Speechless

Have you been watching/reading the news?

Health Reform Takes Angry, Violent Turn - barbaric...I guess democracy is only for a select segment of the population. Here's more.

What exactly are they so violently angry about?

->That insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children due to preexisting conditions?

->That we would dare spend $940 billion to cover 32 million uncovered Americans (largely the working poor and lower class, or is it that we think the uninsured are majority homeless and bums?) who we currently pay for ANYWAY via safety net or higher premiums at higher costs?

->Is it upsetting that promoting the proper use of the health care system (preventive care) will reduce high cost emergency room visits?

->Maybe it is the additional dental coverage? Missing work and school due to dental pain makes perfect sense in a developed nation.

->Oooo, I know. It is the tax hike to the insurance companies offering the super pricey Cadillac plans! Which, by the way has been revised. Or maybe the increased Medicare takes on families making more than $250,000. & don't you for a second think that I don't care because that won't affect me. I plan for it to affect me (sooner than later hopefully).

->Maybe they're upset that kids in school can now have access to medical insurance via their parents till 26...this group is generally the healthiest, lowest costing group to cover.

->Does anyone realize that this bill does not extend coverage to illegal aliens OR change any abortion payment laws/regulations currently in place? States can choose to ban abortion in the health insurance exchanges, and individuals purchasing insurance via the exchanges will have to make their own choice (oh, now I'm gonna get struck by lightening since God doesn't permit free will) regarding abortions & will have to fund it via personal finances.

Sources:

House passes health care bill

Obama signs health care 'fixes' bill

HR 3590 - the actual bill

I get that some people don't like the bill. Everyone has a right to their opinion and they should be able to say that they don't like it BUT what's with the violence? threats? I am pretty confident that anyone threatening lives and shooting buildings up over this are idiots to the nth degree. This is the same system that's been working since 1776. As is blatantly obvious, it doesn't always work well. But if the opinion is that it isn't working, I don't think we should resort to barbarism. There is no reason for us all to look wild and stupid.

I hate to sound like I think this bill is coming up daisies, because it isn't. It is going to cost money, and require adjustment. At the moment I'm a broke grad student whose co-pay is on a steady increase, and whose benefits are on the decrease BUT there is something known as gross and net benefit. I would rather a net benefit.

Anyway, let's have a wooooosah moment and think of better times.

Oh, happy April Fool's...how apropos

word love: Sweet and Dandy

Eh-eh! Etty inna room a cry

Mama seh she mus' wipe 'er eye

Papa seh she no fi foolish like she neva been to school at all

It is no wonder

Is a perfect ponder

While they were dancin' in dat ballroom last night

Eh-eh! Johnson inna room a fret

Uncle seh 'im mus' wuol' up 'im head

Auntie seh 'e no fi foolish like is not time for his weddin' day

It is no wonder

Is a perfect ponder

While they were dancin' in dat ballroom last night

One poun' ten for de weddin' cake

Twenty bokkle of cola wine

All di people dem dress up inna white fi go eat off Johnson weddin' cake

It is no wonder

Is a perfect ponder

While they were dancin' in dat ballroom last night

But they were sweet an' dandy, sweet an' dandy

Sweet an' dandy, sweet an' dandy

They were sweet an' dan-deh... sweet an' dan-deh...

by: Toots & the Maytals, 1968 (Jamaican ska/rock steady band, 1964 to present)

Listen/watch: Video of song (also a clip of the movie, The Harder They Come)

"Toots portrays a couple on the verge of their wedding ceremony, having last-minute nerves and being both soothed and urged on by their older relatives, while the guests wait to celebrate. The language is vernacular, poetic, evocative and immediate; the music is both edgy and upbeat, falling in a long melodic curve through each scene-setting verse, and then rising with equal length and good humor through the chorus to the concluding image of the happy couple dancing."

--> More translation and interpretation....Source.

I absolutely am in love with this song. One of my all time favorites.

Road trip :)

Guess where I was this weekend? On a road trip to Washington, D.C. to see my mommy :) Was feeling so out of it...groggy, tired, stuffy, just a feeling of malaise. Dunno why. Anyhow, we got there (no thanks to me). Hugh co-piloted, Raf drove, and I slept in the back complaining of being cold (though the heat was cranked..think I had a low grade fever). Saturday was good. Drove out to Alexandria, VA for church, then had lunch at the food court adjacent to the hotel, walked about town a bit (snapped pics and such) then did a small bit of shopping (mom). We were supposed to then take advantage of the indoor pool but everyone fell off to sleep...we didn't enjoy the pool till the Sunday morning and only for a small bit. We also watched The Black Stallion, this 1980s movie about an Arabian horse and a young boy on Sunday. Not bad...we all liked it. Perfect Sunday morning entertainment. Then we were off (with a short stop at Ren's place). The ride back was much better. I was up most of the time but as we hit NJ, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Some co-pilot. I do much better when I'm driving. Promise.

The White House, March 27 2010

I got some good pics of the White House this time. Last time we went by here, it was dark and we were exhausted. Hugh got to see some of the nations capital. Not in much detail but he'll be back for Ren's graduation most likely. We walked by the National Monument and toward the Lincoln Memorial and through parts of the National Mall. Mom was appalled at the amount of dog feces on the grass lol.

Mom & 2 of her children - ya, she's sporting a kick ass fro :)

& last but not least...

Be still my beating heart! These cherry blossoms! They were all over and everyone was having their fill. This weekend happened to be the beginning of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The hotel had a bunch of arrangements in the lobby that smelled divine. I have so many pics of them, it is ridic!

Great weekend - thanks for reading!

sweet sundays: balm for the weary

Taking time out for friends & family - people you love and trust, people who love and trust you - is sweet relief in this world.

Our current society is such a dog eat dog world. You never know people's real motive, you're always going going going like an energizer bunny just to stay afloat, and no matter how many hours are in a day, you feel like nothing gets accomplished. Well, except exhaustion.

STOP

Drop the book or magazine, close the work or school document, drop the vacuum, turn off the computer. Give a friend or family member a call, snuggle up to your honey and watch a comedy, have dinner at the abandoned dining room table, or even send a "howdy" text message. Always make time for the people around you who mean the most to you. The ones who show up for you, not because they have something to gain or prove, but because they want to support you. Being around people you love & trust is the best food for the soul. These are the things that really matter in this crazy, messed up world. If you spend time doing that this week, you would have gained something invaluable - a connection with love - you would have gained a bout of good, positive energy that no amount of work, cleaning, school, or surfing the net could accomplish.

~Have a blessed week~

girly fridays: parting is such sweet sorrow

I am absocrazily in love with shoes.

So last night I was going through my closet looking for pairs of shoes I've bought, and never worn or wore once and will never wear again to give my mom this weekend. We wear the same size shoes and so she benefits from my fickle shopping habits. Besides, Raf seems to gain pleasure from me paring down my shoe collection (I know mom does). I wonder if men understand that our shoes are like food...essential. Anyhoo, I happened upon a pair of shoes I absolutely positively adore. I haven't worn them since 2005 but there is NO WAY I'd give them away. I just haven't found another perfect outfit for them. Just seeing them makes me smile.

Do you have any old favorites in your closet you just couldn't bear to part with??

I get to see my mommy soon!

What a balm for the weary soul haha

Mom will be in town (not my town but close enough) for a work related conference so we're all packing up and heading to hang with her on the weekend. Yipee!!! Can't wait for the end of the work day on Friday.

word love: The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

by: Robert Frost (American, 1874-1963)