Totally Appropriate!!

So I ran across this comic this evening and thought it was perfect considering one of my previous posts. :) I LOVE IT.

You know you're tired when...

you fall alseep twice on the way home from work while sitting at stop lights... and you only live six blocks away...

you fall asleep in the middle of typing an email and end up with a line of l's in the middle of it... and don't notice until AFTER you send it...

sitting still for more than five seconds at a time makes your head bob and your neck ache from jerking yourself back awake...

Open Letter

So I got this "Open letter to President Obama" in email today. Now I'm pretty liberal in my thinking.. OK I'm about as liberal as i can be without being a total nut job. yes I do say "total" because I'm sure some of the rightys out there would consider me a nut job.. in fact I know a couple.. :)

So I'm adding my thoughts in red... I just thought this would be a fun exercise. however keep in mind this is just my opinion -- for fun!!

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. We fear that which we don't understand... keep that in mind.. we also, as Americans, fear change of any kind...

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. Then that is your fault the man has TWO books out and have you ever heard of GOOGLE?? If you know nothing about him it's because you haven't done your research.. the man no longer has a private life.. get off your ass and do some research..

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. College loans and writing TWO BOOKS... they live off of royalties.. did you not pay attention during the election??

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. Right because this is a requirement to be a good citizen? Ask my dad.. he can give you plenty of examples of people who did grow up culturally as an American who did spend their formative years in America and are now on HOUSE ARREST... American does not automatically = good... good parenting and a strong family unit typically is the only thing that creates good citizenship.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. Ummm... are you kidding me? Ronald Regan was an ACTOR... and George W Bush..well do I really need to elaborate??

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core. Again.. GW Bush.. seriously.. the National Guard?? That is why he has ADVISORS... no one is an expert at everything

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others. I do not understand this point. The man has more class in his fingernail than GW had in his entire family... seriously did you ever read about his personal life.. or his alcoholic daughters?

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail. Really? Just because you happen to know someone doesn't mean you believe all the things they believe.. hey the beautiful thing about America is that you can have your own opinions and not everyone has to think alike.. I know people who own guns and I happen to think they are part of the problem with this world... doesn't mean I hate those people or don't associate with them.. we just don't talk about it...

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad. Ummm... who else is there to blame for our screw ups... Mexico?? Canada?

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. the Government should protect the people... NOT the industry... if we can't do it ourselves it is the government's JOB to do it for us... Besides.. it's worked over there for hundreds of years... we are still a relatively young country in comparison... shoot America is barely a teenager in comparison.. do your teenagers always make the best decisions?? I work at a college... so you don't have to answer that.. I spend my time cleaning up your parenting disasters...

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one. Our heath care system is failing.. heath care is not a privilege for those who can afford it, it should be a fundamental right for anyone who NEEDs it.. If the government provided a cheaper alternative to big business insurance companies it helps EVERYONE.. 1. The big insurance companies would be FORCED to lower their prices in order to compete -- the corner stone of our "sacred" market economy is competition. 2. Small businesses wouldn't have to provide insurance so they could afford to hire more people thus increasing the number of jobs available 3. people who needed medical care could get it -- CHILDREN could get medical attention when they needed it and it wouldn't be reserved for children with parents who could afford it... take a moment and google the list of the happiest countries in the world.. the top 5 all have a government run health care system -- it is a fundamental right.. not a commodity -- heck most of them are socialist countries and are HAPPY with it and their place in the world.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. Windmills are better for the environment you ass!! If we keep running through our fossil fuels we will eventually RUN OUT or be forced to rely on other countries again as we do now... wind is cheap -- it just happens...

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world. This is a dirty lie.. there is no golden egg... capitalism is not the best system in the world. While it may create the richest rich, it also creates the poorest poor.. it creates a class system and dissatisfaction with life.. the "American dream" is just that, a dream. in this country 20% of the people control 80% of the wealth.. how the hell is that fair? Climb out of your ivory tower and realize that most of the people in this country are barely making it day to day... most live paycheck to paycheck hoping that nothing serious goes wrong because then they are screwed.. the only thing this country does is creates this impossible dream that one day I could possibly make it rich, but it doesn't really work that way.. the average Joe thinks that if he works hard enough he can make it rich.. not so.. you have to invent something extraordinary in order to bust out of the class you were born in.. even with a higher education.. which has become less and less valuable as education has become more widely available.. capitalism is not a golden goose.. it's a lead weight... its only good for those at the top... and creates impossible dreams for everyone else..

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations. I don't know what this means, but if the damn republicans had been paying attention the bank crisis wouldn't have happened... they tend to watch out for their own interests..

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. Maybe because they are hoping it works.. wild and irresponsible are judgements that no one can make until after they've tried and failed.. YOU don't know if it will work or not... but as in all business you have to spend money to make money..

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. "Intelligent people" are what got this country into the mess it is in..

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. Now you're getting personal... I've read or watched all of his speeches and he's never made either claim...

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. Nothing wrong with keeping an open mind...

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. Because these people are idiots and will disagree with him simply because it's change and they are old men who hate change.. seriously these dudes don't look at society as a whole, just their wallets and the wallets of their friends.. then they spin everything in a negative way just because it wasn't their idea... come on.. Rush Limbaugh?? the man is a coke head.. and O'Reilly -- the man started on HARD COPY.. a GOSSIP rag.. you can't tell me that as an intelligent adult that you'd actually listen to anything he has to say...

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing. Like I told my grad today.. sometimes you have to be the boss.. if people aren't doing what they need to be doing sometimes you just have to be the boss...

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. Hopefully because the rest of America will wisen up and stone you for writing such crap...

Lou Pritchett


Note: Lou Pritchett is a former vice president of Procter & Gamble whose career at that company spanned 36 years before his retirement in 1989, and he is the author of the 1995 business book, Stop Paddling & Start Rocking the Boat. = rich dude who probably has more than he could possibly ever need or use but who doesn't want to share with those who really need it... and has probably never experienced poverty or met anyone who has experienced real true poverty... idiot

Mr.. Pritchett confirmed that he was indeed the author of the much-circulated "open letter." “I did write the 'you scare me' letter. I sent it to the NY Times but they never acknowledged or published it. However, it hit the internet and according to the ‘experts’ has had over 500,000 hits.

I hate work politics

So we all hate work politics, but unfortunately it's a necessary evil in most environments. I got hit in the face with it today and almost blew a gasket.

Last week my boss and I were chatting about what I want to do when I finally grow up. He made a joke about me taking his job and I literally laughed in his face and baldly stated that I had no desire to be a Director of Res Life.. that in fact, that's probably one of the last jobs in the world I would take. He flattered me the by telling me that we needed to talk about it further because he thought I should reconsider that. He said that there were tons of people currently in the position who did not have the skills to do it, but that I do have the talent and should use it. While I was immensely flattered by his confidence in me, I absolutely have no desire to be a director of housing/res life. And I carefully laid out my reasoning -- I hate the politics involved.

Let's face it folks, I wasn't made to be a mover and a shaker... I'm too honest for that. Now, to be totally truthful, I can lie like a rug.. I just choose not to... I don't have the patience for BS nor do I have the energy to keep track of lies and gossip. Hence, my extremely slow upward journey.. LOL

At EMU I went nowhere because i refused to play the game. I detest people who make sport of others and because I refused to be a part of that i was shunned by the "popular kids." It's kind of happening here as well. I typically keep my mouth shut and listen, but don't gossip. Since I don't share gossip I'm not really of value in the political sphere... unfortunately in a division that operates more on gossip than skill or fact -- that's a hindrance. I'm too honest and forthright. People, typically, do not have to wonder where they stand with me. You're either an acquaintance, or you're a friend -- hate and dislike take too much energy so there are FEW that fit into the dislike category.. there are a few.. but the number is small.

Unfortunately one of our administrators is at the top of that list, especially after today.

I have spent the last year of my life devoted to creating an innovative, exciting, fun, and educational training program for our department. I have fought (and won) several battles (some of them I drew blood) in order to get to do the training program the way I wanted it done. It's something I've wanted to do for years because I knew it would be amazing and would help not only with Morale, but with retention as well. Unfortunately, prior to my current supervisor no one had enough balls to let me try something new and different. But this year was different. I was able to create a comprehensive, skills based, experiential learning workshop that addressed all of the important skill sets and used a variety of techniques to illustrate and reiterate the programs. It was freaking AWESOME. Morale was up 100% over last year. Staff were happy, peppy, joking, getting to know each other. We actually built a huge staff community where everyone across campus was getting to know each other and having fun in the process.

For the first time in the 10 years I've been involved in in RA training I heard absolutely ZERO complaints about training. In fact, other administrators on campus were pulling me aside to pass on all the good things the student staff were saying about training this year. Today was supposed to be the culmination of the training. we were ending with a graduation ceremony and giving them Residential Life University T-shirts as a completion gift. Kind of their certificate, if you will. As part of the ceremony we had planned to have a motivational speaker.

Well, without going too much into it, the speaker was not who I wanted it to be (because of office politics) and I was assured when this person was forced on me, that he could be peppy and motivational. Unfortunately that was a DIRTY LIE. Not only was he not motivating .. he was DEMOTIVATING and negative. Here I had a staff of peppy, excited college students after a full week of training and he starts lecturing them on how judicial numbers have increased 1000% and that they are warriors in the war for retention. WARRIORS?? Really? we just spent a week telling them they were champions of student success and that their job was to help students succeed for their personal growth and he comes in and calls them warriors for the bottom line. I was so freaking pissed off that I had to leave the room or wring his neck (which would have definitely been a CLM). I was so mad (and it takes a LOT to piss me off that badly) that I had tears in my eyes because I had no other outlet for my anger AND I couldn't show it in front of my staff. So I took a short walk outside and asked my boss to close up the graduation. I don't know that I have ever been so furious in my entire life. This douche bag spent 45 minutes with my staff and they left that room looking tired, drained, and defeated. When he arrived they were laughing, joking, and looking forward to students returning.

When i got back to the office afterward my boss asked me if I was still talking to him...

my response -- "Barely"

the only reason I'm willing to forgive is because I knew he had no choice politically, just like I had no choice... too bad my staff don't know that.. they think I CHOSE to end training like that...

So much for the awesome job at staff morale and retention...

Bastard politics!!

Spontaneous Dance Party = LEGENDARY

So we are now fully into student staff training.. and I have to say that it is amazing. My vision has come to fruition at last and is exactly as I saw it in my head. Tonight was role modeling events and afterward people hung out and had a spontaneous dance party... AWESOME..

That means we have a good atmosphere, trust exists, and relationships are happening!!

YAY!!!

Projectile Puppy Puke...

So it's official -- I'm a parent.

Sassy was sick this weekend. She puked all over the place... including on me.

I was sitting on the couch after just getting out of the shower on Saturday. She crawled onto my lap and snuggled up. I was thinking "awww.. she's so cute... what the heck..!" as she vomited all over me.. no warning gags.. no warning of any kind.. just one minute she's snuggled, the next I'm covered in puppy vomit..

I realized that i can deal with vomit if I need to... and if I don't think too closely about what it is...

BTW-- She's better now

"Haute" Couture.. as in Terre Haute

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start a Terre Haute fashion blog. I mean I know that I'm not the best dresser in town, clearly (read: earlier posts about the ugly shirt), however I'm not Hautian.

Today, no kidding, I saw a woman wearing a royal blue sequined off-the-shoulder tank top with grey sweatpants tucked into ankle boots... And to top it off -- she was sporting a she-mullet or shullet if you will.... I wish I had taken a picture...

Seriously -- I can't make this stuff up...