I've been invited to the Prom.
No, you little perverts, I'm not taking some hormone amped little teenager to their prom. I'm talking about Mamma's Firts Ever Blog Prom (TM) In this part I get to regale you with the details of my pre-prom preparations.
Unfortunatley, my posts will be picture free as I lost all pictures of myself at that time when I made the move from North Dakota to Utah four years ago. I will tell you this much though. I was NOT the day-glo neon preppie girl. I WAS the safety pin through her nose, torn fish nets, bad attitude kind of girl. I was the girl that made fun of the cheerleaders, smoked pot in the back of the school, got suspended for skipping class and gave blow-jobs to my boyfriends on the first date. (Yes, I really did just admit to that.)
I went to a total of three dances in my entire high school expereince. Homecoming my Sophomore year, Prom my Junior year and Prom my Senior year. Homecoming was a good time, Junior Prom was basically something to do on a Fiday night in a town of five hundred people and well....Senior Prom, welll.....
I went to my senior prom on a dare. I was dating a guy three years younger than me and the school I was attending wouldn't allow me to bring him as a date, so his best friend said he'd take me. His best friend....the navy guy. Yeah, picture this. Me all in black, black lipstick, hair covering most of my face...him in his dress whites. It was quite the picture. He picked me up in his father's Bronco...yes, I said Bronco.
Okay, let's back this up for a minute. As part of my "pre-prom" get it togetherness, let's get some background info on Serena, shall we? From Freshman year to Junior year I went to high school in New Orleans. I hung out with what would be called the "goth" crowd today. We were the debate team kids, the drama kids, the combat boots and pot smoking kids. We all went to the preforming arts school, we all thought we were cooler than we actually were. You know us, you saw us hanging out at the edges of the football field, or sitting on the side steps of the gym...the outcasts, the weirdos, the freaks. I went to a whole school full of those kids. I felt at home. Then in the middle of my junior year, they sent me back to my mother in Wyoming of all places. I was a freak in a school full of FFA clones, it was hell. In 1988, at the beginning of my senior year, I moved in with a cousin in North Dakota, just to get away from my mother...and that's how I ended up at Williston Senior High and how I met my future ex-husband, the boyfriend with the Navy buddy...my prom date.
So.....all my friends dare me to go to this dance. Tell me I wouldn't ever think about going. So I get Cory to agree to take me. I spring for half the ticket cost (this wasn't a real date) and we're off and running. Now, anyone remember the hair from the 80's? OH MY GOD!!! What in the hell were we thinking? It was like having a fucking garden weasel attached to your forehead. I had the infamous "wall of bangs". I'm sure many of you reading this either had them, or had sisters that had them. You know, the wall of hair on the front of the head that was imprevious to wind, rain or nuclear explosion? I owned a curling iron with a sort of orange coating on it from all the Aussie Spray Gel that had been caked onto it. I'm not even sure how I managed to make it into my twenties with hair left.
I got all dressed, black dress, black pantyhose (line up the back), red five inch heels, black nails, black lipstick, black hair ( hanging in my face, parted so that only one eye showed)and the best part? You guessed it...black rose corsage! I looked like Morticia Adamms' cousin.
Cory picks me up and we get our picture taken. A lovely Polaroid that comes out looking like some fucked up Mix-n-Match picture out a children's book Tim Burton wrote. It was bizarre. By the time we got into the truck we were both laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee myself. We stop off at a friends to smoke a little before we actually go to the dance itself, because honestly, I couldn't face a room full of dancing taffeta Princesses without some chemical help. We get to the Armory and .....
3.30.2007
3.29.2007
A Challenge...
Okay, so after I posted my "Real Mom" thing, I came across a post at mr. nice guy about a recent study on child care and it's effects on children. No big news that the media got it wrong, but that fact wasn't discovered before it ticked off a WHOLE bunch of stay at home fathers. And they had every right to be pissed. Dad's are just as important to a child's development as mom's are.
And so....the challenge. To all you dad's who surf past or who are regular readers here. Either in the comments here, or on your own site, with a link in my comments section of course, give us a run down:
What makes a "real dad"?
Let's hear from the other side of the parenting fence.
And so....the challenge. To all you dad's who surf past or who are regular readers here. Either in the comments here, or on your own site, with a link in my comments section of course, give us a run down:
What makes a "real dad"?
Let's hear from the other side of the parenting fence.
Real Moms....
I was reading a new blog today and found a post about what it means to be a "Real Mom" , go check it out. It got me thinking, what is a "real mom"?
A real mom isn't afraid of that green thing hanging off her child's finger, even if she isn't sure what it is.
A real mom will eat the soggy, half eaten grahm cracker when it's offered to her, because it makes her child smile.
A real mom will cheerfully agree that, yes, blue eyeshadow does make the dog look better.
A real mom will bake three dozen cookies at eleven o'clock on a Thursday night because her daughter forgot to tell her there's a bake sale Friday morning.
A real mom will wear a bra that pokes her for six months because it means her child gets to have that toy/pair of jeans/game that they just have to have.
A real mome will smile through her tears as she watches her baby turn into a grown-up, right in front of her eyes.
A real mom will always accept you....no matter what mistakes you make.
A real mom will make the really hard decisions, so you don't have to.
A real mom will always make sure that the lights come on, the house is warm, the refrigerator is full and you never think about why that is.
A real mom is all the things you need her to be, when you need her to be them....and she never asks you to say thank you.
A real mom isn't afraid of that green thing hanging off her child's finger, even if she isn't sure what it is.
A real mom will eat the soggy, half eaten grahm cracker when it's offered to her, because it makes her child smile.
A real mom will cheerfully agree that, yes, blue eyeshadow does make the dog look better.
A real mom will bake three dozen cookies at eleven o'clock on a Thursday night because her daughter forgot to tell her there's a bake sale Friday morning.
A real mom will wear a bra that pokes her for six months because it means her child gets to have that toy/pair of jeans/game that they just have to have.
A real mome will smile through her tears as she watches her baby turn into a grown-up, right in front of her eyes.
A real mom will always accept you....no matter what mistakes you make.
A real mom will make the really hard decisions, so you don't have to.
A real mom will always make sure that the lights come on, the house is warm, the refrigerator is full and you never think about why that is.
A real mom is all the things you need her to be, when you need her to be them....and she never asks you to say thank you.
Kids will be kids...If we let them.
I have been reading quite a few "parenting" blogs recently. You know, blogs written by parents that want to share what they feel are their unique insights or ideas, their thoughts, on this lovely adventure we call parenting.
Most of the time I find information, I find funny stories or I find things I can relate to. Sometimes, however, I find things that make me shake my head and snort in that unladylike fashion that my husband loves so much. One such post showed up today at Motherhood Uncensored. The author of this particular blog is funny and smart and I love to read her stuff, but this post points out, very eloquently, one of the things I think is wrong with parents today. They worry to much. About every little freaking thing.
I want all of you who are reading this to think back to when you were children. Are you there? Okay...now....who had parents that stuck you in every friggin activity you can imagine? Music lessons? Scouting? Dance? Sports? And how many of you secretly yearned to be at home, hanging out with your friends, doing nothing much at all? Again, show of hands, how many of you, as adults tend to be perfectionists or overacheivers? Uh-huh.....okay then...moving on.
My mother ( and I think we all know how I feel about her) never stuck me in a bunch of activities. Oh, that's not to say she didn't try. There was the failed attempt at Bluebirds and the Misery of Girl Scouts. Oh, and let's not forget The Horror of Religious Summer Camp 1982. Ah...and last, but certainly not least, my favorite, Torture by Volleyball. That was the last one. After that she figured out that she was wasting money, I wasn't going to actually participate and she wasn't getting refunds...the insanity stopped, thank god.
Here's my point folks. I was much happier when The Mother just let me run out the front door and spend my days happily roaming the neighborhood with my friends. I wanted to be out in the fresh air, in the sunshine. I wanted to stick my hands in the dirt and see what was there. I wanted to climb trees and hide and ride my bike until my legs hurt. I hated the "joiner" activites she wanted so badly to force me into.
Parents today seem to feel that if they don't sign their children up for every conceivable activity from birth that they are somehow neglecting them or harming them. They have classes for everything now...and starting at an age when the child really isn't getting anything out of it, but the parents feel better about themselves and whoever is putting on the class if making a ton of money off the guilt factor.
Children don't get to be children anymore. They don't even have Saturday morning cartoons anymore. That makes me sad. Everything has to be "educational" now. Why? Whatever happened to just letting kids be kids? Isn't there enough time to be a grown-up when you actually have to? Let your children just be children. Buy them some Playdough. Fingerpaint with them. Sing stupid songs at the top of your voices in the supermarket because it makes your child laugh. Watch dumbass cartoons and spin until your dizzy in the middle of the living room. Send your children out to play in the afternoon sun. Let them BE.
Is there a place for piano lessons and scouting? Sure...but quit obsessing about it. It should be something your child comes home from school and asks you to do, not something you tell them they have to do. My daughter takes art lessons...because she wants to. She doesn't take dance lessons, because she hated them...we tried it though.
Letting your children be children isn't going to land them on Dr. Phil when they're twenty telling the whole world that if you had only put them in voice lessons they would have gotten into Harvard and wouldn't be working at McDonald's now. Ease up. Let it go. You can not control everything, but you can make sure your children get to actually be children. Let them hang on to that joy for as long as they can, huh?
Most of the time I find information, I find funny stories or I find things I can relate to. Sometimes, however, I find things that make me shake my head and snort in that unladylike fashion that my husband loves so much. One such post showed up today at Motherhood Uncensored. The author of this particular blog is funny and smart and I love to read her stuff, but this post points out, very eloquently, one of the things I think is wrong with parents today. They worry to much. About every little freaking thing.
I want all of you who are reading this to think back to when you were children. Are you there? Okay...now....who had parents that stuck you in every friggin activity you can imagine? Music lessons? Scouting? Dance? Sports? And how many of you secretly yearned to be at home, hanging out with your friends, doing nothing much at all? Again, show of hands, how many of you, as adults tend to be perfectionists or overacheivers? Uh-huh.....okay then...moving on.
My mother ( and I think we all know how I feel about her) never stuck me in a bunch of activities. Oh, that's not to say she didn't try. There was the failed attempt at Bluebirds and the Misery of Girl Scouts. Oh, and let's not forget The Horror of Religious Summer Camp 1982. Ah...and last, but certainly not least, my favorite, Torture by Volleyball. That was the last one. After that she figured out that she was wasting money, I wasn't going to actually participate and she wasn't getting refunds...the insanity stopped, thank god.
Here's my point folks. I was much happier when The Mother just let me run out the front door and spend my days happily roaming the neighborhood with my friends. I wanted to be out in the fresh air, in the sunshine. I wanted to stick my hands in the dirt and see what was there. I wanted to climb trees and hide and ride my bike until my legs hurt. I hated the "joiner" activites she wanted so badly to force me into.
Parents today seem to feel that if they don't sign their children up for every conceivable activity from birth that they are somehow neglecting them or harming them. They have classes for everything now...and starting at an age when the child really isn't getting anything out of it, but the parents feel better about themselves and whoever is putting on the class if making a ton of money off the guilt factor.
Children don't get to be children anymore. They don't even have Saturday morning cartoons anymore. That makes me sad. Everything has to be "educational" now. Why? Whatever happened to just letting kids be kids? Isn't there enough time to be a grown-up when you actually have to? Let your children just be children. Buy them some Playdough. Fingerpaint with them. Sing stupid songs at the top of your voices in the supermarket because it makes your child laugh. Watch dumbass cartoons and spin until your dizzy in the middle of the living room. Send your children out to play in the afternoon sun. Let them BE.
Is there a place for piano lessons and scouting? Sure...but quit obsessing about it. It should be something your child comes home from school and asks you to do, not something you tell them they have to do. My daughter takes art lessons...because she wants to. She doesn't take dance lessons, because she hated them...we tried it though.
Letting your children be children isn't going to land them on Dr. Phil when they're twenty telling the whole world that if you had only put them in voice lessons they would have gotten into Harvard and wouldn't be working at McDonald's now. Ease up. Let it go. You can not control everything, but you can make sure your children get to actually be children. Let them hang on to that joy for as long as they can, huh?
3.26.2007
3.21.2007
And Baby make Three.....
As many of you may have noticed, I haven't been around for the past week. That's because on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 I gave birth to a 7lb 3oz baby boy. We named him Galen Michael Sorensen. He was beautiful and perfect and two weeks early.
Just like his sister before him, we placed him for adoption...with the same family that adopted his sister. They named him Archibald James. He is still perfect and beautiful, but he is gone today. They got the official okay from the state of Utah to go home this morning and I'm feeling a little numb.
I know that it was the best decision for my son. I know that he will be loved and cherished. I know that I will see him and that he will know I made this decision out of love for him. But on the inside I ache a little. This is the third child I have had to say good-bye to in my life time and part of me wants to be selfish and ask why. Part of me wants to cry and scream and be angry.
And then there's the part of me that rejoices knowing that all three of those children are living the lives they were meant to live. All three of those precious gifts are being cherished and snuggled and loved. They will always have the warmth and safety of a family and they will always be part of something beautiful. People say they don't understand how I could give my children away. I don't look at it like that. I didn't give my children away. The adoption didn't make them any less my children, it just made them my children in a different way. I did the one thing I could for them as their mother, I made a good choice for them. Being a good parent isn't always about the easy choice.
To all my children: You mommy loves you.
Just like his sister before him, we placed him for adoption...with the same family that adopted his sister. They named him Archibald James. He is still perfect and beautiful, but he is gone today. They got the official okay from the state of Utah to go home this morning and I'm feeling a little numb.
I know that it was the best decision for my son. I know that he will be loved and cherished. I know that I will see him and that he will know I made this decision out of love for him. But on the inside I ache a little. This is the third child I have had to say good-bye to in my life time and part of me wants to be selfish and ask why. Part of me wants to cry and scream and be angry.
And then there's the part of me that rejoices knowing that all three of those children are living the lives they were meant to live. All three of those precious gifts are being cherished and snuggled and loved. They will always have the warmth and safety of a family and they will always be part of something beautiful. People say they don't understand how I could give my children away. I don't look at it like that. I didn't give my children away. The adoption didn't make them any less my children, it just made them my children in a different way. I did the one thing I could for them as their mother, I made a good choice for them. Being a good parent isn't always about the easy choice.
To all my children: You mommy loves you.
3.12.2007
And the survey says....
We have become a society of what I like to call "celebrity causes". Angelina Jolie is in Newsweek this week, talking about her "causes". International adoption, AIDS assitance in Africa, poverty in third world countries. All important and worthy causes and all causes that come and go from our sight line like the proverbial flash in the pan.
Anyone here remember the "One" campaign? When's the last time it got any media play? Anyone believe that poverty in third world countries just suddenly stopped being a problem? Nope? Me either.
The big one now is Bono and his Powe(red)campaign. It's everywhere. And in a month or two, the media will have moved on to the next trendy issue and no one will remember why it is they have four pairs of red sunglasses.
The thing that disturbs me the most about this trend is that none of it focuses on issues here at home. Poverty, hunger and humanitarian aid to war torn countries are all noble and valid things to get behind. The suffering outside of this country is as immense as you can imagine, sometimes to large a thing to fully grasp. It doesn't change the fact that we have children dying right here at home.
There was a story in the news last week about a twelve year old boy that died from a brain infection. He got the infection because he was denied dental treatment for a simple cavity, which turned into an abcess, which eventually spread to his brain. Why didn't he get treatment? His mother was to poor to afford medical insurance and because she was homeless, the state had "a hard time" getting her approved for Medicaid. So this little boy died.
I'm a frequent reader of a blog called C.U.S.S written by a very funny, very intelligent woman named Suzanne. Suzanne lives in New York and is a member of a group called the Haven Coalition. This is a group that ensures that young women who have made the legal choice to have an abortion have a safe and healthy place to stay after the procedure. Groups like this are necessary because while people are screaming and ranting on both sides of the fence, someone forgot that there are real people involved. Real people that are making life altering decisions and need the support of caring compassionate people, even in small ways.
There are children living in shelters all across this country because their parents can't afford the high cost of rent or can't find employment that will allow them to support their families. Sometimes, the only real meal these children get is the one they receive at school.
This is happening here. Right here. This is one of the wealthiest nations on the planet and we have children dying from a lack of decent health care and starving to death in rundown homes.
Each time you donate to the latest "celebrity cause" remember that there are a lot of things that need tending here in our own backyard. Don't forget the people around the world that need our care and compassion, but don't sweep the suffering of our own under the rug.
Get involved. Write a letter. Commit a post on your blog to bringing attention to issues like these. Make a noise.
Anyone here remember the "One" campaign? When's the last time it got any media play? Anyone believe that poverty in third world countries just suddenly stopped being a problem? Nope? Me either.
The big one now is Bono and his Powe(red)campaign. It's everywhere. And in a month or two, the media will have moved on to the next trendy issue and no one will remember why it is they have four pairs of red sunglasses.
The thing that disturbs me the most about this trend is that none of it focuses on issues here at home. Poverty, hunger and humanitarian aid to war torn countries are all noble and valid things to get behind. The suffering outside of this country is as immense as you can imagine, sometimes to large a thing to fully grasp. It doesn't change the fact that we have children dying right here at home.
There was a story in the news last week about a twelve year old boy that died from a brain infection. He got the infection because he was denied dental treatment for a simple cavity, which turned into an abcess, which eventually spread to his brain. Why didn't he get treatment? His mother was to poor to afford medical insurance and because she was homeless, the state had "a hard time" getting her approved for Medicaid. So this little boy died.
I'm a frequent reader of a blog called C.U.S.S written by a very funny, very intelligent woman named Suzanne. Suzanne lives in New York and is a member of a group called the Haven Coalition. This is a group that ensures that young women who have made the legal choice to have an abortion have a safe and healthy place to stay after the procedure. Groups like this are necessary because while people are screaming and ranting on both sides of the fence, someone forgot that there are real people involved. Real people that are making life altering decisions and need the support of caring compassionate people, even in small ways.
There are children living in shelters all across this country because their parents can't afford the high cost of rent or can't find employment that will allow them to support their families. Sometimes, the only real meal these children get is the one they receive at school.
This is happening here. Right here. This is one of the wealthiest nations on the planet and we have children dying from a lack of decent health care and starving to death in rundown homes.
Each time you donate to the latest "celebrity cause" remember that there are a lot of things that need tending here in our own backyard. Don't forget the people around the world that need our care and compassion, but don't sweep the suffering of our own under the rug.
Get involved. Write a letter. Commit a post on your blog to bringing attention to issues like these. Make a noise.
3.11.2007
You Say It's Your Birthday......
My son turned three yesterday. When he got up in the morning, the first thing his father and I did was start singing to him. He got this very serious look on his face, crossed his arms over his chest, shook his head and said, "No, no birthday." This cracked me up.
Later we gave him his presents and he stood on the kitchen chair while we tried to sing to him again. Apparently the addition of gifts made my singing acceptable because this time he danced a little dance and nodded his head along with us. The PlayDough was a big hit. Shortly after we finished playing with the new PlayDough there was a knock at our door. It was the FedEx guy. (I love my Fedex guy, he is always bringing me cool things.) He had a package for my son. Our friends James and Judy sent him this AWESOME set of magnatized balls and tubes that you build stuff from. He hasn't quit playing with them since we opened it. He slept with them last night. It is officially his favorite thing. I have to admit, they're damn cool blocks.
After dinner it was time for cake. My son stood at the kitchen table and looked at his birthday cake as if he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. He smiled, he clapped and then he stuck his fingers in the frosting.
Even though his birthday is now officially passed for the year, all day long he has been walking around saying "Happy Birthday" to everyone. I have a feeling that we will all be hearing "Happy Birthday" from him for about a week.
I love being a mom. My kids remind me that it's okay to sing even if you can't carry a tune, dance when you feel like it, sleep with your toys and just generally have a damn good time. Even if you don't have children, take that lesson to heart. Never forget that it's okay to live like you mean it. (I know most of you who read this already do!!!)
Have a good Sunday everyone!
Later we gave him his presents and he stood on the kitchen chair while we tried to sing to him again. Apparently the addition of gifts made my singing acceptable because this time he danced a little dance and nodded his head along with us. The PlayDough was a big hit. Shortly after we finished playing with the new PlayDough there was a knock at our door. It was the FedEx guy. (I love my Fedex guy, he is always bringing me cool things.) He had a package for my son. Our friends James and Judy sent him this AWESOME set of magnatized balls and tubes that you build stuff from. He hasn't quit playing with them since we opened it. He slept with them last night. It is officially his favorite thing. I have to admit, they're damn cool blocks.
After dinner it was time for cake. My son stood at the kitchen table and looked at his birthday cake as if he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. He smiled, he clapped and then he stuck his fingers in the frosting.
Even though his birthday is now officially passed for the year, all day long he has been walking around saying "Happy Birthday" to everyone. I have a feeling that we will all be hearing "Happy Birthday" from him for about a week.
I love being a mom. My kids remind me that it's okay to sing even if you can't carry a tune, dance when you feel like it, sleep with your toys and just generally have a damn good time. Even if you don't have children, take that lesson to heart. Never forget that it's okay to live like you mean it. (I know most of you who read this already do!!!)
Have a good Sunday everyone!
3.09.2007
What's on your reading list?
I read. Well, okay, I don't just read. I read A LOT. More than the average person I think.
Now I want to know what you've been reading. Recommend a book to me. Give me a new list to start on, something I've never picked up before.
I'll post about each of the books I read and give credit to the person that suggested it...cause this is my blog, and I can.
Now I want to know what you've been reading. Recommend a book to me. Give me a new list to start on, something I've never picked up before.
I'll post about each of the books I read and give credit to the person that suggested it...cause this is my blog, and I can.
3.07.2007
"Feminism" used to be a dirty word to me. I'm not a woman that believes that just because I have a uterus and boobs I should get special consideration for everything I do. I don't believe that dirty jokes told in the workplace are a form of sexual harrassment. I don't think that by putting men down we will ever accomplish anything.
Those were the things I associated with feminisim. In a short I believed that to be a "feminist" meant you were a man-hater of varying degrees. I had an instructor in college that would target the men in our Comp class for unfair critisism and would inflate her praise for the female members of our class. After a week of this, I dropped the class. When I went in to get the drop form signed she demanded to know why I was leaving the class. I tried to be polite, even tactful, which for me is unusual. She kept pushing. I finally said, "I just don't think you're a good teacher. You're probably a very nice person, but you allow your personal and political beliefs to cloud your ability to teach." She was irrate. She called me a traitor to my sex. I shrugged and said, "And that would be what I'm talking about."
Recently, I have started reading a number of blogs written by women who use the terms "feminist" and "feminism" a lot. When I first surfed into these blogs, I was hesitant. I mean what would I find of value at a blog written by someone with such a skewed sense of the world, right?
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that these were women much like myself. Articualte, well educated, witty and insightful. No man bashing, no calling for the burning of bras or societal castration of the male race. No once. No where. I was puzzled. Perplexed.
These women have views and ideas that I find myself nodding in agreement to. They often have differing political views that make me stop and think, help me reevaluate where I stand on a given issue. They are mothers, and wives and sisters and daughters. I was amazed.
"Feminism" used to be a dirty word to me. Something to be snorted at and used as a vulgar epithet. Now I'm beginning to see that being a "feminist" isn't really all that different from being a "humanist". Interacting with these women has helped erase some long held and preconceived notions I've been carrying around.
I just wanted to say thank you.
Those were the things I associated with feminisim. In a short I believed that to be a "feminist" meant you were a man-hater of varying degrees. I had an instructor in college that would target the men in our Comp class for unfair critisism and would inflate her praise for the female members of our class. After a week of this, I dropped the class. When I went in to get the drop form signed she demanded to know why I was leaving the class. I tried to be polite, even tactful, which for me is unusual. She kept pushing. I finally said, "I just don't think you're a good teacher. You're probably a very nice person, but you allow your personal and political beliefs to cloud your ability to teach." She was irrate. She called me a traitor to my sex. I shrugged and said, "And that would be what I'm talking about."
Recently, I have started reading a number of blogs written by women who use the terms "feminist" and "feminism" a lot. When I first surfed into these blogs, I was hesitant. I mean what would I find of value at a blog written by someone with such a skewed sense of the world, right?
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that these were women much like myself. Articualte, well educated, witty and insightful. No man bashing, no calling for the burning of bras or societal castration of the male race. No once. No where. I was puzzled. Perplexed.
These women have views and ideas that I find myself nodding in agreement to. They often have differing political views that make me stop and think, help me reevaluate where I stand on a given issue. They are mothers, and wives and sisters and daughters. I was amazed.
"Feminism" used to be a dirty word to me. Something to be snorted at and used as a vulgar epithet. Now I'm beginning to see that being a "feminist" isn't really all that different from being a "humanist". Interacting with these women has helped erase some long held and preconceived notions I've been carrying around.
I just wanted to say thank you.
3.06.2007
Equal and Fair....
Over the last two years, I have done a lot of research into the family court system and it's treatment of non-custodial parents. While there are women who are non-custodial parents, most of them remain men. When I began my research I had certain preconceived notions. As I continued to look at things, those notions were challenged.
Recently, the Utah State Legislature passed several laws regarding child support, non-custodial visitation and enforcement of child support and child custody guidelines. As of January 1, 2008 the State of Utah will be able to take up to 75% of a non-custodial parents income while providing no relief based on a second family. A weakly worded bill providing for "mediation" of custody issues was also passed. The "mediation" costs have to be paid by the non-custodial parent and have no legal enforcement...meaning that the police will not enforce a mediation agreement any more than they help enforce a custody agreement entered by a court.
There have been several stories in the news lately regarding family court judges forcing men to pay support for children that are not even biologically theirs and yet the only real media coverage continues to be stories of overworked, underemployed custodial moms who look sympathetic on the evening news. While there are cases of "dead-beats" who don't pay their fair share, it has been my recent experience that those cases are not as prevelant as we are being led to believe.
Many non-custodial parents are being forced into underemployment and poverty situations by a system unfairly biased in favor of the custodial parent. While the custodial parent is given representation by the state, the non-custodial parent is left to either go it alone, or find a way to pay huge retainers for private family law attorneys. They can be jailed for back support due, which is not legal for any other form of debt in this country. They can be arrested and charged with contempt of court, but are never given a trial by jury or access to an attorney .
In short, we provide more rights to convicted child molesters than we do to non-custodial parents. I'm left to wonder where the media outcry for this injustice is. Is it okay simply because we are comfortable assuming that these men (and a growing number of women) must have done something wrong?
Put yourselves in the place of some of these people. You wake up one morning and simply because you are divorced with children, you find that all of your basic civil rights have been stripped from you and there is nothing you can do to defend yourself from it. How would you react?
We hear talk about equal treatment under the law and fair assessment of support. Take a few minutes this week and look into the family court system and laws in your state. Do they seem equal or fair?
Recently, the Utah State Legislature passed several laws regarding child support, non-custodial visitation and enforcement of child support and child custody guidelines. As of January 1, 2008 the State of Utah will be able to take up to 75% of a non-custodial parents income while providing no relief based on a second family. A weakly worded bill providing for "mediation" of custody issues was also passed. The "mediation" costs have to be paid by the non-custodial parent and have no legal enforcement...meaning that the police will not enforce a mediation agreement any more than they help enforce a custody agreement entered by a court.
There have been several stories in the news lately regarding family court judges forcing men to pay support for children that are not even biologically theirs and yet the only real media coverage continues to be stories of overworked, underemployed custodial moms who look sympathetic on the evening news. While there are cases of "dead-beats" who don't pay their fair share, it has been my recent experience that those cases are not as prevelant as we are being led to believe.
Many non-custodial parents are being forced into underemployment and poverty situations by a system unfairly biased in favor of the custodial parent. While the custodial parent is given representation by the state, the non-custodial parent is left to either go it alone, or find a way to pay huge retainers for private family law attorneys. They can be jailed for back support due, which is not legal for any other form of debt in this country. They can be arrested and charged with contempt of court, but are never given a trial by jury or access to an attorney .
In short, we provide more rights to convicted child molesters than we do to non-custodial parents. I'm left to wonder where the media outcry for this injustice is. Is it okay simply because we are comfortable assuming that these men (and a growing number of women) must have done something wrong?
Put yourselves in the place of some of these people. You wake up one morning and simply because you are divorced with children, you find that all of your basic civil rights have been stripped from you and there is nothing you can do to defend yourself from it. How would you react?
We hear talk about equal treatment under the law and fair assessment of support. Take a few minutes this week and look into the family court system and laws in your state. Do they seem equal or fair?
3.04.2007
Because a Cheeseburger and Fries is what I think of when I hear this song....
Blister in The Sun
Is anyone else disturbed that this tune is now being used to hock cheeseburgers for Wendy's?
Is anyone else disturbed that this tune is now being used to hock cheeseburgers for Wendy's?
In which I wave to the world.....
I had vistiors from Dingley and Tally Ho, Australia today.
That's about the coolest damn thing that's happened all week. I love that those are real places.
Big wave to all my visitors from the far reaches of the globe! (And those more local as well.)
That's about the coolest damn thing that's happened all week. I love that those are real places.
Big wave to all my visitors from the far reaches of the globe! (And those more local as well.)
Last week I noticed several posts about the little boy in the UK who is over 200 lbs and his mother, who faced losing custody of him over the issue. My first thought on reading about the case was, "Well, she should have known better. She should have done something."
I refrained from commenting on the posts and gave the issue some thought. Along with the sentiment that this mother was being neglectful I saw several posts and resulting comments that echoed the same thought. People with weight problems lack self-control, are somehow less intelligent or simply don't care about themselves. Over and over I saw comments like, "Put the cheeseburger down and get some excersise." What I read began to trouble me.
As a woman who has struggled with weight issues most of her life for a variety of reasons I can tell you first hand how the comments of people who don't stuggle with weight can hurt. When you're overweight, it's all anyone sees. Take right now for instance. I'm pregnant, on restricted activity and adding to this, I tend to gain weight...a lot of weight...when I'm pregnant. People look at me and they don't see a college educated, intelligent woman. They see a fat woman. Their assessment of me ends there.
The next time you see someone that is overweight, stop and think a moment before you start damning them. You don't know that person, you don't know what led to thier weight gain or the inability to lose that weight. There are medications that cause severe weight gain. The people who take them face the choice of using a life saving medicine and being large or being sick and possibly dying. There are medical conditions, both mental and physical, that lead to weight gain. Bulimia and Anorexia are not the only eating disorders. Sever emotional or physical abuse can lead to the use of food as a substitute for emotion. Even income bracket and education level can contribute to these problems.
While it is easy to view someone with a morbid obesity problem as sloppy and stupid, it is usually far from the truth. The next time you find yourself tempted to make generalizations regarding someone based on their appearence, stop and remember this: You are only as good as your treatment of the people you encounter on a daily basis.
Get off your high horse and learn to value people for who they are. If you really want to make a difference and help stop the obesity problem in this country, volunteer for an educational program at the local health department. Volunteer to help with activities at the local community center or Boys and Girls Club. The people you ridicule are still people and don't deserve your scorn.
I refrained from commenting on the posts and gave the issue some thought. Along with the sentiment that this mother was being neglectful I saw several posts and resulting comments that echoed the same thought. People with weight problems lack self-control, are somehow less intelligent or simply don't care about themselves. Over and over I saw comments like, "Put the cheeseburger down and get some excersise." What I read began to trouble me.
As a woman who has struggled with weight issues most of her life for a variety of reasons I can tell you first hand how the comments of people who don't stuggle with weight can hurt. When you're overweight, it's all anyone sees. Take right now for instance. I'm pregnant, on restricted activity and adding to this, I tend to gain weight...a lot of weight...when I'm pregnant. People look at me and they don't see a college educated, intelligent woman. They see a fat woman. Their assessment of me ends there.
The next time you see someone that is overweight, stop and think a moment before you start damning them. You don't know that person, you don't know what led to thier weight gain or the inability to lose that weight. There are medications that cause severe weight gain. The people who take them face the choice of using a life saving medicine and being large or being sick and possibly dying. There are medical conditions, both mental and physical, that lead to weight gain. Bulimia and Anorexia are not the only eating disorders. Sever emotional or physical abuse can lead to the use of food as a substitute for emotion. Even income bracket and education level can contribute to these problems.
While it is easy to view someone with a morbid obesity problem as sloppy and stupid, it is usually far from the truth. The next time you find yourself tempted to make generalizations regarding someone based on their appearence, stop and remember this: You are only as good as your treatment of the people you encounter on a daily basis.
Get off your high horse and learn to value people for who they are. If you really want to make a difference and help stop the obesity problem in this country, volunteer for an educational program at the local health department. Volunteer to help with activities at the local community center or Boys and Girls Club. The people you ridicule are still people and don't deserve your scorn.
2.28.2007
I thought I had something I wanted to say tonight. I was wrong. I have nothing of importance to add to the world this evening.
Instead, I've decided to say "hello" to all the people who have been popping by the site and thank them all for stopping by and reading whatever strange, ridiculous or, on the odd day, inspired thing I happen to write.
In the last several days I have had visitor's from all over the world. This makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy. I like warm and fuzzy.
So there you have it. My post about nothing.
Good night!
Instead, I've decided to say "hello" to all the people who have been popping by the site and thank them all for stopping by and reading whatever strange, ridiculous or, on the odd day, inspired thing I happen to write.
In the last several days I have had visitor's from all over the world. This makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy. I like warm and fuzzy.
So there you have it. My post about nothing.
Good night!
2.26.2007
Some much needed laughter.....
I was randomly reading through some of the blogs I visit when I got to Motherhood Uncensored and the top two posts made me laugh so hard I almost woke the family up...go check them out.
They both made me think about my children and similar situations.
One day, shortly after the birth of my last child, my two year old son came into the bathroom as I was cleaning myself up, changing the pad, you know...the fun part of having a baby. I shooed him out of the bathroom and didn't really think about it again. Until.....
A couple of days later I was sitting on the couch visiting with a friend when my son brought me a pad from the bathroom. I looked at it and then looked at him with a BIG smile on his face. He was so proud to have brought me something he was sure was important to me. I laughed. My friend laughed. I learned to hide the personal hygiene products.
Now his favorite thing to do is run through the house screaming, "I naked" after every bath. Dripping wet and laughing like a loon he will dodge me while climbing over the couch and trying to get his door closed before I can catch him. I laugh everytime he does it.
Meanwhile, my husband has lost the capacity for rational thought because he has realized that my daughter is getting armpit hair. His brain automatically filled in teh empty gaps and he realized that this means she is likely getting hair in other places as well. Couple this with her recent boob growth spurt and the number of teenage boys that now smile in appreciation as she walks past them, it's a wonder the man can still talk without drooling. I hate to think what will happen when the magical, mystical period fairy arrives at out doorstep.
Poor man.
They both made me think about my children and similar situations.
One day, shortly after the birth of my last child, my two year old son came into the bathroom as I was cleaning myself up, changing the pad, you know...the fun part of having a baby. I shooed him out of the bathroom and didn't really think about it again. Until.....
A couple of days later I was sitting on the couch visiting with a friend when my son brought me a pad from the bathroom. I looked at it and then looked at him with a BIG smile on his face. He was so proud to have brought me something he was sure was important to me. I laughed. My friend laughed. I learned to hide the personal hygiene products.
Now his favorite thing to do is run through the house screaming, "I naked" after every bath. Dripping wet and laughing like a loon he will dodge me while climbing over the couch and trying to get his door closed before I can catch him. I laugh everytime he does it.
Meanwhile, my husband has lost the capacity for rational thought because he has realized that my daughter is getting armpit hair. His brain automatically filled in teh empty gaps and he realized that this means she is likely getting hair in other places as well. Couple this with her recent boob growth spurt and the number of teenage boys that now smile in appreciation as she walks past them, it's a wonder the man can still talk without drooling. I hate to think what will happen when the magical, mystical period fairy arrives at out doorstep.
Poor man.
My husband talks in his sleep. Nothing that makes any sense, but it can be entertaining. Take tonight for example. He's asleep, I'm typing. All of a sudden he sits up and starts pushing my pillows around the end of the bed.
Curious, I ask him what it is he thinks he's doing. Eyes half open he says, "I'm trying to move these pillows."
"To the end of the bed?" I ask
"Where else am I going to put them?" he replies
I'm laughing at this point.
"And your moving my pillows why?"
He begins to look confused, "Yours. What happened to the ones....well, that quest I was on I had too..." his voice fades out and he starts shoving at the pillows again.
"Russell, lay down, shut up and go back to sleep," I say.
He flips me the bird.
"You're in bed dumbass, not playing World of Warcraft. My pillows aren't going to get you any XP."
He flips me the bird again and lays down. With in seconds, he's snoring again.
In the morning, he will not even remember it happened. I still get to tease him about it though.
Curious, I ask him what it is he thinks he's doing. Eyes half open he says, "I'm trying to move these pillows."
"To the end of the bed?" I ask
"Where else am I going to put them?" he replies
I'm laughing at this point.
"And your moving my pillows why?"
He begins to look confused, "Yours. What happened to the ones....well, that quest I was on I had too..." his voice fades out and he starts shoving at the pillows again.
"Russell, lay down, shut up and go back to sleep," I say.
He flips me the bird.
"You're in bed dumbass, not playing World of Warcraft. My pillows aren't going to get you any XP."
He flips me the bird again and lays down. With in seconds, he's snoring again.
In the morning, he will not even remember it happened. I still get to tease him about it though.
2.25.2007
Yet another unpopular opinion....
Once again, I'm going to say something that will be unpopular with most of the people that read it:
No one alive today owes anyone else that is alive today an apology for slavery in Colonial America.
There, I said it. The recent actions of the Virginia State Legislature are ridiculous. Who exactly are they apologizing to? And what exactly are they apologizing for? Apologizing for slavery is like saying that they had some control over it, that those of us alive today bear some responsibility for the actions of people now long dead. Isn't that the whole "Sins of the Father" argument?
Slavery was an atrocity. It is unthinkable to me that one human being could so easily overlook the value of another in order to make money. Sadly, it still occurs in many parts of the world. Children are sold into slavery by their own families on a daily basis. Men and women are forced into slavery by people promising a better life. The people who work to make our clothing and other daily use items are often treated as little other than animals. Where are the heartfelt apologies for these people? Have you stopped buying items that are made by the hands of these people? When you put on a t-shirt, are you sure it wasn't sewn by a child who doesn't even get paid? When you eat an apple, are you sure the person who picked it was paid a fair wage, provided protection under the labor laws and not forced to work fifteen hour days? I'm betting not.
If there are apologies owed, it is to those people in this country and others that are forced to work in substandard conditions for miniscule or no pay so that those of us with money can have the little things in life. The apologies should be coming from the men and women in our government that know these things are happening and do nothing to punish the American companies that make a profit on the backs of the poor.
Before we start apologizing for the things we had no control over, how about fixing the things we can control?
No one alive today owes anyone else that is alive today an apology for slavery in Colonial America.
There, I said it. The recent actions of the Virginia State Legislature are ridiculous. Who exactly are they apologizing to? And what exactly are they apologizing for? Apologizing for slavery is like saying that they had some control over it, that those of us alive today bear some responsibility for the actions of people now long dead. Isn't that the whole "Sins of the Father" argument?
Slavery was an atrocity. It is unthinkable to me that one human being could so easily overlook the value of another in order to make money. Sadly, it still occurs in many parts of the world. Children are sold into slavery by their own families on a daily basis. Men and women are forced into slavery by people promising a better life. The people who work to make our clothing and other daily use items are often treated as little other than animals. Where are the heartfelt apologies for these people? Have you stopped buying items that are made by the hands of these people? When you put on a t-shirt, are you sure it wasn't sewn by a child who doesn't even get paid? When you eat an apple, are you sure the person who picked it was paid a fair wage, provided protection under the labor laws and not forced to work fifteen hour days? I'm betting not.
If there are apologies owed, it is to those people in this country and others that are forced to work in substandard conditions for miniscule or no pay so that those of us with money can have the little things in life. The apologies should be coming from the men and women in our government that know these things are happening and do nothing to punish the American companies that make a profit on the backs of the poor.
Before we start apologizing for the things we had no control over, how about fixing the things we can control?
2.20.2007
Early this morning, when I couldn't sleep, I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself. Mulling over all the missed opportunities and the wasted time. Moping about the things I hadn't done with my life. I was doing a pretty good job of sitting on my couch throwing my own little pity party.
And then my son fussed in his sleep and called for me.
I walked into his room, my mind still turning over all the things I had to be sad and upset about and then I saw him. The moon was shining through his window and his little eyes were still closed. He rolled over and curled around his blanket and my mind stopped stewing about all the things I haven't done.
Pity party over.
And then my son fussed in his sleep and called for me.
I walked into his room, my mind still turning over all the things I had to be sad and upset about and then I saw him. The moon was shining through his window and his little eyes were still closed. He rolled over and curled around his blanket and my mind stopped stewing about all the things I haven't done.
Pity party over.
Just because it's FREAKIN' COOL
I read Neil Gaiman's online journal everyday. He's one of my favorite authors and someone high on my "I really need to meet him before I die" list. (Yes, I actually have a list)
At random times, Neil will post something that's been sent to him or that he's discovered that just makes you have to stop and think.
Here is a link to one of those things:
NFCTD
If you can figure that one out, you're a step ahead of the class.
At random times, Neil will post something that's been sent to him or that he's discovered that just makes you have to stop and think.
Here is a link to one of those things:
NFCTD
If you can figure that one out, you're a step ahead of the class.
2.19.2007
While it will come as no great surprise to anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis that I have issues with abortion, it might come as a surprise to hear that I am opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade.
Today, Presidential hopeful John McCaine said he favors overturning the 1973 ruling that made abortion a legal choice for women in this country. He also stated that he would want to appoint more justices that will “strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.”
Okay, great. So we do away with the freedom of choice and we put a bunch of old, white men on the Supreme Court to make desicions about what's good for all of us. Then what? What does Senator McCaine think is going to happen if he just does away with abortion as a legal choice for women? Does he believe that somehow people are going to stop having sex? Because that worked before 1973, right?
One has to wonder if Senator McCaine has done his homework about the lack of education and resources faced by low income women. How about the statistics linking child abuse to the age and education level of a parent? Or the statistics showing that if a child is born to an unwed parent, they themselves are more likely to become unwed parents? Need more? How about the fact that once a family is on welfare the likelihood that they will get off is very low. In fact, single parent households on welfare tend to raise children who become single parent families on welfare. It's a vicious cycle.
I am an advocate of changing the social structure and the education system to enable women to make choices that will empower them, teach them sel-esteem and help them not be in a situation where making the choice to have an abortion is necessary. Improce the education our children get. Put more money into programs that will mentor and help young men and women feel positive about themselves and their futures. Provide resources that actually help a single mother or father get up and out of the poverty they are in.
If you take the choice away from the women that need it most, you don't solve the problem, you actually make it worse.
The second thing I have issues with is the "strict" interpretation of the Constitution. Okay so....what we're saying here is that nothing has changed in the world since 1776. What kind of idiot actually believes that the strict interpretation of a document written in the 18th century is a good idea? Let's not forget, these were men who owned SLAVES for cripes sake. Men that thought women were good for nothing more than teaching or making babies. Men who actually believed that you were better than someone else based on the family you were born into or the color of your skin. Society was vastly different....hell, the WORLD was vastly different.
The freedom of the press: Placed in because the King of England would not allow anything negative to be said and could have someone put to death as a traitor if they dared to do so. Today: Needs to be upheld, but with common sense. Should someone be able to write whatever they want, even if it means people are killed because of it? Journalistic responsibility needs to be enforced as much as the freedom that allows them to exisit.
The Right to Bear Arms: Placed in because the only men allowed to carry weapons at the time were British soldiers who could kill you for anything and blame it on you. Today: I really doubt Thomas Jefferson was talking about allowing anyone with enough money to walk around packing a fully automatic assault weapon. Say it with me: Common Sense.
I could go on...."strict" interpretation of something, anything can lead to more problems than solutions. All you have to do is look at the Fundamentalist Christian Looney Tunes to know the truth in that. The freedoms we have are a wonderous thing. They allow us to have a society like no other on earth, for all it's flaws and all it's good works. Like anything, that society is fluid, ever changing. Our judicial system has to have the ability to change with it. More importantly, our judiciary has to be able to fulfill it's place in the system of checks and balances.
You get a bunch of Conservatives in the Legislature, stick just one in the White House and then pump up the Supreme Court with more of them....all we're going to end up with is a nation run by Pat Robertson and his buddies over at the "Sunday Come to Jesus" lobby. It's a scary thought.
Today, Presidential hopeful John McCaine said he favors overturning the 1973 ruling that made abortion a legal choice for women in this country. He also stated that he would want to appoint more justices that will “strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.”
Okay, great. So we do away with the freedom of choice and we put a bunch of old, white men on the Supreme Court to make desicions about what's good for all of us. Then what? What does Senator McCaine think is going to happen if he just does away with abortion as a legal choice for women? Does he believe that somehow people are going to stop having sex? Because that worked before 1973, right?
One has to wonder if Senator McCaine has done his homework about the lack of education and resources faced by low income women. How about the statistics linking child abuse to the age and education level of a parent? Or the statistics showing that if a child is born to an unwed parent, they themselves are more likely to become unwed parents? Need more? How about the fact that once a family is on welfare the likelihood that they will get off is very low. In fact, single parent households on welfare tend to raise children who become single parent families on welfare. It's a vicious cycle.
I am an advocate of changing the social structure and the education system to enable women to make choices that will empower them, teach them sel-esteem and help them not be in a situation where making the choice to have an abortion is necessary. Improce the education our children get. Put more money into programs that will mentor and help young men and women feel positive about themselves and their futures. Provide resources that actually help a single mother or father get up and out of the poverty they are in.
If you take the choice away from the women that need it most, you don't solve the problem, you actually make it worse.
The second thing I have issues with is the "strict" interpretation of the Constitution. Okay so....what we're saying here is that nothing has changed in the world since 1776. What kind of idiot actually believes that the strict interpretation of a document written in the 18th century is a good idea? Let's not forget, these were men who owned SLAVES for cripes sake. Men that thought women were good for nothing more than teaching or making babies. Men who actually believed that you were better than someone else based on the family you were born into or the color of your skin. Society was vastly different....hell, the WORLD was vastly different.
The freedom of the press: Placed in because the King of England would not allow anything negative to be said and could have someone put to death as a traitor if they dared to do so. Today: Needs to be upheld, but with common sense. Should someone be able to write whatever they want, even if it means people are killed because of it? Journalistic responsibility needs to be enforced as much as the freedom that allows them to exisit.
The Right to Bear Arms: Placed in because the only men allowed to carry weapons at the time were British soldiers who could kill you for anything and blame it on you. Today: I really doubt Thomas Jefferson was talking about allowing anyone with enough money to walk around packing a fully automatic assault weapon. Say it with me: Common Sense.
I could go on...."strict" interpretation of something, anything can lead to more problems than solutions. All you have to do is look at the Fundamentalist Christian Looney Tunes to know the truth in that. The freedoms we have are a wonderous thing. They allow us to have a society like no other on earth, for all it's flaws and all it's good works. Like anything, that society is fluid, ever changing. Our judicial system has to have the ability to change with it. More importantly, our judiciary has to be able to fulfill it's place in the system of checks and balances.
You get a bunch of Conservatives in the Legislature, stick just one in the White House and then pump up the Supreme Court with more of them....all we're going to end up with is a nation run by Pat Robertson and his buddies over at the "Sunday Come to Jesus" lobby. It's a scary thought.
2.11.2007
Weigh In
Okay dear readers, it's time for you to weigh in.
Today my husband and I got into a debate and now I want the opinions of the people that read here (all four and a half of you).
Here's the question:
Is using the argument, "You always have a choice." morally ambiguous?
The debate is over the "choice" in that statement. Is having to choose between something that has an effect on other people, in a negative, possibly harmful manner and doing something you would rather not do, the same as choosing to have chocolate or vanilla when you're having ice cream.
Basically, my husbands argument was that even if it isn't a good choice, it's still a choice. My argument was that when it comes to problems or situations that effect others in a life changing manner, it's really not a choice.
I'd like to see where other people land on this one.
What's your view?
Today my husband and I got into a debate and now I want the opinions of the people that read here (all four and a half of you).
Here's the question:
Is using the argument, "You always have a choice." morally ambiguous?
The debate is over the "choice" in that statement. Is having to choose between something that has an effect on other people, in a negative, possibly harmful manner and doing something you would rather not do, the same as choosing to have chocolate or vanilla when you're having ice cream.
Basically, my husbands argument was that even if it isn't a good choice, it's still a choice. My argument was that when it comes to problems or situations that effect others in a life changing manner, it's really not a choice.
I'd like to see where other people land on this one.
What's your view?
2.05.2007
Credit Checks. Not just for credit anymore.
There was an article up today about the growing trend of employers to check a potential employees credit history. It raised the question of race and any possible civil rights issues.
I have worked for three seperate companies that have asked for me to sign a document giving them blanket permission to check not only my criminal background, but my credit history as well. Each time I have gone directly to Human Resources and told them that I will indeed sign a form giving permission for a criminal history check, but that I will not give permission for a credit check. None of these jobs involved a company credit card or expense account. I have also crossed out sentences in these documents that gave permission for the company to speak with "anyone" from my past they deemed fit.
I'm 36, no one at a call center needs to talk to my high school gym teacher and this blanket form also gave permission for them to access medical records. Of all three companies employing these practices, only once was I told my job offer hinged on my signing the documents as they were. I refused the job.
Forms like these are an end run around our civil liberties. If there is a clear case for a through back-ground check, such as involvment with law enforcement, working closley with children or some other sensative situation, I can understand wanting the ablity to speak with anyone in the persons past. If the job has a high stress level or requires specific insurance that can only be obtained by the company after proving the employee has no long standing medical issues, I can understand requesting medical records. If the position requires issuing a company credit card, expense account or some other direct access to company funds, I can understand a credit check. What I do not understand is credit, medical history or overly background checks for positions in places like call centers.
As the article states, there is no information linking credit history with job performance. I believe this is a broader issue than the way ethnic groups may be affected. Any of us that have had to deal with unexpected bills and the reality of living pay check to pay check can attest to the fact that keeping your credit score up is a struggle. How will this practice affect those in our society who are trying to acheive a better life?
We promote a way of life that can only be acheived by living above your means and then punish people when they fall victim to that particular Catch 22.
I will continue to deny companies the right to check my credit history, personal background and medical history. I encourage others to question the practice as well. Require that the company making the request give you a valid reason for accessing that information. It's your personal data, don't be so quick to give it up.
I have worked for three seperate companies that have asked for me to sign a document giving them blanket permission to check not only my criminal background, but my credit history as well. Each time I have gone directly to Human Resources and told them that I will indeed sign a form giving permission for a criminal history check, but that I will not give permission for a credit check. None of these jobs involved a company credit card or expense account. I have also crossed out sentences in these documents that gave permission for the company to speak with "anyone" from my past they deemed fit.
I'm 36, no one at a call center needs to talk to my high school gym teacher and this blanket form also gave permission for them to access medical records. Of all three companies employing these practices, only once was I told my job offer hinged on my signing the documents as they were. I refused the job.
Forms like these are an end run around our civil liberties. If there is a clear case for a through back-ground check, such as involvment with law enforcement, working closley with children or some other sensative situation, I can understand wanting the ablity to speak with anyone in the persons past. If the job has a high stress level or requires specific insurance that can only be obtained by the company after proving the employee has no long standing medical issues, I can understand requesting medical records. If the position requires issuing a company credit card, expense account or some other direct access to company funds, I can understand a credit check. What I do not understand is credit, medical history or overly background checks for positions in places like call centers.
As the article states, there is no information linking credit history with job performance. I believe this is a broader issue than the way ethnic groups may be affected. Any of us that have had to deal with unexpected bills and the reality of living pay check to pay check can attest to the fact that keeping your credit score up is a struggle. How will this practice affect those in our society who are trying to acheive a better life?
We promote a way of life that can only be acheived by living above your means and then punish people when they fall victim to that particular Catch 22.
I will continue to deny companies the right to check my credit history, personal background and medical history. I encourage others to question the practice as well. Require that the company making the request give you a valid reason for accessing that information. It's your personal data, don't be so quick to give it up.
2.04.2007
As the time for kick-off approaches I started thinking about all "yearly" events I don't watch anymore.
(1) The Super-Bowl. I've watched one in my entire 36 years on the planet. It was back in the early 80's, the Bears and the "Fridge" were playing against I don't remember who. What do I remember? The Super-Bowl Shuffle. I cringe.
(2) The Academy Awards. I last watched this show when "The Color Purple" was nominated. Whoppi Goldberg didn't win. I was pissed. I stopped watching. Apparently people have parties and watch the show together? Is that like the Super Bowl for dorks?
(3) The Grammy Awards. When did I watch this last? Let's see, does anyone remember the year Jethro Tull beat Metallica? Yeah, that would be the last year I watched. Not because I was pissed that Metallica lost, but because it was about that time that they started adding in awards for music I couldn't stand and the live performances were by people I wouldn't watch on a street corner.
(4) The Miss America Pagent. Sadly enough, yes, I used to watch this show. I would get a snack, a pad of paper and a pencil and I would sit glued to the television tallying scores and praying for my favorite to win. I idolized these women. I thought they were beautiful and intelligent and I wanted to be them. But then, I also thought Barbie was cool and had a crush on the Prince from the Smurfs cartoon. I was nine. Then I grew up and got a body image and decided that I would rather eat razor blades than suffer through a show where grown women put Vaseline on their teeth and glued their bathing suits to their asses. Thank god!
(5) The Jerry Lewis Telethon. When I was in the first grade I actually got on the local broadcast because I went out and collected money for the telethon. Do they even have a telethon anymore? And if they do, who goes on it?
There are a TON of others, I'm sure. Let's just say that since I hit puberty I haven't watched, or cared about the results of an award show, sports tournament or pagent. Although I will admit to watching the Sci-fi award show that was on Spike a while back. Rob Zombie was on it. Who wouldn't watch that?
(1) The Super-Bowl. I've watched one in my entire 36 years on the planet. It was back in the early 80's, the Bears and the "Fridge" were playing against I don't remember who. What do I remember? The Super-Bowl Shuffle. I cringe.
(2) The Academy Awards. I last watched this show when "The Color Purple" was nominated. Whoppi Goldberg didn't win. I was pissed. I stopped watching. Apparently people have parties and watch the show together? Is that like the Super Bowl for dorks?
(3) The Grammy Awards. When did I watch this last? Let's see, does anyone remember the year Jethro Tull beat Metallica? Yeah, that would be the last year I watched. Not because I was pissed that Metallica lost, but because it was about that time that they started adding in awards for music I couldn't stand and the live performances were by people I wouldn't watch on a street corner.
(4) The Miss America Pagent. Sadly enough, yes, I used to watch this show. I would get a snack, a pad of paper and a pencil and I would sit glued to the television tallying scores and praying for my favorite to win. I idolized these women. I thought they were beautiful and intelligent and I wanted to be them. But then, I also thought Barbie was cool and had a crush on the Prince from the Smurfs cartoon. I was nine. Then I grew up and got a body image and decided that I would rather eat razor blades than suffer through a show where grown women put Vaseline on their teeth and glued their bathing suits to their asses. Thank god!
(5) The Jerry Lewis Telethon. When I was in the first grade I actually got on the local broadcast because I went out and collected money for the telethon. Do they even have a telethon anymore? And if they do, who goes on it?
There are a TON of others, I'm sure. Let's just say that since I hit puberty I haven't watched, or cared about the results of an award show, sports tournament or pagent. Although I will admit to watching the Sci-fi award show that was on Spike a while back. Rob Zombie was on it. Who wouldn't watch that?
2.03.2007
What's next, chastity belts?
Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided that he is the ultimate authority on what's good for the eleven and twelve year old girls of his state. In his ultimate wisdom, Supreme Leader Perry has issued a decree that all girls entering the sixth grade in the dictatorship of Texas must now be vaccinated with Gardisil.
Let's get something straight. I'm all for vaccinating your children. My kids were vaccinated by age two against all the childhood illnesses and I get them flu shots every year. What I'm against here is the forced use of a vaccine that is (1) the most costly and least insured vaccine to date and (2) is so new to the market that no one really knows what the long term side effects may actually be.
Gardisil is produced by Merck Pharmacuticals and according to the Gardisil website:
"GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone and does not prevent all types of cervical cancer, so it is important to continue regular cervical cancer screenings."
It also says: "GARDASIL is the only vaccine that may help guard against diseases that are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) Types 6, 11, 16, and 18..."
Let's review shall we? Gardasil MAY help protect SOME people against SOME types of HPV.
Yes,oh ye who will jump on me and pound me with large blunt objects, I understand that SOME protection may be better than none. Yes, I realize that cancer kills people and that protecting against it, especially if there is a history of cervical cancer could be a wonderfull thing. I'm against the forced vaccination of ALL young girls with an unproven vaccine.
Before you start in with the "Well the FDA approved it..." speech, let's revisit the Fen-Phen dibocal and who can forget the Thalidomide babies? These are drugs the FDA approved for use, so they obviously aren't infalible. Some drugs do have side-effects that show up only after long-term use in the general population. Drug tests, while a good guard against bad side-effects, are not a promise that there are none.
As a grown woman, I have the ability to do research, ask questions, make an informed choice. As children, these girls don't...they are simply being forced to comply and their ability to get an education is hinged on that compliance. Their parents, who can help make an informed decision, aren't being given a choice. Merck, in my opinion is playing on a parents fear of losing their child. Even worse, playing on societies general fear of cancer as a whole.
They can't force women to take this vaccine. They would never be able to pass a law forcing women over the age of 18 to get vaccinated, so why force our chidren too?
If Merck were able to say 100% that anyone taking this vaccine would NEVER get cervical cancer, I might get on board. But they can't say that. They can't even say that it will protect against the four strains they have listed. It's a crap shoot at this point.
I can only hope that some parent in Texas will stand up and force the issue of legality in forcing this vaccine on the young girls in that state.
Let's get something straight. I'm all for vaccinating your children. My kids were vaccinated by age two against all the childhood illnesses and I get them flu shots every year. What I'm against here is the forced use of a vaccine that is (1) the most costly and least insured vaccine to date and (2) is so new to the market that no one really knows what the long term side effects may actually be.
Gardisil is produced by Merck Pharmacuticals and according to the Gardisil website:
"GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone and does not prevent all types of cervical cancer, so it is important to continue regular cervical cancer screenings."
It also says: "GARDASIL is the only vaccine that may help guard against diseases that are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) Types 6, 11, 16, and 18..."
Let's review shall we? Gardasil MAY help protect SOME people against SOME types of HPV.
Yes,oh ye who will jump on me and pound me with large blunt objects, I understand that SOME protection may be better than none. Yes, I realize that cancer kills people and that protecting against it, especially if there is a history of cervical cancer could be a wonderfull thing. I'm against the forced vaccination of ALL young girls with an unproven vaccine.
Before you start in with the "Well the FDA approved it..." speech, let's revisit the Fen-Phen dibocal and who can forget the Thalidomide babies? These are drugs the FDA approved for use, so they obviously aren't infalible. Some drugs do have side-effects that show up only after long-term use in the general population. Drug tests, while a good guard against bad side-effects, are not a promise that there are none.
As a grown woman, I have the ability to do research, ask questions, make an informed choice. As children, these girls don't...they are simply being forced to comply and their ability to get an education is hinged on that compliance. Their parents, who can help make an informed decision, aren't being given a choice. Merck, in my opinion is playing on a parents fear of losing their child. Even worse, playing on societies general fear of cancer as a whole.
They can't force women to take this vaccine. They would never be able to pass a law forcing women over the age of 18 to get vaccinated, so why force our chidren too?
If Merck were able to say 100% that anyone taking this vaccine would NEVER get cervical cancer, I might get on board. But they can't say that. They can't even say that it will protect against the four strains they have listed. It's a crap shoot at this point.
I can only hope that some parent in Texas will stand up and force the issue of legality in forcing this vaccine on the young girls in that state.
2.01.2007
And we needed Harvard to tell us this?
A new study that was done by Harvard and McGill Universities shows that US companies are not family friendly. I have one thing to say to that: DUH!!!!
Anyone that has family and has worked ANYWHERE in this country knows that. There are a few companies that have taken it upon themselves to provide a more family friendly environment, but it's not required by law. We ranked right down there with countries like Swaziland and Liberia.
With two children, I can say that I have actually had to choose between my kids and my job on more than one occassion. When I was a single parent, it was worse. Companies expect that you will treat your job like it is the only really important thing in your life. "Madatory" overtime? No paid sick leave? Not allowing women breaks in order to breast feed?
My husband is a Type 1 diabetic. He has to get a note from his doctor stating that due to his condition he is likely to have to urinate more frequently than other employees. (No, I did not make that up.) Without that note, he faces being written up for excessive time away from the job floor.
This study is generating a lot of talk on Capital Hill where the debate is on about scaling back protections like the Family and Medical Leave Act. Well great. Because it isn't hard enough to support a family as it is.
I know the argument that comes right behind this one: "If you don't want to deal with the reality, don't have children." Should that really be the only choice? Men and women have the right to both, a career that they do well in and a family that they can be proud of. It's insane that people have to choose between the two.
Anyone that has family and has worked ANYWHERE in this country knows that. There are a few companies that have taken it upon themselves to provide a more family friendly environment, but it's not required by law. We ranked right down there with countries like Swaziland and Liberia.
With two children, I can say that I have actually had to choose between my kids and my job on more than one occassion. When I was a single parent, it was worse. Companies expect that you will treat your job like it is the only really important thing in your life. "Madatory" overtime? No paid sick leave? Not allowing women breaks in order to breast feed?
My husband is a Type 1 diabetic. He has to get a note from his doctor stating that due to his condition he is likely to have to urinate more frequently than other employees. (No, I did not make that up.) Without that note, he faces being written up for excessive time away from the job floor.
This study is generating a lot of talk on Capital Hill where the debate is on about scaling back protections like the Family and Medical Leave Act. Well great. Because it isn't hard enough to support a family as it is.
I know the argument that comes right behind this one: "If you don't want to deal with the reality, don't have children." Should that really be the only choice? Men and women have the right to both, a career that they do well in and a family that they can be proud of. It's insane that people have to choose between the two.
1.31.2007
I'm a Grown woman for cripes sake!
My son is watching Bambi. Where am I? I'm hiding in my room. I can't watch Bambi, it makes me cry. Not just cry a little, but cry as in, "Jeez, somebody get that woman a Kleenex!"
Everytime it comes to the scene where they shoot Bambi's mom? Yeah...I lose it.
You would think that by the age of 36 a cartoon wouldn't effect me so strongly, huh?
Everytime it comes to the scene where they shoot Bambi's mom? Yeah...I lose it.
You would think that by the age of 36 a cartoon wouldn't effect me so strongly, huh?
1.30.2007
Forced Vaccines?
Last week, there was a big discussion about reproductive freeedom and what that means. This week, in the same vein, I give you this little gem.
They can't even force you to vaccinate your children against chicken pox and now they want to tell me that I have to get my 13 year old daughter a shot that may or may not protect her against SOME types of cervical cancer? I don't think so.
This is a prime example of why lobbyists need to be restricted. They are paying legislators in Texas to put this on the floor. Now who could possibly benefit from this? Oh yeah, the pharmacutical company. Funny thing is if you check up on Gardasil you find out that it MIGHT protect you against SOME kinds of HPV. Okay, so they want to force parents to give their children a vaccine that hasn't even been on the market a full year and that may or may not actually protect said child? Yeah, there's no bias involved there.
This idiocy ever makes it's way to Utah and you can damn well bet I'll be standing on the steps of the Capital Building with a sign in my hot little hands.
They can't even force you to vaccinate your children against chicken pox and now they want to tell me that I have to get my 13 year old daughter a shot that may or may not protect her against SOME types of cervical cancer? I don't think so.
This is a prime example of why lobbyists need to be restricted. They are paying legislators in Texas to put this on the floor. Now who could possibly benefit from this? Oh yeah, the pharmacutical company. Funny thing is if you check up on Gardasil you find out that it MIGHT protect you against SOME kinds of HPV. Okay, so they want to force parents to give their children a vaccine that hasn't even been on the market a full year and that may or may not actually protect said child? Yeah, there's no bias involved there.
This idiocy ever makes it's way to Utah and you can damn well bet I'll be standing on the steps of the Capital Building with a sign in my hot little hands.
The Throw Away Children
As of the year 2003 there were over 500,000 children in foster care in the United States. The numbers have only continued to increase. An alarming number of the children currently in foster care will "age out" of the system on their 18th birthday. What this means is that once the child reaches the age of majority, the state basically pats them on the back, hands them a little cash and says, "Hope we taught you how to take care of yourself, have a nice life."
Recently there has been a growing trend to highlight the plight of children in foreign countries and a rise in the number of adoptions from these countries. Today, as I was flipping through the channels, looking for cartoons for my son, I stopped briefly on the Oprah Winfrey show. She was talking to a group of upper class southern families who had adopted older children from a Liberian orphanage.
First, I'm glad that these children will have the love and support of a family to help them develop into solid adults. Second, where were these people when children right here in this country needed that same love and attention?
It frightens me that it seems to be considered a great thing to do, generous and worthy of news attention, when someone adopts a child from a foreign country and yet no one seems to care that we are creating an entire generation of throw-away children.
The states remove these kids from abusive or neglectful homes and they spend the next years of their lives bouncing from place to place, never really knowing the love and support of a family. People are willing to adopt bright eyed babies, but these older children waste into the background of our society.
Where is the call for help for these children? Who will stand up for them and urge those who are financially able and emotionally willing to give them a home and parents to guide them? Why are there no news stories about celebrities adopting boys and girls who were beaten, neglected and overlooked right here at home? Is it just not "hip" enough? Are they not poor enough? Pitiful enough?
It angers me to think that simply because they were born in this country they will live their lives without someone to kiss their hurts away, tell them how proud they have made someone or hold their hands the first time love breaks their heart. I am saddened that we as a nation seem to have forgotten an entire generation of children.
If you read this and it makes you think, take a moment and write to your congressman or woman. Ask them to make finding adoptive families for these children a priority. Write a letter to your local paper asking why no one has taken the time to write about the children in your community who are in need. Call your local news station and ask why there are no stories about the eleven year old girl with no mother to love her. Take the time. Help bring these children out of the shadows.
Recently there has been a growing trend to highlight the plight of children in foreign countries and a rise in the number of adoptions from these countries. Today, as I was flipping through the channels, looking for cartoons for my son, I stopped briefly on the Oprah Winfrey show. She was talking to a group of upper class southern families who had adopted older children from a Liberian orphanage.
First, I'm glad that these children will have the love and support of a family to help them develop into solid adults. Second, where were these people when children right here in this country needed that same love and attention?
It frightens me that it seems to be considered a great thing to do, generous and worthy of news attention, when someone adopts a child from a foreign country and yet no one seems to care that we are creating an entire generation of throw-away children.
The states remove these kids from abusive or neglectful homes and they spend the next years of their lives bouncing from place to place, never really knowing the love and support of a family. People are willing to adopt bright eyed babies, but these older children waste into the background of our society.
Where is the call for help for these children? Who will stand up for them and urge those who are financially able and emotionally willing to give them a home and parents to guide them? Why are there no news stories about celebrities adopting boys and girls who were beaten, neglected and overlooked right here at home? Is it just not "hip" enough? Are they not poor enough? Pitiful enough?
It angers me to think that simply because they were born in this country they will live their lives without someone to kiss their hurts away, tell them how proud they have made someone or hold their hands the first time love breaks their heart. I am saddened that we as a nation seem to have forgotten an entire generation of children.
If you read this and it makes you think, take a moment and write to your congressman or woman. Ask them to make finding adoptive families for these children a priority. Write a letter to your local paper asking why no one has taken the time to write about the children in your community who are in need. Call your local news station and ask why there are no stories about the eleven year old girl with no mother to love her. Take the time. Help bring these children out of the shadows.
For no other reason than it made me laugh....
"Nothing is as embarrassing as a homemade pussy accident."
That's it. Nothing else to say. That sentence is the funniest damn thing I've read all week.
(Please Note: I have linked to the blog from which it came! Do yourself a favor, visit.)
That's it. Nothing else to say. That sentence is the funniest damn thing I've read all week.
(Please Note: I have linked to the blog from which it came! Do yourself a favor, visit.)
1.29.2007
Come on!
My son is two. Anyone who reads here ever will know that. My son is also one of the cutest people I know.
He has had trouble speaking and has been slow to develop a full vocabulary. We aren't sure why, but there you have it. We've been working with him and it's finally paying off. Sentences are springing up out of nowhere...the latest in his little phrase book? "Come on!"
This phrase is used when he needs my attention, when he wants to play or when he's hungry. It is always accompanied by a tugging on my shirt sleeve or my hand and is usually said with some impatience. It makes me laugh EVERY time he does it!
I am proud to say that along with his new found enunnciation the words,"please" and "thank you" are making a debut. Does my heart good.
The only down side to his chattiness? On Saturday we went outside to play. He was upset when I made him come in. His response? A sad, slow sob under his breath, "Dumb Mama".
He has had trouble speaking and has been slow to develop a full vocabulary. We aren't sure why, but there you have it. We've been working with him and it's finally paying off. Sentences are springing up out of nowhere...the latest in his little phrase book? "Come on!"
This phrase is used when he needs my attention, when he wants to play or when he's hungry. It is always accompanied by a tugging on my shirt sleeve or my hand and is usually said with some impatience. It makes me laugh EVERY time he does it!
I am proud to say that along with his new found enunnciation the words,"please" and "thank you" are making a debut. Does my heart good.
The only down side to his chattiness? On Saturday we went outside to play. He was upset when I made him come in. His response? A sad, slow sob under his breath, "Dumb Mama".
Something interesting I found...
It's amazing the things you can find inside of used books. I found this tonight. I especially like the little note on the back asking for suggestions on how they can imporve service. It makes me wonder about the person that owned this book before me.
1.27.2007
Ahh...memories
The inspiration for this little walk down memory lane came from a post I read at CUSS.
Do you remember being twelve? I do. I remember turning twelve and thinking to myself, "Only six more years and I don't have to do anything I don't want to." It was a very liberating feeling.
I also remember it as the time of the roller rink. Friday nights. The smell of bad pizza and the sound of popular music and video games. From seven to nine on Friday nights I was free of my parents and able to do just about anything I wanted. Okay, so at the age of twelve this meant eating to much and failing to flirt with the boys I thought were cute, but still. It was a time and a place where I could taste the freedom I was dreaming of. My friends and I would meet up and spend two hours discussing all the really important things. Who had how many friendship rings. Who we liked and didn't like and most importantly which boys were looking at us and which boys were not. It was goundbreaking stuff.
As I got older, the rollerskating craze died out. We moved on to other entertainments. Innocent giggles and whispers behind our hands gave way to more adult talk and less innocent pursuits. The joy I felt at anticipating my 18th birthday began to fade as I learned what it really meant...a job, bills and less time to do the things I loved.
The memory of being twelve never left me though. I hung around in my mind like a friend you only see once or twice a year.
Two years ago, shortly after I had my son, my husband and I were at the local thrift store browsing. In the back room, hidden under old baseball gloves and dented bike helmets I found a pair of white ladies rollerskates. I got all kinds of nostalgic and excited and gladly laid out the $5.00. At home with my new found piece of childhood I put them on and after a couple of turns around the kitchen table, I went outside to bask in the feeling of the wind on my face and sun in my hair.
I realized two things almost instantly: (1) I hadn't rollerskated in twenty years and (2) I lived on a hill.
Now, these two things may not mean much by themselves, but combined with the wheels attached to my feet....well, you get the idea.
The little girl across the street stood in her driveway and watched me, a puzzled expression on her face. As I slammed into the tree at the end of my drive, she asked asked me what I was doing. When I said, "Rollerskating," she shook her head and said, "You aren't very good at it are you?" I laughed, clung to the tree and replied, "No. No I'm not very good at it."
And then I began to laugh. I had come outside to relive a part of my childhood and falied miserably, but the feeling of being twelve, of discovering myself and something new was clinging with me to that tree in that moment. I slid down to the sidewalk and took the skates off. I hadn't laughed that hard in years.
Do you remember being twelve? I do. I remember turning twelve and thinking to myself, "Only six more years and I don't have to do anything I don't want to." It was a very liberating feeling.
I also remember it as the time of the roller rink. Friday nights. The smell of bad pizza and the sound of popular music and video games. From seven to nine on Friday nights I was free of my parents and able to do just about anything I wanted. Okay, so at the age of twelve this meant eating to much and failing to flirt with the boys I thought were cute, but still. It was a time and a place where I could taste the freedom I was dreaming of. My friends and I would meet up and spend two hours discussing all the really important things. Who had how many friendship rings. Who we liked and didn't like and most importantly which boys were looking at us and which boys were not. It was goundbreaking stuff.
As I got older, the rollerskating craze died out. We moved on to other entertainments. Innocent giggles and whispers behind our hands gave way to more adult talk and less innocent pursuits. The joy I felt at anticipating my 18th birthday began to fade as I learned what it really meant...a job, bills and less time to do the things I loved.
The memory of being twelve never left me though. I hung around in my mind like a friend you only see once or twice a year.
Two years ago, shortly after I had my son, my husband and I were at the local thrift store browsing. In the back room, hidden under old baseball gloves and dented bike helmets I found a pair of white ladies rollerskates. I got all kinds of nostalgic and excited and gladly laid out the $5.00. At home with my new found piece of childhood I put them on and after a couple of turns around the kitchen table, I went outside to bask in the feeling of the wind on my face and sun in my hair.
I realized two things almost instantly: (1) I hadn't rollerskated in twenty years and (2) I lived on a hill.
Now, these two things may not mean much by themselves, but combined with the wheels attached to my feet....well, you get the idea.
The little girl across the street stood in her driveway and watched me, a puzzled expression on her face. As I slammed into the tree at the end of my drive, she asked asked me what I was doing. When I said, "Rollerskating," she shook her head and said, "You aren't very good at it are you?" I laughed, clung to the tree and replied, "No. No I'm not very good at it."
And then I began to laugh. I had come outside to relive a part of my childhood and falied miserably, but the feeling of being twelve, of discovering myself and something new was clinging with me to that tree in that moment. I slid down to the sidewalk and took the skates off. I hadn't laughed that hard in years.
1.26.2007
There are a surprising number of people talking about a subject that came up on the Today Show recently. They did a piece about drinking, mom's and whether or not it's a good idea to do it with your children present.
For me, this is a clear cut issue. It is not okay to drink around you children. As parents we are responsible for showing our children acceptable ways to communicate, deal with anger and stress and basically everything else it takes to be a grown-up. Just like you wouldn't smack someone around in front of your children and then say, "Don't hit.", you shouldn't drink in front of your children and then say , "Don't drink."
The host and the psychologist on the Today Show piece are being called to the mat over some of the issues they raised, in particular the difference between "social drinking" and "problem drinking" and comparing drinking at playdates with a babysitter who drinks. I come down on both sides of the fence here.
First, the difference between "problem" and "social" drinking is extremely thin. It can go from being one, to being the other very quickly. And who decides? Also, it leaves out the fact that people are using the alcohol to "relax" from what they feel has been a long a trying day of doing what women have been doing for centuries, taking care of their children. As crass as it sounds, and I know it sounds crass, if you have to drink to "unwind" because of your children? Maybe you shouldn't have children.
I get stressed out. I roll my eyes at the things my children do. Sometimes I sit in the bathtub and day dream about the jet-set lifestyle I could have "if only..." Yet somehow the idea of getting together with Jane and Mary from down the street to have a glass of wine and let the kids play has never popped into my head. Alcohol has become pervasive and still people wonder why more and more teenagers are becoming addicted.
On the second point: Mothers are not babysitters. While I can appreciate the point that was trying to be made, it was an altogether bad analogy. You pay a babysitter to do a specific job. The issue wouldn't be them having A drink while watching the kids, it would be them drinking on the JOB. As far as I know, unless you're three martini lunching it in a VERY expensive suit, this is never okay. The girl behind the cash register can't slip out at lunch have a couple of glasses of wine and not get in trouble for it, and THAT job is considerably more stressful than watching a two year old. A better way to make the point might have been to ask, " If you came home and your husband had his buddies over and they were drinking beer while watching the children, would THAT be okay?" This is a level playing field. It's a comparison between the parents and the behavior that is expected.
It all comes down to just one thing in the end, personal choice. I make decisions every day that I'm sure would make other mother's shudder. I made a personal choice not to allow alcohol around my children. That was my decision. Other parent's make different choices. I may not agree, but as long as the children aren't being endangered, I'm not going to cry foul on them either.
It's a topic that should be discussed, but not something these mom's should be called to the mat for.
For me, this is a clear cut issue. It is not okay to drink around you children. As parents we are responsible for showing our children acceptable ways to communicate, deal with anger and stress and basically everything else it takes to be a grown-up. Just like you wouldn't smack someone around in front of your children and then say, "Don't hit.", you shouldn't drink in front of your children and then say , "Don't drink."
The host and the psychologist on the Today Show piece are being called to the mat over some of the issues they raised, in particular the difference between "social drinking" and "problem drinking" and comparing drinking at playdates with a babysitter who drinks. I come down on both sides of the fence here.
First, the difference between "problem" and "social" drinking is extremely thin. It can go from being one, to being the other very quickly. And who decides? Also, it leaves out the fact that people are using the alcohol to "relax" from what they feel has been a long a trying day of doing what women have been doing for centuries, taking care of their children. As crass as it sounds, and I know it sounds crass, if you have to drink to "unwind" because of your children? Maybe you shouldn't have children.
I get stressed out. I roll my eyes at the things my children do. Sometimes I sit in the bathtub and day dream about the jet-set lifestyle I could have "if only..." Yet somehow the idea of getting together with Jane and Mary from down the street to have a glass of wine and let the kids play has never popped into my head. Alcohol has become pervasive and still people wonder why more and more teenagers are becoming addicted.
On the second point: Mothers are not babysitters. While I can appreciate the point that was trying to be made, it was an altogether bad analogy. You pay a babysitter to do a specific job. The issue wouldn't be them having A drink while watching the kids, it would be them drinking on the JOB. As far as I know, unless you're three martini lunching it in a VERY expensive suit, this is never okay. The girl behind the cash register can't slip out at lunch have a couple of glasses of wine and not get in trouble for it, and THAT job is considerably more stressful than watching a two year old. A better way to make the point might have been to ask, " If you came home and your husband had his buddies over and they were drinking beer while watching the children, would THAT be okay?" This is a level playing field. It's a comparison between the parents and the behavior that is expected.
It all comes down to just one thing in the end, personal choice. I make decisions every day that I'm sure would make other mother's shudder. I made a personal choice not to allow alcohol around my children. That was my decision. Other parent's make different choices. I may not agree, but as long as the children aren't being endangered, I'm not going to cry foul on them either.
It's a topic that should be discussed, but not something these mom's should be called to the mat for.
1.25.2007
What? A politician with something intelligent to say?
I read Neil Gaiman's blog and he usually has links to very cool things that I would never have found otherwise. Today, he posted this little piece from The Guardian Unlimited .
Usually politicians are just blowing smoke out their asses and don't really have anything useful to say. This gentleman has a lot useful to say. Even better it's all tempered with...COMMON SENSE!!!! I had thought it impossible that the words "common sense" and "politician" could be used in the same sentence without causing some sort of terrible tear in universe, but there you have it.
Give it a read, pass it on. Spread the common sense around.
Usually politicians are just blowing smoke out their asses and don't really have anything useful to say. This gentleman has a lot useful to say. Even better it's all tempered with...COMMON SENSE!!!! I had thought it impossible that the words "common sense" and "politician" could be used in the same sentence without causing some sort of terrible tear in universe, but there you have it.
Give it a read, pass it on. Spread the common sense around.
1.22.2007
"Blogging For Choice"
I have done the unforgivable. I expressed an opinion that upset feminists and called into question the issue of personal responsibility. How dare I? What was the hot button issue? Abortion. I am now being called ridiculous and reminded that no woman should be forced to raise a child. My feelings on this subject are not religiously based. I have had three unplanned pregnancies in my lifetime. None were convienent. None were well timed. I have made the choice to have the children and place them for adoption.
Let's look at a couple of things here, shall we?
Look, I'm just going to say it, I believe that abortion as a means of birth control is wrong. Anyone wishing to lambast me will please read the sentence again and notice I did not say we should all rush right out and make abortion illegal and strip women of the right thereby plunging us directly back into the dark ages (because we all know that limiting abortion would lead to women being stripped of the vote, the right to work and possibly even the right to wear pants in public.) ....but using it as a method of birth control because being pregnant isn't "convienent" is wrong. Rape, incest, cases of physical danger to the mother or a second child (twin births)? Totally different story. For me it comes down to personal responsibility. Birth control is readily available, even to low income persons...state Medicade programs will pay for most birth control methods, up to and including surgical sterilization. The 72 hour pill is readily available through doctor's offices and Family Planning clinics.
Using the 72 hour pill, you are preventing a pregnancy from taking place. Going to a clinic and having a pregnancy terminated means you are choosing to end another human life. Attach all the emotion you want to that statement, but the medical and scientific facts are that at two to three months the fetus is breathing, has fingers and toes forming, is moving and has started developing major organ systems. That's not just one or two cells, that's a person taking shape. Arguing that "a baby isn't really a baby during the first trimester" makes my stomach lurch. Within the first three months that little tiny being has started to develop organ systems and is moving. Again, this isn't based on anything other than hard science.
The argunment that, "It's my body and I should be able to do what I want with it" has never set well with me. If you don't want to get pregnant, don't have unprotected sex. And yes, it really is that simple.
I am astonished at how easily people are able to dismiss the fact that an abortion ends a human life and in place of that they have substituted concerns like weight gain and life-style change.
In my original comment about this issue, I simply asked the question, "When do we make people responsible for their choices?" I was told that choosing to have an abortion is being responsible. I disagree, choosing to have an abortion is simply the fastest method of dealing with an unwanted situation. Not only has the issue of ending a life been removed from the argument, but most people gloss over that fact that having an abortion has life-long psychological ramifications, just like adoption does. The difference? Women who have abortions tend not to seek professional counseling after having the procedure. They mostly seem to try and pretend they were never pregnant at all.
My feelings on this issue are definatly based on emotion. Having made the decision to carry children to term and place them for adoption has given me new perspective on it. Seeing the beauty that is a newborn child and seeing the equally beautiful look on the faces of a couple that thought they would never be able to experience the joy of being parents, I have a hard time understanding how anyone can remove the actual child in question from the decision. That makes me biased, I realize that. It's also the reason I don't attend Pro-Life rallies and scream for an end to abortion. Unlike the people who will attack me, I recognize that no matter what MY beliefs are, I don't have the right to force them on others.
I do, however, have the right to say them as loudly and as often as I want to.
Let's look at a couple of things here, shall we?
Look, I'm just going to say it, I believe that abortion as a means of birth control is wrong. Anyone wishing to lambast me will please read the sentence again and notice I did not say we should all rush right out and make abortion illegal and strip women of the right thereby plunging us directly back into the dark ages (because we all know that limiting abortion would lead to women being stripped of the vote, the right to work and possibly even the right to wear pants in public.) ....but using it as a method of birth control because being pregnant isn't "convienent" is wrong. Rape, incest, cases of physical danger to the mother or a second child (twin births)? Totally different story. For me it comes down to personal responsibility. Birth control is readily available, even to low income persons...state Medicade programs will pay for most birth control methods, up to and including surgical sterilization. The 72 hour pill is readily available through doctor's offices and Family Planning clinics.
Using the 72 hour pill, you are preventing a pregnancy from taking place. Going to a clinic and having a pregnancy terminated means you are choosing to end another human life. Attach all the emotion you want to that statement, but the medical and scientific facts are that at two to three months the fetus is breathing, has fingers and toes forming, is moving and has started developing major organ systems. That's not just one or two cells, that's a person taking shape. Arguing that "a baby isn't really a baby during the first trimester" makes my stomach lurch. Within the first three months that little tiny being has started to develop organ systems and is moving. Again, this isn't based on anything other than hard science.
The argunment that, "It's my body and I should be able to do what I want with it" has never set well with me. If you don't want to get pregnant, don't have unprotected sex. And yes, it really is that simple.
I am astonished at how easily people are able to dismiss the fact that an abortion ends a human life and in place of that they have substituted concerns like weight gain and life-style change.
In my original comment about this issue, I simply asked the question, "When do we make people responsible for their choices?" I was told that choosing to have an abortion is being responsible. I disagree, choosing to have an abortion is simply the fastest method of dealing with an unwanted situation. Not only has the issue of ending a life been removed from the argument, but most people gloss over that fact that having an abortion has life-long psychological ramifications, just like adoption does. The difference? Women who have abortions tend not to seek professional counseling after having the procedure. They mostly seem to try and pretend they were never pregnant at all.
My feelings on this issue are definatly based on emotion. Having made the decision to carry children to term and place them for adoption has given me new perspective on it. Seeing the beauty that is a newborn child and seeing the equally beautiful look on the faces of a couple that thought they would never be able to experience the joy of being parents, I have a hard time understanding how anyone can remove the actual child in question from the decision. That makes me biased, I realize that. It's also the reason I don't attend Pro-Life rallies and scream for an end to abortion. Unlike the people who will attack me, I recognize that no matter what MY beliefs are, I don't have the right to force them on others.
I do, however, have the right to say them as loudly and as often as I want to.
1.12.2007
Cocaine? No Problem! Nudie pictures? How Dare you!
Apparently Donald Trump thinks that underage drinking, public lewdness and an addiction to cocaine are A-Okay, but God forbid you should pose for pictures without your panties on.
Trump recently fired Miss Nevada, Katie Rees, because pictures of her " partying and posing in various stages of undress emerged on the Internet". What the hell?
Can you say double standard Don? How much do you want to bet the other chic gave The Don a little "incentive" to let her keep her crown.
Trump recently fired Miss Nevada, Katie Rees, because pictures of her " partying and posing in various stages of undress emerged on the Internet". What the hell?
Can you say double standard Don? How much do you want to bet the other chic gave The Don a little "incentive" to let her keep her crown.
1.09.2007
I have recently begun discovering that I am hopelessly out of touch and more than a little un-cool. The un-cool thing is nothing new, I have never been "cool", but damn it, I used to keep up with things.
I was reading at jmadigan.net tonight and after commenting on a wonderful piece about his daughters that made me laugh I saw a little link in the top bar that said : Subscribe. I clicked on it, innocently believing I was about to get a name and a password and all that fun stuff that makes you feel like you belong to some kind of exclusive club.
This was NOT what happened. I was taken to a page that asked me to "Choose a reader". A what? What the hell is a reader? I can read just fine on my own thanks. I hear people talk about things like Google Reader and other such mythical beasts, but I have no idea what it means, it's like a foreign language.
I'm sure that if I took the time to investigate things I would figure it out in no time, but I'm not sure if this is knowledge I need. Is a "feed reader" something I need to live my life? Will my children be shunned if I don't have one? Am I hopelessly outdated if I simply add the websites I like to my favorites and visit them that way?
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm trapped in a bad soap opera? Tune in tomorrow and find out.
I was reading at jmadigan.net tonight and after commenting on a wonderful piece about his daughters that made me laugh I saw a little link in the top bar that said : Subscribe. I clicked on it, innocently believing I was about to get a name and a password and all that fun stuff that makes you feel like you belong to some kind of exclusive club.
This was NOT what happened. I was taken to a page that asked me to "Choose a reader". A what? What the hell is a reader? I can read just fine on my own thanks. I hear people talk about things like Google Reader and other such mythical beasts, but I have no idea what it means, it's like a foreign language.
I'm sure that if I took the time to investigate things I would figure it out in no time, but I'm not sure if this is knowledge I need. Is a "feed reader" something I need to live my life? Will my children be shunned if I don't have one? Am I hopelessly outdated if I simply add the websites I like to my favorites and visit them that way?
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm trapped in a bad soap opera? Tune in tomorrow and find out.
Blogging for Books Entry
I'm reposting this as an entry for "Blogging for Books" on The Zero Boss I don't usually enter contests, but the concept of time is something I spend a lot of time thinking about, so I decided, "What the hell."
This post was originally written in an old, beat up journal while sitting in damp grass waiting for a bus. I had just met someone new, was starting a new job...things were in a state of flux, and the damn bus was late. I kept wanting to know what time it was but everytime I pushed up my sleeve, I was reminded I didn't own a fucking watch. I still don't.
I need a watch.I hate not knowing what time it is. Sitting and staring. Wondering," Am I late, or am I early?" Not that I'm, particularly good at waiting to begin with, 'cuz I'm not. I suck at it. I shift. I pace. I get annoyed. And I seem to be in a perpetual state of waiting.Waiting for payday. Waiting for work to end. Waiting for him to call. Waiting for the bus. Waiting for sleep to come. Waiting..... always waiting. It's just so anti-climatic. Because finally payday does come. And work is over. And he does call. And the bus arrives. And sleep comes. And then what? Where are all the bells and whistles that reward us for the hours we wasted.....waiting. For the days, weeks, months....hell, even years of limitless patience and fortitude? Quietly sitting, not complaining. There are none. You pay the bills. You go home. You talk for a minute. You get on the bus. You dream for a moment. And then?Back to waiting.It's like waiting to die. Just moving through life with no real destination. I get tired of it. I step out of line.Do something new. Anything new. Never helps, doesn't change it. There's still more waiting.Waiting for the color to take. For the polish to dry. For the movie to start. For dinner to get done. For that new book to come in.Always waiting for something.Damn.......I really need a watch.
This post was originally written in an old, beat up journal while sitting in damp grass waiting for a bus. I had just met someone new, was starting a new job...things were in a state of flux, and the damn bus was late. I kept wanting to know what time it was but everytime I pushed up my sleeve, I was reminded I didn't own a fucking watch. I still don't.
I need a watch.I hate not knowing what time it is. Sitting and staring. Wondering," Am I late, or am I early?" Not that I'm, particularly good at waiting to begin with, 'cuz I'm not. I suck at it. I shift. I pace. I get annoyed. And I seem to be in a perpetual state of waiting.Waiting for payday. Waiting for work to end. Waiting for him to call. Waiting for the bus. Waiting for sleep to come. Waiting..... always waiting. It's just so anti-climatic. Because finally payday does come. And work is over. And he does call. And the bus arrives. And sleep comes. And then what? Where are all the bells and whistles that reward us for the hours we wasted.....waiting. For the days, weeks, months....hell, even years of limitless patience and fortitude? Quietly sitting, not complaining. There are none. You pay the bills. You go home. You talk for a minute. You get on the bus. You dream for a moment. And then?Back to waiting.It's like waiting to die. Just moving through life with no real destination. I get tired of it. I step out of line.Do something new. Anything new. Never helps, doesn't change it. There's still more waiting.Waiting for the color to take. For the polish to dry. For the movie to start. For dinner to get done. For that new book to come in.Always waiting for something.Damn.......I really need a watch.
1.08.2007
Tigger Gone Wild
I caught this story on my local news a few nights ago. A family from New Hampshire was was vacationing in Disney World when Tigger apparently "sucker punched" a fourteen year old boy. My local CBS affiliate has the video in their "Top Stories" sidebar.
I've watched the video. Tigger did turn and pop the kid, for which he should lose his job. If you can't deal with the public, don't be a character actor at Disney World. Right before he does it though, you can see the kid tug at the back of Tiggers outfit and say something to the guy in the Tigger costume. One has to wonder what he said. This is, after all, a fourteen year old boy we're talking about.
Now the dad has an attorney and they are suing Disney (anyone surprised by this?). In the interview that's posted on KUTV's website the father says he had to take his son to the hospital with "back pain" and the boy says that he still has pain, but he's on medication for it. Oh please. The guy in the Tigger costume did not hit that boy hard enough to do any damage, he couldn't even make a fist, for crying out loud. I have yet to hear of, or read, that the family reported the incident to the local police, or had the guy in the costume arressted for assault.
This is another example of why we need legistaltion at the Federal level providing penalties for frivolous lawsuits. I'm sure the parents went, "Yes, we can sue Disney!" and the attorney that caught the case told them, "Your son is in pain, right? wink wink nudge nudge."
The sad thing is, Disney will settle the lawsuit to make the bad publicity go away and this bozo and his family will make money of their kids bad behavior. Again, the guy should lose his job, maybe even have to pay a fine for simple assault, he did pop the kid, but suing Disney? You know what lesson this kid is going to learn? It's never really my fault, and if it is, I can always blame someone else.
I've watched the video. Tigger did turn and pop the kid, for which he should lose his job. If you can't deal with the public, don't be a character actor at Disney World. Right before he does it though, you can see the kid tug at the back of Tiggers outfit and say something to the guy in the Tigger costume. One has to wonder what he said. This is, after all, a fourteen year old boy we're talking about.
Now the dad has an attorney and they are suing Disney (anyone surprised by this?). In the interview that's posted on KUTV's website the father says he had to take his son to the hospital with "back pain" and the boy says that he still has pain, but he's on medication for it. Oh please. The guy in the Tigger costume did not hit that boy hard enough to do any damage, he couldn't even make a fist, for crying out loud. I have yet to hear of, or read, that the family reported the incident to the local police, or had the guy in the costume arressted for assault.
This is another example of why we need legistaltion at the Federal level providing penalties for frivolous lawsuits. I'm sure the parents went, "Yes, we can sue Disney!" and the attorney that caught the case told them, "Your son is in pain, right? wink wink nudge nudge."
The sad thing is, Disney will settle the lawsuit to make the bad publicity go away and this bozo and his family will make money of their kids bad behavior. Again, the guy should lose his job, maybe even have to pay a fine for simple assault, he did pop the kid, but suing Disney? You know what lesson this kid is going to learn? It's never really my fault, and if it is, I can always blame someone else.
1.07.2007
Call me what you will, but I'm annoyed as hell at a story I read this morning. It seems that Toys R' Us was forced to reverse a decision it made regarding the award given to the first American baby born in 2007.
The first baby born on American soil was born to an illegal immigrant from China and so the company had decided that the baby was not the winner and awarded the prize to another child, born 19 seconds after midnight.
Chinese-American adovocate groups immediatley pitched a hissy fit, forcing the company to award the three babies in the grand prize pool $25,000 savings bonds each.
Now, before anyone goes running about calling me a racist, here's my point. The mother is not a legal citizen of this country and therefore WAS NOT ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THE SWEEPSTAKES IN THE FIRST PLACE. Contest rules state clearly that the person entering must be a U.S citizen.
Yes, I realize that the child is now a U.S citizen because she was born here. The fact remains that the mother was never eligible to enter in the first place, negating all other arguments.
It makes me angry that Toys R Us caved to the pressure. It makes me angry that any pressure was brought to bear in the first place. Where did common sense disappear to? There need to be consequences surrounding coming to this country illegally in order to make people stop doing it.
I've said it before, immigration is a wonderful way to improve the diversity and cultural pool that exists in this country, but it needs to be legal immigration. It takes time, but then allowing people to come into the country to live, work and be a part of our society should take time. If you think it takes to much time, help work on ways to make it more streamlined. Please spare me the "they take jobs American's don't want" and " everyone deserves a better life" speeches. The jobs illegal immigrants take are jobs that Americans demand higher pay for and rightly so. If anyone actually believes that illegal immigrants enjoy doing back breaking work for less than minimum wage, they are just plain ignorant. As legal US citizens, these men and women would be able to stand up for themselves and deman decent wages, there by actualy giving them a better life.
The whole "everyone deserves a better life" speech plays well for politicians, but in reality, we can not fix or save everyone on the planet. Opening our borders wide and allowing everyone who wants to to flood in will only overtax an already burdened social system. Work on fixing the problems where they are, not by simply bringing the people here and letting things continue to go downhill.
The first baby born on American soil was born to an illegal immigrant from China and so the company had decided that the baby was not the winner and awarded the prize to another child, born 19 seconds after midnight.
Chinese-American adovocate groups immediatley pitched a hissy fit, forcing the company to award the three babies in the grand prize pool $25,000 savings bonds each.
Now, before anyone goes running about calling me a racist, here's my point. The mother is not a legal citizen of this country and therefore WAS NOT ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THE SWEEPSTAKES IN THE FIRST PLACE. Contest rules state clearly that the person entering must be a U.S citizen.
Yes, I realize that the child is now a U.S citizen because she was born here. The fact remains that the mother was never eligible to enter in the first place, negating all other arguments.
It makes me angry that Toys R Us caved to the pressure. It makes me angry that any pressure was brought to bear in the first place. Where did common sense disappear to? There need to be consequences surrounding coming to this country illegally in order to make people stop doing it.
I've said it before, immigration is a wonderful way to improve the diversity and cultural pool that exists in this country, but it needs to be legal immigration. It takes time, but then allowing people to come into the country to live, work and be a part of our society should take time. If you think it takes to much time, help work on ways to make it more streamlined. Please spare me the "they take jobs American's don't want" and " everyone deserves a better life" speeches. The jobs illegal immigrants take are jobs that Americans demand higher pay for and rightly so. If anyone actually believes that illegal immigrants enjoy doing back breaking work for less than minimum wage, they are just plain ignorant. As legal US citizens, these men and women would be able to stand up for themselves and deman decent wages, there by actualy giving them a better life.
The whole "everyone deserves a better life" speech plays well for politicians, but in reality, we can not fix or save everyone on the planet. Opening our borders wide and allowing everyone who wants to to flood in will only overtax an already burdened social system. Work on fixing the problems where they are, not by simply bringing the people here and letting things continue to go downhill.
1.06.2007
Surfing through the internet as I often do I came across Shoemoney.com. No biggie, right? Well I'm checking out the site and along the sidebar are random photos, one of which is a gentleman holding a check from Adsense for $132,994.97. No, I did not type that wrong.
How in the HELL do people do that? I may have to seriously rethink the whole "not a blogger" thing. Cause getting over $100,000.00 for doing nothing? Yeah, I can get behind that.
How in the HELL do people do that? I may have to seriously rethink the whole "not a blogger" thing. Cause getting over $100,000.00 for doing nothing? Yeah, I can get behind that.
1.05.2007
I knew you could get almost anything online, but coffins at a discount from Costco? That's just kind of weird.
What's that process like?
"Gee hun. Grandma kicked it last night, where should we get the coffin?"
"Well, I hear you can get a hell of a deal from Costco. And while I'm there, I can get that spa we've always wanted. Their having a sale."
It's just to fucked up for me, that's for sure. There are just something you don't "bargin hunt" for.
What's that process like?
"Gee hun. Grandma kicked it last night, where should we get the coffin?"
"Well, I hear you can get a hell of a deal from Costco. And while I'm there, I can get that spa we've always wanted. Their having a sale."
It's just to fucked up for me, that's for sure. There are just something you don't "bargin hunt" for.
1.04.2007
My son is the cutest person I know.
Yesterday after I made him lunch, his macaroni was to hot. He handed it to me, I blew on it to cool it and handed it back to me. He took a bite, smiled up at me and said, "You did it. High five!!!"
He has also decided that my Walkman belongs to him now. He fell asleep listening to Nickelback last night and this morning he was walking around with the headphones on, bobbing his head in time to the music. When he accidentally dropped it and the CD popped out he looked at me with huge eyes and said, " Momma, I cry."
My son is definitely the cutest person I know.
Yesterday after I made him lunch, his macaroni was to hot. He handed it to me, I blew on it to cool it and handed it back to me. He took a bite, smiled up at me and said, "You did it. High five!!!"
He has also decided that my Walkman belongs to him now. He fell asleep listening to Nickelback last night and this morning he was walking around with the headphones on, bobbing his head in time to the music. When he accidentally dropped it and the CD popped out he looked at me with huge eyes and said, " Momma, I cry."
My son is definitely the cutest person I know.
1.03.2007
Yes, posting song lyrics is cheesy and something you would normally see a teenager do, but this song makes a good point and today another shooting occured in another highschool and someelse lost a child for no good reason.
If Everyone Cared
Nickleback
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you’d be mine
But here we are, we’re here tonight
Singing Amen, I’m alive
Singing Amen, I’m alive
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
And I’m singing
Amen I, I’m alive
Amen I, I’m alive
And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We’ll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along
Singing Amen I’m alive
Singing Amen I’m alive
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
We’d see the day, we’d see the day
When nobody died
We’d see the day, we’d see the day
When nobody died
We’d see the day when nobody died
Just take a moment out of your day to think about it.
If Everyone Cared
Nickleback
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you’d be mine
But here we are, we’re here tonight
Singing Amen, I’m alive
Singing Amen, I’m alive
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
And I’m singing
Amen I, I’m alive
Amen I, I’m alive
And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We’ll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along
Singing Amen I’m alive
Singing Amen I’m alive
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We’d see the day when nobody died
We’d see the day, we’d see the day
When nobody died
We’d see the day, we’d see the day
When nobody died
We’d see the day when nobody died
Just take a moment out of your day to think about it.
After careful consideration I have decided that while I have a blog and I post to that blog, I am not a "blogger". I don't often spend hours pouring over other people's sites and posting links or trackbacks, I don't denounce my faith or reveal deep personal insights. I have, on occassion, done these things, but I do not do them on a daily basis.
I don't advertise or spend time trying to increase my readership. I don't have fancy banners, cute links or catchy phrases. I tend to write about things that only myself and a few people who know me will ever care about, much less take the time to respond to and yet I'm not upset when no one posts comments on my heart felt insights about the reasons "Darth Tater" and the Sock Monkey are the best damned toys EVER!
So why, you might ask, do I continue to post to this blog. This seemingly unread portion of the internet. I guess it's because I can. I get great satisfaction in knowing that I have said what I want to say, the way I want to say it. No apologies. No denouncements. Just me and my words.
And that's enough for me.
I don't advertise or spend time trying to increase my readership. I don't have fancy banners, cute links or catchy phrases. I tend to write about things that only myself and a few people who know me will ever care about, much less take the time to respond to and yet I'm not upset when no one posts comments on my heart felt insights about the reasons "Darth Tater" and the Sock Monkey are the best damned toys EVER!
So why, you might ask, do I continue to post to this blog. This seemingly unread portion of the internet. I guess it's because I can. I get great satisfaction in knowing that I have said what I want to say, the way I want to say it. No apologies. No denouncements. Just me and my words.
And that's enough for me.
1.02.2007
Over the past few weeks, I've noticed several postings on a blog I frequent which involved Christianity in some form or other. Usually I don't get involved in discussions about religion, as I think it is a deeply personal thing, but I've decided to throw my hat into the ring, because, well, because quite honestly I have something to say.
There is a lot of Christian bashing going on for people who claim to be open minded. Stories like this one have nothing to do with Christianity. The ignorant people in the story may CLAIM to be Christian, but that doesn't mean the predjudice they stand for comes from the religion. ( and...you don't have to be from the deep south to be a redneck idiot. I lived up North for most of my life and there are some dumb-ass, backwoods idiots living up there.) Just like with any religion, if you look hard enough , you will find the bad apples. The people that take the foundation of a faith and twist it to their own purposes. Over the years I've met people from all walks of life, from all religions, that are JUST as bigoted and just as ignorant.
Racisim, predjudice and intolerance are irrational and based in a life-time of learning. Someone in Chris Curtis's life TAUGHT him to hate, TAUGHT him to fear and now it is ingrained in his psyche. He could have been raised Jewish, Muslim, Hindu...it wouldn't matter.
How fast would you jump all over someone that said, " Who needs reality when you have the Koran?" or "Who needs reality when you have the Torah?" You can find fundementalism in in any religion, in any part of the country.
Does it sadden and anger me when I see people claiming to be Christians bashing minotities, calling the gay and lesbian community depraved or trying to ban books from our schools? It sure as hell does. Do I think that "fundementalism" is dangerous? You better believe it, any "ism" is bad for you...it means things have gone to far. Do I think ALL Christians are like that? No. I know they aren't.
Bashing the Christian religion is the same thing as bashing anything else. It's wrong. You can't claim to be open minded and tolerant of others while in the same breath you are calling people who believe in the Bible and attend church backwards and ignorant.
What makes belief in any religion better than in another? Where are all the articles denounsing Muslims because a fundementalist portion of their religion have been running about the planet blowing people up in the name of Allah? Where are all the postings crying out at how silly it is that fundementalist Jews are okay with the killing of Palestinians so that they can lay claim to a tiny peice of dirt in the middle of the desert in the name of God? I don't see any.
I got behind calling Laura Mallory an idiot. Not because she was a Christian, but because she IS an idiot. I pointed out that "Christians that talk like this are promoting “family values” and a return to “better times”. People of any other religion that talk the same way are “terrorists”. It’s like banging your head against a brick wall," making the point that individuals who use Christianity in one breath the defend themselves and in another to denounce someone behaving in EXACTLY the same manner, are hypocrites. The same applies to people that run about blaming ALL Christians for the bad behavior of a few.
People bash on the Bible, it's contents and the fact that people believe in it as a religious test. I've heard people talk about how original sin is a crock and how it doesn't actually say this or that in the pages of the Bible. I have yet to see a discussion talking about the "crazy" notion that starting a HOLY WAR and killing people to get yourself into heaven is a good idea. Or renouncing the belief that we all die and are reborn repeatedly until we reach a state of perfection ( For those of you that got lost there, that would be a Hindu thing)
I may not agree with all the things the Chritian religion teaches. I wouldn't teach some of them to my own children because I don't agree with them, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to run about bashing the entire religion.
Get off your high horses and take a look at what your really saying. Stop slinging accusations at a religion and start attacking the real problem...the teaching of hatred to children because their parents were taught to hate. Hiding behind God is a way to protect themselves from accountability, but that isn't unique to Christians, not by a long shot.
There is a lot of Christian bashing going on for people who claim to be open minded. Stories like this one have nothing to do with Christianity. The ignorant people in the story may CLAIM to be Christian, but that doesn't mean the predjudice they stand for comes from the religion. ( and...you don't have to be from the deep south to be a redneck idiot. I lived up North for most of my life and there are some dumb-ass, backwoods idiots living up there.) Just like with any religion, if you look hard enough , you will find the bad apples. The people that take the foundation of a faith and twist it to their own purposes. Over the years I've met people from all walks of life, from all religions, that are JUST as bigoted and just as ignorant.
Racisim, predjudice and intolerance are irrational and based in a life-time of learning. Someone in Chris Curtis's life TAUGHT him to hate, TAUGHT him to fear and now it is ingrained in his psyche. He could have been raised Jewish, Muslim, Hindu...it wouldn't matter.
How fast would you jump all over someone that said, " Who needs reality when you have the Koran?" or "Who needs reality when you have the Torah?" You can find fundementalism in in any religion, in any part of the country.
Does it sadden and anger me when I see people claiming to be Christians bashing minotities, calling the gay and lesbian community depraved or trying to ban books from our schools? It sure as hell does. Do I think that "fundementalism" is dangerous? You better believe it, any "ism" is bad for you...it means things have gone to far. Do I think ALL Christians are like that? No. I know they aren't.
Bashing the Christian religion is the same thing as bashing anything else. It's wrong. You can't claim to be open minded and tolerant of others while in the same breath you are calling people who believe in the Bible and attend church backwards and ignorant.
What makes belief in any religion better than in another? Where are all the articles denounsing Muslims because a fundementalist portion of their religion have been running about the planet blowing people up in the name of Allah? Where are all the postings crying out at how silly it is that fundementalist Jews are okay with the killing of Palestinians so that they can lay claim to a tiny peice of dirt in the middle of the desert in the name of God? I don't see any.
I got behind calling Laura Mallory an idiot. Not because she was a Christian, but because she IS an idiot. I pointed out that "Christians that talk like this are promoting “family values” and a return to “better times”. People of any other religion that talk the same way are “terrorists”. It’s like banging your head against a brick wall," making the point that individuals who use Christianity in one breath the defend themselves and in another to denounce someone behaving in EXACTLY the same manner, are hypocrites. The same applies to people that run about blaming ALL Christians for the bad behavior of a few.
People bash on the Bible, it's contents and the fact that people believe in it as a religious test. I've heard people talk about how original sin is a crock and how it doesn't actually say this or that in the pages of the Bible. I have yet to see a discussion talking about the "crazy" notion that starting a HOLY WAR and killing people to get yourself into heaven is a good idea. Or renouncing the belief that we all die and are reborn repeatedly until we reach a state of perfection ( For those of you that got lost there, that would be a Hindu thing)
I may not agree with all the things the Chritian religion teaches. I wouldn't teach some of them to my own children because I don't agree with them, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to run about bashing the entire religion.
Get off your high horses and take a look at what your really saying. Stop slinging accusations at a religion and start attacking the real problem...the teaching of hatred to children because their parents were taught to hate. Hiding behind God is a way to protect themselves from accountability, but that isn't unique to Christians, not by a long shot.
1.01.2007
Explain to me where the confusion is
Apparently, airline workers in Chicago say they have seen a UFO. Now it's a news story. How does this continue to be newsworthy?
UFO literally means "Unidentified Flying Object". Seems simple enough to me. You see something flying, you can't indentify it, this makes it a UFO. It doesn't mean that it came from outer space filled with little green men dying to impregnate our women and take over the planet. ET has not landed. Martians are not about to eat your livestock.
If people want me to believe that they saw something that could not possibly have come from this planet, which I believe could be possible, then they need to come up with a different name for it. As it stands, whenever I hear someone say, "I saw a UFO." all I think is, "Well join the club, you wouldn't believe how many things I've seen miles above the earth and thought, 'Well what the hell is that?"
( Moving off to a HUGE side tangent: Would someone please look up the proper use of "a" and "an" in front of words and make sure that UFO isn't one of those weird exceptions to the rule about usage in front of words beginning with a vowel? "An UFO" just sounds weird and wrong and makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up, but all my reference books are currently packed for the move....Thanks!!!!)
(EDIT:01/03/06 THANKS STEPHANIE!!!!)
UFO literally means "Unidentified Flying Object". Seems simple enough to me. You see something flying, you can't indentify it, this makes it a UFO. It doesn't mean that it came from outer space filled with little green men dying to impregnate our women and take over the planet. ET has not landed. Martians are not about to eat your livestock.
If people want me to believe that they saw something that could not possibly have come from this planet, which I believe could be possible, then they need to come up with a different name for it. As it stands, whenever I hear someone say, "I saw a UFO." all I think is, "Well join the club, you wouldn't believe how many things I've seen miles above the earth and thought, 'Well what the hell is that?"
( Moving off to a HUGE side tangent: Would someone please look up the proper use of "a" and "an" in front of words and make sure that UFO isn't one of those weird exceptions to the rule about usage in front of words beginning with a vowel? "An UFO" just sounds weird and wrong and makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up, but all my reference books are currently packed for the move....Thanks!!!!)
(EDIT:01/03/06 THANKS STEPHANIE!!!!)
Bewildering Conversations with a Teenage Girl
This is the first installment in what I am sure will become a regular feature here at The Dead Letters. ( I'm borrowing this idea from Ken Jennings, who is often bewildered by his three year old...) This is a conversation I had with my thirteen year old last night:
"Mom, can I go over to Tasha's to wish her family a Happy New Year?"
"Yes, just don't be gone to long."
Three minutes later:
"Mom, can I stay over at Tasha's for about an hour or so?"
"Are her parents there? Will there be adult supervision?"
"I don't know I didn't see them, we were outside, I'll go check."
Three MORE minutes later:
"Her parents are drinking at a friends and getting ready to go to the bar, but there will be adult supervison."
"Who is there that will be supervising?"
"Tasha's brother and his friend."
(at this point my husband is sitting bolt upright on the couch, frowning.)
"And how old is her brother?"
"Fifteen."
"No. Two teenage boys does not qualify as adult supervision."
Frowning from the teenager, "But..."
"Your mother said no. You are not going to go spend a hour or longer in a house with two fifteen year old boys. It's not going to happen, get over it."
More frowning.
"Fine"
Door slamming......Fifteen minutes later:
"Russell go and get her and make her come home."
My husband goes outside and returns with the sullen teenager who promptly goes to her room, no doubt to write in her journal about how her parents "just don't get it." I wait ten minutes and go in to talk with her so she will understand why we said no."
" I know your upset because we wouldn't let you go to Tasha's, but your getting to that age where certain situations can be dangerous."
Raised eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Like being alone in a house with two fifteen year old boys."
"Why?"
"Well, as you get older (this conversation gets more uncomfortable by the second)... As you get older, boys start to see you differently."
Shake of the head, "Whatever." Long drawn out sigh." But mom, they have kittens over there."
At this point I laugh because I can't help myself and I stand up to leave the room.
"Well, it's nice that they have kittens, maybe you can go see them tomorrow afternoon."
I exit the room feeling confused and somehow relieved. My thirteen year old daughter wasn't irritated with me because I wouldn't let her hang out with her friend and the older brother, she was irritated because there were kittens she wanted to play with and I interfered.
It would appear I have been spared the horror of boys at least for now.
"Mom, can I go over to Tasha's to wish her family a Happy New Year?"
"Yes, just don't be gone to long."
Three minutes later:
"Mom, can I stay over at Tasha's for about an hour or so?"
"Are her parents there? Will there be adult supervision?"
"I don't know I didn't see them, we were outside, I'll go check."
Three MORE minutes later:
"Her parents are drinking at a friends and getting ready to go to the bar, but there will be adult supervison."
"Who is there that will be supervising?"
"Tasha's brother and his friend."
(at this point my husband is sitting bolt upright on the couch, frowning.)
"And how old is her brother?"
"Fifteen."
"No. Two teenage boys does not qualify as adult supervision."
Frowning from the teenager, "But..."
"Your mother said no. You are not going to go spend a hour or longer in a house with two fifteen year old boys. It's not going to happen, get over it."
More frowning.
"Fine"
Door slamming......Fifteen minutes later:
"Russell go and get her and make her come home."
My husband goes outside and returns with the sullen teenager who promptly goes to her room, no doubt to write in her journal about how her parents "just don't get it." I wait ten minutes and go in to talk with her so she will understand why we said no."
" I know your upset because we wouldn't let you go to Tasha's, but your getting to that age where certain situations can be dangerous."
Raised eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Like being alone in a house with two fifteen year old boys."
"Why?"
"Well, as you get older (this conversation gets more uncomfortable by the second)... As you get older, boys start to see you differently."
Shake of the head, "Whatever." Long drawn out sigh." But mom, they have kittens over there."
At this point I laugh because I can't help myself and I stand up to leave the room.
"Well, it's nice that they have kittens, maybe you can go see them tomorrow afternoon."
I exit the room feeling confused and somehow relieved. My thirteen year old daughter wasn't irritated with me because I wouldn't let her hang out with her friend and the older brother, she was irritated because there were kittens she wanted to play with and I interfered.
It would appear I have been spared the horror of boys at least for now.
12.21.2006
I couldn't sleep tonight, so I sat and watched my son as he slept safely in the arms of his father. And I cried. I looked at his little face, so peaceful and calm, and I thought of all the children who are cold, hungry and scared tonight. I thought about all the mothers sitting and crying because they have lost a child to hunger or violence. My heart aches for all the little ones with no mother or father to hold them, kiss them and tell them that tomorrow will be a better day.
I hope that in the coming year, not so many innocent lives will be destroyed by the ignorance and greed of the adults in charge.
I hope that in the coming year, not so many innocent lives will be destroyed by the ignorance and greed of the adults in charge.
12.14.2006
Post #2...I've added men to my "Wow, he's hot" list
I have decided that I am adding Neil Gaiman and Wil Wheaton to my list of celebrities I think are HOT!!
Smart, sexy, funny......gotta love men that don't fit that horrifying mold of airbrushed BS you see everywhere. I guess I'm going to have to re-write the Top 10 list.
Smart, sexy, funny......gotta love men that don't fit that horrifying mold of airbrushed BS you see everywhere. I guess I'm going to have to re-write the Top 10 list.
Art, thy name is Toddler.....
Tonight my family was enjoying a little down time, watching the Mythbusters (Like any good family would be) when the pitter patter of my sons little feet was heard coming down the hallway. He had a smile on his face that lit the room and something odd under his nose. Now, as any good mother will tell you, the appropriate response to this is, "What the hell is all over his face?" To this my husband responds, " I have no....wait, is that marker?"
I pull my son close and peer down at him, and sure enough, it is black marker. Great, my son now looks like a little tiny Hitler. I pull out a trusty wet wipe and begin to scrub at the offending mark while my husband runs to our room to find the marker in question. A few seconds later I hear, " Oh good God!" This is not a good thing.
I walk to our room, two year old close behind and find my husband staring at the computer screen which is now covered in black art work, courtesy of my son. I surpress a laugh and my husband says, "I knew it was too quiet back here." My son climbs up on his fathers lap, smiles widely, points to the computer and says, "Pretty colors." He is very proud.
We washed the screen, had a good laugh and learned that the Sharpies must now be kept on top of the refrigerator along with everything else the two year old shouldn't have. It was a good night.
I pull my son close and peer down at him, and sure enough, it is black marker. Great, my son now looks like a little tiny Hitler. I pull out a trusty wet wipe and begin to scrub at the offending mark while my husband runs to our room to find the marker in question. A few seconds later I hear, " Oh good God!" This is not a good thing.
I walk to our room, two year old close behind and find my husband staring at the computer screen which is now covered in black art work, courtesy of my son. I surpress a laugh and my husband says, "I knew it was too quiet back here." My son climbs up on his fathers lap, smiles widely, points to the computer and says, "Pretty colors." He is very proud.
We washed the screen, had a good laugh and learned that the Sharpies must now be kept on top of the refrigerator along with everything else the two year old shouldn't have. It was a good night.
12.04.2006
Gwenyth Platrow "slams" America
So the big news of the day seems to be that Gwenyth Paltrow told a Portuguese magazine that she likes living in England because the British aren't as capitalistic as Americans and don't discuss money all the time...and that she fits in better there because she doesn't fit the "bad" side of American pyschology. Now she's catching crap for saying what she thinks.
Apparently free speech only applies if you're saying something NICE about the United States. Honestly? I agree with what she said. As a society we have become to capitalistic, to concerned with money. The stereotype of the "Ugly American" didn't just spring into being on its own people.
Just because she's a celebrity doesn't mean Ms. Paltrow should have to smile and eat shit to get us to go and see her movies. Can you say Tom Cruise?? I mean COME ON!! That man is off his rocker and people are obsessed with him and his numb headed bride. So it's okay to knock the mentally ill, but not say out loud what a lot of people are already thinking? Bullshit!!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: We all have the right to speak our minds. If you don't like what someone has to say, then change the situation that made them say it! I for one will be seriously disappointed is Gwenyth Paltrow issues any kind of apology for her statements.
Apparently free speech only applies if you're saying something NICE about the United States. Honestly? I agree with what she said. As a society we have become to capitalistic, to concerned with money. The stereotype of the "Ugly American" didn't just spring into being on its own people.
Just because she's a celebrity doesn't mean Ms. Paltrow should have to smile and eat shit to get us to go and see her movies. Can you say Tom Cruise?? I mean COME ON!! That man is off his rocker and people are obsessed with him and his numb headed bride. So it's okay to knock the mentally ill, but not say out loud what a lot of people are already thinking? Bullshit!!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: We all have the right to speak our minds. If you don't like what someone has to say, then change the situation that made them say it! I for one will be seriously disappointed is Gwenyth Paltrow issues any kind of apology for her statements.
12.01.2006
This is what war looks like....
( the picture above would only save as a thumbnail, click the link attached to the title of this post and go to slide #14 in the slide show.)
This little girl lives in Afghanistan. She could be my child, she could be your child...or your niece or your sister or your grandchild. This is the face of war. After all the political rhetoric, after all the postering, it's people like this child that are left to try and put things back together. It breaks my heart.
What good is freedom if you don't live to enjoy it?
11.30.2006
Shamu Attacks trainer....and we're surprised why???
Shamu the Killer Whale attacked one of his "trainers" (personally I prefer the word "jailer") during a show recently. The attack has apparently surprised everyone. I read the headline and my first thought was, "Well finally."
Shamu is not like a kitten that was bought from the local pet shop that just suddenly went feral attacking it's owner and shocking everyone around. Shamu is a KILLER WHALE!!! The operative word here being "killer", not to mention the fact that he's a wild animal. Why are people always surprised when a wild animal, kept in captivity, lashes out at a human being? Everyone acts like its a total shock.
Here's a thought, maybe we should stop putting animals in little boxes and amusing outselves by forcing them to do cute things to make our kids smile. Shamu shouldn't be forced to jump through hoops, toss balls with his tail or anything else degrading. It's bad enough that he's kept in a tank where all he gets to do is swim in circles until he dies.
Yes folks, that's right...I'm the one that roots for the bull and not the matador. I think it's funny as hell watching cowboys run away from angry bulls at the rodeo. I think all of the macho crap humans do to animals in the name of "fun" or "sport" should be tossed out the window. Call me crazy, but I don't think entertainment should be attached to the pain, suffering or degredation of any other species.
I hope the trainer is alright, but I say, "Rock on Shamu! Next time drag his ass through one of the hoops with you, maybe he'll get the point."
Shamu is not like a kitten that was bought from the local pet shop that just suddenly went feral attacking it's owner and shocking everyone around. Shamu is a KILLER WHALE!!! The operative word here being "killer", not to mention the fact that he's a wild animal. Why are people always surprised when a wild animal, kept in captivity, lashes out at a human being? Everyone acts like its a total shock.
Here's a thought, maybe we should stop putting animals in little boxes and amusing outselves by forcing them to do cute things to make our kids smile. Shamu shouldn't be forced to jump through hoops, toss balls with his tail or anything else degrading. It's bad enough that he's kept in a tank where all he gets to do is swim in circles until he dies.
Yes folks, that's right...I'm the one that roots for the bull and not the matador. I think it's funny as hell watching cowboys run away from angry bulls at the rodeo. I think all of the macho crap humans do to animals in the name of "fun" or "sport" should be tossed out the window. Call me crazy, but I don't think entertainment should be attached to the pain, suffering or degredation of any other species.
I hope the trainer is alright, but I say, "Rock on Shamu! Next time drag his ass through one of the hoops with you, maybe he'll get the point."
11.21.2006
Turkey and Gravy.....Soda????
No, you didn't read that wrong.
Let's back up for a minute. My best friend, Stephanie, is an almost obsessive poster of those annoying little quizzess. On the odd occassion, I get sucked into taking one, mostly because I want to see how I stack up against her. (Yes, that is kind of sad and more than a little pathetic...)
This morning, my son woke me at the wonderful hour of 5:15 and with nothing else to do, I decided to check a few of my favorite blogs.
Stephanie, thankfully, had updated, giving me something to do. The third quiz posted was this one....
Stephanie got "Pecan Pie Soda".... at least hers sounds like something you MIGHT want to drink.
Still awake and not wanting to be, I decided to check the Jones Soda site to see if the person who made this quiz was just really clever or if Jones did indeed make these flavors. No Broccoli Casserole Soda, BUT.......
They actually do make a Turkey and Gravy soda. You can buy it in the 2006 Holiday Pack. There's also a Dessert Pack. I sat for a moment, pondering this information. Turkey and Gravy soda??? What sick, demented mind would come up with such a thing? Then I noticed the "Why?" button. I clicked it, eager to learn more about the surely drug induced reasoning behind such awful flavors as "Dinner Roll" and "Sweet Pea".
It turns out that Jones released the flavors to benefit charity. The 2006 Holiday Pack benefits Toys for Tots and the Dessert Pack benefits St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital. The Jones soda website has a locator that will allow you to find where the two products can be purchased in your area. Although I know we'll never drink them, I plan to purchase one of each. (Quick Note: For some reason, if you live in Utah, the store locator will default to Louisiana. Not sure why.)
Let's back up for a minute. My best friend, Stephanie, is an almost obsessive poster of those annoying little quizzess. On the odd occassion, I get sucked into taking one, mostly because I want to see how I stack up against her. (Yes, that is kind of sad and more than a little pathetic...)
This morning, my son woke me at the wonderful hour of 5:15 and with nothing else to do, I decided to check a few of my favorite blogs.
Stephanie, thankfully, had updated, giving me something to do. The third quiz posted was this one....
| You Are Broccoli Casserole Soda |
 |
Stephanie got "Pecan Pie Soda".... at least hers sounds like something you MIGHT want to drink.
Still awake and not wanting to be, I decided to check the Jones Soda site to see if the person who made this quiz was just really clever or if Jones did indeed make these flavors. No Broccoli Casserole Soda, BUT.......
They actually do make a Turkey and Gravy soda. You can buy it in the 2006 Holiday Pack. There's also a Dessert Pack. I sat for a moment, pondering this information. Turkey and Gravy soda??? What sick, demented mind would come up with such a thing? Then I noticed the "Why?" button. I clicked it, eager to learn more about the surely drug induced reasoning behind such awful flavors as "Dinner Roll" and "Sweet Pea".
It turns out that Jones released the flavors to benefit charity. The 2006 Holiday Pack benefits Toys for Tots and the Dessert Pack benefits St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital. The Jones soda website has a locator that will allow you to find where the two products can be purchased in your area. Although I know we'll never drink them, I plan to purchase one of each. (Quick Note: For some reason, if you live in Utah, the store locator will default to Louisiana. Not sure why.)
11.09.2006
I'm addicted to an online game. No it isn't Everquest or Worlds of Warcraft. Nothing quite so cool for me. I went and got myself addicted to Disney's Toontown Online. This is a game that was originally designed with children in mind, and here I am 35 years old and just trying to kill enough Cogs to get that next Laff Point.
Do you think they have a support group?
Do you think they have a support group?
11.08.2006
Apparently the reason I haven't been able to accomplish anything is because someone keeps beating me to it. According to The Onion, Someone has been acheiving my dreams.
Damn them!!! I can only hope that no one gets around to kicking my ex-husband in the balls before I do.
Damn them!!! I can only hope that no one gets around to kicking my ex-husband in the balls before I do.
11.02.2006
I was reading Wil Wheatons blog tonight and all I have to say is, "Thank God!"
Apparently Mr. Wheaton is feeling a bit like life, real life, you know all that crap they never told us about when we were kids? Yeah, real life, is taking up the time and energy that he used to channel into creative endeavors. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person who feels that way.
The way I look at it is this, if someone as obviously talented as Wil Wheaton can have the "Life is sucking me dry." moment, then I'm not going to stress mine. I know that it will pass, but waiting for it to happen is a pain in the ass. I suppose now I feel like I have a commrade in arms, someone else that sits and stares at something that they've started and goes, "Now what the Fuck do I do?"
Here's to writer's block, may it never strike any of you.
Apparently Mr. Wheaton is feeling a bit like life, real life, you know all that crap they never told us about when we were kids? Yeah, real life, is taking up the time and energy that he used to channel into creative endeavors. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person who feels that way.
The way I look at it is this, if someone as obviously talented as Wil Wheaton can have the "Life is sucking me dry." moment, then I'm not going to stress mine. I know that it will pass, but waiting for it to happen is a pain in the ass. I suppose now I feel like I have a commrade in arms, someone else that sits and stares at something that they've started and goes, "Now what the Fuck do I do?"
Here's to writer's block, may it never strike any of you.
10.26.2006
Every now and then....
Every now and then you come across something that's worth reading on the internet. I just link clicked myself to one such site. I recommend that anyone with a brain check out The Zero Boss.
I especially like the post about the recent nutcase in Georgia trying to get Harry Potter banned because it turns innocent children into cat killing Satanists.
Go on, give it a read! You know you want to.
I especially like the post about the recent nutcase in Georgia trying to get Harry Potter banned because it turns innocent children into cat killing Satanists.
Go on, give it a read! You know you want to.
10.14.2006
I am inspired....
After browsing the internet for the first time in weeks and after flipping through random blogs, I feel inspired.
I am inspired to call me best friend and tell her I miss her. It's been too long.
I am inspired to write. To complete some of the random scribblings from months gone by.
I am inspired to try something new. To break out of the mold and try a new medium of expression.
I am inspired to hug my children and never forget how fragile or precious they really are.
I am inspired to buy a Poloroid camera and start taking pictures of interesting things again. Things I can glue into my journal and remember fondly when I am old.
I am inspired to have compassion for people I don't know, simply because they are people.
I am inspired to write letters. To speak up and tell people that it is not okay to trample on people simply because they have more money, more power or more celebrity.
What are you inspired to do?
I am inspired to call me best friend and tell her I miss her. It's been too long.
I am inspired to write. To complete some of the random scribblings from months gone by.
I am inspired to try something new. To break out of the mold and try a new medium of expression.
I am inspired to hug my children and never forget how fragile or precious they really are.
I am inspired to buy a Poloroid camera and start taking pictures of interesting things again. Things I can glue into my journal and remember fondly when I am old.
I am inspired to have compassion for people I don't know, simply because they are people.
I am inspired to write letters. To speak up and tell people that it is not okay to trample on people simply because they have more money, more power or more celebrity.
What are you inspired to do?
9.22.2006
Oprah, Schmoprah
I'm just going to say it, I don't really like Oprah Winfrey all that much. Am I the only person that feels this way?
Sure she's done good things for underprivledged children in America and in Africa, but she's not the only person who has.
I find her artificial and shallow. She tries to portray herself as this down-to-earth rich woman and it never quite rings true. I refuse to buy books that have been stamped with the Oprah Winfrey seal of approval...not that I think the book is not worth it, but because I don't feel the need to pander to the whims of a rich woman.
People get all excited about being on her show and I shudder at the thought. People would give a first born to be on the coveted "Favorite Things" show and bring home all that fancy, non-essential crap. Me, I'd rather have someone hand the money spent on that show to a charity for needy families or better yet to a school that doesn't have the resources it needs to properly educate our children. Imagine what they could do with the millions those products cost.
I think the capper for me was the recent "Gail and Oprah See America" episode I caught part of. I watched about five minutes and it made me sick. Crashing peoples weddings? That's just tacky. And they just smile and fawn over her like she didnt' just bust in on the biggest day of their lives and take over the spotligt. I would have asked her, polietly of course, to leave.
I think that Oprah Winfrey,or her television empire at the very least, represnt some of the worst characteristics of America today.
All right, I'm done whining now. Really...I feel much better
Sure she's done good things for underprivledged children in America and in Africa, but she's not the only person who has.
I find her artificial and shallow. She tries to portray herself as this down-to-earth rich woman and it never quite rings true. I refuse to buy books that have been stamped with the Oprah Winfrey seal of approval...not that I think the book is not worth it, but because I don't feel the need to pander to the whims of a rich woman.
People get all excited about being on her show and I shudder at the thought. People would give a first born to be on the coveted "Favorite Things" show and bring home all that fancy, non-essential crap. Me, I'd rather have someone hand the money spent on that show to a charity for needy families or better yet to a school that doesn't have the resources it needs to properly educate our children. Imagine what they could do with the millions those products cost.
I think the capper for me was the recent "Gail and Oprah See America" episode I caught part of. I watched about five minutes and it made me sick. Crashing peoples weddings? That's just tacky. And they just smile and fawn over her like she didnt' just bust in on the biggest day of their lives and take over the spotligt. I would have asked her, polietly of course, to leave.
I think that Oprah Winfrey,or her television empire at the very least, represnt some of the worst characteristics of America today.
All right, I'm done whining now. Really...I feel much better
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