Interesting...

Thought I'd post an interesting commentary I read in Newsweek on Senator Murtha's recent comments that we need to expedite withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and the general situation in over there...

Words of Wisdom

Good evening all!

There is definitely something to be said for volunteering...life would be awesome if i could just do that every day. A couple of my girlfriends & I volunteered with the American Cancer Society today....we didnt do a whole lot other than clean, but we definitely pitched in where help was needed, and made the jobs of others just a little easier by helping out with the chores. In my everyday job it's rare when you feel like the work you do is making the world a better place. Dont get me wrong, I do like my job alot (well, on most days anyways), but I've always wanted to do something that I knew was making a positive difference in someone's life...giving back to the world just a smidgen of what I have been so blessed to receive. Hopefully someday I'll be able to have one of those jobs, but in the meantime I am content to work for a company where they give me a day off here & there to make a difference. :)

Tomorrow we will be volunteering with the American Stroke Association...am definitely looking forward to that! Over the last 2 1/2 years I have put in many volunteer hours with this organization, but decided this last summer to take some time off. My schedule with working 2 jobs and then volunteering on top of that was kindof wearing me out (understatement), so i made the decision that to really be able to give my all to this cause, I needed to take some time off to regroup. I've noticed that my schedule has calmed down a little bit, but I also noticed that I have really come to miss the people I worked with & for! Our weekend training runs allowed me to keep in shape, also helped keep me in touch with all my regular running partners. Since then running has just not held the same excitement it had before...i guess now i'm doing it just for fitness' sake, whereas before it was a social thing as well. Also, our fundraising events were not only efforts to raise money for stroke research & advocacy programs, but were also social events. While I havent so much missed the stress of preparing for the events or finding time in my schedule to make all the training runs & meetings, I've missed everyone...so I'm hoping to see a lot of long-lost buddies at the event (in addition to helping them to raise some much-needed funds)!

On a side note....

I'd like to make an apology. Since the wal-mart rant/tirade (i bet you're thinking "oooh noo....dont get started on that again!!") :) I have realized that a lot of what I wrote may have hurt some feelings or have been taken in a way that it wasn't meant to be. I know that I have been known from time to time (umm...probably more than that) to act or speak first and think later...and after it happens and I realize it, i have a mental "D'oh!" moment...one of those "Crap! I didnt mean it to be taken like that!" moments. (I'm going to be 27 in a few days, and you think I would have learned a little bit by now...but i digress...) With that said, I am sincerely sorry if I stepped on any toes, or made any statements that were offensive or hurtful to anyone who might have read that. I was just venting my thoughts on the subject, and certainly didnt mean to make any judgements on anyone in particular (especially those of you i hold near & dear to my heart...) . I guess I didnt think that many people out there would be interested in my lil ole blog...but as one VERY wise person warned me, what you put in a blog is not ever assumed to be private...more people than you think, and people you probably arent aware of, will be reading so choose your words wisely. I promise to try and be more wise in the future.

Also--if you read something you disagree with, or have questions on, or just feel like being a wise guy, there is a little link at the end of all my posts for comments...they can be anonymous or not, so feel free! :)

love and hugs to all...

new titles

Good evening all!

So...when i went to log into the blog this evening to write my post, i noticed how blah all the titles are of my posts...if i were a visitor, i dont think i'd be terribly interested to look through those! From here on out, only eye-catching, interest-snagging titles for these postings! Um, starting tomorrow...i'm not in a creative mood just yet. :)

This morning i received an email with the online edition of the Truman Index, a campus newspaper from my alma mater....and wouldnt you know, there's an editorial in there from one of the readers supporting Wal-mart! I read it through patiently...ok, actually i was like "what is this student on!! oh wait, it's only a freshman...that explains it!" ;) just kidding...so anyways, i read it through and actually considered some of their points. As much as I hate to admit it, the author of that article does make some good points about what Wal-mart is doing to contribute back to the community. I mean, when a college student is looking for a good distraction from writing that term paper, a Wal-mart run always seemed to be just the thing! Especially if the distraction was needed at like 1am...the place was always open. Seriously though, aside from distraction & entertainment for college kids, the proportion of what they give back in relation to what they take doesnt even come close to what i view as acceptable...I could go on about the injustice of it all...but, i believe i will just let you read the articles & make your own decision...I promise no more ranting about Wal-Mart. PROMISE. :)

On a lighter note, i have the day off tomorrow & can't wait! I'm going on a trail run with one of my friends first thing in the morning, and then out for lunch with a couple of my other friends...and then to a dr appt...then to a happy hour. i think it'll be a good day...start out with a fabulous nature run, end with some drinks with friends...can't beat that!

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Goodness! Time sure flies when you're having fun....it's been a few days since i've blogged, almost a week! Sorry for being a slacker...

Today I think I'm the most unmotivated girl in Kansas City. So much so that i'm about to fall asleep on my desk rather than pay any attention to what is in my inbox, or the fact that the big red light on my phone is shining in vain...no i will not answer that voicemail today. :) My group here at work organized a food day today to celebrate thanksgiving, since this seems to be one of the last days this month that we are all here instead of on vacation for something or other. We have turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole (ew), cheesy potatoes, bread, pumpkin pie, cookies, and various other not-so-good for you dishes. My contribution to the day was 2 home-made apple pies. mmmm....imagine the kind that grandma makes, with the beautiful lattice tops...golden brown cinnamon-appley goodness...YUM!!!

In preparation for the day, I didnt eat anything all morning & went for a 4 mile run over my lunch hour to burn some calories...somehow that justifies eating my heart out when i got back from the run. Oh man, that stuff was good...I am SO looking forward to Thanksgiving now! Except...the sleepiness from the turkey is starting to set in...any minute now my coworkers are going to hear this loud thud coming from my cube...yes, that was my head hitting the desk as i fell asleep. Nice!! :) And so...i have no motivation to do anything but muddle through the next couple of hours until i can go home & be lazy on the couch. I'd do anything for a nap right now!! :)

To battle the sleepiness I thought, hm...i should do something fun like write in the blog! There's no better way to lose loyal readers (yeah right...all i hear are crickets chirping out there... ;) ) than a few days of silence....so better get back to writing! So...here's some food for thought.

Reflections on the company from hell (a.k.a. Wal-Mart):

I was reading the stL Post Dispatch this morning and came across this article. It's about a lawsuit brought against Wal-mart (better known as The Devil) by some of its workers...apparently they have been forcing hourly employees to work off the clock, without breaks, and screwing them out of overtime. An interesting thing to note is that there have been lawsuits just like this one brought up in several states for pretty much the same charges...but the courts (until now-yay missouri!) have denied these cases class-action status, and so left them dead in the water. But hopefully this will change things!!

By now you probably realize I hate Wal-mart...there is nothing worse than walking into a store & being met by screaming children and their white trash ignorant parents, wandering aimlessly around the store doing nothing but trying to run you over with their shopping cart (not to mention running the gauntlet of a parking lot outside...these people pay just about as much attention when driving their cars as they do when steering their shopping carts or minding their screaming children). Talk about a pleasant shopping experience!! Not only that, having gone to college in a small rural Missouri town (shout out for Kirksville!), I have seen firsthand what Wal-mart stores do to the local economy of these small towns. They run small mom & pop stores out of business, and do very little to contribute back to the community in which they are making so much money in profits....they sap the originality, income and general happiness out of every town and person that sets their sights on that awful blight of a store. Furthermore, I have heard horror stories about the company's anti-union and shady labor practices....now, i'm not one of those gung-ho be union or be nothing people, but when workers' rights are being stepped on, and the company is scheming for ways to prevent employees from organizing as a group or to prevent a union from coming in and representing the employees, I have a problem. The way I see it, if the company is doing right by its employees, it should have no fear of an organization that has those same people's best interests at heart. It's no wonder they don't want their employees as members of an organization such as this, their abuses would have to come to an end!

Finally--one last point (and then i'll stop ranting, I promise)--I remember all too vividly the days when I had to work a job in retail making minimum wage. It SUCKS. The scheduling blows, the pay blows, the working conditions blow....every last bit of it just sucks. Can you imagine being someone who has to work at this place--it's not just a stepping stone while you're going to school, or an extra job for play money--you HAVE to work here...can you imagine how awful of a sentence that is? For some it is their only source of income, or one of many sources of income b/c working at this place doesnt come close to making ends meet. Also, whatever income they get quickly disappears because if they want insurance it is deducted before they even see what they earned in the first place! What the heck?? So now they are either without insurance, or without money for necessities like new shoes for the kids, the electric bill or repairs to their car (b/c who can afford anything but a hooptie on that salary??). On top of that miserable experience, lets take these people and make them work extra hours--but not pay them for the overtime....AND, lets make them work through lunch and skip their breaks because the productivity level is worth more than their health or happiness.

Bottom line--making money is more important than any employee on the payroll or community in which they have a store. If you have an ounce of community awareness in your body--do everyone (and yourself) a favor & shop at Target. Wal-Mart is the devil.