Psychological (insert another word for “crap” here)
Far be it from me to criticize the establishment, but they must be stopped. We, who live as humans have been indoctrinated with so much psychobabble that it eeks out of us. It oozes from our pores and leaks on our shoes. Today, I overheard two middle aged women who were in a deep conversation about their father. One of the women was complaining about how the other sister was “enabling” her father and was not allowing him to be self sufficient. This may seem like a fairly “normal” conversation, but I beg to differ.
At what point in our history has it become taboo to care for our parents? The people who brought us in to this world at very least, deserve respect. Elderly parents are inevitable. They, in their own way, fought for us. They fed us, clothed us, sometimes at great cost to themselves. It is never inappropriate to “enable” your elderly loved ones. There is absolutely no shame in cutting them a bit of slack, and allowing them their dignity. They may be regressing as they lose their mental prowess, however, they still sacrificed for us, their children. We should be eager to do the same for them.
There are those who would say that “I didn’t ask to be born”, trying to relieve themselves of any responsibility for their parents. I say you’re right, maybe you should just jump off a cliff and save us all from your selfish ways. To those two women that I overheard, cut him some slack, give him some dignity, and suck it up. You owe him your life, and most likely, far more than that.
You May Be Rich!
Have you ever searched through pockets of old clothing and found money? I did, I bought a coat at a flea market once, it had $100 in the pocket. I was ten and $100 was a fortune. I felt rich, I was wealthy, I could buy and sell Bill Gates! While that wan’t true, (I could only sell Bill Gates, to my sister, for five bucks, but that’s another story), you can’t deny that finding money is a great feeling.
Case in point, someone in Missouri got a really big surprise. It seems that the largest Unclaimed Property file in the US was to be paid out at a whopping $6.1 MILLION dollars. It sure beats the Benjamin that I found in my pocket. As it is, there is nearly $32 billion in the US that has gone unclaimed. If you would like to see if you have any unclaimed property, go to www.unclaimed.org. NAUPA is the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. These are the guys who are in charge of tracking all that money. The Website is pretty easy to use. Just click your state, and fill out the requested information. I used it, and it seems that Oregon owes me a bit of money, and Washington owes my deceased Grandfather nearly a hundred bucks.
Don’t want to do the work yourself? The American Broadcasting Company has got your back. One of the segments of Good Morning America is all about reuniting people with lost money, all you have to do is wait. Or, if you don’t want to wait for GMA, and you don’t want to do it yourself, I guess all you can do is click HERE.
The Problems With Hollywood
I am perplexed by peoples tendency to lean toward the lewd. It seems that society at large is not ruled by the smart and benevolent. Nope, Society is ruled by cracked out sexpots! I find it scary that some people are all hot and bothered over everyone’s favorite Hollywood starlet turned part time jailbird junkie. It seems Lindsey Lohan has posed for Playboy Magazine. Why? For what purpose? Is her reputation so tarnished that posing for a gentleman’s magazine is going to bring her status up?
For those of you who don’t know, Lindsey Lohan is an actress who got her start in a remake of the Walt Disney classic “Parent Trap”. She was such an adorable little kid, with at least a measurable talent. She stayed with Disney for a while and made a few really nice movies that I have no problems showing my children. Now,however, Ms. Lohan has made headlines by living a lewd and disgusting life. She has seen the inside of a jail cell (only for a little while, after all, she is in Hollywood). She has killed the bulk of her brain-cells with drugs and alcohol. She has rebounded so often, that it is hard to figure out if she is normally sickly and emaciated.
The sad part is, She isn’t alone. It seems that the bulk of “Famous” people who started their careers while still children, all head of in this direction. For a short while at least, most of the Hollywood startles that we hear of all turn in to over sexed, drug addicted alcoholics. Drew Barrymore, the Olson Twins, Brittney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and many others have had run in’s with immoral living. And yet, all of them had their start in “Family Oriented” movies and music.
What is the Moral of the story? We should not turn to Hollywood as an example of wholesomeness. What appears nice, clean and wholesome, just turns out to be disgusting and a poor example. I have only picked on the girls at this moment, however it work for boys too. I won’t drop names (Charlie Sheen, Danny Bonnaducci, Michael Jackson). Maybe they are just a reflection of society in general. Maybe they are what everyone “wants” to be. A scary thought!
Inflation or bust.
Searching for a new car, or at least a “New-to-You” car can be tedious. If you have money, oh say, coming out your ears, you stand a chance of getting a decent vehicle. If your budget is half that, you may want to look in the “Matchbox” bin at Walmart. In my experience, finding a decent used car, that is in good repair, and has lower miles for under 8k, impossible. Using the power of the internet, I have searched in a 500 mile radius from my house and all I have found are junkers that should be parted out.
I have thought long and hard as to the reason for this, after all, I can remember my parents buying a one year old Chevy Nova for just about $4,000. Of course that was in 1975, but still, a one year old Chevrolet Cobalt is still around $15000. Now comparing a cobalt to a 1974 Nova is silly, The Nova was built to last, had a strong engine and plenty of room. The cobalt is just a small, cramped, under powered piece of tin…. Wait, something is wrong here. The vehicle that is made to last, and built like a Sherman tank should be the more expensive one, right? Welcome to the USA my friend, where we will charge you far more than something is worth, as long as you will pay it. Value is a thing of the past. Now the whole goal of a company isn’t to provide quality, it is to provide quantity that fails in just a few years so that you have to come back for more. Ahhh Consumerism.
Have fun. I’m moving to Kepler-22b, at least there they don’t gouge you over the price of a used car. I can’t think of how I’m going to get there though, my car is busted. Will anyone from NASA Give me a lift? No? Your vehicles out of commission to? Awww Man!
Healing Unemployment.
Unemployment has struck so many individuals in these times. It almost always comes as a shock, even when it was expected. For some, keeping a job is difficult at best, however, for others, having a job was as normal as breathing. Case in point; For almost seven years I was gainfully employed with a healthcare agency. I helped it grow, I trained people, I helped patients, I fixed computers, etc. For all that time, it was life. There was normality, or so it seemed. In September, I was let go from the company. The excuses that were given were drivel, I mean how many people are fired for being “too nice” or “going the extra mile” for customers? What it boiled down to is that I was one of the higher paid in my position, and healthcare is in trouble in my state. Everyone is cutting back.
Here I am, unemployed, with a lot of time to ponder my situation. I have thought long and hard regarding the nature of the employed\unemployed relationship. The theory I have come up with is that unemployment is necessary to help you de-program from your former life.
When one loses a spouse, to either death or divorce, the experts say that it takes an average of 18 months to get to a “normal” place again. 18 months to get all the way through the grieving process and to discover your own self again. Long term employment is much like a marriage. You learn the ebb and flow of another being, or in the case of employment, several beings. You get to a comfortable place where you know your role, and you have a measure of confidence in your relationship. With these similarities, one would expect that the grieving process would be very similar to grieving for the loss of a spouse.
I can’t say how long the process should take, but I have been out of regular employment for almost 3 months now. I have dabbled in a few temporary jobs and piecework. I have taken a few tech support clients, etc. But all in all, I have allowed my damaged psyche to repair and heal. I have rekindled my spirituality, my family relationships, and strengthened friendships. I have been able to tackle at least a few lines from the honey-do list, and I have been able to be more involved in my son’s education. I am a whole person again. I am me, not some corporate yes man who dances like a trained monkey for peanuts. I am free.
Oh, by the way, does anyone want to buy a Kidney? Money is a bit tight and I have an extra one. No, what about a lung? Piece of Liver? Come on, I’m broke. I need the funds… Aww man, I need a job.
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