Everyday She Takes a Morning Bath and Wets Her Hair…

So it’s Just Another Day, well, not really but I really need a distraction from everything going on. I have an hour before I start cooking the evening meal and for once my house is clean, I know you’re all scratching your head asking, it’s Tuesday how can her house be clean? Well Rainbird was ill over the weekend, nothing too serious just running a fever, with the general aches and pains that go along with that. He’s very whiney and mean when he gets ill and he immediately started complaining that the house was a mess. So, yesterday I cleaned the whole thing bottom to top, it got him quiet and actually gave me a bit of piece and quiet also because I was too busy to change the channels on the TV for him. Well, the changing the channel thing wasn’t yesterday but Sunday, when he was complaining his thumbs were hurting.

Signs of Spring

At last there are real signs of Spring here, as I stare out the window I’m noticing buds on trees that only last week I pondered if they were dead and would need replacing. The red flower bush outside, hidden behind the other trees and shrubs is in full bloom, and is a pity it’s hidden. I’m told it’s a Camellia, but honestly I prefer the name red flower bush—since I don’t care a whit about the technical names plants are given. Camellia to me is a technical; please don’t get me started on those scientific names because those are worse. I prefer to name my plants and trees myself, like Prickly red ground thingy, red flower bush, and umbrella looking thing covered in pussies. Yes, it can be quite embarrassing when I go to a nursery and ask specifically for the umbrella like tree thing covered in pussies. Ultimately, though, they do know what I’m talking about and that’s really all that matters, isn’t it? This is Rose country here, everyone has them, and someone asked me what kind of Roses I had…I muttered back, “the kind with thorns” and I’m not kidding. I don’t know or care how many different kinds of roses there are, I just know that I like and enjoy the ones I have.

It also reminds that all too soon, we’ll need to start weeding again, raking, and doing something about our pathetic piece of lawn in the back yard. If you believe, and I know you do, that I truly hate housework, you can rest assured that I’d rather clean the house instead of working outside pulling weeds. Hell, I’d rather clean 20 houses than pull one weed. Of course there is one weed in particular that’s getting on my nerves and I’ll probably willingly yank it but all the others will be pulled with me pissing and moaning the whole time—Unless of course someone else is doing the pulling.

Does Anyone Know the Name Of? Remember? Care?

According to this news article thanks to Reuters, the late Princess Diana’s wedding dress maker has no right to use her own name as a trademark. She appearently sold the rights to her name to avoid bankruptcy, or during bankruptcy (the article was unclear about that) and now is upset because the company is selling clothing under her name and she believes people are duped into buying them thinking she designed them. Maybe to avoid confusion she should have trademarked the name…Designed by the Woman that Designed Princess Diana’s Wedding Gown™.

Will Anyone Get This Woman Off the Streets?

Newsflash: Naomi Campbell was arrested for hitting her maid with a cell phone. When will the madness end?

Postergirl for Prolife?

There is a statue of pop princess Britney Spears' nude and waiting to deliver on a bearskin rug. Uh huh. The pro-life movement needs a spoiled pop star that drives her car with her baby on her lap, smokes cigarettes, and goes barefoot in public toilets; I’ll stop now because you get the idea. Didn’t she have an affair with that baby’s father? Wasn’t he married or involved or something with someone else? This is not a person I would want my daughter (if I had one) to look up to or even remotely want to be like, this is a person that needs to be bitch-slapped and promptly forgotten all about.

An Apology

I’m sorry I haven’t updated this blog for nearly a week—it’s just been a crazy week without much fun going on. I’ve had this written up for a week now but just haven’t had the time to post it.

© 2006

Somewhere

Someone doesn’t sit alone in the dark wondering
Someone hears a baby cry
Someone sees the rainfall
Someone sees the sun shine brightly

Somewhere
Someone isn’t worried
Someone is calm
Someone is smiling
Someone watches over another

Somewhere
Someone is dying
Someone is being born
And Someone is just existing

She sits and stares at the computer, watching carefully the flashing cursor and reflects for a moment how fragile life is and how quickly it all changes. She ponders the choices she’s made for seemingly the right reasons but now questions those very choices that have led her here to this place in time. “Does any of it matter?” she asks in darkness of the night to no one there. The very sound of her voice cutting through the silence startles her as her head snaps up and her body shakes. She looks around as the images of the past play before her, and the familiar shapes dissipate into an ethereal cloud. As the room shifts and her mind clears herself of the fog, she realizes she’s been staring into a roaring fireplace, and became lost in flame’s sacred dance. A friend had come by and sat beside her, began to prattle on about some nonsense; but she didn’t move or shift her eyes from the flame, for she was lost in a world that she doesn’t understand. In a flash, she blinked, and everything again shifted. She was back in the here and now, but sadness crept in, enclosing long fingers around her throat rendering her silent again, but only for a moment. Suddenly she jumped a little, sat up straight, and smiled at her friend saying, “I understand.”

“I understand” is a phrase she uses often when she doesn’t know what else to say, and sometimes will say when she’s not paying attention, like now. Her friend smiled, picked up her drink and walked way, hopefully feeling validated that someone else understood her. She tried not to resume staring into the hypnotic flicker of the now dying fire, and tried to ignore the hot burning embers that made her feel so warm inside. She looked about the room, and out the window, seeing the rain fall over the trees, the gray sky giving up it’s fight of daylight, almost succumbing to the darkness that will follow.

She rises slowly and fluidly off the sofa, finding her way quickly to his side and tugs gently on his coat, she smiles up at him, as she whispers, “it’s time to go.”

© 2006

Finally Friday

Yesterday Rainbird brought home a note from his secretary asking me not to feed him Lentil soup anymore when he comes home for lunch. I wrote a note back saying that I was sorry and wouldn’t do that to them again. Also, last night Fredo too had a case of the farts and he didn’t even have any lentil soup but I swear he let one go that made everyone’s eyes water. Even the dog tried to roll on him. Dogs do that, you know, roll in shit to mask their scent and considering that Dumbass recently had a bath, it figures he’d want something strong to mask his scent.

I took a nap mid-afternoon yesterday instead of doing the usual cleaning and such around the house and didn’t wake up even when Piss-boy came home from school, though I heard him come in. I rarely nap during the day but lately every night I’ve been staying up until 1 in the morning, and getting up at 5:30, so I guess it’s catching up with me. Also, later today, I can catch up on all the housework anyway since the kids will be home and I won’t have to stop. Rainbird wants for us to go to Costco so I can finally cook something other than the crap I’ve been cooking lately. I’ll have to sit down and really think about what I want to cook, and then work out a list, but at least the freezer is cleaned out.

© 2006

A New Toy

A few days ago, I decided four years with the same phone was long enough and it was time to upgrade and my new phone, complete with camera arrived yesterday. Since then Rainbird has been playing with it, and showing me how to use all the features, bells and whistles. Now, I really don’t require his assistance in understanding this phone, but he seems to think that only vast amounts of testosterone can comprehend technology.

I passed his test on using it and was finally allowed to input all my information and set things up the way I wanted them. Couple things I don’t like about the phone, one is the base or rather lack of one; my old phone had a base unit that held phone the phone while it was charging. The other thing I don’t care for is that it only has 10 different ring tones and all of them suck. I know I can download more, but I really don’t want to pay for that; remember I’m cheap that way and I know I shouldn’t complain. Besides, I’m not sure I understand thoroughly this whole pay-for-usage thing, what exactly constitutes usage anyway? Does that mean each time someone calls my phone that I’ll have to pay someone else to hear it ring, even if I miss the call because I can’t hear the phone? Knowing me, that could get expensive.

One Of Those Thursday Is Really Friday Days

Today is Thursday but to the kids it’s Friday because there is no school tomorrow and all next week for Spring break. I find it odd growing up and living my entire life around the fact that Spring break comes right before or immediately following Easter this concept of Spring break happening the last week of March, regardless of when Easter is. At least maybe next year we can plan something.

Of course the boys are excited, especially Fredo, who if he’s good today at school with earn a special CD he’s been after me to get for him. Figures he’d be the child to like music but too bad it’s pop crap that I can’t stand. But, he brought home great reports for the past month so I guess he’s earned it. I never thought I’d be the type to bribe my kids like this but it seems to work with him, and to be honest, it doesn’t cost me much, especially since I’ve changed the system. I don’t think he notices either because he also gets instant things that cost little or nothing, for example if his report is exemplary he can watch TV as soon as he’s finished with homework (which is normally just reading). He’s improved enormously on writing his name (he’s got to practice making those “d’s”), and during the week off I’ll be working with him on his phonics of course Mom will have lots of stuff to bribe him with.

Piss-boy is just excited that he won’t have to get up every morning, but I will have to take them both to get hair cuts and I still need to make an appointment to have their portraits taken. I’m a horrible mom that’s never had her children’s portraits taken…Can you believe it? Probably not. It’s true though, I always plan on doing it but then time passes and their hair grows, or they get a booger cold, or something like that and that’s exactly when I think, “you know, I really need to take these kids and get their pictures taken.” A final thing that does annoy me, is that before school I was playing with my camera on the phone and snapped a picture of them, and it came out great. Why is that the one time they take a great picture, it's completely limited to staying on my phone? I won't be sending it to anyone, let alone emailing it to Rainbird, since I pay by the message, I just couldn't see paying so much more a month to send picture or text messages that I won't use. I'm already paying for more airtime than I need. Remember, I'm cheap that way.

Fredo just got home from school and despite the fact that he yelled at his teacher today for some reason that he won’t explain; he’s still earned enough credits to get that CD when it arrives. Unfortunately because of his little yelling episode he won’t be able to watch any TV until this evening, and he won’t get his Happy Meal™ for lunch. I will admit that I am proud of him though somewhat because he didn’t get so thoroughly upset over the one thing that it ruined his entire day, which months ago would certainly been the case.

© 2006

I Hate Cleaning

This is just a general comment but I truly do hate it and I hate with equal furor the assumptions that people make when they hear I’m a stay-at-home mom. Today I have several chores to do around the house, most general like vacuuming, which I don’t mind, and others like cleaning Piss-boy and Fredo’s bathroom, which I do. The one task I truly despise however is cleaning out the fridge. I really don’t understand why it is that I end up with a fridge filled with near-empty jars and bottles of this and that. Mind you, the jars themselves have that full appearance but only when you open it, you realize that it’s really empty. There is a massive pickle jar, way in the back, that only had one pickle in it—which idiot does this? Who leaves a half-gallon size pickle jar in the back of the fridge with only one pickle in it or the twenty or so jars of various types of mustard? Or the jar of jelly that I can’t even tell how much is inside because the lid is now welded to the jar from the sugars hardening.

So, it doesn’t, thankfully take long to clean out, but I really hate the idea that I have to clean it out for that reason at all because when I use something, I don’t put an empty jar back into the fridge, I throw it away like most humans. I guess I don’t live with average humans though, more than likely, some form or modern Neanderthal. While you sit there and make your snappy judgments that I’m just on rant about Rainbird and company, I’ll thoroughly admit that the freezer is my fault. I tend to buy things, throw them into the freezer and add more stuff, toss that into the freezer until I can’t see what’s in there. Which leads to more buying of stuff, so I can accept full responsibility for that since I’m the only one in the house that even understands that we have a freezer to begin with, except it’s also where mom keeps the Toaster Sticks ®

“Your House Must Always Be Clean”

That is one the many comments myself as stay-at-home mom hears on a regular basis, and for the record, my fucking house isn’t always clean, it might (depending on the time/day of the week) be presentable but it’s rarely clean. My working mom friends start in talking about how hard it is to juggle a job and motherhood, which I know is difficult because I’ve done that too, but that also doesn’t mean that its any easier. I’m folding clothes most times at 11PM because it’s the only time I don’t have a child climbing up my ass for some reason or another. They tend to look surprised when I say that and equally surprised when I tell them my house is never clean, because the kids are in it, see that’s what they don’t tell you when you sign up to be a stay-at-home mom and have those warm fuzzy thoughts of June Cleaver. Remember Wally and Beave were in school all day and it was also at a time when children did things like, go into town to “mess around.” To look at the construction sight on Main Street, USA, usually leaving the house after breakfast and coming home right before dinner and no one batted an eye.

Here’s the other thing they don’t tell you when you sign up to be a stay-at-home mom and get your welcome kit, your husband disappears. After all, he works, and deserves time to himself to hang at the pub with the guys or watch a football game uninterrupted, and it doesn’t matter that you’ve been dealing with those people under 4feet tall all week. You don’t get a vacation, at least not a real one, because the vacation means cramming the kids into a car or plane, heading somewhere where you’ll likely end up doing the exact same things you do at home but just hundreds of miles away. Housework is fully up to you because; well your husband works for a living, so you can’t expect him to share the chores and even more gets lumped onto you—like the little things you didn’t have to do before like taking out the trash and cleaning the garage. Loss of additional income might also mean not saving as much for retirement, using credit more often, putting off several years having a new car, or a newer one. It’s not a cheap way to go.

Getting back for a moment to the not getting paid thing, it’s not just that you’re not getting paid, the longer you stay home with the kids, the more difficult it can be to reenter the workforce. Not to mention the not paying into SS, SSDI for all that time as well, you’re really fucking yourself with a football but you just don’t realize it. Until you try to go back to work and find out the only place willing to take a chance on you is the card shop. Employers see you as a risk, after all, you stopped working before and even though no one ever stays at one job for the rest of their lives anymore, employers like to believe that you will—unless they decide to lay you off.

© 2006

Stupid Shit On Television, Shopping Adventures & Other Shit that Comes to Mind

I’ll admit I’m a channel flipper, and when I’m flipping, I’ll watch maybe 2-5 seconds of each channel, so if for a show to catch my eye, it’s got to have a hook. Shows that caught my eye, Supernanny, also a movie on lifetime [home of bad acting and films depicting woman as victims of whatever], I watched maybe 15 minutes of the lifetime movie before flipping down the dial until I hit SuperNanny on the second pass around the dial. I only had one question about that episode last night, okay maybe two questions. First didn’t Supernanny already jump the shark? Second, why would someone so horrible at raising children have so many of them? Haven’t they heard of birth control? Okay that was three questions. I’ll admit that I didn’t watch the first half hour of the show and only really about 10 minutes of it in total, but I saw nothing that “Nanny Jo” did to permanently fix this family’s problem. Maybe more goes on behind the scenes.

I saw a snippet of Elaine from Seinfeld fame consider having sex with a woman and later kiss some other guy. Oh and there was something about a guy bringing his own chicken into a restaurant. That said this week’s winner of dumbshit shows no one should watch is Medium—which I guess is the show’s name. In any event, it’s a show about an FBI agent or something that has, get this, psychic powers, which apparently make her slightly psychotic. That I guess, could explain why she was standing in the middle of a freeway screaming at traffic but I’m sure that ghosts will somehow be to blame for it.

Adventures in Shopping

I really despise tabloid gossip but that doesn’t stop me from reading the headlines in the supermarket checkout lines; I figure it’s harmless as long as I don’t buy or otherwise touch the magazines. One tabloid had Tom Cruise and that bimbo married, while another professed they were through. Another had Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finished and another had them married in a secret ceremony. Do you see a pattern?

The best was the headline that Camilla is talking to a divorce attorney. I chuckled at that one for a long while (the idiot in line ahead of me paid in pennies) I waited. Now I don’t really care, or wonder if this true but it just struck me as horribly ironic. Charles carries on an affair with that and then it gets a clue and whatever? That would make Charles a real looser wouldn’t it?

Midnight Snacking

Another thing that drives me crazy is when Rainbird goes to the store is that he’ll use the ATM, which I know what everyone is thinking and you’d be wrong. What he does that drives me crazy is that he’ll buy things like Klondike bars and then he’ll hide them somewhere in the freezer and not tell me anything about them. He’ll then leave the receipt by the computer for me enter in the register. Duh! He must know I’ll look at it and see that he bought the fucking Klondike bars and rip apart the freezer until I find them, which I did, and he got the Heath ones…YUM!

Whimsical Ranting

Finally I’d like to offer why I think the Democrats will NOT win any major numbers of seats in the upcoming elections. The latest impeachment talks against GW. It really frustrates me when I think about this because all it does is make the Democrats look like fools, and this coming before an election they desperately need to win. I doubt very seriously people will vote Republicans out of office. The Democrats sit around a large table like in a Mel Brooks movies harrumphing over the way the country is heading but offer nothing except those harrumphs and encourage others to harrumph just as loudly, and if someone doesn’t harrumph, they are told to.

The loud harrumphing does nothing though because they offer no real alternative, which would make people want to vote for them. Most people don’t thoroughly read about the candidates, they just listen to 20-second sound bite that tells them what’s good or bad. But if the sound bite says nothing except what the other person is doing wrong, they don’t win votes that way. When both sides sling mud at each other, the election is reduced to a coin toss. I’m convinced that’s exactly why Bush won the last election, because Kerry could only focus on what Bush did wrong, but forgot to say what he would have done differently. The election for most people became a coin toss between the evil we know versus the evil we’re not sure about.

What really pisses me off is that for me this coin toss has become all too commonplace. During the last election I participated in, while still in California between Simon and Davis and believe me I though both of them sucked eggs, I flipped a coin. I also hate to admit when Bush ran the first time, against Gore, I flipped a coin then too because I just couldn’t stand either of them. Neither had a real plan for the country, just like Simon and Davis had clue what to do about California. I now no longer feel that voting third party is throwing away my vote but instead hopefully sending a clearer message that I’m mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. I would only hope that others take up that idea and do the same.

© 2006

Yet another Monday & Weekend Wrap-up

Firstly, big congratulations to Cindy for correctly identifying the song in Friday’s Name That Tune, I’ll be mailing your prize this week and yes there is a prize. Stay tuned for more of Name That Tune whenever I get bored and nothing else to blog about.

On to the Weekend Wrap-up, Friday was St Patrick’s Day and we had a few couples over for Corned beef and Cabbage, which honestly, I’ve never been a fan of but have to admit it was easy to make and aside from funky smelling pee for a day, we all survived the effects. I also managed to piss off Rainbird too in the process so all had a goodtime. Saturday, we went out for dinner with family and ate at a place I’d never been to, which always makes me leery but the food was excellent and aside from Fredo lifting his shirt to itch himself under his arm things went well. Sunday was a damn dull day, and I was left so fucking bored I decided to give Dumbass a bath just because. All the writhing in the tub, water all over the floor, whimpering, and whining but eventually Dumbass was pronounced clean and allowed to escape the dreaded bathroom.

Everyone else has a special name and its only fair that now the dog is included in this, from this day forward in this blog he will be referred to as Dumbass. Usually for a day or two after having his bath, Dumbass is allowed to walk around the house sans collar. Every single time I turn around he’s there, but the only difference is that I don’t hear him coming.

Monday Madness

Fredo this morning refused to go to school, something he’s not done in a while but he went, just pushing out his boundaries, and his day was pretty good judging from his daily report. Piss-boy had a fieldtrip today to a garden and he got to dissect a flower. On the other hand I ordered myself a new cell phone and changed our call plan to a slightly cheaper rate. So all in all it was a good day. Except when Fredo hit his brother with his Homer Simpson Doll hard forcing me to do the unthinkable by taking away Homer and putting him on time out (Homer not Fredo). Of course predictably Fredo got super pissed off, and soon he was on a time out also. I sent him to his room, and I swear one of the screams was nearly a half-minute long! As soon as he realized that his time out would end when he was quiet, he settled down, apologized and Homer was quickly returned, where the three of them will wreak havoc another time.

Name That Tune?

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free

Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes, but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me

Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart was going boom boom boom
"Hey," I said, "You can keep my things, they've come to take me home."

Let’s Play Name That Country

With all the outsourcing going on today, it’s not surprising that we’re discovering new games to play while we wait on hold. I, myself, enjoy a rousing game of Name That Country. I called a company yesterday, and for the life of me couldn't figure out what the country was, the accent was odd, sounding a bit British but not really. It definitely wasn’t Indian, but maybe South African or something. I think the tragedy is that Name that State was replaced thanks in part of rising costs and the growing need for profit margins and pleasing stock holders especially since I really miss that game. When I think back just a few years ago when the majority of calls were still answered in the US, the game seemed more fun. I would thoroughly enjoy talking with someone from example Texas or most of the Southern States because they were so polite. However keep me on the phone with a New Yorker for a couple minutes, and I was grateful that I lived in California since they were just too high strung for me to deal with.

I’m just tired of the crap, and I’m just tired of speaking to people in other fucking countries who have no real clue what the hell they’re doing and lack serious common sense. While I’m at it, I’d also like to lodge a complaint with companies that use call centers, like banks, and local cable companies. I’m sorry but when I’m calling about my cable service I’d like to speak with someone actually in my fucking area not 5000 miles away. I don’t know how many fucking times I’ve been forced to make a fucking appointment with those fuckwits because I’m one of the first that’s called with trouble in my area and then, I have to call and cancel it because god knows they’re too stupid to notice a service call was booked at the same time 600 fucking calls started coming in saying their cable was out. The same is true for the phone company; I really don’t need to hear that if I add more services some idiot in Cleveland might win a trip to Disney World. I don’t want the fucking DSL!!!

Let me further explain, just in case some fucking half wit CEO is reading this, the phone is NOT FACE to FACE communication. I cannot see what the other person is saying, I can only hear them, and with accents and poor phone connections, I really get tired of saying, “What?” Or “Huh?” I don’t want other services, or anything that will cause me to pay anymore than I already do, so can the sales pitches; I just want my fucking problem fixed.

While I’m At This

I might as well mention when I’m in a department store making a fairly large purchase and I say once that I don’t want the extended warranty please believe me if you continue to try to sell it to me I’ll be forced to believe that your trying to sell me a substandard product. It could cause you to loose a sale. Recently when I purchased a vacuum cleaner I couldn’t believe the woman trying to get me to add another hundred bucks for a three year warranty, aside from that any woman that can’t figure out how to reach her fingers inside the vacuum to unclog it should just hire a cleaning service anyway. The saleswoman must have mentioned the warranty 3-5 times, giving each time a different seemingly almost scripted reason for taking it. One example I really did laugh at was, "Well it could be handy if you drive over the hose." What the hell? I guess what she was saying was that I should add on an extra hundred bucks on a two hundred dollar purchase because I may or may not be stupid?

Finally

I’ve decided that I hate the History Channel and I’ll tell you why, every night this week they’ve had the most amazing stuff on starting at around 11PM. Last night it was a show on Meteors, the night before that was about aliens, and I think Monday night was about debunking the Da Vinci Code. Not great stuff when you need to get your ass to bed, and I’m getting tired of it, it’s worse than watching MythBusters on the Discovery Channel.

Mornings Can Be Fun

Last night I don’t know what was wrong with me but I folded clothes, did laundry and cleaned toilets at 11 PM and let me tell you all, that was weird for me but I’m glad I did it all because it gives me a jumpstart on today. Then I started watching something on the History Channel about the bible and alien abductions, which was very interesting despite the fact I couldn’t really keep my eyes open.


Of course the kids were slow in getting up today, Fredo was wasting a lot of morning time asking for “5 more minutes,” and Piss-boy spent around 20 minutes after his shower taking a dump or something (he’s getting to be more like his father everyday). Fredo came down the stairs telling me not to look at him…Oh yeah; this is going to be a fun day for us. The mood did lighten though as Fredo drank his morning cup of coffee (okay he doesn’t drink coffee, he drank orange juice but it has the same effect on him) and ate his Toaster Sticks. Piss-boy ate his cereal and then began to the made rush to play “Find the Backpack.” Now, I will thoroughly admit Fredo wins that particular game every time because he always places his backpack in the closet with his jacket. Piss-boy runs upstairs the downstairs hunting like a child searching for Easter eggs.

For the past two days there’s been a woodpecker outside on a tree across the street, pecking away, it’s been driving us crazy though because we can’t actually see it. Each morning when we wait for the bus it’s been kinda fun looking for it. When the bus does arrive the whole mood changes and Fredo grows very quiet, turns around to give me one more plaintive look. If you closely you can see just a glint of hope in his eyes that I won’t be a horrible person, make him get onto the bus and go to school. Oh well kid—Maybe tomorrow (NOT).

Oh Pat Robertson, You’ve Done it Again

Look up the word D’oh in the dictionary and there’s likely to be two pictures one of Homer Simpson and the other of televangelist Pat Robertson. My friend, the Bionic Woman actually watches the 700 Club and emailed to tell me about him saying Muslims are Satanists. How nice of him, don’t you think? This man is on TV and pontificates that foreign leaders should be “taken out,” says that Katrina occurred because New Orleans angered God or some such bullshit—don’t get me started on the whole 9/11 thing. Someone suffers a stroke, or gets cancer, and he doesn’t agree with them to begin with it’s because God is punishing them.

He obviously suffers from foot-in-mouth disease but I remember before the Y2K shit happened, he was encouraging his viewers to take money out of the bank, stock-pile food and water, and purchase generators because everything was going to shut down. Do you remember waking up News Years Morning 2000? His show uses individuals much the way a PT Barnum used played on people’s common sense to get them into seeing his sideshows. Have you seen the segment when he tells people to touch the TV and then someone, him his son or that other woman, spews out tripe about there being someone out there that’s worried about money. Come-on people! These are general statements that could easily apply to anyone on any given day of the week. Then he’ll so people that were saved by giving money to him…. good grief. This show is nothing more than a Telethon to earn money. I’d like to know exactly where all that money goes.

A Word of Warning

This blog is normally rated PG-13 for bad language well, I’m about to go a strict R rating. So if you’re delicate and can’t handle hearing a rant about Dr 90210 please skip this blog at least for today. Firstly, I must apologize that I didn’t post about this on my Monday offering but I guess I was too tired to remember about it when I started it. Anyway last week sometime, maybe Friday, I was watching that Dr. 90210 show on E!, which I normally don’t watch, but was incredibly bored that night after everyone left. Kids were in bed and Rainbird was snoring in the chair, literally sucking the life out of the room.

Anyway I caught a snippet of a surgery, I paused at the channel hearing the Dr talking about how happy so and so will be with her liposuction, tummy tuck...Okay fine, whatever. Some people just have too much money to burn, but then he’s doing something between her legs and talking about how she’s had a couple babies and wanted things tightened up and going on about how he “loves working on the vagina.”

I guess one part of this woman’s pussy lips was longer than the other. Which does beg to ask, how the fuck did she know that? Did she actually look? Did her husband go down on her and tell her during oral…”you know Hun, one of your pussy lips is longer, maybe when you go in for that lipo, you can get that fixed?” All I could say was Ohmyfuckingod.

Then he takes some of the fat from her liposuction into a syringe and uses that to plump her pussy lips!!!!! Now I’m sitting at home going…what the fuck?????

Maybe I’m the strange one but I haven’t looked at my pussy since I was probably about 3 or 4, and only then because the boy up the street from me told me that my “wiener” hadn’t dropped yet. Of course I went looking for it, mostly because I’d seen his and knew I didn’t want one of those, not to mention those two other things. Even then I only looked a second or two. I doubt very seriously there was a tape measure involved in any way.

After the woman is recovering and he’s telling her that she’s now got a beautiful vagina, amongst other things and that he’d see her in a couple weeks. I didn’t keep watching to see how much she liked it, by that time I’d found something else to watch, an old rerun of Little House on the Prairie. Of course that lead to some disturbing thoughts of Ma Ingalls talking to Pa about her pussy being tighter back before she had all those kids.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Cue the Carpenters because it’s another week and another weekend for the record books of doing little but reaming seemingly busy. We had a long weekend here; with the boys out of school for Parent/Teacher conferences and Piss-boy it seems spent and wasted all those days worrying for nothing. Only small issues with him, like spelling and using more descriptions when he writes, but otherwise he’s doing fine. I think his teacher just does enjoy talking with us. Saturday, Rainbird went to Home Depot or some other home center place to get wood for his bar he’s creating in the “tasting room” in the basement. I didn’t get on his case too badly considering he’s used the hot tub twice this week (must be some sort of record).

Explanation of the Different Plans

When there is a project that requires completion and is NOT done immediately the project is automatically listed on the one-month plan. Meaning that sometime in the next month the project will be completed, if not it goes onto the 6-month plan, and if still not completed it automatically goes into 3-year plan. The 3-year plan carries a rider, which automatically turns into the 5-year plan at the end of that term. These terms are in no way concurrent. So your simple project could in effect take, in Man-terms, nearly 9-years to finish. Of course if you decide to move then all left over projects are completed in 30 days before your house is listed so at least you can somewhat enjoy things until your home is sold and you move.

What Are You Doing There?!

Lately each night I wake up and hear the dog’s collar rattling (which also reminds me his license is due), I find him sitting nicely or stretching in the entryway. There is only ONE place for him to be napping anywhere near there and that’s the living room sofa and he knows fully well he’s not supposed to be on there. Actually, I wouldn’t be freaking out if he were just laying on that sofa, but he curls up on the one of the pillows (the sofa is kind of a pillow back) and squishes the pillow, misshaping it. It’s attached on the top to the main part of the sofa and I’m also afraid that the dog ‘s weight will slowly start to loosen the seam, causing it separate. So if anyone has any suggestions for keeping the dog off my sofa, I’d greatly appreciate them.

Morning Monkey Business & Other Annoyances

For some reason Fredo is in competition with his brother each morning, and Piss-boy though he doesn’t really care, does nothing to help the situation either. This morning was one of those mornings, Piss-boy forgot to set his alarm, and Fredo refused to get out of bed. I warned Fredo that Piss-boy would be downstairs soon but Fredo ignored it. Sure enough, Piss-boy bolted passed Fredo’s room on the way to the stairs, and I know something was said but I didn’t hear what was said. Fredo started screaming that he wanted to be first and so it began. Fredo was two steps behind his brother all morning and though I did remind him this week was “fish” week, I doubt he heard me.

Bird flu is one thing I’m really tired of hearing about—specifically the Armageddon type of hype surrounding it, like those of Michael Leavitt telling people to keep canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds. What the fuck? During the last three pandemics the number of deaths went down despite a significant increase in population. For example the 1918 pandemic killed around 40 million people, the one in 1957 killed around 2 million, and the 1968 pandemic killed around 1 million people. I wonder if the media is just bored or if they are really trying to hyper people into frenzy over this.

Other News

Meanwhile Fredo has discovered the chess set, and I really don’t have to worry about finding tournaments for him to participate in anytime soon. He’s no Bobby Fischer. Will admit the way he plays the game does look a lot more fun, what with the dice and all.

Also, I believe this is my 100th post to this blog and to think I really thought I'd get bored with this all.

Finally A Friday

It's snowing but not enough to make a difference, kids still have school today, the most Piss-boy can hope for is that they'll close early, which is also unlikely. Well, it’s not really a Friday at least for everyone, but for my kids it is. Tomorrow are parent/teacher conferences and Piss-boy is worried, which I find a little curious because out of the years he didn’t worry he probably should have and, the one time he probably has nothing to worry about, he does. Ah, sweet irony.

A New Pet?

Fredo yesterday announced that he wants a pet fish, so I told him if he behaves himself at school for the rest of this week, and all next week I’ll take him to get a Beta, maybe I’ll take Melanie’s idea and call it Mastabeta. Rainbird isn’t thrilled with the idea of another pet in the house but did comment that he had fish, a fact his mom confirmed. Fredo is excited about the fish and has already named it but wouldn’t tell me what. I hope it’s not wiener or something like that.

Does Technology Make Us Stupid?

Speaking of Mother in Law, what a crack up she is, yesterday evening, her power went out so she’s using her cell phone to call. After the third call and her talking about how she’s worried her cell will die, I ask her, um…don’t you have a phone that you just plug in? She’s silent for a minute and then says the equivalent of “D’oh” but then after thinking about it for another minute says, “I don’t have anyone’s number memorized.” I think about that for a minute and tell her that I don’t know anyone’s number by heart either. I guess I should carry everyone’s number in my purse just in case my cell dies. Reminds me of that movie years ago, called “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” the scene where Richard Dreyfuss is running through the house holding the phone screaming to call 911 when he sees Nick Nolte trying to drown himself in the pool. Or me asking Piss-boy if he knows the number for 911 before I leave the house for a quick trip to the store—Wait maybe I’m the stupid one in that scenario?

As technology advances I suppose it’s only normal that we would be dependant, even though some tend to balk against it. Yeah, the Unabomber…Well, and me, except I only balked against buying a CD player, while he kind of balked loudly about everything. Maybe that’s not such a good example. That said I do depend on my computer to tell me when Garbage day is (last night just in case you’re wondering). I know Piss-boy is slowly required to use the internet for more school related things and I imagine that is just how it’s going to be as he goes further in the grades. Also, why is whenever I type I a password, if I think about it, I always enter it in wrong? In any event, I know for a fact that Rainbird couldn’t find his way home without his Onstar, and fancy-shmancy phone with web access that does just about everything for him except wipe his ass. Not to mention the remote control issues I deal with all the time.

Other Stuff

Last night, I really don’t know what happened to me but with all the rain and wind, I got some wild hair up ass to clean the kitchen and do finally a load of towels. Piss-boy will be happy when he showers because not only will he have a clean towel, he’ll also have light in the bathroom. I get tired at times of the kids leaving the lights on everywhere, when the bulbs burn out, I rebel by not replacing them right away. Once Fredo had no light in his room for most of the summer because I was tired of having to change them so often. I guess that battle though, he won when he started dragging all the toys out of his room and playing in the hallway upstairs. I’ve tried everything to get the kids to remember to turn off lights, I’ve written notes to them, bribed them, not changed them for months and the funny part is they don’t ask for me to change them when they do burn out…or even tell me that they have. The bathroom light I noticed when I went in there to clean.

Why I Really Hate Being Carded & Other Flights of Whimsy

Oh sure in the beginning it’s all fun but after a while it does get old. I get carded for buying cigarettes for crying out loud, state law here is 18, duh I think I really do look older than 18. Of course, this leads to the inevitable comments, such as: “Wow, you’re older than I am,” or “Wow I can’t believe you’re that old” with serious emphasis on ‘that’. “What year did you graduate high school?” “Is that your real age?” Or the loud person that yells out the year loudly and proclaims, “You’re older than my husband/boyfriend or whomever.” Or the person that looks to me to be a hundred years old tells me their age and it’s the same as mine (Okay that one does make feel pretty good). Finally my personal favorite, “Wow! You’re older than my mom.”

Lost in Translation

Somewhere along the way Fredo has gotten out of the habit of putting his play-doh away at night before he goes to bed, or finishes playing, which ever might come first.

Of Mice and Men

It’s no secret Rainbird’s single biggest fear other than seeing a child with a wiggly tooth, is mice, rats or any kind of vermin that doesn’t appear cute. Squirrels are okay because they have those cute tails but I still insist on calling them ‘tree rats.’ Rainbird gets a little peeved with me when say it, on the excuse that they aren’t really rats but squirrels are part of the vermin family of animals.

Anyway, he’s been doing a lot of work in our basement and occasionally hears a scurrying sound in the darker corners. I’ll have to admit, he’s getting much braver about them, and yesterday he sent Piss-boy down there to dig through some boxes. I guess unknown to him in one of those boxes was an old rat Halloween prop, so Piss-boy picks it up by its long tail and shows it to Rainbird. According to Piss-boy, Rainbird only jumped 3 feet into the air, and didn’t scream nearly as loud as he’s done before.

Years of Bad Karma

Years of Bad Karma are kicking me in the ass and I'll tell you why. Since I was 18 various dentists have been after me to have my wisdom teeth pulled but I've always balked. I didn't have the time, money or felt it needed to be done. I would make appointments with Oral Surgeons and either not show up or cancel them--why? Obviously because I was young and stupid!

Now years later, it's catching up to me, I was told by the latest dentist that they would do the extractions of two teeth in their office, because they're normally not too complicated as long as the tooth is already out (one is partly out and the other is completely). The one that's partly out has a cavity that's getting close to the nerve. Okay fine, I made the appointment because I know I'm playing with fire.

The morning of the appointment the office called and said the dentist was ill, they would call to reschedule. Meanwhile a friend had an extraction, and ended up with dry socket, and her dentist was an ass about treating it properly. Naturally, I now had questions for my dentist, so when they called about doing the extractions, I asked them if they could instead do the seals on the other teeth instead (something else this dentist wanted to do anyway). They said it's not a problem and scheduled it.

Unknown to me that appointment was scheduled for the same day as Piss-boy's parent/teacher conference. I called yesterday to change that appointment once I put the two and two together and knew I couldn't be in two places at the same time. The lady on the phone said they had an opening this morning at 7:45 AM. Great! I'll get my questions answered and get the seals taken care of. Or so I thought.

How was I supposed to know that the woman making the appointment for me was really a disgruntled employee who had gotten wind that she was about to be fired for incompetence?

How was I supposed to know that said employee would use me and countless others to say FUCK YOU to her employer?

I showed up on time, paid my copay only to be informed the appointment was made with the wrong person, a denturist that doesn't do seals. At least I got my copay back.

Where have all the Coffee Cups Gone, Signs of Spring, and the Incredible Stinking Husband

Ever since my coffee maker started overflowing on occasion I’ve been afraid to use the timer feature, but I do continue to grind the beans the night before and fill the machine. At least this way, I can kinda keep an eye on it until it’s ready to drink. However, this morning I couldn’t find a clean coffee cup to save my life—what the hell, I just ran the dishwasher so I stand, confused trying to figure out where they went. I find one in the garage, likely the cup Rainbird used before he left for work, so I wash that one and fill it. I really need coffee to do any real thinking so I quickly push those thoughts out of my head as I begin to log into the computer to check my email, before I have to start running upstairs every five minutes to wake Fredo.

When Piss-boy got home from school, before Rainbird had returned, I put him to work in the back yard, picking up the dog shit that’s accumulated there. Piss-boy really hates picking up the shit but did it without grumbling too badly, guess he’d rather pick it up when the weather is still chilly than when it’s 90 degrees outside. I got Fredo busy not only watching Piss-boy but raking leaves, which seems to be a job that must be done from Fall until Spring. I set to work washing all the windows I could reach, and the deck furniture so that we’re ready to go by springtime.

Anyway, while we were all outdoors, we caught a glimpse of the budding springtime. Not only are the birds returning, but also plants are starting to grow like my butterfly bushes, and I’m getting blossoms on the trees. Its like a surprise, the coming of Springtime, after the long, cold, dead winter, seeing plants you wondered if you’d have to replace them, suddenly come back to life. Though some plants I gather weren’t so lucky, such is the case with the large Azalea in front of the house that gave us cause for concern before winter last year. I think it’s finally had enough, that plant from the look of it, and I’m not sure what we’ll do about it since it’s part of pair. We could remove both the plants, and replace them both with something, or, we could try to move the one off to the side, to a more center-point. I’m not sure what if anything we’ll do about it, but one thing I do know is that we need to do something about the two large trees like things in front of the house. I’m not a huge fan of ornamental trees, you know the type with the fancy balls on them that cost more in upkeep than they do to plant them in the first place. We have two now that are nearly 15 feet tall, actually one is shorter than the other and that bugs me also (my OCD is showing).

Then I went upstairs to do my Kitchen Sink Soup for dinner, in case you’re not familiar with it, it’s a soup made from everything in the cabinet/fridge. I start with the trinity, onions, celery, and carrots cooking those until they’re translucent, and then start adding containers of chicken stock (it’s usually frozen which reminds me I have to make more). Once that gets boiling, I start adding cans of things or frozen veggies, stirring in a little pasta or something in the end. I don’t like things I have to spend all day cooking and I always look for shortcuts in my meals.

I have this habit of freezing left over herbs, that I normally buy on a weekly basis, so left over parsley, rosemary, and thyme normally ends up in the freezer and I use that for stock, along with any veggies that are in the process of turning from usable to bad. Which might bring me to the condition right now of my freezer but not even I want to go there, but after spending a long time hunting for frozen red peppers I just KNOW were in there, I know I’ll need to reorganize it. Speaking of Rosemary, I think it’s time to move the plants back out onto the deck outside again and probably give them a good watering. It’s also time I gather to start shopping for herbs to buy, oh how I wish I could grow Basil here (couldn’t grow it either when I lived in the Bay Area in California as well). Oh, maybe now that they’ve taken out all those trees we’d get enough sunlight to give it a try, last year I tried and it failed miserably.

In any event what the hell was wrong with his ass last night because I woke up with watering eyes, and gagging, I thought we’d had a terrorist attack (okay I was half asleep and not thinking clearly), until I heard clearly the sound of his stomach rumbling and gurgling, followed by the characteristic lifting of the ass off the bed and loud passing of gas. GAS is the word for it, reminding me of Pacific Gas and Electric commercials they used to show on TV talking about the rotten egg smell they add to Natural Gas to make people not want to stay around it. It was definitely the kind of smell that made you worry that some small creature was indeed decomposing under the bed. As he sat up in bed I carefully quizzed him on what all he’d eaten while he was out having fun and drinking beer all day. Okay that comment about drinking beer all day was sarcastic but it’s 3AM for crying out loud, also I knew my soup couldn’t have caused such a violent reaction because I’m very careful since we do share a bed, not to feed him things I know will make myself miserable. The confessions begin about how he’d eaten some chilidogs and other such crap and going on about how great they were. Well, they sure as hell don’t seem so great now, I remind him as I’m trying to figure out a way to escape the smell that doesn’t involve me unplugging the alarm clock and trying to figure out how to reprogram it once I get all settled into the guest room. Instead, I covered my nose with a blanket, grateful that it was stuffy, and tried to go back to sleep, while Rainbird went downstairs to search for antacid.

Oh, Monday Monday

Cue the Momas and Papas, I really don't care much for Monday's either.

Yesterday, we took Fredo to the movies; his first and he saw Doogal. Rainbird took his mom along because my ankle’s been hurting me, it happens off and on since I twisted badly a few years ago and I’ll never admit to Rainbird but I think it happens when I spend too much time on my ass. As I was saying, Grandma came along bringing with her, her big assed Grandma purse filled with snacks for the kids. Piss-boy said the movie stunk but give him enough popcorn, soda, and candy and he won’t complain too much. Fredo on the other hand loved it and found himself mesmerized by the whole theater thing.

You might wonder why we never took him to the movies before now, well, that reason is rather complex, and the first being taking the kids to the movies isn’t cheap. Even going to a matinee can end up costing us 40 dollars or more, by the time we add in all the extras, not to mention lunch before or after. Personally, I feel movie prices are out of whack anyway, maybe not on a pure proportional wage basis but when I can go to the video store and rent 6 or movies for that same 30 dollars, you start to wonder why go to the movies at all. If enough people don’t go to see a given movie it will be out in video within a month anyway. The second reason is bigger, and does go along with the first; simply put he’s a wimp. We’ve mentioned going to the movies with him before but he’s always cried, said no, and even screamed and no way in hell do I want him doing any of those things in a theater.

So, he never went until yesterday and had a great time, learned all about the chairs and why it’s best not to balance too much on your lap. Of course Bart and Homer went along also, I’m not sure if they enjoyed the movie though, they didn’t say.

The Oscars

Last night was also the 78th Oscar ceremony and this year Jon Stewart of the Daily Show was hosting. From what little I saw of it, it started at 5PM my local time and I thought it started at six, despite that it was pretty good. The biggest surprise was that Crash won for best picture when everyone was fairly convinced that Brokeback Mountain (aka gay cowboy movie) so when they read the name Crash...The audience seemed to go a little crazy with excitement causing one woman, to nearly have a wardrobe malfunction from jumping up and down so much that she had hold on to her strapless gown to keep her “girls” from making an appearance.

One thing that does bug me are the microphone hogs, you know, when more than one person wins an Oscar and one stands up there talking and thanking, basically using up all the time. Then the next person starts to say maybe one word and is cut off by the orchestra, I feel bad for the person that draws that short straw, whoever goes first should be more courteous than that, don’t you think?

I didn’t pay much attention to the fashions of the evening having missed all the red carpet crap, but from the dresses I did see, they all looked very nice, except for maybe the hair. Hilary Swank is a case in point. Her dress was drop dead gorgeous but the hair, I swear I’ve had the same style and shouldn’t the Oscars be more glamorous than that? Sharon Stone, I caught a glimpse of at the "after" coverage, and would say the same about her hair—What was she thinking?

Does any one else think that Reese Witherspoon is just too nice? Really just too perfect, too sweet…I don’t know if she’s real. She’s always impeccably dressed, and isn’t she just the type you’d expect to be wearing little white gloves? I think she might be the reincarnation of Vivian Leigh, maybe with out, hopefully without all those mental troubles.

Other News

I tend to worry about little things, you know like life insurance and when I see the payment is due around the 17th of the month and I haven’t yet received the bill, I worry. I called and they said the bill was sent out on the 23rd of February but I haven’t gotten it. I’ll just have to send the payment and cross my fingers that it arrives, in the meantime they’re sending out another bill. Hopefully if for nothing else, that bill will arrive without incident. Also, my ankle is feeling much, much better today. Also I know I have a dental appointment coming up but didn’t write it down…UGH, I just hate it when I do that. I hope it’s not Friday because I don’t’ want to have to change it yet again. They’re going to start to believe I’m crazy. Right now, I’m on hold with them and I’m going to find out when my appointment is and when the kids are supposed to go again, since I’m pretty sure I made those appointments also (April?).

I hate it when I’m thoroughly caught being disorganized, as Rainbird always points out these simple scheduling conflicts wouldn’t come up in the first place if I were paying better attention. I never used to be that way; I used to juggle every employee’s schedule in addition to my own. Damnit all anyway, the appointment was scheduled for the exact same time as Piss-boy’s conference. Damnit, damnit, damnit!!!!!!! How could I be so irresponsible? I suppose Rainbird could go in my place and I could just go to the dentist.

Ever have a day where things just fall into place? It would seem so far, today is my day, after hanging on hold for sometime, the dentist office said they have an opening for tomorrow at 7:45 AM which works out too perfect for me. Funny how that all works out. I did also check on Fredo and Piss-boy’s appointments and Fredo’s might have to be changed to an after school appointment but I’m going to wait a little longer before deciding that since they aren’t going until April.

I Once Read

That raising a teenager is like nailing jello to a tree. Preteens or "tweens" are little different.

Pissboy throws all his clothes around his room, and yeah that makes me crazy, but not nearly as much as all the paper on the floor.

He draws and leaves paper scattered all over the floor, both finished drawings and scraps of paper. I'm getting annoyed. We bought him a desk for his room, but he doesn't seem to want to use that. Anyway, this morning he comes down stairs wearing a shirt that looks like he pulled it out his ass; it was horribly wrinkled and I know I didn't wash it from the last time he wore it. I told him, nicely, to change his shirt. He grumbled that there was nothing wrong with it. Then I commented on his room telling him that he needs to get it cleaned up when he gets home from school so I can clean it (he's the one with allergies) and he starts griping about wanting a day off.

One might consider with today being allowance day, he'd be a little more receptive? Just a smidge?

A couple weeks ago Piss-boy's teacher called the house talking about how great he's been doing in school, even got an 83 on his states test, which was very impressive. Each child was given a blank map, and told to write in the names of each state plus its capital. Thankfully, spelling didn't count for him (he's horrible at spelling). I was impressed because while I might know most of the Capitals, I haven't a clue where they are located on a map for the most part--I can get close but I find some of the Southern states and Eastern state locations confusing.

In any event, I really expected the teacher would NOT request a conference, so I was surprised when he brought home a paper saying there will be one for him. Piss-boy is worried but honestly, I'm not or maybe I should be? I know with Fredo, the teacher and I talk a lot so since she's got nearly 60 students and only one day for conferences (kindergarten am and pm), we're passing on conferences. I'm sure there are more students that she doesn't have contact with their parents and needs to speak with them for various issues. I told her I would leave it up to her and so far, he's brought home nothing indicating such a conference.

Meanwhile, Fredo is home sick (again) today and missing his field trip. Hopefully with cold/flu season diminishing he won't be missing as much school. He was up often during the night coughing and sniffling--I really feel bad for him because he wanted to go. I really hope next year things will be better for him.

Finally, Rainbird has nothing lately to piss me off, wonder how long that will last. He's planning us to take a short trip maybe when the kids are out of school; I'm fine with that and think it be fun, but I wonder how long it will before my inlaws start saying, "I wish we could go (where ever), I'd like to see it."

Well I Certainly Started Something

Call me blonde, but I never expected to start such a stir by posting some rants about the Welfare Debate board That said, I'm leaving the comments because honestly I believe in freedom of speech, even if I don't agree with it or they with mine.

In any event things turned a little personal when there was comment made by someone (do I have to say it was anonymous?!) referring to the "name" I've given my older son "Piss-boy". I felt it was a little bit of cheap shot, but I guess they didn't get the Fredo reference otherwise they would have been up in arms about that also.

Not my problem.

One comment that Jennamum left (thank you for at least signing it with a name) I would like to respond to because I think she misunderstood the thrust of the rant, as did Michelle. It's sarcasm, and something I use quite often in my blog at least a good 90% when I rant about the kids pissing me off, or something Rainbird has done. I am not taking a side for or against Welfare, I'm only trying to point out the lack of compassion and overall humanity because it's lacking on that board in a major way. You cannot sum up anyone's life hypothetical or not, into a few short sentences, and have them include standard phrases like, "they didn't plan enough." Not everything in life can be planned for, shit happens and I truly believe to say that or to make other comments like, "you should sell your car, possessions, quit having children (okay, I kinda do agree with that one), move to different place, or you shouldn't have pets," shows a severe lack of compassion.

Sure it's easy to make pithy little comments like that, but it's much harder to come up with real solutions to the problem and they're not offering anything real. People on that board are put down on a regular basis, and some are just trying to make ends meet, they are working, and struggling to survive. The level of sarcasm that exists on that board in particular stoops to levels that are nearly diabolical. To the point to where nothing can be said without someone firing off a sarcastic reply. It just goes too over the top when they say children don't need birthday or holiday gifts, or even a birthday cake.

There is no welfare debate on that board, anytime someone asks the question what you would do to change things, the thread dies. It's much easier to take shots at someone than it is to say what should be done to change things and rationally discuss the pros and cons of such changes. It requires give and take in the discussion, and concessions that yeah, since some people do live without transportation, they should be allowed cars, people that live in city's or some suburbs should maybe be given vouchers for public transportation. They don't do that there, as though they are afraid if they make a single concession their whole argument is lost.

That's just fucked up in the head.

People on welfare certainly should be allowed to go to a friend's house for dinner and have a cocktail if they are offered one by the host. If I had a friend that was on welfare I would certainly invite them over, I think it's a nice thing to do (since they were likely invited before they were on welfare and I consider them a friend to begin with). I would also buy them a bag of groceries and include some goodies for their children (if they have any), I'm sure some would be pissed at me if said that on the board. Some would surely comment that I shouldn't be buying them goodies at all for whatever reason that would fit their whim.

One final thought before publishing. I've read time and time that people on the board will not debate personal stories because (the excuse) people get offended. Well, I personally find it offensive when the same people use their own "personal stories" which are nothing more than observations, to point out welfare excesses. When it's pointed out that not all abuse the system they defend their personal observations with more observations or other anecdotes about how they live without such and such, every one should.