I thought that I would list some of the best things about my year so far....these are in no particular order...
Transformers 3 was better than Transformers 2
Restarting my blog
The New Beastie Boys album (Hot Sauce Committee Part Two) especially the songs
Seeing Yeasayer with Erin and Peter
Reconnecting with Christina and Kari
Seeing "Super 8" and having it restore my faith in blockbuster movies...thank you again J.J. Abrams...magical
Quitting my job at Bank of America
Adele's song "Rolling In the Deep"
Having no freakishly major illnesses (ie Bells Palsy, Strep throat more than once...)
Reading "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet"
My epic snow adventure with Todd
Todd getting me a new ipod because of the epic snow and Valentines Day
So much more I am sure....
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
One More Week
I have done it, done it after so many years of complaining and not doing it. What is it? You ask an important question, and I will answer it. It is....I have quit my job at Bank of America. After many years, many frustrations, and many missed opportunities. After many take overs, and drinking the BofA kool-aid, and then becoming disillusioned by the fact that BofA wants you to drink the Kool-aid but doesn't actually believe in what it wants you to drink. I have quit. I am going to work for a different financial institution and I can't wait. This coming Friday is my last day with BofA.
In other news, I have had a double ear infection. Ok, seriously, what adult 34 year old still has ear infections. Ear infections in both ears....arg....so I am on heavy duty drugs because I believe that my doctor is just as tired of my ear infections as I am. Ear infections suck btw.
It was a crazy week in the US and Grand Rapids...two things happened that, I believe affirmed my faith in two things...1. The U.S. justice system though flawed like any human institution is the best in the world...2. There is not God....Heavy....
So I will do it like everyone else in the blog-o-sphere, I will talk about Casey Anthony. I will say that though I have feigned disinterest in this trail I have been glued to my TV. I am one of the 4 people in this country I believe who don't actually think that Casey Anthony is guilty. I am not sure if she is innocent of involvement but I don't think she actually did the crime, and I think a jury rightfully found her not guilty. Why did they find her not guilty because of a terribly circumstantial case against her, a bad prosecution, and utterly needless expert witnesses (odor experts, really). Now does this mean I think that Casey Anthony is a good person or made good choices, not at all. She is obviously pathological, and narcissistic, and knew what happened to her daughter, none of which means she killed her daughter. Did Caylee Anthony get justice...NO she didn't...The thing is that our justice system is only to determine guilt not to mete out justice. Finding someone guilty or not guilty of a crime can sometimes mean justice but, also, sometimes it means nothing but they are guilty under the law.
This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Justice is incidental to law and order. ~John Edgar Hoover
Although the legal and ethical definitions of right are the antithesis of each other, most writers use them as synonyms. They confuse power with goodness, and mistake law for justice. ~Charles T. Sprading, Freedom and its Fundamentals
Law is not justice and a trial is not a scientific inquiry into truth. A trial is the resolution of a dispute. ~Edison Haines
Now the think that reaffirms my lack of belief in God....the recent shooting spree in Grand Rapids...A man killed 7 people and then himself. Two children lost their lives...on top of this there are millions of people starving, living in abject poverty, being beaten for speaking out, enslaved, being massacred for their religious beliefs or ethnicity, and the list goes on. And I am to believe that all of this is part of God's plan, that God is good...no...I...do...not...accept...this... explanation...Go ahead make yourself feel better for believing you will go to heaven, that we must accept the suffering of this world in order to have eternal salvation. Come on...that is an excuse not to do anything about the problems in the world around you. An most religious people I have encountered care nothing of people, they care about laws, following this or that rule. Funny how God is much like a government, follow the laws and be a good boy or girl and maybe I will give you a reward. I just can't do it...it is so patronizing...I am just trying to save your soul many religious people say, when in reality they want you to follow their rules, don't step out of line, conform to our principles. It is a bunch of garbage to keep people down, keep people sheep.
In other news, I have had a double ear infection. Ok, seriously, what adult 34 year old still has ear infections. Ear infections in both ears....arg....so I am on heavy duty drugs because I believe that my doctor is just as tired of my ear infections as I am. Ear infections suck btw.
It was a crazy week in the US and Grand Rapids...two things happened that, I believe affirmed my faith in two things...1. The U.S. justice system though flawed like any human institution is the best in the world...2. There is not God....Heavy....
So I will do it like everyone else in the blog-o-sphere, I will talk about Casey Anthony. I will say that though I have feigned disinterest in this trail I have been glued to my TV. I am one of the 4 people in this country I believe who don't actually think that Casey Anthony is guilty. I am not sure if she is innocent of involvement but I don't think she actually did the crime, and I think a jury rightfully found her not guilty. Why did they find her not guilty because of a terribly circumstantial case against her, a bad prosecution, and utterly needless expert witnesses (odor experts, really). Now does this mean I think that Casey Anthony is a good person or made good choices, not at all. She is obviously pathological, and narcissistic, and knew what happened to her daughter, none of which means she killed her daughter. Did Caylee Anthony get justice...NO she didn't...The thing is that our justice system is only to determine guilt not to mete out justice. Finding someone guilty or not guilty of a crime can sometimes mean justice but, also, sometimes it means nothing but they are guilty under the law.
This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Justice is incidental to law and order. ~John Edgar Hoover
Although the legal and ethical definitions of right are the antithesis of each other, most writers use them as synonyms. They confuse power with goodness, and mistake law for justice. ~Charles T. Sprading, Freedom and its Fundamentals
Law is not justice and a trial is not a scientific inquiry into truth. A trial is the resolution of a dispute. ~Edison Haines
Now the think that reaffirms my lack of belief in God....the recent shooting spree in Grand Rapids...A man killed 7 people and then himself. Two children lost their lives...on top of this there are millions of people starving, living in abject poverty, being beaten for speaking out, enslaved, being massacred for their religious beliefs or ethnicity, and the list goes on. And I am to believe that all of this is part of God's plan, that God is good...no...I...do...not...accept...this... explanation...Go ahead make yourself feel better for believing you will go to heaven, that we must accept the suffering of this world in order to have eternal salvation. Come on...that is an excuse not to do anything about the problems in the world around you. An most religious people I have encountered care nothing of people, they care about laws, following this or that rule. Funny how God is much like a government, follow the laws and be a good boy or girl and maybe I will give you a reward. I just can't do it...it is so patronizing...I am just trying to save your soul many religious people say, when in reality they want you to follow their rules, don't step out of line, conform to our principles. It is a bunch of garbage to keep people down, keep people sheep.
Friday, July 1, 2011
A Good Day Indeed...Why Am I Up At This Hour....
First lets start with I cannot sleep...I am going to blame Todd for the coffee drink at 10:30pm...I am up regardless so I shall blog.
Anyone who knows me knows that work for me has been super stressful as of late...say the last 6 months. I will only say that though I am personally doing extremely well in my position and my manager and I have what could only be deemed a almost perfect working relationship. Truly, she is the best manager I have ever had, I cannot say enough the skills and abilities that she possesses. Regardless of the fact that I have blown my goals out of the water, I am being told that I am not doing a good job. Weird isn't I have the wrong behaviors, not attitude, behaviors, which is code for you are not doing it in the vague way we want you to do it. It has been incredibly stressful to say the least. Well, I have found a new job, not a new career that is the same but at a new workplace. Monumental, by the way, I have had the same job for 12 years. I still have to pass a background check and a drug test and being the worrier I am, I am of course worried...but unless I have another personality I don't know about both should be fine.
Erin in her most recent blog post has spoken of the wonders that is the organic or home grown strawberry. Todd and I received more strawberries then I have seen in most grocery stores from his mother's garden. It was wonderful. Todd made jam, including a strawberry jalapeno jam which is amazing. I have, as anyone who remotely follows me on facebook would know, been gushing about my recent strawberry pies as seen below. They, I have to say, are beautiful strawberry blueberry pies. Here is the thing though, I am worried about is the all too patriotic look of said pies. I really feel like they look like something that would show up at a Michelle Bachmann or Sara Palin event. They look so patriotic Midwestern Mom with a gun who home schools her kids that I am just a bit scared. No really, I just think they are pretty (pie number 2 especially).
Anyone who knows me knows that work for me has been super stressful as of late...say the last 6 months. I will only say that though I am personally doing extremely well in my position and my manager and I have what could only be deemed a almost perfect working relationship. Truly, she is the best manager I have ever had, I cannot say enough the skills and abilities that she possesses. Regardless of the fact that I have blown my goals out of the water, I am being told that I am not doing a good job. Weird isn't I have the wrong behaviors, not attitude, behaviors, which is code for you are not doing it in the vague way we want you to do it. It has been incredibly stressful to say the least. Well, I have found a new job, not a new career that is the same but at a new workplace. Monumental, by the way, I have had the same job for 12 years. I still have to pass a background check and a drug test and being the worrier I am, I am of course worried...but unless I have another personality I don't know about both should be fine.
Erin in her most recent blog post has spoken of the wonders that is the organic or home grown strawberry. Todd and I received more strawberries then I have seen in most grocery stores from his mother's garden. It was wonderful. Todd made jam, including a strawberry jalapeno jam which is amazing. I have, as anyone who remotely follows me on facebook would know, been gushing about my recent strawberry pies as seen below. They, I have to say, are beautiful strawberry blueberry pies. Here is the thing though, I am worried about is the all too patriotic look of said pies. I really feel like they look like something that would show up at a Michelle Bachmann or Sara Palin event. They look so patriotic Midwestern Mom with a gun who home schools her kids that I am just a bit scared. No really, I just think they are pretty (pie number 2 especially).
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| Pie number 2 |
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| Pie number 1 |
I have sworn off all musical competition shows...After watching what could only be deemed a horrific version of Under Pressure. Which if you you would like to lose your mind you should listen to. I am not going to go into the awful mixing Blake Shelton is way too loud, you barely hear or understand Ceelo Green. Also Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera your voices are just wrong for this song, strike that all of their voices are wrong for this song. I have decided that I am no longer going to sit though these shows and listen to awful AWFUL remakes of good songs...
Very seldom does any artist do a better or as good of a job as the original artist with a song. I can only think of a few...Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)... Proud Mary - Ike and Tina Turner (Creedence Clearwater Revival)... Hurt - Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor)... I choose these examples because one outshines the original in every way (Hurt), one the original and remake are just as breath taking in their emotional resonance (Hallelujah), and one though iconic I believe the original is far superior to the remake (Proud Mary)...Johnny Cash is moving beyond words when he sings Hurt, the age in his voice, the regret, and broken quality, he is a man in mourning over the losses in his life. Cash strips away all the Nine Inch Nail-ness of this song and brings you right the the emotional core. By Nine Inch Nail-ness I mean the juvenile self pitying and self flagellation, that is almost all NIN songs. Johnny Cash is full of regrets but in a real I have lived a long hard life sort of way, the N.I.N. version is regret in the 16 yr old get over yourself you haven't seen bad yet sort of way. Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen sing Hallelujah in very different ways but both make you ache. They get the pain of the song, this isn't melancholy, or just sadness...this is down right hurt, pain to your core, the very fiber of your being. You are being torn apart by the very one that you love, they are torturing you but you still love them. They get that this is love...love is not parades or grand gestures it is the aching feeling that you need this person, they may and probably will hurt you but you still need them. Proud Mary though iconic by Ike and Tina Turner I think is much better served by the slower pace of C.C.R. I like the more down in the swamps version of C.C.R. The Ike and Tina version is just to poppy and fast, you can't hear or understand the words that are being sung. C.C.R. is just a good old down home, left the city because I love the Mississippi...it is a great ode to the Mississippi in the end.
Seriously this middle of the night thing leads me to write crazy things
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