CAUTION: Health Care Reform. I just can't stand the callous way we speak about others.

Caution: You are about to get a whole crap ton of my opinion on this matter. Proceed at your own peril and understand that this is absolutely a built up frustrated rant on the subject and chances are, something will disagree with you.

You've been warned. 

ON MY MIND
Lot's of people talking about Obamacare today. It saddens me that issues of the constitution, political views, and who everyone is going to vote for in the upcoming election aside...what really strikes me about a lot of the comments I have heard today is what sounds like a lack of humanity, a lack of love for our neighbor, a viewpoint that seems to care little if anything for those less fortunate than us.

THE WAY I SEE IT (Seriously, WARNING and sorry about any language you might find offensive, I'm feeling offended too.)
I cannot believe at the end of the day, any "hard working american" should complain about helping someone in need receive healthcare. How jaded have we become that we are now a society that sees thiefs and pickpockets when we should see say single parents, students, the elderly, and all other types of the thousands of Americans who have matter of fact, worked their asses off and still may for multiple reasons receive no healthcare.

And since I am being judged severely for feeling the way that I do and have been called many unkind things, I will say what is on my heart, I Am Ashamed for us, that we appear to see and care for only what will benefit us, and refusing to look past ourselves. My "hard earned money" has always and will continue to go to many things I don't support or agree with, and if I could choose among them, I would definitely choose to support and provide healthcare for those that are not as fortunate as I.

We live in a society where we are sold the classic dream of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We "earn" what we have and people who don't have what we have clearly haven't worked hard enough for it and don't deserve it. Well, while I'm sure like anything else, there are people who fall into this category, for the most part, that's just entitled crap. Anyone who's lived a life of hard, grueling work and maybe still were struggling below the poverty line and didn't receive health care or any of the other benefits "slackers didn't deserve"; can I get an AMEN.

(And seriously if I hear one more person who has never in their entire lives really wanted for anything and certainly never had to live off food stamps talk about how others should just live off food stamps.....AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. Please enlighten me on how are some kind of expert on the subject...)

Not only is it crap, but it's just plain ignorant for anyone to think that we all have the exact same opportunities. As it was once explained to me, even if you started out literally shoveling shit to get where you are today, someone let you and payed you to shovel their shit, so don't think for one instant that you did it "all by yourself". To live in a world where inequalities don't exist and all you have to do is "work hard" is a privilege not accessible to all.

DON'T GET ME WRONG, I UNDERSTAND, IT'S MY MONEY TOO.
I understand that it's your money, that it's my money. I understand that you worked hard for it, that I worked hard for it. I understand that we are weary of being taken advantage of by crooks and con-artists and I understand that we are worried about our own loved ones and taking care of them. But please, don't talk to me about your views on Obamacare if you are going to insist on talking in only monetary terms or showing me how much of a constitutional expert you are and leaving out the bit about the people we are discussing being living, breathing, human beings with certain unalienable rights. (In my opinion, good health and subsequently health care is one of them).

Call me a communist, socialist, idealist, child, hippie, whatever the new trendy term to throw around is when someone tries to speak up for the actual people involved in the discussion who already have less than us who are privileged enough to have our voice heard; until you have a better solution, they can have that small portion of my money to live a healthier happier life, I give it gladly and freely.

Maybe we should all stop and just love each other a little more.

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Where To Live, That Is The Question...

Hey, if your looking for something to read, here you are! Welcome. ;-D


Background:
I'm currently in the middle of  a long ongoing application process for the Teach For America (TFA) corps. As I rush to provide TFA with the information they need about me and cross my fingers on making it through and being offered a position,  I am forced to consider huge possibly life changing decisions I don't always feel totally equipped to make. Like if we don't end up staying in the Seattle area, where might we be willing to live for at least the next 2 years (within the offered regions of TFA of course).


If you have no idea what TFA is, consider checking it out at their website, http://www.teachforamerica.org/ It's good stuff!

The task is to pick 7 "preferred regions" after my highly preferred "Seattle-Tacoma" region (which I really hope means Seattle....) One of these 7 regions needs to be one of TFA's priority regions. I also get to pick 2 regions I would really prefer to not live if I can at all help it, but I find that's a lot easier to decide. ;-) My husband says he doesn't really care and will go anywhere although he does seem marginally interested in the East Coast area...so it's mostly up to me...I am also encouraged to rank them by preference...

Oh and I have to decide by Monday....

So, I thought as I wade through massive amounts of info trying to make semi-informed decisions while also trying to go with my gut, I would share for anyone who cares to follow along a little during this overwhelming process.

Quick notes: I'm looking for massive amounts of info without having to scour millions of websites, so yes, I am using Wikipedia a lot. Also, this is clearly not even close to all of the information I am gathering, just a short jaunt through my mind as I weed through all of this info. :-D

Task #1: Priority Regions, Pick One.

TFA's priority regions are.....

-Detroit: I think I'm putting Detroit down as a place I'd rather not live...idk just a gut feeling. :-P So one down.

-New Mexico: I was born in and lived in New Mexico as a child, but my question is where in New Mexico? Trust me, it matters. I have a love/hate relationship with the general are and I'm also not sure my husband would be crazy about it, it gets really really hot...Hmmm....

-Mississippi Delta:.....For whatever reason, I'm not sure I'm feeling it. So that's a no for now I think.

-Memphis: Intriguing, but really only because I like country music and not because I know the first thing about it or even think it sounds particularly nice. 

-Oklahoma: OK, so Oklahoma...Well I don't know, maybe...what do I know about it really...well there's the play, love that, been in it, great song...and yeah...that's pretty much it. I wanna say tornadoes? 

Well, just fun fun let's start here and see what we can find out about Oklahoma shall we? 

Discover the Excellence: Nice, I like the confident intro.

First, let's look at the state as a whole, whatta we got....

-Tornado Alley (Aha I knew it!) 

While Oklahoma state seems to have a nice sturdy and growing economy, it is touched by approximately 54 tornadoes a year....I find this confusing, but maybe the two are really unconnected. Also,  FIFTY-FOUR?! My God, how is that possible? I've never been in a tornado, how do I feel about this....well maybe because I've only ever seen one on the news, I find I'm less than worried about it...I mean people live there right, so you must get used to it or something....

-Bible Belt: Largely Evangelical Christian, very conservative....but there are more registered Democrats than any other political party.....well, that's interesting.

- State meal: fried okra, squash, cornbread, barbecue pork, biscuits, sausage and gravy, grits, corn, strawberries, chicken fried steak, pecan pie, and black eyed peas.......Wait is that all one meal?! Also, don't get me wrong, it all sounds delicious but you could be sound anymore Southern? I mean really. lol

-State Rock Song: Do You Realize by The Flaming Lips....States have official rock songs? Who decides these things? And why is this suddenly really important to me?! haha!

ALRIGHTY so not too scared off yet, let's see Where Exactly in Oklahoma are we talking? 

-Looks like Oklahoma City and Tulsa for the most part.

OK Oklahoma City, the capital, lets check it out.

Nice Looking City, Many Great Museums, Nice Parks, Great Zoo, looks nice so far....you know besides the tornado thing...

-Found this little Wiki tidbit 

Oklahoma City has a severe weather season from March through August, especially during April and May. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year. Oklahoma City has become one of the most tornado prone cities in the United States.^[9] Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by nine violent tornadoes, eight F4's and one F5.^[9] On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby communities suffered one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F-5 on the Fujita Scale, with wind speeds topping 318 mph (510 km/h). This tornado was part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.

Sweet Goodness, what is the human fatality rate for these suckers? Gah I don't know...I don't know if I'd wanna live there long term anyway...

Notes On Oklahoma City Crime: 

Active-The Bloods and the Crips as well as the infamous South Locos who opened fire at police in a shopping mall in 2007....OK...good.....Also, there's the still-unsolved serial murder case that dates from at least as early as 1976 and as late as 1986. During that time, at least three women were horribly dismembered and parts of their bodies left throughout an area between downtown and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Oklahoma City Police believe they were being watched by the killer, as they found body parts in areas they had already searched.

Now I'm just freaking myself out...all places, perhaps metropolitan areas in particular, have some fairly serious crime issues if you're looking for them right?...Right?...

OK...Let's move on and see what TFA's partner university there is...(the university I might receive a Masters in Education at). 

Sticking with Oklahoma City at the moment, that would give us University of Oklahoma (OU).

I love college campuses and even though I wouldn't be an 'incoming freshman' and thus not the target audience or recipient of a lot of campus stuff, I feel like I get a good feel for a university when I check out their "Campus Life Sections". 

Came across this fun, feel-good video about great things to be involved in on campus. 

http://youtu.be/dO-kZ_FeRFY

It looks like a beautiful campus.

Bizzell Garden 

East Entrance to Student Union 

Now that has some possibility.
And I think this post is officially long enough. So let us leave it at that for now. If you actually read this whole thing, thanks for that. lol  


To Be Continued (Very Soon) With Another Fun New Place ;-P 


HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Yarn Meltdown/Rant/Learning Process

CH 55, SL ST IN CH 1, DC IN NEXT SC REP TC IN LAST 3 SC, CH 1, SL ST, DTC....BLAH BLAH BLAH

Nope this rant has nothing to do with the obviously foreign language that all crochet patterns are written in, that part I got off my chest a lot faster. Now for my Yarn Meltdown that really has no point except that learning stuff is hard...so yeah...there you go.

 

 LEARNING IS PAINFUL, MAYBE I'M A MASOCHIST...

As a beginning crocheter, I am getting really excited about the holiday season. I have been compiling lists of loved one's special requests, trying out different patterns (because I always think I am a more advanced crocheter than I really am yet), and trying to decide what yarn to buy. I always get really excited when I walk into a craft store and see that beautiful perfectly organized and yet charmingly hodgepodgey section of yarn or on a perfect day, a store basically devoted to the product. It's so colorful and fun and magical and exciting and and and....well..... OK so it's a little overwhelming.

Once I get over the massive manically happy mood swing that comes with staring down that rainbow wonderland, it again dawns on me that I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Suddenly those beautiful stacks look like they are about to crumble on top of my head and the rows and rows of choices start to close in on me set to smother...

There's just too many choices, and that's exhilarating for a half a second, but then you have to actually decide on what to buy. As a novice, the possibility of abject failure is pretty high. What weight of yarn do you use? Bulky, Medium, Thin? Is a yarn with a weight labeled 5 medium or bulky? Is that what that number really means anyway? Why is there no weight number at 'Weaver Works'? What is this stitch per inch crap? Why is the crochet needle on the package not measured in millimeters when the crochet needles I bought are? What size did I need for that project? Does it matter what size the project said? Why didn't I bring any of this info in with me today? If I buy that sparkly holiday themed yarn and makes something for myself will my middle school kids make fun of me? If I make someone else a gift from it will they say they like it but secretly hate it, laugh about it behind my back and only take it out and wear it when I visit? Is that REALLY baby Alpaca? (It must be for the price....). Why does the employee working on the day I come in always turn out to be a knitter who claims she isn't that helpful picking out yarn for crochet or an expert crocheter that explains everything to me in rapid Greek, smiling unhelpfully and then walking away? Why am I too chicken to ask her to repeat herself um...repetitively and slowly like she is explaining to a child who just learned how to say their name?

Don't get me wrong, I have done my homework, I diligently read my "Crochet Patterns For Dummies" book, Googled all of my questions and have watched about a million YouTube videos on the subject and it always makes sense right then. I'm just never ever prepared. I will be out for a completely different reason and suddenly run into the best yarn shop I have been in yet and everything I thought I'd learned leaks out of my ears as I set my greedy hands on the first soft looking yarn ball. I of course never have all my meticulous anal retentive notes about exactly what I want on hand, so I end up roaming the isles, touching everything,, painstakingly choosing the kinds and colors I THINK I remember and panicking and putting every last one  back. (This usually happens 4 or 5 times before I finally give up the ghost, shrug sheepishly at the employee that by this time is watching me suspiciously and leave the store a complete crochet disgrace.) Clearly this isn't the most intelligent way to go about all this and I am hoping that all of this agonizing practice is making perfect... :)