A Christmas Thought

Even though I’m going through a difficult time I need to stop and remember to be grateful.

Frist I’m very grateful that my stepson is doing very well and is alive to see another Christmas considering he was close to dying earlier this year and was saved by double lung transplant. I’m grateful that someone was giving of themselves to be an organ donor. Yet I'm sadden that a family out there has one less member at Christmas died.

I’m lucky to have two older brothers who still come to the aid of their baby brother and who have been very generous this Christmas so we can have a nice Xmas. I’m grateful to have my mother still alive and every year sends me country ham and a bushel of grapefruits and oranges from our birth State of Florida.

I’m grateful to have a wife who has been understanding and is hard working. I’m grateful to have a wife who has a family that is understanding when it comes to my unemployment and who has been helpful and generous when it comes to the kids or I should say the young adults.

I’m grateful that I have two stepdaughters who are understanding and are good people and not criminals or trouble makers.

Even though my unemployment is a bit less than I was making and I have to pay for a COBRA insurance that is a considerable cut into my unemployment wage, I need to be grateful that at least I’m getting financial assistant and I have insurance.

I have a roof over my head and bread on the table and at least my pickup is paid off. I’m grateful to have good friends in the real world and a few on the internet. I’m grateful to be born in a free country. Plus I’m grateful that I have a Creator who has eventually help me in the pass when times really got hard and provided a path to follow and even worked a miracle or two. The Creator may not give me what I want but he does give me what I need.

I know that there are people due to no fault of their own who have it so much tougher than me. Even if I was homeless and living on the street with nothing than the clothes on my back and a blanket to keep me warm at night I would have to remember that I’m better off than the homeless person without a blanket. As long as I know that there are people who have it worst that I do I should not complain and be grateful.

So I want to wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

UR

I'm a Zombie

Well, I thought I would have time to blog but as always life throws curves.

I am burned out thanks to work. I can’t seem to get any thoughts together. I’m a zombie.

I’m really tired but I just seem to go on. I seem to have no enthusiasm or passion for anything. Anger use to fuel me but I seem to have no energy for anger. Depression? Maybe but I’ve been through work burn out before and I get through it. In my younger days I would just quit my job and find another job but not anymore. I’m getting to old, have to many responsibilities and the economy is not good to take chances. I need to be thankful I still have a job.

Hopefully this zombisim will break soon. Good news is that there is some work for my company is on the horizon. Bad news it won’t start until late summer. We still need more work between then and now.

UR

A Couple Thoughts

First I was watching the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations hearings on Goldman Sachs. The Senators particularly Sen. Levin (D-MI) were grilling members of Goldman Sachs and their part in the financial crisis. It was amazing how little these Senators understood how Wall Street works or they were covering their own asses. The Senate committee that Wall Street should be like a savings account and everyone’s investment should be safe. But the reality is as it was explained by those testifying it’s more like gambling. Believe it or not there are people who are looking for risky investments because the payoff is better. In other words you can play it safe and bet on the sure thing but the return will be small or you can take a risk and bet on the long shot which will make you more money sooner. Now I’m not a financial person so I won’t try explaining. But basically people wanted risk and they got it and they lost. People were warning that the housing bubble was going to burst but no one knew when but people kept betting on it and they lost. Of course our government doesn't want to take any responsibility in all this even though they have blood on their hands.

Side thought one time a house was considered a home but during the housing bubble a house was an investment.

Now let’s go to immigration. Arizona has passed the first State immigration law. Now of course this is causing a lot of commotion. Arizona has tried to reach out to the federal government but to no avail. So Arizona had to take matter into their own hands. All this law does is give State and local police the right to ask for proof of legal status i.e. Green Card or equivalent proof. Now the confusion is whether the law allows them to just walk up and ask or if it’s just during a criminal investigation.

See immigration is strictly falls under the Federal Government. It’s the Federal Governments job to deal with legal and illegal immigrants. But the States are the ones that have to deal with the cost and most problems created by illegal immigrants. Here is the strange thing in most States if an illegal immigrant is arrested and even they go through the court system and even if they go through the prison system, they are not deported. They are simply released back into the community. Why? Because the States can’t hold them or afford to transport them and the Feds don’t have the resources to pick them up. Just imagine if the worst illegals were sent back after they served their sentences instead of being simply released back into society. But this will not mean much if the Feds don’t secure our southern boarders. Or we can convince Mexico to become our 51st State which I think would be easier.

What’s surprising is that many other countries in the world have a lot stricter laws about being in their country illegally than we do.

UR

Just Life Stuff

I’m sorry I haven’t posted any thing new lately. Work and life has me a little busy and it’s been a little difficult to focus on a topic. I do have a couple things written up to post on American history and a something on Scottish Independence. I just haven’t had time.

I work in for a construction company and my job is to bid work and try to get us work. Construction is really slow and we are about out of work. We have been getting under cut on our bids and not winning jobs but I know we are not alone I’ve heard this from others as well in different areas of construction.

I’ve been through tough times before but this is the worst I’ve seen. Our company has had layoffs and if things don’t change I maybe next. Thing is this is happening all over the industry so I probably will have a hard time finding a job.

So I should look at the positives. If I lose my job I’ll have 18 months of unemployment and I can keep my health insurance for 18 months. I’ll have more time to write and sometimes change of career can be a good thing.

There look I posted something. Funny how things work out.

UR

I just got older

So I’m watching the Olympics and looking at the faces of these great athletes, which most age anywhere between their late teens to their late twenties. Now I’ve watched the Olympics since I was a little kid and back then I would look at the faces of these young adults and think how old they looked and grown up they were. But many years later I’m sitting and looking at these young adults and thinking they’re so young. These are just kids. I asked myself why are they so much younger looking today, what changed? Then I realized it was me that changed, I just got older.

David Bowie said this would happen.

“Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time” - Changes