Pond Scum

This post is not about being homeless or poor.  The only possible tie in is that I hope this man will be homeless now.

Officials in Florida on Monday filed an obscenity charge against the author of a self-published, nationally carried how-to guide for pedophiles.

See what I mean. 
Polk County sheriff's deputies arrested and took Philip Ray Greaves II into custody while he was in Colorado at his home where they charged him with a violation of Florida's obscenity law.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said his office was able to arrest Greaves on Florida charges because Greaves sold and mailed his book through US mail, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct," directly to undercover Polk deputies.

"He very proudly sold us his personal copy," Officer Judd told the Associated Press. "I was outraged by the content. It was clearly a manifesto on how to sexually batter children ... You just can't believe how absolutely disgusting it was."

Apparently is was the last book from the author - which I am sorry to say seems to indicate that all those published have been sold and are accessible by the general public.

Author Greaves is being charged in Florida with distribution of obscene material depicting minors engaged in conduct harmful to minors.

Proof is in the Christmas Pudding

President Obama announced the parameters of his "deal" with Republicans to extending the Bush era tax cuts, acknowledging that he still strongly opposes the extension of cuts for the very wealthy, but that letting that get in the way of cuts for the middle class would be wrong.

"As much as the political wisdom may dictate fighting over solving problems, it would be the wrong thing to do," to delay resolution until the next year, Obama said.

The "deal" includes...

-2-year extension of Bush-era tax rates all - including the wealthy
-13-month extension of unemployment insurance
-2 percentage point decrease in the payroll tax for one year.

As a FYI  The cost overall in lost government revenue is at least $450 billion in 2011 (which is a bit higher loss than the same type of stimulus package from 2009).

Of course Pelosi went on record to say that she was not in agreement with the president, and Reid, with furrowed brow reveled that he would be in attendance when this is discussed on the morrow. 

Democratic sources say many lefty lawmakers object to a new provision on the estate taxes also included.   On inheritances greater than $5 million dollars, the rate would be 35 percent, so those who have ailing rich grandparents may wish to speed them up a bit as inheritances will be less in the new year.

"Bush tax cuts? Not Without Unemployment Package in Exchange" says Obama



Sorry, Nothing Available With Santa.  This is Boxcar Bunny

 The Senate held two procedural votes on separate Democratic measures designed to extend the George W.-era tax cuts for middle income wage earners. The first vote being for those earning under $250,000 and the second one being for those making under $1 million per year. Both failed to get the needed 60 votes, both only received 53.
In the House there was a minimum of trouble, they were able to pass a temporary extension earlier this week. But in the Senate, a handful of Democrats joined the Republicans, and to a man, the Senate Republicans blocked the measure that would have prevented the tax cuts on those earning under $250,000 from going away at the end of the year. Several senators are expecting that President Obama will finally agree to a deal with the Republicans sometime near the end of next week. The most probable of plans is one that would keep the tax cuts in place for everyone for between one and three years. This this is probably the only compromise that Republicans and some Democrats who think the economy would suffer will accept.


The Hostages
In exchange for giving in to their demands, Obama will probably ask for the Senate Republicans cooperation in getting both the nuclear arms treaty, and some sort of bill that would extend unemployment benefits. The President said “It is absolutely essential — to our hardworking middle-class families and to our economy — to make sure that their taxes don’t go up on January 1st.” He went on to also suggest that the extension of unemployment insurance are already part of an ongoing negotiation with Senate Republicans. The President also said, “I continue to believe that it makes no sense to hold tax cuts for the middle class hostage to permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans,especially when those high-income tax cuts would cost an additional $700 billion that we don’t have.” But the Republicans have also found another hostage, in the unemployed of the nation.


Mean while Delay Tactics By Pelosi May be delayed themselves as Friday is her hair appointment day, and we really, really want her to not miss that important event.


There is no evidence that these tax cuts created even a single job.
“Back when Bush was pushing his tax cut packages through Congress in 2001 and 2003, supporters said the cuts (which weren’t balanced with spending reductions) would initiate an era in which the American economy would grow so robustly the nation would be running a surplus of more than $5 trillion at the scheduled expiration date. U.S. now runs a deficit of about $1.3 trillion.


On the one hand they want to provide $700 billion in tax cuts for the wealthiest, but not pay for them. On the other hand they demand that unemployment benefits for the middle class be paid for. It’s kind of like someone on a diet ordering a Diet Coke and a Big Mac simultaneously.


Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said, “I’m trying to figure out how anyone can keep a straight face and say they’re for deficit reduction while they insist on a permanent tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, completely unpaid for,” The rich have HAD their tax cuts the whole time, where are those jobs they supposedly are going to create with their extra wealth they have been sitting on?


So do I or don't I get a break for Christmas with unemployment benefits.  I was wondering if I should pay the bills or by food.


Mr Obama, please let me know.

Second Verce, Same as the First

"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies to our health care system." --in remarks after a health care roundtable with physicians, nurses and health care providers, Washington, D.C., July 20, 2009
Has President Obama Earned Another Term?

Quinnipiac released a brand new poll that says Americans think President Obama does not deserve to be given a second chance, or a second term.

46% of you who responded answered, “Yes.” Another 26% answered, “Yes, but only if he does more to support the LGBT community in the future.” Only 26% responded with a form of “No.” and sometimes "heck no"

How’s that for LGBT apathy? I think we’re proving the pundits wrong.

Does President Obama deserve a second term?
Yes. [ 46% (184 votes)
No. [ 16% (65 votes)
Yes, but only if he does more to support the LGBT community in the future.- 26% 102 votes
No, he's proven he won't support the LGBT community in the future.-10% (41 votes)
Other [ 2% (8 votes)

I personally think that there is no way he could have met the hype. It is like going to a movie that everyone had been weeks professing to adore. There is such a huge building up of expectations that how could anything or anyone live up? Now that the two years are over and he is solidly in the middle of his term, has had a chance to get experience behind him and pick his battled, what is he picking? What is happening differently?

Nothing. Sorry.

2 4 6 0 1

Rent to own is the bomb. What I mean by that is it has been a bomb for me and my family - a bomb as in it sucks. My wife would shake her head at me and tell me to choose another word (sucks being a vile, sucky word for her), but sucks it does and has for the past three plus years.

I originally thought, on that peaceful fall day three plus years ago, it would be a good idea after we lost our house to sign up and pay a significant down to be in a position to buy the house after a few years.

Nope.

Through no ones fault but my own, I am today just as poor as I was three years ago. I have become the Jean Valjean of hard-up writers. Instead of stealing bread for my family I will be the poor man on the street who sleeps on the corner next to an outlet in order to update his blog. I don’t steal anything to eat. I just need power to blog.

Three years later the price on my house is $75,000. more than any other house in the neighborhood. We have had to pay out for a new fridge, new windows, new and decidedly less soggy carpet and a partial new roof. Rent to ownership means that we assume responsibility for normal wear and tear, which for them means something more significant than holes in the roof or central heating and air that screams and smokes and has been on vacation since Obama took office.

Don’t be late with your payment, and don’t call us if there is an electrical fire or if the foundation slides its way across the street.

The only way rent-to-own would have been good for us or anyone else is if the market had stayed relatively stable and we would have kept a sizable contingency fund to cover acts of god and gravity. Of coerce, had we had more to put down, we would have bought the dang home to begin with.

And now that we are getting ready to move because, A - we cant afford to tear the walls out due to a ten year old mold problem, and B - the property investment organization wants another sucker to put another significant down, guess what I got in my email? An offer to attend a cool meeting about The Way to get rich by investing in investing in property/homes club of the greater rocky mountain area in a rent-to-own as a landlord! They even want us to buy their book! The flier says that we can let lowly others pay our bills, and then we can keep our money to invest. All we would have to do is find someone more lowly.

Why didn’t I, the modern day 2 4 6 0 1 think of that?

Yeah! I Don't Have a Million Dollar Home! Yeah! ...wait.

I keep looking for signs that the economy is on an upward slant. I wait for the news from wall street to brighten, for the sun to come out and for the birds to sing. I wait for smiley faces to great me when I open my bank statements.

I am still waiting.

I read today that the value of many homes that used to be worth $1 million in the Salt Lake area has dropped from 30 to 40% percent since the real estate market tanked several years ago. This means that some of these home owners who wear shoes not made out of pleather and corrugated cardboard are still in deals that will cost them more than $400.000 than their homes are worth on the market today.

Loan officers say that the high-end homes -- meaning the homes with heated drive ways,servant's quarters and contoured toilet seats -- will be years trying to re-gain their full value, and it may never come back."

These same mortgage-men say that homes worth half-million dollar may be a different can of worms altogether. These homes will most likely see their value return much more quickly than those of the richer homes up the road.

Whoopee.

Fortunately, I am not one of the people with a million dollar home. Yeah, ...I am really happy about that. No nice home for me with all the responsibilities and pleasures and joys and dry mold-free walls that come from nice-home ownership. I am not even the guy with the "half-a-million-dollar" home with floors and roofs and floors. And Everything. How sad for me.

I rent. I rent because I lost my home for reasons that I am rather embarrassed about.

I it seems that I was poorer than I had planed on being.

I gotta say that while the banker guys are miffed, I actually understand the "how and why" someone would walk away from a house they would lose money on. This type of "strategic default" would still leave one having to pay the difference between the resale value of the home and the amount of their loan - like there are hoards of folks standing in the queue to by the Mc Mansion of Utah.

Apparently with the economy as is, these people who walk away from their home loan won't be able to buy another home for at least four years, possibly longer depending on the mood ring on the hand of the lender.

Four years sounds about right. I wonder if they need a house sitter?

Yes Officer, You May See Her Drivers Licence...

My wife has taken extreme measures to make sure that we are not profiled by police officers due to the new and controversial immigration guidelines in Arizona.

The problem is that we don't live in Arizona. Also, you should know that she is as blond as a polar bear in a snowstorm wearing a blond ski parka. At noon. On Blond Day.

I myself, if I were to be so politically incorrect as to compare my epidermis to an actual color, would have to pick Lightest Blue - as in I-think-this-is-a-vein, Doctor blue.

My children fall somewhere in the middle of Blonde and Lightest Blue except for Myelda, my eldest daughter, who is often the color of a fried orange due to what I feel is both excessive and compulsive tanning. Apparently she thinks Lightest Blue with a lightly breaded fried chicken completion is something to be sought after.

My wives latest police-avoiding ploy involves applying a commemorative badge celebrating handicapped & retired officers of the law to the back window just above the license plate. I think it is a good ploy.

Scenario; Gentle Police Officer sees moss-green van speeding or swerving unnaturally or taking undue license with established vehicular guidelines. Officer Fluffy puts down his donut and peruses said rolling moss ball. He approaches the van from far enough away to not notice my wife's unnatural grimace, white knuckled death grip on the steering wheel and steely cold maniacal stare. He calls in the plate number, but before he receives a reply from Consuela at dispatch, he takes note of the too-many pointed star glistening on the rear window; a sticker that represents those near and dear to Officer Fluffies's donuts – I mean, heart...

He lets her pass.

Letting her pass is a good thing. My lovely, kind spirited wife & companion thinks nothing of spending an afternoon leading a police man hunt, or entertaining the troops with questionable challenges or mother jokes. Very funny. Don't laugh. The Oficers Fluffy toss you on the hood of their car and leave you there for hours.

She calls them names, good wholesome all American names, like “Sally” or “Mary”. And then asks them if they have put in an order for larger uniforms. I just smile and try to make sign language to let the Fluffies know that she not only is insane, but that we are only related by marriage and that the opinions expressed may not necessarily express my personal feelings.

I, in direct opposition, have been known to hide in an industrial garage or behind billboards for an entire labor day weekend in order to avoid being “officially” reminded of a possable broken headlight. Rolling red and blues in my rear-view mirror have been the cause of much money spent in wet cleanup at the car wash.

I suppose, to cut to the chase, I am saying that our collective experience with our brethren of law enforcement has not been as warm or as fuzzy as it is with, say, funerals, root canals or sewer exploration.

I guess the whole immigration thing won't really work unless we trust the Fluffies to act in the best interest of "we the people" without deference to politics and positioning.

Until that happens, I will be right here in my van under a camo tarp and a few well placed sage brush waiting until dark to make a diet coke run.

Rivers To Cross, Bridges To Build

By personal decree, I am supposed to write about why I am poor and what I am doing about it - my own personal mission/blog statement.

I can't imagine being a poor man in any other age and having a mission statement - or even having the ability to say anything except by mob or by gang or by planting potatoes in squiggly lines in protest.

I would probably be one of the first to die with Robin Hood in the movie - the plucky comic relief that gets killed pointlessly during the opening credits - if I even made it that far politically. So I have God to thank that I have a form by which to make a difference.

Arizona passes a new law on immigration, and I am hearing many people say that it is not their place to create such a law. And I wonder if it's my place to comment? Then I remember that I pay my state taxes like the next guy, if indeed the next guy pays taxes. Having to pay for the uninsured non citizens means that a portion of what I bleed goes to pay their health benefits. So, yes, I should have something to say about illegal immigration.

The new Arizona law is not new. It enforces a federal law that seems to be not enforced. And the federal law is supported by the constitution. It does not encourage racial profiling anymore than does the enforcement of traffic laws or vehicular registration laws. Law enforcement (and I am so not for giving these guys any more power) are not allowed to pull anyone over without measured significant cause.

Yeah, I'm not so sure I like the idea, or even believe it - with the personal experience I have had with law enforcement. As an agency I feel they are far too easily corruptible - as is evidenced by incredible and seemingly un-checked power over civilians that pushes legal standards as it is. This may be the real flaw in the Arizona law.

But, in theory, they are not to be profiling any more or less with this new standard. It does force those pulled over to provide proof of citizenship. Doesn't a legal drivers licence provide that? Don't we have to provide these ID's when we apply for a state ID or a licence?

Another question. Why are we giving the leg up on one group of immigrants while insisting that another jump through financial/political hoops? My friends from Brazil are struggling financially, but they pay the fees and wait the allotted times and complete the forms and pay more fees and follow the rules to immigrate lawfully and rightfully to the US, while many others from, dare I say where, are illegal aliens? And they are illegal and not just the politically correct "non-residents" just as illegal drug dealers are not "non-licenced pharmacists."

It seems the established immigration laws under the constitution are to protect residents of our country. If you wish to be a resident, there is an established manner of action for ALL, not just those outside of Mexico. Am I racist or bigoted for wanting all immigrants to follow the same rules? Would I follow them if I was in their shoes, or would I slide on in and try to take advantage of a better system in order to support my family?

I hope I would follow the law. And no, I don't think I am racist or bigoted.

I am just poor. With a blog.

I Don't Hate Obama...

Its a Political Full Moon. Be Afraid


...In fact, I really want to like him. Years ago I heard him interviewed on PBS as the great Democratic hope, and I liked the guy. He has since become the poster child for elitism and snobbery. And I know snobby. He ran on the ticket of change, but his tactics are increasingly old fashioned and self serving. I have been reading the new health care bill and I am mortified.

In these days like no other, "Less is More" should be tattooed on our bulbous foreheads. This health plan has turned on its lights, pulled us over, frisked us, beat us and won't give us our one phone call. "Don't Tread On Me" has become, "These Boots Were Made for Walking".

Am I listening to to much talk radio? Should I take down my Sean Hannity poster? Jon Stewart told Fox news to "go f*** itself". 'Teabonics' is the most recent dialect of the spelling-challenged (Brothers!) and reality-impaired. Do I want to be on any of these sides? I hope am not just jumping on the brass bandwagon who is the loudest. Whose hyperbole fits the occasion best? And are we best served by just giving up and replacing the whole Washington and Hollywood bunch.

I want a job. I want insurance that leaves me with teeth and not just holes. I want to have hope for the future. I am willing to pay the taxes, but I want to see it going somewhere, and getting my family someplace.

Who do I believe? Who do you?

Seriously?

Sarah Palin? She looks good, she makes fun of Obama, she was funny in the Movie Date night, but I keep thinking what her neighbors the Russians must think of the lady who spies on them from her kitchen window.

Are we so enchanted with Mrs. P from her book tours and clever sound bites that we overlook her lack of knowledge and experience?

She makes fun of Obama, too. Gotta like that. Most can't do that much and not be called a raciest, bad sport or a Pinky. She pulled it off, though. Problem is the joke can be turned right back on her. Neither Mr Obama nor Sarah P. know anything about Nuclear weaponry or North Korea. Isn't that a kick!

Cute is great. Smart is better. Moral and smart is best.

Romney, then? Can the country overlook the Mormon guy in it's quest for smart and moral?

Only Slightly better than Obamas Plan

For its latest trick, The federally created senior citizen health care plan won't pay fair market value for prescription drugs. Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across the state won't be taking any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition — the latest development in an ongoing dispute over Medicaid reimbursement.

This is the same government that wants to takeover health care and then not-pay those bills either.

Walgreens states that its decision to not take new Medicaid patients stems from a "continued reduction in reimbursement" under the state's Medicaid program, which reimburses it at less than they can tolerate and stay in business. The expressed concern is that the reimbursement rate is too low for pharmacies to make a profit.

The amount private insurers and Medicaid pay pharmacies for prescriptions isn't the actual cost of those drugs but rather is based on what's called the drug's estimated average wholesale price.

Pharmacies take money from people who do not have insurance. Or they charge the insurance companies depending on the plan. Then they pay their pharmacologists, pay rent and pay other bills. We expect them to pay their bills. The electric company expects to be paid.

So, what is next for Obama and the new federal health care plan. We will be forced to buy it - literally forced by the IRS (read the bill) - and we are going to have to pay our bills.

But look who doesn't have to pay theirs.

Open Letter to the Homeless

Please consider these photos as friendly suggestions!






Dear homeless people.

First, let my start off with a pleasantry such as, "Hi", or "How are you?". I am having to post this open letter because there doesn't seem to be any type of address on file for any of you.

I will get to the point. Would you please leave the nice areas of the neighborhood? You are making the rich people nervous and uncomfortable. Have you ever heard of a personal space bubble? You are getting in ours. Don't you have any other options than hanging around our banks and shops asking for money.

Your sign says that you are willing to work for food. How about working your way across town to a more appropriate area where you just fit in better - like the train tracks or the blood bank or thrift stores?

Your clothes do not match. Did you know that? Is it possible that you really don't know how distasteful it is for us to move about town knowing that you are always there sitting or laying or standing someplace that was made for riding or walking? Are you really so comfortable there? Wouldnt you rather just go to your homes and watch some TV? How about a change of clothes? Or teeth?

If you really can't afford a new coat, can't you just brush your teeth better? Tooth brushes are not that expensive and they fit in your pocket, so there is really no excuse.

I heard on the Family Values Radio Network that times are tight. I understand that we all have to cut back where we can. We, on the right side of the tracks are willing to do our part. We promice that we will try not to shop after, say, eight o'clock at night excepting weekends when there are late night movies, and all we ask is that you try to stay out of sight until we leave. Deal?

So, to recap, You: brush teeth more, try to look nicer, sleep on walkways only late at night (and you can stay until 8-ish cause I don't get up until noon) and try to get an address as soon as you can so you can watch more TV.

If you have any questions, please text me or e-mail my husbands secretary.

Tx's so much!
Mrs. Ernest Howard Smithson Jr. - Illona :)

I Don't Even Get Dinner

Okay, I don't really care if it is Obama Care or Devil Care, as long as I can get my families teeth fixed.

My wife has had to take out a credit card that specializes in dentist bills. Ain't that great! Only in America can some pauper see a need to fill, fill it and get rich, and that's just what happened.

The picked on American dentist wasn't getting all the money that was owed them in quick-enough fashion from the insurance companies. And now they won't have to wait even a day!

Isn't that great! Of coarse, the card will cover the bills from last year and not this year, so even though we have some insurance, we can't use it because we can't afford our portion even in monthly payments.

God bless the insurance companies of America.

Now all I have to do is keep the crowns and fillings that haven fallen out of our mouths safe in the fridge until I can afford, what, maybe another credit card so we can see the dentist. Or the doctor. Or whomever could help us pursuit happiness.

I do love our country with all my heart and ask blessings on her and her leaders every day in my prayers. But how many more teeth need to fall out and sit on the shelf before I can get decent health care for my family.

Maybe next year, honey.

Cameos and Gold Teeth?

So, my wife and I thought seriously about me going back to school to get a degree so that I can teach - officially - since I have been teaching for years. There are some programs I looked up on the Internet, and there might be a pell grant I can apply for.

Makes sense. I like to teach. I like it a lot, and I am good at it. When I have taught in the past it was performance and Musical Theatre stylings for the private student: A voice coach as it were. But I am stellar in history and English and as long as a have a spell check handy I can do well.

Today Jordan School District announces that they are laying off 500 teachers for the next year.

Next option is grave robbing.

I Don't Know. What Do You Want To Do?

Employers unexpectedly cut 20,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to a five-month low of 9.7 percent, suggesting some labor market improvement starting to take root.

And where would that be?

KEY POINTS: * The Labor Department said the economy lost 150,000 jobs in December, compared to 85,000 previously reported, but November was revised to a gain of 64,000, up from 4,000. Christmas help, anyone? A sharp increase in the number of people giving up looking for work helped to depress the jobless rate. The number of 'discouraged job seekers' rose to 1.1 million in January from 734,000 a year ago.

COMMENTS:DOUG ROBERTS, "It indicates a certain form of stabilization but there's not a bounce that everybody was looking for."What is throwing people off is probably the 9.7 percent unemployment rate -- the drop in the unemployment rate --, which is positive but is not coming from new jobs created its coming from people dropping out of the work force.

"It's a series of conflicting data ... The positive take is basically it wasn't a total disaster, but the flip side of it is you're not seeing a recovery."

Really?

CARY LEAHEY, ECONOMIST, "The excitement is the unexpected drop in the unemployment rate. Both hiring and the number of people looking for work rose. That increases the sense that the unemployment rate peaked a couple of months ago. You won't see much improvement in the unemployment rate for the rest of the year because more people will start looking for jobs, but it appears the unemployment rate is on, at worst, a flat path.

And she says later that...
"Payrolls lost 20,000 jobs, pretty much as expected. Revisions to the prior two months offset each other. November job growth was much better but December was much worse.

After the 25th.

"On the services side, a decrease of 48,000 jobs was led by retail trade which might be a problem of seasonal adjustments after Christmas.

"Another large gain in temporary help was positive because that eventually will lead to more gains in permanent hiring.

Tell that to the fired Temp help.


"The drop in the unemployment rate does have implications for the Fed. If the Fed sees the unemployment rate stabilizing, it's obviously closer to lifting short-term interest rates than it would be otherwise. Everyone knows the Fed will be extraordinarily unwilling to hike rates until the unemployment rate starts to move lower.


TOM SOWANICK, "The drop in the unemployment rate should be viewed in the context not that it is not a shocker but that this is the second monthly decline. The trend may now be established and that's probably why the bond market was not reacting at first and now under pressure. Was January stronger than anticipated? The answer is yes because December was much weaker.

KURT KARL, "It is an interesting set of numbers. Disappointment with the downturn in non-farm payrolls, but interesting that the unemployment rate ticked down quite substantially. It could mean some good news is coming soon. That is why the unemployment rate went down -- you had a very small increase in the labor force and a huge jump in household employment."

"We're probably still at least six to 12 months away before we start to see a strong hiring trend. At the same time today's numbers weren't far enough away from expectations to be a major (Treasury) market mover."

Can we hold on for a year? My family can't.

Fix That Resume!

Fix That Resume! A sandwitch board can get attention. So can a stellar resume - even if your experence isnt outstanding.

Before you start work on your resume, review free resume samples that fit a variety of employment situations. These sample resumes and templates provide job seekers with examples of resume formats that will work for almost every job seeker.

Don't just copy a resume example that you like. Instead, choose your resume very carefully. Review resume examples, choose a type of resume that highlights your strengths and achievements, and review a typical resume format. Remember, your resume needs to impress the hiring manager enough so you get the interview. That means it needs to be perfect. I found a slew of workable templates that served very well by googling Resume.

Make sure you work it over with a spell check or seven, and a smart neighbor who owes you a favor. Don't look like a foolish man/woman, which is how you will look if your resume is not put together well. And remember to tell the truth!

It may be good to have several different styles of resume for more professional, or for more casuel workplaces and attitudes. And with the formats that are available, it is easy to do at your desk or at the local library.

Its February! It's February! Don't you know what that means?

It means that another arbitrary day has come that we can use as a proverbial measuring stick to see how our efforts thus far have paid off and how that haven't. No hangovers physically or emotionally - just a day to see where we are, and where we want to be. There will be time later to get drunk. Naaaaaw.

We're here to access potential today. What are my strengths count them out. List them in such a matter that they make even you proud.

That's right you can do it while sitting down. Now, areas of weakness, or areas of opportunities. That's right.

Now what are you planning to do to strengthen these areas for growth. Write them down. Post them up. Come out with a plan. Doesn't have to be storming the castle today, but when? What will you wear, what is the thought you want them to get from you straightaway. Practice it out a bit. Get prepared. Use this "no stress" time to get prepared and to find out that you do actually really do like yourself.

Follow through with a plan. Push yourself a bit harder. Eat something yummy.

February is going to be our month!

Daddy Cabbie

Except I don't get the cool hat.




Okay, here's a job I wasn't expecting to have. I'm the chauffeur for the family.

When Kid One needs to go to basketball practice, I'm the man. When Kid Two just has to get to the library, its "Lets go dad. you're not doing anything'. I need the car during the day for job hunting, so I get to take mom to work and pick her up. School starts at 8am and gets out at 1pm and if the bills are late, then I get to hand deliver them...and "Hey while you are out of work, why don't you remodel that backroom so we can study uninterrupted."

Cool! I can paint the hallway and re-sod the lawn and thin the perennials and babysit the maimed chicken and...and...

But I need to find a job.

"What? You have all day! Are you on the Internet again! Its 9pm! Maybe you should be using this time to deliver your resumes while the kids are watching a DVD. You really should utilize your time better."

If someone tells me how to run my life one more time I am going to throw keys at someone, and my aim is pretty darn...

But first, it seems, I have to take my daughter to the church for young women's.

Unemployment!

I signed up for unemployment insurance last week or so. There is a week for nothing to wait, so if you have friends who are being laid off, let them know to apply for unemployment sooner rather than later because of the waiting week. I was on hold for over an hour, but when I got to the guy, he was helpful and friendly - I would hire him to answer my phones. If I had phones.

I am supposed to hop on line and fill out a brief bit of info each week on Sunday to claim my weeks worth of unemployment. So, last week I did that, and did it again this week. Tonight.

I have never filed before. It was an experience. I never thought much of the folks on unemployment. I think I thought of them as lazy or uninspired or worse. Hate to say it.

What a lousy stereotype to have in place - especially now that I am the uninspired one. Here's the thing for this week. I put down on the on-line form that I had an hour of training at the Mormon Church job service where I sat in on a lecture for improving your, and making your resume outstanding. Somehow my attending a training of some sort seems to have put a block on my getting paid for last week. Apparently it flagged something that suggested that I was not available to work for the week, which is not true.

Additional training means that I cant get paid? Really?

All due to me trying to better a resume? Hope this turns out better than I think it will.

Would You Like Fries With That?

I am looking for a job.

I was fired/quit a decent job a year ago due to a conflict with my employer. I took on a job with much lesser pay at a retail outlet and worked there for 8 months. It wasn't my favorite work environment, it wasn't my favorite type of work, but I apparently sucked enough at it that they laid me off just after the new year. This new year as a matter of fact.

It wasn't really a surprise. I had invited myself into the managers office when it became apparent that there were employees leaving the store without a job or a name badge. No one talks about laying people off until it's there in your face. So, I came right out and asked. My boss was good enough to let me know that my being layed off had moved past the possibility stage into the realm of probability. I had two weeks to get it together - and even if I did, I would probably not make it past that.

And I didn't. I took to heart what feedback they had to offer me. Be more on time, do better work, don't offend people. Apparently my personal hygiene was satisfactory.

So, Here I am blogging. I am a writer by trade, so blogging is the natural thing for me to resort too, two, to. That and caffeine. I have a blog of funny-ness elsewhere that I would love to have picked up and turn into something that pays. Money.

This blog I am going to keep for all those who are searching how to improve their lives and lifestyle. I won't be as subtle or shy as I may be in my other, funnier life. There is nothing to loose here but a bit of pride, which I would gladly trade for a good job anyway. I'll change a few facts and leave my families name out of it because I have kids and a wife and I would like them to have normal existence, or the closest reasonable facsimile of that they can have.

So, were off. Lets get a job. Lets get a life!