He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. He is up before the sun is and doesn’t rest until everyone else is safe in their beds. On hot days, he will jump into a tank for a dip.
His name is Spud and he is a ranch dog.
He helps round up cattle on foot. Spud runs from the front of the herd to the back, barking and biting at the cows to get them to move faster. He knows how cows act when you are behind them or if you stand in front of them. He has taken down coyotes, rabbits and anything else that moves that comes too close to the house. He greets people by dancing around them before collapsing on his back for a belly run in the sun.
With all the running he does, he still weighs almost a hundred pounds. His back is so wide you could balance a tray full of drinks on him.
Lately, he is becoming too old, tired and big to do the long cattle drives. A younger dog named Hank will soon step into Spud’s spot of lead ranch dog and Spud will retire in the shop. It’s bittersweet to take a different dog on a cattle drive and coax Spud into staying in the shop. He had already tried to jump on the truck twice to come along.
This weekend, Spud hung around my feet as I doctored a cow that had been mauled by coyotes. The rest of the family had gone to round up calves to be branded. Spud tried to follow them and I yelled after him. He came back reluctantly and was on pins and needles until the rest of the crew came back.
After about 20 minutes of passing back and forth through different corals, a small herd of cows came over a hill with my mother-in-law and husband behind them. Spud’s tail began wagging like he was just presented a big pile of deer guts, his favorite treat. He danced around me until the cows passed us and went into the corral. My husband and mother-in-law took off over the hill on their four-wheelers and Spud ran after them at full speed. I yelled for Spud but he never looked back. He was on a mission to help. His tail zigzagged between the tall weeds and brush.
A few minutes later, he came back down the hill at a much slower pace. He collapsed at my feet and I told him to stay. He repeated his gallop up the hill two more times. Every time he came back slower and panting heavier. He tried so hard but never did catch up with the rest of the crew and the cow herd.
During the weekend branding, Spud lay in the middle of the corral, fast asleep. After a pair of calf testicles were tossed his way, he would open one eye and gobble them up. He never moved, only to get under a truck when it started to rain.
It made me realize how much the ranch is a part of Spud and how much Spud is a part of the ranch. He is stubborn and wants to help even when his body is telling him to just stay in the sun with his belly pointed up for any passerby to scratch. I don’t think he will ever stop helping, it’s in his blood to help out. Spud could never get enough love and praise for the work he does. He is the definition of ‘man’s best friend.’
Sunday, May 3, 2009
A really gross, but funny story
Let me set the scene for you. It’s Saturday morning, 40 degrees and cloudy. I’m wearing my torn coveralls, boots and I hadn’t combed my hair since the night before. I was grumpy, cold and tired. We were branding and castrating 125 ornery calves.
“Hey Sarah,” called my sister-in-law, “come see this, but plug your nose.” Being the curious person I am, I wandered over to where she was sitting on top of a calf.
As I got closer I noticed a baseball size growth on the side of the calf’s mouth. “What the hell is that?!??!” I said.
My father-in-law held the calf down and cut open the growth, the calf bawling and kicking. He proceeded to squeeze the growth until a nasty looking pus/blood mixture came oozing out. My mother-in-law screamed, “hey, does that smell?”
I was thinking, why on God’s green earth would anyone smell this oozy crap coming out this nasty growth? Who cares what it smells like, no one is going to put their nose close enough to that nastiness to smell it.
But sure enough, my father-in-law leaned over from his stance over the calf and smelled it. “Nope, it don’t smell, we’re good.”
I later learned that if it ‘smelled’ it would mean the calf would receive heavy medication. Still, I ain’t smellin’ no calf pus.
I stood there about 5 feet away from this disgusting scene as my father-in-law squeezed the living crap out of this growth. All of a sudden, pus shot out of it like a cannon on the Fourth of July. The pus flew clear across the coral, about 10 feet, and a big wad of it hit me straight in the forehead.
My knees went weak as I wiped that crap off faster than you can say the word pus.
Later, my father-in-law told me I should have wiped it off my forehead and licked it to see if it was the pus or just a raindrop. I about puked.
I looked across the coral and a stream of white pus could be seen on top of wet cow turds and mud. My husband pointed to the stream of pus and said, “let’s not wrestle right there.”
I laughed and five minutes later I was sitting in it holding another calf down.
Later, I remembered my sister-in-laws warning. Next time, I’ll bring a shield.
“Hey Sarah,” called my sister-in-law, “come see this, but plug your nose.” Being the curious person I am, I wandered over to where she was sitting on top of a calf.
As I got closer I noticed a baseball size growth on the side of the calf’s mouth. “What the hell is that?!??!” I said.
My father-in-law held the calf down and cut open the growth, the calf bawling and kicking. He proceeded to squeeze the growth until a nasty looking pus/blood mixture came oozing out. My mother-in-law screamed, “hey, does that smell?”
I was thinking, why on God’s green earth would anyone smell this oozy crap coming out this nasty growth? Who cares what it smells like, no one is going to put their nose close enough to that nastiness to smell it.
But sure enough, my father-in-law leaned over from his stance over the calf and smelled it. “Nope, it don’t smell, we’re good.”
I later learned that if it ‘smelled’ it would mean the calf would receive heavy medication. Still, I ain’t smellin’ no calf pus.
I stood there about 5 feet away from this disgusting scene as my father-in-law squeezed the living crap out of this growth. All of a sudden, pus shot out of it like a cannon on the Fourth of July. The pus flew clear across the coral, about 10 feet, and a big wad of it hit me straight in the forehead.
My knees went weak as I wiped that crap off faster than you can say the word pus.
Later, my father-in-law told me I should have wiped it off my forehead and licked it to see if it was the pus or just a raindrop. I about puked.
I looked across the coral and a stream of white pus could be seen on top of wet cow turds and mud. My husband pointed to the stream of pus and said, “let’s not wrestle right there.”
I laughed and five minutes later I was sitting in it holding another calf down.
Later, I remembered my sister-in-laws warning. Next time, I’ll bring a shield.
Housecleaning
Housecleaning is a thorn in my side. It pesters me in the early mornings when I wake up and trip over laundry and trash that needs to be taken outside. It also greets me when I get home from work at night. It’s like man’s best friend, or not.
I am by no means a slob, just ask my husband. In fact, he thinks I am obsessive when it comes to being clean. I give him dirty looks when he has more than one pile of ‘to dos’ on his desk. I run around the house like a mad woman when I clean, wiping every surface and vacuuming every corner. I can’t stand clutter and I can’t stand mess.
So, once again, I am linking to an old Dave Barry column about housecleaning. (By damn, I think I relate my life to Dave Barry columns…..good grief. Can you say ‘obsessed reader?’ Haha.) I love his practical homemaker tip of putting baking soda in the refrigerator. Check it out.
The column reminds me of when my husband I were first married (don’t I sound old now?). I mean, like the first month he and I were married when we were still learning all the quarks about each other. I put baking soda in the microwave one morning after we made the easy-cheesy microwave bacon. My husband pulled the tiny bowl out of the nuker and looked at me with a severely puzzled look. “How long should I set this for??”
I about fell off my chair laughing.
“No honey, it’s just to absorb the smell.”
“Oh.” And with an even bigger puzzled look he put it back in the nuker and closed the door.
Another thing we learned fast about each other was who puts the laundry in the washer and who folds it. Our first load of laundry consisted of the following:
My husband so lovingly tossed the whole basket of laundry in the washer and turned hot water on. I flipped out. The jeans were with the kitchen towels and they were with my nice dress clothes and his dirty work clothes were right next to my undies. No!!!!! I quickly explained the color coded system I grew up with. Darks, lights, towels, jeans. Darks, lights, towels, jeans. I feverishly pulled all the laundry out of the washer and selected a few pairs of jeans to start.
Long story short, I start the laundry and he finishes by folding it. Teamwork everyone, it’s a wonderful thing.
After being married almost a year (whoo hoo!) I thought I had learned all my husband’s quarks. Nope. I don’t think I will ever stop learning about the way he does things or the way he doesn’t do certain things (like the way he can walk by the trash bag sitting by the door). It’s all just a fun part of marriage!
I am by no means a slob, just ask my husband. In fact, he thinks I am obsessive when it comes to being clean. I give him dirty looks when he has more than one pile of ‘to dos’ on his desk. I run around the house like a mad woman when I clean, wiping every surface and vacuuming every corner. I can’t stand clutter and I can’t stand mess.
So, once again, I am linking to an old Dave Barry column about housecleaning. (By damn, I think I relate my life to Dave Barry columns…..good grief. Can you say ‘obsessed reader?’ Haha.) I love his practical homemaker tip of putting baking soda in the refrigerator. Check it out.
The column reminds me of when my husband I were first married (don’t I sound old now?). I mean, like the first month he and I were married when we were still learning all the quarks about each other. I put baking soda in the microwave one morning after we made the easy-cheesy microwave bacon. My husband pulled the tiny bowl out of the nuker and looked at me with a severely puzzled look. “How long should I set this for??”
I about fell off my chair laughing.
“No honey, it’s just to absorb the smell.”
“Oh.” And with an even bigger puzzled look he put it back in the nuker and closed the door.
Another thing we learned fast about each other was who puts the laundry in the washer and who folds it. Our first load of laundry consisted of the following:
My husband so lovingly tossed the whole basket of laundry in the washer and turned hot water on. I flipped out. The jeans were with the kitchen towels and they were with my nice dress clothes and his dirty work clothes were right next to my undies. No!!!!! I quickly explained the color coded system I grew up with. Darks, lights, towels, jeans. Darks, lights, towels, jeans. I feverishly pulled all the laundry out of the washer and selected a few pairs of jeans to start.
Long story short, I start the laundry and he finishes by folding it. Teamwork everyone, it’s a wonderful thing.
After being married almost a year (whoo hoo!) I thought I had learned all my husband’s quarks. Nope. I don’t think I will ever stop learning about the way he does things or the way he doesn’t do certain things (like the way he can walk by the trash bag sitting by the door). It’s all just a fun part of marriage!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Final project...whoo hoo!
Movie review: Beer for my Horses
If you think “Beer for my Horses” is a movie just for rednecks who like watching cowboys sling guns at the OK Corral, think again (and if you don’t know what the OK Corral was, just stop listening now). “Beer for my Horses” is an action-comedy that has something for everyone. This movie comes alive with a cast of country music stars and a comedian who sings about “Titties and Beer.”
Country music sensation Toby Keith stars alongside stand-up comedian Rodney Carrington, both of whom wrote the screenplay for the movie. Rocker Ted Nugent also stars in this made for CMT (that’s Country Music Television for any of you city slickers) and DVD release in 2008.
The director of “Beer for my Horses,” Michael Salomon, has a long record with CMT. He has directed numerous music videos, including ones for rock band Metallica.
“Beer for my Horses” characters Rack Racklin (Keith), Lonnie Luther Feldman (Carrington), and Skunk (Nugent) play small town deputies who run into big time trouble when a drug cartel abducts Racklin’s girlfriend. On their way to Mexico, the trio runs into a traveling circus that is led by none other than Willie Nelson, who coincidently sang a duet with Keith called ‘Beer for the Horses’ in 2002. David Allan Coe, who sang the songs ‘If that ain’t country, I’ll kiss your ass’ and ‘Take this job and shove it,’ stars as a gypsy in the traveling convoy.
The convoy teaches the deputies about danger and how it is just an illusion. But when danger becomes a reality, it must be met with an illusion. This lesson comes in handy when the deputy trio is up against the drug cartel.
“Beer for my Horses” is a combination of edge of your seat anticipation, unpredictable characters, redneck pick ups with 45 inch tires (those are really big tires, again for you city slickers), a hooker (or a good Christian woman) named Harveyetta, and a rendition of ‘Shout’ in an interstate rest stop that will have you roaring in laughter.
The movie also debuts some of Keith’s latest music, which mirrors his music from the 1990s, pure country and twang. Carrington’s buttery smooth voice is also showcased during his duet with a group of thugs and his famous comedic songs that play throughout the movie.
The odd duck in the cast, Ted Nugent, shows off his machine gun shooting, archery shooting and rock slinging skills as he takes down one law breaking person after another. Although his presence in the movie is silent (literally, he doesn’t say a word until the very end), his role is unmistakably brilliant.
Since most of the cast specializes in music or comedic stand up, the actors deliver convincing performances. Carrington’s facial expressions, which are funny even on a bad day, are even more hilarious as he tries to learn Spanish and dance and sing with thugs. On the other hand, this is Keith’s fourth made for CMT movie. In 2006, he starred in the drama “Broken Bridges.”
“Beer for my Horses” is a sure fire comedy that plays into the average hard-working individuals psyche. So pay attention all you city slickers, you may be entertained by this action-comedy movie that you thought only rednecks like me would enjoy. As we would say in the country, “this movie is just neater than a skeeter’s peeter on a hot summer’s day.”
Sunday, April 26, 2009
For better or worse
After two months, and two temporary jobs, my husband has had it with unemployment. I currently work three jobs to make up the slack plus go to school full time. However, it is another full-time job in itself to keep my husband’s spirits up.
Every morning the following routine happens:
6:30 a.m.: I wake up and get ready for job #1. By 8:15 a.m., my husband rolls out of bed.
Husband: Are you goin’ to work?
Me: Yep. What are you gonna to do today?
Husband: Nothin’.
Me: Ok, I’ll make you a list. It’ll be fun! There is so much to do around here (here being our tiny house/apartment/living quarters)!
Husband:
Me: Ok, do this, this, this, run here and get that, call him, pay the bills, talk to the landlord about the leaky toilet/faucet/shower/washer/kitchen sink. Feed the cat, there’s leftovers in the fridge for lunch.
Husband:
Me (teasing): Don’t smile or anything.
Husband: I wasn’t planning on it.
Get my point?
Weekends are my only salvation from the ho-hum routine that consumes me Monday-Friday. Saturdays and Sundays are the only days I really have time to go out and do anything fun with my husband. By having time I mean making time. I do homework until late at night into early parts of the morning so I have that time during the weekends to spend with him. I know he hates that I am busy and he is not.
I have done my best to keep his spirits high during the past couple of months. We can only hope together that a job will be just around the corner that will work out for him. For better or worse, I took him to be my husband 7 months ago. However, this is not ‘worse.’ Our lives could be much worse than what they are right now.
Every morning the following routine happens:
6:30 a.m.: I wake up and get ready for job #1. By 8:15 a.m., my husband rolls out of bed.
Husband: Are you goin’ to work?
Me: Yep. What are you gonna to do today?
Husband: Nothin’.
Me: Ok, I’ll make you a list. It’ll be fun! There is so much to do around here (here being our tiny house/apartment/living quarters)!
Husband:
Me: Ok, do this, this, this, run here and get that, call him, pay the bills, talk to the landlord about the leaky toilet/faucet/shower/washer/kitchen sink. Feed the cat, there’s leftovers in the fridge for lunch.
Husband:
Me (teasing): Don’t smile or anything.
Husband: I wasn’t planning on it.
Get my point?
Weekends are my only salvation from the ho-hum routine that consumes me Monday-Friday. Saturdays and Sundays are the only days I really have time to go out and do anything fun with my husband. By having time I mean making time. I do homework until late at night into early parts of the morning so I have that time during the weekends to spend with him. I know he hates that I am busy and he is not.
I have done my best to keep his spirits high during the past couple of months. We can only hope together that a job will be just around the corner that will work out for him. For better or worse, I took him to be my husband 7 months ago. However, this is not ‘worse.’ Our lives could be much worse than what they are right now.
Go Miss Cali!
I’m sure you have all heard about the Miss California and Perez Hilton matchup. Miss California was asked a question regarding same sex marriage by Perez Hilton during the final 5 of the Miss USA competition. Miss Cali responded with her opinion because that is what Perez asked of her. Perez was offended by her opinion and went on to call Miss Cali a “stupid bitch” the next day.
All I have to say is this: Thank God there are still people out there like Miss Cali who aren’t afraid to express their opinion. She wasn’t worried about being politically correct. She shouldn’t have been – Perez asked for her opinion and she gave it to him.
Minorities have been fighting for so long to have a say in society. Now those minorities are stepping all over the majority. The minorities now are offended if part of the majority does not believe the same thing they do. Well guess what everyone, we don’t all have to agree on the same thing. We can have our individual thoughts and opinions and still get along! We are entitled to that. No one says we all have to think the exact same thing in the exact same way. Having our own opinions is what makes America so great. We are able to share our opinions with each other and learn from one another.
That’s not to say that no one should get offended. If someone gets offended it’s just because he or she believes strongly about a certain subject. However, calling someone a “stupid bitch” is childish and uncalled for. Instead, Perez should have just shared what he thinks instead of resorting to elementary name calling.
I think Miss Cali is taking the heat from Perez in stride. I commend her for speaking her mind.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wedding photo norms
(Column 3 final draft)
Wedding photo norms: porn star stepmoms, drunken grandparents and pregnant brides
If you ask a wedding photographer to define the phrase ‘dysfunctional family’ I think you would get something like this: “well first, each set of parents has to be divorced. The mother will be remarried and the father will be dating a 20-something-year-old with a fake tan and other unmentionable fake parts. The mother of the groom does not get along with the father of the groom anymore - the last time they were together she sucker punched him in the beer belly. There has to be at least five children out of wedlock between the bride and groom. The bride is currently six months pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s third child. That is the definition of ‘dysfunctional family.’”
Dysfunctional families were the norm at the photography studio I worked at for two years. Every week I would consult with that weekend’s bride about the family situation in order to get a count on the number of family photos we would have to live through. After the consultation, I would spend a couple tedious hours creating the checklist before I would need hard liquor.
After working there, I learned to value my functional family. Sure we have a couple crazies here and there, but we hide them under the rug. However, some families don’t know how to hide their dysfunction.
My TMI (Too Much Information) bride told me her stepmom was a porn star and her 13-year-old sister was pregnant. The NEI (Not Enough Information) bride forgot to tell me her dad’s new wife had four children, none of which got along with each other so they all had to be photographed with the family separately.
Thanks to dysfunctional families, many couples were forced into bigger wedding packages. If there was one divorce it added at least 15 photos. Combine biological Mom and Dad, then biological Mom and stepdad, then biological Dad and Dad’s girlfriend, and then some without Dad’s girlfriend because she’s just a tramp and no one likes her so we are just including her to be nice but we really aren’t going to buy those photos. If there were any children from the bride and groom that added at least more 10 photos. My favorite bride and groom had two children, each from other relationships, one child together and another one on the way (six weeks away from giving birth).
The day of the wedding was different. I absolutely loved the weddings where the wedding party, including the dysfunctional parents and grandparents, would get completely schnockered before photos. This was my boss’ worst nightmare but I loved it. Being tipsy made everyone so much easier to work with. Granted, I had to physically help the ladies and gentlemen up to the alter, but after that they didn’t go anywhere. They already had a dumb smile on their face from the alcohol, so I didn’t have to make lame jokes about the groomsmen to get anyone to smile.
So if you’re planning a wedding remember this - while you’re running around to the florist, DJ and caterer, make sure you stop by and tell the wedding photographer how dysfunctional your family is. The photographer will act as though a stepmom who is a porn star and fighting parents are everyday news. Well, let’s face it; dysfunctional families are everyday news in the wedding photography business.
Wedding photo norms: porn star stepmoms, drunken grandparents and pregnant brides
If you ask a wedding photographer to define the phrase ‘dysfunctional family’ I think you would get something like this: “well first, each set of parents has to be divorced. The mother will be remarried and the father will be dating a 20-something-year-old with a fake tan and other unmentionable fake parts. The mother of the groom does not get along with the father of the groom anymore - the last time they were together she sucker punched him in the beer belly. There has to be at least five children out of wedlock between the bride and groom. The bride is currently six months pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s third child. That is the definition of ‘dysfunctional family.’”
Dysfunctional families were the norm at the photography studio I worked at for two years. Every week I would consult with that weekend’s bride about the family situation in order to get a count on the number of family photos we would have to live through. After the consultation, I would spend a couple tedious hours creating the checklist before I would need hard liquor.
After working there, I learned to value my functional family. Sure we have a couple crazies here and there, but we hide them under the rug. However, some families don’t know how to hide their dysfunction.
My TMI (Too Much Information) bride told me her stepmom was a porn star and her 13-year-old sister was pregnant. The NEI (Not Enough Information) bride forgot to tell me her dad’s new wife had four children, none of which got along with each other so they all had to be photographed with the family separately.
Thanks to dysfunctional families, many couples were forced into bigger wedding packages. If there was one divorce it added at least 15 photos. Combine biological Mom and Dad, then biological Mom and stepdad, then biological Dad and Dad’s girlfriend, and then some without Dad’s girlfriend because she’s just a tramp and no one likes her so we are just including her to be nice but we really aren’t going to buy those photos. If there were any children from the bride and groom that added at least more 10 photos. My favorite bride and groom had two children, each from other relationships, one child together and another one on the way (six weeks away from giving birth).
The day of the wedding was different. I absolutely loved the weddings where the wedding party, including the dysfunctional parents and grandparents, would get completely schnockered before photos. This was my boss’ worst nightmare but I loved it. Being tipsy made everyone so much easier to work with. Granted, I had to physically help the ladies and gentlemen up to the alter, but after that they didn’t go anywhere. They already had a dumb smile on their face from the alcohol, so I didn’t have to make lame jokes about the groomsmen to get anyone to smile.
So if you’re planning a wedding remember this - while you’re running around to the florist, DJ and caterer, make sure you stop by and tell the wedding photographer how dysfunctional your family is. The photographer will act as though a stepmom who is a porn star and fighting parents are everyday news. Well, let’s face it; dysfunctional families are everyday news in the wedding photography business.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Kiss
Because of Dr. H’s comments on the band Kiss the last couple of weeks, I want to share my opinion on the band. (Warning Dr. H: you will hate this post) Last week we talked about a concert review from the Des Moines Register that was written in the 1970s. The reviewer went to a Kiss concert with an opening act of Johnny Cougar. The reviewer couldn’t say enough good things about that Johnny Cougar and mentioned Kiss as the same old, same old. To quote the reviewer (Irv Canfield), “but o! That Johnny Cougar!”
Now on occasion I have listened to a Johnny Cougar song but I have to say, I have seen his act before. Hundreds of music artists out there are just like Johnny Cougar. They claim to be as ‘American as apple pie and baseball.’ Kiss’s image is something no other band can even attempt to mirror.
What other band do you know that can paint their faces white, wear crazy costumes and 12 inch platform shoes? I dare you to name one. I’ll let you think for a minute.
Couldn’t think of one? Thought so.
When I was 16, my best friend and I drove to Denver and spend $200 to see a Kiss, Aerosmith and Saliva concert. I’ve been to my fair share of concerts over the years (for those of you who know me really well, not all of the concerts have been country thank you very much) but none of them can compare to that concert. Without a hesitation in my mind I can say that was the best concert I have ever attended.
At only 16, I knew I was seeing legendary bands with reputations bigger than I could ever imagine. The atmosphere was incredible with thousands of face-painted crazy fans, pyrotechnics to boot and enough adrenaline to keep us rockin’ n’ rollin’ all night (excuse the pun on words and if you don’t get that, go listen to Kiss and then come back and read the rest).
As Irv Canfield put in his review of Kiss, “they (Kiss) are not rock n’ roll, but an obscure music form known as ‘Trend-ola.’” I beg to differ. If Kiss was ‘trendy’ in the 1970s, why do thousands of people become fans of Kiss even today? Why are they still popular with the younger generations?
I don’t think Dr. H knew there was such a big Kiss fan sitting in his class when he spouted off his opinion. I sing like crazy along to Kiss and wear a Kiss concert t-shirt to bed. No offense Dr. H, our musical tastes are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Cell phones and hammers link
Here is the article of the 13-year-old who jacked up her cell phone bill.
Cell phones and hammers
I love this story.
A 13-year-old in Wyoming ran up her monthly cell phone bill to about $5,000 by texting. (Was she doing it in church? See previous post….hehe) Her dad received the bill and then smashed her cell phone with a hammer. I have one thing to say: Way to go Dad!
Wait, maybe not.
Why did he give a 13-year-old a phone? I didn’t get a phone until I was 16, and even then I had to pay for my own minutes.
I think it should be a federal law that anyone under 18-years-old who wants a phone should have to pay for it. Wait, make that ANYONE who wants a phone should have to pay for it themselves; it’s only fair.
It sickens me when I hear college students say, ‘oh I don’t care how many texts I send because my parents pay for my phone anyway.’ I have a good friend, who is almost 30, who has never once paid his cell phone bill. His parents, well into their 60s, still pay his cell phone bill.
Ugh.
Paying your own cell phone bill teaches responsibility that no other bill paying can. In a way, you can control how much your phone will be every month, unlike your electric, gas or water bills. Texts or no texts? Nights starting at 7 p.m. or 9 p.m.?
The moral of the story is this: if the 13-year-old was paying her own cell phone bill she wouldn’t have ran up her bill to almost $5,000.
A 13-year-old in Wyoming ran up her monthly cell phone bill to about $5,000 by texting. (Was she doing it in church? See previous post….hehe) Her dad received the bill and then smashed her cell phone with a hammer. I have one thing to say: Way to go Dad!
Wait, maybe not.
Why did he give a 13-year-old a phone? I didn’t get a phone until I was 16, and even then I had to pay for my own minutes.
I think it should be a federal law that anyone under 18-years-old who wants a phone should have to pay for it. Wait, make that ANYONE who wants a phone should have to pay for it themselves; it’s only fair.
It sickens me when I hear college students say, ‘oh I don’t care how many texts I send because my parents pay for my phone anyway.’ I have a good friend, who is almost 30, who has never once paid his cell phone bill. His parents, well into their 60s, still pay his cell phone bill.
Ugh.
Paying your own cell phone bill teaches responsibility that no other bill paying can. In a way, you can control how much your phone will be every month, unlike your electric, gas or water bills. Texts or no texts? Nights starting at 7 p.m. or 9 p.m.?
The moral of the story is this: if the 13-year-old was paying her own cell phone bill she wouldn’t have ran up her bill to almost $5,000.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A sad consolidation
My husband graduated from high school in a class of 9 students. He played 6-man football for three years with some of his best friends. He cracked three ribs during a practice, thanks to his older brother.
Recently, my husband’s old high school, McPherson County High School in Tryon, decided to consolidate sports with Stapleton High School. To me, this consolidation is heartbreaking. It means the end of 6-man football, and the beginning of 8-man football for McPherson County boys-something the school has done only one time.
To go along with this consolidation are new buses and vans to transport student athletes the 25 miles to Stapleton. No games, practices or sports related meetings will ever be held at the Home of the Longhorns (McPherson Co.).
Some Tryon natives say this is the beginning of the end. Sports will go first and then everything else. Others say this is a blessing in disguise. Once a school consolidates, students are able to meet more people and have better access to educational tools (‘smart’ classrooms, computers, etc).
Although there are mixed feeling in Tryon about the consolidation, one thing remains the same. As long as the windmill turns, the people of McPherson County will always be Longhorns.
Recently, my husband’s old high school, McPherson County High School in Tryon, decided to consolidate sports with Stapleton High School. To me, this consolidation is heartbreaking. It means the end of 6-man football, and the beginning of 8-man football for McPherson County boys-something the school has done only one time.
To go along with this consolidation are new buses and vans to transport student athletes the 25 miles to Stapleton. No games, practices or sports related meetings will ever be held at the Home of the Longhorns (McPherson Co.).
Some Tryon natives say this is the beginning of the end. Sports will go first and then everything else. Others say this is a blessing in disguise. Once a school consolidates, students are able to meet more people and have better access to educational tools (‘smart’ classrooms, computers, etc).
Although there are mixed feeling in Tryon about the consolidation, one thing remains the same. As long as the windmill turns, the people of McPherson County will always be Longhorns.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Texting God...or not.
Her boney hands were covered in sterling silver mood rings. She sported a trendy lime green nail polish on her fingertips. She quickly texted, “I miss u 2 huny, happy estr” half under her leg, half on the church bench.
I could hardly believe what I was watching and reading. A young girl, probably about 15 years old, was sneaking text messages during an Easter Sunday church service. I heard the dull vibrating sound of her Blackberry during the processional, the readings, the homily and communion. She would glance down the church bench at her mother, grandmother and older sister to make sure they weren’t watching before she would nonchalantly sneak her phone out of her skirt pocket.
Usually text messagers don’t bother me. However, there is a time and a place for text messaging. Place #1 that you don’t text, other than your car, is in church. Unless she was texting God, which I highly doubt - the last time I checked he didn’t have the text messaging capabilities – she should have put her phone away for an hour.
But, after a simple search of ‘texting in church’ on Yahoo, I discovered a church that is allowing parishioners to text the pastor while giving his sermon. They can ask any burning questions they have about apostles, commandments, or what have you. I can already see my text appearing on his cell phone, ‘hey padre, turn up your mic. I can’t hear you in the back. also, tell the screaming baby’s mother to take said screaming baby outside.’
One of many problems I see with texting the pastor is the signature some people have on their text messages. Even though mine is the simple, yet sophisticated, ‘-Sarah Mulder,’ some texters have signatures of ‘~*bAbY dOlL 09*~’ or ‘sexy cowboy.’ I don’t think the pastor of your church needs to know you are someone’s baby doll or sexy cowboy.
The point is, let go of your cell phones for an hour if you are going to church. It’s the one hour where you sit in a hard wooden bench and listen to someone else talk. I’m pretty sure the pastor of your church is more insightful than your ‘sexy cowboy’ or ‘~*bAbY dOlL*~.’
I could hardly believe what I was watching and reading. A young girl, probably about 15 years old, was sneaking text messages during an Easter Sunday church service. I heard the dull vibrating sound of her Blackberry during the processional, the readings, the homily and communion. She would glance down the church bench at her mother, grandmother and older sister to make sure they weren’t watching before she would nonchalantly sneak her phone out of her skirt pocket.
Usually text messagers don’t bother me. However, there is a time and a place for text messaging. Place #1 that you don’t text, other than your car, is in church. Unless she was texting God, which I highly doubt - the last time I checked he didn’t have the text messaging capabilities – she should have put her phone away for an hour.
But, after a simple search of ‘texting in church’ on Yahoo, I discovered a church that is allowing parishioners to text the pastor while giving his sermon. They can ask any burning questions they have about apostles, commandments, or what have you. I can already see my text appearing on his cell phone, ‘hey padre, turn up your mic. I can’t hear you in the back. also, tell the screaming baby’s mother to take said screaming baby outside.’
One of many problems I see with texting the pastor is the signature some people have on their text messages. Even though mine is the simple, yet sophisticated, ‘-Sarah Mulder,’ some texters have signatures of ‘~*bAbY dOlL 09*~’ or ‘sexy cowboy.’ I don’t think the pastor of your church needs to know you are someone’s baby doll or sexy cowboy.
The point is, let go of your cell phones for an hour if you are going to church. It’s the one hour where you sit in a hard wooden bench and listen to someone else talk. I’m pretty sure the pastor of your church is more insightful than your ‘sexy cowboy’ or ‘~*bAbY dOlL*~.’
Thursday, April 9, 2009
All is fair in love and....
Warning! If don’t want to be tackled, wrestled to the ground or have a bloody nose I advise you not to participate in any Easter egg hunt involving my family.
Egg hunts at my house are not safe play. In fact, my family’s egg hunts are the exact opposite of traditional egg hunts. Instead of neatly groomed children skipping happily across a green lawn, my family dresses in ripped jeans, old sweatshirts and we tackle each other down across a cow pie infested pasture. My family rolls with laughter at the thought of a traditional egg hunt.
It doesn’t surprise me that egg hunts are competitive in my family. For my Dad’s 50th birthday party we went paintballing. I put war paint on my face and fake tattoos on my tiny biceps. I wore a doo rag and made my brother-in-law scream like a girl after I shoot him in his unmentionables.
My family has no concept of ‘just be nice to your brother/sister/cousin/smelly uncle Fester because it’s the holidays.’ We live by no such code. If our mission is to collect the most eggs, we will collect the most eggs and take down anyone who tries to cross us.
But what is it about cheap plastic eggs that come in a 12-pack for $1.98 that make my family so wild? Do they hold some kind of magical power over us? No. Plastic replicas of chicken excrements hold no magical powers.
Or do they?
As my Grandma says, “put a little money in ‘em and you kids go off your rockers.” The eggs may not hold the hold the abracadabra magic, but they do hold the shiny, round, George Washington’s bust type magic.
I once found $13 worth of magic during an egg hunt. But that was only after I was tackled by a cousin twice my size.
Now that I’m older, and I claim to be more mature, I have retired my egg hunting basket. I fill eggs full of chocolate surprises, jelly beans and the occasional George Washington magic now. However, the competitive spirit of egg hunting is still alive and strong in this hen.
While filling eggs one evening I challenged my husband with, “I bet I can fill more than you can.” He responded with, “I bet you can.”
Where’s the competitive spirit when you need one?
However, it’s his laid back attitude that helps our marriage survive. If he would have said, “ok, let’s make a bet,” I would have chucked all his eggs out the window so I could have won. In short, I wouldn’t be able to survive a marriage with someone as competitive as myself.
I don’t even know how my husband tolerates my daily challenges to him. He not only tolerates them, but he still lets me play. If I say, “first one to the couch wins,” he will steer clear out of my way so he doesn’t become road kill in my beeline for the couch.
My husband is a good egg. He may not have George Washington magic in the middle of him, but he is a good egg nonetheless.
It’s nothing short of a miracle that my competitive spirit hasn’t worn off on my husband yet. I know if I participated in an egg hunt this year I wouldn’t have to worry about cousins who are twice my size. I know I would dominate an egg hunt today because all is fair in love and Easter eggs.
Egg hunts at my house are not safe play. In fact, my family’s egg hunts are the exact opposite of traditional egg hunts. Instead of neatly groomed children skipping happily across a green lawn, my family dresses in ripped jeans, old sweatshirts and we tackle each other down across a cow pie infested pasture. My family rolls with laughter at the thought of a traditional egg hunt.
It doesn’t surprise me that egg hunts are competitive in my family. For my Dad’s 50th birthday party we went paintballing. I put war paint on my face and fake tattoos on my tiny biceps. I wore a doo rag and made my brother-in-law scream like a girl after I shoot him in his unmentionables.
My family has no concept of ‘just be nice to your brother/sister/cousin/smelly uncle Fester because it’s the holidays.’ We live by no such code. If our mission is to collect the most eggs, we will collect the most eggs and take down anyone who tries to cross us.
But what is it about cheap plastic eggs that come in a 12-pack for $1.98 that make my family so wild? Do they hold some kind of magical power over us? No. Plastic replicas of chicken excrements hold no magical powers.
Or do they?
As my Grandma says, “put a little money in ‘em and you kids go off your rockers.” The eggs may not hold the hold the abracadabra magic, but they do hold the shiny, round, George Washington’s bust type magic.
I once found $13 worth of magic during an egg hunt. But that was only after I was tackled by a cousin twice my size.
Now that I’m older, and I claim to be more mature, I have retired my egg hunting basket. I fill eggs full of chocolate surprises, jelly beans and the occasional George Washington magic now. However, the competitive spirit of egg hunting is still alive and strong in this hen.
While filling eggs one evening I challenged my husband with, “I bet I can fill more than you can.” He responded with, “I bet you can.”
Where’s the competitive spirit when you need one?
However, it’s his laid back attitude that helps our marriage survive. If he would have said, “ok, let’s make a bet,” I would have chucked all his eggs out the window so I could have won. In short, I wouldn’t be able to survive a marriage with someone as competitive as myself.
I don’t even know how my husband tolerates my daily challenges to him. He not only tolerates them, but he still lets me play. If I say, “first one to the couch wins,” he will steer clear out of my way so he doesn’t become road kill in my beeline for the couch.
My husband is a good egg. He may not have George Washington magic in the middle of him, but he is a good egg nonetheless.
It’s nothing short of a miracle that my competitive spirit hasn’t worn off on my husband yet. I know if I participated in an egg hunt this year I wouldn’t have to worry about cousins who are twice my size. I know I would dominate an egg hunt today because all is fair in love and Easter eggs.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Mall Cop
For my second column due this week I think I will tackle a movie review. I saw Mall Cop this weekend and to be totally honest I was not impressed. I read a handful of reviews after I saw the movie and they praised this 87-minute comedy like it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. I think the humor in the movie was targeted to a much younger crowd. By that I mean 7-year-old girls. A birthday party of ten 7 year olds sat in front of my husband and I in the theatre and did nothing but giggle at every slightly funny line. I was not amused. I think I laughed once to every 15 of their laughs. Mall Cop was one of those movies where all the slightly funny parts were shown in the previews so the movie was a big disappointment. Stay tuned for my review! (and if you loved the movie you may not want to read it)
Leave them alone? I think not.
As many have already heard, a Creighton, Neb. family went missing a couple weeks ago. No one knows why they escaped to the Black Hills but now they are just camping out up there. Where are the authorities? They backed of their search because the family wants to be left alone.
Now I am just fine if a family all agrees to live like hermits in the Black Hills. I have absolutely no problem with that. However, the day before the family escaped, the parents were both interviewed by authorities on abuse charges. But since the father of the family told his dad that they just want to be left alone, the authorities are going to respect that wish.
I’m sorry, excuse me? There are two children, both under 12 years old who are in danger. No, the parents may not be abusive but if there was a slight risk that they could be (enough to be interviewed by authorities) isn’t that enough of a risk? The children can only defend themselves to a certain point if something were to happen.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling this will turn into a case of ‘we should have.’ The authorities will be saying ‘we should have looked for them harder; we shouldn’t have given up.’ Hopefully I am wrong.
I don’t believe the authorities should have backed off their search. Two children could possibly be in danger. I know the father said they just wanted to be left alone but what is more important: someone’s word or a child’s life?
Now I am just fine if a family all agrees to live like hermits in the Black Hills. I have absolutely no problem with that. However, the day before the family escaped, the parents were both interviewed by authorities on abuse charges. But since the father of the family told his dad that they just want to be left alone, the authorities are going to respect that wish.
I’m sorry, excuse me? There are two children, both under 12 years old who are in danger. No, the parents may not be abusive but if there was a slight risk that they could be (enough to be interviewed by authorities) isn’t that enough of a risk? The children can only defend themselves to a certain point if something were to happen.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling this will turn into a case of ‘we should have.’ The authorities will be saying ‘we should have looked for them harder; we shouldn’t have given up.’ Hopefully I am wrong.
I don’t believe the authorities should have backed off their search. Two children could possibly be in danger. I know the father said they just wanted to be left alone but what is more important: someone’s word or a child’s life?
Litter in my lawn
Don’t you dare drop that paper cup, fast food bag, candy bar wrapper, empty bottle of water or receipt on the ground because it will all end up in my yard at some point in time.
Living behind a 24-hour grocery store I always have access to my favorite pastime – food. However, living behind a grocery store also has disadvantages. Besides smelling fried chicken from the deli 24/7, I also get a multitude of trash that all floats over to my yard.
This isn’t just trash from the grocery store though. This is fast food wrappers, newspapers, drink cups – anything and everything people toss out their car windows.
The trash then floats over to my yard, thanks to the brisk Nebraska wind. The trash gets caught in the mower, gets stuck to my shoes and scares the living daylights out of my cat when it rustles by the windows.
When I drag out the mower in a month or so I will have to sweep the yard for trash. Everybody else’s trash.
Now I’m not usually a stickler when it comes to things like this. In fact, I don’t even care if a dog poops on my lawn – I just think of that as fertilizer. However, the trash from other people cannot be used as fertilizer so therefore it makes me angry.
Because I have spent countless hours outside cleaning up after other careless people I ask everyone one thing. Hang on to your paper cup, fast food bag, candy bar wrapper, empty bottle of water and receipt until you get home. Trash cans are 97 cents. Buy one and use it.
Living behind a 24-hour grocery store I always have access to my favorite pastime – food. However, living behind a grocery store also has disadvantages. Besides smelling fried chicken from the deli 24/7, I also get a multitude of trash that all floats over to my yard.
This isn’t just trash from the grocery store though. This is fast food wrappers, newspapers, drink cups – anything and everything people toss out their car windows.
The trash then floats over to my yard, thanks to the brisk Nebraska wind. The trash gets caught in the mower, gets stuck to my shoes and scares the living daylights out of my cat when it rustles by the windows.
When I drag out the mower in a month or so I will have to sweep the yard for trash. Everybody else’s trash.
Now I’m not usually a stickler when it comes to things like this. In fact, I don’t even care if a dog poops on my lawn – I just think of that as fertilizer. However, the trash from other people cannot be used as fertilizer so therefore it makes me angry.
Because I have spent countless hours outside cleaning up after other careless people I ask everyone one thing. Hang on to your paper cup, fast food bag, candy bar wrapper, empty bottle of water and receipt until you get home. Trash cans are 97 cents. Buy one and use it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Sunshine Cleaning review
I had a hard time coming across a review I actually liked and understood (I didn't want to bash a writer's review, go figure). A lot of them I read had larger words, that to be honest, I just didn't know what they meant. The reviews I read were also so technical with plots and subplots I got lost midway through.
So I settled on a review I actually read all the way through and at the end I wasn't asking, 'what the hell did that mean?' The review is from the Miami Herald and it was written by Connie Ogle. The movie of choice? Sunshine Cleaning.
Sunshine Cleaning was not a movie I planned on seeing because the previews for it didn't look all that great. However, after reading the review, I might actually see this. The writer does a great job of 'dumbing down' her review to the average reader. You don't have to be a movie buff, or even watch movies at all, to understand her writing. Her style of writing was very easy to follow.
The movie is about two sisters who work together at a biohazard removal company after one of the sisters' kids is kicked out of public school. The one sister must work at this job (it pays big money) so she can send her kid to a private school.
I've heard that gross, gory stuff sells and this review sold me. It didn't hold back on the gory details of the biohazard removal job ('lugging a blood and/or body fluid-soaked mattress around by yourself is no picnic'). However, it did not overload me and make me say, 'eww thats gross.' It was just the right amount of gross.
The review also didn't reveal the whole plot, which I really liked. It gave just enough plot away to get me hooked and then left me hanging. Now, in order to find out what happens, I have to go see the movie. This, I believe, is the job of a reviewer-to get you to see/read/experience what they are reviewing.
So I settled on a review I actually read all the way through and at the end I wasn't asking, 'what the hell did that mean?' The review is from the Miami Herald and it was written by Connie Ogle. The movie of choice? Sunshine Cleaning.
Sunshine Cleaning was not a movie I planned on seeing because the previews for it didn't look all that great. However, after reading the review, I might actually see this. The writer does a great job of 'dumbing down' her review to the average reader. You don't have to be a movie buff, or even watch movies at all, to understand her writing. Her style of writing was very easy to follow.
The movie is about two sisters who work together at a biohazard removal company after one of the sisters' kids is kicked out of public school. The one sister must work at this job (it pays big money) so she can send her kid to a private school.
I've heard that gross, gory stuff sells and this review sold me. It didn't hold back on the gory details of the biohazard removal job ('lugging a blood and/or body fluid-soaked mattress around by yourself is no picnic'). However, it did not overload me and make me say, 'eww thats gross.' It was just the right amount of gross.
The review also didn't reveal the whole plot, which I really liked. It gave just enough plot away to get me hooked and then left me hanging. Now, in order to find out what happens, I have to go see the movie. This, I believe, is the job of a reviewer-to get you to see/read/experience what they are reviewing.
Cool video
So I tried to upload a video but I must not be smarter than my computer. Anway, here is a link to a really cool video about how fast technology is changing. It is really interesting and has some thought provoking stats! Check it out!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
No more butt to chew
I work for $4 an hour. I get my butt chewed at least once a day. Why do I stay? I love my work. However, I could deal with a few extra dollars and few less lectures.
I hope I’m not alone when I say I have no more butt for people to chew off. Somehow all the work I put into my job just isn’t good enough for some.
I currently have a job that is not considered an internship but it should be. I cannot gain internship hours for this job even though I work about 15-20 hours a week. After some calculations (my salary is semester based), my hourly rate is about $4.
When I asked to get a raise, a professional associated with my job told me my position had not had a raise in the last 7 years. Therefore, even though I am working much harder than past people in my position, I am not eligible for a raise ‘just because.’ I was never able to get a straight answer out of anyone as to why I could not earn more since I was doing more.
So my $4 an hour rate continues. Without my husband's income I could only pay my rent three times each semester. That doesn’t include car insurance, gas, groceries, medical bills, heat for my apartment, turning the lights on at night, or doing laundry.
I never thought I would work this hard at this particular job. However, I cannot look bad at this job because of future employers. Therefore, I spend countless hours working as hard as I can to make not only myself look good, but also the people that have other positions associated with my job.
I am not one to moan and groan about any job I hold. I really love what I do. It is exactly what I would love to be doing in 15 years only on a larger scale. However, it seems lately that after all these hours put into my job, I have gotten my butt chewed over everything.
For $4 an hour, I cannot stand getting my butt chewed over anything and everything anymore. My rate is less than minimum wage and I am doing more work than what I am getting paid for. I am tired of it.
I contemplated even posting this because I know it could have strong repercussions. But I have something to say and it is something I believe in. I am going to stand up for myself because I am tired of being walked on. I am tired of getting paid $4 an hour and getting my butt chewed off.
The job has taken a toll on me more than any other job I have ever had. No one deserves to get paid $4 an hour and get their butt chewed.
I hope I’m not alone when I say I have no more butt for people to chew off. Somehow all the work I put into my job just isn’t good enough for some.
I currently have a job that is not considered an internship but it should be. I cannot gain internship hours for this job even though I work about 15-20 hours a week. After some calculations (my salary is semester based), my hourly rate is about $4.
When I asked to get a raise, a professional associated with my job told me my position had not had a raise in the last 7 years. Therefore, even though I am working much harder than past people in my position, I am not eligible for a raise ‘just because.’ I was never able to get a straight answer out of anyone as to why I could not earn more since I was doing more.
So my $4 an hour rate continues. Without my husband's income I could only pay my rent three times each semester. That doesn’t include car insurance, gas, groceries, medical bills, heat for my apartment, turning the lights on at night, or doing laundry.
I never thought I would work this hard at this particular job. However, I cannot look bad at this job because of future employers. Therefore, I spend countless hours working as hard as I can to make not only myself look good, but also the people that have other positions associated with my job.
I am not one to moan and groan about any job I hold. I really love what I do. It is exactly what I would love to be doing in 15 years only on a larger scale. However, it seems lately that after all these hours put into my job, I have gotten my butt chewed over everything.
For $4 an hour, I cannot stand getting my butt chewed over anything and everything anymore. My rate is less than minimum wage and I am doing more work than what I am getting paid for. I am tired of it.
I contemplated even posting this because I know it could have strong repercussions. But I have something to say and it is something I believe in. I am going to stand up for myself because I am tired of being walked on. I am tired of getting paid $4 an hour and getting my butt chewed off.
The job has taken a toll on me more than any other job I have ever had. No one deserves to get paid $4 an hour and get their butt chewed.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Running in Heels falls flat
Anything can be a reality show, even a few 20-somethings interning at Marie Claire magazine. The previews for this show on the Style network looked good and I was excited to watch it. After about 10 minutes into the first episode I realized that the three interns are boring, jealous-ridden, monotone, ungrateful girls who don’t have an ounce of ambition in their bodies.
These girls are jealous of every task the other girl gets and they are determined to undermine the next girl by snippy comments and backstabbing. Give me a break. Shouldn’t the girls worry about themselves more? If they were a bit less jealous of the next girl, they would be happier. For example, one girl was asked to help at a red carpet event while the other two interns had to do regular jobs. The two girls moaned and groaned for the whole half hour about how they should have been the ones to do the red carpet task. Get over it. Obviously there was a reason those two girls were not picked to do the red carpet task. Instead of ranting and raving about how one girl gets all the good tasks, they should just work harder to get the tasks they want.
The three interns have such boring personalities it makes me want to cry. For example, one girl was given the task of helping a prominent editor at Marie Claire with her wedding. She wanted to impress this editor (so she said) but she never smiled, was never personable and never showed an ounce of emotion. Hello?!?!?! I just want to scream in her face, ‘get a personality!’ Ugh.
Ambition is another thing these three interns could use a really big dose of. How they landed an internship at Marie Clair baffles me. They are never excited to start a new task. In fact, all three interns waited until hours before a magazine spread was due to start working on it. Sorry girls. Life is not going to be handed to you on a silver platter. You might have to actually work for something. Gasp.
I thought Running in Heels would be a fun show to watch, especially being a journalism student interning this summer. I thought this show would give me insights about working at a magazine. Instead, I have been caught up with the interns and their dull personalities. I hope I don’t have to be like them to get to the top.
These girls are jealous of every task the other girl gets and they are determined to undermine the next girl by snippy comments and backstabbing. Give me a break. Shouldn’t the girls worry about themselves more? If they were a bit less jealous of the next girl, they would be happier. For example, one girl was asked to help at a red carpet event while the other two interns had to do regular jobs. The two girls moaned and groaned for the whole half hour about how they should have been the ones to do the red carpet task. Get over it. Obviously there was a reason those two girls were not picked to do the red carpet task. Instead of ranting and raving about how one girl gets all the good tasks, they should just work harder to get the tasks they want.
The three interns have such boring personalities it makes me want to cry. For example, one girl was given the task of helping a prominent editor at Marie Claire with her wedding. She wanted to impress this editor (so she said) but she never smiled, was never personable and never showed an ounce of emotion. Hello?!?!?! I just want to scream in her face, ‘get a personality!’ Ugh.
Ambition is another thing these three interns could use a really big dose of. How they landed an internship at Marie Clair baffles me. They are never excited to start a new task. In fact, all three interns waited until hours before a magazine spread was due to start working on it. Sorry girls. Life is not going to be handed to you on a silver platter. You might have to actually work for something. Gasp.
I thought Running in Heels would be a fun show to watch, especially being a journalism student interning this summer. I thought this show would give me insights about working at a magazine. Instead, I have been caught up with the interns and their dull personalities. I hope I don’t have to be like them to get to the top.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Travel blogging gets results
An article on CNN points out a handful of travelers that, thanks to their handy dandy blogs, have gotten refunds, apologies and much more from airlines, hotels and rental car companies. These travelers all had bad experiences on their vacations with airline rules or hotel situations. What did they do? The blogged about it. These blog posts have been picked up by major news companies calling the airline or hotel out on their errors. The article is an interesting read and it has links to the original travel blogs. Check it out!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Australia
I will be the first one to admit….I don’t like watching movies. Call me weird, call me strange but I don’t care. I can’t stand sitting in the same place for 2-3 hours doing nothing but stare at a screen. No thanks. When I am finally convinced to watch a movie (usually by my husband who likes movies) to watch one, I usually drag in my lap top or latest craft and multi task.
However, the times are a changin’.
I watched a movie, from start to finish without multi tasking (applause please….just kidding). What movie you ask? Australia. Obviously I’m a little behind on my movie watching. I never saw it in theatres because of my annoying experience of seeing Marley and Me (the lady behind me chomped down at least eight big bags of popcorn…very loudly). Anyway. Australia was an awesome movie.
I’m not one to notice costumes during a movie but the costumes in Australia caught my eye. From Nicole Kidman’s blue suit to Hugh Jackman’s dirty torn shirts, the costumes were very authentic of the time period and amazingly designed.
Now I admit, I thought they movie was kind of hard to follow for about the first 15 minutes. After that though, it was so easy to follow and in the end I ended up really into the movie and crying right along with the actors.
One actor I really enjoyed was Brandon Walters who played Nullah. He is only 12 but he was absolutely amazing. This was his first movie and I really believe he will be the next ‘big one.’
If you haven’t seen Australia yet, please please rent it. Even a movie-hater like me loved it.
However, the times are a changin’.
I watched a movie, from start to finish without multi tasking (applause please….just kidding). What movie you ask? Australia. Obviously I’m a little behind on my movie watching. I never saw it in theatres because of my annoying experience of seeing Marley and Me (the lady behind me chomped down at least eight big bags of popcorn…very loudly). Anyway. Australia was an awesome movie.
I’m not one to notice costumes during a movie but the costumes in Australia caught my eye. From Nicole Kidman’s blue suit to Hugh Jackman’s dirty torn shirts, the costumes were very authentic of the time period and amazingly designed.
Now I admit, I thought they movie was kind of hard to follow for about the first 15 minutes. After that though, it was so easy to follow and in the end I ended up really into the movie and crying right along with the actors.
One actor I really enjoyed was Brandon Walters who played Nullah. He is only 12 but he was absolutely amazing. This was his first movie and I really believe he will be the next ‘big one.’
If you haven’t seen Australia yet, please please rent it. Even a movie-hater like me loved it.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Goldman
David Goldman and his 8-year-old son have been separated thousands of miles for years. Goldman's wife traveled to Brazil when the boy was young for a vacation. She called her husband days later and said she was never returning to the U.S., or to him. She remarried a powerful Brazilian attorney and later died in child birth leaving her son, Sean, in Brazil with a strange stepfather. Goldman is now trying to gain custody of his son. He has made numerous trips to Brazil to see Sean, but never to bring him home.
At the beginning of this case, the media was very biased, only presenting Goldman's side of the case. Now, the stepfather is speaking to media outlets in Brazil and the U.S. presenting his side of the story. But wait. Isn't there a third side to this case? Ah yes, the son in the middle of this heated custody battle.
What about him? What about what he wants? I'm not saying he can make an educated decision at age 8, but has any media outlet even tried to see what he wants? I'm also not trying to imply that he should not be reunited with his biological father but the job of the media is to give an unbiased view on news (as hard as this is for some people to fathom). All I want to see is what an 8-year-old boy wants. Is that so hard to present?
At the beginning of this case, the media was very biased, only presenting Goldman's side of the case. Now, the stepfather is speaking to media outlets in Brazil and the U.S. presenting his side of the story. But wait. Isn't there a third side to this case? Ah yes, the son in the middle of this heated custody battle.
What about him? What about what he wants? I'm not saying he can make an educated decision at age 8, but has any media outlet even tried to see what he wants? I'm also not trying to imply that he should not be reunited with his biological father but the job of the media is to give an unbiased view on news (as hard as this is for some people to fathom). All I want to see is what an 8-year-old boy wants. Is that so hard to present?
Only in my hometown...
Sometimes I am truly embarrassed to say I am from North Platte. It's stories like this that cause this horrendous embarrassment. I don't know who this 'tire lover' is but he's making all North Platte people look like a bunch of hillbillies. Thanks man.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Crack addict or wedding photographer?
Since we are talking about column writing in class, I thought I would post one of my favorite colums: An Awwwsome Wedding by Dave Barry.
One thing he talks about in his column is wedding photographers. I worked for a photographer for 2 years and every weekend we had at least one wedding to shoot (sometimes it was more than one, which just turned into mayhem).
On a normal Thursday working for the photographer I did work for, I would have to get out the all-important checklist of the bride and groom for that weekend. First thing to decide: how many divorces are there? That added 15+ photos. Combine biological Mom and Dad, then biological Mom and stepdad, then biological Dad and Dad’s girlfriend, and then some without Dad’s girlfriend because she’s just a tramp and no one likes her so we are just including her to be nice but we really aren’t going to buy THOSE photos. Second thing to decide: how many illegitimate children are there? My favorite bride and groom had two children each from other relationships, one child together and another one on the way (6 six weeks away from giving birth just FYI). I had to put together so many combinations I thought my brain would ooze out of my eyeballs.
The day of the wedding was different. I absolutely loved the weddings where the wedding party, including parents and grandparents, would get completely schnockered before photos. This was my boss’ worst nightmare but I loved it. Being tipsy made everyone so much easier to work with. Granted, I had to physically help the ladies and gentlemen up to the alter, but after that they didn’t go anywhere. They already had a dumb ass smile on their face from being tipsy so I didn’t have to make lame jokes about the groomsmen to get anyone to smile.
Children, on the other hand, were never drunk so they were a pain in the you know what to pose. I had toys and candy and all sorts of fun stuff strapped to me almost like a tool belt to entertain young kids and make them smile. One wedding had 3-year-old triplet flower girls and one of the girls would not smile to save her life. Her face lit up when I tripped over some light cords and onto a church pew. However, her two other sisters were not paying attention. SO, guess who had to trip over the cords repeatedly to get all three of them to smile and look at the same time?
So as Dave Barry puts it, “if you think it’s easy to make 3-year-olds sit still, smile and not mess up their dresses for long periods, then you are either a crack addict or a wedding photographer.” I totally agree.
One thing he talks about in his column is wedding photographers. I worked for a photographer for 2 years and every weekend we had at least one wedding to shoot (sometimes it was more than one, which just turned into mayhem).
On a normal Thursday working for the photographer I did work for, I would have to get out the all-important checklist of the bride and groom for that weekend. First thing to decide: how many divorces are there? That added 15+ photos. Combine biological Mom and Dad, then biological Mom and stepdad, then biological Dad and Dad’s girlfriend, and then some without Dad’s girlfriend because she’s just a tramp and no one likes her so we are just including her to be nice but we really aren’t going to buy THOSE photos. Second thing to decide: how many illegitimate children are there? My favorite bride and groom had two children each from other relationships, one child together and another one on the way (6 six weeks away from giving birth just FYI). I had to put together so many combinations I thought my brain would ooze out of my eyeballs.
The day of the wedding was different. I absolutely loved the weddings where the wedding party, including parents and grandparents, would get completely schnockered before photos. This was my boss’ worst nightmare but I loved it. Being tipsy made everyone so much easier to work with. Granted, I had to physically help the ladies and gentlemen up to the alter, but after that they didn’t go anywhere. They already had a dumb ass smile on their face from being tipsy so I didn’t have to make lame jokes about the groomsmen to get anyone to smile.
Children, on the other hand, were never drunk so they were a pain in the you know what to pose. I had toys and candy and all sorts of fun stuff strapped to me almost like a tool belt to entertain young kids and make them smile. One wedding had 3-year-old triplet flower girls and one of the girls would not smile to save her life. Her face lit up when I tripped over some light cords and onto a church pew. However, her two other sisters were not paying attention. SO, guess who had to trip over the cords repeatedly to get all three of them to smile and look at the same time?
So as Dave Barry puts it, “if you think it’s easy to make 3-year-olds sit still, smile and not mess up their dresses for long periods, then you are either a crack addict or a wedding photographer.” I totally agree.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Recent lay offs could have been avoided
(final draft for editorial 3)
Mark Schwartz, 52, and 53 other men and women are all in the same situation: little money, no job, no benefit package and a dwindling 401K. These 54 individuals are not alone in their struggle. Hundreds of Kearney and surrounding area residents have been laid off from Baldwin Filters and Eaton in recent months. Now, these residents are left with little hope of finding a new job in our current recession.
Because of our current economic situation, many companies believe it is impossible to avoid permanent layoffs. These companies are wrong. However, looking at the history of Eaton and Baldwin, it is easy to pinpoint a series of steps both companies took to avoid layoffs.
Baldwin and Eaton both ran only four days out of the week for months. Baldwin and Eaton also went into a wage freeze where employees were not able to get a raise, but were also not worried about having their pay cut. In spite of this, the wage freeze did little to affect the corporate directors of Clarcor, the mother company of Baldwin.
“If the top executives at Clarcor would give up their awards and compensation for 180 days they could save 54 (laid off) lives,” said Myron Larchick, a long-time Balwin employee and Clarcor shareholder. “Here’s the ridiculous part, that’s not giving up any of their salaries, and they still have an estimated $2.3 million to split in awards and compensation.”
To these executives of Clarcor, these 54 jobs most recently cut from Baldwin are just that, jobs. However, these jobs are people with families, lives and a future. Did Baldwin Filters and Eaton try their hardest to avoid lay offs?
Baldwin Filters and Eaton should have instated work sharing in order to keep their trained employees working and keep the morale of their company high. Work sharing is a program that is popular in California, Japan and most European countries. These places have kept their employees working instead of laying them off. Employees at Toyota, Mazda and Nissan in Japan now share jobs and work less than 40 hours a week, but are happy to still be employed.
There was no evidence found that Baldwin or Eaton thought about instating work sharing when the lay offs occurred.
Work sharing is meant to equally share the pain of coping with the flailing economy. If it was not for work sharing in other states, the unemployment rate of the United States would be much higher. Is it better to work about 32 hours a week, or be laid off in a recession?
Although work sharing was not used during the most recent layoffs at Baldwin and Eaton, it must be looked at for any future lay offs. Work sharing would have allowed Schwartz and all other laid off Kearney and surrounding area residents a glimmer of hope in our current recession. Instead of Schwartz almost losing his house due to being laid off, Schwartz could have worked at least 32 hours a week. We can’t sit back and let the unemployment rate of Kearney rise when there is a solution. Work sharing would allow people like Schwartz to continue working and not be left jobless and hopeless.
Mark Schwartz, 52, and 53 other men and women are all in the same situation: little money, no job, no benefit package and a dwindling 401K. These 54 individuals are not alone in their struggle. Hundreds of Kearney and surrounding area residents have been laid off from Baldwin Filters and Eaton in recent months. Now, these residents are left with little hope of finding a new job in our current recession.
Because of our current economic situation, many companies believe it is impossible to avoid permanent layoffs. These companies are wrong. However, looking at the history of Eaton and Baldwin, it is easy to pinpoint a series of steps both companies took to avoid layoffs.
Baldwin and Eaton both ran only four days out of the week for months. Baldwin and Eaton also went into a wage freeze where employees were not able to get a raise, but were also not worried about having their pay cut. In spite of this, the wage freeze did little to affect the corporate directors of Clarcor, the mother company of Baldwin.
“If the top executives at Clarcor would give up their awards and compensation for 180 days they could save 54 (laid off) lives,” said Myron Larchick, a long-time Balwin employee and Clarcor shareholder. “Here’s the ridiculous part, that’s not giving up any of their salaries, and they still have an estimated $2.3 million to split in awards and compensation.”
To these executives of Clarcor, these 54 jobs most recently cut from Baldwin are just that, jobs. However, these jobs are people with families, lives and a future. Did Baldwin Filters and Eaton try their hardest to avoid lay offs?
Baldwin Filters and Eaton should have instated work sharing in order to keep their trained employees working and keep the morale of their company high. Work sharing is a program that is popular in California, Japan and most European countries. These places have kept their employees working instead of laying them off. Employees at Toyota, Mazda and Nissan in Japan now share jobs and work less than 40 hours a week, but are happy to still be employed.
There was no evidence found that Baldwin or Eaton thought about instating work sharing when the lay offs occurred.
Work sharing is meant to equally share the pain of coping with the flailing economy. If it was not for work sharing in other states, the unemployment rate of the United States would be much higher. Is it better to work about 32 hours a week, or be laid off in a recession?
Although work sharing was not used during the most recent layoffs at Baldwin and Eaton, it must be looked at for any future lay offs. Work sharing would have allowed Schwartz and all other laid off Kearney and surrounding area residents a glimmer of hope in our current recession. Instead of Schwartz almost losing his house due to being laid off, Schwartz could have worked at least 32 hours a week. We can’t sit back and let the unemployment rate of Kearney rise when there is a solution. Work sharing would allow people like Schwartz to continue working and not be left jobless and hopeless.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Deadly air duster
It takes all kinds of people to make up Kearney.
One kind that just fascinates me is the group of people that can be addicted to drugs but yet they are heroes for telling others not to do what they did. Make sense? Not to me.
Take for instance the girl caught with huffing air duster (yes, air duster) while driving in a residential neighborhood in Kearney. She blacked out and hit a tree going 50 mph with other passengers in her car.
She’s telling people not to do drugs. She wants them to learn from her stupid actions.
I’m sorry. You will never be condoned a hero in my world for telling me not to do drugs. Drug users all across the nation do this. They do drugs and then become motivational speakers about drug prevention programs. People claim these ex-drug users as heroes. “I was going to huff some spray paint until I hear Mr. Marijuana speak, now I’ll never do it again. Mr. Marijuana saved my life.” Sorry, not listening.
The girl who huffed air duster is a drug user. She was caught. Had she not been caught she wouldn’t have cared whether you, I or the Schwan’s man did drugs. She will never be a hero in my eyes. She huffed air duster while driving down a road. A road I could have been on. A road my family or friends could have been on. Thanks for endangering my life.
One kind that just fascinates me is the group of people that can be addicted to drugs but yet they are heroes for telling others not to do what they did. Make sense? Not to me.
Take for instance the girl caught with huffing air duster (yes, air duster) while driving in a residential neighborhood in Kearney. She blacked out and hit a tree going 50 mph with other passengers in her car.
She’s telling people not to do drugs. She wants them to learn from her stupid actions.
I’m sorry. You will never be condoned a hero in my world for telling me not to do drugs. Drug users all across the nation do this. They do drugs and then become motivational speakers about drug prevention programs. People claim these ex-drug users as heroes. “I was going to huff some spray paint until I hear Mr. Marijuana speak, now I’ll never do it again. Mr. Marijuana saved my life.” Sorry, not listening.
The girl who huffed air duster is a drug user. She was caught. Had she not been caught she wouldn’t have cared whether you, I or the Schwan’s man did drugs. She will never be a hero in my eyes. She huffed air duster while driving down a road. A road I could have been on. A road my family or friends could have been on. Thanks for endangering my life.
Fun times in West Center
I am pretty mystified by something everyday when I wait for my class in lovely West Center. In the big student lounge there are not one, not two, but FIVE people taking a cat nap on the couches. This isn't just a Monday thing, this is everyday! First off, this annoys me. I feel like I have to be quiet so I don't have to wake these dozers up. Second off, how can anyone sleep in there? There is a constant stream of studens coming in and out, chatting with eachother and making noise. How can anyone sleep through that? Third off, how are those blue couches with the wooden arms comfy? If I'm going to take a cat nap, I want a pillow, blanket and quiet.
Has anyone else come across this, or am I the only one?
Has anyone else come across this, or am I the only one?
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Work sharing
I found something interesting in my search for my third editorial. I have decided to write about the layoffs that Baldwin Filters and Eaton employees have experienced in the recent months. In figuring out a policy claim, I found what is called work sharing. I just think it's a really cool concept and something all major companies should adopt. The link is actually the California work share fact sheet but it gives the main points of the program in general. Check it out.
The facts of life-parking
Warning: if you are easily offended don’t read this post! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! This is my disclaimer. For those of you with tough skin, please, continue reading.
When it comes to parking on campus, ‘life is tough, get a helmet’ (sound familiar? It’s from Boy Meets World. Does anyone remember that show?!?!?! :D ).
We can’t always get what we want in life. For instance, I want a vacation on a warm, sunny beach, a winning lottery ticket and a cat that doesn’t do the number two on the floor. Am I going to get all that? Nope. Have I come to terms with the fact I won’t be getting all of that in near future? Yes-I built a bridge and I got over it.
Ah campus parking. How I love to hear people complain about it. NOT! I also don’t love hearing different suggestions about parking. Build a parking garage, knock down some houses and put in more stalls, the list is endless. However, are any of us going to be at UNK long enough to see these dreams come to fruition? I hope not!
Parking in a nutshell is as follows. If you have a green permit on your car, you park in the lots only made for the green permits. If you have a yellow permit on your car, you park in the lots only made for the yellow permits. Same goes for the blue permits and any other color I’m not aware of. Why does this simple color coded system dumbfound some people?
I have a yellow permit on my car and as my New Year’s resolution I refuse to drive around mindlessly looking for a spot five feet from my building. Why is this my New Year’s resolution? Two reasons: 1) save money on gas 2) it’s my free workout. On occasion, I have broken my resolution. I have driven through the smaller commuter lots to find a spot, but usually I head for the humongous lot outside the College of Ed. FYI this parking lot is HUGE! You are practically guaranteed a spot any time of the day!
Some of you may be thinking, ‘wow, that’s a lame resolution.’ I’m here to tell you it’s the smartest resolution on the face of the planet. By not driving around fourteen different commuter lots to try and find a space three feet from my building, I am saving gas by just heading straight for the lot outside College of Ed. The second reason is because I am entirely too busy to workout. Lifting weights, jogging, riding a bike, my foot, that just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Therefore, when I park at College of Ed, I am forced to walk a little extra to get to my classes. The workout comes from the fact that I speed walk because I’m usually freezing (my car heater doesn’t work properly), late or have hunger pains the size of Texas.
I will admit though, I have been tempted to park in the wrong lot this semester. Take for instance, last Tuesday. I was running a fever of 100 degrees, had a meeting to attend and a pressing deadline. Did I park in the faculty lot or the 30 minute zone that was calling my name? Nope. Call me a law abiding citizen, but I parked in the yellow lot made for my permit.
Sometimes you are dealt the worst hand in the world but you have to deal with it. I was dealt a fever of 100 degrees, a meeting and a pressing deadline but I met my deadline, attended my meeting and threw up afterwards. Build a bridge over parking everyone and get over it. Don’t moan and groan if you can’t park five feet from your building.
It’s a fact of life. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want. I won’t be leaving for my beach vacation and my cat won’t stop doing the number two on my new carpet any time soon. I’m over it. Buck it up and deal with campus parking. So I dare you. Complain about campus parking. I will just have to tell you to "suck it up pansy and get over it. You can't always get what you want."
Food for thought: do you complain to the Wal Mart greeters when you don’t get the stall right next to the handicap one? If you do, please, give me a break.
When it comes to parking on campus, ‘life is tough, get a helmet’ (sound familiar? It’s from Boy Meets World. Does anyone remember that show?!?!?! :D ).
We can’t always get what we want in life. For instance, I want a vacation on a warm, sunny beach, a winning lottery ticket and a cat that doesn’t do the number two on the floor. Am I going to get all that? Nope. Have I come to terms with the fact I won’t be getting all of that in near future? Yes-I built a bridge and I got over it.
Ah campus parking. How I love to hear people complain about it. NOT! I also don’t love hearing different suggestions about parking. Build a parking garage, knock down some houses and put in more stalls, the list is endless. However, are any of us going to be at UNK long enough to see these dreams come to fruition? I hope not!
Parking in a nutshell is as follows. If you have a green permit on your car, you park in the lots only made for the green permits. If you have a yellow permit on your car, you park in the lots only made for the yellow permits. Same goes for the blue permits and any other color I’m not aware of. Why does this simple color coded system dumbfound some people?
I have a yellow permit on my car and as my New Year’s resolution I refuse to drive around mindlessly looking for a spot five feet from my building. Why is this my New Year’s resolution? Two reasons: 1) save money on gas 2) it’s my free workout. On occasion, I have broken my resolution. I have driven through the smaller commuter lots to find a spot, but usually I head for the humongous lot outside the College of Ed. FYI this parking lot is HUGE! You are practically guaranteed a spot any time of the day!
Some of you may be thinking, ‘wow, that’s a lame resolution.’ I’m here to tell you it’s the smartest resolution on the face of the planet. By not driving around fourteen different commuter lots to try and find a space three feet from my building, I am saving gas by just heading straight for the lot outside College of Ed. The second reason is because I am entirely too busy to workout. Lifting weights, jogging, riding a bike, my foot, that just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Therefore, when I park at College of Ed, I am forced to walk a little extra to get to my classes. The workout comes from the fact that I speed walk because I’m usually freezing (my car heater doesn’t work properly), late or have hunger pains the size of Texas.
I will admit though, I have been tempted to park in the wrong lot this semester. Take for instance, last Tuesday. I was running a fever of 100 degrees, had a meeting to attend and a pressing deadline. Did I park in the faculty lot or the 30 minute zone that was calling my name? Nope. Call me a law abiding citizen, but I parked in the yellow lot made for my permit.
Sometimes you are dealt the worst hand in the world but you have to deal with it. I was dealt a fever of 100 degrees, a meeting and a pressing deadline but I met my deadline, attended my meeting and threw up afterwards. Build a bridge over parking everyone and get over it. Don’t moan and groan if you can’t park five feet from your building.
It’s a fact of life. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want. I won’t be leaving for my beach vacation and my cat won’t stop doing the number two on my new carpet any time soon. I’m over it. Buck it up and deal with campus parking. So I dare you. Complain about campus parking. I will just have to tell you to "suck it up pansy and get over it. You can't always get what you want."
Food for thought: do you complain to the Wal Mart greeters when you don’t get the stall right next to the handicap one? If you do, please, give me a break.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
And the prize goes to...Dave Barry
I don’t know what it is about Dave Barry’s writing style, but I love it. I have read a lot of his books, I try to keep up on his columns and now I am reading his blog. He is rarely serious (which I can appreciate), so maybe that is why I like him so much.
Dave Barry’s blog has a lot of funny and random links, photos etc. that others write in to him to include. He rarely does commentary on each entry, but he does from time to time. He discusses things we can all relate to so his subject matter is never over my head. A lot of his blog posts are about people who have me asking, “how stupid are you?” Lots of weird and funny news about people doing the dumbest things-something I always enjoy reading about. :)
Dave Barry’s blog has a lot of funny and random links, photos etc. that others write in to him to include. He rarely does commentary on each entry, but he does from time to time. He discusses things we can all relate to so his subject matter is never over my head. A lot of his blog posts are about people who have me asking, “how stupid are you?” Lots of weird and funny news about people doing the dumbest things-something I always enjoy reading about. :)
Therapeutic driving
To escape all the recent stress my husband and I have been going through lately, we decided to visit my family who lives 100 miles away. What I didn’t know was this trip would temporarily alter my stress level.
My stress level has not only been through the roof, but it has been higher than the part on a mountain where the trees don’t grow anymore. Wait wait, I think that’s too low. I think my stress has been right about where O’Ryan’s belt constellation is located. That sounds about right.
Moving on….
My husband and I decided I would drive to our destination and he would drive us home. As soon as we were about 10 miles outside of Kearney, I rolled down all the windows in the car (granted we are on the highway and it was a chilly 40 degrees and my husband had a terrible cold so he was none too happy). As far as I could see there were corn fields and cows and your occasional horse chopping on frozen grass. Talk about stress relief! I never knew these familiar sights of my past would grant me so much relief.
As we headed closer to our destination my stress level was about as high as my knee. It was like my stress was just floating out of the car windows and filling up the beautiful sandhill valleys of Nebraska.
We enjoyed our day trip immensely, never once mentioning the words ‘lay off’ or ‘Baldwin Filters.’ I had to laugh because as we were getting closer and closer to Kearney, my stress level started getting higher again. But this time, it only rose as high as the roof over my head.
I’m sure in the next couple of days my stress will be back to where it was originally, in O’Ryan’s belt constellation. However, had we not taken that day trip I’m pretty sure I would have had to be put in a mental institution.
So the next time YOUR stress accumulates so much you think you are going to explode, go somewhere. Get out of town; get away from the situation that is stressing you. I assure you, it will work and you will be good as new (or at least slightly new with a few dents).
My stress level has not only been through the roof, but it has been higher than the part on a mountain where the trees don’t grow anymore. Wait wait, I think that’s too low. I think my stress has been right about where O’Ryan’s belt constellation is located. That sounds about right.
Moving on….
My husband and I decided I would drive to our destination and he would drive us home. As soon as we were about 10 miles outside of Kearney, I rolled down all the windows in the car (granted we are on the highway and it was a chilly 40 degrees and my husband had a terrible cold so he was none too happy). As far as I could see there were corn fields and cows and your occasional horse chopping on frozen grass. Talk about stress relief! I never knew these familiar sights of my past would grant me so much relief.
As we headed closer to our destination my stress level was about as high as my knee. It was like my stress was just floating out of the car windows and filling up the beautiful sandhill valleys of Nebraska.
We enjoyed our day trip immensely, never once mentioning the words ‘lay off’ or ‘Baldwin Filters.’ I had to laugh because as we were getting closer and closer to Kearney, my stress level started getting higher again. But this time, it only rose as high as the roof over my head.
I’m sure in the next couple of days my stress will be back to where it was originally, in O’Ryan’s belt constellation. However, had we not taken that day trip I’m pretty sure I would have had to be put in a mental institution.
So the next time YOUR stress accumulates so much you think you are going to explode, go somewhere. Get out of town; get away from the situation that is stressing you. I assure you, it will work and you will be good as new (or at least slightly new with a few dents).
Monday, February 23, 2009
I don't want to brace myself!
The first sentence of a recent article on CNBC says, ‘brace yourself: the recession is projected to worsen this year.’
Awesome, I can’t wait.
Yep, I’ve got a bad attitude about the economy. I didn’t know it could get any worse than this.
The article said the recent lay offs across the country are only ‘feeding the vicious downward cycle of the economy.’ The lay offs may be helping a company to succeed in this weak economy, but in the end, the lay offs aren’t going to help the country. The lay offs, therefore, are only making the country weaker and more vulnerable.
Some of you may be saying, ‘well duh, I knew that.’ But really, think about it. Is it better for a company to cut a couple hours here and there or to have a handful of employees laid off? In the long run, it’s better for an employee to work only 32 hours a week than it is for them to work 0 hours a week.
The lay offs may be a short term fix for a company, but a long term problem for the country. Obviously, the unemployment rate will only get worse if companies continue to do what they have been doing.
I don’t want to brace myself for the hard times like the article said. I’m ready for better times, as is everyone else I’m sure.
Awesome, I can’t wait.
Yep, I’ve got a bad attitude about the economy. I didn’t know it could get any worse than this.
The article said the recent lay offs across the country are only ‘feeding the vicious downward cycle of the economy.’ The lay offs may be helping a company to succeed in this weak economy, but in the end, the lay offs aren’t going to help the country. The lay offs, therefore, are only making the country weaker and more vulnerable.
Some of you may be saying, ‘well duh, I knew that.’ But really, think about it. Is it better for a company to cut a couple hours here and there or to have a handful of employees laid off? In the long run, it’s better for an employee to work only 32 hours a week than it is for them to work 0 hours a week.
The lay offs may be a short term fix for a company, but a long term problem for the country. Obviously, the unemployment rate will only get worse if companies continue to do what they have been doing.
I don’t want to brace myself for the hard times like the article said. I’m ready for better times, as is everyone else I’m sure.
Issues
Maybe it’s my attitude the last couple of days, but I had no problem finding problems in the UNK and Kearney communities. Here are a few issues I would be interested in writing about for our third editorial:
1. Student fees at UNK are something that has interested me since I enrolled three years ago. I like to know what I am getting when I pay for something. It came to no surprise to me when I would go over my tuition bills with a fine tooth comb to see exactly what I was paying for and why. I came across numerous fees that I found a little outrageous and ridiculous. For example, I am taking 12 credit hours this semester and I paid $468.25 in fees alone. I’m sorry; I don’t have almost $500 a semester to give to the weight room or to campus events. When I took 19 credit hours one semester my fees were through the roof! I couldn’t believe my weight room fee was almost $40 that semester because I was taking so many credit hours. Again, I’m sorry; if I’m taking 19 credit hours do you honestly think I spent time in the weight room? No. A complete list of fees can be found here. Something needs to be done to combat these high fees. I really don’t think the fees should increase with the amount of credit hours you take. They should be a set amount.
2. If you’ve picked up a Kearney Hub in the last, oh month, you’ve heard about the battle with the FirsTier Event Center. The city of Kearney is willing to offer $2-$3 million for the arena with a 1 percent restaurant tax increase. Many are fighting this, but many are supporting the city in this possible purchase. The lead sentence of a story printed in the Kearney Hub on Feb. 20 reads, ‘Kearney’s spending priorities should not be leisure and recreation.’ I totally disagree with this statement in this economy. Yes, some of us may be economically disadvantaged. However, we need a place to escape and have fun and let loose. The city of Kearney can’t afford to lose the FirsTier Event Center.
3. Surprise surprise…I would like to write about the layoffs at Baldwin Filters and other companies in Kearney. I think everyone understands the severity of the current economy (or at least I hope they do). Therefore, I think people would rather have their hours or pay cut before their job is cut. Did Baldwin and Eaton really exhume all available resources to avoid lay offs?
1. Student fees at UNK are something that has interested me since I enrolled three years ago. I like to know what I am getting when I pay for something. It came to no surprise to me when I would go over my tuition bills with a fine tooth comb to see exactly what I was paying for and why. I came across numerous fees that I found a little outrageous and ridiculous. For example, I am taking 12 credit hours this semester and I paid $468.25 in fees alone. I’m sorry; I don’t have almost $500 a semester to give to the weight room or to campus events. When I took 19 credit hours one semester my fees were through the roof! I couldn’t believe my weight room fee was almost $40 that semester because I was taking so many credit hours. Again, I’m sorry; if I’m taking 19 credit hours do you honestly think I spent time in the weight room? No. A complete list of fees can be found here. Something needs to be done to combat these high fees. I really don’t think the fees should increase with the amount of credit hours you take. They should be a set amount.
2. If you’ve picked up a Kearney Hub in the last, oh month, you’ve heard about the battle with the FirsTier Event Center. The city of Kearney is willing to offer $2-$3 million for the arena with a 1 percent restaurant tax increase. Many are fighting this, but many are supporting the city in this possible purchase. The lead sentence of a story printed in the Kearney Hub on Feb. 20 reads, ‘Kearney’s spending priorities should not be leisure and recreation.’ I totally disagree with this statement in this economy. Yes, some of us may be economically disadvantaged. However, we need a place to escape and have fun and let loose. The city of Kearney can’t afford to lose the FirsTier Event Center.
3. Surprise surprise…I would like to write about the layoffs at Baldwin Filters and other companies in Kearney. I think everyone understands the severity of the current economy (or at least I hope they do). Therefore, I think people would rather have their hours or pay cut before their job is cut. Did Baldwin and Eaton really exhume all available resources to avoid lay offs?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Could lay offs be avoided?
So I am still fuming about the recent events surrounding Baldwin Filters. After talking with a handful of those employees laid off, there is no hope of those laid off ever returning to Baldwin. I don’t blame them. Why would you go back to work somewhere that just laid you off? You would have to start at the bottom of the totem pole all over again. Not worth it.
I do give Baldwin kudos when it comes to avoiding lay offs though. They have tried the past four months or so to avoid laying off anyone. Some employees of the Kearney Baldwin Filters experienced a lovely pay raise, only to have it be taken away about two weeks later. Many employees also had the opportunity to work overtime on the weekends for extra money. That was also taken away. Instead, employees were put ‘on call’ in case they were needed. Everyone could see that these were steps to avoid actually laying someone off.
I give them kudos, but as a wife of someone who just lost their job, I have the right to complain and fume. And complain and fume I will. I never thought my husband and I would attend an ‘unemployment’ meeting where we would learn how to receive our unemployment checks. I never thought it would be us.
It upset me to the core to talk with other employees who were also laid off. One was a single mother of two; another was a college student who was working at Baldwin to support himself; another was an older woman who had worked for Baldwin for over 30 years; another was a husband and a father of three; another had just bought a house and thanks to the lay off, he lost his brand new home. It broke my heart to hear those stories. These were good people and now their lives were upside down. I walked out of the unemployment meeting with tears behind my eyes.
Talking with my husband and others that were laid off we realized something. The lay offs had to rhyme or reason to them. They weren’t by seniority. They weren’t by the people who had gotten written up. We couldn’t find a pattern to those who were laid off. Apparently, my husband’s co-workers, who were on his shift, had confronted the boss after he escorted my husband out. They asked him why he was laying him off and not someone else. The boss just walked away.
Now, bosses don’t have hearts of steel so I know it pained them to walk their employees out the door yesterday. My husband’s co-workers confronted the boss by saying, ‘we would have gladly all worked 32 hours a week so he could have stayed.’
Wow. If only all employees, everywhere had this thought. Would there be lay offs? Would there be an unemployment rate? Could these lay offs be avoided by doing what my husband’s co-workers were willing to do for him? Who knows? I’m not going to make that judgment call. What is done is done and we move on. There is nothing we can do now so we move on.
I do give Baldwin kudos when it comes to avoiding lay offs though. They have tried the past four months or so to avoid laying off anyone. Some employees of the Kearney Baldwin Filters experienced a lovely pay raise, only to have it be taken away about two weeks later. Many employees also had the opportunity to work overtime on the weekends for extra money. That was also taken away. Instead, employees were put ‘on call’ in case they were needed. Everyone could see that these were steps to avoid actually laying someone off.
I give them kudos, but as a wife of someone who just lost their job, I have the right to complain and fume. And complain and fume I will. I never thought my husband and I would attend an ‘unemployment’ meeting where we would learn how to receive our unemployment checks. I never thought it would be us.
It upset me to the core to talk with other employees who were also laid off. One was a single mother of two; another was a college student who was working at Baldwin to support himself; another was an older woman who had worked for Baldwin for over 30 years; another was a husband and a father of three; another had just bought a house and thanks to the lay off, he lost his brand new home. It broke my heart to hear those stories. These were good people and now their lives were upside down. I walked out of the unemployment meeting with tears behind my eyes.
Talking with my husband and others that were laid off we realized something. The lay offs had to rhyme or reason to them. They weren’t by seniority. They weren’t by the people who had gotten written up. We couldn’t find a pattern to those who were laid off. Apparently, my husband’s co-workers, who were on his shift, had confronted the boss after he escorted my husband out. They asked him why he was laying him off and not someone else. The boss just walked away.
Now, bosses don’t have hearts of steel so I know it pained them to walk their employees out the door yesterday. My husband’s co-workers confronted the boss by saying, ‘we would have gladly all worked 32 hours a week so he could have stayed.’
Wow. If only all employees, everywhere had this thought. Would there be lay offs? Would there be an unemployment rate? Could these lay offs be avoided by doing what my husband’s co-workers were willing to do for him? Who knows? I’m not going to make that judgment call. What is done is done and we move on. There is nothing we can do now so we move on.
The faces of unemployment
A man with 30 years of experience, a man with 18 years experience and a man with a year and a half experience. Fifty employees all together were escorted off the premises, all laid off by a company in Kearney as of midnight, Feb. 20, 2009.
The man with a year and a half experience was my husband. With no warning, he was laid off.
I usually don’t rant and rave about my problems in this blog. I usually rant and rave about other people’s problems. This is one exception.
Some people think the bad economy of the U.S. isn’t affecting Kearney. Think again. Fifty unemployed persons will be collecting unemployment and looking for new jobs in the following days and weeks.
These fifty persons are not the ones affected by the economy in Kearney. A handful of other companies in and around Kearney have laid off some or all of their employees.
For those of you that don’t believe the bad economy is affecting Kearney, tell that to my husband. Tell that to the other 50 people laid off last night. Tell that to the other hundreds of people laid off in and around Kearney. They are the faces of unemployment and they will prove to you the bad economy is affecting Kearney.
The man with a year and a half experience was my husband. With no warning, he was laid off.
I usually don’t rant and rave about my problems in this blog. I usually rant and rave about other people’s problems. This is one exception.
Some people think the bad economy of the U.S. isn’t affecting Kearney. Think again. Fifty unemployed persons will be collecting unemployment and looking for new jobs in the following days and weeks.
These fifty persons are not the ones affected by the economy in Kearney. A handful of other companies in and around Kearney have laid off some or all of their employees.
For those of you that don’t believe the bad economy is affecting Kearney, tell that to my husband. Tell that to the other 50 people laid off last night. Tell that to the other hundreds of people laid off in and around Kearney. They are the faces of unemployment and they will prove to you the bad economy is affecting Kearney.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Users and abusers
Nothing ticks me off more than people who use and abuse the system. By system, I mean the government aid that is passed out to those under a certain income. I don’t mean to get on my high horse here, but this is a serious issue.
Now I have no problem with people using welfare, food stamps etc. if they are actually using it for it’s intended purpose. If someone is using their welfare money to buy a Wii we have a problem. The government can’t keep handing out aid like this to people who may abuse the system.
I don’t know what a viable solution would be to this problem, but something has to be done to stop the abuse.
One user and abuser situation that has come about in the past month is that of….you guessed, it Nadya Suleman. I have said from the get-go that I would never write about her in this blog. I think she is getting a lot of unwanted media attention. However, she is a prime user and abuser of the system.
Nadya is using her student loan money to raise her now 14 children. I will be the first one to admit, I like getting refund checks from the Fin Aid office. However, I’m not depending on them for my financial well being. I’m not depending on my refund check to buy groceries, make a doctors payment etc. It’s just nice to deposit that in the bank. :)
So I would like to say something to Nadya. I know you’re getting a really bad reputation for having 14 kids, no husband, no job and no car. I love kids just as much as you do. Thanks for taking your student loan refund (or all of your student loan…who knows) and turning that into income for your family. I really hope the student loan system stays afloat and doesn’t bounce because of moochers like you. I would like to pay for my school with my student loan, not raise my family. Don’t use and abuse.
Now I have no problem with people using welfare, food stamps etc. if they are actually using it for it’s intended purpose. If someone is using their welfare money to buy a Wii we have a problem. The government can’t keep handing out aid like this to people who may abuse the system.
I don’t know what a viable solution would be to this problem, but something has to be done to stop the abuse.
One user and abuser situation that has come about in the past month is that of….you guessed, it Nadya Suleman. I have said from the get-go that I would never write about her in this blog. I think she is getting a lot of unwanted media attention. However, she is a prime user and abuser of the system.
Nadya is using her student loan money to raise her now 14 children. I will be the first one to admit, I like getting refund checks from the Fin Aid office. However, I’m not depending on them for my financial well being. I’m not depending on my refund check to buy groceries, make a doctors payment etc. It’s just nice to deposit that in the bank. :)
So I would like to say something to Nadya. I know you’re getting a really bad reputation for having 14 kids, no husband, no job and no car. I love kids just as much as you do. Thanks for taking your student loan refund (or all of your student loan…who knows) and turning that into income for your family. I really hope the student loan system stays afloat and doesn’t bounce because of moochers like you. I would like to pay for my school with my student loan, not raise my family. Don’t use and abuse.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Too much of a good thing is a bad thing
Too much of a good thing is a bad thing; Too many ethanol plants equals big trouble for Nebraskans
For Steve Flaming, 48, of Grant, Neb., it’s the beginning of his 12-hour shift. Flaming scoops gravel, cleans pits of ethanol waste and fixes elevators for 12 hours. He’s not alone in his 12-hour, hard-labor work shift. Over 1,000 ethanol plant workers are scattered throughout Nebraska in ethanol plants from Bridgeport to Jackson to Trenton.
Fellow Nebraskans, when it comes to allocating one of our best resources, corn, we are all in agreement over ethanol. We actually agreed so much that in the last decade or so, we opened over 20 plants to produce the demand for renewable fuels. Now this abundance of plants is coming back to haunt Nebraskans. Ethanol is a good thing for Nebraska, but now it is too much of a good thing.
Layoffs, pay cuts and plants closing are all too common news in the last couple of months. Plant owners are blaming the economic down turn; but before plant owners start pointing fingers, let’s look at the bare bones of the ethanol industry in Nebraska.
According to the Nebraska Corn Board, the first ethanol plant was built in 1985, and from there multiplied into 21 plants with a handful still under construction. All of these plants combined could hold 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol. These billions of gallons of ethanol have literally transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans. It has given many Nebraskans jobs and provided farmers a market to sell their corn.
The ethanol industry has also transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans in a negative way. Many ethanol plant workers have been laid off or experienced pay cuts in recent months. Although the economy may be a factor, it is not the only factor. In fact, the main contributing factor may be the plants themselves.
In less than 25 years, over 20 ethanol plants were opened. That’s about one plant per year. Multiply each plant by 50, for the amount of jobs each plant provides and there is an employee count of 1,050 statewide. These 1,050 employees of ethanol plants started their jobs thinking it would be guaranteed for the future because of the demand for renewable fuels. Unfortunately, these employees were wrong.
When these plants were built, the demand for ethanol was high. The demand is still high, but the supply of ethanol has now grown. This leaves many plants deserted.
Many plants that are under construction have come to a screeching halt. Instead of building more plants, just to eventually close them, we need to stop building and concentrate on the ones that are still thriving. If we continue to build more and more ethanol plants, we will only have more unemployed Nebraskans.
We need to concentrate on plants, such as the one in Madrid or Lexington, that are thriving. We need to move the plant workers from a closed plant, such as the one in Wood River, to plants that are succeeding. How can we get people to uproot their lives to work at another plant? Offer relocation bonuses and a guaranteed job. It’s time to get back to basics. We need to focus on a few plants, instead of trying to stretch our resources to over twenty plants.
It is vital to keep rural Nebraskans working during our economic recession. We need to keep people like Steve Flaming working in well paying job. We cannot let the high unemployment rate of the United States affect Nebraskans.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Too many ethanol plants equals big trouble for Nebraskans
Rough draft of Editorial #2
It’s 4:30 a.m. in the tiny town of Madrid, Neb. Most people are tucked away warm in their beds for at least another two or three hours. For Steve Flaming, 48, of Grant, Neb., it’s the beginning of his 12-hour shift.
Flaming scrapes the ice off his 1976 Ford Pickup and drives the ten miles on a deserted gravel road to work. He tosses a lunch, snacks and drinks into the company fridge and clocks in. For the next 12 hours, Flaming scoops gravel, cleans pits of ethanol waste and fixes elevators.
Flaming is not alone in his 12-hour, hard-labor work shift. Over 1,000 ethanol plant workers are scattered throughout Nebraska in plants from Bridgeport to Jackson to Trenton.
Fellow Nebraskans, when it comes to allocating one of our best resources, corn, we are all in agreement over ethanol. We actually agreed so much that in the last decade or so, we opened over 20 plants to produce the demand for renewable fuels. Now this abundance of plants is coming back to haunt Nebraskans.
Layoffs, pay cuts and plants closing are all too common news in the last couple of months. Plant owners are blaming the economic down turn; but before plant owners start pointing fingers, let’s look at the bare bones of the ethanol industry in Nebraska.
According to the Nebraska Corn Board, the first ethanol plant was built in the 1985, and from there multiplied into 21 plants with a handful still under construction. All of these plants combined could hold 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol. These billions of gallons of ethanol have literally transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans. It has given many Nebraskans jobs and provided farmers a market to sell their corn.
The ethanol industry has also transformed the lives of rural Nebraskans in a not so positive way. Many have been laid off or experienced pay cuts in the recent months. Although the economy may be a factor, it is not the only factor. In fact, the main contributing factor may be the plants themselves.
In less than 25 years, over 20 ethanol plants were opened. That’s about one plant per year. Multiply each plant by 50, for the amount of jobs each plant provides and you have an employee count of 1050 statewide. These 1050 employees of ethanol plants started their jobs thinking it would be guaranteed for the future because of the demand for renewable fuels. Unfortunately, these employees were wrong.
When these plants were built, the demand for ethanol was high. The demand is still high, but the supply of ethanol has now grown. This leaves many plants deserted.
Many plants that are under construction have come to a screeching halt. Instead of building more, just to eventually close them, let’s stop building and concentrate on the ones that are still thriving. If we continue to build more and more ethanol plants, we will only have more unemployed Nebraskans.
We need to concentrate on plants, such as the one in Madrid or Lexington, that are thriving. Let’s move the plant workers from Wood River, for example, to plants that are succeeding. How can we get people to uproot their lives to work at another plant? Offer relocation bonuses and a guaranteed job. Let’s get back to basics. Let’s focus on a few plants, instead of trying to stretch our resources to over twenty plants. Let’s not let the high unemployment rate of the United States affect Nebraskans.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Three state issues
1. A state issue that I have been interested in that gets a lot of publicity is the amount of ethanol plants in Nebraska. The plants have transformed rural Nebraska, giving farmers a new outlet and giving many people a good-paying job. However, many of these plants are now closing down completely or laying off employees. One factor for these closings is the bankruptcy of Vera Sun, a large ethanol producer. Vera Sun managed plants in Central City, Albion and Ord. Many other plants have closed in Nebraska and many are blaming it on the economic downturn. Is it really the economy’s fault, or is it the fault of the ethanol plants themselves? Did they build too many too fast?
2. An article published in the North Platte Bulletin reported that Nebraska scored very low on the Brady Campaign, an evaluation of gun laws in a particular state. The article reported that gun laws did not strengthen in Nebraska after the Omaha mall shooting. The results of the evaluation showed, “Nebraska has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without background checks and put children at risk.”
3. The statewide smoking ban, which goes into effect on June 1, is a highly debated issue in the state. Many business owners are asking for an exemption for this smoking ban because it will eventually drive their customers away. Is it fair for some businesses to comply with the ban and some to ask for exemptions?
2. An article published in the North Platte Bulletin reported that Nebraska scored very low on the Brady Campaign, an evaluation of gun laws in a particular state. The article reported that gun laws did not strengthen in Nebraska after the Omaha mall shooting. The results of the evaluation showed, “Nebraska has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without background checks and put children at risk.”
3. The statewide smoking ban, which goes into effect on June 1, is a highly debated issue in the state. Many business owners are asking for an exemption for this smoking ban because it will eventually drive their customers away. Is it fair for some businesses to comply with the ban and some to ask for exemptions?
Monday, February 9, 2009
The station wagon blues
Growing up, we had a blue station wagon. Granted we had this station wagon when I was still in a car seat, but it’s still a big family joke talking about the ‘family truckster.’
On CBS news, a woman decided to jam herself and her 22 dogs into her ‘family truckster.’ The dogs and the woman were found among pots of water and waste.
Remembering what our station wagon looked like in home videos and trying to picture 22 dogs and a human in there is kind of comical. The size of our station wagon looked like it could barely hold my parents, my three sisters and myself, let alone a pet, or two or 20.
So in short, this woman was arrested and faces no charges. Excuse me, what? Isn’t there some kind of animal abuse law she violated? If not, there should be one written that prohibits cramming too many pets into one vehicle because that is just plain sick.
On CBS news, a woman decided to jam herself and her 22 dogs into her ‘family truckster.’ The dogs and the woman were found among pots of water and waste.
Remembering what our station wagon looked like in home videos and trying to picture 22 dogs and a human in there is kind of comical. The size of our station wagon looked like it could barely hold my parents, my three sisters and myself, let alone a pet, or two or 20.
So in short, this woman was arrested and faces no charges. Excuse me, what? Isn’t there some kind of animal abuse law she violated? If not, there should be one written that prohibits cramming too many pets into one vehicle because that is just plain sick.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Am I missing something?
I will be the first one to admit I truly dislike watching anything on E!. It’s all very sensational, ‘he slept with her!?!?’ ‘isn’t she married, oh wait who cares in Hollywood’ type of news. However, E did catch my attention this morning. On a show called ‘The Soup,’ the host, Joel McHale, was sharing his thoughts on the tv show ‘Jon and Kate plus 8.’
‘The Soup’ dishes out opinions on the latest Hollywood buzz and creates spoofs of tv clips. This morning, ‘The Soup’ showed a clip from the latest episode of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8.’ For those of you who don’t know, ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ is a reality tv show on TLC about a couple (Jon and Kate) in their mid-thirties who are raising 8-year-old twins and 4-year-old sextuplets. Jon is very laid back while Kate tends to micro-manage every aspect of their family.
The clip of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ shown by the ‘The Soup’ was from their latest episode of the family moving into a new house. Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. To make a long story short, Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon with him to purchase said home repair items. Kate then became upset because she had a coupon and Jon didn’t take it with him. Kate asked him to find the receipt which he retrieved minutes later. That was that.
Now, here’s what ‘The Soup’ did:
Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon. Kate is shown waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Jon and the receipt. ‘The Soup’ then pans to a mans hand loading a handgun. As soon as Kate is done talking to Jon up the stairs, you hear the gun fire. The spoof implied that Jon shot himself because of Kate being upset over a non-coupon purchase.
(I tried to find the video on the Internet but it has not been posted yet.)
While watching this spoof from ‘The Soup’ I could hardly believe what I was seeing. My favorite show was now a suicide spoof! Are you kidding me? I watched the rest of ‘The Soup’ and some of the spoofs were just as bad.
My question is, who thinks a suicide spoof is funny? Am I missing something here? I think I have a pretty good sense of humor but this just crossed the line. I was appalled that E would go this far. I know E has rights to comment and criticize any way they please but you have to admit, too far is too far. You can only go so far before you start offending people and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one offended here. This just proves to me once again that E is nothing more than sensational news and absurd spoofs. The little respect I had for E has now plummeted into the negative numbers.
‘The Soup’ dishes out opinions on the latest Hollywood buzz and creates spoofs of tv clips. This morning, ‘The Soup’ showed a clip from the latest episode of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8.’ For those of you who don’t know, ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ is a reality tv show on TLC about a couple (Jon and Kate) in their mid-thirties who are raising 8-year-old twins and 4-year-old sextuplets. Jon is very laid back while Kate tends to micro-manage every aspect of their family.
The clip of ‘Jon and Kate plus 8’ shown by the ‘The Soup’ was from their latest episode of the family moving into a new house. Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. To make a long story short, Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon with him to purchase said home repair items. Kate then became upset because she had a coupon and Jon didn’t take it with him. Kate asked him to find the receipt which he retrieved minutes later. That was that.
Now, here’s what ‘The Soup’ did:
Jon left the house to purchase some home repair items while Kate and the kids unpacked. Jon returned with a receipt proving he had not taken a coupon. Kate is shown waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Jon and the receipt. ‘The Soup’ then pans to a mans hand loading a handgun. As soon as Kate is done talking to Jon up the stairs, you hear the gun fire. The spoof implied that Jon shot himself because of Kate being upset over a non-coupon purchase.
(I tried to find the video on the Internet but it has not been posted yet.)
While watching this spoof from ‘The Soup’ I could hardly believe what I was seeing. My favorite show was now a suicide spoof! Are you kidding me? I watched the rest of ‘The Soup’ and some of the spoofs were just as bad.
My question is, who thinks a suicide spoof is funny? Am I missing something here? I think I have a pretty good sense of humor but this just crossed the line. I was appalled that E would go this far. I know E has rights to comment and criticize any way they please but you have to admit, too far is too far. You can only go so far before you start offending people and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one offended here. This just proves to me once again that E is nothing more than sensational news and absurd spoofs. The little respect I had for E has now plummeted into the negative numbers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Windows are meant to go down
It was almost 60 degrees today, absolutely gorgeous weather. I decided I would take a drive north of town to avoid homework. I rolled down all my windows and opened the moon roof in my car. I turned on the country music and hit the road, Jack.
As I was heading through Kearney I noticed something. It was 60 degrees and every car but about three had their windows rolled up. I couldn’t believe it. I had my arm hanging out the window like the nice weather only came once a year! I was like an overly excited dog in the bed of a pickup who hangs his tongue out and who runs from side to side, all the while his ears flying back like Superdog.
It makes me wonder how hot or cold people are if they do not roll their windows down on a 60 degree day. Do they turn on the AC or do they unconsciously turn on the heat? Either way, they are not making good use of our unseasonably warm weather!
These warm days aren’t a dime a dozen in Nebraska, so why not enjoy them? If you ever see me driving around on a day like today, I will be the one with my tongue hanging out and my ears flying back. You better hope I don’t see you with your windows up. Windows are meant to go down.
As I was heading through Kearney I noticed something. It was 60 degrees and every car but about three had their windows rolled up. I couldn’t believe it. I had my arm hanging out the window like the nice weather only came once a year! I was like an overly excited dog in the bed of a pickup who hangs his tongue out and who runs from side to side, all the while his ears flying back like Superdog.
It makes me wonder how hot or cold people are if they do not roll their windows down on a 60 degree day. Do they turn on the AC or do they unconsciously turn on the heat? Either way, they are not making good use of our unseasonably warm weather!
These warm days aren’t a dime a dozen in Nebraska, so why not enjoy them? If you ever see me driving around on a day like today, I will be the one with my tongue hanging out and my ears flying back. You better hope I don’t see you with your windows up. Windows are meant to go down.
He's one smart cookie!
I’ve been begging my husband for weeks (although he would say I’ve been begging for months) to get a cat. I didn’t want a kitty who would have to be house trained, ‘fixed,’ and have a ton of shots. I wanted a cat that was just a little older than that. So, on a whim this weekend we headed down to the Humane Society to just ‘look around.’
Looking playful and weighing in at 8.8 pounds was Benson. Every time we walked by his cage he would sniff the plexi-glass as if he was trying to smell us. We laughed at his stupidity and brought him home.
Benson, now named Ammo, lived at the Human Society for about three months. As soon as we let him in our apartment he went crazy. He ran from one end of the apartment to the other on a high speed chase, sniffing his new home on the way.
We spent the weekend getting to know Ammo and we realized just how smart he really is. Here are a couple of examples:
1) Ammo found his food and water bowls within about two hours of being in our apartment. He then continued to eat all the food and drink all the water in his bowl in about an hour.
2) Ammo found his litter box shortly after he ate all the food, and used it. We praised him over and over for this.
3) Ammo found a new hiding spot in our box spring. He ripped a corner of the material off the bottom of the box spring and climbed in. We ripped the bottom material off the box spring so he could get out. Why is this smart? Well, when he sat under the bed he had to hunch over. Now, with no material on the bottom of the box spring, he can sit up straight, his head and neck in the box spring.
4) Ammo used his litter box…only missed. How is this smart? He knew we would be made if we saw his um, fecal matter on the floor. So he buried it in on the floor with the litter that he pawed out of his box.
5) Ammo did laundry. He got a kitchen towel from the hamper and dragged it through a hole the size of about a dime. He then continued to drag the towel, hamper and all, into the hallway where the rest of the laundry was.
6) Ammo knows how to sleep like a human. He curls up on a pillow and meows until someone throws a blanket over him.
7) Ammo knows what time it is. At precisely 6:30 a.m. every morning, he will walk around on my pillow and meow until I wake up. He also knows when my husband goes to work and will wait by the door for him to leave.
It has almost been a week since we got Ammo from the Human Society. In the short time we have had him, he has brought us so much joy and laughter. I am so excited to see what else he has in store for us in the years to come.
Looking playful and weighing in at 8.8 pounds was Benson. Every time we walked by his cage he would sniff the plexi-glass as if he was trying to smell us. We laughed at his stupidity and brought him home.
Benson, now named Ammo, lived at the Human Society for about three months. As soon as we let him in our apartment he went crazy. He ran from one end of the apartment to the other on a high speed chase, sniffing his new home on the way.
We spent the weekend getting to know Ammo and we realized just how smart he really is. Here are a couple of examples:
1) Ammo found his food and water bowls within about two hours of being in our apartment. He then continued to eat all the food and drink all the water in his bowl in about an hour.
2) Ammo found his litter box shortly after he ate all the food, and used it. We praised him over and over for this.
3) Ammo found a new hiding spot in our box spring. He ripped a corner of the material off the bottom of the box spring and climbed in. We ripped the bottom material off the box spring so he could get out. Why is this smart? Well, when he sat under the bed he had to hunch over. Now, with no material on the bottom of the box spring, he can sit up straight, his head and neck in the box spring.
4) Ammo used his litter box…only missed. How is this smart? He knew we would be made if we saw his um, fecal matter on the floor. So he buried it in on the floor with the litter that he pawed out of his box.
5) Ammo did laundry. He got a kitchen towel from the hamper and dragged it through a hole the size of about a dime. He then continued to drag the towel, hamper and all, into the hallway where the rest of the laundry was.
6) Ammo knows how to sleep like a human. He curls up on a pillow and meows until someone throws a blanket over him.
7) Ammo knows what time it is. At precisely 6:30 a.m. every morning, he will walk around on my pillow and meow until I wake up. He also knows when my husband goes to work and will wait by the door for him to leave.
It has almost been a week since we got Ammo from the Human Society. In the short time we have had him, he has brought us so much joy and laughter. I am so excited to see what else he has in store for us in the years to come.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Parenting 18 kids could be a breeze....
Cooking supper, giving young kids a bath and cleaning the house. Sounds like the typical tasks of your everyday parents. Think again. These are the duties of the oldest daughters of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of Arkansas.
Jim Bob and Michelle are parents to 18 children, all 21-years-old and younger. They depend on their oldest daughters, Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger to help them with their younger children (yes, they are all J names).
The Duggars have a ‘buddy system’ that pairs an older daughter with a younger child. The older daughter is expected to dress the younger child, make sure the child is clean, and help the child with any homework. Wait, aren’t these duties of a parent?
Although Jim Bob and Michelle cherish ‘every child as a gift from God,’ are they really appreciating every child, or are they taking advantage of their large numbers? With the oldest four daughters taking care of the majority of the younger children, they are learning responsibility; but at what cost to their own childhood?
The oldest members of the Duggar family may or may not get to experience the fun and exciting times of just being a kid because they have to be worried about their ‘buddy.’ This leads me to believe one thing. If Jim Bob and Michelle are passing off their parental duties to their oldest children, what are they going to do when their children grow up and move out? I sense total chaos.
I don’t think it’s fair that the oldest Duggar daughters are expected to take care of a younger brother or sister. They need a childhood just as much as the younger children. Isn’t there a better way to handle a busy household of 18 kids? I think Jim Bob and Michelle should take more responsibility for every child in their house instead of passing off some of their duties.
The Duggar family has opened their doors to the public eye with their TLC reality show ‘17 Kids and Counting.’ Although I think it’s wonderful that a couple can have this many kids, this is one bone I want to pick with them. If you are going to be a parent, be a parent. Don’t pass your parenting off to your kids.
Jim Bob and Michelle are parents to 18 children, all 21-years-old and younger. They depend on their oldest daughters, Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger to help them with their younger children (yes, they are all J names).
The Duggars have a ‘buddy system’ that pairs an older daughter with a younger child. The older daughter is expected to dress the younger child, make sure the child is clean, and help the child with any homework. Wait, aren’t these duties of a parent?
Although Jim Bob and Michelle cherish ‘every child as a gift from God,’ are they really appreciating every child, or are they taking advantage of their large numbers? With the oldest four daughters taking care of the majority of the younger children, they are learning responsibility; but at what cost to their own childhood?
The oldest members of the Duggar family may or may not get to experience the fun and exciting times of just being a kid because they have to be worried about their ‘buddy.’ This leads me to believe one thing. If Jim Bob and Michelle are passing off their parental duties to their oldest children, what are they going to do when their children grow up and move out? I sense total chaos.
I don’t think it’s fair that the oldest Duggar daughters are expected to take care of a younger brother or sister. They need a childhood just as much as the younger children. Isn’t there a better way to handle a busy household of 18 kids? I think Jim Bob and Michelle should take more responsibility for every child in their house instead of passing off some of their duties.
The Duggar family has opened their doors to the public eye with their TLC reality show ‘17 Kids and Counting.’ Although I think it’s wonderful that a couple can have this many kids, this is one bone I want to pick with them. If you are going to be a parent, be a parent. Don’t pass your parenting off to your kids.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Squirrel mania!!
Chirp chirp chirp. Silence. Thunk THUNK. Scratch scratch scratch scratch scraaaaatch. Silence. Tap tap tap.
It never fails. Every morning at 6 a.m., I hear the lovely sounds of the squirrels that have so conveniently made my porch roof their new abode. They not only think they own the porch roof, but all trees, fences, posts, and window screens in and around the house.
Every morning, a squirrel comes flying out of the hole in the porch roof. And every morning it scares the living daylights out of me, sending me into a cussing frenzy as I start my day. The squirrel then scales the front of the house to the nearest window screen where it digs in its claws and hangs there until I drive away. I’m waiting for the day when the squirrel loosens the screen and it falls off the house, squirrel going with it.
The two squirrels have been living in the porch roof for months now. I have decided that it is one adult female and one adult male by the way they ‘fight’ with each other in the trees, on the fences, posts and window screens. This ‘fighting’ has led me to believe there will be more squirrels in the spring. I researched just how many squirrels I should be expecting and the magic number is four.
Obviously I’m not a big fan of adult squirrels, but at the very least, I thought squirrel babies would be kind of cute. Couldn’t be more wrong! They are supposed to weigh an ounce, have no hair or teeth, and be blind for the first eight weeks of their life. At least I don’t have to worry about the babies running around in the trees, fences, posts and window screens anytime soon. It will be at least eight weeks before they can even see!
So in the next couple months, I will be watching the hole in our porch roof like a hawk. I’m not excited to see these rat-looking squirrel babies; I just want them out of the porch roof so I can fix the hole. I can only hope that once I board up their abode, they will leave and never return. I’m not quite sure what is so appealing about the trees, fences, posts and window screens in my yard, but by golly, they love it. I hope the squirrel babies won’t be as ornery as their parents. I would hate to open the mini-blinds one day and find six squirrels hanging out on the window screen.
It never fails. Every morning at 6 a.m., I hear the lovely sounds of the squirrels that have so conveniently made my porch roof their new abode. They not only think they own the porch roof, but all trees, fences, posts, and window screens in and around the house.
Every morning, a squirrel comes flying out of the hole in the porch roof. And every morning it scares the living daylights out of me, sending me into a cussing frenzy as I start my day. The squirrel then scales the front of the house to the nearest window screen where it digs in its claws and hangs there until I drive away. I’m waiting for the day when the squirrel loosens the screen and it falls off the house, squirrel going with it.
The two squirrels have been living in the porch roof for months now. I have decided that it is one adult female and one adult male by the way they ‘fight’ with each other in the trees, on the fences, posts and window screens. This ‘fighting’ has led me to believe there will be more squirrels in the spring. I researched just how many squirrels I should be expecting and the magic number is four.
Obviously I’m not a big fan of adult squirrels, but at the very least, I thought squirrel babies would be kind of cute. Couldn’t be more wrong! They are supposed to weigh an ounce, have no hair or teeth, and be blind for the first eight weeks of their life. At least I don’t have to worry about the babies running around in the trees, fences, posts and window screens anytime soon. It will be at least eight weeks before they can even see!
So in the next couple months, I will be watching the hole in our porch roof like a hawk. I’m not excited to see these rat-looking squirrel babies; I just want them out of the porch roof so I can fix the hole. I can only hope that once I board up their abode, they will leave and never return. I’m not quite sure what is so appealing about the trees, fences, posts and window screens in my yard, but by golly, they love it. I hope the squirrel babies won’t be as ornery as their parents. I would hate to open the mini-blinds one day and find six squirrels hanging out on the window screen.
Friday, January 30, 2009
I can't resist!
I always enjoy news stories that provide me with a chuckle or two...or three or four. We hear enough news about depressing subjects; it's time for some humor! And by humor, I mean a 17-year-old cross dresser.
A 17-year-old boy (aka the 'imposter') from Schenectady, NY was caught dressing like a girl to take a test at school. Wait, it gets even better. This boy is facing a felony burglary charge. A FELONY! This boy could serve time in jail (ahem, wasting the lovely tax money of Schenectady) for dressing like a girl!
Obviously he’s not a pro at this whole dressing like a girl thing because he was caught. So in this case, give the kid a break. Let him sit in detention or bang erasers for a couple weeks. Pair that with the humiliation from his friends and teachers and he should be good to go. He won’t dress like a girl after that. His jail time won’t make him learn a lesson; it will be the public humiliation he will endure if and when he ever sets foot back in his school (or should I say if he ever sets a high heeled foot back in the school?).
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that the justice system is working correctly. However, jail time for a 17-year-old cross dresser doesn’t seem like the answer. Don’t we have bigger problems to worry about in our school systems?
In my high school we dedicated DAYS to dressing like the opposite sex. Boys wore swimming suits and skirts, and girls wore grungy overalls. We even chose a winner; sadly though, it was usually a boy. Call me crazy, but putting a teenager in jail for dressing like the opposite sex isn't on my list of heinous crimes. He could have done much worse.
A 17-year-old boy (aka the 'imposter') from Schenectady, NY was caught dressing like a girl to take a test at school. Wait, it gets even better. This boy is facing a felony burglary charge. A FELONY! This boy could serve time in jail (ahem, wasting the lovely tax money of Schenectady) for dressing like a girl!
Obviously he’s not a pro at this whole dressing like a girl thing because he was caught. So in this case, give the kid a break. Let him sit in detention or bang erasers for a couple weeks. Pair that with the humiliation from his friends and teachers and he should be good to go. He won’t dress like a girl after that. His jail time won’t make him learn a lesson; it will be the public humiliation he will endure if and when he ever sets foot back in his school (or should I say if he ever sets a high heeled foot back in the school?).
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that the justice system is working correctly. However, jail time for a 17-year-old cross dresser doesn’t seem like the answer. Don’t we have bigger problems to worry about in our school systems?
In my high school we dedicated DAYS to dressing like the opposite sex. Boys wore swimming suits and skirts, and girls wore grungy overalls. We even chose a winner; sadly though, it was usually a boy. Call me crazy, but putting a teenager in jail for dressing like the opposite sex isn't on my list of heinous crimes. He could have done much worse.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Zimbabwe hanging on by threads; U.S. involvement is crucial
Final draft of Editoral #1:
The United States may be in a flailing economy, but Zimbabwe is hanging on by only threads. Inflation of 231 million per year (the highest in the world), a politically unstable environment and a breakout of cholera have Zimbabweans crying for help. Zimbabwe is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis that is only getting worse by bickering politicians and severe food shortages.
UNICEF, the Red Cross and other organizations have attempted to help Zimbabwe, but it simply is not enough. No woman, man or child should have to beg for something to eat or watch a loved one die of cholera. In 2009, President Obama and his administration must get involved in order to stop the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
The main politician at the head of the crisis in Zimbabwe is Robert Mugabe. Ego-driven Mugabe refuses to give his power to anyone else, and cannot share his power with Morgan Tsvangirai to see this country succeed. Mugabe blocked aid to Zimbabweans at the end of 2008 but let them back in shortly after. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans are left with little food, no shelter and an economy just short of total disaster.
We can relate the current humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe to the oppression of the Iraqis by Saddam Hussein before his death in 2006. Although Hussein’s sanctions against the Iraqis were much worse than Mugabe’s are in Zimbabwe, who is to say that Mugabe could not go in that direction. If Zimbabwe moves in the governmental direction of old Iraq, Zimbabwe will become a dangerous threat to other countries.
Many Zimbabweans are now trying to escape their country to find better opportunities. Musina, South Africa has now become the town through which Zimbabweans are trying to escape. Many men, women and young children try to cross this border everyday. However, without the right permit from the Zimbabwean government, these people are beaten and abused by gangs who lure on the border. Only 300 permits are given out daily by the government, leaving many waiting for weeks to cross into a better life.
Although Mugabe is not forcing people to relocate, he is sure not making conditions in Zimbabwe favorable for staying. In old Iraq, Hussein destroyed villages which forced people to relocate outside of Iraq. Hussein’s actions were more violent and obvious while Mugabe’s are more of a slow torture; making the Zimbabweans struggle for months on end. At the end of the day, bad living conditions are bad living conditions, whether they happen quickly or over a long period of time. Hussein did not make the living conditions favorable for the Iraqis, and Mugabe is surely not making them favorable in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe has been urged by critics around the world to step down off his ego platform and leave Zimbabwe alone before the country slides into disaster. The critics believe it is Mugabe alone who is making this country destitute for even the basic needs of survival. However, any military involvement would be disastrous to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe needs help, not a war.
In order to get Zimbabwe back on its feet, President Obama must aid Zimbabwe in a non-forceful way before it slides into ruins. Zimbabwe is in a humanitarian crisis bigger than our economic crisis. People are being starved, beaten and stricken with cholera daily. The new administration needs to take Zimbabwe into account when handing out aid in 2009. We must help Zimbabwe before it slides into ruins or becomes the next big threat.
The United States may be in a flailing economy, but Zimbabwe is hanging on by only threads. Inflation of 231 million per year (the highest in the world), a politically unstable environment and a breakout of cholera have Zimbabweans crying for help. Zimbabwe is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis that is only getting worse by bickering politicians and severe food shortages.
UNICEF, the Red Cross and other organizations have attempted to help Zimbabwe, but it simply is not enough. No woman, man or child should have to beg for something to eat or watch a loved one die of cholera. In 2009, President Obama and his administration must get involved in order to stop the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
The main politician at the head of the crisis in Zimbabwe is Robert Mugabe. Ego-driven Mugabe refuses to give his power to anyone else, and cannot share his power with Morgan Tsvangirai to see this country succeed. Mugabe blocked aid to Zimbabweans at the end of 2008 but let them back in shortly after. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans are left with little food, no shelter and an economy just short of total disaster.
We can relate the current humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe to the oppression of the Iraqis by Saddam Hussein before his death in 2006. Although Hussein’s sanctions against the Iraqis were much worse than Mugabe’s are in Zimbabwe, who is to say that Mugabe could not go in that direction. If Zimbabwe moves in the governmental direction of old Iraq, Zimbabwe will become a dangerous threat to other countries.
Many Zimbabweans are now trying to escape their country to find better opportunities. Musina, South Africa has now become the town through which Zimbabweans are trying to escape. Many men, women and young children try to cross this border everyday. However, without the right permit from the Zimbabwean government, these people are beaten and abused by gangs who lure on the border. Only 300 permits are given out daily by the government, leaving many waiting for weeks to cross into a better life.
Although Mugabe is not forcing people to relocate, he is sure not making conditions in Zimbabwe favorable for staying. In old Iraq, Hussein destroyed villages which forced people to relocate outside of Iraq. Hussein’s actions were more violent and obvious while Mugabe’s are more of a slow torture; making the Zimbabweans struggle for months on end. At the end of the day, bad living conditions are bad living conditions, whether they happen quickly or over a long period of time. Hussein did not make the living conditions favorable for the Iraqis, and Mugabe is surely not making them favorable in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe has been urged by critics around the world to step down off his ego platform and leave Zimbabwe alone before the country slides into disaster. The critics believe it is Mugabe alone who is making this country destitute for even the basic needs of survival. However, any military involvement would be disastrous to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe needs help, not a war.
In order to get Zimbabwe back on its feet, President Obama must aid Zimbabwe in a non-forceful way before it slides into ruins. Zimbabwe is in a humanitarian crisis bigger than our economic crisis. People are being starved, beaten and stricken with cholera daily. The new administration needs to take Zimbabwe into account when handing out aid in 2009. We must help Zimbabwe before it slides into ruins or becomes the next big threat.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Here comes the bride, all dressed in HOLY COW, HOW MUCH DID THAT COST?!?!?!
I love weddings. Wait, let me rephrase. I wish I could go to a wedding every weekend. I wish I was the girl on '27 Dresses' who has at least three weddings a weekend. I love the cakes, the tuxes, the dresses, the arguing in-laws, the cream cheese mints, EVERYTHING!
My husband and I have been married for about four months and prior to our wedding I was glued to wedding shows on TV. I loved the ‘Bridezillas’ screaming about a shade of purple that would clash with the centerpieces and how it would eventually ruin the whole wedding. I also loved the brides that could care less and gave all control to the wedding planners. I was addicted to these shows. I thought this addiction would fade after I was done planning my own wedding. Wrong! It only got worse!
One thing always amazes me about weddings. Two words: ka ching! Some weddings aren’t your run of the mill ‘let’s get married and have a nice cake and dance reception.’ Some are ‘let’s do a whole week of festivities leading up to our wedding and then throw a humungous party for everyone we know.’ Crazy as it sounds, these humungous weddings are becoming the norm.
When my husband and I were planning our wedding we had a budget and we made sure we stayed on mark. Let’s face it; I’m never going to be made of money. But according to an article published in 2005 the average price of a wedding is nearing $30,000. With the rising price of well, everything, this $30,000 is suspected to almost double in 2009.
However, don’t let these figures scare you into thinking that planning a reasonably priced wedding is out of the ball park. It is possible with just having a budget and staying on that budget no matter what. Some other tips my husband and I found were to be the ‘DIY couple’ and to realize that it’s not about what you know, it’s who you know.
So as the months go by and my husband and I turn from newlyweds to ‘old married people,’ my passion for wedding and wedding planning will never subside. I am a wedding nut. As soon as I hear wind that someone is thinking about walking down the aisle I immediately start making phone calls. ‘Do you need help planning?’ ‘What are you colors?’ ‘Have you found your dress yet?’
So if you are looking for me on the weekend never fear, I am probably finding someone’s wedding, somewhere to attend. I will be the one doing the ‘Chicken Dance’ and the ‘YMCA’ until I am old and gray. My husband, well, he’ll just watch and laugh.
My husband and I have been married for about four months and prior to our wedding I was glued to wedding shows on TV. I loved the ‘Bridezillas’ screaming about a shade of purple that would clash with the centerpieces and how it would eventually ruin the whole wedding. I also loved the brides that could care less and gave all control to the wedding planners. I was addicted to these shows. I thought this addiction would fade after I was done planning my own wedding. Wrong! It only got worse!
One thing always amazes me about weddings. Two words: ka ching! Some weddings aren’t your run of the mill ‘let’s get married and have a nice cake and dance reception.’ Some are ‘let’s do a whole week of festivities leading up to our wedding and then throw a humungous party for everyone we know.’ Crazy as it sounds, these humungous weddings are becoming the norm.
When my husband and I were planning our wedding we had a budget and we made sure we stayed on mark. Let’s face it; I’m never going to be made of money. But according to an article published in 2005 the average price of a wedding is nearing $30,000. With the rising price of well, everything, this $30,000 is suspected to almost double in 2009.
However, don’t let these figures scare you into thinking that planning a reasonably priced wedding is out of the ball park. It is possible with just having a budget and staying on that budget no matter what. Some other tips my husband and I found were to be the ‘DIY couple’ and to realize that it’s not about what you know, it’s who you know.
So as the months go by and my husband and I turn from newlyweds to ‘old married people,’ my passion for wedding and wedding planning will never subside. I am a wedding nut. As soon as I hear wind that someone is thinking about walking down the aisle I immediately start making phone calls. ‘Do you need help planning?’ ‘What are you colors?’ ‘Have you found your dress yet?’
So if you are looking for me on the weekend never fear, I am probably finding someone’s wedding, somewhere to attend. I will be the one doing the ‘Chicken Dance’ and the ‘YMCA’ until I am old and gray. My husband, well, he’ll just watch and laugh.
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