This is going to be about Freedom of Religion

Freedom of religion is a good thing.  It is such a great thing, in fact, that our forefathers left their homes in search of a new world that would support their excessively conservative beliefs.  They wanted to escape a nationalized religion that was enforced on them.

However, many, many Christians in the US seem to have forgotten this because they are so passionate about their beliefs.  Passion about a belief is fine, but don't get so carried away with that passion that you ignore basic rights of other human beings.  Freedom of religion is a right we all have here in the US and you should be cognizant and grateful of that because not everyone is afforded the same right.

I'm beginning to tire of having to explain to people that they are, in fact, in support of freedom of religion and keeping religion out of their schools and government (even if they don't know it).  As such, I think it will be easier if I post it here and then link to it every time I need it.  So here goes nothing.

1. But Angie, we do not allow God in schools and that's why X happens/doesn't happen!
God is allowed to be there, in general (but it depends on the school), as long as the students initiate it.  Teachers and administrators are not allowed to endorse a particular religion because they are in a position of power with considerable sway over their students.  An endorsement of a particular religion would be very influential to impressionable youngsters and may go against what the parent wants to teach their child.  If you want your child to go to school and be taught a particular religious dogma, send them to a private school that focuses on that.  If you would not be OK with a teacher delivering a lecture about your favorite religion to hate, then you agree with me.  

2. But Angie, I am a Christian and this country has a Christian majority so I don't mind if a teacher prays with my child!
What if your child's teacher is of a faith that isn't Christianity and it is your favorite religion to hate?  Would you be OK with the teacher completing a religious ceremony with your child in the faith of the teacher's choice?  If you said no, then you agree with me.

2a. But Angie, I am a Christian and this country has a Christian majority so I don't mind if our national religion is Christianity!  It would be a much better place with a national religion. 
Consider for a moment the freedoms we possess living in the democracy we've created for ourselves: we are free to hold any opinion we choose, speak out against whomever we choose, free to hold any religious opinions we choose.  We are not held to a set of rules that was established thousands of years ago and may be out of date and inappropriate in the current era.  A theocracy is based on a single religion and single set of beliefs and rules that exclude and/or condemn a portion of the population.  We are a nation of freedom, not oppression.  While 99% of us would probably agree with basic tenets of Christianity (like being a good person, loving our neighbors, etc.), the religious laws would probably not be executed in the fashion that you expect.  Again, I have to mention the religion you love to hate.  Would you love the idea of a theocracy if it was not Christianity and was instead the religion you love to hate, especially if that religion has a drastically different set of morals than you would like to teach your children?  Consider other theocracies and then come back to argue this point.

3. But Angie, I think it's ridiculous that we can't pray as a group at X function.  The moment of silence is nice, but I really want to hear someone pray!  The majority of this nation is Christian, after all, so it's OK!
No, it's not OK because you are still excluding a minority who has a right to not have your choice of religion forced on them.  A moment of silence respects everyone and allows them to practice their own beliefs.  Once again, if that moment of silence included a prayer/ritual from your favorite religion to hate, would that be OK with you?  I didn't think so.

4. But Angie, X religion that I love to hate is horrible because they did Y!  Christianity is so much more loving and peaceful.
Keep in mind that every group has extremists who go above and beyond normal and reasonable action to accomplish what they believe to be the religion's goal.  Let me say that again.  Every.  Group.  Has. Extremists.  Do you remember that in the US we've had abortion clinic bombings?  Some of those were carried out by extreme Christians who felt they were doing God's work.  Then there were the Crusades and the Inquisition.  Judge not, and all that.

5. But Angie, this country is going to Hell in a Hand basket and it's because we aren't making our kids go to church!
You can instill good morals and sound judgment in children without religion.  I would argue that teaching a child to be a good person without the aid of a religious text is superior because at that point it is internalized and self-validated.  Religious texts were written a long time ago in a forgotten era and contain many inconsistencies that may lead to questioning one's belief.  Do you really want that to include basic things like being nice to each other? 

I think the larger problem that should be addressed is that we've moved to a society that requires, in many cases, both parents to work outside the home.  Spending less time with our children means less time to teach them necessary life lessons.  Church is a great tool if you find one you agree with because it's a focused time for several hours per week to teach children lessons about being good people.  However, you can teach the same lessons without a church.  People who choose not to use this tool should not be made to feel guilty or be forced to adhere to your particular belief.




The basic principles of just about any religion out there are to be nice to one another, not kill one another, and to generally be good people.  They should also include respecting and accepting the choices of other people.  Keep that in mind and you'll be OK.


That's all I've got for now but I'll edit and add to this as I see new angles and arguments.

Meanwhile, over in Hypocritesville...

Conservative Republicans never cease to amaze me with their narrow-minded view of fairness and equality in the US. 

Small government {except when it's convenient to be Big}!
Cut spending {as long as my programs are supported}!
Lower taxes {especially mine because I'm special in some way}!

Specifically regarding small vs. big government they drive me batshit crazy.

Things like this Sarah Palin tweet, regarding the overturn of the sugary drink ban in NYC really drives me bonkers:

"Victory in NYC for liberty-loving soda drinkers. To politicians with too much time on their hands we say: Govt, stay out of my refrigerator!"

Besides the obvious, that the ban was only in businesses and did not apply to home refrigerators...To this I must ask - OK, why then should the government have a right to be in my uterus or bedroom or any number of other conservative-supported locations?  Holy hypocrisy, Batman!  If you are for SMALL government, you can't pick and choose times when it is convenient.  You're for small government, or you're for big government.  Period.  You're for freedom of the people with no regulation at all [small government], or you're for freedom of the people that enforces basic principles upon which this country was founded - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (or property, depending on what text you read) [big government].  Using the government to serve your own personal agenda in the pretext of preserving family values is a thinly veiled attempt at fascism, something that's widely accepted unless you don't happen to agree with the government-regulated values.  Then it's "socialism" - quoted because the conservative Republicans don't really know what it means.

I don't need, want, or welcome the government telling me or anyone else what my family values can, should, or will be; I get to decide that myself based on what I learn and feel is right to define my moral compass.  You can tell me that you do things in a certain way and you feel it is correct, moral, and just, but I also have the right to say thanks, but no thanks. I'll be doing this my own way.

 I suppose that's all I have for now.  Be a nice and loving person, teach your children to be nice and loving.  That's what matters!

Kid's movie premiere

Since I'm sure I'll forget this idea in the next hour, I'm posting to my blog.  I just had a really fun slumber party, birthday party, etc. idea - a kid's movie premiere!  Roll out the red carpet, add a curtain for the kids to pass through, take pictures of them in front of a backdrop - kids dress up to come to a movie premiere.  Dress up is relative - they can be super heroes, princesses, doctors, mail persons, UPS drivers, frogs - whatever sounds fun.

You could expand this to include a dinner and then a trip on the red carpet, or maybe they just have yummy movie snacks.

Now my son just needs to be old enough to do this! :)

Weight loss incredulity

Well, as of April of this year I started going to Weight Watchers again to get myself back on track.  I've got a few minor-could-be-major-if-I-don't-take-care-of-them-now health problems and the # 1 way to reverse them is to lose weight.  I can't deal with the selfishness of having to face our son one day and explaining to him that Mama is sick and won't live as long as she could have because she made poor choices.  I don't do well every day, but I try to do a little better at least a couple days per week.  I'm working to eliminate high fructose corn syrup in at least the most obvious sources - bread, peanut butter, jelly, hot dogs...those sorts of things.  HFCS is something I think my body in particular has a hard time dealing with so it would be for the best if I stop eating it.

Anyway, today I was reflecting on my weight loss.  I'm down (officially, weigh in is Thursday) 22.2 pounds and while I know I've been struggling with my old habits and stalling my weight loss, it's actually a great number - and I expect it to improve this week.  I'm seeing weight loss that I think I may have given up on and it is giving me an out-of-body experience.  It feels like I'm lying about my weight loss or telling someone else's story; it doesn't feel like mine.  Even though my clothes fit differently, my stomach feels and looks smaller, and people are starting to notice...it still feels...weird.

I think this is common, but I thought it was common with more weight loss.  I can deal with it and I'm starting to feel focused on my goal - I'd like to hit 45 pounds by the time I go back to the endocrinologist at the end of September.  I have approximately 9 weeks to lose 20* more pounds and it's doable if I stay focused. 

Wish me luck, cross your fingers, and if you see me with some snacky thing that will sabotage me, for goodness' sake please slap it out of my hands!  I will try not to punch you.  At the very least ask me if I journaled the points :)

Until next time,
Incredulous in S-town


*I am anticipating that I'll surpass 25 pounds this week so that's how my math works out.

Making up for lost time

Wow, it's almost like I have nothing better to do than vomit things from my brain into Blogger. :)

Reading the DIY blog helps me realize a couple things - 1) I should stop stressing that my house isn't "done" before our housewarming (I called it a BBQ but everyone knows what it is) next week and just enjoy it...even if I'm still going to do some planting/prettying up the outdoors a bit tomorrow!! 2) enjoy the process; even though I'm not really into home renovation, I love before/after progress and that is to be valued 3) I should probably make a list since I love lists anyway. Dear husband hates them, I think, but I love crossing things off a list. Makes me feel productive.

Additionally, I should probably start writing things down more or in 10 years I won't even remember what's happened since I have a terrible memory. Photos are nice but sometimes they need context. They're definitely enhanced by context, and the journal is improved by them - it's quite the complementary (yes that's the correct spelling!) relationship actually.

I should probably go back to bed now. I'm thinking of reading more of What Alice Forgot, though. It's really good and makes you think.

Hi again. Two posts in one day? NO WAY!!

I haven't posted much lately, so I didn't know that Blogger had changed so much. When I wrote the previous post it defaulted to HTML and I remember thinking, after an edit to add some breaks (space between paragraphs), gosh I'm glad I know some incredibly basic HTML coding. Right after that thought I noticed I could switch over to what I used to use to write a post. I guess it didn't change that much after all. :)

Learn to appreciate blank space & silence

It's 4:17am and I've been awake since 2:45 because I fell asleep with the toddler...yes, we have a toddler. How'd that happen? Anyway, when you fall asleep with a toddler and don't sleep a normal 8 hours [even if you do], you wake up far earlier than you would normally. So here I am, looking at Pinterest and Facebook and I've been reading all sorts of posts/looking at pictures on a DIY home improvement site.

Seeing one of their photos of their patio (which I can't find again) where there were only a few plants poking out of the mulch made me realize that I am twitchy about blank space. I don't know why. However, I'm weird with silence in a conversation as well and it's sort of the same thing. What I noticed in the photo was that they had blank space in the garden area and it was ok! I have a big blank space in my water garden and I was trying to decide how to fill it and now I'm thinking I really don't need to. I'm not sure why I feel like every space and silence needs to be filled but the more important thing is here to learn to get past that.

Long absent

I'm still around, but I do most of my posting on Facebook or G+ these days.

Our son, M, was born last November and is 8.5 months old. Time sure flies...he's amazing and I didn't know I could love this much. I find myself just sitting and watching him play and I'm content just to be with him (although sometimes I do watch tv while he plays). It's not something I would have expected to like.

We started feeding M solid foods when he was 6 months old and now he's moved on from single ingredient foods to multiple ingredient foods; we recently added meat and yogurt to his diet and he's enjoying them. So far I'm proud to say that we have been able to abstain from buying "baby" food - my friend gave me some baby cereal, but I can't make that so it doesn't count. I'm sure at some point we'll break down and buy some rice puffs or yogurt bites or something but hopefully we'll never be too busy to make the bulk of his food. Besides, it's so easy...and now that he can eat meat, we can almost just make him a serving from our plates. I'm not sure how concerned to be about salt, so we're still only feeding him a little bit of the adult food.

So far the interesting food we've made him: squash and roasted red pepper risotto, pear apple and blueberry sauce, cream of chicken broccoli and rice, and roasted green pepper quinoa.

I'm pretty bored by this post, however, so I'm going to cut it short (and in 8 months, I'll post something else that's boring!).

Pregnancy, months 1-7

I'm not quite at 7 months but I'm pretty close to it so I'll include it.

It's definitely been full of new experiences...from the first positive test, to the unexplained bleeding and misdiagnosis of miscarriage, to feeling the baby move for the first time, having my back put me on a leash (30 mins for walking or standing, some days longer), experiencing belly button pain (short-lived but still not fun), learning that my hamstring was causing excruciating pain in my hips/pelvis and how to fix it, the tendonitis in my wrist flaring up and changing from a muscle ache to what feels more like a bone ache, to just getting bigger and feeling more movement and loving it - of course, for many that means stretch marks. I don't have a bikini bod and stretch marks eventually fade anyway, so I don't care - other than feeling them. I never thought I'd feel stretch marks, but they're at times either painful or itchy. Oh, and the baby sitting on the bladder experience - very weird. "Oh no I have to pee sooooo bad!!! Hmm. I am pretty sure that was about 3 ounces, certainly felt more urgent than that."

I have good days and bad, but overall I like being pregnant. When I wake up several times in the middle of the night to pee or shift or whatever, sometimes I decide to check Facebook or e-mail and the baby wakes up and starts kicking. That's really my favorite part, and now that it's kicking and nudging harder I put my hand on it to feel it on the outside - and sometimes it feels REALLY WEIRD! Those times are the ones where the baby is trying to turn - but those days will be gone soon. I'm a little over 30 weeks now and the baby has some room to maneuver but in a few more weeks it will be so cramped the baby won't be doing too much of that. Then I get to have an Aliens experience watching my belly shift and move and maybe be able to ID a foot as it pushes out. Oh, that's something I discovered recently - even if I don't feel the baby moving, I can find where it's resting because of the extra hard quality of the tissues supported by a 3 pound little human.

We start self hypnosis classes in just under 2 weeks - and I even have money set aside for it! I'm excited because hypno birth is supposed to be calm and easier on the baby, and I get to be conscious of things I wouldn't normally have the pain tolerance to notice. The other bonus is that it's a skill I can learn and carry with me forever, my favorite sort of solution. The cost of an epidural is a lot higher than the hypnosis technique, and it's not something I can call on when I have other pain or just need a moment to pull myself together.

I'm starving - I forgot to even mention the appetite thing. Possibly the most annoying aspect of being pregnant has been (not so much lately, thank goodness) the roller coaster appetite. I eat a small amount and I'M SO FULL. However, 5 minutes later I AM STARVING! and repeat. I guess the overwhelming sleepiness hasn't been a picnic either.

Still, though, it's all worth it to feel our baby moving and know we get to meet her (I think it's a girl) soon.

Weight loss ticker

(I've placed this at the top so that as I go along, I can edit and change the ticker. All new posts will be below this one. -except for the baby ticker)

Yahtzee

It's been a while since I posted, so I will post about our crazy adventures with Yahtzee. While Kyle and I were visiting my brother's family and my parents, we played Yahtzee. I used to love that game and hadn't played it in several years...as it turns out, I still love it. So, I used some of my Christmas money to buy it when we got home.

I had just purchased it last week and we went to visit N&S for an evening of gaming. Every other time this has meant video games, so we packed our normal gaming bag. At the last moment I said, "There's not a chance in hell they'll actually want to play this, but I'll bring it anyway," referring to Yahtzee. We have 0 history of board games, so it was really unlikely (as evidenced by my statement). As it turns out, I wasn't the only one who loved it and S wanted to give it a go.

We played 3 games with the normal rules and then it got crazy. Kyle made up a "Speed Yahtzee" house rule whereby one person rolls their normal turn but at the end, all the players must score it on their card. It goes much faster because there are 13 turns total, not 13 per person. It's also insane because you would think it would be impossible to score differently. However, when I take a full house, someone else might take 3 of a kind and yet another might take one of the numbers...so it turns out weird. Last week we ended up playing 9 games of that because it was so fun - in addition to the 3 regular games.

We were there again tonight and we decided to try new and more insane house rules, such as: 1) Similar to Speed Yahtzee but with one roll per turn; everyone scores based on one roll and this translates to a LOT of zeroes on the board :) 2) Each player has to keep for one full turn (up to 3 rolls) one die from the previous player's roll. It gets pretty hairy toward the end when you have to save a number you don't need and can't use.

Anyway, it was quite a lot of fun and twice tonight I matched my card to someone else's - once with Kyle and once with S. Of all the times we played and that didn't come up, it was really strange for that to happen twice - and in a row, no less. Another time I matched S entirely except our 3 and 4 of a kind slots were reversed. I can't really explain that one!

Bonus - N had never played before and now she's a total fan too :)

In short, I love board games :)

Mistress Angie, quite a pansy, how does your garden grow?

With tulips and more tulips and daffodils and hyacinth and azaleas and hostas and a daylily and hydrangea, but not all in a row (that would be weird looking in my yard).

I'm not what you would call an outdoorsy person. I typically spend as much time as possible in a climate controlled building, making strategic short excursions to the out-of-doors when the temperature roughly matches said climate controlled atmosphere. Don't get me wrong; I do enjoy a nice read outside in the sun when the weather is nice. However, I burn easily and I'm not inclined to spend the time outside to remedy that problem (if it can be remedied at all).

Fall is planting season for a lot of plants I would like to have in my yard, though, and ultimately I'd like to have a really pretty yard; that overrides my anti-outdoors nature. As a result, in the last several weeks I have spent 10+ hours outside ON PURPOSE! So, what do I have in my garden?



In one garden under my bedroom window:
3'x12'
Lowest layer: 70 mixed long stem tulips (reds and yellows I think), 25 Queen of Night tulips, and 25 of another purple/white I can't remember the name of. It looks like so: l= long stem, q=queen of night, p=purple/white

llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
qpqpqpqpqpqpq
qpqpqpqpqpqpq
qpqpqpqpqpqpq

I am not entirely sure I perfectly alternated the purple ones, but it should still be pretty.

The next layer about 2" higher (because tulips are tolerant like that), I planted approximately 100 mixed daffodils and 20 mixed hyacinth like so:

dddddhhhhddddd
dddddhhhhddddd
dddddhhhhddddd

...you get the idea. I think the only fragrant flower there is the hyacinth, but there should be lots and lots and lots of color. I believe the upper layer of flowers (daffodil and hyacinth) bloom first while the tulips bloom after. If nothing pops up in that garden, I think Kyle and I might never garden again :P We spent 5 and maybe more hours digging that garden, amending the soil, and planting the bulbs.




Next up, we have the hostas and the bonus daylily and 12 additional tulip bulbs.

I have 2 big trees around the middle of the yard and since hostas are amenable to partial to full shade, I thought this would be a nice spot. Hostas apparently propagate like mad, so I only bought 2 (they're rather pricey). Also, once they're bigger I can split them. My friend Sarah quoted her mom: "When is the right time to split hostas? Whenever you have a shovel in your hand." I don't know if I'll do that in the first year, but I might be able to beg some off co-workers.

Anyway, I purchased a Golden Tiara hosta and a Variegated Hosta and received a Sammy Russell Daylily as a bonus. I also could NOT pass up 12 more tulip bulbs - it was the last bag, and I liked the contrasting spiky petals of the Claudia tulip, AND the guide I read said that tulips were a good companion plant and I didn't have any more bulbs!

I probably spent about an hour on the hostas and daylily on one day after work. I would have spent longer and amended the soil more carefully, but it was almost dark by the time I got home that night with the potting soil (yes, I used potting soil instead of sand). I think I spent 35-50 mins on the Claudia tulips today and amended the soil with sand. That area looks like so: T=tree, gt=golden tiara, v=variegated, d=daylily, c=Claudia note: there's a lot of space between the two trees, but blogger is not allowing me to display it. You'll have to use your imagination; also, center the diagram:

T gt v T
ccccc
d



Finally, I transplanted 2 azalea bushes to hopefully sunnier and better spots along the driveway (I have plans for more azaleas, but that will happen next Spring) and planted a hydrangea (I don't actually remember what kind I purchased but I'm pretty sure it's red).

I worked on this today for 3ish hours. It's a lot of work to transplant bushes! First I had to dig the holes and amend the soil, then dig them up, then re-plant them. I think it's probably unnecessary to diagram since I said they're along the driveway. I think about 3 more bushes should fit.

In that same 3ish hours I also cleaned up almost all of my dirt messes (there's a lot left over when you fluff up the clay) and I planted the hydrangea next to the house. My requirements for plants next to the house were partial to full shade and water-loving (we have a broken/clogged gutter that pours into that area); hydrangea fits the bill. I will either buy another hydrangea in the Spring or a Black Magic Elephant Ear. I hear/read those are temperamental in the winter, so I may just go for another 1 or 2 hydrangea.

Eventually we need to put in a trellis for the climbing rose bush, but I don't have the energy for that. It's gotten by for 2 years without it, so it can wait a little longer.

I'll post pictures in the Spring/Summer and if my plants don't come up I'll be really upset!!

One funny thing did happen though - while I was doing my last outdoor chore of watering all the new and transplanted babies, a Mexican dude nearly fell off his bike watching me. I guess I looked hot. When you got it, you got it 24/7/365. lol.

Now I need to go eat before the low blood sugar makes me ill. And possibly hibernate for the winter, I'm pretty tired.

ZZZZzzzzzzz

It's 1:26a and I should go to bed...but the heater is warm and I'm enjoying being up late. After a nap, anyway; this getting-up-early-to-work business is really killing my night-owl tendencies. I'm still not a morning person (at all, it's ridiculous) but lately (ha, late...yeah, I know, I need to go to bed, bugger off) I've been falling asleep around 10 or 10:30. Considering I used to go to bed at 1 or 2 and yawn my way through the day, that's pretty early (I say as I yawn).

I'm a bit disappointed with dinner. I had this idea in my head of this masterpiece taco salad that would explode with particular wonderful flavors...and then it didn't taste anything like I'd imagined. Kyle liked it, but he's not picky anyway so that's not saying much...and it was green, and he was green-deficient. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.

We rented all of Season 1 Lie to Me - Family Video was having a sale on new releases and since I'm obsessed with the show, here we are with 10ish hours to watch by Wednesday. Oh darn!

I'm impatient. I think this is something I am supposed to learn to accept and work through in this life, in which case I may live forever (except I'm too impatient to check it off the list...hahaha)! I'm a take-charge person (to put it lightly) and I have a hard time dealing when things are out of my control. I don't like waiting for other people or things to work out like I planned, I just want it now, dammit - oh, but hold the relish and can I get a side of mustard with that? - no, plain, I don't like spicy brown. This trait makes waiting for these pills to *fingers crossed* hopefully do their job and fix my fucked up body quite difficult. Especially so when it can take 6 months or more just to get things straightened out - and what then if it doesn't work? How will I even know? If I could look into the future I feel like I would...just so I could relax.

I guess things will work out when and how they should. I just don't want to wait to find out.

And where is my next Twilight book, dammit, speaking of things for which I do not want to wait! GOSH.

My cat finds the most obscure, seemingly impossible places to hide.

Attention authors: if you are going to write in the same universe with the same characters, please keep some notes and a timeline handy. Thanks, annoyed reader

Why do work days go by so slow and days off so fast? Not fair.

On the plane to in home. Boo. I want to go back to the beach

So sleepy...and full of frozen yogurt.

Beach day and i have a new floppy hat :)

Been awake since 4 and not sleepy. This sucks.

Whale watching is a 3 hour tour...a 3 hour tour.

Going whale watching for the first time-cool!

Up way early and doing chores to prepare us for the trip to ca today

I had an argument with someone over national healthcare and she is a student of a public university. She probably has student loans too. How special.

I wonder if national healthcare is going to be the cause of the next civil war?

This restaurant bathroom encourages drowning dead composers.

I have no idea what my phone number is and have no intention of learning it. That could be bad.

The day has hardly begun and i am ready to go home...sounds about right.

Almost time to go home, yay!

I do not like this month at work. I will be glad for september.

Ha! I have a group now and i can text both twitter and blogger by adding one contact!

I thought the clock said 11:45 but it said 11:15. Bugger.

The 'simply' juice line has single serve bottles now

I can send blog stuff from my phone now...neat.

Moving (a much-delayed post)

Well, it's that time again - we're moving in July. The first load of pre-packed items get moved June 13th when we empty our storage unit and swing by the house to top off with house boxes. We (surprisingly enough) never managed to unpack all our boxes in the 2 years we lived here and I guess all the clutter has worked in our favor.

Once we get the easiest junk out of the house we will have space to pack boxes. At this point I think this will go in 2 major waves - wave 1 will be the pre-packed boxes and wave 2 will include the furniture. If we can afford it, we'll be hiring movers to help with the furniture. Wave 2 will probably wait until mid-July just so we can keep appliances as long as possible.

In between these waves we'll be working a few hours each weekend to get a carload to the other house. While that will suck, at least it won't be an entire weekend of grueling physical labor.

With any luck, this is our last move for a very long time.

I've tried to remember when I last spent more than 2 years in a residence, and I can't really remember a time when I've been that stable. Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyway), moving is getting very old. In fact, I have boxes I packed in 2005. I know, many people would say "if you haven't missed it in 4 years, throw it away!" but I know there are things I want and just didn't have space to unpack.

For example, we have a food processor we received as a wedding gift...in 2006. We've never had the counter space to unpack it! I am so looking forward to having space. :) We actually have quite a few appliances I haven't used in a while because our kitchen is too cramped.

So, while I detest moving, I am getting excited about being moved.

Exhaustion

I've been working on Columbinus this last week for Tech Week and between that and work, I'm exhausted. There have been too many 16+ hour days and I don't know how anyone does this for extended periods of time. Oh right, I had 2 jobs a while ago and it sucked, now I remember. :P

I don't know if everyone feels exhaustion the way I do...it's like I have an anvil that is anchored to my chest and it's pulling me down to the ground, and I have to fight to stand upright when all I want to do is let it pull me down. That, and I daydream of curling up and going to sleep.

The shitty part of this is when I have the opportunity, I can't sleep!

I just got ready and I have to leave in 5 minutes, but I could totally go back to bed and sleep soundly.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Work still sucks

For the second month in a row, month end has fallen on the same day as payroll. Payroll already takes about 4 hours to complete. By the time we get started on month end it's already getting late in the afternoon, which means it'll be finished tomorrow.

I also have several invoices that I need to process, so I get to put off doing my big journal entry. Granted, that only takes about an hour, but I'd rather get it entered and do my reconciliation and be done. I'd feel a lot better. Instead, however, I get to let that wait so I can pay invoices that are almost past due and probably will be by the time the check mails. I hate this.

I'm finishing up on Vagina Monologues this week - I'm running lights and sound and it's a 3 week run Thursday-Sunday. It's really starting to wear on me and yes, there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing." I like theatre but it's getting a little old. I have one more show after this and I'm ready to call it the last for a while. I want free time again!

If the vag doesn't go an extra week, I'll have about a week of free time and then some friends are visiting. TC & J will be here the 17th-20th and that's the part where I get to say again that work sucks. That's Board week and since I handle contracts, I get lots of them that week. I want to work abbreviated hours and take off on Friday but I don't know how exactly that will work out.

To make things even peachier, we have to clear out our desks and files by the 23rd because the furniture is getting moved out to the new space. OH FUCKING BOY!!!! Like we even have time to deal with that!!

And there have been a lot of closed-door meetings regarding the Accounting Clerk I position, so I hope there's not some issue. Of course the economy is also in the shitter so we're worried about jobs...*sigh* With work being so damn busy I'd like to say we're pretty safe but no one's safe.

At least TV was good tonight :)

Physics game for the win!

Play Ice Breaker

Some people completely miss the point.

This letter is from a person who is so consumed with his spiritual arrogance that he completely misses the point of FSMism.

I might have this completely wrong, but I am pretty sure FSMism was begun as a demonstration of how utterly stupid modern religion has become. If memory serves, FSMism started as satire regarding Creationism retitled as Intelligent Design, encompassing religion as a whole.

If one sits down and thinks about religion logically, without allowing emotional attachment to bias them, it is quite obvious that the Big 3 have so many things in common that they must be related. The moral rules in each are very similar if not identical, and their teachings basically revolve around the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It puts actions into perspective and makes them personal.

"Do you want someone to piss in your food and burn down your house? No, you would think that person an asshole? Well, then you probably shouldn't piss in that guy's food and burn down his house."

It's an elementary empathy lesson, one that is used to teach children how to be kind rather than the numb little self-absorbed monsters they start out.

My basic gripe about modern religion is that so many people are so sure they are right that no one else can possibly be right...because the Holy Book they believe in says there can only be one Religion (to rule them all, one Religion to find them, one Religion to bring them all and in the darkness bind them) and that would disprove their own if they believed!

To me, FSMism has become a symbol of how I feel about the ridiculous need to put one religion above another. It's like proclaiming that the orange is better than the banana. They're both fruit, they're both sweet; some people like them both, some people don't like either of them. To say one is better than the other is ridiculous, though, because it's a matter of opinion.

Work sucks and so does winter

We lost one of our co-workers (she's moving) and while she will be replaced, we've got a transition period of about 3 months before it happens.

Even when we have the replacement, it will still take a bit to get them trained enough that they are helpful. The position doesn't pay very well and there's zero room to advance unless one of us leaves, and the benefits are dwindling. If the economy wasn't in the shitter I'd say we'd be damn lucky to get anybody worth keeping.

So, this week the weather is bad and it's difficult to drive in to work. I was late getting there today, skipped lunch, and left 30 mins early. All told, I worked 5 hours. I spent around 2.5 hours in the car round trip, which wasn't too bad considering it's usually 1.5 anyway.

Starting last night we were getting sleet. It continued through the night and if the accumulation on my porch is any indication, we got about 2". I left work at 4:00 and didn't get home until 5:45, and it was hellacious. The ice was terrible - there were lots of accidents - it was a mess. This morning when we got up the first time (6:30) it didn't look like our street had been plowed. The MoDOT map said all state roads were "covered" (rather than the preferable "partially covered"). And my driveway was buried. So, we went back to bed. We finally left around 10:40 and I got to work around 11:40. It then proceeded to sleet most of the day. Luckily, I discovered on the way to work that 44 was a much better route so I took that home and this time our trip only took about an hour.

When we got home the snow started and counting everything, I think we've got at least 5 inches of "winter precipitation" on our driveway.

I got sidetracked a bit - back to how this relates to work. OK, so I missed that time today. Last week was a holiday and we're starting to get really behind. I know my supervisor didn't have freetime in her schedule and mine is very little, so it's impossible to add an 8 hour job to our plates and not notice it's there. So, we're busy and missing time for weather, and we're not allowed to make it up on Saturday.

Did I mention that the month is over this week and when we normally process month end, Monday, we have payroll? With 3 people it usually takes around 4 hours, and we're down to 2.

Is it just me or does it sound like something's gotta give here?! All I know is we absolutely MUST make it known that we're affected or management will say..."We don't need to replace her, you're doing great!" Or as I've had said to me before "You're doing so well, I can lay off the other people."

Fuck. That.

Merry Christmas to all...

Hi everyone, Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday and receive much of what you wish for; I'd say all, but where's the fun in that?

Things here are pretty good. K and I bought ourselves a new 50" Plasma TV for Christmas with a profit sharing check he received recently. We weren't supposed to exchange gifts, but I sort of bought him a lot of stuff. Oops. :)

I should probably go to bed since I have to get up early for stockings.

...and to all a good night!

Belated "Yay Obama!" Post

I am so thrilled that Obama was elected. I am happier still that it was a landslide, because I was afraid we might see another 2000-esque controversy. As "fundamentally sound" as our economy might be, the stock market is still an emotional beast and she did not like the indecision in 2000.

I have so much hope for what he can do; I am impressed by his positive messages and his overall positive campaign. Looking back, several others concentrated on slinging mud and scare tactics rather than offering solutions. I prefer the positive.

I sincerely hope that he is allowed to follow through with his vision for us; he might make some colossally huge mistakes, but he can't do too much worse than the last 8 years.

And I hope he *does* fill his cabinet with his opponents - they are smart people who have different points of view, and I think that's important for any president. Yes-men in the Cabinet do not a strong presidency make. I want to hear about intelligent, spirited debate regarding the issues that we face as a nation. The problems are complex and no one person can be expected to know all the answers immediately and flawlessly. I bounce ideas around and ask for criticism; I expect no less of our President.

Here's to hope...Yes we can!

"Obama has more threats than other Presidents-Elect"

Read this article, or do what I did and just look at the headline.

OK, so real fast here - I didn't read the article but I don't think I need to - I know what it's going to say. And you know my response? YOU DON'T FUCKING SAY. Did I really need to know this? It's not new information.

This has been one of the most controversial elections in our recent (last 100 years or so) history. The people were polarized and incredibly passionate about "their" candidate(s); the issues have led to explosive debates among the general public; voter turnout was supposed to be the highest in many years; and the black man won, instantly disappointing the 46.2% (roughly) of people who voted for McCain (even if not at the same time inspiring hatred).

And, considering this article, it should be no surprise that our first black President(-elect) is receiving more threats than any other. As late as two thousand (mother-fucking) six the KKK is *still* beating people for being the wrong "color" (or nationality in this instance).

So I say again...ya don't fucking say!

Here's that post about people abusing the system

OK, so writing the post about health care which shifted into social programs reminded me of my Wal-mart days. When I worked at Wal-mart, I saw all types, but I think the ones who burned me the most were the people using government assistance because they can't afford 5+ kids.

I don't know if they did it because they love kids or if they wanted more of them to leech off "the system" and get more assistance or if birth control pills are just a religious no-no. I think in one instance it was the birth control thing...which got me to thinking.

I firmly believe that government should not in any way, shape, or form, endorse, support, or otherwise favor, any religion (boy, that sure was a lot of commas).

I also believe in social programs and that, while sometimes abused, they are more often helpful than not and are integral to an advanced and wealthy society such as ours.

However - I think that we should potentially start encouraging smaller families so we don't end up with the China problem.

This is, in my unresearched opinion, quite easy to do. The number of private farms is falling (historically farmers had lots of children to help on the farm), people are living longer, and on the whole we don't need the birth rate to be as high. Most people do this on their own and only have as many children as they can afford, or only as many as replaces them (1 per person). So, where there is more education and better job opportunity, there are fewer children - mostly the middle and upper class.

In the lower class, those with less education and lower income (as illogical as that seems) tend to have more children. I don't know why exactly, but it has to do with birth control - affording it and knowing how to use it - religion, and sometimes welfare.

I will skip the education portion. I will also skip religion for now and address the welfare issue. I have not personally looked up how much more a person receives per child in food stamps but I know it does increase. That's only logical - it costs more to add extra food to the table. However, I think it is morally wrong to have another child simply to increase the amount of help one receives. It's just a bad reason to make a baby!

As for religion, there are still some stricter ones that frown on birth control. If this is indeed true, then I think it is the duty of the church to provide for the parishioners. Why should the government support a large family that has not chosen to use birth control because they are not allowed by their religious views? This is where I begin to draw the line for government assistance.

Unless you're Fertile Myrtle who gets pregnant every time she has sex despite using birth control, you have a duty to uphold. Every time you have sex, there is a possibility of creating a life. It is your duty as a future parent to make sure that you have made a conscious choice to have a child and can then also provide for that child. Yes, accidents happen, and those are not the people to who I am speaking. I am instead speaking to those who choose to create a life knowing that there is absolutely no way they can afford to support.

That's where I start thinking about my life and how we have chosen to wait for a baby so we are better able to afford one.

That's also when I began to resent those who came through my line with a food stamp card and 8 kids.

That's when I began to think that maybe federal assistance should have a cap, and if it already has one, perhaps it should be lower.

Studies would have to be done to make sure this is more fair than not, but let's put a cap of 4 people on that food stamp card. OK, you can have as many kids as you want and we won't restrict it, but we will only support 4 of you. That can be 1 parent and 3 kids, or it can be 2 parents and 2 kids, but 4 is the limit. This would encourage those who would otherwise abuse the system to stop popping out paychecks and churches to support (monetarily as well as morally) their own doctrine.

I am willing to share what I make in taxes so that people who are less fortunate can enjoy such benefits as food...but there is a limit to my kindness, dammit!





Discussion for next time: Is our society rife with the "You-owe-me" attitude, and if so, why and how can we fix it?

Health care, as a right

OK, so my SIL sent me a link to this blog , and I am writing about the post 10/10/08 which also references this article.

According to both, Obama stated that health care is a right (I didn't see that part so I am trusting they are telling the truth).

As Mistress Matisse and Bill Whittle pointed out, it's difficult to qualify health care as a right without including other basics in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs which include food, water, shelter, and clothing. While it's not included anywhere on the pyramid, I would probably place it on the bottom tier with food, etc. If you're not in good health, it's pretty difficult to focus on the higher tiers.

So, is health care a right when the other things are not? Well, I suppose not. However, health care as I perceive it - I will qualify my argument in that because I am not going to go do a master's thesis load of research - is something that has been allowed to spiral out of control where cost is concerned, unlike some of our other vital tier 1 needs like food and shelter. I am not going to point fingers because I don't think it's just greedy doctors - they have to cover cost like any other business owner, which includes schooling, malpractice insurance, and overhead for all the expensive machines they use. I won't even try to evaluate if the cost of the machine is fair.

However, with insurance companies around to take some of the burden off the individual it makes it such that fees rise higher than they might have normally. If the doctor visit is $100 and the patient pays a 20% fee of $20, most people can afford that which allows them to go to the doctor regularly. If the visit increases a year later to $150, the insured patient only sees an increase of $10 which, while annoying, is still quite affordable. We are not yet at the point where people begin to vote with their pocketbook, which in a normal situation helps to keep a lid on the prices we pay.

On the other hand, we have the uninsured patient. I can't name all the reasons a person would be uninsured, but I know in a lot of cases it is simply too expensive. So, from that perspective, we look at the uninsured patient who has to pay $100 for a doctor visit (which is probably quite a sum). For me, I know I have to be pretty damned sick to go to the doctor for that kind of money - and I have insurance (laughable, that, but I digress) and flexible spending! In the same scenario we see a cost increase of $50 per visit the next year. Instead of a minor $10 increase like the insured patient, the uninsured patient has seen an increase of $50 on top of an already expensive fee for what can be as short a visit as 15 minutes.

Uninsured patient is almost guaranteed to visit a doctor less often, which potentially means they do not treat illnesses such as contagious bacterial infections with prescribed, effective antibiotics***. While there are some who would say "Survival of the fittest, bitches," I would like to point out that a) people have an instinct to survive, however necessary b) those sick people make other people sick and c) medical bills are either the top reason or one of the top reasons for bankruptcy.

So, back to what I was saying before - health care cost, through many factors, has been allowed to rise exponentially compared to other needs. As I stated, I blame that partly on insurance because we as consumers don't really care what it costs period, we care what it costs us - period. If we had a subsidized housing market or food program, I am sure we would see something similar.

If none of this really stands out for you, consider then company expense vs. personal expense. At work, I would probably be willing to spend $250 for a cell phone. Compared to the budget we have and the cost of that phone, $250 is very small. Personally, however, I don't like to pay more than about $100. That cell phone manufacturer knows this and knows they can charge more and still sell phones - it will not greatly impact their revenue to raise the cost from $100 to $250, provided that businesses will buy the phone. Health care is not much different.

So, is health care a right? Well.......no, probably not. But it's something that will improve the quality of life and potentially save money nationwide because we won't just be doing damage control on illnesses, catching them after they are a problem. If people are able to go to the doctor more often, they will have a broader history to offer to the doctor. The doctor will be better able to recognize problems and maybe something like cancer can be treated early instead of late, which will save a lot of money. If the treatment costs less, the patient is less likely to file bankruptcy...and wow, that might solve some of our banking problems too...



*** Uninsured people, in my very limited experience, do still tend to self-diagnose and take antibiotics. While this might help, if they are not taken responsibly i.e. as a doctor has deemed necessary to eradicate infection, the bacteria can mutate and eventually become an immune "super bug" which, in turn, fucks everyone.






Moving back to the blog entry, Mistress Matisse says the following:

"I can see that there’s some disconnect between my ideas that “It’s okay that taxes fund some food/shelter/medical care for people who need it” and “But it’s not a right”. If it’s not a right, then why is it acceptable for the government to pay for it? I don’t know." - Mistress Matisse's blog entry 10/10/08

I think in that instance it (the section in bold) is a right because the right to "life", in my opinion, somewhat also implies that bottom tier of Maslow's Hierarchy. As I said before, I don't think the bottom tier items are necessarily rights, per se, but they do in part pertain to some of our basic human rights (like life). People need food, in some capacity, to live as they do shelter (again, in some capacity).

"Right" or no - without these programs, we may not have ever risen from the Depression. I know there are those who probably abuse the programs and that's incredibly unfortunate. I have, in fact, met people who appear to be doing that now (see here). On the whole, though, I do believe in our social programs and believe that they are necessary to account for the shortcomings of our modern, corporate, capitalist society. My mother, for example, is single and works 30-40 hours a week - more than that if she can get the hours. She makes $9.50 an hour and she can barely afford to live alone. She doesn't qualify for any assistance but even if she did - she is a productive member of society. Would it truly be fair to deny her assistance when she is trying in vain to survive on her salary? Through no fault of her own she is paid less than she needs to live because the corporation has to make or increase their profit margin... and it's not as though she could actually use resources from the land to become a self-made millionaire. While those days are not over, it is harder and harder to do that as a "Joe Sixpack" who has little liquid assets (if any assets at all).

Anyway...if social programs are not rights and should therefore not be provided, let's do something drastic. How about we eradicate corporate tax, guarantee a living wage, and install a fair tax? Oh, I guess that sounds too much like non-capitalism.


I think I've written long enough and lost my point more than once...eventually I might do a part 2 that's a little more focused. :)

Deception

This ad is lying because I am fairly certain the two women are indeed two women, not different versions of the same one.

The brow line, eyes, cheek bones, BOOBS, are all different. OK, maybe she lost 35 pounds but I don't think she lost 20 of it in the boobs...I know they would get smaller but that was like a D or DD to a small B or large A...

Anyway, just something I noticed and had to share.

....but he's a WAR HERO!

I'm sorry, but if this is the main argument [the collective] you have in favor of McCain, I'm just going to be forced to disregard it. I honor his service and I thank him, but I will not vote for him solely for that. John Kerry was a war hero too and it didn't get him much but ridicule. Do you know who else was a war hero? Ulysses S. Grant. And he was a shitty president. We also considered Joseph Stalin a war hero - for us, anyway.

FDR was NOT a war hero and is one of the top three Presidents in our short history; we still feel the positive effects of his presidency to this day.

So, if this is/was your main argument, I hope you can understand why on its own I give it no merit.

Donate to Planned Parenthood in Palin's name

This is the link to the web page but I will paste information below

Make a donat​ion to Plann​ed Paren​thood​.​ In Sarah​ Palin​’​s name.​ And here’​s the good part:​ when you make a donat​ion to PP in her name,​ they’​ll send her a card telli​ng her that the donat​ion has been made in her honor​.
Here’​s the link to the Plann​ed Paren​thood​ websi​te:

www.plannedparenthood.org

So just click the In Honor donation link. You’​ll need to fill in the addre​ss to let PP know where​ to send the “in Sarah​ Palin​’​s honor​”​ card.
I sugge​st you use the addre​ss for the McCai​n campa​ign headq​uarte​rs,​ which​ is:

McCai​n for Presi​dent
1235 S. Clark​ Stree​t
1st Floor
Arlin​gton,​ VA 22202

Feel free to send this along​ to all your frien​ds and urge them to do the same.

My letters to the people who represent me

I am a citizen of the greatest country on Earth. *cough, choke*
I am an American citizen - and I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

Here is what I wrote to my senators:

I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!

I will not tolerate the bailout in its current form. I do not think it will fix things and I resent that I and future generations will be responsible for a social burden for which I am most definitely not at fault. I pay my taxes, I go to work, and I pay my debts. I do not own a home or have a mortgage, and I most certainly did not default on a mortgage. I am losing my ass on Vonage stock - do I get a bailout for a gamble I took on a risky stock? No!

And section 8 IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Judicial and administrative review MUST be part of this bailout if it goes through. I will not accept that a debt I will assume as a legal US Citizen cannot be verified as having been spent on what we are told it is spent. Desperate people do dishonorable acts and no person in this country could honestly say without a doubt that given full control over $700 billion dollars they would be completely ethical and responsible - especially while knowing there will be no review or consequences!!

Please fight for me! Thank you.
-Me



Here is what I wrote to Mr. President:

I, [From the desk of Angie], am a law-abiding tax-paying citizen. I do not own a home or have a mortgage, and those debts I do have are paid monthly and on time.

I do not agree with or support the bailout which will cost me and untold future generations of my family sums of money that I cannot even begin to imagine.

I ESPECIALLY will not tolerate section 8 in its current form - this is unacceptable. I work for [a public entity] and we have so many controls on our spending it is unreal. However, since it is [not our] money, it is necessary so we can reassure [the people who contributed the money] that we are doing everything possible to spend it wisely. Unfortunately, I do not see this in our federal government; why should a [public entity] be expected to uphold something the federal government does not honor? Review by the judicial branch and administrative agencies MUST be part of this. How can we be certain that the money is being spent on what we're told it's spent otherwise? The sum of money is ridiculously large and could lead the most honest man on Earth to dishonest practices; how can I expect anything different of someone who is not an elected official and who is answerable to no one?

The web of deceit and faulty business practice that has led us to this point is NOT my social burden. If I were in the same predicament, could I look to my government to bail me out? No, I couldn't. If things were bad enough I might be able to receive help from social programs, but that is assuming that they have the financial means to support the number of citizens who need them. I will not get into the Iraq war spending but I also do not agree with that.

For our current calamity, I fully place the blame on the lenders and do not appreciate your Administration placing the blame on poor Americans. The lender ultimately has control of the money they lend and they should have done their due diligence to ensure that the loan could be paid in full. The poor who had mortgages that are now in default may have been partially to blame, but the far more heinous crimes have been carried out by the lenders and brokerages.

I have much more to say but I need to go to bed so I can work my 8 hours tomorrow and pay for this bailout, while at the same time fully expecting another Great Depression no matter what is decided.

Sincerely and in disgruntled spirits,
Me



Here is what I got from the general e-mail:

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.

We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions.

Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

Yes, I am sure he appreciates me, considering how well he takes criticism :D

Disturbing thoughts

My husband's co-worker is a far right conservative/libertarian/free market economy supporter. They were talking/arguing the other day and he said that he'd like to get rid of minimum wage.

I know the man can't make more than $11.00/hr just based on his position and the pay at which it caps out. I am completely and utterly baffled at how he comes up with arguments supporting the 1% ers time and time again. It is so alien that I can only imagine that he is a reincarnated Rockefeller or Morgan or even maybe a Kennedy (although far too right wing and selfish in his beliefs for a Kennedy).

My husband and I were discussing the aftershocks and ripples of abolishing a minimum wage and I am shocked and disturbed at what something like that would mean.

First, a lot of people making minimum wage - which is typically not LIVING wage, mind you - would find themselves making far less. Our guess was around $4.00/hr but that could be off in either direction. I tend to think that once the corporations really got going they would drop it that low - people who are desperate will do anything, and consider what illegal aliens make. Not that I've done the research, but I tend to think it's lower than minimum wage or they would hire legal citizens. That puts it at lower than $5.50some and that's not far from the estimate. Anyway....

While many other positions are not directly related to minimum wage, I think they are arrived upon by way of minimum wage. For instance, the data entry position at my husband's employer starts at $8.00/hr. That says the company believes it requires more skill than minimum wage but only x% more. So, if the minimum wage is lowered and the company isn't doing well, they can lower salaries. No matter what happens, there will be another starving body willing to work for $6.00/hr.

When salaries go down, though, that doesn't mean costs will necessarily follow. Mortgages are still set at the 30 year interest rate and re-payment schedule and the bank doesn't really care that the house is now worth significantly less. That leaves millions homeless. Not long ago, just 150 years ago in the States, we used to build houses from the available materials, such as clay, sand, water, and straw. Sometimes this is carved in a hill hobbit hole-style, and sometimes it is formed into cobs to build a cob home (similar to adobe but not the same). Except for a few select groups, this is a lost art. Unfortunately this means something like Flint, Michigan - people will be kicked out of their homes and forced to live on the street or beg for shelter that isn't available due to the high demand. Or, they may turn squatter.

Without cash flow electricity is also out. Most people don't know how to cope without electricity because so much of what we do is based on it. Some people couldn't even cook because their range is electric - provided of course they can keep the houses.

Most people can't make soap, clothing, tools, or even food because we haven't had to do it in such a long time. Households used to make their own soap, bread, and candles - not so much in modern America. Sure, I can probably use a melter I bought at Hobby Lobby and melt some wax from a 5 pound package and pour it in a form I bought from Hobby Lobby and then insert a wick from Hobby Lobby...but that's not really making candles, is it? That's not harvesting the wax or fat to make tallow. In a pinch, I wouldn't know the first thing about any of that!

The same goes for farming or raising animals to slaughter. I don't know how to sow seeds or plow or planting seasons for various fruits and/or vegetables. I don't know the best soil, or how much water to use, or how to develop a healthy root system for the best yields. I don't have livestock and I don't know how to raise them. If they or I got sick, I don't know enough about herbs to make a medicine or poultice or whatever needs to be done.

The list goes on and on...and it's scary how much we DON'T know how to do. If nuclear winter set in right now and everything as I know it was destroyed I wouldn't know how to survive. I'm sure I'd learn, but what a hard lesson to learn without any training.

I'M AS MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE

Click me click me click me

Wishes

I wish...

I knew what to do with my life
I had never charged on a credit card what I couldn't afford
My degree actually helped me make more money
I could stomach public speaking
I was more outgoing
I didn't care what people think of me
I could turn off worrying
I lived closer to my family
I could afford to live in California
Money wasn't such a deciding factor in my life
I could be happy more often, and for no reason!
My mom were happy and carefree
For more children in my life, mine and my friends and family
I felt more confident in my decisions
I could take more risks and be more spontaneous...just once, step off the cliff into nothingness without a plan
I knew what to do with my life....

What if I was 10 years old? and other ramblings

It's 12:32 on a Friday night/Saturday morning and I'm just putzing around on teh intarweb and thought it might be nice to write something. It's been a while, and it seemed like a good idea at the time...except I need a topic (yes I realize I keep changing verb tense - sue me!). The first thing I found was a 1st grade list - so here goes. I'll be Rory Gilmore and make a pro/con list :D
--------
What if I was 10 years old? (for the sake of a nice list I'll pretend I had a normal childhood)

Pros

• No bills to worry about
  
• A trip to the store is fun
• Bike riding is the #1 source of entertainment and transportation
• No dieting!
• No cooking!
• Major decisions include ice cream flavors and how long to play
• Going to bed late is awesome
  
• birthday is the favorite day of the year
• Recess!

Cons

• Homework. ooo. bummer
• Rules seem oppressive / little freedom
• School for 180 days is torture
  
• Everyone tells you what to do
• Being grounded
• transportation is limited to mom or dad's patience or a bike
• Not a kid, not a teenager

Memories from 10 years old

• New baby sister / losing baby sister
• Moving from mom's to dad's and losing my favorite teacher
• Gaining a new teacher who had awesome activities, like:
• King Eaton and Going West
• Failing on State of the Week because I hated (still hate) word finds and lacked the skill to do projects which for which other kids had parental help
• Missing too many days and serving D-hall to make up the absences and subsequently working on the zeroes I had so I could pass
• Being grounded.......a lot
• Writing sentences for punishment....at home
• Reading to pass the time when grounded
• Tearing up my math homework because I was so frustrated with my stepmother for making me do homework as soon as I got home...and then having to tape it together so I could actually do it.
• Pouring out my watered down Kool-Aid because it was not much more than colored water (my stepmother added water to stretch it)
• Bringing home my sandwiches and hiding them in my room - I'm not sure why I didn't just throw them away, unless I was afraid my friend would tell on me. I don't really know what I *did* eat for lunch if I didn't eat my sandwiches. Hmm.
• Learning cross-stitch during Going West, something I still enjoy
• Eating fried rabbit and squirrel stew, also Going West
• Learning how to overthrow an oppressive and unpopular sovereign through King Eaton

If I could go back, I'm not really sure I would unless I could change some of the circumstances. If I did that, who knows where I would be today. *shrug*

Chocolate Mug Cake

I got this recipe as a forward, thought it might be worth sharing:

MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Sarcasm - it takes a smart person to get it

Thanks for the title, GC. :)

Story here

See link above for full story...I think this quote is so damn funny:

"The best part is that liberals often mindlessly mistake his genuine outrage for sarcasm and believe he's on their side while he's quite effectively evicerating them. Stephen Colbert... a true patriot in every sense."

He is so bitingly sarcastic that you have to be completely obtuse to miss it. I know Mr. W caught on to it at the 2006 White House Correspondent's Dinner just from watching his face in the video - and that's saying quite a lot for Mr. W. Typically I would put him in the "completely obtuse" category...

Well, Country Above Self, bravo for being dumber even than one of the stupidest presidents in the history of our great nation. Bravo!

Good day!

143 years ago today the slaves were freed (Happy Juneteenth!)
Today my SIL got the job she really wanted, congrats!

And Nephew was born! His name is Justin Andrew and he was born at 7:35 p.m., 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 19" long. Woo!

I'll post pics when I get them.

Happy day!

Gas guzzling protests

While discussing gas prices and "supply and demand" which is supposedly affecting the price (don't get me started on that-if it were true then how are the big 3 recording record profit?!) I started thinking about gas guzzlers. Just for the sake of argument, though, I'll suspend disbelief.

It's the attitude of "It's my RIGHT as an American to drive a truck and besides, I have to pay for the gas so STFU!" that is driving me nuts. Individually, no, 1 SUV or truck with 10-16 mpg will not drive up the price. However, the number of them on the road does nothing positive for the "supply and demand" argument. If A and B, then C, If C then D; If (A) you have a 10-16 mpg vehicle and (B) you commute in traffic then (C) you use a shit-ton of gas. If (C), then (D) the supply of gas goes DOWN and the demand for gas goes UP. Which drives the price up...

Anyway, for those of us who either have a good mpg vehicle or carpool, we should be rather pissed about the ones who are driving down supply and driving up price.

What would happen if we were to picket and yell at people who have gas guzzling vehicles that are NOT used for something like, perhaps, farm work as they were intended (great big trucks like F-250 which can haul a ton, literally, of whatever you want).

There are some people who are morally against abortion who will picket a clinic and tell the mothers that they are horrible people and going to hell and that they're killing babies...what would happen if we did the same to people who are wasting gas? How about I take out a billboard that shows a picture of a gas guzzler and a child starving to death because his/her parent can't afford the gas to work?

First, it wouldn't be well received because "It's my RIGHT as an American...." and that's infringing on my rights! "You can't tell me what to do with MY OWN LIFE!" Sorry, that kinda falls on deaf ears here since that's not a mother's right. And of course there's no profit motive to promote abortion...

Anyway, I don't really have anywhere else to go with this right now. Just wanted to put it out there!

Plimpie, this one's for you

So I've been reading an old friend's blog, which covers (so far, I started at the beginning) a lot about the war in Iraq. How we've been lied to, etc., since the beginning.

I can't help but think about 9/11 and what has happened since then. We as Americans have glibly-or fearfully, even-stood by and let our freedoms be taken away. Some of us, like me, are enraged but don't know what to do about it. Others, which seems like 90% of Americans (but I'm probably really wrong-that's my hope) to be honest here, seem to happily hand off freedom to be "safe." "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -Ben Franklin, or perhaps Richard Jackson as is theorized in this entry: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

THAT IS ABSURD!! How many years did we operate as a country, relatively free of terrorist successes, before we were told that we needed to be treated as enemies in our own country so that we can be "safe?" Heightened "security" in airports, wiretapping, search/seizure/arrest without a warrant-these are just the beginning. I don't read enough to know what all has been taken away. I do know that as a result of this posting I am likely to end up on a watch list. If I do something "terrorist"-like (such as talking to others about my discontent, perhaps?) my home can be searched, evidence removed without my consent or even my knowledge, and I could disappear from the face of the Earth. No trial by jury of my peers or any of those "minor" rights I enjoy as a citizen of The Greatest Nation On Earth. I would be erased, and that's about it. And, if my neighbors so happened to notice some odd occurrence (like my house is being searched), they are not allowed to say a single word.

I hate to be a conspiracy theorist or anything, but this is sounding eerily like 1984. Our 2 minutes Hate is watching the news, which seems to forever contain things like "The War on Terror" and "Another recall in China." True, we're not (yet) required to direct our hate at set intervals while being watched continuously through the television and observed for ANY sign of disagreement. We're not quite required to wear clothing chosen for us by the government, and we still have the lottery throughout most of society. Unfortunately, though, I think at some point our government just may have read 1984 and various blurbs from successful dictators and/or their advisors.

"Communism and fascism or nazism, although poles apart in their intellectual content, are similar in this, that both have emotional appeal to the type of personality that takes pleasure in being submerged in a mass movement and submitting to superior authority." James A. C. Brown (http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_about/nazi)

Sounds a bit like the push for a Christian America, doesn't it? For a country that was founded-for the most part-based on religious freedom, I have trouble agreeing with this push. Besides that, we see what wonders a religion-based government has done for other countries. It's no good and I want no part of it.

"Not every item of news should be published. Rather must those who control news policies endeavor to make every item of news serve a certain purpose." Joseph Paul Goebbels, same site

Look up Blacklisted News. http://www.blacklistednews.com/

"The war made possible for us the solution of a whole series of problems that could never have been solved in normal times." Joseph Paul Goebbels, same site

Sounds familiar. How did we come to be in Iraq? A convenient 9/11 attack, as a knee-jerk reaction, although the current administration will deny to their graves that they used it as an excuse.

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." Hermann Goering, same site

Wow, this was followed pretty much word for word. They improvised a bit too though because those of us who oppose the war also do not support our troops. On the contrary, it is my support of the troops which causes me to oppose the war. We're fighting a war without a clear focus (to the American public, anyway, terror is such a broad concept and who doesn't want us to rot at this point?!) and with no feasible end. There is no benefit to us and only hurt to others, so why should we send our most valuable commodity-true patriots willing to give Life for Country-to die as pawns in a twisted game of power? We've spread our troops to the winds such that we can't recruit enough people to protect the country (how many fronts are we fighting on at this point?), and who would want to join at this point anyhow! Let's stop spending so much damn money on a war we won't win and BRING OUR BOYS (and girls) HOME!

Anyway, I guess that's about all the ranting I have in me right now. My acid reflux/heartburn BS has gone away and I'm getting tired. I'll be back though, as I am still a disgruntled American with (so far) the freedom to air my grievances. Even if I haven't done all my research. :)

I hate Antibiotic

So, I got bitten by a dog last week. I have been on 2 different antibiotics since Monday, and one of them is horrible. I have to take it 4 times a day and it's so strong, or whatever, that you're not allowed to lie down or bend over or, apparently, lean forward the slightest bit, for 30 mins after taking it. If you do, it's the worst case of acid reflux/heartburn you've ever had. But rest assured, you can drink a little water which does absolutely nothing or heartburn meds which do absolutely nothing. Instead, you can sit around for about 20 mins praying for your life to end and eventually it will fade.

This is the second time now, and I've been pretty conscious about not bending over. It's 5:30 in the morning and I got up, on a holiday, to be tortured. I'm tired and I want to go to bed, my esophagus/chest burn (it's rather like the whole area from the neck to the top of my breasts is on fire), and I probably won't be able to sleep after I've been awake the obligatory 30 mins to avoid exactly what I am feeling now.

I'm just about ready to throw in the towel and do what I lecture others about - skip the rest of the pills. The bite is healing and WHY THE HELL do I have to torture myself by staying up late and getting up early to take a pill? This isn't fair.

I'll talk to Kyle before I make any decisions since this is a bad idea, but it really hurts. And chances are that since I went 2 days without it that I never had an infection anyway.

Trivia 4-23-08

OK, so I am bad about updates. Oh well.

There are more cars in Southern California than there are cows in India.

Eric Clapton did not play the very famous first riff on the song "Layla". That was Duane Allman. Clapton comes in later.

The two-foot long bird called a Kea that lives in New Zealand likes to eat the strips of rubber around car windows.

The province of Alberta, Canada is completely free of rats.

As you age, your eye color gets lighter.

The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as 530 miles.

It takes approximately 12 hours for food to entirely digest.

I'm an ENTJ

These are my personality test results

Trivia 4-15-08

And we know this guy probably needed Biggest Loser...except that fat at that time probably was linked to wealth/prosperity and was therefore desirable:

Louis XIV (1638-1715), was recorded to eat "four soups, a pheasant, a partridge, a plate of salad, sliced mutton with garlic, two lumps of ham, a plate of pastries, fruits and preserves" at one sitting.

Biggest Loser: Couples, Season 5

OK, I am typically not one to watch "new" shows (I did have a brief stint where I did, and most of them have since been canceled*). So, it's not terribly surprising that it's taken 5 seasons for me to succumb to the wonders of Biggest Loser (or as my brother-in-law has named it, World's Fattest Asshole). I saw one challenge early in with the see-saw challenge, but I didn't really start watching it religiously until after Mark and Ali came back. I guess that means I watched it for 4 episodes or so?

Anyway, it's been really good. And the best part?

ALI WAS THE FIRST GIRL BIGGEST LOSER!! I was kinda rooting for Kelli, but I didn't think she'd beat Roger, and she didn't. But AWESOME ALI!!

I can relate to a lot of what Ali has said about her fat being a security blanket. And, losing weight IS difficult so it's a lot easier to stay fat and "safe." But, as she said, if it wasn't hard it wouldn't feel that good.

I've been there, I've lost weight, and I've looked really great. Right now I can't remember how much weight I lost...well, I can if I do the math. But it's not really important because that was the past and I've got a bigger goal now than I did then. I am currently the heaviest I've ever been. It's unhealthy and I think it's the same problem I've had with my debt. It's not like I put on 10 pounds a week or add $1000 a month to my debt bill. It comes in (relatively) small amounts and the attitude I've had is, "well it's only 2 pounds, I'll get rid of it later with the rest of it." Yes, now it's only 2 pounds...but then I look at a quick meal (Ramen, frozen pizza, etc.) and think, "Well, with this much (I'd like to lose about 100 at this point in time) to lose, what the hell difference will 2 pounds make?" But the problem is I do this day after day, week after week.

And eventually it's another 10 pounds and I'm more depressed and I'm even harder on myself...which makes me think "screw it, it's only another pound what the hell difference will it make..."

Well, it can make a lot of difference.

It's time to make a change, though. I have a new Gazelle and (sort of) space to use it. I know that when I exercise, I pay much closer attention to my diet - "Why am I eating an 8 point item now when I just worked my ass off for 45 mins to burn that shit off?"

I have no more good excuses. It takes a lot of time, yes. But it's healthier and more cost effective if I would eat the way I know I should.

In the past I have felt like Ali - if someone doesn't like me, it was because I was fat. If I'm not fat, then it's me they don't like...but if they like me skinny and reject me fat - THAT'S NOT COOL!! I don't want those people in my life anyway.

So, it's time to cast off my security blanket and get healthy. No more excuses.







*There are a few exceptions - so far Chuck is on the air and I have watched My Name is Earl since the beginning. I think I was a Season 1 watcher of Scrubs when they put it on the air as a hopeful replacement for Friends, but I believe that is all.

Trivia 4-13-08

Here are several tidbits since I missed a few days.

A baby is born without kneecaps. They appear between age 2 and 6.

The microwave oven was invented by mistake when an engineer testing a magnetron tube noticed that the radiation from it melted the chocolate bar he had in his pocket.

The Olympic flag's colors are always red, black, blue, green and yellow rings on a field of white. This is because at least one of those colors appears on the flag of every nation on the planet.

The arteries and veins surrounding the brain stem called the "circle of Willis" looks like a stick person with a large head.

23% of employees say they have had sex in the office.