NASCAR!!

I know, I was like, "Hey, I'm going to make this a Monday morning regular".  And, then, no.  BUT, this weekends race, which I missed most of due to power outages by the electric company, was pretty exciting!  I could go into an analysis of whose fault it really was that Kevin Harvick wrecked.  Did Jimmie cause this?  Should Kevin have pitted?  (yes)  WHO CARES!   I'm doing a first and posting a You Tube Video, because no matter what lead up to "the punch", this is funny stuff!

YOU MUST CLICK!

Kevin Harvick/Jimmie Johnson Fight Compilation

That Project Lasted Five Minutes (so far)

Does it mean I just don't care? Probably.

No.  I'm still going to explore what I truly think about these things.  But, there are no rules.  I'll do it in my time.  I get so overwhelmed by it all.  The Facebook is battered and beaten with all of the sides posting and re-posting articles and memes and photos and opinions.  It's so obnoxious and overwhelming and, I do admit, interesting.

Its like a cultural study to see how different the people I associate with really are.  I have one friend who literally bombards the Facebook with post after post of Liberal and Socialist propaganda that I just stopped reading them all.  It's too much to take in.  Then I have my Libertarian friend who posts, I have to admit, the most interesting posts, because he actually TALKS (writes) about why he hates everything he is posting.  But, what I find most interesting is that while I know he won't be voting for, I've yet to see him post who/what he IS voting for.  I will keep waiting and reading.  Those are the two that are most passionate, but there are more and everyone thinks/spouts something different.  It is fucking crazy.

I need to get back to focusing on what I think.

Climate Change

I believe that climate change is real.  I believe it is cyclical and it goes from extreme to extreme and that this will happen in our world as long as the earth exists.  Do people have an impact on climate? Sure.  But, I just flat out do not agree with what I consider the political myth that people and carbon dioxide emissions are creating global warming.  The science is NOT there.  Oh sure, you have scientists on each side telling their stories, but all you have to do is look at the history of the earth to see that there have been extreme warming and cooling trends and that the temperature of the earth increases and decreases in a cyclical manner.

Some 20 million years ago, we did not exist to emit all of the Carbon-Dioxide, yet Antarctica was warmer than it is today.  How do we explain that?  And in the last 10-15 years, the earth's temperature hasn't even been rising!

The "GLOBAL WARMING" scare is just a scare tactic so that it can be used as a political tool and a marketing tool.

Feel free to try to convince me otherwise.  I do have an open mind, but you better be damned convincing.

Lighten Up

I need to lighten up a bit.  Partly because I'm going in a serious direction here and partly because I'm having some seriously awful things happening in my life right now and I'd like to forget about life for a while.

So, I'm going full on Nascar fan on you.

I might make this a Monday regular...  I HEART Nascar.

But, yesterday's race was something of a bummer due to the rain that was pelting Michigan... on again, off again.  Luckily we got most of the race in and I have to say I was pretty pleased that Kurt Busch snagged the "win" when the race was called at lap 138 (of 200).   I know that it is most popular to hate Kurt Busch, but I like the guy.  Sure, he's been a trouble maker over the years, but I think some of it was blown out of proportion and I also think it all started with that whole Jimmy Spencer deal back in, what?  2003?  Jimmy Spencer being the "old guy" was more of a fan fave than Kurt was and pretty much from that point it all went down hill for Kurt.  But, I can sort of see how a bunch of fans booing you all the time could make you pissed and react negatively.   I'm not going to make any excuses, I'm just going to say that I think Kurt has worked hard to get back on top and I, for one, root for him and was happy that he now has two wins under his belt for this year.

Overall, I'm really enjoying this year in Nascar.  It amazes me how many people bitch and moan about the rules and the drivers and the penalties and just whine in general.   Me?  I find every weekend that I get to watch a race is a gift.  I love it.  Makes me a happy girl and even better I got to see TWO live races this year.  LUCKY ME!

Personal Liberty and Individual Rights

First off, this is really one of the most important things to me.   I really do not believe that the government should interfere with personal liberty, but I do think that they should help to protect individual rights.  YIKES!  

How do we have both?  Theoretically, one persons liberties and rights CAN affect someone else's liberties and rights... that's where the trouble starts.   I'll give you an example.  There is a program called Free2Choose that explores conflicting rights and freedoms.  I saw this program when visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and I can honestly say that until I saw that program, the thoughts behind it had seriously not occurred to me at that level.  Let me explain.

Free2Choose addresses those rights that are afforded people of the world; right to privacy, freedom of religion, freedom of speech.  But what happens when those rights and freedoms cannot co-exist.  A perfect example is the Westboro Church people.  They do things I consider awful.  Picketing funerals?  Really?  Carrying signs that say nasty things about dead people?  I find it abhorrent, but they have the right to do this under the laws allowing freedom of speech.  But while I can dislike them and their actions, I honestly cannot say they don't have the right to do that because if we take their rights, what does that say about ours?  This was the gist of the Free2Choose project.  When I was there, it was set up in a large room with videos playing on the walls.  A question would pop up, like "Do you believe that people have the right to protest?" (I'm just making this up because I don't remember the specific questions).  then people in the room could use a voting apparatus to vote and the scores would show up on the screen; percentage of those that voted yes and no who were in the room and percentages of all who had ever voted.  That in itself was interesting, but then they would show a video that made you really think.  For example, on this one, they might have a video of Nazi's in a parade carrying signs with hate speech.  Wow.  Yeah, people have the right to protest and to march, but you don't think about it in this way until there it is.

I just want to show why this is such a difficult topic and why I can understand how the government can find it so difficult to protect freedom and rights for everyone, because one person's freedom may hurt another... even if that hurt is only emotionally.  But, if I am true to myself, even though I hate the haters, as long as they are not PHYSICALLY hurting others/other living things, I have to say that we all do have the same rights.  This is why Westboro, assholes that they are, get to continue spewing hate.

Okay, all of that to say that my stand on personal liberties and freedoms and rights is one of the government should protect them for each person providing that the allowance of that freedom does not cause the physical harm to other living humans or animals... sorry, I'm not going with flora.  I'm going a step further and adding property damage to that.  Clearly you have to include that because if someone thinks they need to burn buildings down and only burns empty buildings, then it would fall outside of the first piece, so you have to include property.  Of course, that throws us completely into the whole abortion issue, because now we have to consider that an abortion physically harms the embryo or fetus.  But, this is MY perfect world and in my world, I don't consider that to be true until the fetus is developed into a person enough that they could live outside of the mother's body.  It's okay to disagree... we're exploring my beliefs here, not yours.

So, with this background, I am weighing in on the following social issues as follows:

• I support basic human rights, freedom of speech, religion, beliefs, privacy, to move freely for all people regardless of nationality, gender, color, etc. etc.

• I support marriage, regardless of gender.  Quite frankly, I also support polygamous marriages even though I think it is bizarro.

• I support a women's right to have an abortion until the embryo becomes a viable fetus.

• I support the right to own and use guns as long as they aren't being used on people and on animals only when properly hunting.

• All people have the right to believe in any religion they choose to believe in or not to believe.  Protection of those beliefs should not include protecting a belief that leads to hurting others.  Because everyone may have different beliefs, religious views should never, under any circumstances, be part of decision making in government as that would invalidate everyone's right to hold their own belief system.

• All citizens of the US should have the right to vote in elections regardless of (which is ridiculous that I'm even having to address this, but yea 2016 election drama) whether they have an ID or any of the other crap that is being made up to keep people from voting.  I completely believe that all people should have an ID, however, keeping registered voters from voting is wrong.  This not allowing early voting, which I'm assuming works like our absentee ballot process is dumb.  I vote absentee always.  As a nation, we should want the largest voter participation that we can get.  We should never try to limit voting.

• I am for legalization of marijuana.  Regulate it.  Tax it.  Or Don't.  Don't really care.  The whole thing is retarded.  I can get wasted on beer, but I can't smoke weed?   That just makes no sense.  Harder drugs... I'm fuzzy.  I think all of these chemical compounds have seriously dangerous side effects or just effects, so I agree we need to educate and continue to work on stopping the manufacturing of them.  But, there needs to be some serious aligning of the laws related to drug offenses compared to laws for other crimes.  It amazes me that our prisons can be full of drug dealers, when murderers get off easy... but, that's another topic.
• Here's the hot button, right here.  Immigration.  I believe that immigration should be allowed and that the same rules to immigrate into the US must be used for all people coming in, whether they come from the Philippines or from Mexico.  What I see right now is an abuse of power by the Immigration Department and very different rules for different countries.  If we didn't make it so difficult, people wouldn't come illegally.  I've also worked with illegal aliens and been exposed to the myth that they come and take our jobs and don't contribute.  That is patently false.  I was in an industry that used illegal aliens for labor.  They were hard workers and willing to do the work.  They also use fake Social Security numbers,so they pay into social security and get nothing out of it!  When you hired white US citizens, they were lazy and either quit or filed fake worker's comp claims.  THAT is a drain on our society, not the people who are coming here because they want to have a good job and a good life.  I understand that my beliefs here are unpopular, but if we had a workforce in this country that truly wanted to work hard, they would be doing so.  I see people every day who refuse to take jobs because they are "beneath them". Instead they suck our resources dry.  I feel like what we really need is a good set of rules and policies for all who want to come here.  Require them to work, require them to learn the language, create trial periods, there are a lot of things we can do.  But, I think it is important that we also realize that immigration is NOT only from Mexico, yet it is exponentially more difficult for a Mexican to immigrate to the US legally than it is for people from Asian countries.  At least, that has been my personal experience in talking to people I know who have done both.

I think that's probably enough for today.  It's long winded and wordy, just like I always have been, but it's a start for me.

Politickin' and Guv'ment

I'm a weird middle of the road kind of person.  On one hand I dislike government interfering all over the place, but on the other hand, I recognize the need for some government.  I see myself and a Fiscal Conservative and a Social liberal.  But, do I really know what that means?

Thank you Wikipedia:

"Fiscal conservatism is a politicoeconomic philosophy with regard to fiscal policy and the advocating of fiscal responsibility. Fiscal conservatives advocate the avoidance of deficit spending, the reduction of overall government spending and national debt, and ensuring balanced budgets."

"Social liberalism is a political ideology that seeks to find a balance between individual liberty and social justice."

Okay then.  Yes.  that is totally me.  While I can dabble in ideas of Socialism and Communism, I think what I really most identify with is Liberalism.  But, nothing is absolute and labeling myself as anything, just never really fits.  I want to explore my views on a lot of topics and try to truly idenitfy where I stand on topics and why so that I can use that information in selecting candidates to vote for.  This is always hard for me, because few candidates hold my views and those who come the closest are usually some weirdo that only gets like 10 votes.

However, I have this blog and I think this might be a good place for me to study myself and my thoughts on these topics.  I have no readers, so I'm relatively safe from attacks and criticism, so it's like a little free place to think via keyboard.  maybe I'll end up with something constructive out of the process?

To start, I think that I need to identify what *I* think the purpose of government is.  I'm going to be honest here.  As I delve into my thoughts and studies on this topic... THIS MIGHT CHANGE.  But, today, when I am just starting this process, I see government as the following:

Government exists to protect and promote the health, welfare, and individual rights of its public and to provide for defense of our people and land, by prevention (diplomacy) and protection (military) from outsiders.  (according to Jennifer)

I'm going to explore what I have to say about how we're doing that, what I agree with and what I disagree with in our current United States.  So let me chew on that.

Just Don't Be Sneaky

I'm REALLLY flexible as a boss.  I think I am, anyway.  That's why it ticks me off when people are sneaky about stuff.  If you are taking a long lunch or break, just freaking own it and we're good.  If you're late in the AM, just say, "hey, I was late, I'm going to shorten my lunch today if you don't mind.".  Then I'm good.  But don't act like nothing happened and that I'm stupid.  It's just insulting.

/rant

Happy Town?

It seems like being happy can be so hard sometimes.  Juggling work, relationships, health... phooey.  Getting old sucks ass.  I guess it's time to pull out the self help books, give myself an attitude adjustment and well, maybe have a little spa time.  AMIRIGHT?

Fat and Fab! or is it '?'

I can't get on board on the diet thing. Seriously, I'm SUPPOSED to because I am diabetic. But, I don't do what I'm supposed to do because pretty much I'm all loser-y that way. But, inside my head, I know exactly what things not to eat or to eat in moderation and what things I should be eating. The truth is everyone knows. You freaking know not to put that damn cupcake in your damn pie hole, but you're going to do it and then you're going to wonder why you're fat. Well, I'm here to tell you that I do not wonder why I'm fat... I KNOW WHY. I also know that because of what I know, I will not allow myself to be one of those 600 pound TV shows either. Actually, I've lost about 20 pounds in the last year somehow. Don't even care how. But none of this is my point, I'm losing focus here.

What I want to say is if you want to lose weight, all of these fad diets are stupid. Get your body moving and eat the right foods in the right increments and you will lose weight. If you don't, then you need to move more and eat less or the right stuff. Stop fooling yourself and going on about it and just do it.

For me, I'd like cuter outfits, but otherwise, I'm fine. I do want to be healthier and I consider that whenever I make a food choice, but the truth is I get most of my pleasure from my foodie nature and I don't want to give that pleasure up. Guess what, neither do you or you'd already have lost weight, so stop wasting time and money and jacking with your body and your health by doing these crazy diets. Make a choice and if that choice is to lose weight, do the right things and create healthy habits. And remember, you can eat pretty much whatever you want if you just make a point to exercise it away! 

That's all I have to say about that.

A Month I Hope Never to Repeat

The majority of the time, I'm good.  I mean, I get crabby and truthfully, I've gone through some minor bouts of depression in the last few months, but I tend to make my way through and move on.  July was not one of those times.

I guess I could make a list of all of the things that made me miserable.  There were a lot.  Mostly surrounding my job and mostly related to moving an office of 100 people to a city 35 miles away to a building we hate. Moreover, I've struggled with a "superior" who seems to hate me and every single thing I do, say, or probably even every facial expression of mine.  That's hard.  And, in the midst of this I chose to live far from home for a couple of weeks to be close to the turmoil.

But, instead, I think I want to think about the amazing things that happened during this month of hell.

I know my husband is sick of hearing me whine about my job and the move, but he was so understanding during this time and not only didn't mind me living far away for two weeks, essentially leaving him home alone, but he also came up to meet me on the weekends so we could be together... even though I was actually WORKING on one of those weekends!  He was a trooper.  Sure, I wish he was a little more empathetic instead of competitive as to who has to work harder.. heh.. but, it was good to have the support.

Speaking of support, my parents were amazing.  Not only did they take me in  for a two  weeks stint (right after throwing their annual party for the fam), but my mom fed me delicious meals every night, they plied me with tasty beverages when I needed them and gave me a LOT of needed hugs.  They listen to me and give advice and HUG.  I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such an amazing family.

At work, I got kudos and congratulations in the most surprising places from people I wouldn't expect.  Of course everyone wasn't so nice, but enough people made me feel like they truly were appreciative of my efforts and that, that is a good thing.

I'm behind in my inchies, I missed my last massage, I got a massive pay cut, and a lot of crap has happened, but I have to say that for the most part, the people in my life are amazing and they make up for all of the things that might turn me into a horribly miserable person.  I think it's important to cherish those people in our lives and to make sure that we are as much a boost for them as they are for us.

Tweet Tweet

I signed up for Twitter.   I really didn't mean to.  I tried to not do this EVER, but there was a prize involved so I did it.  I feel guilty.  Stupid Wheel of Fortune... tricked me into tweeting.  I did, however, win a prize so there's that.  Then there was Jimmie Johnson giving away hats on his Twitter... everyone is using Twitter, so I DID IT!!!  Now they're already pressuring me to INSTAGRAM!  NOoooooooooooooo!

I have to stand my ground somewhere, right?

All this social networking.  Does everyone really need to know everything about everyone?

I guess so.

New York New York!

I've been dying to write about New York, but it was a secret! For my husband's 50th birthday I spent the last 2 years planning a secret trip to New York to take him to the Toy Fair and to see the city. We've always wanted to go and we did it!

The secret went off without a hitch... he found out when we were in line to check in at the airport! In hindsight, maybe I should have given him a week's notice. But, oh well. It all worked out in the end and we had an amazing time. We did the Toy Fair, seven National Park sites, a short walk through Central park, the Met, some amazing dinners, a couple of breweries and some beer events and two Broadway shows!

I feel like I got that town DOWN! It was a whirlwind week and amazing. YEA! It reminded me though how much I'd like to do something with helping people develop vacation itineraries. I seriously love doing that and there is this part of me that thinks I could turn this into a business! Maybe I should start out with developing some sample itineraries via a blog or something and see if people are even interested.

I guess I'll keep "thinking about it". That's how lazy people do things.

Begin whining...

When I write, I really want to write about positive things, so I hold off because things have been TOUGH lately.  I have a job where I am paid very well, have a ton of freedom and flexibility, and never have a dull moment.  That said, all of that comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility.  Others have expectations of me that sometimes can be hard to meet.  I am responsible for a lot of decisions and planning and execution and that kind of pressure can be crushing at times.

This is one of those times.

For the last 2 months, I've been being me AND covering for one of my supervisors.  I've been dealing with staffing shortages, procedure changes requiring a lot of extra work by the staff I'm supervising and an overwhelming feeling of "I can't freaking do this!".  As much as I hate to admit it, I've even CRIED.  Ugh, I hate that.

Everyone has drama at work.  Everyone has tough times.  I know I'm not unique or special, but man, it feels like I am right now.  My husband has been dealing with staffing issues, too.  He's has been stressed.  But, the truth is, he has no effing clue what stress at work really is.  He just doesn't.  I love him, I do, but he doesn't not have clue one about being the one person in a company of 160 employees who holds responsibility for executing a great deal of assignments and making decisions for way too many people.  In fact, the truth is I don't know anyone else who has this kind of responsibility so maybe part of the problem is that I don't have any peers that I can commiserate with or bounce problems off of, etc.  And, there is NO worries from anyone above me about my not meeting a deadline.  I must.  Period.

It's really kicked my ass and I guess I just need to vent.  I know that in six months, things should be a little smoother in my world, but until that happens, I'm getting gray hair!  

/whining

Crazy Little Thing Called Life...

There is a song I love... it's called Taking Time.  It goes like this:

Where does the time go,
in the middle of life's flow
Why don't it go slow anymore...

This describes me.  SERIOUSLY.

I feel like I am on a carousel that just goes faster and faster, with time spinning by me with every blink of an eye.  I like being busy at work, but this is crazy.  I don't even have enough hours in the day to get it all done and then I'm on the road home, then in bed, then doing it over again.

Luckily, this weekend, I get a little short getaway, but at least I can have a mini-escape and hopefully discover this elusive thing I've been searching for called sleep. Whatever happens, it will be recreational (well, except for the driving back and forth to the location).    UGH... duty calls... I already have to run and I thought I could steal five minutes to jot some thoughts...

SIGH

Tomorrow?

Happy New Year - Welcome 2014

Lets see if I can be a more successful blogger in 2014.  I want to say things that are meaningful.  I want to post my art and not miss an inchie.  I want to get started on that Nascar blog.  I want to be engaging and engage with others.

I don't want to rant... or whine... or blither... or apologize for not posting.

I'm excited about a new year and my life.  I have so much planned for this year and I'm just eager for each day... well, except that work part.  Man, retirement is so far away.  Work, seriously gets in the way of all of the fun and adventures I feel destined for.  But, I guess I can make that a challenge:  don't let work get in the way of joy and adventure.  Here's to experiencing life!  Here's to new things!  Here's to family and friends.

Here's to 2014!

Vacation All I Ever Wanted...

Yea!  So excited that I'm getting a mini-vacay this weekend.  Four glorious nights in fancy Vegas hotels... FOR FREE.  LOVE!  Don't know where the offers came from, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth... I'll just grab the reigns and ride 'em cowboy!

Segue...   their having the rodeo in Vegas this week, too.  SHould be some fun parties going on.

The thing about Las Vegas is when I go there, I feel like I'm home.  It's crazy.  I know if I LIVED there it would be so different, but when I get there, I just have a sense of peace and well-being.  I don't gamble much but we use every moment, even if we're using that moment to rest and relax.  We see shows and exhibits.  We visit gardens and museums.  AND WE EAT.  Oh, the food.  Las Vegas offers so much more than gambling and until I've seen and done it all, I think it will continue to be my home away from home... my "happy place".

Yea!  Let's all be happy now.

Inchies & Wisdom

Have you heard of this?  Inchies are tiny micro-art pieces, only one inch square.  I made my first one yesterday and started a new blog to post them.  I'm planning to do one weekly.  I wonder how many blogging projects I can start and have going at once and how many I can manage to keep going!  haha  Anyway, the inchie project is fun.  My first one was simple, but I hope to get better and better  =)

In other news... I have a tree on my head.  Yes, I said that.  It's a fuzzy Christmas tree with Disney characters.  It's big and alittle heavy.  However, words of wisdom from me today:

Once you don a hat...   you're kind of stuck wearing the hat for the rest of the day unless you want to do your hair.

:::SIGH:::

I Wanna Do Nascar...

You see, I have this idea that I can be a great blogger.  I want to have a Nascar blog.  In part because the idea of writing makes me happy.  I love to write.  The other part is that I love talking Nascar with other people who love Nascar.  Naw, I don't want to talk Nascar with someone who only loves their driver because they are usually biased, but the opportunity to be able to say what I want and then have (meaningful?) discourse about it... maybe a little debate, but most of all just enjoying the banter.  That's what I want.

So, lets go back to the "I love to write" statement.  If I love this so much why the hell does it take me a month to come back and post HERE?!?!?!  ARGH!  I THINK about writing here all the time.  Usually while I'm driving, of course.  Maybe I should just video blog from the seat of my car?  HILARIOUS.    I wonder if that is legal if it's all hands free?  heh

Anyway, how many posts can one person make about NOT blogging on her blog?  WHO CARES!?!

So, since I don't have a Nascar blog yet, I guess I can talk about the season ending right here.  Because the 2013 season has culminated with the big awards banquet and now we have a couple months off before it gets going again.  At this time of year, I sigh a little sigh of relief to have a little escape from the weekly TV plan of making sure we get the race recorded and then find time to watch it.  Don't get me wrong, I love it and when Daytona rolls around again, I will be VERY excited to play the TV juggling game all over again.  But right now, it's nice to get a couple months off.  I'm hoping I'm not going to be truly taking it off, though because I'm hoping that I will spawn my Nascar blog in the off season so it is up and running by February.

WISH ME LUCK!

Another Holiday

I don't really get Thanksgiving.  I mean, no, I GET it, but I just don't care that much.  Don't get me wrong, I love me a day off and I enjoy getting together with family, but the hell that is traffic just ruins that for me.  So, because I refuse to drive on Thanksgiving, I don't actually get to enjoy that part.  I usually just grab something at Jack in the Box or make something simple for my husband and I.

I wish we had more opportunities to spend time with family.  I just don't think having this one day per year is the way to go.  Shouldn't we appreciate the things in our life all year long?  Shouldn't we make time for family and friends regularly and not just figure, "oh, we'll see each other on Thanksgiving" when everyone is stressing out from the traffic and the cooking and all like that?  There should be a better way.  But, I guess we'd have to shift our paradigm.

Ah well... this year I'm eating dinner in a restaurant.  I know.  I'm a horrible person because I'm supporting people having to work on Thanksgiving, but that special dinner sounds great, it's  a quarter mile from my house (no freeway) and I have a gift card.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ME!

Five Things About Halloween

1. I seriously LOVE halloween

2. This year we barely even got into costume and dragged ourselves to a party.  Granted, I'm not too happy with the host of the party, but still.  I feel like Halloween passed me by.  I have a giant box of costumes plus more scattered around the house.  I just bought some 70% off additions at Target.  Yet, I couldn't be bothered to wear one?  I'm hoping we have a better Halloween 2014.

3. We go all out on the yard decor, but since we were getting painting quotes, we kind of put it off and then Halloween came and went without only a single blow up out front, except for some quickie lights ON Halloween night.  WHAT HAPPENED?

4. I will give Candy to anyone who shows up in a costume.  I don't' even care if you're an adult, but make the effing effort and put on a damned costume, you lazy ass.

5. One time I worked in a Haunted House for one night while visiting a friend in Ohio for said night.  I was an inmate in an insane asylum and I learned a valuable lesson that night.  Teenagers are JERKS.  Nasty, Hateful, Buttheads.

/Halloween