I learned a long time ago that blowing up at someone over frustrations not only with that person but with others in past similar relationships is not a good thing to do. Particularly when said person emails back a response explaining a few areas where you are wrong. And then you burn that response (with literal fire) and kick yourself for about a decade for doing so because reading those words would've saved a lot of grief over said decade. But I digress.
Instead of blowing up at one of my homies over being the latest of a few friends who've defriended me on Facebook over the years without any hint as to why, I just have a few words to mumble out into the ethers. I figured I'd spew forth said verbage as an exercise in passive aggressive speaking because passive aggressive people are so incredibly joyous to speak with that I've been making it an art form for far too long. I'd like to try to get into that mindset so I can understand those f'd up people a bit more, so here goes:
What the hell kind of crack are you smoking, son? Did you get a bad batch?
I realize you probably took something I said the wrong way, right after I specifically said, "Now don't take this the wrong way," but dude, unfriending? When it's realllllly easy to not-quite-block-but-limit-posts-of-someone from your newsfeed with settings? When Graph Search doesn't even track status anything or other seemingly important this and thats? That's just lazy, man. Damn sloppy.
Of course, maybe it's not from anything to do with that. Maybe it's from something someone else said about me, that I can only assume happened/isn't true, because I'd also assume we were on such a cool level that you'd point blank ask me about the what the hell, and then I'd find out that I was wrong about that. This isn't my first rodeo, and of course those people weren't as cool as you are, but dude, if so, what the hell?
Oh wait. You're a pod person who forgot to reprogram your new self to remember me. Got it. I'll send you the good crack for your next birthday.
Oh, wait, is that it? Feeling any sort of obligation about gifting or carding that doesn't exist to me? You know I have a habit of buying things for gifting, just whenever, and I apologize for carting over a bagful to you but I've been dealing with some pesky health issues for a few years and just haven't caught up with catching up with life so please excuse my horrible tardiness. Or not. But really, if you think you have to get me anything for any reason, you're sadly mistaken. I would have thought you would have known me better than that, with my insistence that gifts should be actual true gifts, without expectation of reciprocation at all. Geez, I hope that's not it... but if it is, huh. Weird.
I figured I'd mention these thoughts just to get them out of my system, because I've been over holding toxic grudges or mistaken feelings for a long time. It doesn't really matter to me if you hear about this or read it or not, really, and I do have better things to do, like photo editing, but I feel like ass from amoxicillin so I'm unable to sleep, so naturally I'm up wondering I can do to help myself feel better. This isn't much... hell, it's nothing, really, but it's something, and it could be useful for getting back to my natural zen self, and grasshopper, you know I talk way too much about anything sometimes because I'm all about educating people. I have a degree for that and everything! Plus I don't blog as much as I'd like to, so hey, multitasking for awesomeness shiny life groove! Pants! Farts! Fire!
Besides, I respect you enough to leave you alone if you want to be left alone, and besides, it'd be kinda awkward asking about how you're doing indirectlyish, like asking my spouse to ask you what's up, or asking your spouse what's up with you, both via Facebook. Especially when we've been acquainted with each other since like 1986 or 1987 or thereabouts. Heh, even the ex-spouse and I are on good speaking terms, and not like we speak to each other any more than you and I have for forever, but still. Hey, remember that one time when I was going through that divorce, and you and I went to the mall with his then-not-yet-wife's baby, and we three looked like a happy family but were not related to each other in the least? Yeah, good times. Yeah.
So anyways, hi. Or not. Whatevs. It's been real, whatever way.
And damn. I realize that I've been way too specific in speaking my mind here still, and so I have a long way to go before I can ever master passive aggressive vagueness. Damn! I thought I was so close! Utter fail!
And there's something else I was going to mention, but of course I can't remember what it is. I'm blaming the amoxicillin. I never had a problem with it all those zillions of times I took it for sinus issues while growing up, and I'm surprised I actually got a prescription for it but I guess that's due to the bad reactions with macrolide antibiotics and doxycycline and Keflex... sigh. I hate being puky.
Oh - that was it - I've been wondering about these things for three or four weeks now, and am just now verbalizing these things externally. Normally I'd just wait a few days and then see what's up, but I've been awfully detached about that. The new eightfold software integration must have gone well. Beep beep bloop honk.
My Facebook feed is crazy gone nuts. Below I’m posting status updates I’ve received, and the next post will consist of images shared, but first, I gotta share a few things for sanity's sake.
My fave part in this is the last paragraph: "Furthermore, Obama was not merely an "instructor" as Phil Singer stated. As a 'senior lecturer,' Obama was in good company: The six other faculty members with the title include the associate dean of the law school and Judge Richard Posner, who is widely considered to be one of the nation’s top legal theorists."
Key detail: Both leave in place the major insurance systems: employer-provided insurance, Medicare for the seniors and Medicaid for the poor. They seek to reduce the number of uninsured by expanding Medicaid and by offering tax breaks to help moderate income people buy insurance. People are required to buy insurance or pay a penalty, a mechanism called the “individual mandate.” And companies that don’t offer insurance have to pay fines, with exceptions for small business and a few other cases.
3. Because it's been that kind of day today, this:
Area Man Passionate Defender Of What He Imagines Constitution To Be
4a. How I feel about the law being upheld (because as the Princess of Problem Patients, this should've all happened years ago so I could've benefited from it in my time of need):
4b. How the Democrats feel about the law being upheld:
4c. How the Republicans feel about the law being upheld:
Just watch all the campaign commercials from now until Election Day. Sigh.
Here they are, complete with all typos, starting from the latest in the day and going back in time toward the explosion that was the revealing of the ruling earlier in the day (except for the first post because that's the tone I want to set here, and it includes a comment made by the same person).
Mind you, half of these are from friends living with chronic health conditions on both red and blue sides.
You might want to get some snacks. And a comfy pillow for your headdesking.
Okay, breathe deeply....... here we go!
If you listen to all the pundits (no matter which station), you would think that we elected a magician who single-handedly writes, enforces AND interprets legislation. Do these "news" outlets really believe that I am so dumb that I have forgotten what I learned in elementary school civics class about the 3 branches of government??
… even sadder is that I am in the minority getting upset that they talk down to us. My FB feed is littered with updates blaming the President for today's decision. I would be willing to bet that most of those forgot that it took two houses to create that legislation (neither of which the President is a member) and today's interpretation was made by individuals appointed by several different Presidents of different political affiliations and confirmed by a group of people associated with different parties. I love that folks are passionate, but I wish that they would direct that passion to where they can truly affect change. No matter what the issue.
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To those against ACA (My family can't see this post, thankfully, on purpose). Who pays for SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid? Anyone who works. How is this money paid in? By taxes on your paycheck. This is likely how the ACA tax will work. Everyone deserves equal access to medical care. Without SSDI, which I paid into, we would not be able to afford the $500 a month in prescription costs for three of our 4 family members. Even with my husbands employer insurance, which we pay $900 a month for health, vision, and dental, we practically need a small loan to get everyone new eye glasses. Mine run $300-$350 AFTER insurance. All 4 of us wear glasses. So $900 a month paid in, plus roughly $500 in scripts, we don't pay flat fees but pay 40% of medication cost. Plus office visits for routine care or emergencies. We almost declared bankruptcy because of medical bills when an old insurance company we had went out of network with the ONLY 2 hospitals in our town the month before our 10yo was born. Through no fault of our own we were no longer covered. Because of a dispute between the insurance carrier and the local hospitals/providers.
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One can only hope that the Supreme Court is now free to consider other important matters, like making it a federal offense to post an intentionally vague status update.
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A FB "friend" just posted this. *headdesk*
"See this....
THIS is a list of socialist countries. If you want to be a socialist, I suggest MOVING to one of these countries.
Please stop trying to turn America into a socialist country.
Once again, if you like socialism and would like to BE a socialist please refer to list below for an appropriate place for you to MOVE.
Thank you." (followed by a link to a Wiki article highlighting official socialist countries on the world map)
I'm pretty sure she posted it because everyone is talking about the health care act being saved, and she thinks that is socialized medicine, and that socialized medicine is a BAD thing. Interesting since HER health care (Tricare) is FREE because her husband is in the military. It may still not be ideal, but it's better than nothing at all which is what many Americans have. I just can't help but cringe at the irony of her statement.
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Let me get this right:affordable health care for EVERYONE across the board and people are bitching?Boy,is my finger not on the pulse of the American public.I suppose if Wallstreet gave back a trillion dollars of stolen money the public would bitch about having to pay taxes on it.
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Speaking of healthcare...infusion time.
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We'll be paying more for our personal health care and will lose some lovely little benefits (aka ways to pay fewer taxes because of our health bills), but as my husband put it, "Our kids are grown, and when I look at parents with young kids today, I worry. This country has been good to us, we're lucky, let's help those that have had less luck." Or as my step dad always says "I'm proud I make enough money to pay this much in taxes!" (He kind of twitches when he says it, but he is a die hard Republican and he means it. He's proud he's been successful enough in life to be able to complain about his tax bill.) Also, yes we pay for our disabled daughters health insurance, even though she is eligible to be covered by the state for years. We can, with budgeting and care, afford it. It has better coverage for her condition, and my husband feels a moral obligation to pay for it. Parenting doesn't stop when your child turns 18. When it is life or death, it's not a matter for politics, it's a matter of morality. For ourselves, we live too well during this time of economic hardship, to mind sacrifice. Also the company my husband works for is making enough profits, it's not going to put them out of business and maybe the next CEO won't make 40 million a year. (it's going to add up to barely a dent in his salary that will be needed to make up the difference.)
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Anybody else curious about the timing of the contempt vote? We should be talking about the healthcare decision not a madeup issue in congress. Another example of the irrelevance of the congress.
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~The Government: "It's not a tax. It's not a tax. IT'S NOT A TAX! WE'RE TELLING YOU IT'S NOT A TAX!!!!"
(THEN THE SUPREME COURT RULES)
The Government: "Oh, wait a minute. I think you misunderstood us. What we meant to say is that it IS a tax!"
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Just something to think about: I have individual health care. I pay "extra" for my healthcare because I'm in a "high risk" group. Per the experts the new healthcare law will make it cheaper for employers to stop giving health care as a benefit to their employees which will effectively make them all have to seek "individual healthcare coverage." If you have a pre-existing condtion, you will pay more. If you get coverage with one company, you can forget "shopping around" as I have tried to do, you will be denied. (And my doctor just confirmed this.) To me, just from my experience, the healthcare bill or Obamacare will not, does not help. My rates went up considerably when it was passed. My deductible at this point is so huge it will bankrupt me if something really bad happens. And that's just so I can afford healthcare at all. Yay. This was great. Now can we get rid of it and do something that really solves the problem?
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Sharing this, along with a little song I extemporised on the original link:-
"Good-byeee! Good-byeee!
Wipe a tear, Rushie dear, from your eyeee!
Though it's hard to part, I know,
We're - all - tickled you want to go!
Don't cry-eee! Don't sigh-eee!
There's a silver lining in the skyeee!
Bonsoir, old thing! Cheerio! Chin chin!
Pogue mahon, Kiss my arse, Good-byeee!"
He should try France. He'd find it an impressive country.
Briefly.
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Today's ruling may make the next paring down of the ol' friends list much easier. ... Some may be surprised by who this statement affects. ... I'm not so much concerned about your stance on the issue as your response and reaction to those who think differently.
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While I think that Obamacare is well intentioned, I personally feel this is not the way it should have been accomplished. Yes, pre-existing conditions being covered is excellent, yes, affordable healthcare is excellent. However, the current federally funded insurance health plan that covers about 1% of the population is riddled with flaws. Now imagine those flaws being blown up 99% and all of the little flaws are now massive being of a giant customer base. Insurance companies should be held liable for this type of coverage, not the government. It does not operate well for the chronically ill in other countries, why would it operate well in a country where obesity is an epidemic unlike other countries? What about conditions that insurances currently don't cover? One size does not fit all. Please no name calling, just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I think less of you. I expect the same degree of respect.
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Sad friggin day in history. The SCOTUS upheld the individual mandate. Obamacare is an abomination of law. There needs to be a clear message sent to the people in Congress that created this by voting them out. All of them. Fire them.
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Obamacare, Obamacare, holy shit, it's hot outside! Obamacare, Obamacare!
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Thank you, Supreme Court.
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What the hell is wrong with the Supreme Court? Not only have they formally instituted Communism, they've given us the crappy death care systems of Canada and Europe.
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I generally don't bring up much when I sit back and watch things I don't agree with get drilled into my eyeholes by people who cant' stop posting their opinions on stuff, so just consider this post as me shutting up about it long enough and if you don't like it, disagree with it, but if you come on my wall get stupid then you're gone and I really don't care. LET ME GET THIS SHIT STRAIGHT ! Now I can go to jail for not doing my taxes right, even though I have a medical disability I can't get SS disability because I haven't paid in enough because when I ran my own small business I apparently didn't pay enough in for me to get it back. I can't buy a freaking big gulp, I can't order super sized fries, and now I will be punished if I don't buy health insurance. It's ok though because my husband served this ONCE great country for 20 years, so we have that wonderful GVT insurance for life. Sure we pay for it, and boy it's really grand, because nothing wakes you up like a Doctor telling you that their hands are tied because the insurance says your not worth treating since there isn't a cure, and the insurance doesn't cover "quality of life". So I am going to just swallow this shit and move on. All the things I can do wrong and will now be illegal? yeah WHAT THE HELL ABOUT ALL THE LAWS YOU MORONS WONT LET PEOPLE ENFORCE because it's not politically correct. You know what, that's a fucking oxy moron of the century, seriously? NOTHING IS CORRECT ABOUT OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM, and seriously I am sick and freaking tired of walking on egg shells around what might or might not offend everyone on the damn planet whether I agree with it or not. BUT NO ONE gives a rats ass about offended me by throwing their shit in my face, or my kids face. I'm sick of it, and I am really sick of seeing people with such short vision, parading as adults. I dare your ass to penalize me for doing something illegal because I GREW UP IN THIS COUNTRY TOO. I am so disgusted
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Hooray for Obama's Healthcare plan: supported by Senate, House, President and the Supreme Court. A VICTORY for ALL Americans. … Today's ruling should have been about declaring single payer health care, but this was the closest we got to a true universal plan and the corporations and big insurance companies get to retain their profits and control over medical care. But this is a great start and it's a plan that is intended to insure the 30 million uninsured. I can't agree enough with you that the corporate choke hold on our medical care should be stopped. We just see the problem and the steps we need to solve it differently.
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The health care plan is constitutional. A total right- wing ideologue like Roberts agrees. Why are so many people attacking and saying hateful things on my post to that effect?
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The conservative wing of the Supreme Court saw its shadow this morning. Four more years of Obama!
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IT PASSED!!!!!
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(Including this because it’s so appropriate.)
Do you remember this?
"It was the end of the Earth year 2260, and the war had paused, suddenly and unexpectedly.
"All around us, it was as if the universe were holding its breath . . . waiting.
"All of life can be broken down into moments of transition or moments of revelation. This had the feeling of both.
"G'Quon wrote, "There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way.
""The war we fight is not against powers and principalities – it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender."
"The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation.
"No one knows the shape of that future, or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."
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On this day when the new healthcare law has been upheld, I'm reposting a blog I wrote, suggesting healthcare is a human right, defensible under Christian theology.
Seemed to me to be a good day to remind ourselves of the underlying theological/social reasons for healthcare reform:
I don't believe a word you say. You don't live among the people you represent, and you certainly don't seem to feel that you should be held accountable in the way that your constituents are. It's really too bad that the wild fires aren't in DC., because I am sick of ALL of you.
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The individual mandate stands!!!
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I wish Americans would quit treating politics like it is the Bedlam football game. Partisan politics (us versus them) does not help anyone except the big money people funding campaigns. I knew today would be a bad day on the Facebook news feed, regardless of who "won". Looks like I will have to unsubscribe a bunch of people, since the rhetoric will just get worse as November gets closer. Quoting the recently deceased Rodney King, "Can we all get along?"
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And, while we're reviewing theological justifications for healthcare as a human right, it might be good to remind ourselves of what the United Methodist Church says:
"Health care is a basic human right.
Providing the care needed to maintain health, prevent disease, and restore health after injury or illness is a responsibility each person owes others and government owes to all, a responsibility government ignores at its peril. In Ezekiel 34:4a, God points out the failures of the leadership of Israel to care for the weak: “You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured.” As a result all suffer."
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It isn't a victory for the Democrats or the Republicans. It is a victory for the people.
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Well we should probably move soon.
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The vote of "no confidence" is coming in November. I hope the myopic individuals in this country get their vision fixed because the vision for this country is not a good one. Look at the whole picture folks......BTW I am not saying that M.R. is the solution but it is a step forward from the person in there now. Have to start somewhere when things are heading in the wrong direction. I am here to tell you that 4 more years you all will be crying if things stay the same in the white house.
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expansion of medicare thrown out. states can opt in.
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SCOTUS on Medicare expansion: "F**k the poor!"
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Mittens, that statement on health care this morning sounds of sheer desperation!
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BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court upholds individual mandate of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Here's why we care at LIVESTRONG:
Traditionally,SCOTUS has often made the narrowest possible rulings. Recently the court has swung for the fences more. This ruling looks more like the historic norm, I think?
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Big day's starting off on a good note so far for just about everyone... except CNN, perhaps.
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Census Bureau data show about 83,000 North Dakotans had no health insurance in 2010.
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Okay, I have to find a way to change the subject. How about OKC Thunder trade rumors? Any ideas? The Oklahoman says Sam Presti is trying to get into the top three so that they can draft Florida's Bradley Beal. Who could be traded? Westbrook? Harden? Ibaka?
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The Supreme Court has upheld Obamacare! What a win for Americans and Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Collecting reactions to the SCOTUS ruling this morning (some thoughtful, some amusing, some inspiring the headdesk)
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RIP Senator Ted Kennedy.....your hard work w/our president to make Obamacare happen, happened. We love, admired, and miss you and your fight for what's right! We are victorious......
There's a nasty issue going on locally, with the City of Dallas, Dallas Arboretum, and Dallas taxpayers. You can read details at Save Winfrey Point, if interested.
I want to go on record saying that I absolutely love what the Dallas Arboretum has done, and I thoroughly enjoy having the individual membership (currently hubby and I can go for free for a year for only $73, and individual admission plus parking is $17 each time so it's a deal for photo-happy me who's there more than 5x a year anyway).
However, as much as I love the Dallas Arboretum and what they do, they could do and could've done better with this hot mess. I've let them know this too, via email, because hey, they asked. *shrug*
I had to copysnip twice and wanted to make sure everyone
gets that nothing was left out with my posting the email contents.
Amiright!?
I didn't mind being directed to park here one day, but on a rainy day that would've been nasty.
Parking offsite (like at Winfrey Point) is unthinkable to me. I'd just rather not go in that case,
mainly because I dislike being in crowds when I'm getting my zen on.
I did not know typing my thoughts could make this happen. (Silverlight has been crashing on me for the last 12,000 years without fail, so this is definitely not from that. Sigh.)
You know when you think about contacting someone from your past because doing so would be very relevant to your very hopeful immediate future job, even though you haven't spoken in years and the other person likely hates you because of not understanding "friend trying to help you not screw up your life even worse" and you shouldn't have to explain that but then you do, and as soon as you finish typing your thoughts you see your computer screen turn green and pixellate, and it locks up so much that when it's restarted you get a notice that your overclocking failed so you have to go into the BIOS to fix things? Yeah, I hate it when that happens.
As I'm a pantheist (Zen Pantheist Skeptic more than anything else, even though I love me some Catholic liturgy), I think I'll take this as a subtle hint from the universe to keep not talking to him, even though this job I want would entail working closely with someone in a very similar way to how we'd worked together, and I want him to give me proper props like he said he'd do but I kinda want to make sure but now the making sure is not gonna happen because my computer is a bitch to begin with and I don't want to aggravate her further. Balls.
The universe tends to get my attention in a big way when I think about being a nice more-than-decent human being and shouldn't even bother, or when I want to do things I know I shouldn't do. I'm generally way too nice to people to begin with (like Bjork, I err on the side of generosity), but sometimes I get forced to pay attention to what I'm thinking about (or trying to not think about), and that's always interesting.
The last time anything noticeable like this happened was about a year and a half ago, when I knew hubby and I should've just stayed at home in Dallas one weekend. However, there were exciting things going on, so I pushed myself to attend said exciting things even though I knew better and even with knowing I'd be extremely worn down afterward from having pushed myself in similar ways then-recently, but some of these things interested hubby so of course I wanted him to go too, so yeah, hot messes happened.
We had a very (literally) crappy weekend out of state while doing a few college homecoming things and museuming as usual when in the area. It was nice to see some of my classmates after 15 years, and it was awesome seeing a kickass production of "Antigone" there, but it was not so nice to be surprised by a wrong way driver heading straight for us on a back road highway. (Yay for being able to get my swerve on while thinking about how incredibly awful I felt.) We should've stayed in our hotel room the first night instead of hitting the big shindig done by the school of music, since hubby's gut was agitated and mine was getting that way, but nooooo, I had to insist on going and had to get Imodium so all would be fairly well. I now know that this was wrong. He felt better the next day, when I missed out on museuming thanks to being in the bathroom for like an hour and a half in literal gut-wrenching agony.
Naturally it occurred to me then that these things could've been avoided had we just stayed home (especially as the driving scare happened about 20 minutes before getting to said museum). There wasn't anything life-changing going on that we would've missed out on, aside from my really getting what the chorus of a Greek play should ideally be like, and aside from seeing a "Clerks" reference in context in real life, but even those things don't compare to the crap that happened.
The first thought that came to mind when seeing this:
"I'm not even supposed to be here today!!"
Well played, universe. Well played.
Of course, we could've just felt bad from food poisoning, but my gut would've exploded within 4-12 hours as usual instead of waiting 40 hours, so I kinda think not. Still, I continue to not buy chicken from Target, just in case we did have bad chicken the night before we left, even though I know this all was really a gentle prod from the universe to get me to take even better care of myself. Then again, it could be both. It really doesn't matter. None of this matters, except that I really hate when the universe course-corrects me in a big obvious-to-me way.
Okay, I'm really going to the arboretum soon. Today. Because I've been wanting to but changed my mind about it on Monday and yesterday. And because I don't want the universe to kick me anymore for not getting out to enjoy it like I should. (And I apologize if my reposting this a zillion times right now screws up your feed but the text is all fubar and it is driving me nuts, and yes, I know how that all sounds after what I just said. Balls.)
