i'm not unpatriotic. i'm not anti-american. i just have problems with understanding how things are going in this country of ours.
after a discussion with a good friend of mine, i was told that if i didn't like this country, i should just leave. unfortunately, it's not that easy. somtimes i wish it were.
i have great troubles with the way this country handles situations. we don't have the liberty of "free speech" that it seems. when one person says something that another does not like (typically with a large amount of money involved), it causes great divide.
with the announcement of rosie leaving 'the view', i was told "good riddance". for me, i see her as a way of expressing free speech. others view her as shouting her position. i thought that was one of the things that was supposed to make our country so great - - we are supposed to be allowed to express our feelings and views. i respect her passion for those things that are near to her heart. thankfully, i agree with many of her positions.
why are thousands, perhaps millions, of our own children living in poverty day to day, while others are getting richer by the second? why are thousands of our military dying for an unjust war? why don't all of our citizens have affordable health care available to them? why do some politicians use scare tactics to put themselves into power?
i can't help but wonder if democracy and capitalism are failing our country.
i've started to realize that american is based upon two great principles:
1) money
2) hypocracy
george orwell, it seems that you had things right....only your timing was off a couple of decades.
25 April 2007
19 April 2007
spreading west?
new hampshire's governor said that he will approve legislation making civil unions legal in his state. "i believe it is a matter of conscience, fairness and preventing discrimination", he said. this would be the forth state to allow civil unions, plus massachusetts allowing same sex marriage.
i've said over and over, call it what you want. and i believe that many gay couples would say the same thing. it boils down to equal rights. if politicians want to call it civil unions, that's fine by me.
this being said, i truly feel that i might see equal rights for same sex couples within my lifetime. sure, the northeast tends to be much more liberal than the rest of the country as a whole, but it has to begin somewhere. perhaps illinois will be the first midwest state to adopt similar legislation.
5 down. 45 to go.
i've said over and over, call it what you want. and i believe that many gay couples would say the same thing. it boils down to equal rights. if politicians want to call it civil unions, that's fine by me.
this being said, i truly feel that i might see equal rights for same sex couples within my lifetime. sure, the northeast tends to be much more liberal than the rest of the country as a whole, but it has to begin somewhere. perhaps illinois will be the first midwest state to adopt similar legislation.
5 down. 45 to go.
10 April 2007
even and odd
this post is dedicated to my single and fabulous friends.
i realized today, when teaching a math lesson on even and odd numbers, that society teaches at a young age that it is normal to be paired up. as an educator, the most simplistic way to teach students the difference between even numbers and odd numbers is to use manipulatives to show pairs. when something has a "partner", it is called even. when one is alone, unpartnered, it is called odd.
it stuck me immediately. even the pure word of someone or something that stands alone, without something to be coupled up with is referred to as "odd". even being in a happy, partnered relationship, i don't view someone standing alone as strange, abnormal, or bizarre as the thesaurus puts it.
so from now on, in room 113, we have even and fabulous numbers.
i realized today, when teaching a math lesson on even and odd numbers, that society teaches at a young age that it is normal to be paired up. as an educator, the most simplistic way to teach students the difference between even numbers and odd numbers is to use manipulatives to show pairs. when something has a "partner", it is called even. when one is alone, unpartnered, it is called odd.
it stuck me immediately. even the pure word of someone or something that stands alone, without something to be coupled up with is referred to as "odd". even being in a happy, partnered relationship, i don't view someone standing alone as strange, abnormal, or bizarre as the thesaurus puts it.
so from now on, in room 113, we have even and fabulous numbers.
09 April 2007
deep tissue, deep pain
i couldn't wait to lay on the table and get my relaxing, stress-relieving massage. day 1 of the cruise i signed up for my 50 minute deep tissue massage. the knots in my back, acquired from the weeks leading up to my vacation throbbed at the anticipation of having asian hands work them out. the beautiful canadian sitting behind the desk also led up to anticipation of visiting the mandara spa again! steve, short as he may have been, popped up around the ship in his black pants and solid button down with large silver A/X belt buckle accessory, each time giving me a small twinge down there.
ahem. back to the massage. i meet joan (pronounced joann), my therapist who would provide my service. i should have known it wouldn't be as relaxing as i thought when she asked if i was ready for my torture. once in my boxers laying face down on the table, i realized that this is the type of massage that professional athletes get to relieve muscle tension. it was too late. joan started my massage. at one point she told me that i took the first place aware on this cruise for tightest knots. gee, thanks. pain. it hurt greatly as she tried her hardest to work out these knots. realizing that i was tensing my back, i knew that these knots weren't going away completely. before i was told to turn over, she applies a lotion to my back. it was cool, soothing. after i flipped over, it began to get warm. did she just put icy hot all over my back?!
after finishing, it was her turn. her turn to sell me a product that i NEEDED. it was the lotion/oil combination that would release the lactic acid lingering in my back. the knots were going nowhere, she told me, unless i used this product to get rid of the lactic acids. at a mere $65, they would disappear. no thank you, i told her.
but, in addition to my massage, i told her that i have experienced weight gain. due to the chicago winter, holidays, etc. i had put on my hibernation weight. she told me that perhaps it was my metabolism that needed to be examined. she provided me with a complimentary BMI with the dietitian on board. again, no thanks. those are numbers and results i do not need to know. i realize that there is too much fat on my body and i need to do something to get rid of it. however, i do not need numbers mocking me to tell me that.
my plan: buy some icy hot. start working out. stop eating crap.
ahem. back to the massage. i meet joan (pronounced joann), my therapist who would provide my service. i should have known it wouldn't be as relaxing as i thought when she asked if i was ready for my torture. once in my boxers laying face down on the table, i realized that this is the type of massage that professional athletes get to relieve muscle tension. it was too late. joan started my massage. at one point she told me that i took the first place aware on this cruise for tightest knots. gee, thanks. pain. it hurt greatly as she tried her hardest to work out these knots. realizing that i was tensing my back, i knew that these knots weren't going away completely. before i was told to turn over, she applies a lotion to my back. it was cool, soothing. after i flipped over, it began to get warm. did she just put icy hot all over my back?!
after finishing, it was her turn. her turn to sell me a product that i NEEDED. it was the lotion/oil combination that would release the lactic acid lingering in my back. the knots were going nowhere, she told me, unless i used this product to get rid of the lactic acids. at a mere $65, they would disappear. no thank you, i told her.
but, in addition to my massage, i told her that i have experienced weight gain. due to the chicago winter, holidays, etc. i had put on my hibernation weight. she told me that perhaps it was my metabolism that needed to be examined. she provided me with a complimentary BMI with the dietitian on board. again, no thanks. those are numbers and results i do not need to know. i realize that there is too much fat on my body and i need to do something to get rid of it. however, i do not need numbers mocking me to tell me that.
my plan: buy some icy hot. start working out. stop eating crap.
secret society
they've existed for years. groups of individuals with a similar cause getting together in private. and they, without doubt, continue today. they even existed on our cruise.
each day, we received the 'freestyle daily', a listing of the days' events and activities. on permanent agenda were two groups. their listed names would be known by few. meeting each day at 6:00pm in the tech styles room would be 'friends of bill w'. those in The Program would know to meet each other for support and could continue to encourage its members to "keep coming back!".
next on tap, at 7:00pm in the champagne bar, were 'friends of dorothy'. i thought it was an urban legend. would there really be other showtune-loving, judy-adoring, rainbow fans? now this was something your frat boy spring breaker would NOT be attending!
but, we were also hoping that this would be our way to finally strike up a conversation with "the gays" on the ship. we saw them at the beginning of our trip while mustering. a smile was exchanged and a hello said before returning to our own respective staterooms.
we seemed to always run into them. they were typically found in the casino at the roulette table, throwing their many chips onto the red and black numbered squares. or they could be found leaving the stardust lounge after an evening performance. we tried. finally, it was over. when we saw them in the restaurant after just befriending another couple, we knew that we were done with them. we would continue on our own path of the yellow brick road.
unfortunately, we found no other friends of dorothy's to call our own.
each day, we received the 'freestyle daily', a listing of the days' events and activities. on permanent agenda were two groups. their listed names would be known by few. meeting each day at 6:00pm in the tech styles room would be 'friends of bill w'. those in The Program would know to meet each other for support and could continue to encourage its members to "keep coming back!".
next on tap, at 7:00pm in the champagne bar, were 'friends of dorothy'. i thought it was an urban legend. would there really be other showtune-loving, judy-adoring, rainbow fans? now this was something your frat boy spring breaker would NOT be attending!
but, we were also hoping that this would be our way to finally strike up a conversation with "the gays" on the ship. we saw them at the beginning of our trip while mustering. a smile was exchanged and a hello said before returning to our own respective staterooms.
we seemed to always run into them. they were typically found in the casino at the roulette table, throwing their many chips onto the red and black numbered squares. or they could be found leaving the stardust lounge after an evening performance. we tried. finally, it was over. when we saw them in the restaurant after just befriending another couple, we knew that we were done with them. we would continue on our own path of the yellow brick road.
unfortunately, we found no other friends of dorothy's to call our own.
freestyle cruising
we just returned from our caribbean cruise. it was nice, relaxing, everything that a vacation is supposed to be. we were looking forward to the 'freestyle cruising' that norwegian cruise lines offer. unlike other cruise lines, there is no set dining time therefore guests are able to choose from the array of dining locations. it was basically a free-for-all. there was the buffet, the main dining room, and 8 other locations that cruisers could choose from, some requiring a small dining fee. we quickly realized that 'freestyle cruising' was a lot like a particular discount airline carrier that prides itself on a cattle-call seating system.
(interesting....their colors seem to resemble one another)
the food. it wasn't that great. unless you were willing to pay that small dining fee to eat at one of the premium restaurants. the buffet seemed to be a rotating smoargasboard of leftovers from the previous meal. a beef concoction at lunch turned into a cajun beef stew at dinner. salad dressings were runny, as to make them last longer. and breakfast never changed.
and drinks. sometimes a boy just wants a strawberry margarita. i didn't request the souvenir glass though! add $2 more to the tab for that, requested or not. i finally realized i had to ask for a regular glass (topped off with more tequila) for the cheaper price and without all the norwegian flare.
thank goodness for our balcony stateroom though! i don't think i would have made it the entire week without it!
(interesting....their colors seem to resemble one another)and drinks. sometimes a boy just wants a strawberry margarita. i didn't request the souvenir glass though! add $2 more to the tab for that, requested or not. i finally realized i had to ask for a regular glass (topped off with more tequila) for the cheaper price and without all the norwegian flare.
thank goodness for our balcony stateroom though! i don't think i would have made it the entire week without it!
03 April 2007
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