It's begining to look a lot like Christmas...

But not the one I was taught about growing up in a Lutheran house hold from Tennessee. Good God loving southern family that we were, we kept in mind what the holiday is supposed to celebrate (for those of you unsure, that would be the birth of the baby Jesus!). Most of you know I'm a Buddhist now and not a Christian. But that doesn't mean I can't be appalled by how the holiday is celebrated these days.

I was thinking about this because I do ALL my holiday shopping on line. Yes, I still celebrate Christmas. It's a holiday I loved as a child, and not just because I got presents-though yeah, that was (and is) totally fun and awesome and stuff. It was because my family was there. And I love my family. My crazy, extra large, semi-eccentric family. If they didn't have a hand in raising me, I would not be the person I am today. Frankly I think that's missing in today's society and I think that's part of what's wrong with us these days. But that's another blog entry entirely.

So anyway, the biggest reason I do all my holiday shopping on line is because I hate the holiday shopping crowds. No one is excited for the coming holiday. The shoppers are stressed out because their kids what the super duper deluxe xbox/wii combo and the store advertised they only had five of them in stock and would sell them for the bargain price of $550! The workers are stressed because they make a bit over minimum wage, had to be at the store at 4:30 a.m. and know that there's only five of those damn super duper deluxe xbox/wii combos in stock and some crazy mother will scream at the top of her lungs at them about how they should make this up to her because her precious son is the only child in the world that really deserves that toy! Oh, and there's a good chance someone will get punched in the face by an angry father who doesn't know why the hell he has to do all this shopping crap in the first place.

I'm pretty sure that I was taught that Christmas was a celebration of the birth of Jesus and a time to reflect on life and enjoy your family and all around celebrate the miracles of life and all that fun stuff. Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Way better that screaming and fighting at and with/around perfect strangers. Christmas is not about stuff. It's about love. That's what I think anyway. That's why I still celebrate it. I like love. In fact, I LOVE love! Who doesn't? Yeah, it's nice to get presents from people. Honestly though, I like Christmas cards. They don't take up a lot of space (I've got a tiny apartment!), and people can be surprisingly honest in them. I like that. Anything I need, I just buy anyway. This year, most people aren't getting stuff from me. They're getting Christmas cards that tell them how much I appreciate having them in my life. They're having donations made in their honor to charities, because some children's parents can't even afford food and shelter, let alone a super duper deluxe xbox/wii combo. Those people need my money rather than stores. They may even get a hug and a Merry Christmas! My family and friends don't need more things. They just need to know they're loved...and they are!

So while you guys where fighting it out to get the coolest toy for your kid, I got the few things I wanted to get for my loved ones online. And I stayed happy, while you got angry. I gave myself the opportunity to enjoy the season. Maybe next year you'll give yourself the opportunity to enjoy it too. Because once you remember what it's all about, it's one of the best days ever! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Gay marriage-more you're a fucking bigot proof!

Big thank you to Shereeeeeeeea and her almost a pastor until he thought better of it dad for giving me really awesome examples of stuff the bible says we should/shouldn't do that we don't/do do anyway!

Cotton/wool blend clothing?-No!
Polygamy-Yes!
Lift a finger on the Sabbath for anything not God related?-No!
Human sacrifice?-well, we kinda covered that in the whole kill your kid because God said to, but just to clarify the point, it gets a big ol' YES! Oh, animal sacrifice is required in the Old Testament as well.
Be mean to immigrants?-No! "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him,for you were aliens in Egypt"-score! I could write an post about immigration too...damn gringo racists!
Marrying a non virgin?-Yeah...not so much ok with the Lord.
Marry outside race?-that gets a no too
Children born out of wedlock?-Banished!
Cutting your hair?-well, that's forbidden!

Yeah, there's more I'm sure. You get my point though right? If gay marriage is forbidden in the bible and that's the argument you're going to use to make your bigotry acceptable, then follow that bible to the letter damn it! Kill your flock! Marry your dead brother's wife! And start growing out that hair while you're at it you freaking Roman!

Gay marriage...the horror!

Yet another big topic for a girl like me to tackle. Can I handle it? I'll give it my best!

Lots of people say they're against gay marriage because it goes against what the bible says. Ok. Here's the issue I've have with that argument. People only use it when they've got nothing else to back up their hate. You hear it from people who are actually bigots, but can't stand up and admit their beliefs and say "I don't believe in it because I hate gay people". Because that's the real truth. They're bigots. They hate gay people for whatever reason. But you can't hide behind the bible on this. Here's a small sampling of why!

If we do things or don't do things because it's in the bible then why are the following not ok in our society? (Mind you, this is just a sample)
Slavery-the bible is all for it.
Beating your wife-kiddos...that's where the saying "rule of thumb" came from.
Killing/threatening to kill your own children-they call it the insanity defense when the voice of God tells you to take the life of your own child. If the jury buys it, expect to spend the rest of your life in the loony-bin.
Infanticide-On the subject of killing children, it's ok to leave a newborn out to die if it has a visible physical defect
Fathers offering their daughters up to be raped-because hey, it's better than the men in your town being sodomized!
Love thy neighbor as you love yourself-I would assume that means gay people too. I put that under this heading because it seems to be something we're not too into anymore.

Things that the bible say is not ok that we do anyway:
Premarital sex-need I say more?
Sex within marriage for pleasure rather than reproduction-totally unfair right? You wait all this time to get married so you can fool around, and now you're only allowed to do it to make babies?! WTF!
Treat others less than human because we refuse to believe God would make someone gay-ok, so that's not exactly what's in there, but it falls along the lines of that whole love thy neighbor thing.

Things that if you go by biblical example we should be for but for some reason, none of us can agree on:
Abortion-if you can kill children because God said to and leave infants out to die because of a harelip, certainly you should be able to end an unwanted pregnancy. Hey, it follows the same logic.
Capital punishment-an eye for an eye!

I just don't get you crazy homophobic people! I can go outside right now, find some guy, and fly off to Vegas and marry him. I can! Because I'm a woman, and a guy is another word for man. So that's totally ok and keeps the "sanctity" of marriage in tact. Totally right? But, God forbid a same sex couple that loves each other and is committed to one another get to enjoy the same right as I do with my random guy I found on the street who's name I don't know and will only allow to sleep on my couch. Can't have that! Love? Commitment? What does that have to do with marriage?!

I guess my mother did a better job with me than yours did with you. She raised me to love everyone because that's what Jesus taught. If you call yourself a Christian, and you condone this hatred, well, good luck explaining that on Judgment Day!

Here's my bottom line. When the state became the entity that condones marriage, it became a civil, SECULAR matter. The Constitution of The United States does not allow for discrimination. Religious beliefs have no place in the argument. It's discriminatory and discrimination has no place in our country. So shove it! Thanks for listening :D

To the P.O.S. at Target on Saturday (non-G rated blog)

You are a fucking perverted son of a scum ass whore bitch. Oh what? Don't remember what you did? Let me remind you. I was the woman standing behind you at the checkout stand. The one you kept looking up and down. The one you told your TEENAGE DAUGHTER you "could do" while your wife ran off to grab something she forgot to get. The one you continued to whisper to your TEENAGE DAUGHTER about anytime your wife was distracted once she came back to the line. You are a disgusting piece of child molesting white trash. I'm sure you're a child molester. Otherwise it would never occur to you to tell your TEENAGE DAUGHTER the disgusting drivel that comes from your waste of a demented rotting brain. Normal people would never do that. Only perverted scum like you. I hope you're attacked by a mob of angry mothers and hung by your testicles from a tree in the middle of a forest until they rip off and your limbs are torn from your body by a pack of rabid wolves and you slowly bleed out. Then you'll go to hell where you belong you fucking piece of shit.

Sometimes I feel like an old lady

I hate winter. I like hot, sunny days with a slow, cool breeze. Days where if you have a hankerin to go swimming, you can because it's just so beautiful out. Or a nice fall day, with a cool (but not cold) morning, a nice warm day, and a cool (again, not cold) evening where you can snuggle up in your Snuggie (just got one this weekend, super duper nifty I must say. They even came with these awesome slipper socks that I will now wear whenever home.) and watch a movie or grill a little outside. I do not like to be cold. Ever ever ever! I have all these little aches and pains that pop up/get worse when it's cold. Screw that whole "I like the cold better because I can always put on more layers, but there's only so much clothing I can take off before I get arrested" crap. Speak for your crazy self there. Layers do jack (that means nothing for those that aren't sure) for the wrist I broke at 8. Nor do layers do anything for my cartilage deficient knee. Or my tweaked back. Or the nifty bit of arthritis I've started developing in my finger. Yes, at all of 30 years old, I'm all kinds of banged up. Pack me off to a rest home in Florida. We'll all be happier. When my ouchies start ouching, I get cranky. I'm writing this as fair warning to all of you that must endure the next 6 months of me. I promise it's nothing personal. Just bring me a heating pad as a peace offering and I'll try to leave you out of my cold induced fits of rage.

Ice cubes do not make better boiling water and boiling water does not make better ice cubes!

I was at a house warming not too long ago. The host of this party said one of the dumbest things to me, and I had a very very hard time keeping my know-it-all (yes I know I can be a know-it-all, but I swear I know I don't know everything) mouth shut and not correct him in his own home. Man it was hard! Know why? Once I paraphrase what he said I hope you'll understand.

It went down kind of like this:
Some guy-"Hey George*, we're out of your famous margaritas!"
George-"Oh! I'll take care of that right now! Oh (poo)! I'm out of ice cubes." George starts running the HOT water from the tap to make ICE CUBES. Then he says something like this... "Did you know hot water freezes faster than cold or room temperature water and cold water boils faster than hot water or room temperature water?"

Oy! My brain about exploded with the illogical nonsense that just came out of that man's mouth! I'd heard such silliness before, but only from silly people that you wouldn't expect to know better. Like those girls that spent high school hanging out at the mall and the guys that thought they were great. Those people saying something like that...well, I'm just not too surprised when that happens. But this guy is a smart one. I was shocked. Shocked I tell you!

His reasoning for why this is the case? The water molecules have to work harder to get from one extreme to the other. And I guess that would be true, if the molecules had any intention of being hot rather than cold and vice versa. Thing is, they don't. They just want to be themselves. That's they're one and only intention. They don't care if you want them to freeze or to get so hot they start dancing around. They're totally zen about such things. Just let it happen-that's their motto! So, they're just not going to work any harder to be hot or cold.

The truth is, the only thing doing extra work is the heat/cold source. In the case of boiling ice cubes (doesn't that even just sound silly?!), that will mean an extra few pennies on your energy bill. That's because it will take more time to go from one extreme to the other. In the case of freezing boiling water, you'll have to wait longer for the ice cubes for the famous margaritas. Basic physics people.

2 weeks later, my hero's The Myth Busters aired a debunking of this craziness. On an unrelated note, they also explained in a different episode exactly why I close the toilet lid when I flush.

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of this usually intelligent person.

Health care reform

A big thing to tackle for a mere receptionist that loves make up I know. But hey, it effects me in a big way. So I'll throw my opinion filled hat into the ring. Ready? Let's get started!

It's all about the money honey!
As the President illustrated last night, insurance companies find all sorts of nifty reasons to not pay for the care you'd expect. You expect to be covered for care needed when you get sick because you pay these companies a good chunk of your hard earned change every month. The thing is, they're for profit corporations, so any time they have to pay out big bucks for life saving care, it hurts their bottom line. Stock holders hate it when the bottom line isn't as great as it perhaps could have been because lives where being saved. Nope. It's all about the money. Anyone that tells you any different is the real liar.

Zero regulation=Super duper profit margins!
Ok, so zero is a bit of an exaggeration. There is a modicum of regulation (mostly state) set up to rein these big boys in. Clearly, what is currently set in place is ineffective at best. Now, I am by no means the biggest fan of big government regulation you'll find. I think MOST people can make common sense choices if given the opportunity and information to do so. Adding a layer of government red tape where it is not warranted seems to just muck things up. But, when people are denied benefits they have dutifully paid for, someone with clout needs to step in. The dreaded government giant needs to stomp his foot and say "No more!" We're not talking about people that bit off more than they could chew because they wanted a bigger house than they could afford here (don't EVEN get me started on that!). We're talking about hard workers who pay into a system they hope they'll never need but know a safety net is the smart decision to make. That safety net must be there should they fall (both figuratively and in the most literal sense possible).

The Uninsured Issue
This one is a tuffy. I've been uninsured. It's a scary place to be, let me tell ya! I was uninsured for the same reason most others are. I was too old to be carried on my parent's policy anymore (did you know that if you're in college, most policies will cover a child until they're 25ish but if you're in vocational school-licensed Esthetician here!-insurance companies don't consider that "real" school and therefor do not extend coverage?), and I worked a part time job that offered no benefits to part time employees. This is a very common practice as it helps keep costs down and profits up (see above for refresher if needed). Others maybe working full time jobs, but do not make enough to spare the extra expense a heath insurance policy can bring. Many people know how tough it is to live paycheck to paycheck, with out ends ever entirely meeting. The uninsured (predominantly) fall into this category.

The if's/and's/or's/but's of coverage
We're talking the fine print now. This is where they find their excuses to limit, cancel and over charge. Are you a married woman of child baring age? Guess what?! Lots of policies would like to charge you a whole lot more than a single woman in the same health. Know why? Because if you're married, clearly you must intend on having children! Those things are EXPENSIVE to bring into this world darn it! That means you should pay much much more. Even if you've had your tubes tied, your husband went under the knife, you've got an IUD and take a pill every day just in case all other measures fail. Cystic acne when you were a teen? Policy should be canceled due to your pre-existing condition! Type 1 diabetes? Well, guess that's not entirely your fault (but probably a little-you probably did something to deserve it), but you'll still be paying more for that darn pancreas issue you've got going on. Broke your wrist playing football? Forget about any arthritis meds you may need in the future-it's your fault and you shouldn't get benefits because of it. Mental health issue?!?!?!?! You really think they should help you out with that? That is so totally your fault too! Suck it up, you really have only yourself to blame. All sarcasm and jest aside, this is the way it is for millions of people.

Oh what to do, what to do???

Regulate!
That's right. I said it. I'll say it again for good measure. REGULATE!!!!!!!!! I get the argument that comes up every time anyone wants to regulate anything. Free markets regulate themselves. Competition encourages fair practices. Yada yada yada and blah blah blah. Know what I say to that in this case? Bull flipping feathers! See if's/and's/or's/but's above. It's just not the case. Everyone needs health care. Everyone has to go to the doctor at some point in time. These companies know this. They make bank because of it. They know they can charge whatever they want and those of us that can afford the price tag will pay it. The rest will be a burden on the system carried by the rest of us. And I do not blame the uninsured for their circumstance-let me make that very clear. They have simply been priced out. That's not fair to any of us. Health insurers have proven they are not capable of self regulation. Therefor, we need to tell them what they can and can not do. Plain and simple.

Reform malpractice
And you were beginning to think I was a bleeding heart leftist commie weren't you? Nope. I just believe in common sense and decency. Common decency dictates that you don't give people the option to go bankrupt, live in pain, or die when you can help them. Common sense says that abuse of the system causes costs to everyone else to increase. An obvious abuse is in the realm of malpractice. Both the insurers that cover it and the people that see dollar signs if they get an infected incision because they don't follow proper aftercare or suffer an allergic reaction to a medication because they never told their doctor they were allergic to penicillin and eggs. Doctors pay a ridiculous amount for their malpractice insurance. And just like us, quite often, that policy doesn't pay out should they need it. They order unnecessary tests to protect themselves should they be sued. This drives up the cost of health care for all of us. We live in such a litigious society that doctors must pull a CYA or their livelihood could be easily lost. Now, don't get me wrong. If you're supposed to have your gangrened left foot amputated and wake up to find your right hand gone, sue that incompetent bastard! If you have a festering wound that won't heal because someone left a paper towel in your abdomen, take on that hospital! BUT, if you fail to tell your doctor about an allergy or other medical condition, THAT IS NOT THE DOCTOR'S FAULT! You have no one but yourself to blame on that. We all get to pay for those frivolous lawsuits. Doctors build their costs of doing business into their fees just like every other business. Part of the cost of doing business? That's right, malpractice insurance. So, if they're getting charged an outrageous amount for insurance they'll likely never need to use because of our sue happy nation, guess who REALLY pays that bill? You and me. No fun, no fun at all I say!

What should be done with all those people that couldn't afford insurance even if the companies decided to play a fair game of ball?
Don't worry, I'm not a heartless bastard. If there are people that can not afford insurance even after regulators beat the big bad insurance companies into shape, I have a solution! It's a safety net (for lack of a better phrase). It's based on a sliding scale. If they go in for treatment, they pay based on what they can afford. Period. End of story. If you make more than a set dollar amount, you would be expected to have an insurance. If you do not, it would be kind of like when you get into an car accident and were cited for no insurance. You'd have the opportunity to go out and get insurance. The insurance companies would not be allowed to deny you coverage based on the fact that you had to go to the doctor. Just like they can't deny you car insurance because you were in that accident. Perhaps they will charge you a bit more, but hey, you should have had that insurance in the first place! If you still think you don't need insurance, you pay the full cost of your treatment.

Now, I know I can't solve ALL the problems of the world, but I think these politicians should consult me a bit more often!

Alright

I have decided that I do in fact have a life beyond the telephone system attached to my ear 9 hours of the day. Since that's the case, I also decided that life deserves its very own blog. And this is it. And there you go. That is all for today. Goodbye.