Note to self:
10″ of snow in a day + 4″ of snow that night + below zero wind chill = a snow day
No work for the tyrant.
it has snowed quite a bit today. we have a solid 6″ on the ground. there is absolutely nothing like waking up to a blanket of snow covering all the eye can see. everything is quite. even cars make less noise. it is a beauty i have not seen many times in my life.
and for the people at work who you give a gift to represent that you think they are a fine coworker… how about you go right up to them, shake their hand and tell them what you like about working with them? to me, that would be a refreshing act of giving.
the holiday gift exchange ritual seems to be smoke and mirrors. you go and visit people you normally don’t see of which only some that you actually care about. you catch up on what’s happening, eat some food, exchange gifts and leave until the next major event. everyone leaves with an illusion of caring and love because they went home with a prize from you.
if we stopped spending money on all the customary gifts we could get our loved ones some really great things that we know they would want because we actually know who there are.
i am 30 and i have no family. i have been through a biological “mother” and “father” who ditched me, a real mother who went kinda crazy before she suddenly died, three sets of grandparents, a brother who went with the biological “mother”, about 10 cousins, 6 sets of aunts and uncles, and at least 4 nieces/nephews.
since my mom died there is an aunt and a cousin that are trying to be present in my life. the aunt is a hard worker and did what she could to help out my mom with intermitted deception and ousting from the family will/estate. the cousin was more like a daughter to my mom than i was. she had more “normal” issues. she was very girly and needed some one to rely on. they got along well and i was glad she could give my mom what i could not. i did not feel much when i was a young person, i was pretty numb. i on the rare occasion i tried to explain myself i was horribly misunderstood.
anyway, i’ve known these people since i was a kid but they are complete strangers to me. we see life in a different way. they tend to think money and standardized american christian views should be the driving force in everyones life. they take one or two instances in a persons life and form their opinion of them.
i really enjoy being around people who live and think differently than me as long as there is healthy debate and mutual respect for differences. my partner and i will be spending the holiday with these folks. i admire any efforts they have to keep me in their life but struggle with the way they live there lives because it casts judgements on myself and others.
the holidays bring me dyslexic emotions. with the efforts to get into the christmas spirit i expose myself to pain. i have been and will always feel alone. this is not to be mistaken with lonliness (which i do certainly feel on occasion). this aloneness comes from my experience of “family” mentioned in the first paragraph. most people are unaware of my aloneness. my partner is becoming all to familiar with it. he is the only one who knows how much i cry.
there are a lot of upsides to feeling and being alone: you are independent because no one cares for you, capable of making a life for yourself bacause no one is there for you to depend on, confident because you have no one but yourself to let down. the downside to being alone is that the lonely times are brutal. i feel very lonely during the holidays.
i read a story on cnn.com about the passing of legislation to allow for space tourism. this is completely and utterly amazing to me. it got very little press. no front page attention. if i have a million bucks i can have my own joy ride in space (note to self: get a million bucks). to me this is walking on the moon big. but i’m sure the evening news here in the midwest was busy covering the 10% chance of rain/snow mix or how to pick out the right flat screen tv for your loved one for the holiday or new footage the pacers punching out a druken fan who was probably just looking for the pisser.
think about it…we no longer have to be professional astronauts to go to space. corporations can now investigate capitalistic opportunites in space. who do you think will be the first in space? will justin timerlake finally get to go? will starbucks set up on the space station? will they have drive thru service?
the final frontier is here people. it’s go time.
me and so many others work hard and bust their asses just to keep money in the bank. then we get our paycheck and are forced by the cheapest things just to meet our needs. this is not a complaint about taxes either. i’m fine paying taxes. i’m not fine what my tax dollars do. i think a high school student who took personal finance could balance the budget better than the yahoos in office. i’m not fine that the congress can stroke it with one hand while giving themselves a pay raise with the other. the everyday man and woman bust ass just to make ends meet. i have come along way and don’t have to scrape much like most people do…i don’t have enough to save but i have enough to live. i don’t live in any delusion that i might have to someday work two jobs just to get by because i have been downsized, resized, overtax, underpaid, sued, crippled or god only knows what. i, like most, have a negative net worth. american citizens are like individual failing businesses except we can’t go to congress for garanteed loan money to bail us out like big business can.do we individually have to go public on the stock market to make ends meet. it works for big business so why not for us.
ralph nader says we need more civic education and more regular folk need to run for office. the idea of running for office certainly interests me. i have no idea what office i would run for but my campaign slogan would be along the lines of: “Elect Tyra Robertson because it’s time the workin’ folk got a raise.”
today i’m at work. all the work is done but somehow i am not able to go home.
i heard someone say once that they thought the four day work week would revolutionize our miserable attitudes while boosting the economy. i think most people could get there work done in four days…especially if it meant having a three day weekend.
