Talk Thursday: I Mind / I Don’t Mind – Yes, I really do mind.

I almost got into a pissing match with two friends of mine over health care reform tonight. After they showed their ignorance I shut up and let it go. You can't lead the blind when they want to be blind. And, yes, I mind their blind ignorance a lot.

It began because my friend’s husband, a diabetic with about a quarter use of his heart, is now in a nursing home after almost dying. He is in the nursing home only until he can get his feet underneath him and then he can come home. At the same time she has a daughter who is severely disabled and frequently hospitalized. On top of her daughter’s on going needs, they will now be billed for her husband’s stay in the rehab center.

The other “friend” ekes a living off Social Security and Medicare.

Neither thinks that “Obamacare” is a good thing. Oh no, he’s bleeding us dry, giving us government intrusions into our lives. Both mocked the Obama’s for how much money they make and that maybe they could come organize their lives. I minded this much. Very FUCKING MUCH.

She is being sucked dry by no job, too many medical bills, and their energy bills and consumption make me quiver in fear. Yet, health care reform that is meant to help people just like her gets her distain.

He could have had a retirement plan, he worked for Bechtold, I mean really he had a good plan until he cashed it in for a piano for his wife. Seriously. Dude, what were you thinking? He was thinking he’d live on Social Security, because by gosh he’s going to get back every penny he paid in (I think he passed that mark years ago) and while he doesn’t want government messing with health care, he has no problem being on Medicare. I’m thinking this greatly pisses me off - he wants wants wants on my tax dollars, but doesn’t care about anyone else.

John Boehner and company wants us to believe that the budget busting, job killing bill would add $701 billion to the national deficit over the next ten years. Nancy Pelosi and cronies want us to believe this will save us $1.3 Trillion over the next ten years. Smoke and Mirrors. They are both blowing smoke up our proverbial skirts (gosh I miss wearing dresses.)

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office states that repealing the health care law would worsen the federal deficit over the next 10 years — by $230 billion. (1)

If I know this, they could know this too. I don’t mind an opposing thought if it’s based on educated knowledge, but on willful ignorance – no way. Instead of intelligent decision making, they will just let the agenda laden talking heads tell them what to know and think, instead of learning for themselves. And yes Virginia, I mind this very much.

Sith,
Cele

1. Fact Check - A Budget Busting Bill.

Talk Thursday: Patience

Patience is probably the only virtue I possess, and that may be questionable at times. Yes, my feathers do get ruffled. Yes, my feelings do get hurt. And yes, I remember every mean, hurtful, or bad thing a person says to me or at me in a vague time frame. I don’t deal well with people who throw tantrums, nor those who look down on others. I do not deal well with people who live their lives to be rude. In respect to how I would like others to envision me, as a sea of calm (something I hardly am).

Truth be it, I would love to be calm when calamity is falling about my shoulders. The person who can walk away, gosh I wish I tried to be someone other than the voice of (self-perceived) wisdom, the grown up in the group, the one in possession of her wits. But no, I think I can reason with megalomaniacs – idiot (and I’m referring to me as the idiot) you should never beat your head against a brick wall – it’s like beating a dead horse. Calm demeanor and wise words will not make a door appear nor the horse rise up and drink water. I need to learn to just walk away – someone please tell me how to do that.

I am a believer in people, a believer that grown adults will see reason, that small children will learn from good example and lessons, and that we can live as one. I know, I know, I’m a dreamer. Yes, there will always be people who don’t play well with others, there will be stupid reasons for throwing temper tantrums, and there will always be individuals or groups who believe they're superior and God given (whether they believe in (a) God or not.) And therefore there will always be a need for voices of reason, the calm in the midst of a battle/storm/or tantrum, there will always be a need for wisdom. In a way of speaking isn’t that a sad comment on the human condition?

During the holiday season I tend to thrive in the midst of holiday shopping, not that I shop much, but I see it as my duty to spread cheer and peace. It is my duty to smile at every person I meet and to be especially demonstrative in my appreciation of another’s service to the community. I especially relish being the person in line behind someone rather rude and obnoxious. Not that I mean to embarrass the people with me, nor the person being abused, it is my intent to shame the person who is rude and abusive. It doesn’t always work, but it almost always gets me a smile from the abused. My smiles always bring comment and almost always a smile in return.

Is it patience or just the life of a dreamer? I’m not really sure.

Sith,
Cele

Oregon Football is not a matter of life or death

It’s much more important that that. Not an original thought (I stole it from this blog), but I loved it enough to ah ehm hmmm, borrow it for my BCS blog. I’m fairly frickin’ tired of people downing my Ducks, thank you very much Robert Smith, you over paid stuffed shirt. A Rivalry is made up of two sides, but football analysis need at least two collective brain cells to rub together – Robert Smith lost his in the pro
battles of his yester-year. A football rivalry needs two teams to show up on the gridiron on the same day. Now last year my Ducks fell in the Rose Bowl against my cousin’s Buckeyes. Last New Years Day my Ducks played a better team….
On that day. Because yes, I believe any team can be beaten on any given day.

My Ducks may not win against Auburn, but they will give it their best, and if they lose it will be because Auburn was better on Monday, January 10th and I will live to root for my Ducks another day. In the words of Supwichugirl, “I love my Ducks.”
And believe me the Quake will return.



Everyone one with a sports network or cable show has dissed my Ducks, this ticks me off to no end, I hope it is ticking off my Ducks as well. I am sure that the discussion will be all Auburn through out the game, I will still watch. But in my underdog, football heart of hearts I truly look forward to Robert Smith eating is words. And for that matter Herb Kirkstreet, too.



Win or lose I want to be on the streets of Eugene come January 22nd to cheer my Ducks in a Celebration of Champions.

Go Green - GODUCKS!
Cele

PS - And on the record I have a hard time believing Cam Newton didn't know his dad was shopping him in hopes of play for pay. Surely someone would have clued him in. I don't buy it.

Note: all pictures taken from the internet and are not property of.... moi, but used under fair use laws and are in no way meant to be detrimental, but fully in awe of people who love my Ducks and were able to take their pictures. Thank you, I am forever humble and in awe.

Talk Thursday: Simplicity

Adore the concept; abhor the difficulty of implementing simplicity. Less is more, less is better, people each want different things and that is hard to simplify. I keep wanting a simple life, but I keep messing that part up.

I had one kid, well I was supposed to have two, but that’s another story. So simple, I had one child, but then I kept marrying other people. So her name and social security number have caused her multiple problems. I had one child, so she never got the bigger brother she wanted, for which I apologize. I had one child, whom I adore. She had one child and never got married. Smart chick.

Marriage (and therefore life there after) was suppose to be simple, you fell in love, got married, and lived happily ever after. Someone shot the guy on the white horse and substituted my first husband. Hmmm, and I think my second husband too. No one taught me marriage is hard work; I was taught anything worth having was worth working for and marriage certainly is, it took me years to realize not everyone was taught that little truism. That complicates things a bit. Hence, three husbands later….

In 1981 the second guy I married and I bought a house (before we got married as a partnership.) Now that was simple enough. Even more so is the fact that while he owned a house he didn’t’ believe in nesting or making that house better or even a home. Third husband definitely nested, believes in making a house a home, and making the house that houses the home better…. Which complicates the lazy side of me. Where I had no real furniture, there is now real furniture, real carpet, and a need to paint…again. Where there was sand blowing over rock bark and weeds, there is now a lawn, okay, two lawns, two gardens, a courtyard, an enclosed deck and peace, and beauty, and a need to weed… a lot. That’s not a bitch I love to weed for the most part. But now it’s complicated, you try fighting to keep out of your weeks a man who doesn’t know a seedling from a weed.

When I first started in radio, it was four hours a week on Sundays. We had a huge multiple reel-to-reel automation system that was a relic from decades long past. The CD player seemed such a novelty. That was twenty-one years ago. Now I’m the programming director/operations manager, the CD players are back ups for when the computerized system fails, when I need to defrag, or reboot. Instead of one AM transmitter that got turned on at sunrise and off at sunset I have an automated AM Array Transmitter that has not one but two FM translators, AND an FM station – each are governed by similar, but extremely complicated rules. Ha, I fondly remember back to when I was simply an employee.

My mother raised me to be the best I could be, to be independent, to be strong, to be true to myself, kind to all people, and to question all I did not understand. Again, simple in concept, not the easiest to execute, why do people have to be so tough? It complicates things. Once in grade school, about the fourth or fifth grade, I had a friend - Andrea. She was getting flack from other schoolmates over her weigh; defending her I got in trouble and had to miss recess for the remainder of the day, because I had been insensitive to Andrea’s weight. I’m not sure how that happened; I remember being highly offended they were picking on her about something she had no control over. Years later, when Pinecone and Butch were sophomores, Butch got his license. We lived four miles out of town and he would drive himself and Pinecone to school. I saw red when I found out he would make her duck under the dashboard if his friends were in view. WTF? (Simply put, he’s a butthead to this day.) What was so hard about the situation was the pain and embarrassment I caused Pinecone when I brought up and tried to rectify the problem . She was mortified and the problem never resolved.

Over the years, I’ve learned being a simple person is complicated merely by the fact that I am human as are most of the people around me. I don’t require a lot – love, nurturing, rain, and a good hot cup of herbal tea (this month country peach), a kiss from my husband, conversation with my daughter, a hug from grandson is all I need to be happy and at peace, if for even just a moment. But life is rarely that simply, so I cherish the moments when they happen even more, waiting for the complications to descend.

Sith,
Cele

Welcome Twenty Eleven, Nice To Meet You

Now get off my toe. Yesterday Harley made a comment on air about December 31st being the Feast of Sylvester (I kid you not) and if an east wind is blowing it bodes calamity for the New Year. Yesterday’s weather forecast for the central Oregon Coast: Partly Sunny (it was cloudy) East winds … through Tuesday – highs 40 to 45 degrees…. Clear skies, east winds, lows 30 35 degrees. We had clouds all day and 47. Rain last night 33 degrees. And Friggin’ east winds. What the Frell is that about?

I actually made midnight and a few before I went to bed this morning. This morning began at six after six with dead air on my FM dial. I called the Smurfette got a run down and went back to bed until she called me at 9:30. I spent the next forty five minutes at work rebooting computers. And then treated Ducky and myself to mochas and chocolate chocolate chip muffins. It’s not crispy hash browns, but it works.

So to close out Two ought ten I had one part timer out for a week because he was having trigeminal surgery. He’s now out for four week’s because in English, he had brain surgery, I’m not bitching, he talked his doctor down from six weeks out. My main hand man, the ying to my business yang, had a nasty ass ear infection to close out two thousand ten, he’s now kicked off twenty eleven with nasty ass ear infections in both ears. My third part timer, who has a full time job at the local Kroger, is helping with part of the basketball games, but we cover three teams… ouch.

So I tried to hook up Ducky’s Wii. I’m the techie of the house. I apparently don’t speak Wii. I hate when I have to call my bro inlaw for techie support, it’s what everyone else to who he is related does. I feel like I’ve failed – really it can’t be that difficult. I hooked all the appropriate cord to the appropriate Wii orifice. Took the appropriate audio/video RCA plugs and put them into the appropriate DVR audio/video Inputs – Nada. Yes, I sync’d the remotes. Despite being preloaded with Wii Sports I have no menu. I put in a game disc ( Link’s Crossbow Training) hit the home button. Nada. I punched every button on my remote. Nada. I stood on my head and spun three time to the east. Nada. I walked away and cooked dinner. Still nada, but I’m feted.

Ducky got me these kewl Christmas socks in my stocking.
Pandas. They totally rock. I’d gotten Burp monkey socks for his stocking, and Ducky got Psam frog socks. I really wanted a picture of all three pairs of Christmas feet. Drats that didn’t happen.
I pulled my Christmas Panda socks out of the dryer, to find out they’d begun coming unsewn. I whipped out my needle and repaired my socks. But oops, I got one of the feet wrong. But the socks fit even better than they did before being washed.

My Christmas tree is still up, my Christmas decorations are still up, and my roots are two weeks past due. But I’m good. I burnt my has browns, but TCU won and I’m good. Go Uconn.
The wind of twenty eleven is calm right now.

Sith,
Cele