I can't wait for Tuesday.
I am so sick of politics and political phone calls and political mailers.
I hate living in a so called "battleground state."
Today between 10:45 am and 6 pm we had 8 political phone calls. 8, that is ridiculous.
Thursday in the mail we received not 1, not 2, not even 3, but 5 political mailers.
The Republican party is responsible for most of the paper in my recycle bin and the messages on my answering machine within those who support the right, its the NRA that has hounded me the most. I have been getting at least 1 phone call a day from them.
I am not a gun owner, I will probably not own a gun, and if you keep hounding me I will be sure not to vote for you endorse in the future.
The NRA has WAY too much money to spend.
Also, on NPR yesterday they were talking about the Virginia Senate race and how 50 million dollars from outside of the state has been spent for the race. 50 million dollars, that got me thinking as to much how money has been spent all over the country for this election. According to opensecrets.org, it is estimated that over 5.8 billion dollars has been spent. 5.8 billion, that is ridiculous.
I can make a huge list of better ways to spend that kind of money.
I thought this country was in a financial crisis?
5.8 billion dollars, that could help a lot of people. 5.8 billion dollars could do a lot more good than it ever will going to a politician.
5.8 billion dollars, that makes me just sick.
I am all about one-dollar-one-vote. I don't know all the details, but if you can only donate one dollar I don't think I would get fliers or the phone calls or have to sit through political ad after political ad the few times I actually watch live tv.
Then there is all the pressure that you must vote a certain way if you are affiliated with a certain group of people.
I just want to say, God is not for one political party or another and I don't think God is going to hold me accountable based on who I voted for (a video I just saw on facebook) especially since it is not laws that change people it is love, but that is a whole other story.
I could go on and on, but it is not worth it.
I just can't wait for the madness to end.
Change, is not going to happen until we start loving people and caring for one another and put our pride and selfishness away.
I can't wait for this election to be over with.
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Saturday, November 03, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
those carpool moms
Fortunately today Lance rode the bus home so I didn't have any encounters with those annoying carpool moms and maybe dads, but yesterday I did have an encounter with the worst of the worst. I really wish I could know what is going through some of these women's heads (men too, but it seems to be mostly women). What makes them so special that they can totally disregard the guidelines for carpool pickup? I should note that I consider the rules really to be guidelines since no one obeys and no one enforces, kind of like the whole dog poop ordinance that no one obeys or enforces. The sad thing is there isn't just one mom or dad, that get under my skin but quite a few, it is sad that there are so many special people who rules or guidelines or whatever don't apply. There are three major guidelines breakers which come into play every morning and afternoon:
the Park-where-I-want-to
the Turn-around-where-I-want-to
the Stop-carpool-line-so-everyone-can-see-me
there is also the
I'm-going-to-jump-in-line which is annoying too but this is usually a result of the stop-carpool-line mom.
So to explain these individuals better you should understand the lay of the land and the "guidelines".
The school's elevation is below the road and the students for the carpool line wait at the bottom of the steps until their parents pull up to the top of the steps. If you are looking at the school, the entrance to the neighborhood is on your left, the neighborhood leads to several streets, but it is basically a dead end, so most traffic is coming from the left into the neighborhood or school. The parking lot is suppose to be for buses only as well as parking for staff, though that only applies to some people.
At the top of the stairs are two friendly teacher assistant that loads students into their vehicles. You pull up to the steps, the teacher assistant calls child (if necessary), opens door, loads kid, closes door, and you are one your way. There is suppose to be no parking across the street, but of course there are several individuals who believe that guidelines/rules don't apply to them and why should they have to wait in any kind of line?
The Park-where-I-want-to:
One species of the Park-where-I-want-to pull up on the opposite side of the street, park, get out, cross the street, get their kid, cross back across the street, open the car doors to get back into their vehicle All of that of course impedes traffic because due to their parking, street crossing, and door opening, traffic can no longer go both way down the street and buses can't get through so Mr. or Mrs. Park-where-I-want-to stops the flow of traffic and slows everything down.
Another species of Park-where-I-want-to also don't feel like waiting in line so they turn around then park in front of the carpool line and then get out to get their kids. They don't always impede traffic and stop carpool line, but they are just annoying, once again, they are individuals who feel that they should not have to wait. These individuals making getting back into the flow of traffic difficult because many don't believe in turn signals and just dart out.
There is also a really rude species who will turn around, park in front of the carpool line, then back up so they are first in carpool line. Jeff picks the kids up on Mondays and he has gone from being first in line to 2nd and I think once 3rd since he didn't pull up far enough. The entitlement these people feel sickens me.
The last species of Park-where-I-want-to are those that park in the parking lot. Some do find spaces, but some make their own and block others in or make navigating through the parking lot difficult.
the Park-where-I-want-to
the Turn-around-where-I-want-to
the Stop-carpool-line-so-everyone-can-see-me
there is also the
I'm-going-to-jump-in-line which is annoying too but this is usually a result of the stop-carpool-line mom.
So to explain these individuals better you should understand the lay of the land and the "guidelines".
 |
| think I have a future as mapmaker? |
 |
| the friendly teacher assistant also has a bullhorn to call students up the stairs though maybe she should use it on some parents |
The Park-where-I-want-to:
One species of the Park-where-I-want-to pull up on the opposite side of the street, park, get out, cross the street, get their kid, cross back across the street, open the car doors to get back into their vehicle All of that of course impedes traffic because due to their parking, street crossing, and door opening, traffic can no longer go both way down the street and buses can't get through so Mr. or Mrs. Park-where-I-want-to stops the flow of traffic and slows everything down.
Another species of Park-where-I-want-to also don't feel like waiting in line so they turn around then park in front of the carpool line and then get out to get their kids. They don't always impede traffic and stop carpool line, but they are just annoying, once again, they are individuals who feel that they should not have to wait. These individuals making getting back into the flow of traffic difficult because many don't believe in turn signals and just dart out.
There is also a really rude species who will turn around, park in front of the carpool line, then back up so they are first in carpool line. Jeff picks the kids up on Mondays and he has gone from being first in line to 2nd and I think once 3rd since he didn't pull up far enough. The entitlement these people feel sickens me.
The last species of Park-where-I-want-to are those that park in the parking lot. Some do find spaces, but some make their own and block others in or make navigating through the parking lot difficult.
 |
| those two cars are parked in a no parking area blocking other spaces and those yellow blocks are suppose to be buses |
This is mildly annoying, it kind of gets under my skin how these individuals can't wait in line like the rest of us, but it really irritates me on Wednesday mornings when I can't find or get into a parking spot when I go into volunteer in the library because individuals can't use the carpool line. For some reason they must park, most of these individuals aren't even walking their kids in, they are just pulling in I guess so their kids don't have to walk as far, though the distance seems to be the same.
The Turn-around-where-I-want-to:
According the handbook, drivers are suppose to go to the bottom of the hill to turn around. Of course that 1/10 of a mile (6 house lengths really) is much too far for many people so they use the school parking lot to turn in around in which impedes buses, stops traffic as they wait to turn left into the parking lot, and most of the time they can't make it because it is narrow so they block traffic coming in and out of the parking lot as they do a 3 point turn. Some individuals understand how the school parking lot is not an ideal place to turn around because so many people are coming and going so they go down two house lengths and do a 3 point turn, once again, blocking traffic.
There also a bold species of Turn-around-where-I-want-to. I have seen some do a 3 point turn right at the steps in the morning to block traffic and jump in drop off line, but the boldest of them all are those who use other people's circular driveways to turn around in. Some poor soul has a circular driveway right across the street from the school and I have seen many "fine folks" pull in and around to turn around. I am floored by the gall, this one driveway goes right up to a front door. Using the circular driveway is not nearly the same as turning around in some one's driveway where you maybe use a fourth or half of some one's driveway, this is pulling right up to the door and around, tacky, tacky.
The Stop-carpool-line-so-everyone-can-see-me
This is the most annoying and irritating of all carpool species. This is the one I encountered yesterday and wish I was bold enough to say something, but it probably wouldn't make any difference since this mom is one of the "popular" moms. So yesterday I got into carpool line about 5 minutes early, I was probably like 10 cars back, so I was near the school driveway. Mrs. Stop-carpool-line-so-everyone-can-see-me, jumped out of her Honda Odyssey mini van and grabbed a booster seat from the seat behind her and put it in the trunk. My first thought was she was getting prepared and it would be a grab and go, but I held back a little more than usual just in case because I seen her as a Park-where-you-want, bypass the line, park in front of the carpool line, and get out of your vehicle in the past. School ended and the kids started pouring out the school and the carpool line started moving. I was about five vehicles away from the start of the carpool line aka the proper loading area when Mrs. Stop-carpool-line-so-everyone-can-see-me, turned her van off, got out, walked around to the opposite side, opened the door, stood beside the door while her flock loaded up, then count the kids (there were quite a few), realized that someone was missing, and walked to the sidewalk to look for missing kid.
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| my arrow is ghetto so my me looks like wine |
As she was walking around the car, the four cars in front of her were gone and the carpool line was stalled. Fortunately, I had suspected that she might be a problem and had not pulled too close behind her so I was able to see the gap in the line and go around. I pulled right up to the friendly teacher assistant, got Lance, waited for him to buckle, and pulled away. I saw in the rear view mirror the Stop-carpool-line mom was making sure everyone was buckled. As I was pulling away I noticed Mrs. Stop-carpool-line-so-everyone-can-see-me, had successfully stalled the carpool line and made herself visible to all individuals in the immediate area.
The I'm-going-to-jump-in-line
Though it didn't occur this time, I have seen in the past that the Stop-carpool-line species enable the I'm-going-to-jump-in-line species to jump because the further back you are from the Stop-carpooler the better view you have of traffic and the gap in the carpool line and the easier it is to jump in line.
I never thought carpool would be so petty and ridiculous. It is so sad that people are so self-entitled that they are only concerned with themselves and oblivious to anyone else. I wish someone would say something to these individuals, but how do you tell Mrs. Stop-carpool-line-so-I-can-load-up-the-whole-neighborhood-before-I-reach-the-start-of-the-line a.k.a the PTO president to obey the rules?
I wish we lived a bit closer to school so the bus ride wouldn't be so long, 40 minutes on the bus is so long considering we are home 10-15 minutes after school lets out even with the drama of carpool line.
So now that I got that off my chest maybe I can handle drop off line next week. Maybe, just maybe.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
grocery rants
So today is grocery day. So as I sit and plan my meals for what is left of the week and figure out what I have and don't have I am reminded by latest grocery pet peeve. I should start off by saying I am no extreme couponer, but I do love store coupons and in the past I would combine them with manufacture coupons and would save quite a bit, but I was dismayed last week when I discovered that Kroger will no longer allow store coupons to be combined with manufacture coupons. Bummer, big bummer! If I would have known this I would have gone to Walmart. When I got home from the store I compared an old store coupon with a new store coupon and sure enough there is a new little line on the back of the coupon that states only one coupon per item, or something like that, basically cannot be combined, bummer!
Which leads me to my next rant: why is it that grocery store shopping has to be so darn complicated? I just want to go to one store and get everything I need.
Walmart is cheaper, especially when you take the time to price match, but I prefer the deli of Kroger and they don't always carry certain products or they do, but not consistently. Kroger is nicer than Walmart, but more expensive unless it is on sale and/or with a coupon, but they do have a gas discount for shopping there which has come in handy especially in times of high gas prices. Food Lion, well I am not familiar with the store set-up and they always are so slow, but they do have a certain products the other two don't carry. On some weeks I end up having to go to three different grocery stores, Walmart for the bulk of what I need, Kroger for the sale/coupon items if I can't price match, and Food Lion for a type of bread and a salad dressing that my kids use instead of ketchup, silly, just silly. So bottom line I am disappointed that Kroger no longer allows me to use a manufacture and a store coupon for an item and as a result I will be do most of my shopping back at Walmart.
Which leads me to my next rant: why is it that grocery store shopping has to be so darn complicated? I just want to go to one store and get everything I need.
Walmart is cheaper, especially when you take the time to price match, but I prefer the deli of Kroger and they don't always carry certain products or they do, but not consistently. Kroger is nicer than Walmart, but more expensive unless it is on sale and/or with a coupon, but they do have a gas discount for shopping there which has come in handy especially in times of high gas prices. Food Lion, well I am not familiar with the store set-up and they always are so slow, but they do have a certain products the other two don't carry. On some weeks I end up having to go to three different grocery stores, Walmart for the bulk of what I need, Kroger for the sale/coupon items if I can't price match, and Food Lion for a type of bread and a salad dressing that my kids use instead of ketchup, silly, just silly. So bottom line I am disappointed that Kroger no longer allows me to use a manufacture and a store coupon for an item and as a result I will be do most of my shopping back at Walmart.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Top Ten Things I Just Don't Understand
alternate title: top 10 rants
totally random, totally as a result of thinking too much
in no particular order
1- I don't understand why our local 6 o'clock news starts at 5:58 so when you tune in at 6 you have already missed the top new story- you know the one you tuned in to see, which lately has been the weather.
2- I don't understand why politicians only seem to care about re-election or making sure the other party doesn't get anything accomplished. Is this really helpful and beneficial? I was listening to something on NPR the other day and they mentioned that Republicans in Congress plan to oppose anything Democrats do. Are you kidding me? How old are we? Is anything ever going to get done? This leads me to my next thing. .
3- I don't understand why there are quite a few Christian figures/leaders/pastors/whatever but you know who they are, who are political and lean heavily to one political party over the other. I just don't get it. They don't come across to me as being loving and accepting and well like Jesus, but that is just my opinion.
4- I don't understand why taking responsibility for our actions, decisions, etc has gone out the window. It seems like it is always excuse after excuse after excuse, and that there is no accountability, no consequences, just point the finger at someone else. For example, not all parents, but there are some that do not take responsibility for the education of their children, They feel it is the schools' responsibility to teach their children as well as feed and clothe them. I wouldn't be surprise if in the future public boarding schools begin and become the norm. We will excel in comparison to other countries in K-12 grade education until parents value education and take some responsibility for it.
5- I don't understand how there are decisions that we make that don't have correct answers. I like things to be black and white and there are so many things that aren't, and sometimes they can get to me. Especially as a parent, we want the best for our children, but trying to figure out what the best is can be confusing. Confused? Let's see there is newborn circumcision, to snip or not to snip; vaccines, are you going to cause harm or prevent harm; BPA, pesticides, herbicides, and all the other toxins out there we should try to avoid; and the list goes on and on. I have made decisions for myself and my family and I think I have made the right decisions, yet there is information and people out there who can make my seemingly good decisions horrible and wrong. In addition to that, some of my decisions I don't even always feel comfortable discussing with others because I feel like I will be crucified for making a "bad" decision.
6- Decisions and fear of making the wrong decision especially for my children leads me to my next rant. I don't understand how parenting got to be so darn materialistic. It is so easy to fall into the trap of having to have the best toys and gadgets especially when many things support some of the decisions I made in #5. In reality children will play with kitchen utensils over some fancy battery operated toy and babies prefer to be held then put in some fancy contraption, and even the baby wearing device doesn't have to be fancy, whatever works
7- I don't understand why motherhood is so competitive. Is it the need to feel important since a lot of the time we feel invisible? This competitive nature drives the materialism and the decision making choices especially on those controversial decisions (#5).
8- I don't understand why people don't understand that shopping locally is better in so many ways then shopping online or with big corporations. Note-there are exceptions to the rule- etsy- though online I would consider to be shopping local. I guess to rephrase, I don't understand why people prefer big business to small business. I do shop at Walmart, we don't have a lot of money, but I do try as much as I can do shop locally and keep the money flowing to small, locally owned businesses.
9- I don't understand designer fashion or more specifically Gilt and other websites that sell designer stuff on sale, it is still expensive and most of the things I have seen don't seem worth the money. Even more specifically, I don't understand spending lots of money on something that will be out of fashion in a blink of an eye. Spending a load of cash on a couch, a house, a car, I can understand, but clothes, a bra, I just don't get it, but that is just me because I am poor.
and finally
10- I don't understand why turn signals and other auto courtesies are not used anymore. Heck, I don't understand why we are such a self-absorbed society that we only care about ourselves, our goals, and our destination, especially in the car. There are exceptions to the rule and I am not always the most courtesy driver, but it seems overall we are rude when we get behind the wheel.
So there is my list ofthings I just don't understand RANTS!
totally random, totally as a result of thinking too much
in no particular order
1- I don't understand why our local 6 o'clock news starts at 5:58 so when you tune in at 6 you have already missed the top new story- you know the one you tuned in to see, which lately has been the weather.
2- I don't understand why politicians only seem to care about re-election or making sure the other party doesn't get anything accomplished. Is this really helpful and beneficial? I was listening to something on NPR the other day and they mentioned that Republicans in Congress plan to oppose anything Democrats do. Are you kidding me? How old are we? Is anything ever going to get done? This leads me to my next thing. .
3- I don't understand why there are quite a few Christian figures/leaders/pastors/whatever but you know who they are, who are political and lean heavily to one political party over the other. I just don't get it. They don't come across to me as being loving and accepting and well like Jesus, but that is just my opinion.
4- I don't understand why taking responsibility for our actions, decisions, etc has gone out the window. It seems like it is always excuse after excuse after excuse, and that there is no accountability, no consequences, just point the finger at someone else. For example, not all parents, but there are some that do not take responsibility for the education of their children, They feel it is the schools' responsibility to teach their children as well as feed and clothe them. I wouldn't be surprise if in the future public boarding schools begin and become the norm. We will excel in comparison to other countries in K-12 grade education until parents value education and take some responsibility for it.
5- I don't understand how there are decisions that we make that don't have correct answers. I like things to be black and white and there are so many things that aren't, and sometimes they can get to me. Especially as a parent, we want the best for our children, but trying to figure out what the best is can be confusing. Confused? Let's see there is newborn circumcision, to snip or not to snip; vaccines, are you going to cause harm or prevent harm; BPA, pesticides, herbicides, and all the other toxins out there we should try to avoid; and the list goes on and on. I have made decisions for myself and my family and I think I have made the right decisions, yet there is information and people out there who can make my seemingly good decisions horrible and wrong. In addition to that, some of my decisions I don't even always feel comfortable discussing with others because I feel like I will be crucified for making a "bad" decision.
6- Decisions and fear of making the wrong decision especially for my children leads me to my next rant. I don't understand how parenting got to be so darn materialistic. It is so easy to fall into the trap of having to have the best toys and gadgets especially when many things support some of the decisions I made in #5. In reality children will play with kitchen utensils over some fancy battery operated toy and babies prefer to be held then put in some fancy contraption, and even the baby wearing device doesn't have to be fancy, whatever works
7- I don't understand why motherhood is so competitive. Is it the need to feel important since a lot of the time we feel invisible? This competitive nature drives the materialism and the decision making choices especially on those controversial decisions (#5).
8- I don't understand why people don't understand that shopping locally is better in so many ways then shopping online or with big corporations. Note-there are exceptions to the rule- etsy- though online I would consider to be shopping local. I guess to rephrase, I don't understand why people prefer big business to small business. I do shop at Walmart, we don't have a lot of money, but I do try as much as I can do shop locally and keep the money flowing to small, locally owned businesses.
9- I don't understand designer fashion or more specifically Gilt and other websites that sell designer stuff on sale, it is still expensive and most of the things I have seen don't seem worth the money. Even more specifically, I don't understand spending lots of money on something that will be out of fashion in a blink of an eye. Spending a load of cash on a couch, a house, a car, I can understand, but clothes, a bra, I just don't get it, but that is just me because I am poor.
and finally
10- I don't understand why turn signals and other auto courtesies are not used anymore. Heck, I don't understand why we are such a self-absorbed society that we only care about ourselves, our goals, and our destination, especially in the car. There are exceptions to the rule and I am not always the most courtesy driver, but it seems overall we are rude when we get behind the wheel.
So there is my list of
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