Natural Selection

I am a firm believer in climate change (aka global warming). It is happening even as I write this. Furthermore, its severity is due to human activities, primarily, emitting CO2 into the atmosphere. I have no doubt that the Earth goes through natural cycles of warming and cooling. I just happen to think that we are the primary culprits this time around. I just saw the CNN special report called Planet in Peril. It was very interesting. Check out the website too.

Now, on the other side of the debate are the people who think climate change is a hoax. Unfortunately, one of these idiots has a Google ad on my blog titled Global Warming Facts. Natural selection will take care of him sooner rather than later so I say go check out his website for laughs.

Free speech is a beautiful thing, even if we don't agree with what other people say. It is amazing we still have it in this country. Don't be surprised if George Bush tries to pass a law against it soon. To cement his legacy of course.

Financial Headache

I keep saying in this blog that the bill for all of this credit spending is about to come due. Credit spending is when you are using credit to live from day to day. You are buying gas and groceries, paying utility bills, mortgages, etc. with your credit cards. You are spending more than you make every month without fully thinking about the consequences of repayment. The government spends more than it takes in in revenues, so it is the biggest culprit of all. That is why they say the government is running a deficit. In fact, are there any governments in this country (on the state or local level too) that are not running in the red?

Living on credit is not good. If you are consistently spending more than you make, then something is very wrong with your finances. You need to sit down and figure out exactly how much revenue is coming in and how you are spending that money. What are your expenses on a daily basis? Food, gas, lunch, etc. What are your expenses on a weekly basis? Monthly basis? Food, mortgage payment, insurance, property taxes, etc. You must keep track of every dollar that you spend for a month or two. Then you look at the list and see if there is any expense that you can eliminate. Do you really need to buy coffee everyday? Lunch? Then you look to see if there is anything that you can reduce. Can you get a cheaper cell phone plan? Find cheaper insurance? Get the interest rates on your credit cards lowered? After that, if you are still spending more than you make you need to get professional help from a financial advisor/credit counselor.

Most people will find, though, that after looking closely at their finances, they just did not really know where their money was going. You have to be vigilant. You have to be scared. Read this. This should frighten you. If it doesn't, then you are either extremely stupid or extremely wealthy. Because this could happen to almost anyone.

Hilarious

If you want to laugh at the absurdity of consumerism, read this article from the Chicago Tribune. This little girl is traumatized because she lost some dolls out of the cargo hold of a plane. One of the dolls, a Marisol Luna from American Girl, had just gotten her hair done at the salon. There is apparently a salon in this store (American Girl Place) where you can pay to have your doll's hair styled. Now she isn't sleeping well after the loss of her dolls, and she cannot even look at the vacation photos. I wonder how she is going to react when she faces real disappointments and loss in her life.

Global Warming

Wow, for anyone who still believes that there is no global warming, here are some pretty obvious and alarming signs.

Increased drought and risk of fires: example, the recent wall of flames engulfing Southern California. Read the story at Yahoo News.

Increased rainfall and flooding in other areas: example, New Orleans is getting deluged right now by heavy rains. Read that story at Yahoo News.

The glaciers are melting at an alarming rate: example, Collier Glacier in Oregon. Read that story on Yahoo News as well.

And for anyone who thinks that President George W. Bush is not the devil and single-handedly trying to bring about the end of the world, read this.

I will continue to criticize George Bush and his corrupt administration of demons, so if I don't post a blog entry in a couple of days, I am most likely in a secret prison somewhere being held without due process of law.

Irresponsible People

I know this is not very Buddha-like, but I am steamed that all of those people who never should have bought a house in the first place are getting bailed out by the banks and/or the government (see Yahoo Finance). It is really making me wish that I would be irresponsible with my money. The government is going to bail you out anyway.

Rack up too much credit card debt, declare bankruptcy. Get a mortgage that you cannot possibly pay (and have bad credit), get bailed out. Don't bother saving for retirement, get Social Security. Too lazy to work or an illegal immigrant or popping out babies, get welfare and free healthcare. Hey, have the government pay! Meanwhile, there are those of us busting our humps to save and plan for the future and have good credit and be responsible. What do I get for it? More taxes coming out of my paycheck to pay for others' stupidity.

And if you don't think all of this stupidity is having an effect, not only our economy but the global economy, see what the IMF Chief had to say about the state of the global economy yesterday.

Buddha Nature

I want to find my Buddha nature
I want to find my peace
I want to be a lotus flower
I want a sweet release
So tired of being lead astray
By my false perceptions
So tired of this unenlightened path
Strewn with my misconceptions
I will find my inner Buddha
I will find the path to nirvana
I will end this cyclic existence
I will light the way with my karma

Economic Woes

I think that the s--- is really about to hit the fan in this country. The signs are all pointing to a recession. Everything I read is grim. They are saying that not only the poor, but the middle class is beginning to feel the pinch of higher gas prices and more expensive gorceries. For more on this, see Yahoo News. Then there is the stock market. It keeps dropping too. For more on this, see Yahoo Finance.

I feel like people really need to stay abreast of what is going on economically. We live in such a global economy now, one country's financial woes (ours) is surely going to cause a stir throughout the entire world. But I really think that this is just the beginning...this country has been living on credit for so long I wondered when the bill was finally going to come due. I think the time is now.

There is a saying, a curse really: "May you live in interesting times." I believe that things are about to get really, really interesting.

We Have the Most Inept Government

I voted the Democrats into Congress because I thought that they would be able to do something about George Bush. Put him in a headlock or something useful like pass some bills real people care about like bringing our troops home, health care reform, social security reform, energy independence measures, address global warming, increase our border security, keep our jobs from being shipped overseas, make corporations more accountable and make them pay more taxes, things that would make this country a better place for all instead of a few. But no, nothing is getting done. They cannot even get a bill passed to extend government healthcare coverage to more impoverished children-see The New York Times.

George Bush is the worst President in the history of the United States. He will be looked at in the future as the man who took our country down the wrong road in every way-he has bankrupted the country, destoyed our credibilty on the world stage, ran our military into the ground, and been a giant hindrance to the efforts to halt global warming; including endangering and polluting here as well as doing nothing to curb emissions and in fact making it easier for businesses to pollute, chop down trees, and destroy the National Parks. And doing nothing to set an example for emerging economies like India and China to curb their emissions as well.

George Bush has also taken away so many of our freedoms under the Constitution that we once were able to take for granted but no longer have because of the Patriot Act. Wiretapped phones? Holding people in secret prisons? Torture? Holding people without due process of law? Putting people on lists because of the books they read? Does this sound like the United States or Communist China? Bush's approval rating is dismal. My question is why anyone approves of the job he is doing at all. He should have a 0% approval rating-no one should think that he is doing a good job.

DeGeneres' Dog Debacle

For goodness sake-let that family keep Iggy! Perhaps domesticating animals was wrong. From the beginning we were taking wolves and making them into guard dogs and companions. Then we did it to cats too. And now you can buy lizards, fish, guinea pigs, gerbils, etc. and keep them as "pets." But it is a done deed-humans like the animal companionship, and there are millions of animals out there that need good homes.

So why should it be wrong for someone to adopt an animal with the intentions of giving it a good home if that home turns out not to be their home but someone else's home? The intention was fulfilled. The animal has a good home. They are no longer confined in a cage with the possibility of getting euthanized if no one adopts them. These shelters have rules to weed out unsuitable people, I get that, but can they not take each case on its own merit?

Ultimately, it is in the animals' best interests if Mutts and Moms can find as many good homes for them as possible. So even if they have an arbitrary rule that says small dogs cannot go to homes with children under 14, would it not be better for them to use it as a general guideline, but if a home with children under 14 is suitable for a small dog and they are one big happy family, then let that family adopt the dog. Everybody wins in that situation-the family, the shelter and best of all-the dog. Isn't that ultimately what shelters are seeking to do? To find good, loving homes for their animals.

Mutts and Moms have not only done Iggy a huge disservice by yanking it out of a good home. They have also traumatized a family, and I believe, really hurt their cause in finding good homes for animals. Who will adopt pets from them now that they seem fanatical and irrational? And further, I believe that they might frighten people from adopting animals in general, from any shelter/rescue group, for fear that any slight infraction of the rules could cause the shelter/rescue group to come to their homes and take the animal away. If they can do it to Ellen DeGeneres, then they can certainly do it to you.

If you want to read the news story, check out MSNBC.

How to See Yourself As You Really Are

My friend got me two great books for my birthday. One is a book of Buddhist sayings for every day of the year. The other book, How to See Yourself As You Really Are by the Dalai Lama, is blowing my mind so far. It is thus far saying the same kinds of things that What the Bleep Do We Know?!? was saying. Things do not exist in and of themselves. Things are dependent-arising. They depend on certain causes; depend upon their parts; and they depend upon thought. "Physicists are discovering that phenomena do not exist objectively in and of themselves but exist in the context of involvement with an observer." The way we "see" things affects the way that they are. Buddhism is full of empowering information for being in the world. You do not exist in and of yourself but are the sum of your parts, events in your life and the way people "see" you. It explains things that I just "knew" but did not really know.

It amazes me how people seem to be getting more and more individualistic even as the world seems to be getting smaller-with all of the ways to interact with people all over the world. Plus, as the population continues to grow even as our resources dwindle, how can we continue to justify an individualistic existence? We need to work together as a world community to make the world a better place for everyone. Further proof that nature intended cooperation, read the following article from National Geographic.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."-Abraham Lincoln
These words ring as true today as they did in 1858.

What Price A Tree?

At what price are the paper towels we use to clean up our messes?
At what price are the plastic bags we use to carry our groceries home?
At what price the gasoline we put in our SUVs?
At what price the electricity we use to watch our giant TVs and listen to our fancy stereo systems?
At what price the hot water we use to wash our clothes?
At what price the bananas we need to eat everyday?
At what price do these luxuries become too much to bear?
Perhaps when we no longer have anything to eat.
Perhaps when we no longer have anything to drink.
Perhaps when we no longer have any clean air to breathe.
Perhaps when it is so hot and miserable, and there is no place to go for relief.

No More Television

I know, I know, I have said this before...but I really mean it now. After watching the movie What the Bleep Do We Know?!?, I realized that watching tv was a total waste of my brain's capacity. I already knew that it was, but as I was watching the movie, I started thinking about what thoughts would run through my head as I was dying. Morbid, I know, but it was what I was thinking. And you know what I will not be giving a second thought to-all of the stupid tv that I watched over the years. What a waste! So I deleted all of my shows from the DVR. From now on, I am going to read or meditate or write. No more television. No more changing my mind about this-it is done.

What the Bleep Do We Know?

This movie will blow your mind! It is about how we have only begun to tap into the potential of our magnificent brains. And the world, too, is a magical, mystical place full of possibilities. Here are some things to think about.

The same areas of the brain light up when we "see" an object and when we "imagine" an object. The brain does not distinguish between what it "sees" and what it "remembers."

You affect the reality that you see.

Your reality is a product of your consciousness-you create your own reality.

The world is full of possible timelines of reality until we choose.

If you cannot control your emotional state, then you must be addicted to it.

Our thoughts affect our reality, and our reality = our life.

Everyone is god; god is the transcendent, the sublime, god is all around us and within us.

Your consciousness has an effect on those around you, on the material world, and on your future.

At the deepest sub-level of our reality, you and I are one. We are all inter-connected.

We are here to be creators-to make something of this life.

Check out the movie's website for more information-www.whatthebleep.com.

The Art of Being a Decent Human Being

There are some things that we can do every day to be a decent human being-someone who gives more than they take, smiles more than they frown, helps more than they hurt, and leaves the world a better place for having them in it.
1) Follow the Golden Rule-do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
2) Respect-for those around you and respect for the environment that sustains you.
3) Take care of yourself-if you do not care about yourself, then you will not care about others.
4) Live sustainably-Be sensitive to the impact that you have on the environment.
5) Give more than you take-give your time and money to charitable causes that you believe in.
6) Live each moment for the precious opportunity that it is.

Global Warming

If I hear one more person say that there is no global warming, I am going to scream. Are you kidding me? Are people really that stupid? Every scientist is saying that global warming is a fact, and we have to do something before it gets any worse. Because it is already happening. Events are occuring that are changing our world already, and unless we do something drastic to cut greenhouse gases, I seriously doubt that the world as we know it is going to be around after 2050.

The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe-these things are going to be compromised and a lot of people are going to die. Billons of people are going to die. But people just have to have their Hummers and SUVs and their McMansions with 30 rooms and 10 bathrooms and the 72" LCD TV. Possessions are not going to do anyone any good if they cannot eat or drink or breathe. This is going to happen sooner than people want to think about.

This should have been the top news story yesterday, but I saw it on Yahoo News. I don't think people want to hear this kind of stuff, but I personally think that we need to hear this every day. The world is on the brink, and if we don't do something drastic and very soon, then the world we know it will be over. We raped the earth for our own advancement, and now we are about to pay the very high price for our greed.

Addiction

Trying to understand addiction
What is so great about cocaine?
Does it cure your affliction?
Take away your pain?
I plead and beg you
To try and stop
I scream and cry
But my voice cannot drown out
The sound of your needs
They pound in your head
And call out your name
It masquerades as home
How can I compete with it?
I know deep in my soul
That you will choose your addiction over me
Each day you are in deeper and deeper
It must be so dark where you are
So dark that you can no longer see
Your reality is different from mine
I do not understand your world
It is a scary, soul-less place
That I do not want to ever know
What will become of us?
Living separate lives
Not understanding how the other one feels
Two strangers with broken dreams
Where love once lived

Lost

Wandering
Wondering
Meaning to tell you how I feel
But too scared for your reaction
Don't want to hurt you
But I need to stop the pain
My heart is aching for peace
I want to leave you
But I don't know how
I feel lost with you
But I feel like I'd be lost without you
Maybe I am just lost in my own head

When Relationships End

Sometimes relationships start out wonderfully. Your head is in the clouds, the birds are chirping all of the time, and you are in love. Sometimes relationships are terrible from the beginning, and you are constantly looking for a way out of it. But no matter how it begins, when you decide to end it, it can be a nightmare.

Take my sister, for example. She was dating a psychotic woman. She was incapable of telling the truth, and it turned out, getting credit cards in my sister's name as well. So my sister confronted her. Then she decided that it was time to end the relationship. She packed all of her girlfriend's belongings while she was at work and then put them in her Jeep. When she got home, she just met her outside. She told her that she could not be in the relationship any longer and got back her apartment keys.

I almost felt sorry for the girl because she could be really sweet sometimes, but the fact was, she was a habitual liar with a propensity for identity theft and bouts of violence. So my sister was not giving her the chance to "act out." And I don't blame her. My sister has now had to have her locks changed and is looking into having her phone number changed because this girl keeps texting and calling her begging her to take her back.

Sisters

This is dedicated to my sister...probably the only person reading my blog.

They give you comfort
When you are down
Turn you rightside up
When your world is upside down
Make you laugh
When all you want to do is cry
Tell you the truth no matter what
Be the one to look you in the eye
Always have a shoulder to lean on
Always have a hand to hold
The yin to your yang
The other half of your soul
The best-friend
That you could ever have
To have a sister
I am so very glad

Watching TV again

I only made it for two days without television. I had to watch the finale of Top Chef. I was really hoping that Dale won. He was my favorite. Maybe I will run into him some day walking around the city. Then I can tell him what a great chef he is and that he should be proud that he got so far after not cooking for a year and a half.

So I have a new plan for my television viewing habits. I am going to limit myself to 5 hours of television per week, including weekends. Once I have reached that limit, I cannot watch anymore TV until the new week begins. That should not be hard as I am only addicted to a couple of shows, and Top Chef is over now. But no Monk marathons on USA or watching Family Guy and American Dad with my boyfriend on Sundays. Guess I will just have to go and do something a little more productive.

Growing Up

All I wanted when I was a child
Was to be grown up
I felt so trapped
No control over my life
At the mercy of a manic depressive mother
And a dad who never grew up
What do you do
When you live in hell?
The flames burning through your childhood
Charring your childlike innocence and confidence
And you have to grow up sooner than any child should
I had a sister to protect
And raise as best I could
Even as I raised myself
Leaving home full of guilt
For the ones I left behind
But I had to choose myself
I had to finish growing up
To become the adult
I always longed to be

Who Am I?

Drifting
Lost
Alone
Cold and afraid
I lost my way
Trying so hard to get to you
And now I have nothing
Nothing but this cold
And this stark emptiness
A shadow of who
I once was
And I am cold and afraid

My Cat Mickey

I love him very much, but he can be so mean sometimes. My sister brought over her kitten, Zoe, to see how they would get along and he just spent the whole time hissing and growling and puffing himself up. My sister calls him a grumpy, old man. He is only going to be 10 years old in January, but he definitely strikes me as the cane waving, denture smacking type. Then my boyfriend was watching his mom's dog for her for a couple of days while she was in the hospital for surgery, and Mickey was really having none of the dog. On the first day, I was laying on the couch with Susie and Mickey walked from the other side of the apartment, jumped on the couch, growled at Susie, and then ran back to the other side of the apartment to hide.

These are not the first incidents of hatred toward other animals either. Mickey has a long history of swatting dogs on the nose. He hates the vet's office too. That turns him into the devil cat as well. Not to mention the episode at the groomers (By the way-never, ever taking him to get groomed again. He made me promise).

But he is just as sweet as can be with me, my boyfriend and any person that comes to the apartment to visit. Loves being petted, having his belly rubbed, laying on the bed at night. He knows when I am upset because he comes running every time. It is just so amazing to see how much personality one cat can pack into a 12 pound body. Animals are truly wonderful to have in your life.

Day Two Without Television

I made it one day without watching TV. I did not watch The Hills. I did not really even think about it at all. I just went about my day as usual. I guess it is not so hard to do if you work 12 hours a day like I do (I have two jobs). You don't really have alot of time to sit down and watch TV anyway. Plus, I know that my shows are being recorded on the DVR, so I can watch them next week if I decide to watch TV again. I know it is cheating a bit, but at least I am trying. I got a huge pile of financial documents shredded last night instead of sitting mindlessly in front of the TV. Today is not going to be so hard either. Tomorrow, though, is going to be rough because the season finale of Top Chef is on. I want Dale to win, and it is going to be hard not knowing.

One Week Without Television

What might my life be like if I stopped watching television? What could I accomplish with those hours formerly spent on the couch? How will I be able to cope without my good friends from Grey's Anatomy and The Hills? Well, I am going to find out starting today, the first day of October 2007. I am going to abstain from television for one week. I am already getting palpitations just thinking about missing my shows. What is going to happen this week on Ugly Betty? Are Dr. Shepherd and Meredith really breaking up? It didn't really look like it at the end of the season premiere. YIKES! This is really going to be hard.