Job Search Madness

So I have this employment class I have to attend due some Social Services crap, and it's been taking up all my time lately. Don't get me wrong, the idea of the class is great for people who need it. But MAKING people have to take the class is kinda dumb in my opinion. We don't DO anything other than sit there and have nice little discussion about stuff that can help people find a job. This would be all fine and dandy if I hadn't had a class in high school that went over the exact same stuff. I haven't learned ANYTHING new since I started this class last Monday.
If that wasn't bad enough, I also still have to deal with some of the social services people. And let me tell you, I haven't ever met any other people as miserable and rude and lazy as I have met working at the Social Services office in my county. Yes, there are a few people who actually do their jobs and I do get to deal with some of them. But I also have to deal with the extremely rude nasty ones as well. I'm sorry, but if your job is to help people get the help they need, you should at least be polite and not make them feel any worse about the fact that they have to ask for your help. You also shouldn't treat the people like they're less than you are because you have a job. If the job market in this country didn't suck so bad then less people would have to even be in that office.
I'm just getting so sick of having to deal with them. I do my best to try to do what they want and tell me to do, but when they keep changing it or deciding that doing something the exact way they told us to do stuff isn't good enough, is just frickin ridiculous.
And another thing, half the time they make concessions for the fact that we have a child, but then the other half the time, they say we have to figure out how to make things work even though we have a kid. You can't have it both ways, either you understand and work with people with kids, or you don't. And you shouldn't make both parents work if the only reason they even need assistance is because one parent is looking for a job while the other stays home. It's okay for a parent to take care of their own child you know. I'd rather not have my son constantly looking for both of us when we have to be gone. I'd much rather he be able to have one parent with him most of the time.

I may have posted this on Facebook, but I want to elaborate on it.

I am not liking this upcoming election. I wish that third parties actually would make it, but that rarely happens. And I do not like either of the two main candidates. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm choosing between the lesser of two evils. I should fully support the person I'm voting for and feel like they will do well for this country. And not get stopped by Congress at every turn either. I'm just so sick of these people who control our freedoms putting their freedom and their wealth and their specific agendas before the well-being of the entire US population. Something really needs to change, but I'm not sure who is going to do that and be able to make it stick.
We need someone who is willing to put aside their wealth and freedoms so that our country can be saved. It's falling apart with how things are now. I almost wish we would have a complete overhaul of Congress too while we're at it. Get rid of those who don't have the best interests of the country as their driving motivation. Maybe only let those who don't lie and manipulate things to get what they want in. It's a sad day when we are proclaimed to be one of the "free-est" countries in the world when really we're giving up freedoms left and right.

Super WHY

I have quite a few issues with this show. The whole point of the show is for the kids to get answers to their problems from books. Well, it would be a great idea IF the questions that the kids needed help with weren't questions that they would already know the answer to if their parents had been teaching them well. "My friends are sad because I have apples and I don't want to give any away, what should I do?" "The answer is: share!" I kid you not, that's an episode. It wasn't a case of they were just being selfish, oh no, that would be acceptable. No, she really didn't know. And a good majority of the "Super big problems" are really things that kids should already know.
Another minor sort of thing that bugs me. The main character is named Wyatt, so that's why he's Super Why... Really, a most terrible name. But there's more to Wyatt that bugs me. Every one of the other characters are either the fairy tale character themselves OR they're the child of one of them, but not Wyatt, oh no. He's just the much younger brother of Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. Yet he gets to lead Red Riding Hood, the son of one of the The Three Little Pigs, the daughter of the Princess from the Princess and the Pea, and in newer episodes his dog.... I don't understand the logic behind this.. It makes no sense.
Really, this show is like a Canadian less annoying Dora the Explorer.

Clifford the Big Red Dog

One of the first things that bugs me about Clifford are some of the characters on the show. There's this girl Jetta and her dog Mack. And they are not nice at all. They are rather snooty and can't stand when anyone has more attention than they do. Everyone knows this about them, yet everyone is still friends with them. What is this show teaching children? Is it teaching them that you can be a complete and total brat and rude to  other people and everyone will still like you? Because that's what it feels like to me. Almost every single episode they are in, they are constantly tearing someone down, and even though they get called out on it, everyone is all, "Oh it's okay. You learned your lesson, let's play." and then they do the same thing the next episode. If kids did this in the real world, they wouldn't have any friends after the third or fourth time they did such things. I mean really, who wants to be friends with someone who is constantly making you feel or look bad? I don't nor do I want any child to have to go through that.

Another thing about Jetta and Mack that bugs me is the fact that they seem to be much better off than any of the other characters. I'm not upset that they appear to be rich, it's the fact that they are the stereotypical sort of rich. Not all people who are well off are snooty mean people. Why can't there be more characters that are well off and nice? It does happen. Stop perpetuating this idea that if you have money, you must be a terrible person. It's not always the case.

At the moment, this is all I can think about for Clifford, but I know there are more things that bug me.

The next few blog posts will be...

My two year old watches a lot of PBS shows and I usually end up watching with him.I have noticed a few things about certain shows that really irk me. So here are some of the things that bug me. So the next few blog posts will address each show and what bugs me about them.
So enjoy :)

I'm just going to say it..

I really love shows like Project Runway and America's Next Top Model. And I'm not entirely sure why. I think it has to do with the fact that they make/wear these great clothes and do snazzy things with hair and makeup. There's something about watching people make clothes or take great pictures that is purely magical.  It almost makes me want to learn how to do that myself.
If I were to design clothes, I would purposefully design for plus-sized people. And there's a very good reason why. I'm so annoyed with the fact that as a plus-sized woman most of the clothes I can find in my size are not flattering at all, or look relatively the same. And I don't think that's fair to the people who can't help their size. I'm not talking about those who got that way because of unhealthy diets and/or unhealthy lifestyles, those people could change it. No, I mean those people who are unable to lose weight no matter what they do. Everyone has the right to look good in the clothes they have. And they also shouldn't have to pay extra for it. So not only would I design clothes that looked good, they would cost effective too. Where you don't have to spend $100 on a single outfit. Or you don't have to go out of your way to go to a store that carries any clothes that fit you.
I also wish that in modeling when they say plus-size model, she actually is plus-sized rather than just about a size 10 or whatever the size is. If there were more plus-sized models, there would be more chances to model the good looking plus-sized clothes, am I right?
Curves are healthy too you know. And just as beautiful. Besides, size and attractiveness will get you so far, it's who you are and how you treat people that will get you anywhere you want to be. Or at least, it should be.

A few random observations

1) I rather like to watch medical shows when they're on. Particularly those that are figuring out why and how someone died. But in watching these shows I have found out there are names for things that I didn't even know needed specific names. And I have learned that there are a lot of people that could have lived or wouldn't have been as sick as long if certain specific tests were done or if the common person knew what things to ask to be tested for. And I think that's rather sad. I think more people need to be able to discuss things with their doctors so that things don't get missed.
2) Microwaves are silly things. Burning hot on the outside but freezing in the middle. And how long you need to microwave something isn't always the same even in the same microwave. Getting the right time to get things cooked just the way you like it seems to be like sorcery. Hard to explain exactly how it's done, but it's obvious when it's done wrong.
3) 80's films have a tendency to filled with terrible awesomeness. I feel slightly deprived that I am only now getting to some of these terribly wonderful films.

Relationships

Within the past year I have noticed more and more how it seems relationships aren't really allowed to stay just between the people who are in it. Why is that? I mean it's one thing if you're concerned for someone's safety, but other than that I don't think it's okay. How do you know that the way the two people have the relationship isn't working for them or that they aren't happy? Just because you wouldn't be happy in that same situation doesn't mean those two people aren't. Why do so many people think they need to run interference between two people either to fix their problems or get them back together? If you're asked to do so, that's different. What I'm talking about is those people who do so uninvited. Who don't really know the entire situation, just what is being presented to them.
I think it needs to stop. Sometimes people, who may think they have the best intentions or perhaps they do, in their interfering can cause the relationship to become much worse than it ever was. Is it really that hard to let other people be happy? Just because you may not approve of what is going on doesn't mean you have the right to dictate to others what makes them happy. Unless you're inviting others to do so to you in your relationships, don't do it to them. Just think about that the next time you feel the need to "fix" someone's relationship, would you like it if you were perfectly happy and someone decided that you were doing it wrong and they needed to help you see what is right? If the answer is no, than don't do it.

Just to be clear I am not condoning people not stepping in when there is clearly abuse. That is a horse of a different color. I mean when both people are happy in the relationship and someone decides that it needs "fixed".

Small Talk

I've never quite fully understood the need for small talk or at least those little phrases and questions that most people use to start a conversation. For example, most conversations start: "Hi, how are you?" "Good, and yourself?" "Not bad." and unless you've had something important happen that you can start talking about conversation can have a tendency to stop right there. What do you really learn about a person in just those few sentences? Those basic silly conversation starters really don't always start a conversation or they often have one of those awkward pauses where you go "So...Um.. *insert random conversation sparking question here*". Why can't conversations just start with those conversation starting questions? Skip all those silly phrases that don't mean anything and just actually get into conversation. If you need to ask how someone is then sure do so at some point, but if you start that way and everything is fine and neither of you has anything big to talk about, where do you go from there? And why do so many people really feel the need to start conversation there? Is it just because that's how, as children, we are taught to be polite and how we see adults talking to each other? Shouldn't we try to get to know something about someone in the first few minutes of talking? It seems to me that doing that is much more meaningful than, "Hey, how ya doin?" unless of course that was after "A dragon captures you and takes you back to its lair. How do you escape?".

I think I may start using that as my conversation starter, so if i happen to speak to you on regular basis, my dear reader, be prepared with your answer. And they better be good.

Mini Rant

I do a lot of genealogy stuff so I end up looking through old records and stuff on some websites. So one of these sites is ancestry.com and only the free access stuff, but they have those little leaf things which are hints. Well when you look through these hints they have the record all indexed so you know the basic information that is on them without having to actually look for the information on the record itself. But ancestry.com has a tendency to be annoying in one little thing that irks me more than it should. More often than not they will give you a hint to someone but it's actually that person's spouse... Ancestry.com John Smith is NOT his wife Abigail Jones Smith, he is John Smith. HOW DO YOU CONFUSE THE TWO?!? It's really not that hard to make sure that this little thing doesn't happen. Whatever programming device you have that automagically finds these hints and is sensitive enough to realize that the right name and dates are on these records should be able to attach those records to the RIGHT spouse not just be like "Well, it's at least the right couple." Just because someone is married to someone else doesn't mean they lose their own identity. That's just silly.
Another thing that I get annoyed by in genealogy is how many people will have written down Mrs. John Smith as John Smith's wife rather than giving her her own name or unknown if they don't know it. That kind of shoddy record-keeping is part of why family history stuff is so tedious and dead-end filled for so many people. I can understand that it's a pain in the butt when doing a census to make sure you get the woman's maiden name. I can accept that. But really, you can't really go far with Mrs. His Name.
The way I see it: Every last single person has the right to the name they were given/chose to use, their children, and recognition as being a distinct individual rather than identified solely by the role they play in their family.
/end rant

Pun Pain

Whilst I'm on facebook there are quite a few pages that I like that post funny images. Well there are some images that are so filled with pun that I don't know what to do with them. I don't know if I should just continue grimacing at them or burst out laughing. Seriously, who sits around on the internet browsing images and thinking to themselves, "How can I make someone wince today by my clever wordsmithing?" I really think there must be someone who does so. Some of these quite clearly spawned from the same brain. Or at least people with similar wit(or lack thereof depending on how painful the pun).
I will admit however, that I'd rather have humor like that as opposed to what most comedy movies have become today. I think there needs to be much more appreciation for clever humor rather than humor that you can almost literally feel your brain cells leaking out of your ears. See, humor like that is why we can't have nice things.

The Great Thing About a Blog Is...

You can pretty much talk about whatever you want and it doesn't HAVE to be about any one specific thing OR it can be about one specific thing. The freedom this gives the author is absolutely wonderful I think. I can sit here and rant about Magic: The Gathering and how I know more about it then most people who don't play it due to my friends and husband and how I kinda don't care about it at all. Or I can have discussions at length about the books I'm currently reading and how much I like them or don't or what I wish the author would do and get done now. Or I can continue to have rambly nonsensical things like this. Guess which I'm going to do :D
Yessiree, you are correct. I'm going to keep on rambling. That's the point of this adventure. To put thoughts into words and see what happens. Sorta makes me feel like a scientist. "Oooh, what happens if I toss this thing in here?" I know possible outcomes but not quite sure if it will end up the way I predict it will. Even though in this case, I have no predictions at all. Other than hoping hilarity ensues. Or at least magical word things. So far I am pleased. We shall see how this progresses.
No idea how often I will ramble on here but you, the reader, I wish you well in your adventures within this blog wonderland(or wasteland. Depending.) and we shall see you again.

Words Everywhere

 Sometimes I get all these words in my head that just want to come out. I don't know what to do with them. So they just kinda sit there, staring each other down like this big showdown of ideas. “You think you're the best baddest idea there ever was, huh? Well that's where you're wrong! I'm so much more idea-filled than you will ever be!” Spewing all these nonsensical threats that go nowhere but are mildly entertaining to listen to in my head. And then what am I supposed to DO with these ideas and words and snippets of conversations? Am I supposed to transpose them into some awesome novelly-like thing or just think them and be relatively smug in my brain's attempt at awesomeness? I really don't know. So that's why I'm here. Fingers just flying over the keyboard writing the words down as they trickle out of my brain into incoherent thoughts. Not sure what I’m doing or why I’m doing it, but I am. I'm just doing it and doing it with pizazz.

Sometimes the words and things I come up with when my brain is going a hundred miles an hour are so cleverly wonderful that it makes me want to just say them out loud and share it with the world. But I don't really know how. Like a lot of people would go and be stand-up comedians or something with all these wordy gems, but I don't think I could do that nor would I really want to. I don't even know if I want to be a writer. All of my best work has been stuff that just sorta happened. Things that I literally just sat down and wrote them as the thoughts came to me. The problem is that I don't ever have any ideas where to go after that. I get stuck in this rut where I don't know how to continue or even how to form these snippets of fun into anything remotely resembling prose of any kind. Heck, half the time I try to say things like this but they don't sound the same out loud as they do in my head or on a sheet of paper. And what is up with that? Why are some things so much better in thoughts or on paper than if you spoke them aloud? Isn't language supposed to be fluid enough to make them both equally viable options?

And this is why I am starting a blog. For no other purpose than to have a place to put said word explosions and have them go out and be free to roam about as they please. Enjoy!