Blog Action Day 2008



*Blog Action Day is a specific day of the year on which bloggers from across the world come together in an effort to raise awareness on a specific issue. This years issue is Poverty. This is my contribution.*

Remember in grade school how, when discussing other countries, our teachers would always refer back to that survey that demonstrated the wealth of the average person in America compared to the average wealth of the rest of the world? The one that shows that we Americans were among the richest people in the world merely because we owned a refrigerator, had more than one pair of shoes, or had access to clean drinking water on a daily basis.

I remember how our teacher would hand out different slips of colored paper and tell us all to stand on top of our chairs. Most of the class had yellow, pink, or green slips. A few had blue. Only one other kid had a red slip like mine. She explained that the yellow, pink and green slips demonstrated the different levels of poverty in which most people were living and told us that if our class was a small scale representation of the world everyone with one of these slips was living in an impoverished country. She asked those people to sit down. Over two thirds of my classmates quietly took their seats.

"Those people," my teacher told us "are the people that do not have clean water, safe food, or a house to live in. They don't have access to doctors and medicine when they're sick. They don't get to come to school like you do. They probably wont live as long as you will." She turned to the students holding blue strips. "Those of you that have blue papers are living in developed countries. You have safe houses, decent schools, some medical care, and a government that provides some benefits for you." With a nod from our teacher those children took their seats too.

Finally, she turned to look at me and the other girl that was still standing. "You two are from countries like America where you can have the best schooling available, be taken care of by the best doctors, and maintain a lifestyle that many people in the world could never dream of. You can own a car, new clothes, a big house, toys, and books. You have heating, indoor plumbing, and many other things that are considered luxuries to most of the world. The people like you amount to less than five percent of the world yet they own more than ninety percent of the worlds wealth." And that was when she looked me right in the eye and said "Don't you think we should share?"

Poverty is, and always will be, an issue of extreme importance but its devastating effects have been brought into the limelight recently by economical failures spanning our globe. It's common knowledge that both the American and the Canadian economy have not been doing well lately. People everywhere are in constant fear of losing their jobs, their homes, and their savings. It's terrifying to think about but the worst part of it is that it could all have been prevented. I truly believe that if it wasn't for the strong few who prey on the many that are weak we could have avoided a financial crisis like the one we're in now. If it wasn't for large corporations and billionaire CEO's that just can't have enough and choose to find ways to cut costs that deplete our markets, raise inflation, and leave so many jobless - without even a pension to get them by - maybe we might have been able to stop this from happening. If it wasn't for all the greed upon which our nation runs then maybe our unemployment rates wouldn't be so high and our citizens would be happier. If health care wasn't just another opportunity to make money, to cheat a patient out of something he needs in an effort to keep more money in the investors pockets, perhaps our country could enjoy the riches of being safe and healthy.

Just last night Crayon and I had a discussion over what we would both be doing to support ourselves financially and how that would affect where we live and when we get married. We talked about what kind of options we had with our careers and what choices we could make that would allow us to live comfortably - without the cloud of financial stress hanging over our heads. And it was then that I remembered standing up on that chair in school with all my classmates looking up at me and how I wondered if I was going to be one of the lucky few that didn't spend life worrying about whether or not I would be able to make rent or buy groceries that month. I didn't want to have to choose between three meals a day or college textbooks. I don't want to have to suffer through a career I despise for the sake of being able to fill up my gas tank every week. And most importantly I don't want Crayon to spend forty hours a week doing something he doesn't love just for money.

The amount of poverty that resides in our nation spreads far beyond our bank accounts and affects every aspect of our lives, from where our children attend school, to what kind of car we drive, to whether or not we can even afford to see the doctor once a year and unfortunately it's something that can't be fixed over night - but it can be fixed. So tonight, if you choose to watch the presidential debate, I urge you to do so not only with an open mind but with the welfare of those less fortunate than ourselves as your prime concern. Let us not elect a president who will, driven by greed, bring our country farther into debt and farther from accomplishing the goals that are important to the American people, but instead put in power a man who will start from the bottom helping those in the most dire of circumstances first and leave the corporate bailouts in the past where they belong. Let this election be a turning point for our society and a chance to eliminate poverty in every form.

*Blog Action Day 2008*
*Vote Obama 2008*




Must See Tv

We all have our little addictions in life. Some of us live off of Ben & Jerry's, others over indulge at Barnes & Noble, and still others cannot resist buying yet another set of expensive lingerie (obviously none of these apply to me. *ahem*).

However. The tried and true addiction that has taken over the entire country is Must See Tv (of which I have created my own definition). Hah. You thought I was going to say Palinsanity didn't you?

Must See Tv (as defined by me - omg rhyme!): Must See Tv is any Tv show which the general public of the U.S. finds itself addicted to regardless of production length, plot quality, or character depth.

Here are some examples - but before anyone freaks out just know that I'm not saying any of these shows are bad per se. Just that they've taken over our weekday evenings. And I may or may not be planning my schedule around some of them.

Examples: Heroes, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, House, The Hills, Dexter, and the most awesomely awesome show out there - The Office!

Yes. I admit it. I absolutely adore The Office. I didn't start watching it until the third season was under way but upon discovering I was hooked and subsequently had to spend an entire weekend catching up on the first two seasons I had missed.

I love the relationships between all the characters (not necessarily pleasant in some cases) and the interaction that takes place. The Office is maybe one of the best shows ever made. In my personal opinion it's also much better than its UK parent - which I found dull, hard to follow, and with lackluster dynamics between characters.

However with my extreme love of The Office taking over any available Tv time I might have - I'm worried that I'm possibly missing out on other great television and that when I rejoin society (Read: Salt Lake) I'll be totally and completely out of the loop and with little clue as to why everyone is talking about some guy named House and some girl named Peyton. Essentially I need more Must See Tv that I must see.

So this is where you guys come in! If you happen to watch/know of/ADORE any particular Tv show please leave a comment and tell me which one it is. I am determined to spend more time glued to my couch and am willing to take any help I can get in accomplishing such matter.

And for those of you that would have suggested The Office here are some pictures to tie you over. (Until Thursday - that is.)

Feeling Adored

Terribly sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days. I took a mini vacation to spend some time down in the city with Crayon (who was nothing short of adorable the whole time) and somehow managed to ignore both my laptop and cell phone while down there. It was a lovely break from the book writing and I was once again reminded that I'm the luckiest freakin girl in the world (boyfriend wise- that is). Because seriously I had no idea that there were still guys around that would insist on opening every door, holding your bags when you go shopping, and paying for dinner. Crayon, I kid you not, does all of these things and so much more. He's happy to stay home and watch The Office with me (OHMIGODITSALMOSTSEPTEMBER25TH!) or to go see all the obnoxiously girly movies that are playing in the tri-state area and he endures my drunk-sounding-semi-awake-but-still-trying-to-hold-conversations state that inevitably comes about around 10pm. I have this marvelous ability to both fall asleep at the same time that everyone woman over the age of 65 finishes her cross-stitching and decides its time for bed and to believe that I'm still capable of saying immensely profound things while I'm drifting in and out of la-la land. Very attractive I'm sure. And yet this handsome brown eyed guy lets me ramble on about frappuccino's and fire trucks and only teases me the tiniest bit about it the next day. Definitely a keeper.

I've moved over from that group of women that pooh-pooh's romantic movies as society's way of sucking our gender in to their if-i-buy-*random hair care product goes here*-then-i-would-surely-be-in-love-like-that bullshit to the quietly happy group that can enjoy the chick flicks without wondering if I'll ever by that happy and simply hopes that every other woman has the chance to feel like I do and be adored like I currently am. I do wish that our culture wasn't so judgemental - be it on the basis of appearance or money or upbringing but fortunately for us there seem to still be a few good guys hanging around that aren't looking for an airbrushed type A model, but rather a real sort of girl that they can try to build a life with.

Also any guy that willingly lets his girl post about him on her blog under the nom de plume "crayon" has got to be one confident dude.

9/11

I like to consider myself somewhat informed when it comes to the events and issues that are prominent and pressing in our nation. I have a fair list of various news websites I keep track of, I keep an eye on Google Trends, and I follow Google News on Twitter. What's disturbing about all of this is that not from any of these various sources did I come across any articles or feeds relating to the preparation for, or remembrance of 9/11 until this morning. Now maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, or in the right places, or maybe its become our custom in America to make speeches first and amends later. It's frustrating because while the higher officials of our government are waving flags and standing at podiums, the people of America are sending flowers and visiting graves. The speeches and the services are nice but they don't fill the gap left by those that were lost on this day seven years ago. The effects of such tragedy are spread far and wide - and even those of us that didn't lose someone that day are not removed from the responsibility to respectfully honor the sacrifice that so many people made for their country as well as their family and friends that day.

In many ways its a blessing that this reminder should fall so closely to our presidential election. It's an opportunity for the people of America to remember what was lost and also to remember that we must hold our government responsible for its negligence and its carelessness with the lives of our fellow citizens. We cannot allow our country to be run by another man who will sit quietly by in a classroom while our nation falls under attack. We cannot allow our leaders to do nothing in the face of natural disasters in which many lives might have been spared. We should not be forced to suffer the consequences of selfish, greedy men, that take advantage of our nations trusting people in an effort to dissuade us from the truth. The most important thing we can do now is to hold dear the memory of how our country came together in the aftermath of 9/11 and realize that this election is an occasion that calls for such unity amongst us.

Regardless of age, race, or income there are issues that we should all be able to agree on. Health Care should not be an opportunity for the wealthy to prey upon the poor. The citizens of a free nation shouldn't have to make a choice between seeing the doctor and putting food on the table. Quality education should be provided at no cost, in safe - healthy - environments for every child. Women should have the right to decide what happens to their own bodies. Anyone should have the right to visit their loved ones in this hospital - regardless of their sexual preference. And above all we must all come together to protect our planet from the dangerous effects our technology has on it. This earth is our home - and it's the only one we have. All talk of economy and expense must be put aside because without our planet we wont have a place to hold those discussions, let alone a place for the children of this generation grow old.

On this, the seventh anniversary of 9/11, I urge everyone to be just a little kinder to those around them, to our planet, and even to those they may not agree with. I hope that you all take a moment today to remember those that are no longer with us, those that are that have suffered from the events of that day, and those that are currently fighting for what we hold most dear here back home. Let us all show our gratitude for the courage of those at ground zero by ensuring that no American life is ever spent again without dire need and virtuous reason. If there is one thing, more than any other, that we might to do to honor the memory of 9/11, I believe it would be to make good use of the processes set up by our forefathers, and to elect a man that can lead us out of the mess that has been made of our country these last eight years, and hopefully, that will be enough.

*Remember 9/11*
*Obama 2008*

A Better Way Of Living

Sometimes I wonder how we got to this point in our society. I wonder how it is that our whole lives came to be built on what seems to be a never ending cycle of stress, worry, and fear. I look around and all I see is how trapped we seem to be. How many of us have to sacrifice things we love, want, or need because our lifestyles, and the methods provided to maintain such comfortable lifestyles, dictate that we must do so. The binds that prevent us from experiencing many of the truest joys of life and continue to push us out of bed to our 9 to 5 jobs each morning are spread far and wide, undeterred by age, race, income, or hometown. They are the school loans, the insurance premiums, the mortgages, the cars, the interest rates, the credit cards, the ever out of reach promotion, and without fail the very comforts of life that we strive so hard for that ultimately end up making our lives uncomfortable.

I have friends that wanted to travel. I have friends that wanted to volunteer, teaching children in impoverished countries. Friends that are now, working part time, trying to put themselves through school. My mother wanted to be a nurse, to own her own home, to retire comfortably, without worry. She's now just barely going back to school, over forty, without any real estate to her name and without a retirement account to fall back on. My father wanted to make his living writing music. He currently works in electronic marketing, writing songs at night, and flying to Nashville in pursue of a dream that's slowly become a hobby over the last twenty years. One of my best friends from high school wanted to be a make-up artist. Now she works at a dealership, selling cars for sixty hours a week. What is it that allows us to write off the things we want, as later dates in our calendar, and things to do - but at the bottom of our list. How is it that we let the most important things fall through the cracks for the day to day sake of "making it", of "surviving"?

I wonder if college tuition was free, if health care was provided without a second thought, and if banks and credit card companies were regulated more closely, would the average middle class worker stand a little more of a chance when trying to build a life? If hospital bills and co-pays didn't force people to sell their homes would it be easier for someone to finance a small business? If not for student loans that keep us tied down and credit cards that never seem to get paid off would there be more people taking a year to go travel and see the world? Is it a lot to ask that we be free to move about and create the lives that we truly wish for? Should our society not be built on the ideas of lifting up its citizens instead of chaining them down for the sake of profit? How did we get to this point? And more importantly, is there a better way of living?

Lizzy