Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem with Sen. Bunning getting a “deal” to agree to allow an extension for unemployment benefits. I guess he has come up with a commodity other than money to help people pay bills and maintain a sense of normalcy within their lives. No, that didn’t happen? Oh for Sen. Bunning I guess it is acceptable to exist while holding your breath waiting for your life’s bubble to burst. I’m trying to figure out why he has been given so much power. Okay so politics requires tit for tat, we all know that, but what a blatant example of peacocking at the expense of others. I agree there is an extreme amount of debt piling up without knowing what the long-term outcome will be, but when did the basic standard of living get to be an acceptable sacrifice? When I see someone think somehow its cool for everyone else to do without and be okay, I can’t help but wonder what they would, scratch that, have given up as they dictate and decide what everyone else should be able to do without. So Sen. Bunning as you take your grand stand, I just have a few questions. Are you in jeopardy of falling behind on your mortgage and if not are you willing to downsize, probably at a loss, to cut your expenses? How many vacations have you skipped? Have you and your family forgone shopping? Have you parked your car? What exactly have you done other than say other people have been receiving too much money and it needs to stop. Did you forgo your salary or benefit package in the order to offset spending? Probably not. It’s really easy to sit in the only chair in the room and tell others to make themselves comfortable. Cutting off peoples unemployment benefits without offering another options highlights your humanity and true concern for your brethren. After all who cares if they have four walls if you Sen. Bunning, don’t get an extra vote.
I’m The Man
March 3rd, 2010Mechanic Needed
February 23rd, 2010I just had a wonderful experience, as wonderful as dealing with a car repair can be. The auto shop that I sent my car to for a diagnostic test actually left me with good feelings despite the fact they told me I needed a new engine. So when I initially contacted the shop they told me the test would be over a hundred dollars. What was I charged? A cool 52 bucks with a written assessment of what was needed. If you are like me, you probably don’t have much faith in auto repair shops. But anytime you can walk away with an assessment, not be sweated about making an immediate decision and can even leave the car for over a week without it being the end of the world, well that is an auto shop I can learn to love. Thanks Chicago Import Services for renewing my faith in mechanics.
Spectacle Please
February 16th, 2010So posting new information is not the only thing that I‘m behind on, both of the dvrs are 95% full, my father knows more about YouTube than I do and I’m constantly asked by family and friends if I’m on Facebook yet. Okay, okay, I’m getting around to all of it. There is absolutely no way that my father can be more up on things than me. So while I’ve been catching up on Oprah and The View, a couple of stories struck me. One of my favorite is about a guest who was on The View, Dave Carroll, who has gotten to corporate America in my new favorite way. Can anyone say Spectacle! Much applause to you Dave Carroll, thanks for showing us the way. While the question that must still be raised is why most companies require “spectacle” in order to do the right thing, if that’s what gets it done I am certainly on board with creating a three ring circus at their front door. Mr. Carroll your performance was one of the best showcases of musical talent combined with spectacle. I loved it. By the way spectacle is one of my new favorite words and trust me that will certainly be my angle when I encounter future insurmountable and or unforgivable levels of denial, unconcern, and irresponsibility from any company. My heart attack days are over and I’m going to release all the drama that talking to customer service can offer. Again Dave Carroll, bravo on calling American Airlines out in such a truly interesting and charismatic way. I wish I would have thought of it myself. Now personally I don’t think that it should have to come to that, but congrats on demanding accountability from a ridiculous situation. American Airlines and all other companies who need it, the circus can always be open to your business.
Sick and Tired!
February 9th, 2010There is nothing worse than being sick. I take that back. There’s nothing worse than having a sick kid. Well I kind of take that back. There’s nothing worse than having a sick kid and feeling like you can’t take them to the doctor because you don’t have insurance or can’t afford to create a new bill. Honestly I am not sure whether or not universal healthcare is the answer, but I do know in a country where we fund so many things I wonder why there is such a problem with deciding to fund this. One thing I know for sure is healthcare should not be tied to a job. Having a job should not be the key to health and not having one should not mean your health is irrelevant. Particularly at this time when employers are cutting so many workers either to part time which means no benefits or coverage so limited that it might as well be considered no benefits, or all together, something has got to be done. For those who oppose everybody having healthcare my question to you is why are you opposed? Is it due to feeling that people just aren’t worth the expense of everyone having coverage? Or does it have more to do with politics and not wanting to see the President be successful? Is it perhaps because somehow “others” shouldn’t be entitled to benefits that the elite are privileged too (um Congress, I might be talking to you). Irrespective of politics and hey even money, where is the humanity? Most people can’t walk by a sick animal and not want to help, but the underprivileged, unemployed or underinsured, well I guess that’s another story.
Guess Who!
January 31st, 2010Okay, so I’ve been absent for a while. Trust me it’s not due to my lack of passion, actually the opposite is true. I’ve been struggling with my personal issues. Yes, like pretty much everyone, I have them. I admit it. Everything I do lately has been with the desire to stick it to someone to prove that they underestimated me and messed with the wrong person. While that might work somehow, somewhere, as a life focus not so much. I have found myself consumed with things that I deem turning points in the vision that I had for myself and sadly, find myself regularly picturing those who I hold responsible in my personal and financial downfall. Though I have been trying to channel myself in positive ways, tae-bo just isn’t enough. Maybe I just don’t do it frequently enough, something I have vowed to correct in this upcoming year. No, I’m not going to call it a resolution we all know those don’t usually go so well. Yeah, okay it’s kind of a resolution but again, I’m not going to call it that because of the way “resolutions” work out. I know you understand. So anyway, I guess my intention is to use this blog to along with imparting my wisdom that I know undoubtedly you will come to know and love, to hopefully help myself by removing anger from the decision process with the objective of ultimately reaping more success. I kind of sound like Oprah don’t I. Really the truth is I am ready to get back on the track with the plans that I had for myself before all of the outside intervention, we’ll just call it, that impacted the direction I have gone. That “intervention” is an unfortunate reality in my life and with my husband technically laid off and no insurance, this is all the therapy I can afford but we’ll save that for another day, another time. So I guess what I’m saying is “I’m baack”!
The Jobs That Pay
September 16th, 2009There was an article on Yahoo.com discussing 10 fields where it was surprising that people were only making minimum wage. Hmm, I’m going to see if I can guess the jobs. Let me ask, are any of those jobs dependent on your speed, agility and ability to hold onto or launch a ball? No? Perhaps it might involve a ball being dunked, dribbled or maybe being swung at by a bat interspersed with lots of spitting? No? Do any of them require meticulous outward appearances, interpretations of scripts and are shown on television or in theaters? No? What about the job where you sing and at the same time you create a new dance step? No? None of those jobs pay minimal wage? Okay, then is it one of those gigs where you get paid just because you are you? Yeah I know, who am I kidding, I know there are those “fabulous” ones who are lucky enough to make a cushy living on that one. Minimum wage, yeah right. Well let’s see what jobs actually made the underpaid and underappreciated list. EMTs and lifeguards, wow, they can breathe life into our bodies but not necessarily into their own pockets. Preschool teachers and nannies, evidently the formative years don’t pay. CNAs, guess that’s the problem with the nursing home smells, they don’t earn enough to clean, well pretty much anything. Rounding off the list were tax preparers, automobile mechanics, line cooks, amusement park ride operators and pharmacy techs. While I appreciate the talent that individuals in sports, entertainment and the fabulous ones have, I think we also need to appreciate the things that people contribute every day as well. It may not be on the grand scale or platform that some professions offer, but important and respectable none the less. Irrespective of a person’s field of choice, shouldn’t people in general be able to live without their daily necessities balancing in the wind? I don’t think that athletes, entertainers, the “fabulous” and only those at the top of a company ladder should have that aspect of life on lock as they say. But hey, only a select few think I’m fabulous, so I guess I don’t carry much weight!
Not Cool
September 15th, 2009Because there is big business associated with entertainers, because they are people, because we all deserve respect and consideration no matter our station in life, I have to say Kanye West, not cool. I had written earlier about the need to have “Consideration and Respect Training”, sorry Taylor Swift, Kanye West has not yet attended the class. While I’m not personally familiar with Ms. Swift’s music, I like so many others, feel that she didn’t deserve what happened at the VMA’S but kudos to her for maintaining her dignity in an awkward situation. To Kanye West, COME ON!
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
September 11th, 2009That’s what we are missing as a society. People are so quick to be consumed with their own self importance that they forget consideration for others. We are a society of inconsiderate people, organizations and groups. Be it banks, mortgages companies, employers, service providers, government agencies, politicians; I’ll stop now because the list can go on and on. The bottom line is even on an individual level there is too often a lack of respect and consideration shown towards our fellow citizen. We should not feel in order to be successful, turn a profit, or be at the top of our game that we must make others feel insignificant, unimportant or nonexistent. Why don’t we try treating others the way we would want to be treated, I thought I heard that somewhere before but apparently it’s a novel idea. Maybe what we need is to require “Consideration and Respect Training” country wide, you know like maybe when you renew your drivers’ license. I’m sure eyes are rolling because I suggested one more requirement, but hey I’m going to benefit from this one, so keep the rumbling to a minimum please. So since I just put that on my ‘to do’ list, while I work on my manual I will outline a few key points. 1. Treat others the way you want to be treated, I learned that at home and even in kindergarten 2. Do not interrupt the person who has the floor, Rep. Joe Wilson, I hope you’re paying attention. 3. Tone is important when you are communicating with others, email shouters take note. Though these are lessons that I’m sure most of us know, banks, employers, mortgage companies, politicians, service providers and hey everyone and anyone, are you paying attention, a periodic refresher is apparently needed.
Teachable Moment
September 7th, 2009Isn’t everything a teachable moment? I thought so even if the lesson was one you didn’t care that much for. Isn’t there value in learning how to agree to disagree, to speak your mind about those things that concern you and provide constructive input about the way you think things should be? There is “controversy”, surprise, surprise and listen I’m removing the sarcasm from that statement because I am truly surprised that people are objecting to the President of the United States talking to school students. Come on give me a break. Okay, then there was a back peddling saying it’s not that the President is speaking but there is an issue that a lesson plan was proposed to go along with the speech. Oh the horror, something associated with school actually may require students to pay attention and gasp, provide some information about what they heard. Listen I didn’t agree with organic chemistry or physics, mostly because I didn’t know what the heck was going on, but it certainly didn’t give me the right to refuse to participate. And newsflash whether you like Mr. Obama or not, whether you voted for him or not, he is the President of this country. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything he says or does but there is a level of respect and consideration that should be granted to whoever holds that office. Not everybody can be President, as smart as I am I’m probably not on track for the office. There are a series of lifelong choices that are associated with making it to a level of achievement where you can be the President of our country or heck even president of the bank that just ripped us off. So kudos are due to those who put themselves in the position to reach such levels. Teaching our children that they don’t have to have respect for authority and accomplishment, that they can pick and chose when and how they listen to authority, and can show disregard for not only their elders but the hierarchy of our society is an attitude that will not serve them well when it’s time to face the real world.
Life Goes On
September 4th, 2009Hooray! Wedding obligations are temporarily over; I don’t have to start again until November. Maybe now I can give my opinion on something other than floral arrangements and seating charts. Since my mental occupation has ended, I am ready to re-acclimate myself to things that don’t have anything to do with love, bells, or expensive dresses. So as the many happy couples start a life that will soon be a little less so, I am ready to once again delve into the issues that can make life unhappy with a frequency that may only be rivaled by marriage. No I’m not necessarily speaking from personal experience. And no I’m not jaded, just realistic, living a life that constantly meets or exceeds your wedding day is pretty unlikely. Just keeping it real but hey, hugs, kisses and best wishes all around.