My alterna-Thanksgiving plans have actually been going pretty good. Went to a movie earlier today at Cinema Village. They were playing I Am Divine, a documentary on Divine (go look her up if you don't know who she is; if you're an attorney who doesn't work in entertainment & you actually know who Divine is, I will not only be shocked but I will give you points).
Someone I know was actually interviewed for the documentary, which I did not expect. It's not someone who's a friend but it's also not someone who's gotten on my black list or who I wish bad on. Guess I should get used to that; seems to be one more sign I'm making it regardless of what any money driven person has to say about it.
As we were going to this theater, which took us past Union Square, I saw mindless zombie assholes trying to shop. On our way, I saw some people trying to get in one of the bigger complexes right there & tugging on the locked door. I yell "It wouldn't kill you not to shop on Thanksgiving!" as I walk by. I felt these jerks deserved it & if we don't want retailers to be open then, we should be chewing out the assholes who equate Wal-Mart with the hospital or the police station.
That documentary was awesome, by the way & totally worth seeing. My husband & I were the only 2 people in the theater. Had it been something we didn't enjoy & my husband made a move, I'd have totally gone for it. After all, I did end up making out through an entire movie & then some on my first date with Vampire Boy. It was back in the days when a weekday afternoon ticket to the movies was affordable. I couldn't tell you what happened in the movie & it wasn't something I particularly wanted to see but had gotten invited to + thought the guy was cute so I went. Not to mention being a 20 year old on vacation from college & trying to kill time while waiting for Godiva to call her in for work. I remember the day itself very well since I'd also applied for a bank teller job earlier in the day & had to drive early in the morning.
You also have to remember I hated being in NC & Vampire Boy did as well so that instantly sparked good feeling between us. I've wanted to do that again with my husband so I could have new memories of something I liked doing but it hasn't happened due to movie ticket prices being too much & no good cheap movie theaters nearby. Guess those who want to make out in theaters just have to recreate that experience at home or in their cars, where we ended up after the movie. I feel like it marks the end of an ear & that kind of sucks.
Another end of an era apparently started this year with retailers opening on Thanksgiving. When we left the theater, I saw some jerks leaving and more entering Forever 21, which was open. I yelled loudly "You're part of the problem!" as we went to the subway. I wondered why my husband wasn't amused or commenting himself since I know he despises that crap himself. He claimed it wouldn't do any good. I say you have to confront assholes causing the problems if you want to affect change & point out they are indeed at fault.
I also feel entitled to do it considering I lost my father in June & just learned on Tuesday that my cousin died. He was the same age as my sister & was one of the only cousins we saw that often as kids. Plus, he & his brother were the only cousins we had within our age range. We weren't close as adults but that definitely hits close to home since if my sister died, that would be devastating. This cousin also had drug issues but he didn't try killing himself a bunch of times or tell people he wanted to die. He was medicating from injuries he got in a car accident ages ago. To my knowledge, he wasn't a depressed person; I just couldn't be around him because I like having my law license and the nature of what I do limits who can feasibly be in my life. Plus, dealing with my father means I don't deal with anyone else's issues & just because others are in denial doesn't mean I have to stick around for it.
In case you can't tell, I totally don't do Black Friday & hate it. I'm a cheapskate bargain hunter myself but I'm also a fan of sleeping in my warm bed, getting up later & not being pestered by the general populace. I also avoid putting myself into conflict situations where I know bad things are going to happen; dragging me into them is plain stupid so I opt to avoid them & let the conflict come to me before I act. Plus, there's the Internet.
Tell me, big box retailers. Why the hell do you need employees to come in against their will for no overtime pay when you have websites for customers to shop from? Can't you do deals on there & divert your traffic elsewhere instead of shitting on people's holidays b/c they are "peasants" or more accurately "garbage" to you? How many of you executives or higher ups worked this week? How many are working on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day, for that matter? If you personally aren't willing to work on a holiday, you have no business telling anyone else to do so.
Wal-Mart does NOT = a hospital. Restaurants are one thing. Bars are one thing. Movie theaters are one thing. We went to the movies but it's not like employees have to be in your face the entire time. They merely take your tickets or sell food & you are on your own quietly watching the movie. The transaction is very different. I think bars & restaurants are different b/c some people hate their families or have no place to go & shouldn't be deprived of their alcohol if it keeps them from going on a mass killing spree. Not to mention the families like my aunt's or mine who just lost major relatives & don't feel in the holiday spirit. I keep thinking about last Thanksgiving since that's the last time I got to see my father alive.
It actually was a good Thanksgiving even though I'm never going to be a fan of NC. We didn't get into fights & conversation went well. I found out my paternal grandmother's full name so I could research if the story about her being Miss Atlanta, GA back in the day is true or another tall tale from my father's side of the family (they're known for those, though if my looks are any indication [I'm apparently the spitting image of my aunt in her youth] it very well could be true). At least as I do things in this business, I'll have headshots and IMDB to provide a record of me taking advantage of that beauty and getting to use it professionally while no one else has gotten the opportunity.
My sister says my father wanted my cousin up there & she's probably right. He had a close relationship with the guy & considering he & my sister were the same age, I'm sure my father thought of him as the son he never had. My cousin & my father did have things in common.
Yesterday, a thought also occurred to me on all these deaths: no one in my life or related to me with a substance abuse problem is alive anymore. I also feel like I should become some grief expert or the go-to person if there's a death in your family. I already feel like the go-to person for crisis in other areas. I need a nickname but I don't think "The Misery Chick" fits; I'm not miserable or obsessed with death, not even close. A black cloud? I hope not since I don't feel like my personal life should affect my career; it's been a 180 from my personal life & one of the things keeping me going in all this. So I'm not sure.
I also know that I don't want fake sympathy or people to feel bad because they feel it's their "duty" or they "should." Spare me the bullshit & don't offer condolences unless you actually mean it. I'm not a person of ceremony & am not swallowing BS out of "duty" or "obligation." Just isn't in my character, I suppose.
I also am not a piece of glass or a piece of steel: I'm not going to fall apart but that doesn't mean I don't have feelings.
Tomorrow, I'm staying at home & relaxing away from the shopping hell. If you're smart, you'll do the same.
Showing posts with label Wal-Mart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wal-Mart. Show all posts
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Getting Professional Services: Elitism or Smart Planning?
Until a little over 2 weeks ago, I had never had someone not related to me do my laundry. Until Friday, I had never had a professional massage. Until yesterday, I didn't appreciate the talents of a Manhattan hair stylist that charges an arm & a leg to cut your hair.
If you're a woman, you totally lose on the haircut game. If you have long hair, it's even worse. Men can go & get $5 haircuts. Women are lucky if they can get one for $20, especially if they've got long hair. I went to one hair place in my area to use a Lifebooker deal I bought & those bastards tried charging me $15 extra for having long hair. Not a single one even complimented my hair color! See why they're bastards? That's a compliment I get at every single hair salon I go to. In fact, that's one of those ways I have to determine if you are indeed a credible hair person; if you aren't complimenting my hair on its thickness, health and/or color, it tells me you're not really hot shit at it.
Let's go back to laundry, though. One of the household tasks I hate doing is laundry. That & washing dishes, extensive cleaning and anything that forces me to undergo muscle pain or lift heavy items. I recently weighted myself & learned I was less than 105 pounds. In fact, I was 102 about a week ago! Muscle woman, I am not. Nor should anyone pester me to become it. I feel like "Isn't it enough that I'm an attorney, a business owner, an actress, a writer, a singer & a model? Beauty AND brains! Why should I also have to be brawn?" I've also asked my husband and others those very questions though some never want to recognize that beauty & brains are plenty, a lot more than what many women have.
I already shared my basic stance on cleaning; I do what I need to in order to avoid infestations & feeling like I live in a dump. I insist on my house feeling like a home, not a museum. Rigorous cleaning regimes just aren't happening with me & I don't think it diminishes me as a woman to refuse to engage in them. Maybe I'd make a shitty suburban wife but I have never wanted to be one anyway & my being one would lead to my story ending up on Deadly Women or some other ID (Investigation Discovery) show about a woman who has affairs, kills her spouse/lover/some other person or does something else scandalous enough to end up on one of those shows.
Lately, I have grown extremely disenchanted with doing laundry. First off, I hate our local laundromat with a passion since it's in my neighborhood (remember, I have zero community pride in light of the incident at the library), the jerk doesn't have air conditioning on during hot summer nights & wants to suffocate us all & you have to hang out with people who are maybe 1-2 steps above your average Wal-Mart customers in a meh neighborhood a.k.a. screaming children ahoy with lazy parents who do nothing to shut them up (in fact, these screeching kids are out late at night when my husband would typically be there to do laundry). Second, I'm less than 105 pounds & not He-Woman. I'm not the person to recruit to haul laundry or much else to places. I end up miserable having to lug things around & cranky because I had to put in contacts just to go to that laundromat and deal with that environment. Side note: don't ask me to help you move unless you're just moving items weighing less than 20-25 pounds. Third, by the time the laundry is back at our house we don't have time to sort it. If you wait, you get deep wrinkles in your clothes. Then there's the sock sorting, underwear folding, etc.
My husband sometimes does laundry at his parents' house but I'm not speaking to them at this point (this was also referenced in earlier posts). No one has yet to apologize or claim that I in fact DO have an artistic voice, 1st Amendment rights to speak my mind, and that my career is valid regardless of what financial rewards I get from it. Our latest film is screening at the Calgary International Film Festival as I type this. I even have my first journalistic writing gig acquired from the fact that I write this blog! Classic example of using a blog to form a distinct personality & lead to career opportunities. I'm looking forward to it; will post a link if it all works out and I get one.
So with that situation and my attitude that you shouldn't be going to your parents for certain routine things in your 30s, I felt like the time had come to see about outsourcing the trouble of doing laundry. I had no clue how much it was going to cost us but I found a good place that served our area & had a 5 star Yelp review. I finally got to use it 2 weeks ago & afterwards, my thought is "Why didn't we do this sooner?" It was quite cheap with a 15% discount and I think even without one, it could still be affordable to us per month & not really run us much more than doing it ourselves would (washers & dryers at the laundromat cost money, driving out to Long Island costs money, detergent/dryer sheets/etc. cost money & then there's the labor costs). Add it up for yourself & figure out if it works for you. I'm going to insist we keep up with it for our own collective sanity & value of time. If it sounds elitist to say having a professional degree means your time has some value, so be it. I absolutely think it does. Just told my family about doing this & they even agreed that it was better for us that way since our time costs money. If I had a washer/dryer at home like they do, I'd opt for that but since it's not an option for me it seems this is how you do it in city living.
I also found getting a professional massage is not the same as getting one from your lover (unless, of course, your lover is a professional masseuse). I have never dated a professional masseuse & the number of guys who have given me a massage is not a question I could answer off the top of my head. I know not all my boyfriends did that. Plus, a massage from your lover is supposed to be for getting in the mood. That's not the purpose of one from a professional.
I had the opportunity to get a free massage recently. With all the shit happening to me in the past few months (just realized yesterday my father hasn't even been dead 4 months yet), I felt I needed a professional massage or some type of spa experience. I also read a friend's Facebook post about the good feeling of getting one & thought she was on to something. Generally, they are not cheap. However, since I got the opportunity I figure something de-stressing would be the way to go for me.
Another fact about me that's probably not really shocking: I have a hard time relaxing. Call it the type A personality tendencies in me or my paranoia or my being an attorney; my brain can go a hundred miles an hour where I don't miss a beat. I also tend to do better if I'm busy & in some ways, thrive off it. This has always been my nature even back in middle/high school.
So, I went and got a great massage experience. I wrote a great Yelp review on the place, would totally recommend it to others (since finding places that are quality for beauty services is apparently a challenge in NYC, even in Manhattan where you'd think it wouldn't be) & once I can afford it, will totally indulge myself on that again.
Interesting fact #2 about me: I don't get my hair cut all that much. This is mostly since I think it costs too damn much to get it done. I haven't had a regular hair person since I lived in NC; I never actually got that done in Atlanta, though my hair was a lot shorter when I started college (me with short hair has triggered varied reactions from people though I never got it short enough to have the back of my head shaved). I wish I knew a great beautician who wouldn't charge me over $20 (including tip) to do it. That's something I'd love to get (maybe I should also get a friend who's a professional masseuse). You'd think I'd have those friends but I don't, at least not yet.
I was asked to go on a grocery trip by my husband, though I'd gone out quite a few other days that week. A little annoyed at having my ability to sleep late interrupted, I thought to myself "If I'm going out to Long Island anyway, why not finally go get the haircut I'd been meaning to get after this last fashion show?" I opted to do just that & picked an affordable place I'd been before where the stylist had not fucked with the basic template of my hair set out by a really great stylist at the Manhattan salon I went to beforehand.
I drove there, only to find it'd been closed and was absorbed into another location. The other location was taking the coupon I had but A) it was far more convoluted to get to than I'd expected (I nearly got hit trying to negotiate the parking area to get to their shopping center) & B) the cut the stylist gave me wasn't really what I asked for. I now have 3 layers in the front, which I didn't ask for, have never had & wasn't really sure about. I just wanted the angled cut I got with the stylist in Manhattan & that the second stylist I saw continued. It makes your face & hair look softer, according to the pros who did it & as a working model my hair has taken on new importance.
Decided to solicit opinions on the new hair from friends & family; so far the verdict has been good but I'm thinking maybe I should go to the other evening events I was invited to this week (an Entertainment Committee meeting on Monday & an exclusive entertainment/fashion networking event on Wednesday) so people I know from both the fashion & legal worlds can see it and give me feedback.
I'm not sure if it works for model me; long hair seems to be an asset in modeling, especially if you're a white woman. There aren't lots of short haired white models that I've seen. Granted my hair is still past my shoulders but it is shorter than it was; I was sporting hippie length hair before though it will never get to waist length even if I never get it cut (this really disappointed me when I was a child since my ex-friend had waist length hair).
Perhaps this cut is going to be an acquired taste for me but I think next time, I'm going to a pro in Manhattan. I know 2 of them thanks to Lifebooker (one even works in the entertainment industry).
I figured it's one indulgence I ought to get considering my husband spends far more on comics in a year than I'd spend on my hair (which might get cut 3 times a year tops) & I could probably write off my haircuts as a business expense since now I'm doing modeling. The prices in Queens aren't much cheaper & from my experience, service is better in Manhattan. I can also get to salons in Manhattan more easily.
I usually get my hair cut a lot to get rid of split ends. The funny thing is every hair person who does it tells me it's healthy. It was easier when I had curly perms since it frizzes like nobody's business but I guess my drying regime isn't killing it, which is a plus.
Possibly unusual fact #3: I don't spend time styling my hair. I just don't have the patience for it & I'm no beautician. I want to comb it & be done with it.
Maybe I'll put it up or have a hair accessory in it but I don't want to spend my time trying to curl it or something unless I'm going to a special event. I also don't wear make-up all that much these days though modeling has given me a greater appreciation for it. I likely wouldn't wear make-up for work unless it was for acting or modeling.
I actually think cosmetology is a great field to know. People will always be vain & shallow about their looks. You also can't outsource that job. Plus, you can save a fortune if you know how to do your own hair so that's something I think people should go into as a trade.
I realized that outsourcing laundry & all totally makes me sound like the typical NYC professional. Guess in some ways I am. It's not something I'm ashamed of or all that unhappy about. I don't know that it's truly elitism to say you don't want to do your own laundry; maybe that's just honesty. Now I just need to figure out how to not have to pay to do dishes after I cook.
If you're a woman, you totally lose on the haircut game. If you have long hair, it's even worse. Men can go & get $5 haircuts. Women are lucky if they can get one for $20, especially if they've got long hair. I went to one hair place in my area to use a Lifebooker deal I bought & those bastards tried charging me $15 extra for having long hair. Not a single one even complimented my hair color! See why they're bastards? That's a compliment I get at every single hair salon I go to. In fact, that's one of those ways I have to determine if you are indeed a credible hair person; if you aren't complimenting my hair on its thickness, health and/or color, it tells me you're not really hot shit at it.
Let's go back to laundry, though. One of the household tasks I hate doing is laundry. That & washing dishes, extensive cleaning and anything that forces me to undergo muscle pain or lift heavy items. I recently weighted myself & learned I was less than 105 pounds. In fact, I was 102 about a week ago! Muscle woman, I am not. Nor should anyone pester me to become it. I feel like "Isn't it enough that I'm an attorney, a business owner, an actress, a writer, a singer & a model? Beauty AND brains! Why should I also have to be brawn?" I've also asked my husband and others those very questions though some never want to recognize that beauty & brains are plenty, a lot more than what many women have.
I already shared my basic stance on cleaning; I do what I need to in order to avoid infestations & feeling like I live in a dump. I insist on my house feeling like a home, not a museum. Rigorous cleaning regimes just aren't happening with me & I don't think it diminishes me as a woman to refuse to engage in them. Maybe I'd make a shitty suburban wife but I have never wanted to be one anyway & my being one would lead to my story ending up on Deadly Women or some other ID (Investigation Discovery) show about a woman who has affairs, kills her spouse/lover/some other person or does something else scandalous enough to end up on one of those shows.
Lately, I have grown extremely disenchanted with doing laundry. First off, I hate our local laundromat with a passion since it's in my neighborhood (remember, I have zero community pride in light of the incident at the library), the jerk doesn't have air conditioning on during hot summer nights & wants to suffocate us all & you have to hang out with people who are maybe 1-2 steps above your average Wal-Mart customers in a meh neighborhood a.k.a. screaming children ahoy with lazy parents who do nothing to shut them up (in fact, these screeching kids are out late at night when my husband would typically be there to do laundry). Second, I'm less than 105 pounds & not He-Woman. I'm not the person to recruit to haul laundry or much else to places. I end up miserable having to lug things around & cranky because I had to put in contacts just to go to that laundromat and deal with that environment. Side note: don't ask me to help you move unless you're just moving items weighing less than 20-25 pounds. Third, by the time the laundry is back at our house we don't have time to sort it. If you wait, you get deep wrinkles in your clothes. Then there's the sock sorting, underwear folding, etc.
My husband sometimes does laundry at his parents' house but I'm not speaking to them at this point (this was also referenced in earlier posts). No one has yet to apologize or claim that I in fact DO have an artistic voice, 1st Amendment rights to speak my mind, and that my career is valid regardless of what financial rewards I get from it. Our latest film is screening at the Calgary International Film Festival as I type this. I even have my first journalistic writing gig acquired from the fact that I write this blog! Classic example of using a blog to form a distinct personality & lead to career opportunities. I'm looking forward to it; will post a link if it all works out and I get one.
So with that situation and my attitude that you shouldn't be going to your parents for certain routine things in your 30s, I felt like the time had come to see about outsourcing the trouble of doing laundry. I had no clue how much it was going to cost us but I found a good place that served our area & had a 5 star Yelp review. I finally got to use it 2 weeks ago & afterwards, my thought is "Why didn't we do this sooner?" It was quite cheap with a 15% discount and I think even without one, it could still be affordable to us per month & not really run us much more than doing it ourselves would (washers & dryers at the laundromat cost money, driving out to Long Island costs money, detergent/dryer sheets/etc. cost money & then there's the labor costs). Add it up for yourself & figure out if it works for you. I'm going to insist we keep up with it for our own collective sanity & value of time. If it sounds elitist to say having a professional degree means your time has some value, so be it. I absolutely think it does. Just told my family about doing this & they even agreed that it was better for us that way since our time costs money. If I had a washer/dryer at home like they do, I'd opt for that but since it's not an option for me it seems this is how you do it in city living.
I also found getting a professional massage is not the same as getting one from your lover (unless, of course, your lover is a professional masseuse). I have never dated a professional masseuse & the number of guys who have given me a massage is not a question I could answer off the top of my head. I know not all my boyfriends did that. Plus, a massage from your lover is supposed to be for getting in the mood. That's not the purpose of one from a professional.
I had the opportunity to get a free massage recently. With all the shit happening to me in the past few months (just realized yesterday my father hasn't even been dead 4 months yet), I felt I needed a professional massage or some type of spa experience. I also read a friend's Facebook post about the good feeling of getting one & thought she was on to something. Generally, they are not cheap. However, since I got the opportunity I figure something de-stressing would be the way to go for me.
Another fact about me that's probably not really shocking: I have a hard time relaxing. Call it the type A personality tendencies in me or my paranoia or my being an attorney; my brain can go a hundred miles an hour where I don't miss a beat. I also tend to do better if I'm busy & in some ways, thrive off it. This has always been my nature even back in middle/high school.
So, I went and got a great massage experience. I wrote a great Yelp review on the place, would totally recommend it to others (since finding places that are quality for beauty services is apparently a challenge in NYC, even in Manhattan where you'd think it wouldn't be) & once I can afford it, will totally indulge myself on that again.
Interesting fact #2 about me: I don't get my hair cut all that much. This is mostly since I think it costs too damn much to get it done. I haven't had a regular hair person since I lived in NC; I never actually got that done in Atlanta, though my hair was a lot shorter when I started college (me with short hair has triggered varied reactions from people though I never got it short enough to have the back of my head shaved). I wish I knew a great beautician who wouldn't charge me over $20 (including tip) to do it. That's something I'd love to get (maybe I should also get a friend who's a professional masseuse). You'd think I'd have those friends but I don't, at least not yet.
I was asked to go on a grocery trip by my husband, though I'd gone out quite a few other days that week. A little annoyed at having my ability to sleep late interrupted, I thought to myself "If I'm going out to Long Island anyway, why not finally go get the haircut I'd been meaning to get after this last fashion show?" I opted to do just that & picked an affordable place I'd been before where the stylist had not fucked with the basic template of my hair set out by a really great stylist at the Manhattan salon I went to beforehand.
I drove there, only to find it'd been closed and was absorbed into another location. The other location was taking the coupon I had but A) it was far more convoluted to get to than I'd expected (I nearly got hit trying to negotiate the parking area to get to their shopping center) & B) the cut the stylist gave me wasn't really what I asked for. I now have 3 layers in the front, which I didn't ask for, have never had & wasn't really sure about. I just wanted the angled cut I got with the stylist in Manhattan & that the second stylist I saw continued. It makes your face & hair look softer, according to the pros who did it & as a working model my hair has taken on new importance.
Decided to solicit opinions on the new hair from friends & family; so far the verdict has been good but I'm thinking maybe I should go to the other evening events I was invited to this week (an Entertainment Committee meeting on Monday & an exclusive entertainment/fashion networking event on Wednesday) so people I know from both the fashion & legal worlds can see it and give me feedback.
I'm not sure if it works for model me; long hair seems to be an asset in modeling, especially if you're a white woman. There aren't lots of short haired white models that I've seen. Granted my hair is still past my shoulders but it is shorter than it was; I was sporting hippie length hair before though it will never get to waist length even if I never get it cut (this really disappointed me when I was a child since my ex-friend had waist length hair).
Perhaps this cut is going to be an acquired taste for me but I think next time, I'm going to a pro in Manhattan. I know 2 of them thanks to Lifebooker (one even works in the entertainment industry).
I figured it's one indulgence I ought to get considering my husband spends far more on comics in a year than I'd spend on my hair (which might get cut 3 times a year tops) & I could probably write off my haircuts as a business expense since now I'm doing modeling. The prices in Queens aren't much cheaper & from my experience, service is better in Manhattan. I can also get to salons in Manhattan more easily.
I usually get my hair cut a lot to get rid of split ends. The funny thing is every hair person who does it tells me it's healthy. It was easier when I had curly perms since it frizzes like nobody's business but I guess my drying regime isn't killing it, which is a plus.
Possibly unusual fact #3: I don't spend time styling my hair. I just don't have the patience for it & I'm no beautician. I want to comb it & be done with it.
Maybe I'll put it up or have a hair accessory in it but I don't want to spend my time trying to curl it or something unless I'm going to a special event. I also don't wear make-up all that much these days though modeling has given me a greater appreciation for it. I likely wouldn't wear make-up for work unless it was for acting or modeling.
I actually think cosmetology is a great field to know. People will always be vain & shallow about their looks. You also can't outsource that job. Plus, you can save a fortune if you know how to do your own hair so that's something I think people should go into as a trade.
I realized that outsourcing laundry & all totally makes me sound like the typical NYC professional. Guess in some ways I am. It's not something I'm ashamed of or all that unhappy about. I don't know that it's truly elitism to say you don't want to do your own laundry; maybe that's just honesty. Now I just need to figure out how to not have to pay to do dishes after I cook.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Getting Good Veggies For a Fair Price
I've been working on video blogs for Mobli lately but don't fear: I will continue to write here. For one thing, some of my rants would take way too much time to do in 1 video. I mean, who's going to watch a 20 minute video of me ranting?
Not to mention getting those out is harder than you'd think. I'm a perfectionist on that sort of thing so I don't stumble on my words or lose my train of thought. One slip up & (for me at least) you have to start again.
I also think you need the literary take on it and I'm not going to start writing out links for viewers to go read & then have to come back to. Doesn't make much sense, does it?
So for now, I'm doing both.
One issue that's really been a thorn in my side is trying to get fresh vegetables at a fair price & in the proper condition. This pisses me off because I happen to like salad. I've actually liked carrots & bell peppers ever since I was a little kid. If you've not read enough of this blog to conclude that I was a strange child (consider how we played Barbie, for instance), that fact should clinch it for you. Didn't grow up in a health conscious, pro-hippie household or anything but yeah, I do happen to like salad.
I also like finding lettuce and other fixings that are actually fit for human consumption.
So I know there's been all the bad crops, seasonal change & the like. I also know about the presence of farmer's markets (and if you can find me one in or near NYC with fair prices for bell peppers, lettuce & the like that is fit for human consumption + doesn't require me to pay a toll to get there, I'm all ears; $2.50+ a lb. for green pepper is NOT fair in my book). I would love to grow my own bell peppers (did so successfully when I was younger) but the problem is, I don't have land for it & if I tried planting anything in my home, the cat would inevitably chew on any plant that grew. He does this all the time with flowers but for some unknown reason, he barely touched any of the cat grass we grew specifically for him.
What do I mean by "fit for human consumption"? Let's see:
1. No lettuce that has brown sogginess outside it! I've actually seen this on heads in the grocery store & it disgusts me. It also makes me not want to continue digging in that lettuce pile for anything good since the rest are probably just like it (or worse).
2. No lettuce with excessive rust discoloration! I know that means the lettuce is old/in the process of going bad. I've sliced it enough myself to know what it means.
3. No wrinkled peppers!
4. No peppers with black spots on them! My husband once got one for me at the store. When I cut it open, it had what appeared to be worms in it. There was whiteness & movement that looked worm like. I still have trauma from that when I slice open a green pepper.
5. No produce with any hit of bugs nearby. No one wants to buy anything that's got fruit flies or anything else on or near it.
6. No rotten produce! I saw black apples being offered for sale just yesterday.
I think there should be some changes in the law, merchant policies or someplace to stop this crap being sold at full price in grocery stores. Do you really think I'm paying $1.99 for a head of lettuce that's got brown sogginess on it? If you do, you're a moron & you're insulting my intelligence. Nice way to encourage shoppers to return to your store! How about a little personal pride?
Just yesterday, I got a pepper that showed no problems on the outside but when I opened it, half of it was black inside. Isn't that gross? So let's also have a rule against produce with hidden nastiness if the store or the seller should have known about it but didn't bother to tell anyone!
There are some locations that I adamantly will not shop at for fresh vegetables because their policies are so lax on many things or I've just seen crud quality anytime I bothered to look. Wal-Mart is one of them. I know all the stories about people buying perishables there only to have them turn very quickly. The meat stories alone are enough for me to distrust their produce. I also remember hearing some horror stories about veggies bought there as well.
So in light of this, I find it very funny that Michelle Obama wants to encourage places to have fresh produce for poor neighborhoods & to make them accessible to all to combat the obesity issue. Maybe she should be making sure these places aren't just pricing them at $1.00 a pound or some reasonable price when the vegetables are turning and slimy. You can find cheap produce in many places but the quality is dubious to say the least (a green market down the street from me is a prime example; unless you get there right when the shipment arrives, you'll be getting rubber peppers and stuff in a condition guides would tell you should be thrown away & not fed to your loved ones).
Those things I mentioned have been present at places I go even when those particular veggies weren't on sale. Sorry, but I shouldn't have to pay $5 a pound for something just to get fresh quality. There needs to be some truth in advertising and basic standards involved. TV dinners & processed food do, in fact, make you sick. My husband & I noticed this most strongly after I started to do my own cooking, coming up with much better food that didn't cause nasty stomach pain after eating it. We also cut out soda & haven't missed it, especially when the prices for that have been sky high.
Now, if you think that means I'm a vegetarian or only eat organic, you're wrong. I've not noticed much positive difference in getting organic food & at the end of the day, I am frugal.
I don't view buying organic food or even getting fresh produce as true choices for most people. A choice isn't real if you can't afford it or you can't carry it out without some excessive cost. If I can't go recycle the special lightbulbs in a convenient way (since you can't directly thrown them in the trash b/c of the mercury in them), how would I possibly be able to make that choice? The "choice" has been made for me!
The "choice" is being made for others if organic items cost too much money or all the produce sold someplace is moldy, wrinkled, covered in bugs, rotten, etc. There's no real choice if the farmer's market is 2 hours away or you don't have a car to drive there or you have to pay tolls or who knows what else. You can call these explanations excuses but I call them being pragmatic & realistic about human behavior. When you don't make something convenient, accessible to all, and affordable within everyone's budget, you aren't going to get the result you want.
So while I think it's a noble goal to make fresh produce & healthy foods accessible to all, you have to do a little more than tell the local bodega to sell them. You have to have them priced fairly. You have to insist on a quality standard for what people sell & punish people for violating it. Otherwise, people are going to choose the fast food hamburger over the chemically sprayed meat that will go bad tomorrow any time.
For you harpies who want to scream about health care costs & environmental damage, why don't you get off your overindulgent behinds & start subsidizing the costs & hassles so people WILL make those choices? How about you employers start offering fresh, healthy food at a price equal to the junk or at a comparable rate? How about those of you spending your money on organic food or "going green" start an organization or fund one that tries to make these true options for people with less money? Until then, you can shut the hell up & kiss my ass.
Not to mention getting those out is harder than you'd think. I'm a perfectionist on that sort of thing so I don't stumble on my words or lose my train of thought. One slip up & (for me at least) you have to start again.
I also think you need the literary take on it and I'm not going to start writing out links for viewers to go read & then have to come back to. Doesn't make much sense, does it?
So for now, I'm doing both.
One issue that's really been a thorn in my side is trying to get fresh vegetables at a fair price & in the proper condition. This pisses me off because I happen to like salad. I've actually liked carrots & bell peppers ever since I was a little kid. If you've not read enough of this blog to conclude that I was a strange child (consider how we played Barbie, for instance), that fact should clinch it for you. Didn't grow up in a health conscious, pro-hippie household or anything but yeah, I do happen to like salad.
I also like finding lettuce and other fixings that are actually fit for human consumption.
So I know there's been all the bad crops, seasonal change & the like. I also know about the presence of farmer's markets (and if you can find me one in or near NYC with fair prices for bell peppers, lettuce & the like that is fit for human consumption + doesn't require me to pay a toll to get there, I'm all ears; $2.50+ a lb. for green pepper is NOT fair in my book). I would love to grow my own bell peppers (did so successfully when I was younger) but the problem is, I don't have land for it & if I tried planting anything in my home, the cat would inevitably chew on any plant that grew. He does this all the time with flowers but for some unknown reason, he barely touched any of the cat grass we grew specifically for him.
What do I mean by "fit for human consumption"? Let's see:
1. No lettuce that has brown sogginess outside it! I've actually seen this on heads in the grocery store & it disgusts me. It also makes me not want to continue digging in that lettuce pile for anything good since the rest are probably just like it (or worse).
2. No lettuce with excessive rust discoloration! I know that means the lettuce is old/in the process of going bad. I've sliced it enough myself to know what it means.
3. No wrinkled peppers!
4. No peppers with black spots on them! My husband once got one for me at the store. When I cut it open, it had what appeared to be worms in it. There was whiteness & movement that looked worm like. I still have trauma from that when I slice open a green pepper.
5. No produce with any hit of bugs nearby. No one wants to buy anything that's got fruit flies or anything else on or near it.
6. No rotten produce! I saw black apples being offered for sale just yesterday.
I think there should be some changes in the law, merchant policies or someplace to stop this crap being sold at full price in grocery stores. Do you really think I'm paying $1.99 for a head of lettuce that's got brown sogginess on it? If you do, you're a moron & you're insulting my intelligence. Nice way to encourage shoppers to return to your store! How about a little personal pride?
Just yesterday, I got a pepper that showed no problems on the outside but when I opened it, half of it was black inside. Isn't that gross? So let's also have a rule against produce with hidden nastiness if the store or the seller should have known about it but didn't bother to tell anyone!
There are some locations that I adamantly will not shop at for fresh vegetables because their policies are so lax on many things or I've just seen crud quality anytime I bothered to look. Wal-Mart is one of them. I know all the stories about people buying perishables there only to have them turn very quickly. The meat stories alone are enough for me to distrust their produce. I also remember hearing some horror stories about veggies bought there as well.
So in light of this, I find it very funny that Michelle Obama wants to encourage places to have fresh produce for poor neighborhoods & to make them accessible to all to combat the obesity issue. Maybe she should be making sure these places aren't just pricing them at $1.00 a pound or some reasonable price when the vegetables are turning and slimy. You can find cheap produce in many places but the quality is dubious to say the least (a green market down the street from me is a prime example; unless you get there right when the shipment arrives, you'll be getting rubber peppers and stuff in a condition guides would tell you should be thrown away & not fed to your loved ones).
Those things I mentioned have been present at places I go even when those particular veggies weren't on sale. Sorry, but I shouldn't have to pay $5 a pound for something just to get fresh quality. There needs to be some truth in advertising and basic standards involved. TV dinners & processed food do, in fact, make you sick. My husband & I noticed this most strongly after I started to do my own cooking, coming up with much better food that didn't cause nasty stomach pain after eating it. We also cut out soda & haven't missed it, especially when the prices for that have been sky high.
Now, if you think that means I'm a vegetarian or only eat organic, you're wrong. I've not noticed much positive difference in getting organic food & at the end of the day, I am frugal.
I don't view buying organic food or even getting fresh produce as true choices for most people. A choice isn't real if you can't afford it or you can't carry it out without some excessive cost. If I can't go recycle the special lightbulbs in a convenient way (since you can't directly thrown them in the trash b/c of the mercury in them), how would I possibly be able to make that choice? The "choice" has been made for me!
The "choice" is being made for others if organic items cost too much money or all the produce sold someplace is moldy, wrinkled, covered in bugs, rotten, etc. There's no real choice if the farmer's market is 2 hours away or you don't have a car to drive there or you have to pay tolls or who knows what else. You can call these explanations excuses but I call them being pragmatic & realistic about human behavior. When you don't make something convenient, accessible to all, and affordable within everyone's budget, you aren't going to get the result you want.
So while I think it's a noble goal to make fresh produce & healthy foods accessible to all, you have to do a little more than tell the local bodega to sell them. You have to have them priced fairly. You have to insist on a quality standard for what people sell & punish people for violating it. Otherwise, people are going to choose the fast food hamburger over the chemically sprayed meat that will go bad tomorrow any time.
For you harpies who want to scream about health care costs & environmental damage, why don't you get off your overindulgent behinds & start subsidizing the costs & hassles so people WILL make those choices? How about you employers start offering fresh, healthy food at a price equal to the junk or at a comparable rate? How about those of you spending your money on organic food or "going green" start an organization or fund one that tries to make these true options for people with less money? Until then, you can shut the hell up & kiss my ass.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Not Sure Whether I Should Laugh or Cry
Is Wal-Mart's marketing department totally stupid or completely arrogant??? I have to wonder since we got this today:
Okay, morons! My husband is... a union member. You forbid unions!
Anyone see the irony here? This is like sending a membership application for the Ku Klux Klan to a black person. I had to write a response to these idiots & their website propaganda claiming that 75% of the city favors having a Wal-Mart here. Ha!
I've been to many a Wal-Mart & I don't support a Wal-Mart in NYC. Crippling small businesses, their anti-union stance, disrespect to employees, carrying dead peasant's insurance & basically epitomizing the ultimate shitty employer. What is there to like??
Yes, things in the city are too expensive & yes, there's some crappy small businesses but that's why we have a little thing called Yelp. Nail these cretins on bad service & shady dealings, tell the public, don't continue to patronize them & they'll lose business. Funny the media & everyone I know says "hell, no" to Wal-Mart in NYC. Why don't we just tear down every piece of history & uniqueness in NYC then have people poop on the remains?? Bring a Wal-Mart here, the bastion of suburbia, and you may as well do that. Not to mention all the legions of trashy folk who hang around Wal-Mart & the stories of violence in the parking lots; gee, does NYC needs more violence or people on welfare???
I would rather be a hooker than work at a Wal-Mart, I have that little respect for it as a company. Yeah, like I had respect for most companies to begin with but that's beside the point.
Seriously, if a black person gets a membership application from the KKK, I'd like to hear about it.
Okay, morons! My husband is... a union member. You forbid unions!
Anyone see the irony here? This is like sending a membership application for the Ku Klux Klan to a black person. I had to write a response to these idiots & their website propaganda claiming that 75% of the city favors having a Wal-Mart here. Ha!
I've been to many a Wal-Mart & I don't support a Wal-Mart in NYC. Crippling small businesses, their anti-union stance, disrespect to employees, carrying dead peasant's insurance & basically epitomizing the ultimate shitty employer. What is there to like??
Yes, things in the city are too expensive & yes, there's some crappy small businesses but that's why we have a little thing called Yelp. Nail these cretins on bad service & shady dealings, tell the public, don't continue to patronize them & they'll lose business. Funny the media & everyone I know says "hell, no" to Wal-Mart in NYC. Why don't we just tear down every piece of history & uniqueness in NYC then have people poop on the remains?? Bring a Wal-Mart here, the bastion of suburbia, and you may as well do that. Not to mention all the legions of trashy folk who hang around Wal-Mart & the stories of violence in the parking lots; gee, does NYC needs more violence or people on welfare???
I would rather be a hooker than work at a Wal-Mart, I have that little respect for it as a company. Yeah, like I had respect for most companies to begin with but that's beside the point.
Seriously, if a black person gets a membership application from the KKK, I'd like to hear about it.
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Primal Scream Moment
Personally, I think we could all use these from time to time. As I've told people many times over the years, I feel it's better to call that slow driver a bitch in the privacy of your car than to pull out a gun and shoot innocent people in a bank one day b/c you've always repressed yourself.
When I'd say this to my mom, it actually had a reference point. Back in 2003, not long before I moved to Atlanta for college (the "big, bad city" in my mother's mind) there was a guy who did just that. If I remember correctly, he was a finance guy who just snapped one day.
Nice thing for your mother to hear before you move to a major city, right?
I believe that if you don't vent from time to time or have those cathartic moments, you do yourself and society a disservice.
This 24/7 existence of the working world and other things doesn't seem to account for that need for cathartic release. You see employees getting fired for ranting on places like Facebook, right? I seriously wonder why more employers haven't used technology to deal with employee issues; it's not like all of them have a conscience or care too much about public opinion. Look at Wal-Mart.
And speaking of those clueless idiots, they're trying to plant stakes into NYC yet AGAIN. Do these people ever get a clue that maybe a city known for powerful unions isn't going to be keen on an anti-union big box retailer being there? Personally, I say "Hell no!" to Wal-Mart. Good reasons for it.
1. Almost every Wal-Mart I've been to is filthy, has long lines & is filled with employees who are unhelpful as well as incompetent.
2. The utter violence & depravity of Wal-Mart. Who has forgotten about the guy who got trampled on Black Friday at the one in the scuzzier area of town? Great investigating there, Wal-Mart.
3. The shitty employee treatment. I actually have some personal knowledge of this one as I've known 2 different people who worked there & from what I heard, you'd get more compassion from Osama Bin Laden than the management at Wal-Mart. I call document review the lawyer equivalent of working for Wal-Mart w/good reason. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I'd rather be a prostitute than work at a Wal-Mart since at least I'd make more money doing that & face just as much degrading, abusive and scummy treatment. If I wanted no respect for schedule availabilities, I could work in health care & still make more money.
4. Finally, anything Bloomberg supports automatically makes me suspicious of the good it will do me. Considering he's tried to screw over the unions (including the one dealing w/my husband's job) & his attempts to turn NYC into a rich person's enclave, I just can't trust the guy.
But, getting back to that primal scream thing. I'm getting anxious and frustrated that I've had interest in my abilities to do a job that sounds interesting & like something I really want to do. Unfortunately, I've yet to hear the offer. I keep playing phone tag & never get the information out there.
This sort of thing irks me with my history of people acting like they were interested in hiring me for jobs & then being MIA, only to never have anything on the table. I've had many job success celebrations that were later false. After my personal experiences, I have a far harder time trusting anyone with a job offer. Talk is cheap, I need to see action.
The waiting bothers me because of this but it also bothers me if I get pinned into terms that I don't want. What if the offer is for something horrid and utterly ridiculous? Lawyers don't operate in the same realm as your average person but in particular, ones with my skill set are a rare breed. I know what is unfair to me & I've seen some people who do operate on planet Earth but plenty of others who do not.
For instance, telling me to go flip burgers would prove that you are stupid. I was overqualified for that after graduating high school so no chance in Hell any sane individual would have me doing that with a law license. They'd be too scared of me organizing the employees or encouraging people to assert themselves. This would have been a valid fear back when I was in high school considering I never tolerated that shit in my job at JcPenney; forget today, when I'm in an occupation known for enforcing people's rights in the face of adversity.
Telling me to go back to retail would also prove that you're stupid considering no sane person would hire someone w/7 years of experience & is a lawyer. I couldn't do it today since I would be way too blunt and tell off idiots. Leave your child? I'd immediately point out that you don't know who might be a predator or kidnapper & probably consider contacting child protective services on you for being a deadbeat parent. I think I could be a manager but most places demand you to have eons of experience for that & remember, my resume doesn't fit into a neat little box. I also refuse to work weekends for middling pay since I did more than enough of that in my retail career.
Now maybe these fears are unjustified but I've had too many disappointments & I haven't been called the real life Daria for no reason. Sometimes, it's still hard for me to believe I have a man in my life who loves me & would stand by me through any adversity I didn't inflict on myself. I still have vivid memories of being single & feeling like one guy would never make me happy. I also remember feeling like no one ever really understood me & how shocked I was to meet someone who did.
To make my day even better, I found out my cousin who's not too much older than me probably has cancer. She just learned that she's got a tumor in her abdomen that's been there for at least a year, is sizable & doctors are pretty certain is cancer. The odds aren't looking good for her & her sister who lives near by apparently hasn't even inquired about or visited her. If it was my sister, I'd be on the first flight to NC & making sure she got the best care possible. If anyone dared to skimp on her due to finances, I'd vow to make their life a living hell & get as pushy as possible to make sure she got fairness. Doctors also tend to be a little more deferential to lawyers in my experience. After all, who could locate a medical malpractice lawyer quicker? Not to mention we know legal talk & I did initially want to be a doctor, then a pharmacist before studying law.
My sister also pointed out to me that out of any kids in our family, we're the only ones with both parents still alive. I considered this & realized she's right. Not sure how I'd feel if either of my parents died. My mom is probably the heart & soul of my family, the glue holding it together, so that would be a huge loss for all concerned.
I'd likely mourn my dad less but not living in the same house w/him has helped mend that relationship a bit. He is at least a liberal voice in the conservative South & is just as assertive as anyone else in my family. Health wise, you'd expect him to go first but I think he'd just be the sort to defy medical science & live even longer than you think.
I'm sure reading this, you'd think "Wow, her family is messed up. No wonder she is the way she is." Probably true but you don't even know just how spot on you'd be in that determination, especially if you look at my dad's side. I suppose it certainly forms a basis for my creative abilities & how I draw influence. You can't live some normal, happy childhood & expect to be a great artist.
I remember my Art & Culture professor from college telling us that to be a great artist, you have to live life. He said you have to have some experiences, some hard times, so you'll have things to draw upon in your work. One of my high school teachers said something similar but not in the context of art. She said it in the context of not living with regrets later on.
Too many family members of mine seem to be dying lately. First my uncle, then my aunt & now my cousin's probably not well. Enough is enough! If more of my family's going to be dead, why not a distant relative who has some money that would go to me??? Not like I've been anyone's favorite or none of the relatives I know have money. I just wouldn't feel as bad about a distant relative I've never met or had a connection to. I'd feel like I do when some celebrity I never spoke to dies: I never knew the person so they could have been a total jerk in real life. I can't get people who mourn celebrities that probably would have been arrogant to them in a real life setting. If I were famous, I certainly wouldn't expect strangers to mourn me when they had no way of knowing if I was a good person or a total shithead.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! The whole job situation is making me slide into depression & family stuff is exacerbating it. I'd probably spend days in bed if I didn't have a cat that makes me get up.
When I'd say this to my mom, it actually had a reference point. Back in 2003, not long before I moved to Atlanta for college (the "big, bad city" in my mother's mind) there was a guy who did just that. If I remember correctly, he was a finance guy who just snapped one day.
Nice thing for your mother to hear before you move to a major city, right?
I believe that if you don't vent from time to time or have those cathartic moments, you do yourself and society a disservice.
This 24/7 existence of the working world and other things doesn't seem to account for that need for cathartic release. You see employees getting fired for ranting on places like Facebook, right? I seriously wonder why more employers haven't used technology to deal with employee issues; it's not like all of them have a conscience or care too much about public opinion. Look at Wal-Mart.
And speaking of those clueless idiots, they're trying to plant stakes into NYC yet AGAIN. Do these people ever get a clue that maybe a city known for powerful unions isn't going to be keen on an anti-union big box retailer being there? Personally, I say "Hell no!" to Wal-Mart. Good reasons for it.
1. Almost every Wal-Mart I've been to is filthy, has long lines & is filled with employees who are unhelpful as well as incompetent.
2. The utter violence & depravity of Wal-Mart. Who has forgotten about the guy who got trampled on Black Friday at the one in the scuzzier area of town? Great investigating there, Wal-Mart.
3. The shitty employee treatment. I actually have some personal knowledge of this one as I've known 2 different people who worked there & from what I heard, you'd get more compassion from Osama Bin Laden than the management at Wal-Mart. I call document review the lawyer equivalent of working for Wal-Mart w/good reason. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I'd rather be a prostitute than work at a Wal-Mart since at least I'd make more money doing that & face just as much degrading, abusive and scummy treatment. If I wanted no respect for schedule availabilities, I could work in health care & still make more money.
4. Finally, anything Bloomberg supports automatically makes me suspicious of the good it will do me. Considering he's tried to screw over the unions (including the one dealing w/my husband's job) & his attempts to turn NYC into a rich person's enclave, I just can't trust the guy.
But, getting back to that primal scream thing. I'm getting anxious and frustrated that I've had interest in my abilities to do a job that sounds interesting & like something I really want to do. Unfortunately, I've yet to hear the offer. I keep playing phone tag & never get the information out there.
This sort of thing irks me with my history of people acting like they were interested in hiring me for jobs & then being MIA, only to never have anything on the table. I've had many job success celebrations that were later false. After my personal experiences, I have a far harder time trusting anyone with a job offer. Talk is cheap, I need to see action.
The waiting bothers me because of this but it also bothers me if I get pinned into terms that I don't want. What if the offer is for something horrid and utterly ridiculous? Lawyers don't operate in the same realm as your average person but in particular, ones with my skill set are a rare breed. I know what is unfair to me & I've seen some people who do operate on planet Earth but plenty of others who do not.
For instance, telling me to go flip burgers would prove that you are stupid. I was overqualified for that after graduating high school so no chance in Hell any sane individual would have me doing that with a law license. They'd be too scared of me organizing the employees or encouraging people to assert themselves. This would have been a valid fear back when I was in high school considering I never tolerated that shit in my job at JcPenney; forget today, when I'm in an occupation known for enforcing people's rights in the face of adversity.
Telling me to go back to retail would also prove that you're stupid considering no sane person would hire someone w/7 years of experience & is a lawyer. I couldn't do it today since I would be way too blunt and tell off idiots. Leave your child? I'd immediately point out that you don't know who might be a predator or kidnapper & probably consider contacting child protective services on you for being a deadbeat parent. I think I could be a manager but most places demand you to have eons of experience for that & remember, my resume doesn't fit into a neat little box. I also refuse to work weekends for middling pay since I did more than enough of that in my retail career.
Now maybe these fears are unjustified but I've had too many disappointments & I haven't been called the real life Daria for no reason. Sometimes, it's still hard for me to believe I have a man in my life who loves me & would stand by me through any adversity I didn't inflict on myself. I still have vivid memories of being single & feeling like one guy would never make me happy. I also remember feeling like no one ever really understood me & how shocked I was to meet someone who did.
To make my day even better, I found out my cousin who's not too much older than me probably has cancer. She just learned that she's got a tumor in her abdomen that's been there for at least a year, is sizable & doctors are pretty certain is cancer. The odds aren't looking good for her & her sister who lives near by apparently hasn't even inquired about or visited her. If it was my sister, I'd be on the first flight to NC & making sure she got the best care possible. If anyone dared to skimp on her due to finances, I'd vow to make their life a living hell & get as pushy as possible to make sure she got fairness. Doctors also tend to be a little more deferential to lawyers in my experience. After all, who could locate a medical malpractice lawyer quicker? Not to mention we know legal talk & I did initially want to be a doctor, then a pharmacist before studying law.
My sister also pointed out to me that out of any kids in our family, we're the only ones with both parents still alive. I considered this & realized she's right. Not sure how I'd feel if either of my parents died. My mom is probably the heart & soul of my family, the glue holding it together, so that would be a huge loss for all concerned.
I'd likely mourn my dad less but not living in the same house w/him has helped mend that relationship a bit. He is at least a liberal voice in the conservative South & is just as assertive as anyone else in my family. Health wise, you'd expect him to go first but I think he'd just be the sort to defy medical science & live even longer than you think.
I'm sure reading this, you'd think "Wow, her family is messed up. No wonder she is the way she is." Probably true but you don't even know just how spot on you'd be in that determination, especially if you look at my dad's side. I suppose it certainly forms a basis for my creative abilities & how I draw influence. You can't live some normal, happy childhood & expect to be a great artist.
I remember my Art & Culture professor from college telling us that to be a great artist, you have to live life. He said you have to have some experiences, some hard times, so you'll have things to draw upon in your work. One of my high school teachers said something similar but not in the context of art. She said it in the context of not living with regrets later on.
Too many family members of mine seem to be dying lately. First my uncle, then my aunt & now my cousin's probably not well. Enough is enough! If more of my family's going to be dead, why not a distant relative who has some money that would go to me??? Not like I've been anyone's favorite or none of the relatives I know have money. I just wouldn't feel as bad about a distant relative I've never met or had a connection to. I'd feel like I do when some celebrity I never spoke to dies: I never knew the person so they could have been a total jerk in real life. I can't get people who mourn celebrities that probably would have been arrogant to them in a real life setting. If I were famous, I certainly wouldn't expect strangers to mourn me when they had no way of knowing if I was a good person or a total shithead.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! The whole job situation is making me slide into depression & family stuff is exacerbating it. I'd probably spend days in bed if I didn't have a cat that makes me get up.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Doug Funnie is Crazy and Other Realizations
While looking for some images of Judy Funnie, I stumbled across this blog. I'm seriously thinking of following it b/c not only is it hilarious but when you think about it, these logic fails are quite accurate. That show did make me want to rip my hair out sometimes w/some of those logic fails. My husband describes Doug as emo & he hates people who are emo.
For those who are clueless, Judy Funnie:
I think I could pull off that look if I somehow figure out what to do with my hair. Recently, I found it was getting pretty close to my waist. When I was little I wanted my hair to be waist length like my best friend's but it never happened.
So, going back to earlier discussed topics I found this charming story a few days ago. If I were Josh Duhamel, I'd have been more pissed about the TSA body scans or the enhanced pat down of my junk than at having to turn off my Blackberry. He's lucky none of those delayed passengers formed a posse and beat his ass; do that if I have to travel & you won't get to the "taunting" me stage. I'll just take your Blackberry & smash it into pieces or drop it into a toilet. Whatever's handy at the time.
Life lesson: never, EVER mess with a natural redhead. Least of all, a natural redhead who's an attorney + has rage issues. Actually, all natural redheads have rage issues so be mindful of that.
Oh, and this just horrifies me on many levels. I actually agree w/Sarah Palin on this one, if you can believe it.
First off, if you want to deal with obesity issues how about improving the school food? Didn't anyone see the film Supersize Me? Remember when Morgan Spurlock went to the school for troubled kids where they had healthy cuisine at the same prices & the kids actually focused in classes? Did any other schools actually do that or is this just some more nonsense to detract from the government corruption that continues to exist?
Second, how about more physical activity? Better and more gym classes would certainly tackle the obesity issue, right? Kids would be motivated to participate if they weren't tormented for being bad at some sport or had playgrounds to use at recess. How about a daily recess like I had as a kid where you didn't have to do class sports activities?
A regulation like this is just a distraction from real solutions and an attempt to make things harder on the organizations trying to raise money. What's next? Barring Girl Scout cookies from being sold on the premises? An actual food police?
What about the skinny people? I was also skinny as a child & a no-fat diet would have caused me to lose weight, meaning forced confinement in an eating disorder clinic b/c everyone would claim I was anorexic. Some of us do have that gene naturally; helps if you want to work in entertainment, doesn't it?
So, speaking of the police The Consumerist has some wild stories about ordinary people being confronted by the police or having to use the police to safeguard against the retail Gestapo.
A few words about these stories:
First off, why is any police officer working to enforce nonsensical store policies that are not legally enforceable under the law? What cop is dumb enough to do Best Buy's bidding by following some shopper out into the parking lot and threatening arrest for not showing the non-existent door checker his receipt? Do you not have any real criminals to catch? There aren't ANY murders, robbers, child molesters, deadbeat parents, illegal aliens or even errant speeders to investigate in your entire town? Why are we playing Best Buy's rent-a-cop & why wouldn't an officer of the law be insulted about doing such a shady task? You can bet these company executives don't respect them or the law.
This was a sheriff's deputy, for God's sake. I know sheriff's deputies have better things to do than this.
Had you done this to me, I would have asked you to escort me into the Best Buy so I could instantly return the items & not maim anyone in the process since I'd be sorely tempted to do it if you weren't present. I figure if I end up in certain life situations, it will be best for all involved if a cop is around to escort me so I don't murder people with my bare hands. This goes back to what I said before about not messing w/natural redheads.
Second, no one being around me would motivate me to not stand up for my rights. I'd tell my spouse to go get bail money b/c I'd just tell the officer point blank to go right ahead and arrest me since I'm not ceding to some corporation's false authority over my person, property or rights.
Third, why is it that only men seem to be involved in these stories? You never hear about these things happening to women. You certainly don't hear about this happening to attorneys.
I'd love to see the look on some of these people's faces if they ever dared to try that w/me & I pointed out my being an attorney in my home state + started quoting the correct law at them.
I happen to know the law when it comes to false imprisonment, paying tips (not required in NY state), assault and battery considering I have a law degree. Love when non-attorneys try to fancy themselves as constitutional law experts, especially when it's simpletons who use that logic to try to encourage their fellow citizens to behave like sheep, let the cop perform an illegal strip search and not object to the demands to perform sexual favors. Don't fall for it.
Better yet, let's make those "citizens" leave the US and trade them for illegals from elsewhere who are acting more like proper American citizens (knowing English, not breaking any laws, performing honest work, etc.).
One time being from the South helps: I can be matter of fact but very polite about it. I do dare any Wal-Mart employee to try a thing with me. I've heard numerous stories about things & you bet I'd say "armed robbery" plus inform any police officers that I wanted to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.
I once had a hassle over trying to return pantyhose in my local Wal-Mart as a law student. This guy tried to argue w/me about opening a package when I had to try them on to assess whether they fit me or not. I went Angry White Girl & guess what? Got my return taken care of. Having worked in retail, I know for a fact that being a squeaky wheel will usually get you the desired results. I simply don't employ that tactic unless someone is just being stupid or trying to be unfair to me; that doesn't fly with me.
So if you as a non-lawyer get in such situations? Know a good attorney & make a big stink.
For those who are clueless, Judy Funnie:
I think I could pull off that look if I somehow figure out what to do with my hair. Recently, I found it was getting pretty close to my waist. When I was little I wanted my hair to be waist length like my best friend's but it never happened.
So, going back to earlier discussed topics I found this charming story a few days ago. If I were Josh Duhamel, I'd have been more pissed about the TSA body scans or the enhanced pat down of my junk than at having to turn off my Blackberry. He's lucky none of those delayed passengers formed a posse and beat his ass; do that if I have to travel & you won't get to the "taunting" me stage. I'll just take your Blackberry & smash it into pieces or drop it into a toilet. Whatever's handy at the time.
Life lesson: never, EVER mess with a natural redhead. Least of all, a natural redhead who's an attorney + has rage issues. Actually, all natural redheads have rage issues so be mindful of that.
Oh, and this just horrifies me on many levels. I actually agree w/Sarah Palin on this one, if you can believe it.
First off, if you want to deal with obesity issues how about improving the school food? Didn't anyone see the film Supersize Me? Remember when Morgan Spurlock went to the school for troubled kids where they had healthy cuisine at the same prices & the kids actually focused in classes? Did any other schools actually do that or is this just some more nonsense to detract from the government corruption that continues to exist?
Second, how about more physical activity? Better and more gym classes would certainly tackle the obesity issue, right? Kids would be motivated to participate if they weren't tormented for being bad at some sport or had playgrounds to use at recess. How about a daily recess like I had as a kid where you didn't have to do class sports activities?
A regulation like this is just a distraction from real solutions and an attempt to make things harder on the organizations trying to raise money. What's next? Barring Girl Scout cookies from being sold on the premises? An actual food police?
What about the skinny people? I was also skinny as a child & a no-fat diet would have caused me to lose weight, meaning forced confinement in an eating disorder clinic b/c everyone would claim I was anorexic. Some of us do have that gene naturally; helps if you want to work in entertainment, doesn't it?
So, speaking of the police The Consumerist has some wild stories about ordinary people being confronted by the police or having to use the police to safeguard against the retail Gestapo.
A few words about these stories:
First off, why is any police officer working to enforce nonsensical store policies that are not legally enforceable under the law? What cop is dumb enough to do Best Buy's bidding by following some shopper out into the parking lot and threatening arrest for not showing the non-existent door checker his receipt? Do you not have any real criminals to catch? There aren't ANY murders, robbers, child molesters, deadbeat parents, illegal aliens or even errant speeders to investigate in your entire town? Why are we playing Best Buy's rent-a-cop & why wouldn't an officer of the law be insulted about doing such a shady task? You can bet these company executives don't respect them or the law.
This was a sheriff's deputy, for God's sake. I know sheriff's deputies have better things to do than this.
Had you done this to me, I would have asked you to escort me into the Best Buy so I could instantly return the items & not maim anyone in the process since I'd be sorely tempted to do it if you weren't present. I figure if I end up in certain life situations, it will be best for all involved if a cop is around to escort me so I don't murder people with my bare hands. This goes back to what I said before about not messing w/natural redheads.
Second, no one being around me would motivate me to not stand up for my rights. I'd tell my spouse to go get bail money b/c I'd just tell the officer point blank to go right ahead and arrest me since I'm not ceding to some corporation's false authority over my person, property or rights.
Third, why is it that only men seem to be involved in these stories? You never hear about these things happening to women. You certainly don't hear about this happening to attorneys.
I'd love to see the look on some of these people's faces if they ever dared to try that w/me & I pointed out my being an attorney in my home state + started quoting the correct law at them.
I happen to know the law when it comes to false imprisonment, paying tips (not required in NY state), assault and battery considering I have a law degree. Love when non-attorneys try to fancy themselves as constitutional law experts, especially when it's simpletons who use that logic to try to encourage their fellow citizens to behave like sheep, let the cop perform an illegal strip search and not object to the demands to perform sexual favors. Don't fall for it.
Better yet, let's make those "citizens" leave the US and trade them for illegals from elsewhere who are acting more like proper American citizens (knowing English, not breaking any laws, performing honest work, etc.).
One time being from the South helps: I can be matter of fact but very polite about it. I do dare any Wal-Mart employee to try a thing with me. I've heard numerous stories about things & you bet I'd say "armed robbery" plus inform any police officers that I wanted to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.
I once had a hassle over trying to return pantyhose in my local Wal-Mart as a law student. This guy tried to argue w/me about opening a package when I had to try them on to assess whether they fit me or not. I went Angry White Girl & guess what? Got my return taken care of. Having worked in retail, I know for a fact that being a squeaky wheel will usually get you the desired results. I simply don't employ that tactic unless someone is just being stupid or trying to be unfair to me; that doesn't fly with me.
So if you as a non-lawyer get in such situations? Know a good attorney & make a big stink.
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