Stumbling upon an article about Americans making less money as the result of pay cuts. I don't know why I expected it to be a factual, researched piece of press about the percentage of pay cuts or the impact on the overall economy. Instead it was about a family that has had a blow to their ego and feels the need to whine about it.

The short version is they were a duel income family that made about $108,000 a year that now makes about $74,000 a year. The 'article' detailed their struggles to continue to get by on the reduced income. Now, in a way this isn't unreasonable since that is a bit of a stagger in household income. But just for reference when you breakout household groups and rank the ranges from one to five this means that they move from the top fifth to the fourth fifth. Further, I looked at the average income per state. Based on the article I think they live in New Jersey where the median income was about $70,000 in 2008. The second highest median income in the country second only to Maryland.

I'm supposed to feel sympathy for these people? Is that what this article is trying to convey? That I should be outraged on their behalf? That this is somehow a terrible hardship?

Suck it up.

Unlike a lot of people out there they are both still employed. Unlike a lot of people they still have an above average income.

Maybe it just gets to me because I took a pay cut about the same time the guy in the article did. Sure I was pretty upset about it. Then I hear about friends loosing their jobs. Then my Dad lost his job. And a lot of them are still looking for work. My pay cut seemed like the least of anybody's troubles then. Nobody is having an easy time getting through this and sure it ain't fair.

But life isn't fair. You suck it up, move on and accept that part of being a grown up is that you don't always get what you want.

Current Mood: annoyed

Just on the off chance anyone wants to know what I've been up to lately.

With the end of summer I am back to work on Friday's. My Dad is still looking for work, but has had a small flurry of interviews lately so we're hopeful. I'm getting back into the swing of things in general and have managed to fill in my schedule pretty well.

Mondays are Mordheim nights. We actually started playing last Monday and eyekahn pretty much kicked my ass.

Tuesday & Thursday there is open swim at the Troy Parks & Rec Center. I went on a trial basis the last three available days in September. It seems like a pretty good deal so now I'm paid up through the end of the year. I love my goggles for they save my eyes, but I think I may need earplugs.

Wednesday I have a riding lesson. This last lesson I spent most of my time sitting a trot with my feet out of the stirrups. It figures that this would be the one time I have a horse that is more than ready to trot. And trot briskly.

Friday I've picked up Capoeira with oasis_pink_peng. Not much to say about this yet since I've only gone to one session. The one comment I can make is that I know me. I know the level of activity that this required. And I know that two or three years ago I would not have been able to handle that class.

Saturday has been kept open but Sunday evening I head back out to the barn where I ride to do evening feeding, haying, watering and bringing in of the horses. This usually involves me spending a couple hours running around dumping and refilling water buckets, moving bales of hay and walking hungry horses in (sometimes the only time I have ever seen some of these animals move quickly - hey watch my feet!).

So if I'm a little more sporadic than usual, you can totally blame this.

I currently have my screen set to 'blind old woman' size. Because right now I kinda am.

I went swimming for the first time in probably six years. Serious lap swimming. For as out of shape as I am I don't think I did too terrible. I was in the pool for about an hour. I'd say swimming at least 45 minutes of that. In the end my eyes gave out before the rest of me. See that's the reason I'm having difficulty reading the fine print is because I, in my infinite wisdom, did this sans eye protection.

I'm not completely silly. I have goggles. A pretty good pair too. I spent an hour last night looking for them. Unfortunately after six years of no use (no pool access) I had completely lost track of them. Eventually the need for sleep outweighed the desire to save my eyesight. I knew what I was getting into. The incident that prompted me to buy them in the first place involved me, the school pool and about two hours of uninterrupted laps. I had trouble seeing strait for days.

I considered skipping. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I've been trying to find a place to swim off and on since I graduated from college. I've been a little more serious about it since I chopped my hair off. As anyone with hair past their shoulders can attest, swimming and long hair are a trying combo.

There is a happy ending! I am happy to report that my current discomfort did prompt me to remember where I put them. I am now set for the next planned excursion Thursday.

Current Mood: jubilant

Someone in England made a PSA that graphically shows what can happen when you text while driving.

There is a most indecent kind of glee I feel when I hear about the debates that spring up around things like this. Personally I have no problem with this kind of thing being graphic so long as it's accurate. Any trauma someone might experience watching something that is graphic and accurate about the consequences of stupid behavior would be minor compared to the trauma of actually being responsible for the reality. I agree with the director of this video. If you are old enough to drive, you are old enough to know what your lack of responsibility can cause.


For reference here's the article.

Another woman in the department just announced she is pregnant.

We're all very excited for her. At the last couple of baby showers she expressed her own desire to have children, so she really has been hoping for this.

This brings the department tally to:

3 pregnant
2 impending weddings

In the last year we have had:

2 babies
4 weddings

There must be something in the water...

Current Mood: cheerful

To touch back on my last entry - the tests all came back normal. Which is frustrating. I am currently cheating in a way (and it's working out pretty well so far) and have plans to go see a specialist in the next month or two. The one advantage of both my Mom and Grandma (and Great-Grandma before she passed) all having similar issues means that finding a good doctor really won't be all that hard.

Moving on.

I am back in the saddle again! Literally more than figuratively. I have worked out a deal to trade riding lessons for labor around the barn. Yesterday I brought took care of the evening feeding and brought the horses in. This was the first time I have done so on my own. It was a little nerve-wracking.

My biggest concern was that I'm not too familiar with all of the horses. Ironically enough the boys were easier on me than the girls. The boys I pretty much knew on site. They also came to the gate one at a time and didn't crowd. I wish I had a picture of Record Man standing at the gate waiting for me. It was adorable. That horse is like a very large dog in some ways.

The girls were all arguing over who would go first. Sophie managed to ditch her halter somewhere and then wouldn't let me take anyone else in. I never did find it. There were two of the girls that were a little more difficult to tell apart and I was agonizing over bringing them in. Then it struck me. I knew who they were not, and I knew roughly where they should be going. I'd also noticed that the horses that I took in generally knew where they were going. So maybe I didn't have to be too sure. I took a guess, let the horse have a go and I'm pretty sure we got it right. At least I hope so.

Current Mood: blah

Maybe I'm just getting older. Maybe my diet is worse than I thought. Maybe I don't get enough sleep. I don't know, but I am tired of being tired all the time. I tried to remember the last time I wasn't tired and I just couldn't.

I'm a little nervous about seeing a doctor. The last time I tried to ask about this stuff I was brushed off. The standard 'eat better and exercise' response. I know that's not supposed to be really easy or anything - but right now it just feels impossible.

I'm working to make improvements to my diet. I've cut way back on fast food. I don't eat much in the way of chips or cookies. I hardly ever have candy. Junk food is a once or twice a month thing, usually at parties or something.

I know it could be better, but at this point that would require me to start to cook. I don't like to cook very much. It involves cleaning up the kitchen to be able to use it. Cleaning up after myself when I'm done. And if I don't want to get up early to do this it also means praying that whatever I make for myself is left alone. Oh - and I have to buy and find a place to store any supplies I might need and again pray that someone else doesn't use them behind my back.

It also means I have to actually remember to take it with me in the morning. I'm not at my best in the morning. And lately getting up has gone from bad to worse. More sleep doesn't seem to be helping.

Update: Saw the doctor today. The staff was very nice. Results should be back Thursday. I'm feeling weird that I'm actually hoping for the results to say I need medication. It's like trying not to get my hopes up that this might actually have an answer.

Current Mood: exhausted

Since my last post I've had at least one nasty scuffle with my Mom. It involved a man (that she claimed was a woman) riding their bike out in front of me (she claims they were walking it across the street) as I made a turn (I had already started my turn when they started across the street, though my Mom claims that they started walking before I started moving). I am still amazed that two people could be there for the same event and give such a radically different recounting of it.

Had a stress fest at work involving an idea that has come from California. This is a really nice idea, actually. The stress has come from the fact that I'm supposed to implement it with no goal, no plan and only some pretty pictures to go on. I had a feeling I knew who's idea it was when they got very defensive when I suggested that we double check that this would be acceptable under the audit requirements we had to follow. This thing has eaten my time and I've got at least one project that is nearly a month behind where I want it to be (and this project was a last minute thing that was thrown together last minute)

The wheels of my Dad's job search continue to turn slowly.

But the highlight and purpose of this post is to mention my recent trip to Cincinnati with oasis_pink_peng to see poptartodoom. It rocked. It felt like we only got the briefest glance of things, but I'm only calling that an excuse to head back at some point. Hopefully soon.

( Cut for Length )

Current Mood: accomplished

I was sick earlier this week. I still have a runny nose and have developed a little bit of a cough, but am otherwise back to feeling fine. It was kind of funny in the 'ha ha' sense when I realized I was sick.

I went to go see Up on Sunday with oasis_pink_peng. This movie knows how to tug at your heart stings and I'm a sucker for that stuff. I cried like a baby at all the appropriate parts. A good cry will leave me with puffy eyes and a runny nose, so when I woke up on Monday with a sore through and a nose that was stuffy I figured it was just the aftereffects of the tears the night before.

I was so very wrong. As the day went on I felt worse. My throat was sore, I couldn't focus, my sinuses hurt. I went home at lunch and then slept until around noon on Tuesday.

This reminds me of my 'Is this a hangover? Nope it's the flu.' incident from 2000. It also means that I have been sick as often in the last six months as I usually am in a number of years. Sick used to be a once every year thing, not a once every other month thing.

Tangently Related: I recommend seeing Up. It's cute.

Current Mood: busy

I spent the better part of today thinking that it was Sunday. It was a nice kinda lazy day. I finally got to see Prince Caspian and enjoyed it. Yesterday I took a few bags of clothes and shoes over to Salvation Army. I've even managed to get part of my room cleaned.

I don't feel at all accomplished.

My Dad noticed on Friday that his last paycheck, including vacation pay had been deposited. He is not officially unemployed for the first time in about 35 years. He had an interview last week, but he's not hopeful.

I have about four pages of fanfic in one fandom, two in another and another odd page or two in a couple more. I even have a pretty good idea what the whole story is for most of these. I'm curious to see if I'll actually be able to finish them.

I actually have something written that needs editing (and a part two) for a role playing character. I have at least two character concepts that need fleshing out. I have some basic personalities in mind and one of them is actually just a 'need to translate to paper'. The other has been evading me since February. It's beyond annoying at this point.

Nothing much on any of the original stories I've had running around my head. But to be honest I haven't given them much thought.

Bought and read the new Lynn Kurland novel and am actually a little bummed. But then I usually am after reading her stories (not because I don't enjoy them, but because I get a little jealous of the happy endings).

Current Mood: blah

From a company wide email sent by HR

The vending machine in the kitchen appears to be harboring some evil entity who takes your money and then does not provide you with your item. For some reason this causes the machine to shake uncontrollably, (from what I hear, totally on it's own) causing the machine to break and deny everyone else the opportunity to use it and you unable to be refunded your money immediately.


This amuses me, and I'll take my work-related amusement where I can get it these days.

Current Mood: giggly

Nothing makes me feel more sheepish than looking back at journal entries I have made and finding some really stupid typos.

That is all.

Current Mood: sheepish

*Grumble*

On the up-side, since we can't do dishes I don't have to cook on Sunday.

Now I just have to face icy shower before work on Monday.

Current Mood: cold

So, I'll admit that my Mother is not having the greatest week. She fell last weekend and screwed up her knee (1st doctor wanted her to see a specialist which she has not bothered to do). Now the hot water heater is out and may not be replaced until Monday.

Fine.

Brother 2 and I were discussing hockey. This is prompted by the Washington/Pittsburgh game on the t.v. and Brother 2 makes a comment to the effect of Pittsburgh will likely take this series and ultimately the cup. I say 'what, no faith in the Wings?"

He replies that since they won last year they are unlikely to win again - teams don't win two in a row. I point out that the Wings did win back to back in '97 & '98. He refutes - nastily - that after that they didn't win for a long time.

Now, I look a little confused because I could have sworn we won again in like '01 or '02 (it was '02 I looked it up) and then of course we won last year. I actually remember the comment made last year after or right around the final game that the Wings were one of the most successful teams in the NHL - having won the cup more often than any other team in the last dozen years or so. I start to comment to say so (not in a direct 'you are wrong kind of way 'cause that just makes Brother 2 yell) when he says something to the effect of 'You don't know a damn thing about hockey so just shut up.'

I get two words into a 'That's not true.' when Mom butts in and tells me to quite being nasty and back off. She then berates me (both in front of Brother 2 and then again when he goes out for a smoke) for my bad behavior.

Seriously this is where most of my problems with him stem from. He can be as nasty to me as he likes. I cannot be assertive back. I am expected to look at him and say 'Of course, the sky is in fact a fantastic shade of yellow and I am an idiot for trying to tell you that it is blue.'

Current Mood: annoyed

Funny thing about life is that it seems to come at me in waves. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this phenomenon. Everything will be going along quietly. Then it seems like things just explode all around me. I'll have no social life one week, then have no time to myself for the next.

I walked into work on Tuesday to an aura of gloom. Turns out Monday at 3:50 p.m.-ish an announcement went out.

Pay cuts. And if it wasn't a big one before, it was now.

Ouch. Looking on the bright side, I am still employed. And then the good news came.

Can we say four day work week? Yes, we can. Instead of 1/2 day Fridays during the summer we will just have a four day work week. It's not perfect, but it does make me feel better.

Tuesday through most of Thursday I was wiped out tired.

Friday rolled around again, and I had a busy weekend ahead. Friday night was a birthday gathering for Cyndi. Saturday was the bachelorette party for lostwind. And then Sunday was game day. And of course in the background is the 'while you were out' surprise being prepared for a certain birthday girl (cough*Vickie*cough).

I debated going out to help with the work at the house Saturday, but had decided against it and slept and took care of some stuff around the house instead. My original part in the plot would have been to take her from lostwind's place back home. As such I figure I would not be sleeping in on Sunday after two long nights out (Friday and Saturday) with Sunday also being a late night for me. Our game sessions never end early.

My part got cut due to circumstance beyond my control and I wound up feeling very guilty. However the operation was a resounding success. The house looks fabulous. I am now resolved to find an appropriate lawn ornament.

I am now working my way through this week and waiting for the no more Friday summer on the horizon.

Current Mood: mellow

Sunday I slept in a bit. Prizm and I met mommimus_prime and her family for breakfast (also joined by hellsangelcurse).

The two panels I had been most interested in were pretty much back to back today. The first from Derrick Wyatt on making cartoons and then the voice actor panel from Dan Gilvezan. Derrick was a little late to the panel, not surprising considering how late he had been up (per Oasis they were drinking Dew until 4 or 5 in the morning).

The panel was a casual Q&A session. I asked a couple of questions - what's the timeline on actually making an episode? (6 to 8 months to as long as a year) What's your daily involvement like? (very involved - more so than an art director would normally be). It was a pretty interesting panel once we got away from the 'will there be a season 4' or 'what's gonna happen in season 3' type questions. It was only marred by some jerk in the front row playing with a toy that kept making sound effects. I wanted to say something but this was one of the seriously creepy (I mean really creepy) fanboy types.

The voice acting panel was amazing. I missed the beginning. I was stupid and had to run and grab a couple things. At the time I figured it would be the normal Q&A. I was wrong. I came back just as he was picking the last person for the practical demonstration portion. He talked about the practicalities of being a VA. He showed us what an audition might look like. He then demonstrated a recording with the volunteers from the audience - actually directing them and giving pointers! It was amazing, and I told him so when I got his autograph.

I wandered around the dealer room after that. Today was more than just Transformers. I didn't see any TF's that I wanted at a price I would pay but I did replace my old Cover Girl G.I. Joe and picked up a Lady Jaye to boot. I couldn't find Scarlett.

( A Small Digrssion )

Sunday night we had a final dinner at Kelsey's. If you ever find yourself in the Toronto area near the airport this is the place to eat. The prices are reasonable, the food is good and the service is excellent.

Monday we packed up, said our goodbyes and headed out. The wind was awful. I hate random gusts of wind. Particularly when they keep trying to push me off the road. No problems at the boarder.

Tuesday was back to work. And that is another story.

Current Mood: dorky

Saturday morning I reported for volunteer duty bright and early. I'd slept too late to run and get breakfast, but the hotel provided coffee and a coffee maker in the room. The lobby was already crowded, the line for admission already long. I spotted mommimus_prime and we agreed that the coffee from the hotel room was bad. We both were wearing our Tracks shirts so we were 'Tracks Twins'.

Most of Saturday was spent as a volunteer. The job was simple if a little boring - I was a Badge Nazi. Fortunately I had company for most of the day in the form of the incredibly cool Vanessa. So between reminding people they did in fact have to pay to get in (seriously, it amused me that people asked)we chatted away.

About 4 o'clock I was dragged away from volunteer duties to go to the script reading. I did it last year and actually didn't really want to do it again this year. Frankly, I thought other people should have a chance to do it. It's a fun experience and my understanding was that the fan cast had been pretty consistent the last few years.

I auditioned anyway but I really didn't put much effort into it. I totally flubbed the line for Arcee and I think I didn't project enough when I tried Blurr. All was well though, for the cast that was chosen was phenomenal. It was also comprised of a lot of new faces which made me very happy. There was even a gender switch as a female had been chosen to read a part traditionally done by a male.

With the dealer room closed and the panels for the day done we headed out to dinner. It was raining and nasty so even though the place was a decent distance to walk we drove. I managed to snag a ride with mommimus_prime which was ironic - she had the largest car with the most passenger capacity, but everyone else divided themselves among the compacts driven by others.

Dinner was a long affair. Food came out in spurts. The waitress had trouble managing our large group on her own (and I think she still had other tables) with minimal help from the rest of the waitstaff. I needed water, others ran out of coffee - refills were hard to come by. When the bills were dropped off, but nobody came back to cash us out I started a trend by lining up at the bar register. Ultimately I think that made the whole thing easier for the waitress as we all came to her to cash out.

By the end of it the day I felt kinda like my icon.
TBC...

Current Mood: nerdy

When oasis_pink_peng asked 'What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get back?" I should have just said 'Unpack'.

This trip was a blast!

We left Thursday, a little later than planned, but well within tolerance. I had mostly wanted to plan the drive to miss rush hour traffic at both the bridge and Toronto. The drive was pleasant and uneventful. Oasis requested that we stop at a service center when she saw the sign for it on the highway. An hour later we arrived at the service station.

Friday we went into Toronto proper. oasis_pink_peng, prizm7, oreobot and Oreobot's husband all crammed into my car for the trip. Our destination was the Royal Ontario Museum. Our map was not the greatest, and we had a couple of wrong turns before we got there.

At a busy intersection while waiting to make a left turn the person behind me started honking. At first I wasn't sure what was going on. I had my directional on and left turns were allowed here. When traffic cleared I made the turn. So did the guy who had been honking. Now he was tailgating and swerving behind me while continuing to honk. It's a crowded city street with cars parked along the side. As we approach the next intersection the street widens out enough for this jerk to pass. He rolls down the window and yells as he drives by. I stay left to let him go. The light is red, so he puts the his van in park hops out and comes back to yell at us. Fortunately that's as far as it goes. The light changes, he gets back in his car and goes strait and I opt to turn left.

The museum isn't too hard to find after that. We find a place to park pretty close by and head out. The museum is amazing. The exhibit is huge. I go camera-happy and take nearly 400 pictures.

A friend of oasis_pink_peng takes us for a surprise walking tour to get to a mall (we need to work on the definition of 'not far'). It was a nice walk, but I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more had I known before hand it was going to be a few miles. We took the subway back and I learned that I have not lost my subway balance skills. I can still stand without holding something and not loose my balance as the train moves.

We braved the rush hour traffic and managed to find our way back to the hotel without further incident. Dinner was a long, drawn out, slow affair. I think it took us nearly two hours. That wouldn't have been so bad, but it had already been a long day and we had other things to do.

I turned in early since I had to be up early for volunteer duties.

TBC...

Current Mood: geeky

One of the kids said it best, "How much epic fail can we fit into one day?"

She shouted this over the blaring smoke alarm in the lobby of the very nice (opened two weeks ago)hotel we are staying at here in Saginaw.

Winter Guard season is at an end and we are going out with a bang. A couple of the kids burned some microwave popcorn and managed to set off the fire alarms. The result is that we, and everyone else staying at this nice establishment had to throw on some decent clothes and head down stairs.

I don't think anyone could keep a strait face while we waited for the fire department to show. We were laughing and the other hotel guests were giving us death glares. For some reason this just made me laugh harder.

They had to wake the manager up so he could come in and turn off the alarm. He arrived with obvious bed-head to the cheers of all present.

Now the whole second floor smells like burnt popcorn. As oasis_pink_peng said "There goes the new building smell."

Current Mood: amused