I have not had time to write because I have been so busy lately. I have been getting up nearly every morning to go to the gym and work out. You read that correctly, I have been going to the gym almost every single day for the last few weeks. I've been going with the woman I reconnected with on the trip to PCB. I have so far lost 10 lbs. and my energy level is finally growing. I have also been taking more time for myself and let me tell you, there's a rift in the home. The kids are about to revolt against their' father. The poor man really has his work cut out for him. And to that I say "It's about damn time!"
Lately I have been taking more pride in my appearance. I have always been fairly neat and groomed, but I have been wearing makeup a little more frequently and I've been using a hair dryer more often. The other day I was at the mall with one of my besties and in the ladies room mirror I realized I looked like my brother wearing a women's shirt. I decided to have my eyebrows threaded. And let me say the discomfort was well worth it. Now I resemble the fairer sex again and I now have two eyebrows again. I usually down play my looks because as proud as I am, I don't want to drift into conceit which is very easy for a woman to do. So far so good. I am feeling great, looking great, and I'm still kind of nice too!
Oh, and did I mention in two weeks I'm starting a seasonal job? Well I am! I am very happy about it too. It's minimum wage at a sandwich shop, but I'm not above slinging ham for duckets. I would like to be making more, but this will be a great way to get used to working again and it'll be a great way to end the 8 year gap on my resume. Plus I'll be earning money at a time when money is really needed. All three of my children were born in December, so I have Christmas and birthdays all in the same month. Lord knows I need that money. I'm not promising there won't be a revolution in my house, but they are going to have to learn to survive without me always at the helm.
As you have read I have been quite busy lately. I haven't felt this good in years. I hope and pray I keep moving forward and growing along the way. Oh, did I mention that I've also taken up bowling? Another bestie of mine has turned me on to the sport and I have found yet another thing I'm pretty good at. Hopefully in a few months of practice I won't need the bumpers ;p
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Debt
Let me preface this by saying that we have never (as an absolute term) had this problem before. We have never (as an absolute term) had a car repossessed nor have we ever had to deal with a collection agency before. We have always paid our bills on time. We have never taken out a loan we couldn't afford. We have always worked hard to earn every penny of our income and paid taxes. We were smart and saved in case of an emergency. All that changed over the course of about three years.
About three years ago we wanted to share our blessings with our loved ones. So, we co-signed an auto loan for a family member. Everything was fine for about a year. Then, the payments started coming in later and later. This put stress on our family and damaged our relationships. But we knew that we had financial obligations, and as difficult as it was, we repossessed the vehicle. Upon repossession we came to find out that the vehicle was in need of repairs, the interior was horribly damaged as well as the exterior. In the span of one year, the vehicle was damaged so badly that is lost over $10,000 in value. Still we could not ignore the problem, so we went to the dealership of purchase to discuss our options. Our options were to pay off the loan and scrap the vehicle or trade it in for a new vehicle for ourselves and finance the debt into a new loan. We opted for a new vehicle since we had enough to pay off our existing loan. This was not a happy car shopping trip. But we took our best option. All was fine for a while.
Less than a year later, all overtime was cut. That meant that our income dropped by nearly half. We began running through our savings to keep up with our bills. We were eating less so that our children could eat well. We even fell behind on our mortgage, but never the auto loan. Still we pushed forward. When we realized we could not keep going like that, we called the auto financer to see if they would lower the payments. No one could help us. A multibillion dollar company did not have the power to help one of it's faithful customers. We wrote letters, went in person to the dealership to talk with the financial representatives there, and called almost every day. Yet we were met with the same answer, "Sorry, we can't help you. But you could trade your car in and save about $58 a month".
Over the course of the following and most recent year we knew we could not keep living the way we were. We were late with our bills. Our Autistic son was missing therapy appointments due to lack of money for gas. Our children could not enjoy any of the activities they were used to in the years prior, such as, dance lessons and gymnastics. All because again, we were trying to be good customers and pay our auto loan in full and on time. So, after no one would help us (and yes, I mean would, not could) we decided our only option was to return the vehicle. Calls were made because we wanted to be honorable and return the car ourselves. After all the necessary papers were signed for the voluntary return, the car was returned to the dealership of purchase.
A few short months later, my husband was laid off. That was it, we had no income. The car was auctioned off at a fair price, and please take into consideration that the car was in excellent condition, and the deficit was and is still over $7,000. Immediately following the auction, the collection calls started. "How do you plan on taking care of this bill?" We explained that we are looking for work and as soon as we can we would start pay- "That's not good enough!" is what was so rudely interjected. I said "We were very good customers" only to have "Oh no you weren't!" retorted back at me. I had never been so rudely addressed by someone in what I thought was to be a professional phone call. I know the woman that was so ghastly to me was only doing her job, but if I were a company, I'd be embarrassed to be associated with a firm that would put such a woman on the phone.
I didn't understand. What had we done wrong? I thought we did everything right. We worked, paid taxes, went to church, gave to the church, no drugs, no alcohol, healthy happy children, multiple therapies for our special needs child. Weren't we making the right choice to forego the luxury of a second car in order to keep our home and utilities and adequate nutrition? Didn't we take all the necessary steps by calling, mailing letters, and going in person? Were we not honorable by returning the car instead of forcing a repo man to show up only to play find the car? We did everything right only to be punished for being exactly the kind of consumer a large company wants to keep. But that's not what happened at all. So here I am at 4 AM unable to sleep because I'm playing that horrid conversation with the collection agency's rep, wondering if I should call her and apologize. No, I should not. I may have lost my temper, but I refuse to be bullied.
Let me explain a little bit about my beautiful son. His name is AJ, he will be 5 in December, he does not speak, he is still in diapers, and he does not eat solid food. His baby food costs are over $600 per month. That does not include his soy milk (he is allergic to dairy and all nuts) which he drinks nearly a quart a day. That also does not include his diapers which cost over $100 per month because he has a 5 year old body with a five year old bladder and therefore uses many diapers in a day. The gasoline to take him to therapy is close to $200 per month which was less in the other vehicle because our van doesn't get great gas mileage. AJ is not a burden, he is not a debt, he is my life as are his sisters. My eyes well up with pride as I type these words because I know that I am making the right choice by investing in him and not the debt. And I will not be bullied into thinking otherwise.
I have put my faith and money into a company that refused to do the same for me and my family. I am personally hurt and disappointed in the company. Not only have they dishonored themselves by not helping the very people that made them into a thriving company, but they have chosen to associate themselves with a collection agency that bullied it's way into my life. The auto finance company should be embarrassed to be associated with the collection agency and the collection agency should be ashamed for their rep's behavior.
I know that once my husband and I secure employment and we clear our debts and start to save again we will never give another large company our business ever again. We are a large Latino family and we are spreading the word in our families and communities about large companies like this, not caring one bit. All the sweet talk is out the window once the signatures are on the loan contracts. In our culture, there is no greater form of advertising than word of mouth. As my story, and others like mine, spreads, in the community, online, in our family, the largest growing population will also become the most difficult to do business with. I am sending this letter or story or what ever it is to anyone that will take it. Newspapers, english and spanish, online forums of all sorts, emails to be forwarded to all contacts and their contacts, consumer alert sites, local community bulletins, and anywhere else I can think of.
We will pay our debt, we want to do what is right for our own peace of mind, because that's the kind of people we are. But we will do it when we can, after we pay our utilities, take our son to therapy, take our daughters to karate, and feed our children. We refuse to be slaves to our debts any longer. And again, we will not be bullied anymore. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
***Details:
Vehicle Purchased: Honda Accord
Place of purchase: Gwinnett Place Honda on Satellite Blvd. Duluth GA
Financer: Honda Financial
Collection Agency: Law Offices of Ross Gelfand LLC, Roswell GA
About three years ago we wanted to share our blessings with our loved ones. So, we co-signed an auto loan for a family member. Everything was fine for about a year. Then, the payments started coming in later and later. This put stress on our family and damaged our relationships. But we knew that we had financial obligations, and as difficult as it was, we repossessed the vehicle. Upon repossession we came to find out that the vehicle was in need of repairs, the interior was horribly damaged as well as the exterior. In the span of one year, the vehicle was damaged so badly that is lost over $10,000 in value. Still we could not ignore the problem, so we went to the dealership of purchase to discuss our options. Our options were to pay off the loan and scrap the vehicle or trade it in for a new vehicle for ourselves and finance the debt into a new loan. We opted for a new vehicle since we had enough to pay off our existing loan. This was not a happy car shopping trip. But we took our best option. All was fine for a while.
Less than a year later, all overtime was cut. That meant that our income dropped by nearly half. We began running through our savings to keep up with our bills. We were eating less so that our children could eat well. We even fell behind on our mortgage, but never the auto loan. Still we pushed forward. When we realized we could not keep going like that, we called the auto financer to see if they would lower the payments. No one could help us. A multibillion dollar company did not have the power to help one of it's faithful customers. We wrote letters, went in person to the dealership to talk with the financial representatives there, and called almost every day. Yet we were met with the same answer, "Sorry, we can't help you. But you could trade your car in and save about $58 a month".
Over the course of the following and most recent year we knew we could not keep living the way we were. We were late with our bills. Our Autistic son was missing therapy appointments due to lack of money for gas. Our children could not enjoy any of the activities they were used to in the years prior, such as, dance lessons and gymnastics. All because again, we were trying to be good customers and pay our auto loan in full and on time. So, after no one would help us (and yes, I mean would, not could) we decided our only option was to return the vehicle. Calls were made because we wanted to be honorable and return the car ourselves. After all the necessary papers were signed for the voluntary return, the car was returned to the dealership of purchase.
A few short months later, my husband was laid off. That was it, we had no income. The car was auctioned off at a fair price, and please take into consideration that the car was in excellent condition, and the deficit was and is still over $7,000. Immediately following the auction, the collection calls started. "How do you plan on taking care of this bill?" We explained that we are looking for work and as soon as we can we would start pay- "That's not good enough!" is what was so rudely interjected. I said "We were very good customers" only to have "Oh no you weren't!" retorted back at me. I had never been so rudely addressed by someone in what I thought was to be a professional phone call. I know the woman that was so ghastly to me was only doing her job, but if I were a company, I'd be embarrassed to be associated with a firm that would put such a woman on the phone.
I didn't understand. What had we done wrong? I thought we did everything right. We worked, paid taxes, went to church, gave to the church, no drugs, no alcohol, healthy happy children, multiple therapies for our special needs child. Weren't we making the right choice to forego the luxury of a second car in order to keep our home and utilities and adequate nutrition? Didn't we take all the necessary steps by calling, mailing letters, and going in person? Were we not honorable by returning the car instead of forcing a repo man to show up only to play find the car? We did everything right only to be punished for being exactly the kind of consumer a large company wants to keep. But that's not what happened at all. So here I am at 4 AM unable to sleep because I'm playing that horrid conversation with the collection agency's rep, wondering if I should call her and apologize. No, I should not. I may have lost my temper, but I refuse to be bullied.
Let me explain a little bit about my beautiful son. His name is AJ, he will be 5 in December, he does not speak, he is still in diapers, and he does not eat solid food. His baby food costs are over $600 per month. That does not include his soy milk (he is allergic to dairy and all nuts) which he drinks nearly a quart a day. That also does not include his diapers which cost over $100 per month because he has a 5 year old body with a five year old bladder and therefore uses many diapers in a day. The gasoline to take him to therapy is close to $200 per month which was less in the other vehicle because our van doesn't get great gas mileage. AJ is not a burden, he is not a debt, he is my life as are his sisters. My eyes well up with pride as I type these words because I know that I am making the right choice by investing in him and not the debt. And I will not be bullied into thinking otherwise.
I have put my faith and money into a company that refused to do the same for me and my family. I am personally hurt and disappointed in the company. Not only have they dishonored themselves by not helping the very people that made them into a thriving company, but they have chosen to associate themselves with a collection agency that bullied it's way into my life. The auto finance company should be embarrassed to be associated with the collection agency and the collection agency should be ashamed for their rep's behavior.
I know that once my husband and I secure employment and we clear our debts and start to save again we will never give another large company our business ever again. We are a large Latino family and we are spreading the word in our families and communities about large companies like this, not caring one bit. All the sweet talk is out the window once the signatures are on the loan contracts. In our culture, there is no greater form of advertising than word of mouth. As my story, and others like mine, spreads, in the community, online, in our family, the largest growing population will also become the most difficult to do business with. I am sending this letter or story or what ever it is to anyone that will take it. Newspapers, english and spanish, online forums of all sorts, emails to be forwarded to all contacts and their contacts, consumer alert sites, local community bulletins, and anywhere else I can think of.
We will pay our debt, we want to do what is right for our own peace of mind, because that's the kind of people we are. But we will do it when we can, after we pay our utilities, take our son to therapy, take our daughters to karate, and feed our children. We refuse to be slaves to our debts any longer. And again, we will not be bullied anymore. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
***Details:
Vehicle Purchased: Honda Accord
Place of purchase: Gwinnett Place Honda on Satellite Blvd. Duluth GA
Financer: Honda Financial
Collection Agency: Law Offices of Ross Gelfand LLC, Roswell GA
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Panama City Beach
Last week I went to Panama City Beach Florida. I was invited by a friend of mine whom was invited by her friend whom also invited other friends. There were 8 women total, and I bonded with a few of them. The funniest coincidence is that I had met one of the women prior to the trip, our daughters were friends in summer camp. All in all I had a wonderful time.
On the first night we all went out for seafood, my favorite ocean side pastime. All of us (with the exception of one) are large women. We were cutting up having a good time when a very drunk thin girl approached our table and said "I just wanted to tell you that you are all SO beautiful! You are! It is SO great that you could get out and have a good time! Just fabulous!" She then walked her inebriated self back to her table where her friend was making out with the not so attractive waiter. As she walked away one of the women at our table said "Did she just call us fat???" I lost it right then and there. I was cracking up so hard I had to step outside to collect myself. While outside I was joined by the leader of the group and we started getting to know each other. We were chatting when our drunk table neighbor came outside and started gushing again about how beautiful we were. I said "I know, thanks". She then got a little too close as she tried to grope my very impressive chest. I took a step back and said "Hey hey! I'm Puerto Rican (don't know what that had to do with it) I don't swing that way. Hell, I don't even experiment that way!" She apologized and said she was in town working and without missing a beat the leader of our group said "The strip?" implying that the girl was a hooker. Again, I nearly lost it. The girl took the joke well and began gushing about her high paying job and thankfully her date (whom was 40+ years her senior) showed up to take her home.
There was much more to the trip but I'm too tired to write it all now. There was quite a few stories being told about one another. There was a reveal that one of the women has a phobia of little people (I don't know the PC term) and her friend that exploited that phobia any chance she got. There was talk of relationships and lots of advice being tossed around. Oh, I also got to see a band perform live for the first time ever. There were also tattoos and lots of booze. I had a wonderful time!
On the beach I asked myself the same question I always ask myself at the beach (at any location of ocean) "Why don't I live here???" Seriously? Why don't I live near an ocean? It's the only place that I'm not overwhelmed, happily married, happily mothering, paid enough, never overeating (because it's too hot), very active, and well tanned. I'm glad I got to spend some time near the ocean and meeting new friends. Time to start planning the next visit, or move, whatever ;)
On the first night we all went out for seafood, my favorite ocean side pastime. All of us (with the exception of one) are large women. We were cutting up having a good time when a very drunk thin girl approached our table and said "I just wanted to tell you that you are all SO beautiful! You are! It is SO great that you could get out and have a good time! Just fabulous!" She then walked her inebriated self back to her table where her friend was making out with the not so attractive waiter. As she walked away one of the women at our table said "Did she just call us fat???" I lost it right then and there. I was cracking up so hard I had to step outside to collect myself. While outside I was joined by the leader of the group and we started getting to know each other. We were chatting when our drunk table neighbor came outside and started gushing again about how beautiful we were. I said "I know, thanks". She then got a little too close as she tried to grope my very impressive chest. I took a step back and said "Hey hey! I'm Puerto Rican (don't know what that had to do with it) I don't swing that way. Hell, I don't even experiment that way!" She apologized and said she was in town working and without missing a beat the leader of our group said "The strip?" implying that the girl was a hooker. Again, I nearly lost it. The girl took the joke well and began gushing about her high paying job and thankfully her date (whom was 40+ years her senior) showed up to take her home.
There was much more to the trip but I'm too tired to write it all now. There was quite a few stories being told about one another. There was a reveal that one of the women has a phobia of little people (I don't know the PC term) and her friend that exploited that phobia any chance she got. There was talk of relationships and lots of advice being tossed around. Oh, I also got to see a band perform live for the first time ever. There were also tattoos and lots of booze. I had a wonderful time!
On the beach I asked myself the same question I always ask myself at the beach (at any location of ocean) "Why don't I live here???" Seriously? Why don't I live near an ocean? It's the only place that I'm not overwhelmed, happily married, happily mothering, paid enough, never overeating (because it's too hot), very active, and well tanned. I'm glad I got to spend some time near the ocean and meeting new friends. Time to start planning the next visit, or move, whatever ;)
Monday, August 8, 2011
School's Back In...Halle-freaking-lujah
Today is the first day of school. It is also (incidentally) the first day of my mental recovery. This summer was by far the most difficult summer I've ever had. You see, the past summers I usually had my girls doing some sort of activity. I couldn't do that this summer due to A) lack of funds, B) my son's therapies and C) my treatment plan for my newly diagnosed Psoriatic Arthritis (arthritis coupled with psoriasis). I have been pulled in so many directions I feel like an overstretched Stretch Armstrong toy (if you don't know what that is Google it so you can get my joke).
Now that I have my days free I have some plans. Today is clean up day. If I get one dish cleaned then I will count is as a goal reached. I have much organizing to do since over the last couple of months mountains of papers and unopened mail have piled up all over the house including two overflowing laundry baskets. I can now adjust my budget to not include lunches for the kids since they will eat in school which also means I can finally get a new pair of sneakers. I will need said sneakers since I am setting a goal of losing 30lbs. I have other plans to make for my free time, but for now that's all I can think of. Oh, another goal is to kick the stupid cigarettes. I have cut down from a pack a day to less than half and I hope to be done with them by the end of the week. I will miss my cancerous habit but there is nothing good about it and being able to breathe sounds fun.
The only down side here is that I'm used to taking care of the kids all day, at least one of them. But now my son is in school full time so I have 8 hours to kill each and every day. And while typing that last sentence put a grin on my face, I am one of those moms that is used to chaos. After my children left for school I asked myself "Oh sh*t, who am I going to take care of?" Um, how about me??? There's a thought! I can take care of me for a change. While I have done many things to take care of myself over the last year, I had to stop during the summer. I didn't think getting back into the swing of things would affect me so. I was fine getting up early to get the kids ready for school. But the thought of doing something for myself left me confused. Where do I begin again? What did I do last year? Should I shower first? What if I showered, then cleaned, got dirty, and had to shower again? I'd be wasting water! I can't waste water! No, I must clean first then shower. All these thoughts ran through my head in a nanosecond.
I told the voices in my head to settle down. Don't worry, I'm not crazy. The voices don't tell me to do anything crazy. In fact, the voices usually convince me to do nothing at all. Okay, maybe I'm a little crazy. Maybe the voices in my head are like a residual haunting. I heard the kids yapping all summer long, so the sounds play over and over again in my head. That makes sense right? All I know is, this is the first time I've had complete silence in over 2 months. Ahh...so peaceful. I'm going to finish my coffee and get to cleaning. I won't have to keep an eye on the clock because I know I still have over half the day left, so there will be plenty of time for that shower.
Now that I have my days free I have some plans. Today is clean up day. If I get one dish cleaned then I will count is as a goal reached. I have much organizing to do since over the last couple of months mountains of papers and unopened mail have piled up all over the house including two overflowing laundry baskets. I can now adjust my budget to not include lunches for the kids since they will eat in school which also means I can finally get a new pair of sneakers. I will need said sneakers since I am setting a goal of losing 30lbs. I have other plans to make for my free time, but for now that's all I can think of. Oh, another goal is to kick the stupid cigarettes. I have cut down from a pack a day to less than half and I hope to be done with them by the end of the week. I will miss my cancerous habit but there is nothing good about it and being able to breathe sounds fun.
The only down side here is that I'm used to taking care of the kids all day, at least one of them. But now my son is in school full time so I have 8 hours to kill each and every day. And while typing that last sentence put a grin on my face, I am one of those moms that is used to chaos. After my children left for school I asked myself "Oh sh*t, who am I going to take care of?" Um, how about me??? There's a thought! I can take care of me for a change. While I have done many things to take care of myself over the last year, I had to stop during the summer. I didn't think getting back into the swing of things would affect me so. I was fine getting up early to get the kids ready for school. But the thought of doing something for myself left me confused. Where do I begin again? What did I do last year? Should I shower first? What if I showered, then cleaned, got dirty, and had to shower again? I'd be wasting water! I can't waste water! No, I must clean first then shower. All these thoughts ran through my head in a nanosecond.
I told the voices in my head to settle down. Don't worry, I'm not crazy. The voices don't tell me to do anything crazy. In fact, the voices usually convince me to do nothing at all. Okay, maybe I'm a little crazy. Maybe the voices in my head are like a residual haunting. I heard the kids yapping all summer long, so the sounds play over and over again in my head. That makes sense right? All I know is, this is the first time I've had complete silence in over 2 months. Ahh...so peaceful. I'm going to finish my coffee and get to cleaning. I won't have to keep an eye on the clock because I know I still have over half the day left, so there will be plenty of time for that shower.
Friday, June 17, 2011
OMG
The other day I was out with Mom running some errands. I asked if she could tag along to help me with my little tribe. The grocery store was our final destination before returning home and all was going very well. The kids were behaving, I was within my preferred time frame and within my budget. We were at the checkout and my son was in a very good mood. As I have stated before my son is autistic, he does not speak but he's very vocal. If he's in a good mood he'll let out these high pitched squeals of joy, which is exactly what he was doing at the time. So he let out this ear piercing shriek of joy and a lady at the next checkout says "Oh my God" with the nastiest tone and was sneering at my son like he just took a dump on the floor. I have gotten these comments and looks before at my son's volume and am used to handling them, but my mother has not. Before I could say anything she was all over the lady. "Oh my God??? Oh my God??? Well let me tell you something Ms. Oh my God! If you cannot take the outside world and the people in it then you shouldn't leave your house! Okay Ms. Oh my God!?!" I then tried to get my mother's attention, "Ma! Ma! Ma!!! Stop it you're scaring the white people! Hey lady, he's happy." My mother then interrupted me "That's right! He's happy!!!" Me-"Ma! I'm sorry lady, but the special needs Wal Mart was closed so I had to do my shopping here." The lady and her husband became very focused on the challenging task of loading their groceries into their cart and seemed incapable of lifting their eyes above the shopping bags it contained. I do believe they were ashamed, her of her thoughtless exclamation and him because he's married to her. Have I mentioned how much I love my mother?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Things I Hate
I hate it when people mix up words that they know are wrong. For example:
Prescription/Subscription
Specific/Pacific
Imply/Infer. You get the idea.
I hate it when people overuse words in conversations: like, you know what I'm sayin, just sayin, whatever
I hate it when there's an unruly child and the parents think it's funny, cute, normal. No, it's not funny for a child to curse like a sailor nor is it cute when a child flips the bird, and it's not normal for a child to get away with stealing something.
I hate blasting car stereos, there's just no point.
I hate being asked, "Why are you going to have a cell phone when you don't answer it?" Just because it's a cell phone doesn't mean that I have to answer every call.
I hate people not taking proper care of their dogs, especially when they show up in my yard and leave a horse manure sized pile of crap on my property. I have 2 small female dogs, their poop is like pellets and the pee on the ground. I really don't appreciate your horse sized mammal lifting his leg on my grill.
I hate having to explain myself to anyone. The answer is "no" and that's all I have to say. If you really want to know why then don't get mad at my reasons.
I hate it when I make a great meal only to have someone ruin it with ketchup, I take ketchup as a personal insult.
I hate it when my coffee gets cold and I don't realize it until I take a sip of nasty coffee. I also hate that when I microwave it, it seems like I have to microwave it every other minute. It's never hot enough to stay hot, only hot enough to burn my mouth with the first sip then cool it off with the following sip.
I hate it when someone doesn't believe me when I say that I never received a call from them. Like T-Mobile is some infallible company that would always have me connect properly to a phone call and so I must therefore be lying.
I hate it when a song I've been waiting for on the radio starts playing when I reach my destination and I have to miss it because I'm running late.
I hate it when I check the time and the clock says 11:59, then I have to stare at the clock for the most agonizing 60 seconds of my life, but then my eyes get dry so I have to blink, when I open them, it's 12 and I missed it. It irks me all day.
I hate it when I'm watching a movie and hubby asks what it's about, so I have to pause it, explain it, then he leaves, comes back to ask what happened, so I have to pause it, explain it and silently curse him for interrupting right when it was getting good, or during the last 10 minutes.
I hate it when I get tongue tied while lecturing the kids about something serious because I can't keep a straight face as they crack up at Mommy sounding like an idiot.
I hate it when I have nothing to write about.
Prescription/Subscription
Specific/Pacific
Imply/Infer. You get the idea.
I hate it when people overuse words in conversations: like, you know what I'm sayin, just sayin, whatever
I hate it when there's an unruly child and the parents think it's funny, cute, normal. No, it's not funny for a child to curse like a sailor nor is it cute when a child flips the bird, and it's not normal for a child to get away with stealing something.
I hate blasting car stereos, there's just no point.
I hate being asked, "Why are you going to have a cell phone when you don't answer it?" Just because it's a cell phone doesn't mean that I have to answer every call.
I hate people not taking proper care of their dogs, especially when they show up in my yard and leave a horse manure sized pile of crap on my property. I have 2 small female dogs, their poop is like pellets and the pee on the ground. I really don't appreciate your horse sized mammal lifting his leg on my grill.
I hate having to explain myself to anyone. The answer is "no" and that's all I have to say. If you really want to know why then don't get mad at my reasons.
I hate it when I make a great meal only to have someone ruin it with ketchup, I take ketchup as a personal insult.
I hate it when my coffee gets cold and I don't realize it until I take a sip of nasty coffee. I also hate that when I microwave it, it seems like I have to microwave it every other minute. It's never hot enough to stay hot, only hot enough to burn my mouth with the first sip then cool it off with the following sip.
I hate it when someone doesn't believe me when I say that I never received a call from them. Like T-Mobile is some infallible company that would always have me connect properly to a phone call and so I must therefore be lying.
I hate it when a song I've been waiting for on the radio starts playing when I reach my destination and I have to miss it because I'm running late.
I hate it when I check the time and the clock says 11:59, then I have to stare at the clock for the most agonizing 60 seconds of my life, but then my eyes get dry so I have to blink, when I open them, it's 12 and I missed it. It irks me all day.
I hate it when I'm watching a movie and hubby asks what it's about, so I have to pause it, explain it, then he leaves, comes back to ask what happened, so I have to pause it, explain it and silently curse him for interrupting right when it was getting good, or during the last 10 minutes.
I hate it when I get tongue tied while lecturing the kids about something serious because I can't keep a straight face as they crack up at Mommy sounding like an idiot.
I hate it when I have nothing to write about.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Ignorance Isn't Bliss
I need to stop reading and watching the news, I really do need to stop. It's depressing half the time and infuriating the other half. Rarely do I see a story that's positive and uplifting. There's so much going on in the world that has people up in arms about everything from childhood obesity to immigration laws to our President's birth certificate. There's picketing and protests at funerals and hate crimes of all sorts. It all boils down to one simple problem with no immediate solution...ignorance. Ignorance is defined as being uninformed which most of us are. We only know what we are taught and what we pursue to learn ourselves. Life may teach us some lessons but we will never know everything so we need to stop acting like we do.
I live in a country of freedom. I was taught that I have a right to, well, everything. Thinking in the way that I was taught I assumed that meant that everyone had a right to, again, everything. I was taught that no one, no matter what race, nationality, religious faith, or gender was excluded from having rights. I still kind of believe that. Doesn't it make sense? Everyone in the world should have the rights and freedoms I have. When I was in elementary school the Gulf War was explained to me (in school) that the U.S. was trying to help people "over there". I thought, why not just bring "them" over here? So now that we have immigration arguments and bills trying to get passed and protests that seem more like not so violent riots, none of it makes sense to me. As an adult I don't understand why people are so angry about people (PEOPLE) needing and wanting a better life. I was taught that that's what America is about.
Do I think we should just open up all borders and ports and allow anyone to waltz right on in? Of course not. But I do think that asking someone from a third world country to come up with hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of fees is ridiculous and cruel. That's like offering a starving child a sandwich if he can guess my middle name. I just don't understand how people can be so angry at other people for trying to live a decent life. And I've gotta say it, I am sick and tired of hearing the term "anchor babies". It literally makes me sick, I vomit in my mouth a little when I hear some dumb ass referring to a child this way. If I were trying to seek refuge in another country for whatever reason, personally the last thing I'd want to do is run around with a baby. But that's just me. I just don't think making a family is as calculated as anti-immigration people think it is. These are people wanting more in their lives, not criminal masterminds plotting a hostile take over of the country.
Another one I hate to read about is the picketing and protesting at funerals. Why in the world would someone think that the best time to send a message is at a funeral with signs that say "God Hates Gays"? In my personal opinion I don't think God hates anyone. There is no hate in Him as far as I'm concerned. He may have wrath and fury, but I don't think it would be aimed at someone with a good heart no matter what their orientation. And these bass ackwards people need to get it through their thick heads that being gay is not a choice, it's who they are, period. Saying that someone chooses to be gay is like saying someone chooses to be straight. I also don't like the term straight when it comes to orientation because it implies that if you are not straight, you are crooked or something and that just seems wrong to me. Why don't those fanatics picket at a parole hearing for someone that raped a 4 year old and only spent 2 years in prison? Or someone that got his 37th DUI and finally got arrested after killing a family on the interstate and only spent the night in jail, not to mention he'd most likely still have a license. Picket them! Don't picket the family that's burying their child after he/she lost their life defending our country. Not only is it ignorant and stupid behavior, it's cruel and insensitive.
Childhood obesity is something that's been plaguing me since my own childhood. First we are taught that 3 square meals is the key to good health, then it's a pyramid, now it's some other pyramid with steps and blocks for individual people's ideal nutrition. Really? Like reading labels isn't hard enough? And there's always a new study. "A new study has found that high fructose corn syrup is actually bad for you" "A new study suggests that genetically altered food may impact your waistline" How about "a new study proves once and for all that we are all idiots" there's a health news headline I'd like to read. I don't understand how the government can overlook this gross atrocity to it's own people. Here's the thing though, it's not totally the government's fault, no, it's our own, because we now better now, yet we refuse to change. Instead of choosing real food, we want something that's been processed and pre-packaged in little 100 calorie packs that tastes like a real BigMac and fries with a Diet Coke. It's unhealthy, it's unreal, and it's killing us. Yet no matter how much coverage there is, no matter how many studies show that we are digging our own graves with fudge smeared sundae spoons, very little is being done to change it. It is a personal decision on whether or not I hit a drive through at the convenient time of 2AM, but it's not my child's choice. Nope, that would be my doing. It's not my child's choice to be ignorant about health and to be morbidly obese at 9 years old and to get bullied into suicide. Nope, that would be my fault wouldn't it? Yes, it most certainly would be.
Ignorance is the worst thing we can pass on to our children. Because we know what we are taught, but after a certain age, we are no longer victims of society, we are willing participants that stay ignorant by choice. What have I done personally to give my children more than was given to me and to my parents? Well, for one, I don't have cable. I don't want my children to become the overindulgent consumers of tomorrow nor do I want them improperly influenced. I will choose what they watch because that's my responsibility. I feel like my children's education is inadequate, instead of griping about how my government is failing me, I talk to my kids about what I learned at their age about the arts, history, and basic etiquette. My daughters also practice penmanship and must write letters to family instead of emails. I teach my children that tolerance and total acceptance are not the same, they need to accept people for who they are not simply tolerate their existence. My children go to church with me and we have our faith, but they know that there are other religions that are not wrong simply because they are not the same as ours. I am not so arrogant as to believe that my faith is the right one, and I will not teach that to my children. What they do know is that there is something or someone greater than us. I aim to teach my children many many things, ignorance is one lesson I'll leave out.
I live in a country of freedom. I was taught that I have a right to, well, everything. Thinking in the way that I was taught I assumed that meant that everyone had a right to, again, everything. I was taught that no one, no matter what race, nationality, religious faith, or gender was excluded from having rights. I still kind of believe that. Doesn't it make sense? Everyone in the world should have the rights and freedoms I have. When I was in elementary school the Gulf War was explained to me (in school) that the U.S. was trying to help people "over there". I thought, why not just bring "them" over here? So now that we have immigration arguments and bills trying to get passed and protests that seem more like not so violent riots, none of it makes sense to me. As an adult I don't understand why people are so angry about people (PEOPLE) needing and wanting a better life. I was taught that that's what America is about.
Do I think we should just open up all borders and ports and allow anyone to waltz right on in? Of course not. But I do think that asking someone from a third world country to come up with hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of fees is ridiculous and cruel. That's like offering a starving child a sandwich if he can guess my middle name. I just don't understand how people can be so angry at other people for trying to live a decent life. And I've gotta say it, I am sick and tired of hearing the term "anchor babies". It literally makes me sick, I vomit in my mouth a little when I hear some dumb ass referring to a child this way. If I were trying to seek refuge in another country for whatever reason, personally the last thing I'd want to do is run around with a baby. But that's just me. I just don't think making a family is as calculated as anti-immigration people think it is. These are people wanting more in their lives, not criminal masterminds plotting a hostile take over of the country.
Another one I hate to read about is the picketing and protesting at funerals. Why in the world would someone think that the best time to send a message is at a funeral with signs that say "God Hates Gays"? In my personal opinion I don't think God hates anyone. There is no hate in Him as far as I'm concerned. He may have wrath and fury, but I don't think it would be aimed at someone with a good heart no matter what their orientation. And these bass ackwards people need to get it through their thick heads that being gay is not a choice, it's who they are, period. Saying that someone chooses to be gay is like saying someone chooses to be straight. I also don't like the term straight when it comes to orientation because it implies that if you are not straight, you are crooked or something and that just seems wrong to me. Why don't those fanatics picket at a parole hearing for someone that raped a 4 year old and only spent 2 years in prison? Or someone that got his 37th DUI and finally got arrested after killing a family on the interstate and only spent the night in jail, not to mention he'd most likely still have a license. Picket them! Don't picket the family that's burying their child after he/she lost their life defending our country. Not only is it ignorant and stupid behavior, it's cruel and insensitive.
Childhood obesity is something that's been plaguing me since my own childhood. First we are taught that 3 square meals is the key to good health, then it's a pyramid, now it's some other pyramid with steps and blocks for individual people's ideal nutrition. Really? Like reading labels isn't hard enough? And there's always a new study. "A new study has found that high fructose corn syrup is actually bad for you" "A new study suggests that genetically altered food may impact your waistline" How about "a new study proves once and for all that we are all idiots" there's a health news headline I'd like to read. I don't understand how the government can overlook this gross atrocity to it's own people. Here's the thing though, it's not totally the government's fault, no, it's our own, because we now better now, yet we refuse to change. Instead of choosing real food, we want something that's been processed and pre-packaged in little 100 calorie packs that tastes like a real BigMac and fries with a Diet Coke. It's unhealthy, it's unreal, and it's killing us. Yet no matter how much coverage there is, no matter how many studies show that we are digging our own graves with fudge smeared sundae spoons, very little is being done to change it. It is a personal decision on whether or not I hit a drive through at the convenient time of 2AM, but it's not my child's choice. Nope, that would be my doing. It's not my child's choice to be ignorant about health and to be morbidly obese at 9 years old and to get bullied into suicide. Nope, that would be my fault wouldn't it? Yes, it most certainly would be.
Ignorance is the worst thing we can pass on to our children. Because we know what we are taught, but after a certain age, we are no longer victims of society, we are willing participants that stay ignorant by choice. What have I done personally to give my children more than was given to me and to my parents? Well, for one, I don't have cable. I don't want my children to become the overindulgent consumers of tomorrow nor do I want them improperly influenced. I will choose what they watch because that's my responsibility. I feel like my children's education is inadequate, instead of griping about how my government is failing me, I talk to my kids about what I learned at their age about the arts, history, and basic etiquette. My daughters also practice penmanship and must write letters to family instead of emails. I teach my children that tolerance and total acceptance are not the same, they need to accept people for who they are not simply tolerate their existence. My children go to church with me and we have our faith, but they know that there are other religions that are not wrong simply because they are not the same as ours. I am not so arrogant as to believe that my faith is the right one, and I will not teach that to my children. What they do know is that there is something or someone greater than us. I aim to teach my children many many things, ignorance is one lesson I'll leave out.
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