Sunday, September 7, 2008

Sunday at work - report from the past week


Yup - that is Senator Biden in the Virginia Beach Convention Center Ballroom! It was pretty exciting all around to be a part of the campaign if only from the sidelines. Regardless of what side of the issues one is on, it is not everyday that the Vice Presidential candidate comes to town and comes to one's place of employment. I found Senator Biden extremely well-spoken, gracious and a tough competitor. I know those on the other side of the issues disagree with his take on the issues and all that but for me, I found it encouraging and insipiring to see him take the 'high' road and not stoop to personal attacks on his rivals. It gets so old the nastiness of modern politics and to hear someone actually speak of Senator McCain as a personal friend and valued colleague and pointing out that the thing that divides them is their philosophy on the direction the country should take was refreshing and encouraging. Perhaps there is hope yet for the process.




What I find discouraging is how many of my co-workers feel completely comfortable in saying things about politics that are somewhat over the edge in terms of friendly political banter. I always try to be as gracious as possible when talking about my personal views - and to stick to the issues at hand (well... when it comes to the evil current VP, I find it hard to hold back...) but others seems to feel a need to do what they can to make me feel stupid and as if I am a bad, scary person because I actually care about the social contract and don't think goverment should be so 'hands-off' on certain issues that have great impact on our society as a whole. There are plenty of things that I don't always agree with on the left either, and agree with on the right but overall, I do think as a progressive society that we should not wholesale expect that Corporate America is going to ensure an equitable society through the whole series of tax incentives, tax breaks, boys taking care of their boys and so on. From where I sit, corporate America takes care of its own -- the philosophy being - hey, pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. All the while, they're getting a HUGE helping hand from the government... hmmm... OK. Enough of my soapbox. I am smart enough to know that corporations do drive a large part of the economy and that ensuring their health IS important to the overall fiscal and economic health of America. (Yup... I know many of my Republican friends would not really believe I mean this but I do). Still, there are huge (HUGE) chunks of our society that have fallen so far through no real fault of their own - they work two and three jobs, send their kids to school, struggle to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables. I know, although on the face of it I am 'successful', because there for the grace of G*d go I. I have a good job, no family to support and yet I have to consider taking a second job so I can pay off my debt, pay my household expenses and get to work every day. But if I were to suffer a catastrophic incident - illness, loss of my primary job, whatever - I'd be out on the street. So, yes, it's kind of personal. Some of my issues are of my own making but some of them are caused by government giving huge breaks and allowing predatory practices (credit card industry) to take place. Almost everyone I know is in debt (not including a mortgage or car payment) and find it difficult to see any progress on their balances despite paying more than the minimum, not charging additional amounts. But their lobby is more powerful because they have more money...oh, wait, I think that is a lot of my money!



Wow, I didn't mean to get so political this morning! Enough on this.




I did spend the day of Hanah home cleaning, arranging, writing and I even managed to make a necklace (picture to come). The necklace is okay - I had a mermaid netsuke and wanted to use it in a necklace. The problem is that the head part is heavier than the bottom part so it lays upside down... I need to figure out how I can fix that.



I am also going to rip out the offending 10 rows in my Swedish Thora and re-cast off so I can begin to put it together, and finish the sleeves. I expect realistically that I'll finish it somewhere in mid-October. Fingers crossed!





Posted by Event Safety Solutions at 8:49 AM
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1 comments:

Heidi said...

You sound pretty good up there on your soapbox! Just kidding, I do hear you very well - and agree with you on many of the issues. Id like to see how Americans handle a gov't like here in Holland where you have many, many political groups to vote for, and who later all debate on the issues at hand....Ha! I think many would be seriously confused....

I just can't wait to see the Thora! it looks gorgeous. I don't know when I'll be able to pick up the knitting needles again, but seeing that really gives me the urge!

hugs,
heidi

September 8, 2008 2:13 AM

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Some Writing

Sad Scene of Children Playing (originally written 10/25/93)

The filthy, trash-laden streets are the children’s playground. From the alley, an overpowering smell of rotting garbage permeates the entire block, trash and food scraps overflowing onto the ground to be picked over by mangy stray animals and desperate homeless people. Laundry is strung between the tenements, looking not a whole lot cleaner than it was to begin with.

Whipping around the corner, a group of youths – four or five of them, ages six through twelve – search for excitement. It is extremely difficult to determine the boys from the girls. Winter is upon them and they dress in layers of tattered, ragged, soiled hand-me-downs, grubby, threadbare hats on each head. Their faces, covered with the grime of the city, give a haunting look – a look of innocence betrayed, of shattered dreams, of incredible hardness. Malnourished, one of the gang clutches a prize – a piece of rock candy. He holds it high in the air while the others push and shove, pummel him, leap in the air trying desperately to claim the prize for themselves. In an instant, the candy is shaken loose and tumbles onto the pavement – splintering into a hundred pieces. Scrambling furiously, the urchins wrestle for a sliver of the heavenly confection.

The children are only partially satisfied with this, restlessness reigns supreme. A slightly built boy, the one always picked on, pounces upon a crushed tin can, kicking it down the street. Another scrawny child, perhaps a girl of seven or eight, sprints down the block after the can. The children spread out in a pattern of some sort (like a ballet), a few on the sidewalk, one covering the entrance of the alley, and two others in the street itself. From one of the grimy windows above, an exhausted woman yells out at the kids in the street below – she fears they will come to some harm but cannot express this concern adequately. A particularly bratty, sullen girl shrieks back, “Mind your own business, old hag!” Just then, from around the corner, the neighborhood policeman approaches, spying the truant children playing. The scrawny boy shouts out, and the children speed down the alleyway, scrambling up waiting fire escapes, shaking off the cop’s pursuit.

My Birthday

Your Birthdate: April 2
You're so intuitive, it's like you have a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense.
You connect with others freely and easily - and you tend to have many best friends.
Warm and caring, it's hard for you to close your heart to anyone.
Affection is like air for you - you need to give and receive it to survive.

Your strength: Your universal compassion

Your weakness: Your unpredictable mood swings

Your power color: Mauve

Your power symbol: Butterfly

Your power month: February