Religion

First, my typical disclaimer.....these are my opinions and my opinions only. I do not mean to offend, but that may happen. I'm sorry. I try to be an equal opportunity offender. These are meant to be facts in the way I see the world and I realize they may not be the way you see the world. I would ask for the same as I give - respect for differing opinions. I do not mean to intentionally "pick on" or leave anyone else out. Usually, the instances I use are examples only. Thank you.

So, I'm not a terribly religious person. If you now me, the chances are you already know that. I'm not a big believer in God or any other deity, although I do believe in something bigger and more powerful than I am. But despite my lack of belief, I have respect. I don't speak down against any deity or "god" or God. I may speak down against the things you do for your deity, but not your deity. I may not believe it, or agree with it, but I will try my best to respect it.

For instance, I may speak down against suicide bombers but I won't speak down against Allah. It's not necessarily his fault. Sure, the bombers say Allah commands them to cleans the world of infidels or something like that, but are we really sure they aren't misunderstanding? We misunderstand each other all the time....what makes us think we can't misunderstand our chosen god?

Especially because Christians do so pretty wacked out stuff for their "God" too. Spanish inquision anyone? (I mostly identify with the Catholic faith, btw, if I were having to choose.) I speak out against doing anything that physically harms another person. I would say mentally, but then someone would use that "I just can't help it, my mind is so tortured by the fact that you believe differently than I do....I must make you believe the same as I do!" Really....I'm touched that you care. Now back off.

Anyway....How many times do we say "For the love of God, pick up your junk!" or something equally as pointless? God does't care about if your toys or papers are picked up. You may be walking a fine line about the "Obey thy father and mother" or "Honor they spouse" thing, but thats about it. Better yet, lets go from the insinificant to the multitude. How many wars ar fought for religion? The majority of wars have been based on it in some way. You can't tell me that any god or God wants us to kill each other in His/their name. Because every religion claims their god is the most powerful.....if he was so powerful and wanted all of the disbelievers dead, he would kill them himself, especially after so many years of such complete dismal failure on everyone's part. Or, he would just kill you for being such a failure. Either way, he's doing work himself.

Which finally leads me to my main point I guess. If we do all of these nasty things in our God's name....and he doesn't really aprove of them after all....then aren't we essentially taking his name in vain? And not just in the "God damn it" view, but in the we're-blaming-him-for-our-evil-actions-and-he's-gonna-be-PISSED view. How can we get pissy over saying "God damn it"....it's basically a plea for God to punish that thing....when we're doing much worse under the premise that he wants us to? I guess because in saying "God damn it", its like asking him to do his own dirty work and not hiding behidn the humans.... God wouldn't have the "free will" card to hide behind. "I didn't ask them to do it....free will!"

So basically I guess what I'm saying is we all need to self-examine. Do we really do things to honor our God? To be faithful and live the life that he would want? Or do we do things because we can't stand the idea of being wrong? Because we're scared to face the consequences of our own chosen actions?

I guess that's why I'm not too much into religion. For too many people, it seems to have become a hiding place....an excuse. Not a faith. The way I see it...I believe what I believe. You can believe what you believe. As long its not harming anyone...if I'm wrong and I go to hell, that's my business. If you're wrong and you go to hell, that's your business. No one can keep their noses out of someone else's business and that is a portion of what is wrong with this world today.

Now in retrospect, someone could say "but if we leave each other alone to believe whatever they want, then what's to stop the suicide bombers, etc from bombing everyone in the world??" Well, that's where the "You believe what you want, I believe what I want" comes in. If they were to have that view (the same view as me, irony right?) then they wouldn't be bombing everyone becuase they would just look at us "infidels" and go, "Oh well, they go to hell, who cares? Not my problem" and walk away. We all need to learn better when to walk away and when to fight. Choose your battles. A difference in religion should not be one of them.

(This message brought to you by the desire to yell at certain women that I know who's husbands have verbally abused them into changing everything about themselves and become submissive little whisps of their former selves because they are too insecure and prejudice to accept that woman for who she was. So instead of accepting her for who she was and working out your problems and accepting your differences you've completely broken and brainwashed her and your children....way to go! Bet you're real proud of yourself now. Oh wait, you can't do that because you hate everyone who's not exactly like you and alienate anyone who might stand up to you! Way to be a good, decent, upstanding man. Not to mention being a strong mother for your children! Way to just let that abuse happen instead of getting away from it and protecting you and your children from it.)

WOW! Man-Eater.....

So, I know it's been a while since I blogged. Haven't really felt the need to. Today I have two rants to go on about, but we'll stick with one since I AM at work.

So today I dressed up, wore some makeup that kind of thing. Ntohing too elaborate, just a little bit. My hubby said I looked really pretty and I started joking around a little with him and I was like, "Sure, but it would be better if my boobs were a couple of sizes bigger and my top button was undone so there was just a hint of cleavage huh? (The blouse I'm wearing is a little on the baggy side. It's for comfort and to look nice, not to hug curves.) Anyway, he started laughing and was like, true, but I'm not complaining.

So I got to work and was talking to one of my co-workers and related the conversation. And she just gets this hateful look on her face and is all "Oh my god what a jackass! I can't believe that, thats just mean and rude." I'm looking at her like....WTF??? I'm like, "It doesn't bother me, I think it's funny." She's replies in this snotty voice, "Well I guess you're just better than I am then."

Excuse me?? Now, all of us women know that men can suck. You leave your wet towlel lay on the bed after a shower, you leave dishes laying around the house, hand us your dirty laundry and say "Yeah, I'm not sure what's on that. I'd be careful." Men suck sometimes. I'm not being totally down on men, women pretty much suck sometimes too. Case in point - my coworker. She's is always down on men. Like, BIG time. I'm honestly not sure how her husband stands her. IT's always fine for her to talk bad about him, make fun of him, etc. but never the other way around. Even to the point of shooting him in the leg with a BB gun. I honeslty feel sorry for her children. She said that they were talking about ways of pulling practicle jokes one night. I said man I'd be afraid of going to bed if I were you. She goes, oh no, they know better than to do that to me. Stever [her husband] woke up with three red toenails and shaving cream in his face though. What does that say about you? You run the house with an iron vagina, thats for sure. I really feel sorry for her son. He's getting old enough to realize that his mom hates his dad and anyone else with a penis. Poor kid will probably be gay or have SERIOUS mom issues that leads him to be a serial killer or something.

But yet she acts like Jordan is this horrible person because he's honest. When I'm on my period and moody and all, he'll just flat "You're on the rag aren't you? Ok, I'll go away then." I pretty much love it because I don't have to hint around or scream at him to go away. But then my coworker acts like I'm this poor brainwashed abused wife because I "put up" with that.

So, what do you guys think? Is my husband an asshole and I'm just too love stupid to realize it and I'm setting the feminist movement back about a century, or is she some man hating female praying mantis?

So...

....I'm officially job hunting. Anywhere or anything without a 45 minute radius of Ottawa/Pomona. (Within reason. I draw the line at Wal-Mart or fast food.) I just can't stand not being treated like a human being or given common respect anymore.

That and I'm honestly a little scared that one of these days, we just won't get paid because the boss is too busy indulging his lavish lifestyle.

So, I am very much job hunting. I would like to make at least $9 an hour. I would like to make a little more if I have to drive very far, but I'll do what I have to.

La De Da

So, tonight I am proud of myself. A while back, Embarq pissed us off, and we called and told them to shove everything up their butt, except the internet, because we still need it for work. Well, having picked up on the fact that we weren't too happy.....they sent us a free code for restaurant.com. Oh yeah. So, we went to eat tonight. I'd only been once, and since they're at the country club now, I figured their prices had doubled. Wrong! I didn't think we'de have much trouble using that up, but we did.....in order to use that $25, we had to order $35 worth of food. By the time we got tax on it and everything, it was $39 somthing...oh well, ya know? For that, jordan had their smoked salmon dinner and I had their loaded baked potato and mac and cheese. In addition, there is, sitting in the fridge right now, a bunt end dinner, a mequite chicken salad and an extra side of baked beans. In addition, it was OU night at the potters wheel, and we each got $5 to spend there.

Pretty Sweet savings huh?

So that was really long to get to this....I'm driving back, in the dark, in the rain...rolling into town...with my music blaring (from my one front passenger speaker that actually works in my ghetto-mobile), and what am I blaring? Patsy Cline. Oh yeah, Sweet Dreams. How many 21 yr olds can say that one? Pimpin' Patsy in my ghetto car. lol So, I was wondering, whats the best, "uncool" song you love?

And now the thoughtful portion of our show....I was loading the dishwasher, when I had a mini-revelation. I take our blessings for granted. I hate doing dishes. I mean, HATE. I would rather clean the toilet than do dishes. But I am blessed, because I have a working dishwasher. And I was sitting there, loading my dishwasher, thinking how I hated having to handle the icky dishes to put them there, and I was horrified at myself. not even a month ago, I was still washing those nasty things by hand every other night. I hope I never become so spoiled that I forget what a blessing it is to have a dishwasher. I don't ever want to be that spoiled and comfortable that I just get used to my life and take it for granted. I think we all have problems with that though. We get frustrated at inconvenience, but don't realize what a blessing that inconvenience is, or how thankful we should be for it. It reminds me of a decorative plate my mom used to have hanging above her stove:

"Thank God for dirty dishes. They have a tale to tell. For while others are going hungry, we are eating very well!"

Duty

How much in our lives do we do because of the sense of duty? I do dishes, make dinner and watch action movies most days out of a sense of duty. Granted, on a certain level, I enjoy all of that occasionally. (Action movies more often, I like them. Just...a chick flick once in a while is too much to ask without a temper tantrum?) But what do we do, just because of duty?

I go to work to a job I dislike intensely because I have a duty to pay my bills. (And I like having internet & electricity.)

I see my husband's friends out of duty, to respect him, and because a couple of them are really nice. The rest is purely because I love my husband. Or I would openly loathe a couple of the guys.

I attend funerals out of duty. I hate them...they are rarely to actuallly honor and remember the dead. It's a show to the public that you cared about that person so that you are thought well of. Its rarely for the family. I've been though it enough to know that family would rather forget about a funeral. They do it out of duty to the "public."

I swallow my pride out of duty. How many times am I going to be told, "I just don't think you realize how much I do for you," before I come unglued about how I GAVE UP MY JOB and took a JOB I HATE because he wanted me to? Hmmmm? But no, I swallow my pride and don't start THAT fight.

Can you tell it's been one of those nights? *shoots and evil glare at the office* If I could put a bullet through the speakers and through Nickelback right now, I totally would. (Side of a Bullet is playing....WAY too loudly...just to provide some background on that one.)

Don't get me wrong, life is pretty dang good all in all....but there has been way too much testosterone lately. The only part of my job I enjoy is that I work with a couple of very nice ladies. Unfortuneately, I don't have much in common with either of them.

Oh, I officially graduate in May....with a degreen in Communications....emphasis in Radio Broadcasting and Public Relations. Did you know that included web development??? Neither did I. In any case, you should check out the center of my work existance lately. Not that anyone appreciates that either. So far, I get "I hate this" "Why do we have to do this, I don't want to have to learn anything know" and "this needs to be changed." So, let me know what you think. Constructive criticisms please. Don't just automatically hate it because you disapprove of my employment for that company or because you have an innate fear of change. Also keep in mind that it's a template...I'm limited in my creativity.

OK, I feel better now. At any rate, I desperately need a girl's night. I'm drowning in testosterone. I usually get along better with guys actually.....but sometimes I just need my girls.

hm

It's been forever since I've read this magazine, but let's see if the free stuff is worth it.

Crazy

My hubby is leaving today for Iowa. Will be gone until Friday sometime. Hmmm...ideas.....