WOOOOA... I have a bLoG?

I should work on this...........

Cinco de ya...

I vowed awhile back that I wouldn't blog until I had something to blog about. That must have been a lie, because here I am, blogging without cause again. How frustrating. I had some potential topics: Swine Flu Epidemia, People calling you by the wrong name, Corporate irresponsibility... I can't get enough material together though. I'm working a TON this week, which I'm getting used to. The extra $500/month is nice too. Can't complain! I've begun this video swapping madness at my second job. It makes for at least some decent conversations during the 4-8 hour shifts. I'd like to cool it down on the working, but now that I've adjusted I think I'd be bored.

Here's an update on my life:

1. To do list is NOT shrinking but GROWING

2. Have not yet finished current book

3. Have been successfully making my bed every morning

4. Have not tried any new recipes lately (not even had time to bake)

5. Busy planning Daniel's Graduation Open-house (OMG!)

6. Completely neglecting my friends and family (unintentionally)

7. Planning a walk-a-thon - not as easy as one would think

8. ALL ENROLLED FOR SCHOOL AND SET UP FOR HOUSING!

I've got a few accomplishments conquered but I've got more additions to the to do list everyday. I suppose that's just life though, huh? And, at least life's never boring!

NIN IN 22 DAYS!!!!!! YA!

Stupid website.....

For the past week I've had issues logging into this site. Crikies.... Real annoying. I had inspirations, and encouragement to share but now, alas ! It's all gone. It's only Tuesday and my mind is reeling. I actually feel dizzy. I don't know if it's lack of sleep, too much caffeine, or too much working. Really not sure but it's not a happy Tuesday feeling.

I am going to take a break from this silly blog for a bit. Maybe a week or so. I feel like all it's been lately is worthless, boring updates. My life is not that interesting. It's busy with mundanes.

The anxiety's starting to build.

Ummm... how about we avoid Somalia?

I'm so glad that poor captain got out of that hostage situation! Pirates, who would have thought?! At any rate, we need to get them in CONTROL! Scary stuff.

"The 'American life' is a hard life." I had a coworker say this to me last night. She is not from the U.S. so her perspective was interesting to me. Like many others, her and her family came here to work and have a better life for her children. She works a lot and is a hard worker. She has been able to send her kids to school in America and has overall improved her quality of life as a whole. She is contributing and participating in her community through church and relationships with friends she has made here. I think it's awesome. She is living the 'American Dream' in her own little way. When she said the comment to me, my first thought was "American life is a piece of cake!" But, the more I thought about it, it's really not. American life is full of many hours of hard work sometimes just to make ends meet. What kind of quality of life is that? I'm not just talking about people living below the poverty line here, I'm talking about the lower-middle-class. The LMC is growing by the year. You've got middle-class suburban families who rely on food banks to feed their families and it's not because they're slacking off. CEO's who abuse their power and destroy corporations are raping the economy...and other such issues.

Between yesterday and this Sunday, I am working 68 hours. It's hard work, some of it, and I will be physically beat by Sunday night at 10 PM. But, I am so very grateful to have two jobs, especially right now. Maybe that is the essence of 'American Life', a work ethic and the opportunities in themselves. Yes, it's not easy but no one ever set out to make life in America easy. In my opinion, if you're not willing to work your ass off at an honest job then you don't deserve all the other freedoms this glorious country offers. So, yes it IS hard.

It's 2009 and I am a young woman in America working two jobs and working towards a college degree. America's made great strides and its' citizens (especially through the recession) will continue to prove that it takes lots of hard work and determination to survive, thrive and be active participants in our communities. The tireless hours make us stronger people; makes us who are as a culture and when we can collectively contribute some effort, there's no stopping us.

I know I probably rant about how dumb we are sometimes as a society but it's time to do some bragging. I'm proud of all those Americans out there doing all they can in this frail economy and continue to provide for their families. High-fives all around my hard-working American friends.

p.s. if you're on welfare...................................................................... get a job. it's easy.

How do you spell Flyer?

Wow, sometimes we get some............... uneducated folks into the museum. How do you spell flyer. WELL...

I have a rant to expel before I begin the routine drone. At church on Sunday, the house was packed. It really disappointed me. Let me explain: I do not like fair-weather "Christians". Why attend church only once or twice yearly? Who's benefiting from that? You certainly aren't! The bible speaks of being "luke-warm", and God is clearly against it. Not only do these FWC's show up, but they usually do not know how to act in church. Yes, we are accepting of everyone however, I think it's silly to pretend one or two days a year. That's what these people are doing. Pretending. The couple in front of me, and family ahead of them talked throughout the entire service. Now, they're infringing on MY spiritual growth. So, that really burned me. Christ loves all, whether they are church attenders or not. Some people choose not to worship corporately and still have beliefs - that's fine! But why participate only partially? If you're interested in being part of a church, become involved and engaged on a personal level. Don't remain a stranger who visits when they feel "they have to".

Anywho - my three goals for this week are: 1. to decrease my sugar intake greatly (ouch) 2. to finish my book, "The Teaching Gap". and 3. to get back into daily devotions!

Sugar is evil. I usually do a good job staying away but for some reason I've craved it lately and found myself drinking real soda and snacking on chocolate. No good!! It isn't so bad if I'm working out regularly but sheesh, I barely have time to sleep let alone go to the gym. So, cutting out sugar is the goal.

The book is pretty decent. It's basically a summary of a research analysis project that took place which compared Germany, Japan and United States. Guess who's lacking? THE US! Who would've guessed. What is evaluates, more than anything, is the teaching methods in place which produce the results in the different countries. The methodology differs greatly between the three countries..... a good read for anyone interested in education. Everyone should be interested in education, in my opinion. It may be over-stated but it's true: our children are the future. When I'm done with this analytical joy I will move onto a work of fiction as well as Plath's poems. I could read and re-read Plath forever... literally.

The week promises to be busy as ever. I will be watching "Sunshine Cleaning" tonight. I really hope I am not disappointed. I've been waiting for it's release into mainstream theaters for awhile. We shall see.

mid-week musings

It has been hard to get back into the swing of work and other such responsibilities this week since my long weekend was so incredible. Did a lot of fun things with the boy... adventures and whatnot. I am so blessed to have someone to share life experiences with!

I am currently reading (and almost done with) The Alchemist. It's a novel written by Paulo Coelho. It's become considered a classic over the years, and I've been interested in reading it for awhile. It was translated from Portuguese, which is interesting. According to Wikipedia, the book's been translated into more than 65 languages! It's about a Spanish Shepard who goes on a journey towards his "personal legend." It's really allegorical and I am really enjoying it. A lot of words of wisdom in this fairly short book. The next book I move on to will most likely be non-fiction. Good to mix things up.

So, pirates? Really? Why do we have such a problem with pirates lately? Strange... I hope the Navy can get them under control.

So sad about that poor little girl in CA. I can't believe how any human being can commit such an awful crime. It literally makes me sick.

Plans for the Walk-a-thon are coming along nicely. Working on forming a steering committee... Should be good stuff! I hope we get a lot of participation!

i could save some major $

I wish there was a light-rail here. It's disgusting that our only form of public transit is the bus. Nothing against the bus.....but they're dirty, and not enviornmentally-friendly. I can't believe we try and call ourselves a "progressive" city when we cannot even offer this simple form of rapid-transit. It's green...

The US automobile companies are failing. Let them fail. Let them deal with the consequences of their actions and business decisions. That may sound harsh, but all that fiasco comes down to is GREED.

I think it would be more effective as a culture to turn to public transportation options anyway. It's a win-win situation, really.

Plus, rush hour traffic is dumb. I'd rather catch up on my reading, or meet a new friend on my way to work rather than having to deal with idiot drivers. That's not a real positive way to start off the work-day.

I'd threaten to write the mayor, but he's too busy trying to get his wife un-banned from government buildings.

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