Friday, August 14, 2009

Message for President Obama and the Health Care Plan

Dear Mr. President,

I almost switched parties early in the presidential campaign, but decided not to towards the end. Your eloquent speeches gave me pause to suspect that you were more of a showman than a true leader. Admittedly I didn't vote for you, but I had hopes. I accepted the fact that the country voted you into office and decided to see if I was wrong in not supporting you. In 7 short months you have shown that you are indeed a showman and not a leader.

You are ill-informed by those in congress and those who advise you on what the American people want. My friends and I, I'll refer to them as "lower-Americans" for your benefit as this is clearly what you and the government think of us - beneath your elite panel of so-called intellects who purport information to you as to the attitude of the country - agree that this Health Care bill is nothing more than a show of power that you hope to push through because no other administration before you has been able to do so. We are middle-class Americans who are being referred to as Nazi's and anger-mongers amongst other names from your intellectual cabinet because we do not support this Health Care bill that is 1,018 pages in length that you are trying to shove down our throats without even explaining it to the country. NO ONE HAS YET COME FORWARD TO DISCUSS IN DETAIL WHAT THIS HEALTH CARE PLAN WILL DO! Not even you - at your town hall meetings - you still don't supply substance that someone can take from your eloquent speeches and denigrating references to average Americans.

I especially took interest in the "end of life" counseling section. I am a baby-boomer and consider this aspect of this health care plan to be a "thinning of the heard" approach to health care.

When you and the rest of the entire government carry the same health care benefits that you want all Americans to carry, then MAYBE I'll think about it. But if we don't want it, you won't be able to silence the "sleeping giant" you've awoken. We will not go down without a fight and without our voices being heard. Socialists we will not be.

You can go on blaming the "cable media" for the information we're getting, but trust me, we watch more than just Fox News to come to a clear understanding. We can filter all of the spin out of what is being said on all the other networks - we may not be intellects, but we know where there's smoke, there's always a fire. And your health care bill is going up in the smoke.

Respectfully,
Boomermom

Friday, July 31, 2009

Beer Summit

How utterly MANLY...let's get together and discuss this over a couple of beers and throw in a few nuts and there you have it...history...the first BEER SUMMIT. I'm so proud to be an American. And, from what I can tell, nothing was gained except a photo op. Hmmmmm...I wonder who picked up the tab for the airfare, hotels and...even the beer and nuts? I'm pretty sure it was you and me and we weren't even invited - except of course by the press and media through the TV that is what keeps us all "informed" these days. Thank you everyone!

What a waste of time and energy. From what I've read and heard (and remember you can't believe everything you read OR hear these days - thank you media) Mr. Crowley was doing his job the day he responded to a 911 call. When an officer responds to a reported possible break-in does he typically say "excuse me sir, but do you live here because we got a phone call that someone was breaking into this house"...I think not, because if it were a break-in, his chances of being a sidewalk chalk outline might increase a thousand-fold.

And, I can guarantee you, that if an officer stopped me and I was trying to get into my own home, I would definitely talk to him with a little respect and trepidation until I establish who I am...afer all, HE HAS A GUN, he's authorized to use it, he doesn't know me, HE'S THE LAW. But, hey, that's just me I guess. And, I certainly wouldn't begin a diatribe with the officer once he established who I am. That's surely not necessary.

I think the race factor became an issue because someone (don't really know who - thank you media) made it a factor. Or maybe it was Mr. Gates actions - actions do speak louder than words and maybe this is where the words began.

And, Mr. Obama, sir, Mr. President...how is it you have so much time on your hands to coddle this situation? Interesting to me...just because you know someone doesn't mean they always act with the demeanor you think they possess.

My opinion - Beer Summits are for backyard barbecues with your friends and family where you can also agree to disagree without the high price tag to the rest of the country. LOTS OF MONEY WAS DROPPED FOR THIS BEER SUMMIT, FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE MEDIA SPECTACLE.

Our tax dollars at work...thank you media and Mr. President.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Michael Jackson - another Sad Story

While they (the media) make you feel like "all the world is mourning" Michael Jackson's passing...are they really getting the story straight or are they just doing their same old brain-washing that they always do.

Caution - the old saying "believe half of what you see and none of what you hear" holds true.

I grew up when Michael was part of the Jackson Five and enjoyed his music tremendously as a young person. No doubt he was talented - but as it seems to go in the entertainment industry - those who are elevated to a position of notoriety don't do well in the long stretch of life. Peculiarities surface somewhere on the road to maturity that are part of a damaged psyche. These damaged people don't get the help they need because they are surrounded by people with the same damage - they refuse or can't seem to see it. It escalates into eccentricities that are "forgiven" because they are so TALENTED and LOVED.

I've heard that Michael said he never felt loved...and he was absolutely right in feeling this way. I believe he wasn't loved. Those who love you try to help you, try to counsel you. Michael didn't receive love because those around him were reaping the benefits of his notoriety. And, when he started to "sleep with boys" because "it's the most loving thing you can do - to share your bed"...NO ONE STEPPED IN! No one whisked him away to a therapist or to a clinic for evaluation - NO ONE.

Michael's inner child was screaming for someone to help him and NO ONE had the courage or care to come forward and get him help.

How sad...we've watched many stars go down a road to self-destruction because of the lofty pedestals we place them on. Elvis was 42 - 42 for crying out loud...and died a self-destructive death as did Michael Jackson, as have others.

The mental reasoning that "I can escape anything" comes with the sad realization that the thing you can't escape is death when the road is set before you and you can't recognize the path you're on.

To all the stars that think they are indestructible and invincible and can't be touched by anyone or anything - DEATH knows no boundaries and you will pay the price - in your personal lives or in death.

If you take anything from this man's death, it should be that fame and fortune can lead you down a road of no return and in the end your real legacy may be just another sad story.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Blackberries are for eating...

Have you ever noticed how many people talk on their phones incessantly? On the bus, at parties, walking down the street, driving?

It's amazing to me, but it also makes me wonder if they realize how lonely they appear to be. There are people all around and they need to talk on their phones. How many times have they missed out on the opportunity to talk to a person right there in their presence.

Another reason that people may feel they need to be SEEN talking on their phones is self-esteem...LOW self-esteem. In order to feel important, they talk on their phones, LOUD, AND IN CROWDED SITUATIONS OR PUBLIC AREAS. This, to me, is the saddest reflection of loneliness and low self-esteem. And, the most annoying. I waver between wanting to tell this person that they are not alone in the world...we (John Q Public) are here - we'll talk to them...really...just give us a try...to WILL YOU JUST GET A PHONEBOOTH!!! No one wants to hear your latest deal or that you're breaking up with your boyfriend or that you grandmother has cut you out of the will...these are conversations that I've actually heard while riding A BUS!!!

GET OVER YOURSELF...there are other people in the world. They don't want to hear your conversations, or be left out of your conversations in some instances. I would just once, love to walk up to someone screaming into their phone and start screaming in conversation with them and the person on the other end of the phone. WHAT? I am part of your conversation because you are forcing me to listen to you so why can't I join in? Oh...it's none of my business...well then S-H-U-T U-P or get a phonebooth!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

American JOB SEARCH Idol

Looking for a job is like being on American Idol...you send your resume and wait to hear if you've made it to the next round...YAH...you get a call to schedule a PHONE interview...round TWO! You have a phone interview and wait to see if you made it to the next round...YAH...you get a call to schedule a PERSONAL interview - round THREE...you wait for the day to come...then you have the PERSONAL interview...and you wait for the call for a SECOND PERSONAL interview...then you wait for the day to come and you have the SECOND PERSONAL interview...on to round FOUR! Then you wait...and wait...how long does the American Idol season run...it has to be this long or maybe this is longer - and you're waiting... and waiting... let's see I've been looking since April - yeah...this might take a lot longer...COME ON!!!!

What happened to the days of applying for a job and getting it right then and there? Or, what happened to the days of applying for a job that an employer wanted to fill some time THIS YEAR? Good grief...no wonder people get discouraged with this tedious process.

Well...back to the job boards...vote for me 01234 or call...please call...I'm waiting!!! :)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Obama vs. The Fly

What a silly thing to focus on when so many more important things are going on around us. PETA is one of those groups that should look inward and find out what it their REAL mission is...like is a fly an insect or an animal? This seems to be confusing them. Will they change their name to PETAI...this could be a new appropriate name...petai is an Indonesian bean - commonly referred to as a stink bean - can you guess why?

President Obama did the right thing...it's unfortunate that the fly found itself (not sure if the autopsy has shown what sex the fly was) in the wrong place at the wrong time, but come on!!! Is PETA going to set up a memorial fund for its offspring to attend a Fly college? I think they should! Why, there could be up to 500 baby flies to think about. And will there be a monument to its honor built somewhere in an insect garden section of a national park? I can just see all the flowers pouring in from all over the world...and people crying in the streets - why there may be unrest as a result of the President's actions! I guess you can no longer say the President wouldn't harm a fly...we should watch him...he could be unstable.

Are we calling it by its appropriate name - FLY - shouldn't we call it by its REAL name the Musca domestica L! Will the new mission of PETA be to go after those horrid humans who try to control the Musca domestica L with their insecticides, flytraps and papers and all of those horrible things used to torture the poor Musca domestica L?

How dare anyone want to control a species of insects that contribute so much - because of this atrocity, I wanted to know more and I've read recently the following information: Among the pathogens commonly transmitted by house flies are Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Escherichia, Enterococcus, Chlamydia, and many other species that cause illness. Flies are most commonly linked to outbreaks of diarrhea and shigellosis, but also are implicated in transmission of food poisoning, typhoid fever, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, and parasitic worms. Gee, wouldn't it be great to have another outbreak of Typhoid? Look what we're missing out on!

Give me a break!

When did we lose our ability to think about more important things? I think the root is in the creation of "gangs". We have groups who think they are the most important and we have groups that insist their way is the only way. We have groups who are just groups because they can be. We have groups who set up shop so they can receive anything and everything they can get just for being a group. We have so many groups that they blend into one another and become fuzzy about what the group really stands for. We have groups who just...well...group! Group is another word for "gang". Hail, hail the gang's all here - save the flies of the world - stamp out swatters and anyone who would harm a fly should be chastized publicly if nothing else!

Sorry, I have to go now...I see a spider that needs my attention...hmmmmmm...should I usher it to the outdoors...capture it in a jar and release it in the wild (backyard) or should I just step on it quickly - that's humane - right? I'm sure PETA will let me know.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

On the road again

Here I am, on the road again...looking for employment. I never thought in a million years that I'd be looking for another job at this point in my life. This is supposed to be the time that I'm winding down and setting my sights on retirement. Well, that ain't happening!

While I have the normal anxiety of facing change and the "newness" of a new job, I am filled somewhat with excited anticipation. You see, I've enjoyed every job I've had. I've made the best of all situations I've found myself in. I have met some of the most wonderful people and made great friends along the way. These memories will stay with me for a lifetime.

That being said, I'm focusing on the future in a different way. New friends, new places, new adventures.

I have a new attitude about finding a job though...this is tough! It used to be that you sent your resume, you got called for an interview and the decision was made immediately with a question from the employer - when can you start. Nowadays, you send your resume - you get an email that says we got your resume - don't call us, we'll call you. Then you wait...then you might get a call for a phone interview...sometimes the interview takes place right then and there and sometimes it has to be scheduled...then you wait...you have the phone interview and you wait some more...then, if you're lucky the employer calls you back and you schedule a personal interview... and you wait. Then you have your FIRST interview perhaps with a recruiter and one person from the prospective department...and you wait...then you might have a second interview with someone "higher up" and you wait...THEN, if you're lucky you get an offer of employment and discuss salary. If the salary is lower than expect and you counter with a higher expectation...you wait...then the employer will come back with a counter-counter offer and you accept or decline...waiting over. All told the waiting can last weeks or sometimes this process can take months depending on the need for the position to be filled.

This waiting game can be excruiating for someone who needs to work - but it will show a test of patience and the ability to present yourself numerous times in a consistent manner so that the employer knows that you have an interest in the position and you have consistently expressed why you are the best candidate.

Now, at my age - 55 - this waiting game is becoming a harder pill to swallow. I have a business vitality that screams for me to be busy doing something productive and you can only do so much in your search time to fill the void of unemployment. Having worked all my life, this down time is not easy to adjust to. I wander from room to room, switching on the computer, the television, the radio, the cd player - anything to fill the silence that ensues after being surrounded by people and responsibilities on a regular basis.

Depression can set in quickly - so I am tackling my job hunt with an office mind-set. I have set up a binder with all the positions that I've applied for. Keeping track of those turn down notices that politely tell you that you have been selected not to work for them. I keep printouts of information from the prospective employers business website. I review this binder almost daily. Setting goals for follow up emails or phone calls. This binder is easily accessible so that when I receive a call from a prospect, I can refer to it to refresh my memory and engage my thoughts about a particular company in order to bring to mind some of the reasons I sent my application.

Yes, I'm on the road again...hitting the bricks...job hunting...whatever you call it - it needs to be done with a process and goal established as you move through the "waiting" processes.

In the meanwhile I try to fill my time with productive projects - organizing my closets, cleaning out the old and keeping the useful, helping friends with some of their projects - until that new opportunity presents itself and I can once again be gainfully employed!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Back Then

This is my spot for talking about all the changes since I was a kid...what a crazy world!

I know everyone has gotten those emails where it talks about the things that were or weren't around what feels like a hundred years ago. Life was pretty simple. We didn't have all the distractions of today's world and I fear it will only get worse.

Back then, when people appeared to be talking to themselves, THEY REALLY WERE! You had a warning that this may not be a stable person as you observed a conversation with a non-existent party. Nowadays - you have ear-phone equipped people everywhere walking around looking like they're talking to themselves and they are actually having phone conversations! So, you don't know WHO is stable or unstable...until you get a little too close to see if there's a contraption sticking inside someone's ear that might be a phone...that's a little too close for my comfort.

Back then, there were "insane asylums" where people who had mental problems went to be away from mainstream society. Now, I know that there may have been some people who shouldn't have gone there and that was absolutely wrong...but insane asylums are no longer "correct" if you can put a person on medication that will alter their insanity and therefore, make them okay for mainstream society...unless they stop taking their meds...then, OOPS...they had a history of mental illness and that's why they shot up the church down the street...oh well...someone must have forgotten to be responsible for taking their meds.

There's a lot of irritating things about this world now that I don't remember being a problem years ago...and I'll think of some more I'm sure.