Understanding

Anyone who has never felt depression or been touched by someone with this disease may have a hard time understanding.

While there is still a stigma today with having a "mental" illness, more and more is being discovered and treatment is readily available for most.

I have Bipolar Disorder. I really hate saying "I'm bipolar"...because I'm not defined by my disease. It's something I have...like diabetes. It's a chemical imbalance and the ONLY thing that keeps me sane is medication. And even then the symptoms find their way in to destroy my days.

Reading The Bloggess, she posted a link to a post she made in 2009 ... It explained the feeling of depression so well.

In the grips of a massive "down" I know in my head that there is nothing to be so hopeless about. My logic is still present. But it doesn't change the way my body reacts to whatever chemicals are screwing around in my head. I think my logic is one of the only things that has saved me from offing myself in the past. That and my stubbornness and desire to not destroy my family. Suicide really is a very selfish act. And again, The Bloggess has a great post addressing that too.

Could This Work?

Turning Detroit from the Motor City into the Farm City? It seems a rather fascinating idea and I think it's more constructive than the current direction Detroit is in (which seems only to be down).

Detroit was once the 4th largest city in America and it held the title of Motor City because most of America’s cars came from there. Flash forward 40 years, and Detroit’s population has dwindled from a high of 2 million people to just over 800,000. The average price for a home in Detroit is $15,000, the lowest in the country. With so many empty spaces, criminals have no shortage of hideouts and drug factories.

...

There is a lot of unused land in Detroit. This John Hantz thinking about how to use all of that vacant land. He is pitching a proposal to turn Detroit into a modern farming community.

People gotta eat right? It would provide jobs in a city with a 25%+ unemployment rate. Not to mention the feeling of accomplishment people have when they are part of something and produce something ... and earn something instead of being handed welfare.

I can't imagine the overwhelming logistics of this proposal, but determination and American can-do spirit can generally accomplish anything. I wish this millionaire all the best.

In 2032

I don't remember the first time I saw this movie, but it spoke very deeply to me.

What does that say about me? I'm not sure. But if you get past the fact that it is a Stallone movie, I think there really is a deeper message about freedom. (And Sandra Bullock rocks it.)

The more I hear about progressives wanting to force us into universal health care, monitor our speech to make sure we aren't "hateful", and trying to make us eat what "they" want... the more I think about this movie.

"I'm the enemy...cause I like to think. I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy who likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder, Gee, should I have the T-Bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecue ribs with a side order of gravy fries. I want high cholesterol. I want to eat bacon, and butter, and buckets of cheese okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section.....

I've seen the future and you know what it is? It's a 47 year old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas drinking a banana broccoli shake singing I'm an Oscar Meyer weiner."

The BEST part of the movie by far is in the first three minutes of the clip above.

The world has become a bunch of sissies. Yup...I think they call them Metrosexuals now.

Huge Contest Ending Soon

I know...three posts in one day. :) And I'm actually getting 'real' work done too. I must be on a Bipolar high.

Whatever...Okay, I have to thank Sense to Save for alerting me to this ginormous contest (is ginormous really a word? It doesn't turn up with that red squiggly line underneath it LOL) over at Money Crashers.

The value of all the prizes is now over $9,000!!!!!! Holy Giveaway Batman! And there are dozens of ways to earn extra entries...I cannot even imagine how they are keeping track of everything.

So, in the spirit of spreading the love, and getting extra entries, I'm writing a post to let you know about it too. And I'm going to cross post this on my other blog.

Good luck (and if you win...you'll share with me right?) =)

This is Not a New Issue

My first car was a 1986 (or 87, I can't remember) Toyota Corolla that my mom bought - she bought it without me so I didn't even get to help pick it out. Thankfully I still loved it and eventually I bought it from her (and even paid it off!).

After I'd paid it off and owned it outright for approximately two months I had the scariest thing happen...I was driving to work, on a street where the speed limit was around 25 mph, and all of a sudden my gas pedal wouldn't stop...and my brakes weren't slowing me down.

The car kept speeding up more and more and I was seriously panicking. Finally I just turned the car off in the middle of the street. That's about all I remember, aside from the terror I felt. I was only 19 or 20 at the time...not the most experienced with scary car things.

Even worse...after I restarted and kept driving it happened AGAIN a few days later. So I went and bought a new car. This time a 96 Toyota Corolla, which never gave me the same scary experience.

Now I have a Toyota Rav4, a 2004, and have never experienced this same thing. But then they come out with a recall saying that a bunch of newer models have this accelerator sticking problem and it makes me really nervous. Because it is NOT a new issue from my perspective. When I traded in my 86 at the dealership I did tell them about the accelerator issue I had and they were not surprised. So when will my 04 crap out on me?

All of my cars have always been Toyota (aside from hubby's truck, which is a Ford) and my dream car is actually a 4Runner. Maybe I need to rethink that.

Racial Victimization Causes Violence

If you constantly tell kids that they are victims, that they will never get ahead because of the color of their skin, that they are "owed" something from others because of the color of their skin ...

You will get kids who are messed up.

"Asian students say black students routinely pelt them with food, beat, punch and kick them in school hallways and bathrooms, and hurl racial epithets like "Hey, Chinese!" and "Yo, Dragon Ball!""

Blacks are not the only race in the world who have been oppressed in the past. Schools teach about slavery to a fault. But they don't seem to teach about other incidents of slavery in other countries (some still ongoing), or about the horrible treatment of other races even here in America (Chinese, Japanese, Irish, etc.).

Would this behavior be tolerated in any way shape or form if the assaulting students were white? No WAY. There would be none of these wimpy protestations that the school district is doing all it can. There would be immediate expulsion of students and loud protests by the offended parties.

"Ackerman apologized to the students but was criticized for bringing a busload of black "student ambassadors" to one hearing , students who were not involved in the strife. She also stirred tensions when she complained that the cultural crisis was "taking up a lot of my time.""

I also think that if the ones being beaten up were white we wouldn't even hear this much about it.

More details are sure to come out and I'm sure there are "guilty" parties on both sides (as my mom says, it takes two to tango) but those responsible for the bullying need to be severely punished and removed from the school to allow those who want to learn to do so safely. I really can't imagine being scared at school.

Creating or Saving?

I think I'm doing my part for job's creation...at least according to The One's definition.

You see, a couple of weeks ago I gave my official notice. I'm quitting my job. =) My last day is April 23 (I'm staying until there is a replacement who I can train).

My company is also "outsourcing" quite a few jobs to a foreign country. But my open position is now available to (hopefully) one of those who will lose their job to said foreign country.

Thus I've SAVED a job.

Right? :)

And this job can be added to the count of saved jobs. What are we up to now? Thousands? Millions? How's that Hope and Change working out?