drive around in a SMART car inside the bad guys airport shooting everything that moves...funny stuff right there!
If you have Netflix, watch it...it's a great movie to pass the evening away and listening to the dialogue between all the stars is comical!
Watch it!....go...watch it!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Writing is therapy
Being unemployed sucks. It really does. You are limited financially to the different things that you can do (either by cost to enter what you want to see or gas to get there) So for me, writing a blog has become a very cheap way for me to alleviate my daily tedium.
After spending a couple of hours trolling the usual websites for new postings, I have very little to do. What few friends I do have are working (and I wish them continued employment too) and so are unavailable for even the lamest of outings like eating sandwiches on the picnic table near the swimming pool.
But then I discovered that I have a lot of shit I want to get off my chest and a blog seemed like the perfect place to do that. First, because of the low likelihood of anyone reading this, I can be extremely opinionated. (Not that I am in real life or anything) Secondly, I could care less what people think about my opinion. Its just nice to rant like a madwoman for a few moments and get it off my chest as it were. Lastly, I have an opinion and it matters...ok, it only matters to me but dammit! I'm important too!
I think more people should take up writing. Can you imaging the reduction in stress if people were able to write about their feelings in a truly honest way? I have a diary that I write in as well. That's where I put all the really deep, personal stuff. But I can't help but wonder how much bad behavior would decrease if people had a way to say what they wanted to say without being censored by themselves or by societal standards (like the one about not hitting stupid people)
There is great joy, I think, in memorializing their stupidity either in a personal journal that you can donate to a library after your death for everyone to read or on the internet where nothing EVER disappears. There was a great line in the movie, A Knights Tale where Geoffrey Chaucer, a character who is a writer, threatens Simon the Summoner and Peter the Pardoner with "undying humiliation" by putting them in his stories. (Read The Summoner's Tale and The Pardoner's Tale by Chaucer and you will see that is exactly what he did)
I'm sure that I will be able to accommodate that wish.
After spending a couple of hours trolling the usual websites for new postings, I have very little to do. What few friends I do have are working (and I wish them continued employment too) and so are unavailable for even the lamest of outings like eating sandwiches on the picnic table near the swimming pool.
But then I discovered that I have a lot of shit I want to get off my chest and a blog seemed like the perfect place to do that. First, because of the low likelihood of anyone reading this, I can be extremely opinionated. (Not that I am in real life or anything) Secondly, I could care less what people think about my opinion. Its just nice to rant like a madwoman for a few moments and get it off my chest as it were. Lastly, I have an opinion and it matters...ok, it only matters to me but dammit! I'm important too!
I think more people should take up writing. Can you imaging the reduction in stress if people were able to write about their feelings in a truly honest way? I have a diary that I write in as well. That's where I put all the really deep, personal stuff. But I can't help but wonder how much bad behavior would decrease if people had a way to say what they wanted to say without being censored by themselves or by societal standards (like the one about not hitting stupid people)
There is great joy, I think, in memorializing their stupidity either in a personal journal that you can donate to a library after your death for everyone to read or on the internet where nothing EVER disappears. There was a great line in the movie, A Knights Tale where Geoffrey Chaucer, a character who is a writer, threatens Simon the Summoner and Peter the Pardoner with "undying humiliation" by putting them in his stories. (Read The Summoner's Tale and The Pardoner's Tale by Chaucer and you will see that is exactly what he did)
I'm sure that I will be able to accommodate that wish.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Weinergate and more silly women
I've been watching this latest "Weinergate" unfold and I alternate between tearing my hair out the people involved or weeping for the women who are involved in this situation.
Let's take a look at some of them shall we?
Huma Abedin, the long suffering wife of Mr. Weiner. It's not bad enough that she was humiliated the first time back in 2011 when his original scandal broke, but here we are...again...with her husband caught with his pants down around his ankles. And his advisers decide that it would be in his best political interests to parade her out to stand next to him at yesterdays news conference. My thoughts to his advisers are "have you no shame?". If I had Ms. Abedin sitting at a table with me, I would reach over and hold her hand and ask her, "Is this what you signed up for?". I would hope she would say no and take steps to rectify the situation. But if what I suspect is true, she has fallen victim to her husbands narcissistic tendencies and put her needs on the back burner. If that is the case then I would gently tell her that her husband is NOT Bill Clinton and she is not the wife of the President of the United States. But she is the wife of a former senator who resigned over sexting allegations and is trying to make a comeback by saying he is a changed man...he's not and we all know that. I have the greatest compassion for her because I feel like she is a pawn in the political aspirations of her husband.
Syndey Leathers, oh you cheeky little minx! But I would say that in all this "exposure" you've gotten that you have probably learned a few things about politics. First is that the wife always trumps the sexting partner. Always. Second is that you should be careful of who your friends are. See what your friend Colagiovanni said about you here? He's not your friend but a guy looking for a scoop he can sell. Lastly...be honest about your ambitions and how you plan on getting there. Did you see a politically related job in your future? Sex appeal is a woman's greatest weapon and should never be used to advance a career. It never turns out well and people will never, EVER take you seriously. In my opinion, you disrespected the Sisterhood. Shame on YOU!
You stated that you felt "manipulated" but you weren't manipulated were you? Sending Mr. Weiner over 30 pics is not someone who is being "manipulated" but is proof that you were a willing accomplice to his sexual predilections. We have this word that has been around for a very long time...perhaps you have heard of it? NO. A simple two letter word that carries a lot of weight. NO. Go ahead...try it. Used in conjunction with non-action ("No, I'm not sending anymore pics" and then not sending more pics) is empowering to a young lady such as yourself. In today's society, especially where nothing is secret anymore, you can't do stuff like that and then say you were misled or manipulated. Ms. Leathers, you are wearing more clothes than credibility at this point.
And lastly...Mr. Weiner. Oh you naughty, naughty man you!! Most relationship therapists would say that you were actively engaged in extramarital affairs. Honestly, I really don't care that you sent naked pics of your genitals to anyone. Let your freak flag fly! But let's be honest here, someone who has political aspirations should be slightly paranoid that at some point someone is going to out him for this behavior. And they did. I would have thought you would have learned your lesson the first time but it doesn't appear that way at all. If you can't learn a lesson from this, then how can the voters expect you to learn anything from them? I think the biggest shame of all is that you are dragging your wife through this all over again. It's not enough that you publicly humiliated her the first go round, but you do it again. I think your spouse should sit down and have a chat with Jenny Sanford.
Honestly, no one cares what Mr. Weiner does in the privacy of his own home or within the confines of his marriage. Thousands of people do this exact same thing everyday and no one gives a flying whoopee cushion that they do.
It's no ones business and I suspect that our fascination with this whole issue is the hypocrisy of Mr. Weiner in stating that he's not sexting anyone anymore but then admits to anywhere from 6-10 since he resigned from Congress. If he will not be completely honest with his own spouse, then how honest can we the voters expect him to be?
Let's take a look at some of them shall we?
Huma Abedin, the long suffering wife of Mr. Weiner. It's not bad enough that she was humiliated the first time back in 2011 when his original scandal broke, but here we are...again...with her husband caught with his pants down around his ankles. And his advisers decide that it would be in his best political interests to parade her out to stand next to him at yesterdays news conference. My thoughts to his advisers are "have you no shame?". If I had Ms. Abedin sitting at a table with me, I would reach over and hold her hand and ask her, "Is this what you signed up for?". I would hope she would say no and take steps to rectify the situation. But if what I suspect is true, she has fallen victim to her husbands narcissistic tendencies and put her needs on the back burner. If that is the case then I would gently tell her that her husband is NOT Bill Clinton and she is not the wife of the President of the United States. But she is the wife of a former senator who resigned over sexting allegations and is trying to make a comeback by saying he is a changed man...he's not and we all know that. I have the greatest compassion for her because I feel like she is a pawn in the political aspirations of her husband.
Syndey Leathers, oh you cheeky little minx! But I would say that in all this "exposure" you've gotten that you have probably learned a few things about politics. First is that the wife always trumps the sexting partner. Always. Second is that you should be careful of who your friends are. See what your friend Colagiovanni said about you here? He's not your friend but a guy looking for a scoop he can sell. Lastly...be honest about your ambitions and how you plan on getting there. Did you see a politically related job in your future? Sex appeal is a woman's greatest weapon and should never be used to advance a career. It never turns out well and people will never, EVER take you seriously. In my opinion, you disrespected the Sisterhood. Shame on YOU!
You stated that you felt "manipulated" but you weren't manipulated were you? Sending Mr. Weiner over 30 pics is not someone who is being "manipulated" but is proof that you were a willing accomplice to his sexual predilections. We have this word that has been around for a very long time...perhaps you have heard of it? NO. A simple two letter word that carries a lot of weight. NO. Go ahead...try it. Used in conjunction with non-action ("No, I'm not sending anymore pics" and then not sending more pics) is empowering to a young lady such as yourself. In today's society, especially where nothing is secret anymore, you can't do stuff like that and then say you were misled or manipulated. Ms. Leathers, you are wearing more clothes than credibility at this point.
And lastly...Mr. Weiner. Oh you naughty, naughty man you!! Most relationship therapists would say that you were actively engaged in extramarital affairs. Honestly, I really don't care that you sent naked pics of your genitals to anyone. Let your freak flag fly! But let's be honest here, someone who has political aspirations should be slightly paranoid that at some point someone is going to out him for this behavior. And they did. I would have thought you would have learned your lesson the first time but it doesn't appear that way at all. If you can't learn a lesson from this, then how can the voters expect you to learn anything from them? I think the biggest shame of all is that you are dragging your wife through this all over again. It's not enough that you publicly humiliated her the first go round, but you do it again. I think your spouse should sit down and have a chat with Jenny Sanford.
Honestly, no one cares what Mr. Weiner does in the privacy of his own home or within the confines of his marriage. Thousands of people do this exact same thing everyday and no one gives a flying whoopee cushion that they do.
It's no ones business and I suspect that our fascination with this whole issue is the hypocrisy of Mr. Weiner in stating that he's not sexting anyone anymore but then admits to anywhere from 6-10 since he resigned from Congress. If he will not be completely honest with his own spouse, then how honest can we the voters expect him to be?
Thursday, July 25, 2013
5 Things I learned from watching Mission:Impossible re-runs
I love old TV. The stuff that is on TV today isn't really funny anymore unless it appears to be denigrating someone and don't even get me started on the trash that is "reality" TV.
Currently I am unemployed. After a couple of hours of daily job hunting, running through the job boards, chasing down leads friends and former co-workers have sent along, I sit down in my recliner and turn on Netflix.
I've always enjoyed the Mission:Impossible series but I've only seen it in re-runs as I was about 8 years old when it went off the air after seven seasons. And honestly...what is not to like? What great characters! The grand leader of the group who was highly regarded and well respected by his fellow group members (Steven Hill played Dan Biggs in season 1 but was later replaced with Peter Graves (Jim Phelps) for seasons 2-7). The original crew of Martin Landau (Rollin Hand), Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) Barney Collier (Greg Morris) and my personal fave, Willy Armitage (Pete Lupus). I honestly wished they had given him a bigger role in the beginning. With his Greek ancestry, he was gorgeous when he smiled but it's something that we never got a chance to see until the final two seasons where his role was expanded and he was interacting more within the scenarios that had to be completed for the tasks.
So it became a goal that I set for myself to watch the entire run of Mission:Impossible on Netflix. Yesterday I completed that goal and honestly, I was a bit sad! But I did learn a few things while watching the show and here are my top 5 things I learned while watching Mission:Impossible;
1. People react the same no matter where they live. Almost every task given to the MI team was planned using peoples carefully planned reactions to certain stimuli. For example, if the team knew that you were a highly paranoid dictator in some fake European country, they would set up your second in command to look like he was betraying you. Your paranoia kicks in and viola! dead dictator and country headed towards free elections!
2. You can be sexy without being slutty. Let's take Cinnamon Carter for example here. Cinnamon exuded sex appeal, indeed her cover for spying was the fact that she was a high fashion model and VERY well known due to her looks. Most of the series was shot in the 60's with Cinnamon appearing in the first 4 years. She could really carry off sensual and sexy in her 60's attire as well as her hair and makeup. But you never ever saw her go beyond kissing a guy. She could hook a guy but she still made kicking him to the curb look sexy.
3. Never judge a book by its cover. Rollin Hand was a master of disguise and could imitate anyone's voice. Invariably he took over someone's identity to further the master plan along. Of course everyone was fooled, much to their later dismay and had they but checked a little deeper, they may have just seen their doom coming towards them.
4. Being a nerd is very cool. Barney was the electronics guru of the day. He always had the latest gadgets for the team to use and whatever else they needed to have done, he did it. I think most of the MI missions would have been complete and total disasters had it not been for his interest in electronics and all things mechanical.
5. There are some things in life where failing isn't an option. I think I enjoyed the first 4 years of this series the best. They were always saving some country from an evil dictator or some evil external influence. Of course most of these shows were filmed at the height of the Cold War so it's not surprising that we saw so many of these types of scenarios. But failing was never an option because so much was at stake. The same goes for me too...giving up or quitting my job hunt isn't an option.
I will miss all my MI friends...thank you for letting me hang around for a bit.
And for those of you who enjoyed the theme for the show done by Lalo Schifrin, here ya go...enjoy!!
http://youtu.be/mWGeRgFa-hI
Currently I am unemployed. After a couple of hours of daily job hunting, running through the job boards, chasing down leads friends and former co-workers have sent along, I sit down in my recliner and turn on Netflix.
I've always enjoyed the Mission:Impossible series but I've only seen it in re-runs as I was about 8 years old when it went off the air after seven seasons. And honestly...what is not to like? What great characters! The grand leader of the group who was highly regarded and well respected by his fellow group members (Steven Hill played Dan Biggs in season 1 but was later replaced with Peter Graves (Jim Phelps) for seasons 2-7). The original crew of Martin Landau (Rollin Hand), Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) Barney Collier (Greg Morris) and my personal fave, Willy Armitage (Pete Lupus). I honestly wished they had given him a bigger role in the beginning. With his Greek ancestry, he was gorgeous when he smiled but it's something that we never got a chance to see until the final two seasons where his role was expanded and he was interacting more within the scenarios that had to be completed for the tasks.
So it became a goal that I set for myself to watch the entire run of Mission:Impossible on Netflix. Yesterday I completed that goal and honestly, I was a bit sad! But I did learn a few things while watching the show and here are my top 5 things I learned while watching Mission:Impossible;
1. People react the same no matter where they live. Almost every task given to the MI team was planned using peoples carefully planned reactions to certain stimuli. For example, if the team knew that you were a highly paranoid dictator in some fake European country, they would set up your second in command to look like he was betraying you. Your paranoia kicks in and viola! dead dictator and country headed towards free elections!
2. You can be sexy without being slutty. Let's take Cinnamon Carter for example here. Cinnamon exuded sex appeal, indeed her cover for spying was the fact that she was a high fashion model and VERY well known due to her looks. Most of the series was shot in the 60's with Cinnamon appearing in the first 4 years. She could really carry off sensual and sexy in her 60's attire as well as her hair and makeup. But you never ever saw her go beyond kissing a guy. She could hook a guy but she still made kicking him to the curb look sexy.
3. Never judge a book by its cover. Rollin Hand was a master of disguise and could imitate anyone's voice. Invariably he took over someone's identity to further the master plan along. Of course everyone was fooled, much to their later dismay and had they but checked a little deeper, they may have just seen their doom coming towards them.
4. Being a nerd is very cool. Barney was the electronics guru of the day. He always had the latest gadgets for the team to use and whatever else they needed to have done, he did it. I think most of the MI missions would have been complete and total disasters had it not been for his interest in electronics and all things mechanical.
5. There are some things in life where failing isn't an option. I think I enjoyed the first 4 years of this series the best. They were always saving some country from an evil dictator or some evil external influence. Of course most of these shows were filmed at the height of the Cold War so it's not surprising that we saw so many of these types of scenarios. But failing was never an option because so much was at stake. The same goes for me too...giving up or quitting my job hunt isn't an option.
I will miss all my MI friends...thank you for letting me hang around for a bit.
And for those of you who enjoyed the theme for the show done by Lalo Schifrin, here ya go...enjoy!!
http://youtu.be/mWGeRgFa-hI
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Tell me again socialized medicine is evil
Let me get a few things clear before I start on this particular rant today. First off, for the most part, I think that the government should stay out of the private lives of people. When people are putting themselves or others at risk, then they have an obligation to step in and care for that person until they can either care for themselves or someone steps forward to care for them. Secondly, it is very clear that we as a society have failed big time on taking care of our neighbors. 100 years ago, no one would have thought twice about bringing an injured person in to their home and either treating them as best they knew how, or giving them shelter until medical help could arrive. I still saw a lot of that when I lived out west. Of course, when your nearest neighbor is 50 miles down the road and medical care even farther, one did what one had to do because, no matter your religious affiliations, it was just the decent, human thing to do.
Rant starts in 3...2...1
I am depressed. Not in the "oh, I'm feeling a bit blue today"...I'm talking the chronic, I need mild drugs to alleviate the worst symptoms type depression. Some of you who have been following this blog will remember my permanent layoff notice. You know, the one that I got on a Saturday telling me all my medical benefits would be ending on Sunday. Yeah...that one. This gave me zero time to call my doctor and get any of my medication renewed. Not that it really mattered, there wasn't any money to buy the prescription anyways but it would have been nice to have had that option.
Enter the evil socialized medicine. I would have been able to still go to a doctor and not only get another checkup but to obtain needed prescriptions too. So would all of my former co-workers, many of whom didn't have health insurance anyways due to the cost of it through our company. Let's not kid ourselves here...people who get paid 1.5X minimum wage still can't afford health coverage for themselves, let alone their family members.
For those of you who don't know my history, I spent 4 years living in Germany and have traveled to countries all over Europe that have some form of socialized medicine. Here is something you hardly EVER saw in the streets of those countries and that would be people who are mentally ill and homeless, families who have been forced out of their homes due to exorbitantly high medical expenses from diseases like cancer. How can we as a society say that THAT is not our problem? since when did we stop caring for our fellow man in every way shape and form? Since when did we start turning a blind eye to the suffering of people around us? Granted, many of us are not in extreme circumstances but more and more of us aren't doing that well either.
Socialized medicine allows people that need healthcare to get it. Period. We are concerned about corporations being "healthy" and bail them out time after time but we don't care about the humans that WORK in those corporations. If you believe that all life is sacred, then why not help sick people get the medical care they need to stay alive or even healthy so that they can go to work and support their families and get employer provided healthcare? Here's the scam for you too folks...people will exaggerate or even fake illnesses so that they can get Medicaid. Would they need to do that if we treated them so that they could go back to work even if their job was low paying?
Our country is crippled in so many ways and while some of its financial, much of it is spiritual, emotional and mental. We've lost our heart for our fellow human beings, we no longer care about doing the right thing for our fellow man and even worse, we actively fight against those that want to help others.
I've seen how offering medical care for everyone regardless of their means to pay can lift up a country and give its citizens opportunities to get healthy, stay healthy and better still, create a country that understands that its citizens are special, they matter and that they will do the right thing to help them.
Rant starts in 3...2...1
I am depressed. Not in the "oh, I'm feeling a bit blue today"...I'm talking the chronic, I need mild drugs to alleviate the worst symptoms type depression. Some of you who have been following this blog will remember my permanent layoff notice. You know, the one that I got on a Saturday telling me all my medical benefits would be ending on Sunday. Yeah...that one. This gave me zero time to call my doctor and get any of my medication renewed. Not that it really mattered, there wasn't any money to buy the prescription anyways but it would have been nice to have had that option.
Enter the evil socialized medicine. I would have been able to still go to a doctor and not only get another checkup but to obtain needed prescriptions too. So would all of my former co-workers, many of whom didn't have health insurance anyways due to the cost of it through our company. Let's not kid ourselves here...people who get paid 1.5X minimum wage still can't afford health coverage for themselves, let alone their family members.
For those of you who don't know my history, I spent 4 years living in Germany and have traveled to countries all over Europe that have some form of socialized medicine. Here is something you hardly EVER saw in the streets of those countries and that would be people who are mentally ill and homeless, families who have been forced out of their homes due to exorbitantly high medical expenses from diseases like cancer. How can we as a society say that THAT is not our problem? since when did we stop caring for our fellow man in every way shape and form? Since when did we start turning a blind eye to the suffering of people around us? Granted, many of us are not in extreme circumstances but more and more of us aren't doing that well either.
Socialized medicine allows people that need healthcare to get it. Period. We are concerned about corporations being "healthy" and bail them out time after time but we don't care about the humans that WORK in those corporations. If you believe that all life is sacred, then why not help sick people get the medical care they need to stay alive or even healthy so that they can go to work and support their families and get employer provided healthcare? Here's the scam for you too folks...people will exaggerate or even fake illnesses so that they can get Medicaid. Would they need to do that if we treated them so that they could go back to work even if their job was low paying?
Our country is crippled in so many ways and while some of its financial, much of it is spiritual, emotional and mental. We've lost our heart for our fellow human beings, we no longer care about doing the right thing for our fellow man and even worse, we actively fight against those that want to help others.
I've seen how offering medical care for everyone regardless of their means to pay can lift up a country and give its citizens opportunities to get healthy, stay healthy and better still, create a country that understands that its citizens are special, they matter and that they will do the right thing to help them.
Friday, July 19, 2013
The drama goes on...
Sometimes, getting terminated from a job, (I hate to use the word "fired" since the company went under and being fired implies wrongdoing on my part) is like a bad relationship breakup.
The usual litany of questions run through your head. Could I have done something different? why didn't they want me to stay longer? Is there something that I could have done to make the company better or more financially solvent? And of course, just the general obsession that had you stayed somehow, it would have all worked out for the best. Of course the answer to all these questions is no...you did your best and that MUST count for something.
Despite what I keep telling myself (it wasn't my fault, I'm still a good person and really smart too) the sting of this still lingers almost 3 weeks later. I've given this a bit of thought too and I've decided that it is because I have such a low tolerance of stupid people and an even lower tolerance of stupid people that, because of their stupidity, inflict pain upon innocent people. It makes me very angry that stupid people don't have a clue how their actions (or in-actions) impact the lives of others. It's like they partially thought out an action and its consequences but only in a very limited way...how does this affect me? or how can I minimize the impact of this on me? It's like it never occurred to them to think about how their actions would impact everyone else.
I get angry when people, especially employees are treated poorly. When will business owners understand that they have nothing if they don't have people to make their goods or provides their services. It's sad in this day and age, with the amount of literature out there on how important it is to treat your employees in a professional and ethical manner, that there are some companies that just don't get that part of the program. Businesses that treat their employees in a professional and ethical manner are wildly successful. Why not take advantage of mega companies like Google and Zappos and see what they are doing right to treat their employees and customers well.
My heart breaks for my former co-workers who have been let down again. With so many of the struggling already, the poor job market, to be so let down...again...is to invite a whole lot of bad karma in to your life.
For my former co-workers, love and hugs to you all. May the gods of prosperity smile down upon you and rain buckets of cash for you.
The usual litany of questions run through your head. Could I have done something different? why didn't they want me to stay longer? Is there something that I could have done to make the company better or more financially solvent? And of course, just the general obsession that had you stayed somehow, it would have all worked out for the best. Of course the answer to all these questions is no...you did your best and that MUST count for something.
Despite what I keep telling myself (it wasn't my fault, I'm still a good person and really smart too) the sting of this still lingers almost 3 weeks later. I've given this a bit of thought too and I've decided that it is because I have such a low tolerance of stupid people and an even lower tolerance of stupid people that, because of their stupidity, inflict pain upon innocent people. It makes me very angry that stupid people don't have a clue how their actions (or in-actions) impact the lives of others. It's like they partially thought out an action and its consequences but only in a very limited way...how does this affect me? or how can I minimize the impact of this on me? It's like it never occurred to them to think about how their actions would impact everyone else.
I get angry when people, especially employees are treated poorly. When will business owners understand that they have nothing if they don't have people to make their goods or provides their services. It's sad in this day and age, with the amount of literature out there on how important it is to treat your employees in a professional and ethical manner, that there are some companies that just don't get that part of the program. Businesses that treat their employees in a professional and ethical manner are wildly successful. Why not take advantage of mega companies like Google and Zappos and see what they are doing right to treat their employees and customers well.
My heart breaks for my former co-workers who have been let down again. With so many of the struggling already, the poor job market, to be so let down...again...is to invite a whole lot of bad karma in to your life.
For my former co-workers, love and hugs to you all. May the gods of prosperity smile down upon you and rain buckets of cash for you.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
I knew it would end this way...thoughts on the Zimmerman verdict
Somehow I knew it would end this way. When I heard the jury was going to be all women, I said to myself, "Self, he's probably going to get acquitted". Turns out Self and I were right. Here's why: women have the uncanny ability to excuse bad behavior and poor judgement. It's true, we really do! It's quite a skill actually and it is one that is honed from years of crappy relationships. Doesn't matter who the relationship is with, parents, siblings, boyfriends/girlfriends, spouses, we are able to take whatever is bad in the relationship and excuse it so that we can continue on in our little worlds, clueless of evil and tolerant of people doing really dumb things.
One question has been running through my brain throughout this whole trial and that was "why didn't he just stay in the car like the dispatcher directed him to?" I totally support Neighborhood Watch type organizations. According to their website "In essence, Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention program that stresses education and common sense (Stegenga 2000). It teaches citizens how to help themselves by identifying and reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods." (http://www.usaonwatch.org/about/neighborhoodwatch.aspx?) I think that anytime you get people watching their environment and reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement authorities, it improves the neighborhood and keeps the riff raff at bay. By the same token it encourages people to use common sense.
Mr. Zimmerman got the first part right, he called in someone he thought was suspicious. He's told by the dispatcher to stay in the car, that law enforcement would soon be on the way. (According to American Police Beat, the average response time for an emergency call is 10 minutes. Atlanta has the worst response time with 11 to 12 minutes and Nashville comes in at a lightning speed of 9 minutes.) But does he....no and things go badly for everyone from that decision on.
So let's get to the all female jury. Smart move on that one Mr. Defense lawyer! Women have a history of excusing bad behavior. I can imagine the conversation in the jury room going like this:
Foreman; Now let's take a vote on the first count
Juror #2: I'm sure he didn't mean to shoot that poor kid
Juror #4: Yes...it was dark and there was a little rain, he must have seen something that scared him to get out of his car and confront that kid don't ya think?
Juror #3: Well he appears to me to be a presentable, nice man, look how well he cleans up in court!
Juror #5: I agree...there is no way I will ever believe that Mr. Zimmerman would do such a dastardly deed. Sure he was scared and all, but he did what he thought was best.
If anyone on that jury was in a relationship that was abusive or had ever been in one, they would have readily found his actions to be justified or found reasons to believe that Trayvon Martin did something to encourage Mr. Zimmerman getting out of his car and confronting him. That's how we roll. Women have a hard time seeing the dastardlyness in the world. It's not hardwired in to our brains that people can and do evil, stupid things. It never occurs to us to ask the hard questions like "why didn't he stay in the car like the dispatcher told him?" it would never occur to us to look deeper in to the mind of a wanna be police officer carrying a weapon and wanting to confront an alleged "suspicious person". It would never occur to us to ask those probing questions to try and make logical sense out of his actions. For women, we just need for it to make sense to our brains, we don't need logic or reasonableness....we just need a reason and if we can make it up to make it fit, then that's what we do.
I'm a big fan of Murder She Wrote. In one episode Jessica, who is on a jury, does women proud. Everyone in the jury room wants to convict but she holds out because the scenarios doesn't make sense to her. Jessica was unable to make logical conclusions about people's actions. Truth be told, people rarely do things without a legitimate reason (at least to them). In the end, her deductive reasoning, along with the evidence presented at trial allowed her to persuade the rest of the jury that the guy was not guilty...of course she even found the guilty person but that's just tv drama.
For the jurors...I feel sorry for you. You were given a civic duty and you truly blew it on this one. You didn't ask the hard questions and you didn't put on your critical thinking caps.
Mr. Zimmerman, I feel sorry for you too. You have to live the rest of your life under a cloud from which there is no escape...just ask OJ Simpson. You have to live with the fact that had you stayed in the car like you were told, you wouldn't have to look at the face of someone who took a life.
For women everywhere, stop making excuses for anyone (male or female) who exhibits bad behavior or makes poor choices. We can't protect people from their own foolishness, nor should we. I get that it is in our nature to do so, but it's not helping anyone when we do it. It just encourages more of the same.
This was never going to be justice as long as 6 women sat on that jury. It's not in our nature.
UPDATE: July 16, 2013
Monday night is wrestling night on TV, but when I heard that a juror was going to be on Anderson Cooper 360, I monitored my CNN app and my Twitter feed. Sadly, the juror that "appeared" (she was in the dark to prevent her identity from being disclosed) confirmed everything that I write above. The first vote was 3 for not guilty, 2 for manslaughter and 1 for second degree murder. My favorite quote from the juror went like this...Exclusive: Zimmerman's heart was in the right place. It just went terribly wrong. He's guilty of not using good judgment, juror tells AC360
(BTW, she's writing a book about her experiences on the jury...with her lawyer husband)
Yes...I'm sure that his heart was in the right place which is why he joined the neighborhood watch group. I applaud his wanting to get involved. But he didn't follow their rules either...like not carrying weapons.
I like to watch Judge Judy and so many times she gets these road rage cases where a person is suing another person for damage to their car. Judge Judy always asks "why did you get out of the car to confront them? if you were in fear for your life, why didn't you call the police? or drive away and notify law enforcement if you didn't have a phone?" The reason she asks this is because she wants to determine if the plaintiff did something to escalate the situation (and thereby retain some responsibility for the damage someone did to their car or body) or if they did everything possible to remove themselves from the situation and de-escalate it. Invariably, Judge Judy may award the cost of repairs but will not award medical bills if it was determined that the plaintiff escalated the situation. And it's true...had they stayed in their car, called law enforcement rather than getting out and confronting the person, (who promptly gave them a beat down) they wouldn't have gotten hurt. "You don't get rewarded for being stupid sir!" I can hear her saying that.
I can see her saying that to Mr. Zimmerman too. Except he did get rewarded. A jury full of women rationalized away his stupidity. It all comes back to...why did you get out of the car after the dispatcher told you not to? But the jurors felt that his heart was in the right place, he was frustrated by all the crime in his neighborhood and he really wanted the villains caught. The all women jury allowed this travesty to continue by talking themselves out of ANY type of guilty verdict (I honestly think most people would have been satisfied with a manslaughter verdict) Because well his heart was in the right place, he just had poor execution...(see what I did there? execution...get it?)
It's sad really that this happened. While there are many obvious things that others will talk about, no one will talk about the psychological make up of the same sex jury. If you are a man and want some insight in to how women think...there ya go. We will forgive you most anything, even the killing of another human being, as long as your hearts in the right place.
In the south they have a saying that you can say anything bad about anyone as long as you follow it with "Bless their heart". So, women of the jury...you are all fucked in the head...bless your heart!
One question has been running through my brain throughout this whole trial and that was "why didn't he just stay in the car like the dispatcher directed him to?" I totally support Neighborhood Watch type organizations. According to their website "In essence, Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention program that stresses education and common sense (Stegenga 2000). It teaches citizens how to help themselves by identifying and reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhoods." (http://www.usaonwatch.org/about/neighborhoodwatch.aspx?) I think that anytime you get people watching their environment and reporting suspicious activities to law enforcement authorities, it improves the neighborhood and keeps the riff raff at bay. By the same token it encourages people to use common sense.
Mr. Zimmerman got the first part right, he called in someone he thought was suspicious. He's told by the dispatcher to stay in the car, that law enforcement would soon be on the way. (According to American Police Beat, the average response time for an emergency call is 10 minutes. Atlanta has the worst response time with 11 to 12 minutes and Nashville comes in at a lightning speed of 9 minutes.) But does he....no and things go badly for everyone from that decision on.
So let's get to the all female jury. Smart move on that one Mr. Defense lawyer! Women have a history of excusing bad behavior. I can imagine the conversation in the jury room going like this:
Foreman; Now let's take a vote on the first count
Juror #2: I'm sure he didn't mean to shoot that poor kid
Juror #4: Yes...it was dark and there was a little rain, he must have seen something that scared him to get out of his car and confront that kid don't ya think?
Juror #3: Well he appears to me to be a presentable, nice man, look how well he cleans up in court!
Juror #5: I agree...there is no way I will ever believe that Mr. Zimmerman would do such a dastardly deed. Sure he was scared and all, but he did what he thought was best.
If anyone on that jury was in a relationship that was abusive or had ever been in one, they would have readily found his actions to be justified or found reasons to believe that Trayvon Martin did something to encourage Mr. Zimmerman getting out of his car and confronting him. That's how we roll. Women have a hard time seeing the dastardlyness in the world. It's not hardwired in to our brains that people can and do evil, stupid things. It never occurs to us to ask the hard questions like "why didn't he stay in the car like the dispatcher told him?" it would never occur to us to look deeper in to the mind of a wanna be police officer carrying a weapon and wanting to confront an alleged "suspicious person". It would never occur to us to ask those probing questions to try and make logical sense out of his actions. For women, we just need for it to make sense to our brains, we don't need logic or reasonableness....we just need a reason and if we can make it up to make it fit, then that's what we do.
I'm a big fan of Murder She Wrote. In one episode Jessica, who is on a jury, does women proud. Everyone in the jury room wants to convict but she holds out because the scenarios doesn't make sense to her. Jessica was unable to make logical conclusions about people's actions. Truth be told, people rarely do things without a legitimate reason (at least to them). In the end, her deductive reasoning, along with the evidence presented at trial allowed her to persuade the rest of the jury that the guy was not guilty...of course she even found the guilty person but that's just tv drama.
For the jurors...I feel sorry for you. You were given a civic duty and you truly blew it on this one. You didn't ask the hard questions and you didn't put on your critical thinking caps.
Mr. Zimmerman, I feel sorry for you too. You have to live the rest of your life under a cloud from which there is no escape...just ask OJ Simpson. You have to live with the fact that had you stayed in the car like you were told, you wouldn't have to look at the face of someone who took a life.
For women everywhere, stop making excuses for anyone (male or female) who exhibits bad behavior or makes poor choices. We can't protect people from their own foolishness, nor should we. I get that it is in our nature to do so, but it's not helping anyone when we do it. It just encourages more of the same.
This was never going to be justice as long as 6 women sat on that jury. It's not in our nature.
UPDATE: July 16, 2013
Monday night is wrestling night on TV, but when I heard that a juror was going to be on Anderson Cooper 360, I monitored my CNN app and my Twitter feed. Sadly, the juror that "appeared" (she was in the dark to prevent her identity from being disclosed) confirmed everything that I write above. The first vote was 3 for not guilty, 2 for manslaughter and 1 for second degree murder. My favorite quote from the juror went like this...Exclusive: Zimmerman's heart was in the right place. It just went terribly wrong. He's guilty of not using good judgment, juror tells AC360
(BTW, she's writing a book about her experiences on the jury...with her lawyer husband)
Yes...I'm sure that his heart was in the right place which is why he joined the neighborhood watch group. I applaud his wanting to get involved. But he didn't follow their rules either...like not carrying weapons.
I like to watch Judge Judy and so many times she gets these road rage cases where a person is suing another person for damage to their car. Judge Judy always asks "why did you get out of the car to confront them? if you were in fear for your life, why didn't you call the police? or drive away and notify law enforcement if you didn't have a phone?" The reason she asks this is because she wants to determine if the plaintiff did something to escalate the situation (and thereby retain some responsibility for the damage someone did to their car or body) or if they did everything possible to remove themselves from the situation and de-escalate it. Invariably, Judge Judy may award the cost of repairs but will not award medical bills if it was determined that the plaintiff escalated the situation. And it's true...had they stayed in their car, called law enforcement rather than getting out and confronting the person, (who promptly gave them a beat down) they wouldn't have gotten hurt. "You don't get rewarded for being stupid sir!" I can hear her saying that.
I can see her saying that to Mr. Zimmerman too. Except he did get rewarded. A jury full of women rationalized away his stupidity. It all comes back to...why did you get out of the car after the dispatcher told you not to? But the jurors felt that his heart was in the right place, he was frustrated by all the crime in his neighborhood and he really wanted the villains caught. The all women jury allowed this travesty to continue by talking themselves out of ANY type of guilty verdict (I honestly think most people would have been satisfied with a manslaughter verdict) Because well his heart was in the right place, he just had poor execution...(see what I did there? execution...get it?)
It's sad really that this happened. While there are many obvious things that others will talk about, no one will talk about the psychological make up of the same sex jury. If you are a man and want some insight in to how women think...there ya go. We will forgive you most anything, even the killing of another human being, as long as your hearts in the right place.
In the south they have a saying that you can say anything bad about anyone as long as you follow it with "Bless their heart". So, women of the jury...you are all fucked in the head...bless your heart!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Dear Canada....
Please take Justin Beiber back, we don't want him anymore. His continued presence here in the US has moved beyond "slightly irritating" to "enough already". We've had enough of his boorish behavior, like this, or this, or this. And all of this was just in the past 3 days!! We've had enough of his juvenile friends who continue to exhibit life threatening behavior as well. Take this for example, or this.
Don't get me wrong, for the most part American's love Canada and Canadians. After all you gave us Celine Dion, Ryan Reynolds, James Doohan, Men Without Hats, and Lorne Greene. And let's not forget some of my personal favorites...WWE Wrestlers, Chris Jericho, Roddy Piper, Bret "The Hitman" Hart and the entire Hart wrestling family and trainees of Hart's Dungeon. Last but certainly not least...The Great One Wayne Gretzky.
We love their ruggedness, their zest for life but most importantly, the fact that they are decent, respectful human beings. Who wouldn't? I was born and raised in upstate NY, less than 30 miles from the Canadian border, within the Thousand Island Regions. We took boat tours all the time and summer vacations were always spent somewhere in Canada, even if for only a day visit. Hell...most of my family emigrated to the US through Canada.
But I can say that we are not grooving on your latest export, "The Beebs". His unmitigated douchebaggery and appalling lack of manners does not do you proud. Please take him back and teach him some solid Canadian manners.
And as a side note to Selena Gomez...honey, you can't fix him. You can't "love" him out of his self destructive behavior. Being with him will not make him a better "man" but will only make you a miserable young woman.
We are waiting Canada.....
Don't get me wrong, for the most part American's love Canada and Canadians. After all you gave us Celine Dion, Ryan Reynolds, James Doohan, Men Without Hats, and Lorne Greene. And let's not forget some of my personal favorites...WWE Wrestlers, Chris Jericho, Roddy Piper, Bret "The Hitman" Hart and the entire Hart wrestling family and trainees of Hart's Dungeon. Last but certainly not least...The Great One Wayne Gretzky.
We love their ruggedness, their zest for life but most importantly, the fact that they are decent, respectful human beings. Who wouldn't? I was born and raised in upstate NY, less than 30 miles from the Canadian border, within the Thousand Island Regions. We took boat tours all the time and summer vacations were always spent somewhere in Canada, even if for only a day visit. Hell...most of my family emigrated to the US through Canada.
But I can say that we are not grooving on your latest export, "The Beebs". His unmitigated douchebaggery and appalling lack of manners does not do you proud. Please take him back and teach him some solid Canadian manners.
And as a side note to Selena Gomez...honey, you can't fix him. You can't "love" him out of his self destructive behavior. Being with him will not make him a better "man" but will only make you a miserable young woman.
We are waiting Canada.....
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Job hunting is not a fun thing
Alas, it is something that must be done though if one wants to remain in a home or eat...or drive or any other life activity.
Mondays are usually the days that I spent several hours online scouring the job boards and postings. I hit them all...Monster, Yahoo, Craigslist and some EHS Specialty sites as well. I easily spend three hours trolling through the jobs, seeing which ones fit my current skills and which ones would allow me to stretch career wise.
So it always helps if you can get another pair of eyes in the game. After posting my resume on my LinkedIn site I received a phone call from a recruiter. Here is a bit of job advice for you...recruiters and temp agencies can be invaluable to an unemployed person. Many companies, rather than spending time on recruiting for jobs, will hand this task off to other agencies. When this happens, it becomes a closed loop and potential candidates are not aware that jobs at certain companies are even open. Working with a recruiter or temp agency can give you access to a whole slew of jobs that will never be posted anywhere.
So he tells me that he may have an opportunity for me in the training arena. That's fine...I'm cool with that after all a job is a job right! We shall see how all this pans out but it's nice to know that I have another set of eyes looking for me as well.
Mondays are usually the days that I spent several hours online scouring the job boards and postings. I hit them all...Monster, Yahoo, Craigslist and some EHS Specialty sites as well. I easily spend three hours trolling through the jobs, seeing which ones fit my current skills and which ones would allow me to stretch career wise.
So it always helps if you can get another pair of eyes in the game. After posting my resume on my LinkedIn site I received a phone call from a recruiter. Here is a bit of job advice for you...recruiters and temp agencies can be invaluable to an unemployed person. Many companies, rather than spending time on recruiting for jobs, will hand this task off to other agencies. When this happens, it becomes a closed loop and potential candidates are not aware that jobs at certain companies are even open. Working with a recruiter or temp agency can give you access to a whole slew of jobs that will never be posted anywhere.
So he tells me that he may have an opportunity for me in the training arena. That's fine...I'm cool with that after all a job is a job right! We shall see how all this pans out but it's nice to know that I have another set of eyes looking for me as well.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Post Holiday letdown
Well here it is Monday after the July 4th weekend. Tim and I went to visit the parental units in Watertown. The humidity there was awful, worse then here in PA. We did spend one day down at the cottage...of course it rained but fortunately it wasn't a long or particularly nasty rain like one can get on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Sunday we drove back from Watertown and of course all the fun stuff that goes with returning from a trip, even a short one. Laundry being the worst part of it. Tim was happy that his paycheck was sitting in the mailbox waiting for him.
As for me...well Mondays are usually spent with a couple of hours searching through the job boards. In addition to the safety jobs, I've started applying for HR generalist jobs. While most of these are entry level and would mean a serious drop in income, a job is a job and a job with benefits is even better even at a lower rate of pay. Although these companies that are looking for people with PHR or SPHR certifications and only paying $15 an hour are out of their ever loving minds. Especially since a criteria for getting one of those certifications is being at the management level. And it's not a cheap certification to get or maintain. Perhaps they need an HR professional to tell them that.
I can certainly see why Monday's are the Debbie Downers of the week though. You have a pleasant weekend filled with fun and frivolity and then its back to work...or for me, looking for a job. The good thing about Mondays is that most companies will post their new jobs on Fridays to allow for a good chunk of applications over the weekend. Today I applied for 7 different jobs...some safety related, some HR related. Let's hope some of that great job mojo rubs off soon!
Sunday we drove back from Watertown and of course all the fun stuff that goes with returning from a trip, even a short one. Laundry being the worst part of it. Tim was happy that his paycheck was sitting in the mailbox waiting for him.
As for me...well Mondays are usually spent with a couple of hours searching through the job boards. In addition to the safety jobs, I've started applying for HR generalist jobs. While most of these are entry level and would mean a serious drop in income, a job is a job and a job with benefits is even better even at a lower rate of pay. Although these companies that are looking for people with PHR or SPHR certifications and only paying $15 an hour are out of their ever loving minds. Especially since a criteria for getting one of those certifications is being at the management level. And it's not a cheap certification to get or maintain. Perhaps they need an HR professional to tell them that.
I can certainly see why Monday's are the Debbie Downers of the week though. You have a pleasant weekend filled with fun and frivolity and then its back to work...or for me, looking for a job. The good thing about Mondays is that most companies will post their new jobs on Fridays to allow for a good chunk of applications over the weekend. Today I applied for 7 different jobs...some safety related, some HR related. Let's hope some of that great job mojo rubs off soon!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Moving on...cleaning out the office
Today I went in and cleaned out the rest of my personal items from my office. It was sad. Really sad. I'm grateful that I cleared out some of the more high end electronic stuff earlier and so I didn't have much to do this time.
But it was still hard. I loved working at this company. I had a lot of responsibility, a lot of freedom to design the program that was best for the company and our employees. And I was very good at it too.
My key card had been deactivated so I couldn't even enter the building like I normally would. I had to be escorted back to my office because I knew that my key card would not open my office door. I entered my office and it looked like my office mate had just stepped out of the office for a moment. There was work spread all over the round table that was in my office. I moved those items out of the way and started pulling things from drawers and off the walls and piled them on the table.
I emptied drawers next and piled those items on the table too. I started placing all those items into the bags that I brought. My poor Christmas tree, with the ornaments that employees placed on the tree, was put into a plastic trash bag so that I wouldn't loose the bulbs.
Everything that I took home were items that I either purchased for use at work or were mine to begin with. I remember the reason behind why I brought those particular items in, how I used them and who even used them.
It's sad when one is forced to move on like that. I could have finished out my career there; it was that good of a place to work. I will miss most of the people there. It's sad really because it didn't have to end this way. It didn't have to end at all.
But it did.
But it was still hard. I loved working at this company. I had a lot of responsibility, a lot of freedom to design the program that was best for the company and our employees. And I was very good at it too.
My key card had been deactivated so I couldn't even enter the building like I normally would. I had to be escorted back to my office because I knew that my key card would not open my office door. I entered my office and it looked like my office mate had just stepped out of the office for a moment. There was work spread all over the round table that was in my office. I moved those items out of the way and started pulling things from drawers and off the walls and piled them on the table.
I emptied drawers next and piled those items on the table too. I started placing all those items into the bags that I brought. My poor Christmas tree, with the ornaments that employees placed on the tree, was put into a plastic trash bag so that I wouldn't loose the bulbs.
Everything that I took home were items that I either purchased for use at work or were mine to begin with. I remember the reason behind why I brought those particular items in, how I used them and who even used them.
It's sad when one is forced to move on like that. I could have finished out my career there; it was that good of a place to work. I will miss most of the people there. It's sad really because it didn't have to end this way. It didn't have to end at all.
But it did.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Shit just got real...
Friday evening I received a phone call from a former co-worker telling me that my employer had closed the doors and that I was officially unemployed. Since this was coming from a former co-worker (one I do trust by the way) I started calling around to see if anyone could give me more details. No one returned my calls.
So yesterday I'm watching some tv only to have my doorbell buzz. Since I wasn't expecting anyone I inquired as to who it was...it was the UPS guy. Inside my UPS package was a letter from my employer telling me that I have been moved to permanently laid off.
Needless to say I was gutted. Not really surprised that this happened but I think one has a tendency to hope against hope as it were. I posted this same pic on my Facebook page as well with the caption that this is now how companies are letting their employees know that they are closing the doors.
After reading the form letter a couple of times, I got angry. VERY angry. You see, I think this should have been handled VERY differently. This was a company full of solid people who did great work, truly loved working with each other and passionately believed in the product we were making. These people that stood with this company in some very dark hours deserved to be treated better than this...a form letter. I'm angry that once the writing on the wall was very clear, that no one took the time to either have us all come in and break the news to us en masse or that we weren't deemed worthy of a phone call letting us know the situation. What we got was a cold, impersonal form letter letting us know that we no longer had jobs and (here's the great part) that all of our benefits would end June 30th. The very next day we get the letter our benefits ended. Not even enough time really to get prescriptions renewed if we needed them or to see doctors for one final checkup. Nope...in less then 24 hours from receipt of that letter, we had nothing.
This company had a killer product...literally the only product like it on the market. It should be raking in money hand over fist. However, it didn't know how to treat people. If you don't treat people well, there is no way that people are going to teat you well. If you don't treat your employees like they are living, breathing human beings, worthy of some dignity and respect, then don't expect them to sing your praises to anyone. Of course in this case, it doesn't matter, there isn't a company to sing praises about.
I will truly miss 95% of the people I worked with. They were a class act, hardworking and just great people. It is my hope that they all find employment quickly and with jobs that treat them like the superstars they are.
As for the other 5%...well, karma is a bitch isn't it?
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Today is a random day...
I'll be home alone today since Tim is going to be spending the day with my Bro. So it's laundry and housecleaning for me.
It's days like these that make me prone to deep philosophical insights. For those of you who don't know, I'm a witch. I've had training in two traditions, one of which I am the co-founder of and I'm currently assisting some friends in their new coven as well. I have a private student and boy is she amazing and one of the sweetest people on the planet.
For the most part I have surrounded myself with people who are kind and giving and accepting of myself and everyone else who stands outside of societal norms. For example, I have a prison ministry. I first started out in a prison that had mostly sex offenders. Generally sex offenders are put in protective segregation because of the danger to them from other inmates. There were so many in this facility that they WERE the general population. It is never easy to love people like that and minister to them in a deep and meaningful way but somehow I managed to do that. I always knew what my students were incarcerated for but when you are in a circle and that circle is formed in "Perfect Love and Perfect Trust" you learn to get over yourself pretty quick. For me, it was not that I had perfect love and perfect trust in the inmates, but I did have perfect love and perfect trust in the Lord and Lady. Only once in the 4 years that I was inside those walls was I ever disrespected by an inmate. I asked him to leave and not come back until he apologized. (He did 2 months later) But I never felt unsafe or intimidated by any of them and trust me some of those guys were SCARY!! I miss each and every one of them too. You wanna talk about perfect love? love the unloveables.
Many people in the LGBT community enjoy being in the Pagan community. Many of them are deeply spiritual and have no place to go since so many of the mainstream religions have locked the doors on them. I think that's kind of sad really. I recently watched a tv show, Our America with Lisa Ling. A great show that had the founder of Exodus apologizing to the folks that were harmed by his "pray the gay away ministry". I think he was sincere in his apology. You can always tell by the eyes you know. And I actually kind of respect the man for doing that. It has to be hard being part of a mainstream religion and being gay at the same time. I never understood their hatred of gay people. Their willingness to quote a few verses in the old testament while ignoring all the ones in the new testament, just kind of blows me away. Their willingness to focus on the breakdown of the family unit but do nothing as people live on the street or shelters, have no medical care and every day children, the elderly, the mentally unsound are abused and taken advantage of...sometimes to death. Somehow in their mind, gay people are the abomination. It doesn't look that way from here.
With the end of DOMA and same sex marriage being re-instituted in California, its nice to see that the federal government understands the word "fair". I always tell my students that Justice is about balance. you always see Lady Justice with balanced scales. Justice is ensuring that the damaged party is made whole...they can't be enriched but they must be made whole. The defeat of those two measures did just that. It brought a measure of justice to those same sex couples who had been denied what every heterosexual couple got...recognition and respect for their marriage.
It's days like these that make me prone to deep philosophical insights. For those of you who don't know, I'm a witch. I've had training in two traditions, one of which I am the co-founder of and I'm currently assisting some friends in their new coven as well. I have a private student and boy is she amazing and one of the sweetest people on the planet.
For the most part I have surrounded myself with people who are kind and giving and accepting of myself and everyone else who stands outside of societal norms. For example, I have a prison ministry. I first started out in a prison that had mostly sex offenders. Generally sex offenders are put in protective segregation because of the danger to them from other inmates. There were so many in this facility that they WERE the general population. It is never easy to love people like that and minister to them in a deep and meaningful way but somehow I managed to do that. I always knew what my students were incarcerated for but when you are in a circle and that circle is formed in "Perfect Love and Perfect Trust" you learn to get over yourself pretty quick. For me, it was not that I had perfect love and perfect trust in the inmates, but I did have perfect love and perfect trust in the Lord and Lady. Only once in the 4 years that I was inside those walls was I ever disrespected by an inmate. I asked him to leave and not come back until he apologized. (He did 2 months later) But I never felt unsafe or intimidated by any of them and trust me some of those guys were SCARY!! I miss each and every one of them too. You wanna talk about perfect love? love the unloveables.
Many people in the LGBT community enjoy being in the Pagan community. Many of them are deeply spiritual and have no place to go since so many of the mainstream religions have locked the doors on them. I think that's kind of sad really. I recently watched a tv show, Our America with Lisa Ling. A great show that had the founder of Exodus apologizing to the folks that were harmed by his "pray the gay away ministry". I think he was sincere in his apology. You can always tell by the eyes you know. And I actually kind of respect the man for doing that. It has to be hard being part of a mainstream religion and being gay at the same time. I never understood their hatred of gay people. Their willingness to quote a few verses in the old testament while ignoring all the ones in the new testament, just kind of blows me away. Their willingness to focus on the breakdown of the family unit but do nothing as people live on the street or shelters, have no medical care and every day children, the elderly, the mentally unsound are abused and taken advantage of...sometimes to death. Somehow in their mind, gay people are the abomination. It doesn't look that way from here.
With the end of DOMA and same sex marriage being re-instituted in California, its nice to see that the federal government understands the word "fair". I always tell my students that Justice is about balance. you always see Lady Justice with balanced scales. Justice is ensuring that the damaged party is made whole...they can't be enriched but they must be made whole. The defeat of those two measures did just that. It brought a measure of justice to those same sex couples who had been denied what every heterosexual couple got...recognition and respect for their marriage.
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Daily Grind
Being laid off sucks. I'm sure that many of you out there at some point have walked in that particular pair of shoes so you know what I'm talking about.
On top of submitting job applications, which arguably doesn't take to long since there aren't a whole lot of jobs out there...I watch tv or read. Two of my favorite pastimes. I've got quite the schedule going too.
10:00AM Perry Mason...I love Perry Mason. If I ever need a lawyer, Perry is the gold standard.
11:00AM Jerry Springer. I don't care what anyone says...when your life sucks, be grateful you aren't the person they have kept offstage in the soundproof room. Your life is just about to go downhill FAST!
Noon Steve Wilkos. If you have seen some of the early Jerry Springer tapings you will know who Steve is. Steve is a former security dude that Jerry used for many years. From time to time Jerry would let Steve do a segment and they were always amusing. Steve's claim to fame is that he doesn't let people sit down on his stage if they have been accused of wrongdoing. Oh, and he tells people to "get the hell off his stage".
1:00 PM Jerry Springer again...because is just one show a day enough? No. I think not.
3:00PM Jeremy Kyle. I call this guy the British version of Jerry Springer. I remember first seeing him on the telly on one of my trips to England and I thought he was a gasser then.
From there I might zip over to Netflix or Hulu to watch some old tv series like Mission Impossible or Dragnet. Hulu has a bounty of samurai movies. I'm a big fan of the Zatoichi series and just about everything done by Toshiro Mifune. The other night I watched Seven Samurai that was directed by Akira Kirosawa and Toshiro was one of the actors. Five years later you can watch The Magnificent Seven using the same premise...great art right there.
I also like to read. Most of the time you can find me reading one of two genres...romances or spirituality books. I do throw in the occasional employee development book so I can keep abreast of trends there. I've read romances since I was a teenager. Needless to say, I am sadly disappointed in the whole white knight image. But who cares, I love to live in that world even if only for a moment or two. I'm sure that I will talk more about my spirituality later but I do enjoy learning new things about myself, my faith and just how the universe works.
So there ya go...my current daily grind. Please...someone put me back to work!!
On top of submitting job applications, which arguably doesn't take to long since there aren't a whole lot of jobs out there...I watch tv or read. Two of my favorite pastimes. I've got quite the schedule going too.
10:00AM Perry Mason...I love Perry Mason. If I ever need a lawyer, Perry is the gold standard.
11:00AM Jerry Springer. I don't care what anyone says...when your life sucks, be grateful you aren't the person they have kept offstage in the soundproof room. Your life is just about to go downhill FAST!
Noon Steve Wilkos. If you have seen some of the early Jerry Springer tapings you will know who Steve is. Steve is a former security dude that Jerry used for many years. From time to time Jerry would let Steve do a segment and they were always amusing. Steve's claim to fame is that he doesn't let people sit down on his stage if they have been accused of wrongdoing. Oh, and he tells people to "get the hell off his stage".
1:00 PM Jerry Springer again...because is just one show a day enough? No. I think not.
3:00PM Jeremy Kyle. I call this guy the British version of Jerry Springer. I remember first seeing him on the telly on one of my trips to England and I thought he was a gasser then.
From there I might zip over to Netflix or Hulu to watch some old tv series like Mission Impossible or Dragnet. Hulu has a bounty of samurai movies. I'm a big fan of the Zatoichi series and just about everything done by Toshiro Mifune. The other night I watched Seven Samurai that was directed by Akira Kirosawa and Toshiro was one of the actors. Five years later you can watch The Magnificent Seven using the same premise...great art right there.
I also like to read. Most of the time you can find me reading one of two genres...romances or spirituality books. I do throw in the occasional employee development book so I can keep abreast of trends there. I've read romances since I was a teenager. Needless to say, I am sadly disappointed in the whole white knight image. But who cares, I love to live in that world even if only for a moment or two. I'm sure that I will talk more about my spirituality later but I do enjoy learning new things about myself, my faith and just how the universe works.
So there ya go...my current daily grind. Please...someone put me back to work!!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
New beginnings?
I lead a truly uneventful life. For the most part, I like it that way. No drama that is out of the ordinary for me. I'm currently unemployed so that is a bit of a problem but its not something that is just happening to me. I have few friends, even fewer that will call me up on the spur of the moment and say "let's do lunch" or some other spur of the moment thing. Being unemployed can present a problem for that at this point since I like to at least pay my own way and money is too tight for that.
My life events are uneventful as well. Married and divorced twice, one son who lives with me. See...nothing to write home about those events either.
I'm out there on two dating websites. Neither of which has yielded any tangible results for anything beyond the occasional sexual partner. At 49 years old, it appears that men in the 50-75 year old age bracket look at me as prime pickings. No...not feeling the Viagra crowd just yet people. And if there is an asshole within 100 miles of Allentown, he has probably contacted me as well. Apparently, its not longer suitable to ask a woman out for a cup of coffee just to meet them. Someone neglected to tell me that the new fad was to just give people your address so they can come over and have sex with you. Forget all that meeting first stuff, you need not determine if someone is an asshole or has poor personal hygiene...you just give them your address for sex. Yeah...not feeling THAT either.
So here I am. In my uneventful life. I work when I am able, I help teach on Wednesdays evenings and from time to time I actually run errands like to the grocery store. Or maybe sew or do some needlepoint. I attend the occasional soccer game with my brother and have a blast doing that. But other than that, I'm a pretty uneventful person.
So I decided to start a blog about what is arguably a pretty boring subject...my life. You will find the occasional rant, the occasional deep thought but in the end it will probably just be a very uneventful blog too.
My life events are uneventful as well. Married and divorced twice, one son who lives with me. See...nothing to write home about those events either.
I'm out there on two dating websites. Neither of which has yielded any tangible results for anything beyond the occasional sexual partner. At 49 years old, it appears that men in the 50-75 year old age bracket look at me as prime pickings. No...not feeling the Viagra crowd just yet people. And if there is an asshole within 100 miles of Allentown, he has probably contacted me as well. Apparently, its not longer suitable to ask a woman out for a cup of coffee just to meet them. Someone neglected to tell me that the new fad was to just give people your address so they can come over and have sex with you. Forget all that meeting first stuff, you need not determine if someone is an asshole or has poor personal hygiene...you just give them your address for sex. Yeah...not feeling THAT either.
So here I am. In my uneventful life. I work when I am able, I help teach on Wednesdays evenings and from time to time I actually run errands like to the grocery store. Or maybe sew or do some needlepoint. I attend the occasional soccer game with my brother and have a blast doing that. But other than that, I'm a pretty uneventful person.
So I decided to start a blog about what is arguably a pretty boring subject...my life. You will find the occasional rant, the occasional deep thought but in the end it will probably just be a very uneventful blog too.
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