I'm a really good teacher. And what I taught, I did for a living for a long time. I was good at it.
My mother is a phenomenal piano teacher. She plays piano on a regular basis for public performances of all kinds.
My father sucks as a teacher. He taught mathematics to children and adults at the collegiate level. I've taken shits that could teach me more than my father. He didn't do anything with mathematics other than teach it.
My step-mother sucks as a teacher. She taught anatomy. She was as competent as a sack of hair. She never performed a surgery or an autopsy in her life. The only anatomy she ever saw was either presented to her in a jar or presented to her in a textbook. She also taugh speech pathology. Her almost-10-year-old daughter has speech that's as intelligible as a steak sandwich. My sister's mother sucks as a teacher. Period.
I think all teachers should be required to DO what it is they TEACH.
Then, besides completely disregarding the damage my father and step-mother have done to many individuals in the name of education, we could get rid of those incredibly ignorant and asinine "Those who can, do -- Those who can't, teach" T-shirts.
I'd like to change the shirt to say, "Those who can teach, do. Those who can't teach are as worthless and harmful as my father and step-mother. Kill them, now, with your large truck."
Yeah... I like that.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Footballs and Fathers
I wanted my boy to lose his football game.
Football is something that his father wants him to do. It’s something that his father is pressuring him to do. Yeah, if he didn’t want to do it, he might say something. Except that he’s been yelled at enough by his father to make sure that he doesn’t speak his mind at any time in the future. His father is psychologically and emotionally abusive to all who surround him, and my 10-year-old is a people pleaser. So it’s highly unlikely that he would say anything to upset his father. And it will be a hard lesson for him in the future. Unless he’s content with doing what everyone else wants. If he is, he shouldn’t have any problems. However, if he’s like everyone else on the planet, he’ll probably want to do his own thing at some point, and then he’ll have to either do what he wants and feel the pain of others not approving, or he will have to do what others want and feel the pain of denying himself yet again.
So he’s playing football, and probably will for the foreseeable future.
And on Sunday, he was playing the team that beat his team last year during the playoffs. The coaches were making a big deal about the game. The other players were making a big deal about the game. So, like a good People Pleaser, he was making a big deal about the game. Plus, nobody wants to lose. Losing sucks.
I saw my 10-year-old standing on the sidelines, waiting to go in, trying to talk with his father, who is a bald, fat coach on the team. I want my 10-year-old to go someplace else, someplace safer, someplace more healthy, someplace less pathologic and psychotic. But he doesn’t. He wants to stay next to his father.
And it makes me mad that I’m here at this stupid game.
And it makes me mad that I’m surrounded by people yelling and screaming for their children, and not always is it positive yelling and screaming. Sometimes it’s positive screaming. Yup. “Positive Screaming”. I emphasize that because I’m hoping you will pick up on the oxymoronic nature of the phrase “Positive Screaming”.
And it makes me mad that my 10-year-old is involved in a sport that he’s really not very good at, but his father has told him he’s going to get a scholarship playing.
And it makes me mad that my 10-year-old comes away from every game speaking negatively of his teammates and the other team’s players. I feel like that negativity is inspired by his father. And yes, I’m aware that I’m doing nothing but being negative here yet blaming the inspiration for the negativity on his father.
And it makes me mad that I’m sitting here wishing for my boy to lose.
I see football as something that is being forced on him by his father. I see it as an unhealthy obsession from his father. And so in my head, it’s more about proving his father wrong than about him losing his game. If he loses, his father is wrong. If he wins, his relationship with his father is strengthened.
Which is stupid, because right now, he does nothing but talk about his father when he’s with me. Makes me even more mad. I want him to talk about anything else. But he talks about how great it was when he and his father went to the movies. He points out where his father lives, even though we’re not even really close to his father’s house. He looks forward to going to his father’s house so he can collect his $20-60 per month allowance, depending on his grades.
And I feel badly that I want him to lose.
I want him to lose, and I feel like a shit for wanting him to lose.
And then… he loses.
And I’m almost happy about it. Until I hear his father telling him that they lost because “the other team was playing dirty”. This pisses me off all over again. It can’t be that our team wasn’t as good as the other team, or that the other team just played a better game than us today, but that the other team played dirty. This takes away all power to get better in the future, or to make different choices next time, or even to get over it quickly. It means that somebody cheated. You’re the better player, but you’re still a loser, and there’s no way to get better, so you’ll have to keep losing in the future. It’s absolutely ridiculous. “The other team was playing dirty”??!! My good god, you’re a fucking pussy!
It’s hard to let him walk down that road towards his father. Maybe he will be happy in the future. And I tell myself that is all I want for him. I want him to be happy. But it’s kinda like saying you want a drug addict to be happy, and so you don’t take away his drugs. There is a difference between healthy happy and unhealthy happy. Right now, my 10-year-old is happy with his father because his father hasn’t found fault in him yet and still wants to spend money on him. If my 10-year-old speaks up about anything that goes against his father’s wishes, the favors will end. The attention will end. The gifts will stop. We all know this because we’ve watched it happen with my 15-year-old. Even if this behavior doesn’t change, this isn’t the basis for any kind of healthy relationship.
But I guess very few relationships with our parents are healthy.
Football is something that his father wants him to do. It’s something that his father is pressuring him to do. Yeah, if he didn’t want to do it, he might say something. Except that he’s been yelled at enough by his father to make sure that he doesn’t speak his mind at any time in the future. His father is psychologically and emotionally abusive to all who surround him, and my 10-year-old is a people pleaser. So it’s highly unlikely that he would say anything to upset his father. And it will be a hard lesson for him in the future. Unless he’s content with doing what everyone else wants. If he is, he shouldn’t have any problems. However, if he’s like everyone else on the planet, he’ll probably want to do his own thing at some point, and then he’ll have to either do what he wants and feel the pain of others not approving, or he will have to do what others want and feel the pain of denying himself yet again.
So he’s playing football, and probably will for the foreseeable future.
And on Sunday, he was playing the team that beat his team last year during the playoffs. The coaches were making a big deal about the game. The other players were making a big deal about the game. So, like a good People Pleaser, he was making a big deal about the game. Plus, nobody wants to lose. Losing sucks.
I saw my 10-year-old standing on the sidelines, waiting to go in, trying to talk with his father, who is a bald, fat coach on the team. I want my 10-year-old to go someplace else, someplace safer, someplace more healthy, someplace less pathologic and psychotic. But he doesn’t. He wants to stay next to his father.
And it makes me mad that I’m here at this stupid game.
And it makes me mad that I’m surrounded by people yelling and screaming for their children, and not always is it positive yelling and screaming. Sometimes it’s positive screaming. Yup. “Positive Screaming”. I emphasize that because I’m hoping you will pick up on the oxymoronic nature of the phrase “Positive Screaming”.
And it makes me mad that my 10-year-old is involved in a sport that he’s really not very good at, but his father has told him he’s going to get a scholarship playing.
And it makes me mad that my 10-year-old comes away from every game speaking negatively of his teammates and the other team’s players. I feel like that negativity is inspired by his father. And yes, I’m aware that I’m doing nothing but being negative here yet blaming the inspiration for the negativity on his father.
And it makes me mad that I’m sitting here wishing for my boy to lose.
I see football as something that is being forced on him by his father. I see it as an unhealthy obsession from his father. And so in my head, it’s more about proving his father wrong than about him losing his game. If he loses, his father is wrong. If he wins, his relationship with his father is strengthened.
Which is stupid, because right now, he does nothing but talk about his father when he’s with me. Makes me even more mad. I want him to talk about anything else. But he talks about how great it was when he and his father went to the movies. He points out where his father lives, even though we’re not even really close to his father’s house. He looks forward to going to his father’s house so he can collect his $20-60 per month allowance, depending on his grades.
And I feel badly that I want him to lose.
I want him to lose, and I feel like a shit for wanting him to lose.
And then… he loses.
And I’m almost happy about it. Until I hear his father telling him that they lost because “the other team was playing dirty”. This pisses me off all over again. It can’t be that our team wasn’t as good as the other team, or that the other team just played a better game than us today, but that the other team played dirty. This takes away all power to get better in the future, or to make different choices next time, or even to get over it quickly. It means that somebody cheated. You’re the better player, but you’re still a loser, and there’s no way to get better, so you’ll have to keep losing in the future. It’s absolutely ridiculous. “The other team was playing dirty”??!! My good god, you’re a fucking pussy!
It’s hard to let him walk down that road towards his father. Maybe he will be happy in the future. And I tell myself that is all I want for him. I want him to be happy. But it’s kinda like saying you want a drug addict to be happy, and so you don’t take away his drugs. There is a difference between healthy happy and unhealthy happy. Right now, my 10-year-old is happy with his father because his father hasn’t found fault in him yet and still wants to spend money on him. If my 10-year-old speaks up about anything that goes against his father’s wishes, the favors will end. The attention will end. The gifts will stop. We all know this because we’ve watched it happen with my 15-year-old. Even if this behavior doesn’t change, this isn’t the basis for any kind of healthy relationship.
But I guess very few relationships with our parents are healthy.
Work Typos
I routinely have to type the word "history" at my job.
My fingers routinely jumble the letters of this word to spell "shitory".
I think my fingers are trying to tell me something about my job.
My fingers routinely jumble the letters of this word to spell "shitory".
I think my fingers are trying to tell me something about my job.
Work Emails
Emails, such as the one below, get sent out approximately once a month. It is a ficticious story written by the sender in a mock-news story format.
SETI Institute: We Are Not Alone
(AP - MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA) Scientists at the SETI Institute in northern California made a shocking announcement over the weekend: communication has been established with an intelligent species outside our own solar system. Researchers at the command center of SETI’s Allen Telescope Array began receiving signals early Saturday morning that indicated significant evidence of design – including an interstellar “primer” that allowed scientist at the center to decode incoming messages.
“By Saturday evening, we were prepared to make our first reply,” explained SETI Director Lance Dumont. “We were pretty excited as you can image – previous to this transmission we’ve only picked up local CB traffic or the occasional pre-teen with a GI JOE walkie-talkie. We also get free ESPN.”
Following are excerpts from that first interstellar conversation with what Dumont labeled “Contact 1”.
SETI: Greetings. We have received your transmission.
CONTACT 1: [Static]
SETI: Are you receiving our reply transmission?
CONTACT 1: We are receiving your transmission.
SETI: How did you become aware of us? Was it our first detonation of a nuclear device? [Trinity Test, July 16, 1945]
CONTACT 1: [Static – or possibly muffled laughter?] No. That was not what drew or attention to your planet.
SETI: Was it our first satellite launch? [Sputnik, October 4, 1957]
CONTACT 1: Negative. What is… “satellite”?
SETI: Never mind. Was it when we spun up the Super Collider and discovered dark matter? [Outside Geneva, Switzerland, April 4, 2011]
CONTACT 1: Dark what? Chocolate?
SETI: *Explicative Deleted*
CONTACT 1: Actually, what caught our attention was your development of the “pod” coffee maker system. That’s the usual benchmark we use to determine whether a civilization is advanced to the degree that contact is feasible.
SETI: [Static]
CONTACT 1: We do have one question, however – and this is to settle a bet between Gloork and Egon down in the engine room – were your Starbuck coffee requisition centers named after the character of the same name in Battlestar Galactica, or vice-versa? And what time does the Starbucks in Mountain View open? – the commander of our battle fleet wanted me to ask that one – like he needs more caffeine.”
*Transmission* Terminated*
“That’s right,” said Dumont, “we hung up on them. The line at Starbucks is already way too long by the time I get there in the morning – there’s no way I’m going to wait behind a bunch of out-of-towners for my vanilla latte”.
It’s about that time again. If you want to participate in November’s Coffee Club (at least until the battle fleet arrives), please drop your $5 donation by K13.
And watch the skies.
Here's what really gets me about this. And no, it's not that state and federal employees are wasting taxpayer dollars writing and reading such silliness, or that the story is completely unrealistic -- who would believe that the good folks at SETI would actually ask a question regarding a satellite, and when asked "what's a satellite" in response would respond with "never mind" rather than explaining what a satellite was? They know that by dismissing that question you're only going to alienate (pun!) your new friends by not answering their question or make it sound like you're not really asking the question but, rather, setting them up for some stupid punchline -- or that the entire purpose of the email is to tell the entire office about giving money to the coffee fund when some of us (read: me) don't give two fucks about your fucking coffee. No. What really gets me is that this email assumes that we are dumb enough to think there's such a thing as free ESPN. Come on! I wasn't born yesterday, dickless!
SETI Institute: We Are Not Alone
(AP - MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA) Scientists at the SETI Institute in northern California made a shocking announcement over the weekend: communication has been established with an intelligent species outside our own solar system. Researchers at the command center of SETI’s Allen Telescope Array began receiving signals early Saturday morning that indicated significant evidence of design – including an interstellar “primer” that allowed scientist at the center to decode incoming messages.
“By Saturday evening, we were prepared to make our first reply,” explained SETI Director Lance Dumont. “We were pretty excited as you can image – previous to this transmission we’ve only picked up local CB traffic or the occasional pre-teen with a GI JOE walkie-talkie. We also get free ESPN.”
Following are excerpts from that first interstellar conversation with what Dumont labeled “Contact 1”.
SETI: Greetings. We have received your transmission.
CONTACT 1: [Static]
SETI: Are you receiving our reply transmission?
CONTACT 1: We are receiving your transmission.
SETI: How did you become aware of us? Was it our first detonation of a nuclear device? [Trinity Test, July 16, 1945]
CONTACT 1: [Static – or possibly muffled laughter?] No. That was not what drew or attention to your planet.
SETI: Was it our first satellite launch? [Sputnik, October 4, 1957]
CONTACT 1: Negative. What is… “satellite”?
SETI: Never mind. Was it when we spun up the Super Collider and discovered dark matter? [Outside Geneva, Switzerland, April 4, 2011]
CONTACT 1: Dark what? Chocolate?
SETI: *Explicative Deleted*
CONTACT 1: Actually, what caught our attention was your development of the “pod” coffee maker system. That’s the usual benchmark we use to determine whether a civilization is advanced to the degree that contact is feasible.
SETI: [Static]
CONTACT 1: We do have one question, however – and this is to settle a bet between Gloork and Egon down in the engine room – were your Starbuck coffee requisition centers named after the character of the same name in Battlestar Galactica, or vice-versa? And what time does the Starbucks in Mountain View open? – the commander of our battle fleet wanted me to ask that one – like he needs more caffeine.”
*Transmission* Terminated*
“That’s right,” said Dumont, “we hung up on them. The line at Starbucks is already way too long by the time I get there in the morning – there’s no way I’m going to wait behind a bunch of out-of-towners for my vanilla latte”.
It’s about that time again. If you want to participate in November’s Coffee Club (at least until the battle fleet arrives), please drop your $5 donation by K13.
And watch the skies.
Here's what really gets me about this. And no, it's not that state and federal employees are wasting taxpayer dollars writing and reading such silliness, or that the story is completely unrealistic -- who would believe that the good folks at SETI would actually ask a question regarding a satellite, and when asked "what's a satellite" in response would respond with "never mind" rather than explaining what a satellite was? They know that by dismissing that question you're only going to alienate (pun!) your new friends by not answering their question or make it sound like you're not really asking the question but, rather, setting them up for some stupid punchline -- or that the entire purpose of the email is to tell the entire office about giving money to the coffee fund when some of us (read: me) don't give two fucks about your fucking coffee. No. What really gets me is that this email assumes that we are dumb enough to think there's such a thing as free ESPN. Come on! I wasn't born yesterday, dickless!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
To the people standing right outside my office, talking in loud, loud voices making it impossible to concentrate on anything other than them...
SHUT THE FUCK UP!
I don't give a good goddam about your fucking babies and your fucking fertility shit and how you just got "diagnosed with twins"! You don't have a goddam neck! Get a goddam neck and shut the fuck up!
And quit breathing so loudly, you obese, loud-breathing fuck! I hate everything you are! I wanna punch you in the face with a bazooka! Shut up!
I'm gonna wait 15 years.
I'm gonna stalk you.
I'm gonna wait until your twins are eating hot dogs and ice cream.
And then I'm going to beat the shit out of them.
And I'm going to jam a hot dog up each of their noses.
And smudge ice cream in their stupid hair.
And when they ask me why I'm doing this, I'm going to say,
"BECAUSE YOUR FUCKING FAT NECKLESS MOTHER WOULDN'T SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
...i think i'm done now...
I don't give a good goddam about your fucking babies and your fucking fertility shit and how you just got "diagnosed with twins"! You don't have a goddam neck! Get a goddam neck and shut the fuck up!
And quit breathing so loudly, you obese, loud-breathing fuck! I hate everything you are! I wanna punch you in the face with a bazooka! Shut up!
I'm gonna wait 15 years.
I'm gonna stalk you.
I'm gonna wait until your twins are eating hot dogs and ice cream.
And then I'm going to beat the shit out of them.
And I'm going to jam a hot dog up each of their noses.
And smudge ice cream in their stupid hair.
And when they ask me why I'm doing this, I'm going to say,
"BECAUSE YOUR FUCKING FAT NECKLESS MOTHER WOULDN'T SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
...i think i'm done now...
Monster Screw Job
It is totally unfair to consume 4-6 beers and 4+ shots of tequila and not even feel slightly buzzed, but then wake up in the morning with a massive hangover headache. I was robbed.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
My Stupid Father
A while ago, I found out that my father has a lien on my mother's home in the amount of $10,000. Which means if the house is sold, my father gets $10,000 of that price. It's not a terribly pressing issue, as my mother isn't planning on moving anytime soon, but it was a thought that just came bouncing back into my head.
My father hasn't lived in that house since 1978.
At one time, my mother "scheduled an appointment" with my father after they were divorced. At this scheduled appointment, she asked if there was a way for her to get this lien removed. He said if she paid him $10,000, he would release the lien. My mother didn't have $10,000. The lien is still in place.
My mother has said that it's probably fair, as he helped to pay for the house.
I don't know, though. Something doesn't sit right with me about it.
Something about letting go of shit. Something about I-Can't-Have-It-So-You-Can't-Have-It mentality. Something about being selfish and stupid and hateful and a bastard.
I wonder if their divorce was as amicable as it was because they were both represented by legal counsel.
I really wish he hadn't been represented.
He isn't deserving.
My father hasn't lived in that house since 1978.
At one time, my mother "scheduled an appointment" with my father after they were divorced. At this scheduled appointment, she asked if there was a way for her to get this lien removed. He said if she paid him $10,000, he would release the lien. My mother didn't have $10,000. The lien is still in place.
My mother has said that it's probably fair, as he helped to pay for the house.
I don't know, though. Something doesn't sit right with me about it.
Something about letting go of shit. Something about I-Can't-Have-It-So-You-Can't-Have-It mentality. Something about being selfish and stupid and hateful and a bastard.
I wonder if their divorce was as amicable as it was because they were both represented by legal counsel.
I really wish he hadn't been represented.
He isn't deserving.
Monday, October 24, 2011
it's time
it's time
yeah, you're tired
yeah, it's hard
get a helmet
it's time
yeah, it's hard
yeah, you're tired
yeah, it's time
it's time
time to move
time to start
time to time
time to start
time to move
time to go
it's time
time to go
time to to
gotta go gotta go gotta go
don't think
don't blink
don't think
don't think
gotta go gotta go gotta go gotta go
it's time
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Mitt Romney's Money
As of October 2011, Mitt Romney (the current Republican Party Presidential Candidate front-runner) has raised over $32 million for his campaign. He is working to raise $1 billion. That's money that's NOT going to anyone else but Mitt and those helping Mitt. Mitt, at this time, has spent none of his own money on his own campaign.
Think about all the people and companies that have made it possible for Mitt to vote or legislate against them, because it's their money he's using to put himself into the political position he is currently in.
If you haven't given Mitt Romney money, he's not speaking on your behalf. He's got over 32 million reasons why he can't listen to anything you have to say, and he's working towards 1 billion reasons.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/candidate.php?id=N00000286
Think about all the people and companies that have made it possible for Mitt to vote or legislate against them, because it's their money he's using to put himself into the political position he is currently in.
If you haven't given Mitt Romney money, he's not speaking on your behalf. He's got over 32 million reasons why he can't listen to anything you have to say, and he's working towards 1 billion reasons.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/candidate.php?id=N00000286
Business As Usual
"It's not personal. It's only business."
When somebody says these words to you, are you expecting them to give you flowers or jam a cactus up your ass? And what does this say about how businesses treat people?
"It's only business" is a statement you hear before you get raped in some major way (...because there's a minor way to get raped...?). But it's said in the hopes that you say, "Oh, yeah. I understand why you're raping me. That's cool. I mean, it's not like you WANT to rape me. You HAVE to rape me. Your business is MAKING you rape me. It's BUSINESS. I get it. Rape away."
I don't wanna be raped with a cactus anymore.
When somebody says these words to you, are you expecting them to give you flowers or jam a cactus up your ass? And what does this say about how businesses treat people?
"It's only business" is a statement you hear before you get raped in some major way (...because there's a minor way to get raped...?). But it's said in the hopes that you say, "Oh, yeah. I understand why you're raping me. That's cool. I mean, it's not like you WANT to rape me. You HAVE to rape me. Your business is MAKING you rape me. It's BUSINESS. I get it. Rape away."
I don't wanna be raped with a cactus anymore.
Jerks Suck
When somebody makes fun of you, for any reason, they're a jerk. Not even a question about it.
If somebody makes fun of what you wear, for example, they're a jerk. Period.
A lot of us, myself included, might think about changing our clothes when the jerk makes fun of our clothes.
I'm guessing this is our first response because we're hurt by what the jerk said and we don't want to be hurt again.
I think it would probably be healthier to realize the jerk is, in fact, a jerk. And it's probably not a great plan to change yourself because of the words of a jerk. The Jerk is gonna make fun of you no matter what... because He's A Jerk. That's what jerks do! And if you change yourself based on what a Jerk says, you're actually giving him power. And why in the world should we give a jerk any more power?
I used to wear a bandanna around my wrist because it made me feel good. Somebody told me that it looked stupid and I shouldn't wear it. But at that moment in my life, I was able to recognize that those words weren't helping me. They did not make me feel as good as the bandanna did, and I was able to continue wearing my bandanna bracelet. I was almost thumbing my nose at that person, like, "Fuck you, fuck! I think this looks great and your face looks stupid!" Then I put up my middle finger on my bandanna-ed hand, and continued to rock.
I wish we all could ignore Jerks more often and not give them anymore power. They're not going to use the power well, anyway.
My 15 year old had people make fun of his clothes yesterday. It made him feel horrible. Today, my wife just texted to tell me that he wasn't wearing clothes which, up until yesterday, had made him feel really good. It makes me sad.
If somebody makes fun of what you wear, for example, they're a jerk. Period.
A lot of us, myself included, might think about changing our clothes when the jerk makes fun of our clothes.
I'm guessing this is our first response because we're hurt by what the jerk said and we don't want to be hurt again.
I think it would probably be healthier to realize the jerk is, in fact, a jerk. And it's probably not a great plan to change yourself because of the words of a jerk. The Jerk is gonna make fun of you no matter what... because He's A Jerk. That's what jerks do! And if you change yourself based on what a Jerk says, you're actually giving him power. And why in the world should we give a jerk any more power?
I used to wear a bandanna around my wrist because it made me feel good. Somebody told me that it looked stupid and I shouldn't wear it. But at that moment in my life, I was able to recognize that those words weren't helping me. They did not make me feel as good as the bandanna did, and I was able to continue wearing my bandanna bracelet. I was almost thumbing my nose at that person, like, "Fuck you, fuck! I think this looks great and your face looks stupid!" Then I put up my middle finger on my bandanna-ed hand, and continued to rock.
I wish we all could ignore Jerks more often and not give them anymore power. They're not going to use the power well, anyway.
My 15 year old had people make fun of his clothes yesterday. It made him feel horrible. Today, my wife just texted to tell me that he wasn't wearing clothes which, up until yesterday, had made him feel really good. It makes me sad.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Does God Make Mistakes? Part Duce
Genesis 6:6-7 (New International Version)
6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
So, as you can read, God DOES NOT make mistakes. He had REGRETS. He was DEEPLY TROUBLED. But no mistakes. He was deeply troubled by humans and so he killed the animals, too... just cuz. I guess the humans were so evil that the animals got some Evil Human Juice splashed onto them, and therefore, they needed to be killed by their maker. God killed the animals, like puppies and bunnies and kittens, but this was not a mistake! He MEANT to kill all those kittens. Because a "regret" is different from a "mistake". A mistake is something you did wrong. A regret is when you feel bad for something you did wrong. See the difference? Me, too.
I think it's pretty cool that the Unquestioned Literal Word of God found in the Bible came to us neatly wrapped in English so we can read and understand it, rather than in a language that would be understood by the people who actually wrote down the words of God as they heard it in ancient Egypt... before the invention of English.
6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
So, as you can read, God DOES NOT make mistakes. He had REGRETS. He was DEEPLY TROUBLED. But no mistakes. He was deeply troubled by humans and so he killed the animals, too... just cuz. I guess the humans were so evil that the animals got some Evil Human Juice splashed onto them, and therefore, they needed to be killed by their maker. God killed the animals, like puppies and bunnies and kittens, but this was not a mistake! He MEANT to kill all those kittens. Because a "regret" is different from a "mistake". A mistake is something you did wrong. A regret is when you feel bad for something you did wrong. See the difference? Me, too.
I think it's pretty cool that the Unquestioned Literal Word of God found in the Bible came to us neatly wrapped in English so we can read and understand it, rather than in a language that would be understood by the people who actually wrote down the words of God as they heard it in ancient Egypt... before the invention of English.
Imagine What You'll KNOW Tomorrow
"Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."
--K from Men In Black
I love this quote, and I was thinking about it today when I talked with my mother about how ridiculous it is to check "facts". In quoting "facts", all you're doing is telling somebody listening to you that you're repeating something that somebody else made up. And other people think, "Oh, he's quoting a reliable source, so we're going to believe him."
In the grand scheme of things, though, we really don't know anything. Everything is up for grabs. In the 1600s (like 1616, or something like that... I could look it up, but I find it hysterical NOT to look up facts when writing about looking up facts), Galileo went before the church and told them that he thought the Earth revolved around the sun, and the church placed him under house arrest for the rest of his life.
Come to find out, the church was wrong in what it KNEW.
Conversely, Galileo said that the planets revolved around the sun in a perfect circle and dismissed the oval-shape-orbital-path theory that had been suggested by his contemporary... ummm... let's call him Ted.
Turns out Galileo was wrong in what he KNEW, too. Ted was right. Galileo wasn't.
So I'm going to start taking "facts" a little more with-a-grain-of-salty. Some "facts" are things that I can bet on-- I put gas in my gas tank and my car goes forward when I want it to-- and I don't really have to think about them much. Other facts-- God exists, Republicans are bent on destroying this country and the personal freedoms we all used to enjoy, body fat from dairy products is harder to lose than other forms of body fat, bubble gum takes 7 years to digest in your stomach, teachers and public schools are important and necessary, if you masturbate you go blind, objects in motion tend to stay in motion while objects at rest tend to stay at rest, there is no cure for cancer-- I'm going to think about as much as I want to, knowing that there aren't any Right answers, per se, only answers right now. And if I start to get too upset about stuff and think that people are stupid, I'm going to try to take a deep breath and ask myself this, most important, question: What am I going to have for lunch?
Incidentally, I didn't go blind. So, at least for me, that one's not a fact.
Well... I haven't gone blind yet...
--K from Men In Black
I love this quote, and I was thinking about it today when I talked with my mother about how ridiculous it is to check "facts". In quoting "facts", all you're doing is telling somebody listening to you that you're repeating something that somebody else made up. And other people think, "Oh, he's quoting a reliable source, so we're going to believe him."
In the grand scheme of things, though, we really don't know anything. Everything is up for grabs. In the 1600s (like 1616, or something like that... I could look it up, but I find it hysterical NOT to look up facts when writing about looking up facts), Galileo went before the church and told them that he thought the Earth revolved around the sun, and the church placed him under house arrest for the rest of his life.
Come to find out, the church was wrong in what it KNEW.
Conversely, Galileo said that the planets revolved around the sun in a perfect circle and dismissed the oval-shape-orbital-path theory that had been suggested by his contemporary... ummm... let's call him Ted.
Turns out Galileo was wrong in what he KNEW, too. Ted was right. Galileo wasn't.
So I'm going to start taking "facts" a little more with-a-grain-of-salty. Some "facts" are things that I can bet on-- I put gas in my gas tank and my car goes forward when I want it to-- and I don't really have to think about them much. Other facts-- God exists, Republicans are bent on destroying this country and the personal freedoms we all used to enjoy, body fat from dairy products is harder to lose than other forms of body fat, bubble gum takes 7 years to digest in your stomach, teachers and public schools are important and necessary, if you masturbate you go blind, objects in motion tend to stay in motion while objects at rest tend to stay at rest, there is no cure for cancer-- I'm going to think about as much as I want to, knowing that there aren't any Right answers, per se, only answers right now. And if I start to get too upset about stuff and think that people are stupid, I'm going to try to take a deep breath and ask myself this, most important, question: What am I going to have for lunch?
Incidentally, I didn't go blind. So, at least for me, that one's not a fact.
Well... I haven't gone blind yet...
Speech Impediment Co-Worker Leaving
One of my coworkers is leaving today. He has a speech impediment that makes him sound like Elmer Fudd doing falsetto. His voice is funny. His situation isn't. His wife attempted suicide and he's leaving this job to return to his old job, where he felt more comfortable. He's taking a pay cut, but he felt less stress at his previous job, so he's going back. He was at work when his wife took the pills she had hoped would kill her. She called him after taking the pills and tried to say goodbye to him. I heard him take the call, and it was a little disturbing to hear him sound depressed and agitated at the same time. Kinda sad and disturbing. Not sure why I wanted to record it. It seemed important to me.
Government Bailout Explained For The Common Person
AIG received $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts after reporting a loss of $61.7 billion in 2008. This is the greatest loss reported for any corporation, ever.
In 2009, AIG paid $218 million in bonus payments. 52 people receiving bonuses were no longer working for the company. Bonuses for the entire company could reach $1.2 billion. That’s Billion… with a “B”.
Using the $218 million figure, the amount of money given out in BONUS payments from the company that posted the greatest loss of any company in the history of Ever would be enough to pay my annual salary (which provides for a family of 4) for about 6,500 years. Another way to put that is four people can live for a year on 1/6,500th of what AIG paid to employees—and ex-employees—in bonuses after reporting the Greatest Loss Of Any Corporation In The History Of The Planet.
The CEO of AIG during this time, Edward M. Liddy, received an annual salary of $1. He received an allowance of $460,000 to cover “housing, travel, taxes and legal fees.” Non-wage incomes are taxed at a significantly lower rate than earnings reported from wages. “Allowances” are non-wage incomes and, often, are not taxed at all. After receiving $84 billion in government loans to protect his company from “insolvency” in October of 2008, Liddy took the top-performing insurance salesmen for AIG to the luxury St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California, which included $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 in meals and $23,000 for the spa. The amount of money spent on meals ALONE would pay for my family of four to eat anything they wanted from Outback Steakhouse, including seafood, steaks and alcohol, for three meals a day for a year, and at the end of the year, the amount of money we didn’t spend—about $100 a day—would be enough for us to live on for the next year.
These are facts. There’s no emotion here. Just numbers and facts. But I do find it helpful to break down these huge numbers into tasty, reality-sized portions so you can actually start to comprehend just how monumentally we’re all being fucked.
Sources (so my mother doesn't think I'm making all this up):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIG_bonus_payments_controversy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_M._Liddy
http://taxmantra.com/ereturns/other/cost-living-allowances-taxability.html
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=97187,00.html
In 2009, AIG paid $218 million in bonus payments. 52 people receiving bonuses were no longer working for the company. Bonuses for the entire company could reach $1.2 billion. That’s Billion… with a “B”.
Using the $218 million figure, the amount of money given out in BONUS payments from the company that posted the greatest loss of any company in the history of Ever would be enough to pay my annual salary (which provides for a family of 4) for about 6,500 years. Another way to put that is four people can live for a year on 1/6,500th of what AIG paid to employees—and ex-employees—in bonuses after reporting the Greatest Loss Of Any Corporation In The History Of The Planet.
The CEO of AIG during this time, Edward M. Liddy, received an annual salary of $1. He received an allowance of $460,000 to cover “housing, travel, taxes and legal fees.” Non-wage incomes are taxed at a significantly lower rate than earnings reported from wages. “Allowances” are non-wage incomes and, often, are not taxed at all. After receiving $84 billion in government loans to protect his company from “insolvency” in October of 2008, Liddy took the top-performing insurance salesmen for AIG to the luxury St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California, which included $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 in meals and $23,000 for the spa. The amount of money spent on meals ALONE would pay for my family of four to eat anything they wanted from Outback Steakhouse, including seafood, steaks and alcohol, for three meals a day for a year, and at the end of the year, the amount of money we didn’t spend—about $100 a day—would be enough for us to live on for the next year.
These are facts. There’s no emotion here. Just numbers and facts. But I do find it helpful to break down these huge numbers into tasty, reality-sized portions so you can actually start to comprehend just how monumentally we’re all being fucked.
Sources (so my mother doesn't think I'm making all this up):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIG_bonus_payments_controversy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_M._Liddy
http://taxmantra.com/ereturns/other/cost-living-allowances-taxability.html
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=97187,00.html
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
This just hit me...
A man exclaims in a loud, booming voice that God has given him special powers and he is in direct contact with God.
If this man is on the streets, he's called "psychotic" and gets locked up.
If this man is in church, he's called "preacher" and gets put in charge.
If this man is on the streets, he's called "psychotic" and gets locked up.
If this man is in church, he's called "preacher" and gets put in charge.
(Faking) Sick Bitch
This Bitch calls me on the phone.
"I want you to go through this denial letter I just got from you," she tells me.
I tell her that her case is no longer in my system and she will need to call the number on the letter for assistance.
She proceeds to tell me about how much pain she is in.
She tells me about how she is able to feel every knife cut during every surgery because she has a metabolism that absorbs anaesthetic faster than everyone else on the planet.
She yells at me that the doctor that I sent her to measured her blood pressure and recorded the blood pressure as being 60/40, which is "almost comatose", but told her to drive home after getting that reading, and "isn't there some kind of liability issue when one of your doctors tells a comatose person to drive home?"
I tell her, again, that I cannot help her, as I no longer have access to her case, and she will need to call the number on the letter for assistance with her appeal process. Those are the people who can help, I tell her. I cannot help you.
She yells at me some more, telling me that we didn't even get information from the correct doctors. We got out of date information and information from doctors who told her to drive home when she was almost comatose.
I asked if she was referring to a letter she had received.
She said that she was, and started yelling at me, again, about how much pain she was in.
Because she had moved so far beyond my initial question, I went back.
"Are you referring to a letter?"
"Yes, you sent me a letter!"
"There is a number on that letter that you can call to get help with these issues."
"I don't know where I put the letter."
"You will need to find that letter, as there is a phone number on the letter which will put you in touch with people who can help you."
"YOU sent the letter to me!"
"No, I didn't," I explain, "it was sent to you from an office in California where you filed your application."
"I don't know where that is."
"You don't know where you initially filed your application?"
"Yeah, I do."
"You do know where you filed your application?"
"Yes!"
"If you contact them, they can give you a copy of the letter which has the telephone number on it for the people who can help you with this issue."
She started telling me about some other physical issue she had, and I only had the opportunity to say "uh" before she stopped and yelled, "Fine! You don't care! You've made that clear! Carry on!"
It's this kind of behavior that makes me long for a nuclear holocaust in that woman's asshole.
"I want you to go through this denial letter I just got from you," she tells me.
I tell her that her case is no longer in my system and she will need to call the number on the letter for assistance.
She proceeds to tell me about how much pain she is in.
She tells me about how she is able to feel every knife cut during every surgery because she has a metabolism that absorbs anaesthetic faster than everyone else on the planet.
She yells at me that the doctor that I sent her to measured her blood pressure and recorded the blood pressure as being 60/40, which is "almost comatose", but told her to drive home after getting that reading, and "isn't there some kind of liability issue when one of your doctors tells a comatose person to drive home?"
I tell her, again, that I cannot help her, as I no longer have access to her case, and she will need to call the number on the letter for assistance with her appeal process. Those are the people who can help, I tell her. I cannot help you.
She yells at me some more, telling me that we didn't even get information from the correct doctors. We got out of date information and information from doctors who told her to drive home when she was almost comatose.
I asked if she was referring to a letter she had received.
She said that she was, and started yelling at me, again, about how much pain she was in.
Because she had moved so far beyond my initial question, I went back.
"Are you referring to a letter?"
"Yes, you sent me a letter!"
"There is a number on that letter that you can call to get help with these issues."
"I don't know where I put the letter."
"You will need to find that letter, as there is a phone number on the letter which will put you in touch with people who can help you."
"YOU sent the letter to me!"
"No, I didn't," I explain, "it was sent to you from an office in California where you filed your application."
"I don't know where that is."
"You don't know where you initially filed your application?"
"Yeah, I do."
"You do know where you filed your application?"
"Yes!"
"If you contact them, they can give you a copy of the letter which has the telephone number on it for the people who can help you with this issue."
She started telling me about some other physical issue she had, and I only had the opportunity to say "uh" before she stopped and yelled, "Fine! You don't care! You've made that clear! Carry on!"
It's this kind of behavior that makes me long for a nuclear holocaust in that woman's asshole.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Court Update
My wife has taken to not telling me new developments in our court proceeding. I don't know if she's done this on purpose because she doesn't want to upset me, or if our lives are simply too busy with other things. Or maybe she forgets. Whatever the case, it's not really a big deal. I just wanted to record the latest in the fiasco.
Dick Lawyer for Bloodfart had his assistant call my wife's attorney to set up a meeting with himself, Bloodfart, my wife, her attorney and the guardian ad litem. Our attorney asked what it was in reference to, and the assistant said that Dick Lawyer hadn't said what it was about. Our attorney said that she would not agree to a costly meeting without knowing what it was in reference to. Dick Lawyer writes a letter, saying that lawyer relations had been strained and they all needed to meet to discuss things. Again, he did not really answer the question as to what the meeting was about.
Meantime, my wife goes to her last therapy session, where the therapist shows up and is surprised to see her there. Therapist tells my wife that she had spoken with Bloodfart, who said that he couldn't make this appointment. She had called him twice to reschedule, and he hadn't returned her phone calls as yet. She was surprised that my wife was there, as "[Bloodfart] said you two were communicating better," to which my wife told her that nothing had changed and communication hadn't gotten any better. The therapist suggested that Bloodfart had changed, and my wife told Therapist that Bloodfart had not changed, had not made any attempts to change, and would not change in the future. That any indication that Bloodfart had changed was a fabrication. And if they were supposed to come to therapy to assist in communication that would help the boys, she had done everything suggested to her in counseling, and Bloodfart had done nothing. Bloodfart had remained uncooperative while stating he had changed. My wife asked why they were continuing with therapy when it was obvious that Bloodfart would not change his actions, nor would he tell Therapist that he was unwilling to change, as it would look bad in court.
My wife said that she would like to meet with the therapist again, alone, to tell the therapist that the report she is to write at the conclusion of her counseling with us is going to be used to determine if Bloodfart should remain as the "final decision maker" in the matter of the boys. My wife is certain that Therapist hasn't been told this information, as neither Bloodfart, Bloodfart's attorney, and the guardian ad litem would not have told her this information, which is essential to the perspective of the report. And even in light of all that Bloodfart has done and continues to refuse to do, it is best if the writer of the report knows the full implications of her report prior to writing it.
It would be nice if Bloodfart died today.
And then his obese body fell on his attorney, crushing him.
And then they both fell on the goddam guardian ad litem, and she died, too.
And all three of them fell on our first attorney, and she was aborted.
And all four of them fell on my wife's mother, who would get a really painful disease, cry without comfort, and then die from being crushed.
And then I win the lottery.
And then I sleep for a really long time.
And then I take my wife to the bar where I used to go, and we would get a couple of LaBatt Blue beers on draught and play some trivia. And eat some hot wings.
And then we would sleep for a really long time together.
And take some strong drugs that would make us think that this whole mess was just a dream.
And then we would sleep some more.
And another round of beers.
It would be nice.
Dick Lawyer for Bloodfart had his assistant call my wife's attorney to set up a meeting with himself, Bloodfart, my wife, her attorney and the guardian ad litem. Our attorney asked what it was in reference to, and the assistant said that Dick Lawyer hadn't said what it was about. Our attorney said that she would not agree to a costly meeting without knowing what it was in reference to. Dick Lawyer writes a letter, saying that lawyer relations had been strained and they all needed to meet to discuss things. Again, he did not really answer the question as to what the meeting was about.
Meantime, my wife goes to her last therapy session, where the therapist shows up and is surprised to see her there. Therapist tells my wife that she had spoken with Bloodfart, who said that he couldn't make this appointment. She had called him twice to reschedule, and he hadn't returned her phone calls as yet. She was surprised that my wife was there, as "[Bloodfart] said you two were communicating better," to which my wife told her that nothing had changed and communication hadn't gotten any better. The therapist suggested that Bloodfart had changed, and my wife told Therapist that Bloodfart had not changed, had not made any attempts to change, and would not change in the future. That any indication that Bloodfart had changed was a fabrication. And if they were supposed to come to therapy to assist in communication that would help the boys, she had done everything suggested to her in counseling, and Bloodfart had done nothing. Bloodfart had remained uncooperative while stating he had changed. My wife asked why they were continuing with therapy when it was obvious that Bloodfart would not change his actions, nor would he tell Therapist that he was unwilling to change, as it would look bad in court.
My wife said that she would like to meet with the therapist again, alone, to tell the therapist that the report she is to write at the conclusion of her counseling with us is going to be used to determine if Bloodfart should remain as the "final decision maker" in the matter of the boys. My wife is certain that Therapist hasn't been told this information, as neither Bloodfart, Bloodfart's attorney, and the guardian ad litem would not have told her this information, which is essential to the perspective of the report. And even in light of all that Bloodfart has done and continues to refuse to do, it is best if the writer of the report knows the full implications of her report prior to writing it.
It would be nice if Bloodfart died today.
And then his obese body fell on his attorney, crushing him.
And then they both fell on the goddam guardian ad litem, and she died, too.
And all three of them fell on our first attorney, and she was aborted.
And all four of them fell on my wife's mother, who would get a really painful disease, cry without comfort, and then die from being crushed.
And then I win the lottery.
And then I sleep for a really long time.
And then I take my wife to the bar where I used to go, and we would get a couple of LaBatt Blue beers on draught and play some trivia. And eat some hot wings.
And then we would sleep for a really long time together.
And take some strong drugs that would make us think that this whole mess was just a dream.
And then we would sleep some more.
And another round of beers.
It would be nice.
i'm petrified
i don't get it. and i'm sick of it.
i'm scared to do anything!
i started to write a song.
my wife told me it was really good.
i can't go any further with it.
i'm stuck.
and it's not for a lack of ideas.
it's almost like i don't want to go any further BECAUSE it might be good.
or i don't want to go any further because it might suck.
no matter what the outcome, i don't want to go further.
but i really DO want to go further.
i want to write songs again!
i want to write scenes again!
i want to be funny again!
i'm so sick of this stasis!
it's driving me absolutely infuckingsane!
if it's a good song, then what happens?
something.
and if something happens, then what happens?
something.
and it leads me back to the boat.
where people were mean as fuck.
and they made me feel like shit.
like i was the worst person ever.
she used to say, "nobody on this boat likes you."
he used to say, "you're really rude."
they both reported back.
and i started at the ground level again.
and then the new york show.
i feel like i let down the director and the cast.
we should have gotten some kind of award.
or, if i had been better, we would've been picked up by some producer.
but i wasn't good enough.
yeah, i got good reviews.
but i wasn't good enough.
and now, i'm scared out of my mind to do any of that again.
but i really, really, really want to.
and then i think about going to talk with somebody.
some professional somebody.
and i think about how stupid everyone is in this state.
and i think about how our court case has gone so far.
and i think about the stupid therapist who said, "but he said you were communicating better."
goddammit! how much evidence do you need to understand he's a liar!
he's done it IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!
HE DID IT IN THE DEPOSITION!
AND SOMEHOW, THIS GOES UNNOTICED BY THE IDIOTS THAT POPULATE THIS STATE!
how am i supposed to receive help from somebody who is dumber than me?
and so...
i'm fucking stuck.
better than everyone.
and, simultaneously, worse than everyone.
i belong in a padded cell.
i don't want to sleep with my brother when he comes over.
i want to sleep with my wife.
but i don't want him to be uncomfortable.
and i want him to be able to do whatever he wants in the morning.
and, left to my own devices, i'm gonna sleep for 80 years.
so, i almost need to sleep in a public place, at least.
my brother.
what a douche.
...not really...
his brother is... stupid.
stupid and scared of every goddam thing.
just a giant pussy.
i'm scared to do anything!
i started to write a song.
my wife told me it was really good.
i can't go any further with it.
i'm stuck.
and it's not for a lack of ideas.
it's almost like i don't want to go any further BECAUSE it might be good.
or i don't want to go any further because it might suck.
no matter what the outcome, i don't want to go further.
but i really DO want to go further.
i want to write songs again!
i want to write scenes again!
i want to be funny again!
i'm so sick of this stasis!
it's driving me absolutely infuckingsane!
if it's a good song, then what happens?
something.
and if something happens, then what happens?
something.
and it leads me back to the boat.
where people were mean as fuck.
and they made me feel like shit.
like i was the worst person ever.
she used to say, "nobody on this boat likes you."
he used to say, "you're really rude."
they both reported back.
and i started at the ground level again.
and then the new york show.
i feel like i let down the director and the cast.
we should have gotten some kind of award.
or, if i had been better, we would've been picked up by some producer.
but i wasn't good enough.
yeah, i got good reviews.
but i wasn't good enough.
and now, i'm scared out of my mind to do any of that again.
but i really, really, really want to.
and then i think about going to talk with somebody.
some professional somebody.
and i think about how stupid everyone is in this state.
and i think about how our court case has gone so far.
and i think about the stupid therapist who said, "but he said you were communicating better."
goddammit! how much evidence do you need to understand he's a liar!
he's done it IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!
HE DID IT IN THE DEPOSITION!
AND SOMEHOW, THIS GOES UNNOTICED BY THE IDIOTS THAT POPULATE THIS STATE!
how am i supposed to receive help from somebody who is dumber than me?
and so...
i'm fucking stuck.
better than everyone.
and, simultaneously, worse than everyone.
i belong in a padded cell.
i don't want to sleep with my brother when he comes over.
i want to sleep with my wife.
but i don't want him to be uncomfortable.
and i want him to be able to do whatever he wants in the morning.
and, left to my own devices, i'm gonna sleep for 80 years.
so, i almost need to sleep in a public place, at least.
my brother.
what a douche.
...not really...
his brother is... stupid.
stupid and scared of every goddam thing.
just a giant pussy.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Does God Make Mistakes?
Hey, this just hit me...
If God doesn't make mistakes, why did He decide to kill everything and everybody on the Earth except for Noah and his family and the two-by-two creatures?
I'll bet there were too many homos.
If God doesn't make mistakes, why did He decide to kill everything and everybody on the Earth except for Noah and his family and the two-by-two creatures?
I'll bet there were too many homos.
Helping People
I was contacted by an old high school acquaintance yesterday who noticed that I was involved in the Occupy Together movement, and she told me to stop with the "propaganda".
If you look up the word "propaganda", you find Websters will tell you it means, "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person". Yeah, I guess I was trying to spread ideas to help a person and a cause. But this definition also incorporates the definition from Webster for the word "educate": "to persuade or condition to feel, believe, or act in a desired way". Yeah, I was trying to persuade people to act in a desired way. But that's not what this acquaintance meant. She wasn't asking me to stop educating her. She was asking me to stop lying to her.
Schools teach people. Funding for schools continues to decrease every year.
I find it symptomatic of the increasing American Stupidity for some of our citizens to see people in need of support and believe that they are actively trying to hurt people. What kind of fucked up Paranoia Juice are we pouring into our water to make us believe that a dude who wants to be able to afford a flu shot is, in some way, an agent of The Evil Doers who wants nothing more than to see this country collapse? And how do you look at pictures of veterans of armed services and people who are quite obviously over the age of 50 and tell me that the protesters are college hippies who are high on spring rolls and herbal tea?
It's no secret that BP was the company in charge of a large oil spill which crippled much of the Gulf of Mexico and closed many small tourist- and seafood-driven businesses in that area, yet they still thrive and are making record profits. It's no secret that General Motors closed all of their manufacturing facilities in Michigan, putting thousands of Americans out of work and taking their business out of the United States-- all to make more profits-- then accepted money from the American taxpayers to prevent their demise. It's no secret that corporations have something called "cost analysis" which calculates how much money it will cost to do something correctly or illegally. If the cost is lower to do the illegal thing and pay whatever court fees and damages might occur, then that's what the corporation does. Simply based on these known facts, I find it difficult to support and assist these entities.
Ok, let's make it even simpler and forget everything I just said. There's a dude who can't afford a sandwich but makes too much money to qualify for government assistance of any kind. And there's another dude who has over a million dollars in the bank and routinely works with his lawyer to make sure he pays as little in taxes as possible. Now which one would you suggest carry the brunt of the financial burden of our country's current financial situation? Most of the Republican hopefuls for the presidential candidacy would have us believe that it should be equally carried, which translates to the guy without the sandwich should give up half of the sandwich he doesn't have, and the guy who has over a million dollars in the bank should, also, give up half his sandwich... of which, he has over a million. Sounds reasonable and fair. Fuck the guy without the sandwich. He's just lazy and wants a handout, doesn't he? Fuck him. And vote for me, Michelle Romney Perry Pizza Guy!
Let's make it even simpler to understand. There's a dude with a donut. There's another dude without a donut. The guy without the donut says he wants to be afforded the opportunity to earn a donut. The dude with the donut calls the dude without a donut a hippie who can't figure out how to use a port-a-potty, then hires a lobbyist to prohibit dudes without donuts from talking, then buys some ad time on television telling you how dangerous donut-less dudes are to your neighborhood and you should flee to the suburbs now and, if at all possible, buy guns so that marauding bands of Donut Crazed Zombies don't come to steal your donuts, your daughters and your Bibles. You know dudes without donuts don't believe in Jesus, don't you? They also eat the blood of their mothers. It's true.
It's as if we cannot understand what it means to help somebody. I hold open doors for people because it's polite. Yeah, sometimes they get in front of me in the line. So the fuck what?! I'm gonna get there eventually, just one person later. Sometimes, though, they actually let me go ahead of them because I opened the door for them. That's nice, too. But what I don't do is see a person coming up behind me, and instead of holding the door for them, go through as quickly as possible, pull the door closed behind me, and call to the people inside, "Look, this person wants a hand out! Bomb them!"
What's the fuckin' deal, people?
If you look up the word "propaganda", you find Websters will tell you it means, "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person". Yeah, I guess I was trying to spread ideas to help a person and a cause. But this definition also incorporates the definition from Webster for the word "educate": "to persuade or condition to feel, believe, or act in a desired way
Schools teach people. Funding for schools continues to decrease every year.
I find it symptomatic of the increasing American Stupidity for some of our citizens to see people in need of support and believe that they are actively trying to hurt people. What kind of fucked up Paranoia Juice are we pouring into our water to make us believe that a dude who wants to be able to afford a flu shot is, in some way, an agent of The Evil Doers who wants nothing more than to see this country collapse? And how do you look at pictures of veterans of armed services and people who are quite obviously over the age of 50 and tell me that the protesters are college hippies who are high on spring rolls and herbal tea?
It's no secret that BP was the company in charge of a large oil spill which crippled much of the Gulf of Mexico and closed many small tourist- and seafood-driven businesses in that area, yet they still thrive and are making record profits. It's no secret that General Motors closed all of their manufacturing facilities in Michigan, putting thousands of Americans out of work and taking their business out of the United States-- all to make more profits-- then accepted money from the American taxpayers to prevent their demise. It's no secret that corporations have something called "cost analysis" which calculates how much money it will cost to do something correctly or illegally. If the cost is lower to do the illegal thing and pay whatever court fees and damages might occur, then that's what the corporation does. Simply based on these known facts, I find it difficult to support and assist these entities.
Ok, let's make it even simpler and forget everything I just said. There's a dude who can't afford a sandwich but makes too much money to qualify for government assistance of any kind. And there's another dude who has over a million dollars in the bank and routinely works with his lawyer to make sure he pays as little in taxes as possible. Now which one would you suggest carry the brunt of the financial burden of our country's current financial situation? Most of the Republican hopefuls for the presidential candidacy would have us believe that it should be equally carried, which translates to the guy without the sandwich should give up half of the sandwich he doesn't have, and the guy who has over a million dollars in the bank should, also, give up half his sandwich... of which, he has over a million. Sounds reasonable and fair. Fuck the guy without the sandwich. He's just lazy and wants a handout, doesn't he? Fuck him. And vote for me, Michelle Romney Perry Pizza Guy!
Let's make it even simpler to understand. There's a dude with a donut. There's another dude without a donut. The guy without the donut says he wants to be afforded the opportunity to earn a donut. The dude with the donut calls the dude without a donut a hippie who can't figure out how to use a port-a-potty, then hires a lobbyist to prohibit dudes without donuts from talking, then buys some ad time on television telling you how dangerous donut-less dudes are to your neighborhood and you should flee to the suburbs now and, if at all possible, buy guns so that marauding bands of Donut Crazed Zombies don't come to steal your donuts, your daughters and your Bibles. You know dudes without donuts don't believe in Jesus, don't you? They also eat the blood of their mothers. It's true.
It's as if we cannot understand what it means to help somebody. I hold open doors for people because it's polite. Yeah, sometimes they get in front of me in the line. So the fuck what?! I'm gonna get there eventually, just one person later. Sometimes, though, they actually let me go ahead of them because I opened the door for them. That's nice, too. But what I don't do is see a person coming up behind me, and instead of holding the door for them, go through as quickly as possible, pull the door closed behind me, and call to the people inside, "Look, this person wants a hand out! Bomb them!"
What's the fuckin' deal, people?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Helpful Thoughts For You
I know it’s hard to keep going sometimes. Especially if you’re feeling defeated. It’s truly taxing to keep going despite your body and mind telling you you’re done.
Somebody else is doing what you want to do. And in the same town. They’re doing EXACTLY what you want to do. It feels like somebody ganked your idea and left you out in the cold. And now you’re asking yourself, “Why should I keep going? My idea is already happening with this other person, and they’re going to take all my potential business and take all my potential customers. I’ve got some people now, but my business isn’t going to grow. And I’m never going to get out of this place I’m in right now. I’m never going to be able to do this for a living. I’m always going to have to do something else. And my dreams won’t ever come true.”
I know how you feel. I’ve had these same thoughts many, many, many times.
And it just might be true. You might work all your life and your business might never take off. Even if you were the only show in town, it might never get you enough business to where you don’t have to have another job just to support yourself. It might always be this way.
So, my unsolicited (and possibly unwanted) recommendation to you is to ask yourself every day if this is what you want to be doing. Don’t ask yourself if you want to be doing what hasn’t happened yet. Don’t look at what your business MIGHT become. Look at it today. And TODAY ONLY, is this what you want to be doing? If the answer is “yes”, keep doing it! You’re doing what you want to do! If the answer is “no”, ask yourself if you’re willing to keep working toward the dream. You’ve got an idea in your head of where you want to be, and ask yourself if you’re willing to work to get there. If you answer “yes” to this question, keep going! Every day, you’re getting closer to where you want to be! If you answer “no” to this second question, think about something you would rather be doing. Then ask yourself this final question: “would I rather be doing this other thing versus what I’m doing now?” If the answer is “no”, you’re STILL doing the right thing! You are doing the best thing for you, and there is nothing better for you out there. If the answer is “yes”, it’s time to do something better for yourself.
By going through these questions, you put yourself in control. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing, even if they are doing exactly what you’re doing. You didn’t start your idea solely because nobody else was doing it. Every day people open restaurants, not because they are the first to open a restaurant, but because they want to. You wanted to start this business. And it’s grown. And it’s doing well. And you like it. And it energizes you. But still, take yourself through those questions, just to make sure.
Here’s something really hard to do: don’t worry about the other person who is doing your idea. Just like the restaurant, there are many choices, and there is only one you. As a general rule, I like Taco Bell more than McDonald’s because I feel like I get more food at Taco Bell and it tastes better to me. But if I really need to get a mushroom and swiss angus burger, Taco Bell can’t meet my needs. I gotta go to McDonald’s. Plus, Taco Bell is starting to suck ass, not giving the same portions as they used to, and their drive-through help are all on some kind of narcotics. Or something. They’re off-putting. So my tastes are changing. The point here is that people have choices. And every person is an individual. I’m speaking about you and your individual qualities, which are good qualities. And some people will like your individual qualities. And some won’t. Make yourself happy first, and thing will be much, much easier.
And if I’ve responded to an issue which you’re already over and I’ve spent too much time dealing with something that really didn’t need to be dealt with, then know that I love you, and that’s all.
Somebody else is doing what you want to do. And in the same town. They’re doing EXACTLY what you want to do. It feels like somebody ganked your idea and left you out in the cold. And now you’re asking yourself, “Why should I keep going? My idea is already happening with this other person, and they’re going to take all my potential business and take all my potential customers. I’ve got some people now, but my business isn’t going to grow. And I’m never going to get out of this place I’m in right now. I’m never going to be able to do this for a living. I’m always going to have to do something else. And my dreams won’t ever come true.”
I know how you feel. I’ve had these same thoughts many, many, many times.
And it just might be true. You might work all your life and your business might never take off. Even if you were the only show in town, it might never get you enough business to where you don’t have to have another job just to support yourself. It might always be this way.
So, my unsolicited (and possibly unwanted) recommendation to you is to ask yourself every day if this is what you want to be doing. Don’t ask yourself if you want to be doing what hasn’t happened yet. Don’t look at what your business MIGHT become. Look at it today. And TODAY ONLY, is this what you want to be doing? If the answer is “yes”, keep doing it! You’re doing what you want to do! If the answer is “no”, ask yourself if you’re willing to keep working toward the dream. You’ve got an idea in your head of where you want to be, and ask yourself if you’re willing to work to get there. If you answer “yes” to this question, keep going! Every day, you’re getting closer to where you want to be! If you answer “no” to this second question, think about something you would rather be doing. Then ask yourself this final question: “would I rather be doing this other thing versus what I’m doing now?” If the answer is “no”, you’re STILL doing the right thing! You are doing the best thing for you, and there is nothing better for you out there. If the answer is “yes”, it’s time to do something better for yourself.
By going through these questions, you put yourself in control. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing, even if they are doing exactly what you’re doing. You didn’t start your idea solely because nobody else was doing it. Every day people open restaurants, not because they are the first to open a restaurant, but because they want to. You wanted to start this business. And it’s grown. And it’s doing well. And you like it. And it energizes you. But still, take yourself through those questions, just to make sure.
Here’s something really hard to do: don’t worry about the other person who is doing your idea. Just like the restaurant, there are many choices, and there is only one you. As a general rule, I like Taco Bell more than McDonald’s because I feel like I get more food at Taco Bell and it tastes better to me. But if I really need to get a mushroom and swiss angus burger, Taco Bell can’t meet my needs. I gotta go to McDonald’s. Plus, Taco Bell is starting to suck ass, not giving the same portions as they used to, and their drive-through help are all on some kind of narcotics. Or something. They’re off-putting. So my tastes are changing. The point here is that people have choices. And every person is an individual. I’m speaking about you and your individual qualities, which are good qualities. And some people will like your individual qualities. And some won’t. Make yourself happy first, and thing will be much, much easier.
And if I’ve responded to an issue which you’re already over and I’ve spent too much time dealing with something that really didn’t need to be dealt with, then know that I love you, and that’s all.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
My Therapy vol. 1
Everything She Wants by Wham! just played on my iPod, and I had a horrible recollection of hearing that song while in the backseat of my father's car. I don't really remember if anything was going on, but what I do remember is that I didn't want to be there and I wasn't happy.
It wasn't at this time that my step-mother told me she liked Wham! because she had just heard Careless Whisper, but hearing Everything She Wants right now reminds me of that, also, and makes me angry at her. You see, she had told me for so long that Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go was a horrible song and she would "never" like a song by the band that sang that song. Then she came to me a little later and told me that she liked Wham! because of the "new" song (it had come out months before she heard it) they sang called Careless Whisper. I told her that Wham! sang the song Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, and conveniently, she had forgotten all those months of telling me that they sucked and she would never like them.
But Everything She Wants only reminds me of that time. I feel like I was listening to Everything She Wants on some trip that I didn't want to take with my father. Like a trip to my grandpa's house. I liked my grandpa, but I didn't like the trip with my father. There was even a time on one of our road trips to visit my grandfather when my father wouldn't stop so that I could use the bathroom, so I intentionally pissed all over the backseat of his Cougar (the car he had inherited from his dead mother). I still feel good about that decision. I also remember listening to Rick Springfield's "Tao" record and I have the same feeling about that whole record as I do about the song Everything She Wants: I'm with my father, I'm in his car, I don't want to be there, and I'm not happy.
Conversely, my mother and I took a road trip where we listened to almost nothing but The White Album by The Beatles. I have great memories of that trip and that record.
Isn't it weird that a song can bring up something so powerful as a memory about not wanting to be with my father in his car that it stops me from working to type it all out so that I can remember it later? Or tell people about it now? What's that about?
It wasn't at this time that my step-mother told me she liked Wham! because she had just heard Careless Whisper, but hearing Everything She Wants right now reminds me of that, also, and makes me angry at her. You see, she had told me for so long that Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go was a horrible song and she would "never" like a song by the band that sang that song. Then she came to me a little later and told me that she liked Wham! because of the "new" song (it had come out months before she heard it) they sang called Careless Whisper. I told her that Wham! sang the song Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, and conveniently, she had forgotten all those months of telling me that they sucked and she would never like them.
But Everything She Wants only reminds me of that time. I feel like I was listening to Everything She Wants on some trip that I didn't want to take with my father. Like a trip to my grandpa's house. I liked my grandpa, but I didn't like the trip with my father. There was even a time on one of our road trips to visit my grandfather when my father wouldn't stop so that I could use the bathroom, so I intentionally pissed all over the backseat of his Cougar (the car he had inherited from his dead mother). I still feel good about that decision. I also remember listening to Rick Springfield's "Tao" record and I have the same feeling about that whole record as I do about the song Everything She Wants: I'm with my father, I'm in his car, I don't want to be there, and I'm not happy.
Conversely, my mother and I took a road trip where we listened to almost nothing but The White Album by The Beatles. I have great memories of that trip and that record.
Isn't it weird that a song can bring up something so powerful as a memory about not wanting to be with my father in his car that it stops me from working to type it all out so that I can remember it later? Or tell people about it now? What's that about?
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Mess Upon Mess
There was an accident on the highway this morning. A huge semi-truck had crashed, overturning it's enormous tanker across three of four highway lanes and emptying it's payload of crushed concrete and gravel all over the road. To get around it, me and the rest of my fellow commuters, pulled into the off-ramp lane. It was a mess.
The last time my wife went to therapy with her ex, it was spelled out that if the boys need to be taken care of by somebody other than the parent they're staying with, the ONLY other choice is the other parent. My wife just realized that the boys were going to be picked up her mother on Wednesday. She emailed her ex, telling him that she was available to care for the boys after school, rather than have her mother care for the boys. He responded with, "it's more convenient for me for your mother to care for them after school." My wife responded with suggestions which would make it just as convenient for him to allow his children to spend their time with their mother. He still refused. And this is only the most recent example of how therapy is completely useless. I would like to know what the point of this therapy is, seeing as the ex refuses to adhere to what is discussed and agreed upon, just like he did with the original divorce decree, just like he's done for the past 4 years. What is the therapist doing to help the boys? What is the therapy doing to assist communication between the parties or make this a true joint custody?
A revolution has started in America. 780 peaceful protesters have been arrested in New York City so far. All they are looking for is some economic equality. They paid their hard-earned tax dollars to fund bail outs of banks who proceeded to give their CEOs millions in bonuses. Please understand, these millions weren't to aid the business at all or to strengthen the bank. These millions were dollars above and beyond what was needed to run the business, including paying an enormous salary to the top executives, and it was left over, so it was given to the CEOs. And then those businesses foreclosed on people's homes who couldn't afford to pay their mortgages because the banks had raised the interest rates to the point of choking the people who had funded them in the first place. The people who gave them the millions of dollars for bonuses.
I work for the state. I work at least 40 hours a week. For the past three months, I've been working 50 hours a week. My wife has two part-time jobs. We have three jobs between us. We are unable, most months, to afford to live without selling something we own at a pawn shop, or on eBay, or by donating plasma. And we do not have cable television. And we don't subscribe to magazines or newspapers. We do not eat out. We do not go drinking or use drugs. We don't have Pay Per View. We calculate how much it's going to cost to drive our cars, and then we don't drive more than we have to so that we can save on gas expenses. We consider ourselves "working middle class". The reality is, though, that our 4-person family, with our three jobs between two of us, we are the working poor. We are the Underemployed of America. We need more jobs to sustain our livelihoods in our country. When did "underemployed" become an acceptable way of thought? Here in our "land of plenty" we are accepting of a way of life where you have a job, yet that job doesn't sustain your basic needs. How is this acceptable? How is this America? It's not that we don't have work, it's that we don't have enough work.
The current state of American thought is that if you work hard enough, you will prosper. This has been the standard thought all my life. Which means, if you're struggling, you're not working hard enough. You're lazy. If you're poor, you're lazy. My mother needed financial help from her parents most of her life. She was a college teacher, and in the summer, she needed to get another job to support herself. She was not lazy. And she was not rich. My step-father worked for the Air Force, then a large corporation who laid him off, then for another corporation who didn't pay him as much as the first corporation. He was not lazy. And he is not rich. My wife and I have three jobs. We hardly get to see or talk to each other when our boys are with us. When they are not with us, we eat rice. Sometimes we can afford broccoli. We are not lazy. And we are not rich. But if you put all three of us up against the American mindset, the only reason my mother, my step-father and my wife and I aren't rich is because we're not working hard enough. We're lazy. I'm certain this way of thinking didn't originate from my mother, my step-father, my wife or myself. I'm guessing that it originated from the companies and corporations who profit from our labor and continue to make it necessary to work harder for them so that my wife and I can afford to buy a $2.50 bag of rice to feed us for a week. Don't think about diabetes. Don't think about illness. Never mind that my wife has a job where she NEVER gets a day off. She works 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And she does this so that we can afford to buy frivolous things like pants for our boys. And give them a little ground beef. According to America, though, they are lazy, too. 15 and 11 years old isn't too young to get a job. They should be dropping out of school to make life for themselves better and easier. What a wonderful state of mind our country has.
I wonder what has happened to our nation. My wife's ex-husband made a legal agreement to jointly parent with my wife, and then breaks that agreement over and over again, and there are no consequences. None. He continues his behavior today. The best consequences I get are statements from my mother and attorney telling me that the reason I'm upset is because I'm trying to change him and I'm creating the upset feeling. The message, essentially, is "don't care". Don't care about the agreement originally made. Don't care about his non-compliance with that agreement. Don't care that my wife continues to spend our money on therapy where he continues to be non-compliant. Don't care that the lawyers don't care. Don't care that the court doesn't care. And don't care that the boys aren't taken care of. When you don't care, it makes the pain go away. This is the message from my mother and our attorney. Our attorney, incidentally, didn't want to depose the ex-husband, which exposed many of his lies and forced him to create new ones, until my mother offered to pay her, and then she did it. Another example of how it doesn't really matter unless you have money.
I pledge allegiance to the dollar of the United States of America. And to the Corporations and Politicians and Complacent Mindsets for which it sustains. One Dollar. Under Greed. Reprehensible. With Ignorance and Slavery for All.
I'd like to make an analogy about the overturned truck. Like, our nation is completely out of control and our politicians and financial institutions have become a huge overturned mack truck on our highways and no one can get around them and they're just clogging up the works. But I'm not going to make that analogy. I'm just gonna go back to working my 10 hour day. So that I can give that money to everyone else who is benefiting from my slavery.
The last time my wife went to therapy with her ex, it was spelled out that if the boys need to be taken care of by somebody other than the parent they're staying with, the ONLY other choice is the other parent. My wife just realized that the boys were going to be picked up her mother on Wednesday. She emailed her ex, telling him that she was available to care for the boys after school, rather than have her mother care for the boys. He responded with, "it's more convenient for me for your mother to care for them after school." My wife responded with suggestions which would make it just as convenient for him to allow his children to spend their time with their mother. He still refused. And this is only the most recent example of how therapy is completely useless. I would like to know what the point of this therapy is, seeing as the ex refuses to adhere to what is discussed and agreed upon, just like he did with the original divorce decree, just like he's done for the past 4 years. What is the therapist doing to help the boys? What is the therapy doing to assist communication between the parties or make this a true joint custody?
A revolution has started in America. 780 peaceful protesters have been arrested in New York City so far. All they are looking for is some economic equality. They paid their hard-earned tax dollars to fund bail outs of banks who proceeded to give their CEOs millions in bonuses. Please understand, these millions weren't to aid the business at all or to strengthen the bank. These millions were dollars above and beyond what was needed to run the business, including paying an enormous salary to the top executives, and it was left over, so it was given to the CEOs. And then those businesses foreclosed on people's homes who couldn't afford to pay their mortgages because the banks had raised the interest rates to the point of choking the people who had funded them in the first place. The people who gave them the millions of dollars for bonuses.
I work for the state. I work at least 40 hours a week. For the past three months, I've been working 50 hours a week. My wife has two part-time jobs. We have three jobs between us. We are unable, most months, to afford to live without selling something we own at a pawn shop, or on eBay, or by donating plasma. And we do not have cable television. And we don't subscribe to magazines or newspapers. We do not eat out. We do not go drinking or use drugs. We don't have Pay Per View. We calculate how much it's going to cost to drive our cars, and then we don't drive more than we have to so that we can save on gas expenses. We consider ourselves "working middle class". The reality is, though, that our 4-person family, with our three jobs between two of us, we are the working poor. We are the Underemployed of America. We need more jobs to sustain our livelihoods in our country. When did "underemployed" become an acceptable way of thought? Here in our "land of plenty" we are accepting of a way of life where you have a job, yet that job doesn't sustain your basic needs. How is this acceptable? How is this America? It's not that we don't have work, it's that we don't have enough work.
The current state of American thought is that if you work hard enough, you will prosper. This has been the standard thought all my life. Which means, if you're struggling, you're not working hard enough. You're lazy. If you're poor, you're lazy. My mother needed financial help from her parents most of her life. She was a college teacher, and in the summer, she needed to get another job to support herself. She was not lazy. And she was not rich. My step-father worked for the Air Force, then a large corporation who laid him off, then for another corporation who didn't pay him as much as the first corporation. He was not lazy. And he is not rich. My wife and I have three jobs. We hardly get to see or talk to each other when our boys are with us. When they are not with us, we eat rice. Sometimes we can afford broccoli. We are not lazy. And we are not rich. But if you put all three of us up against the American mindset, the only reason my mother, my step-father and my wife and I aren't rich is because we're not working hard enough. We're lazy. I'm certain this way of thinking didn't originate from my mother, my step-father, my wife or myself. I'm guessing that it originated from the companies and corporations who profit from our labor and continue to make it necessary to work harder for them so that my wife and I can afford to buy a $2.50 bag of rice to feed us for a week. Don't think about diabetes. Don't think about illness. Never mind that my wife has a job where she NEVER gets a day off. She works 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And she does this so that we can afford to buy frivolous things like pants for our boys. And give them a little ground beef. According to America, though, they are lazy, too. 15 and 11 years old isn't too young to get a job. They should be dropping out of school to make life for themselves better and easier. What a wonderful state of mind our country has.
I wonder what has happened to our nation. My wife's ex-husband made a legal agreement to jointly parent with my wife, and then breaks that agreement over and over again, and there are no consequences. None. He continues his behavior today. The best consequences I get are statements from my mother and attorney telling me that the reason I'm upset is because I'm trying to change him and I'm creating the upset feeling. The message, essentially, is "don't care". Don't care about the agreement originally made. Don't care about his non-compliance with that agreement. Don't care that my wife continues to spend our money on therapy where he continues to be non-compliant. Don't care that the lawyers don't care. Don't care that the court doesn't care. And don't care that the boys aren't taken care of. When you don't care, it makes the pain go away. This is the message from my mother and our attorney. Our attorney, incidentally, didn't want to depose the ex-husband, which exposed many of his lies and forced him to create new ones, until my mother offered to pay her, and then she did it. Another example of how it doesn't really matter unless you have money.
I pledge allegiance to the dollar of the United States of America. And to the Corporations and Politicians and Complacent Mindsets for which it sustains. One Dollar. Under Greed. Reprehensible. With Ignorance and Slavery for All.
I'd like to make an analogy about the overturned truck. Like, our nation is completely out of control and our politicians and financial institutions have become a huge overturned mack truck on our highways and no one can get around them and they're just clogging up the works. But I'm not going to make that analogy. I'm just gonna go back to working my 10 hour day. So that I can give that money to everyone else who is benefiting from my slavery.
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