Snippets

I know it's rude to listen to those that are around you talk about what's going on in their lives but sometimes it's too hard not to listen. Like, the other day I was walking down the street after a successful term at the gym, minding my own business. It was late in the afternoon on a fairly busy city street when I heard this, "Yes, he faked his death and is now living in Mexico somewhere." I was so intrigued I wanted to turn around and follow the ladies to see if they were talking about what happened on their favorite TV show or someone they knew. What would you have done?

Total Reform

So, I have been pondering much about the state of the economy and how government just cannot seem to keep up with its spending initiatives. I guess, from my last post, you are clear about that! So, I have an idea that will be quite unpopular for some and, probably, quite popular for others, here it is:

Since this is the technology age, instead of having government offices for everything under the sun staffed in many places with many people and many computers and much overhead cost, why don't we require that some things be done by computer, and by computer only. If you do not have a computer there are computers available in every library and other public spots. You may use those. Can you imagine the amount of money we would save?

I know you are thinking, "Like what services?" So, here's what I am thinking, car registration and other automobile related transactions (there is no reason why most of these cannot be done online, of course there are exceptions here, like the actual driving exam); tax forms and advice (no more local IRS or state outlets but call centers would be available if you cannot find your answer online but you may have a wait ahead of you); those are the most obvious to me but there are hundreds of other opportunities to cut here. That way we could take the money the various governments continue to take from the education coffers and put it back.

What do you think? Am I on the right track?

The State of Education

We are pretty lucky (if you can call it that) because we live within the boundaries of one of the school districts that consistently ranks in the top 10 in California. However, as I'm sure the entire world knows, California has fallen on difficult times. It is not just California, though, the entire globe is struggling right now but, humor me, lets focus on the great state in which I reside, California.

So, California ran into some difficult budget issues this year and had to balance the budget. I know everyone has to give in these situations but it does not appear that everyone is giving. The state government reps know which side their bread is buttered and it's not the education side. To balance the budget, our wise senators and assembly persons elected to cut more money from the public education budget. Why is it that California is the 5th largest economy in the world but is dead last in the funding of its education system? Can we not see that if we continue to cut funds and resources from the very hand that continues to feed this state that we may be an impoverished nation in the not too distant future?

I find it amazing that we can fund building projects, roads, and even earmark one BILLION dollars for truck drivers to take their trucks green all the while depleting the budget for education. Don't get me wrong, the environment is very important and I get that if we use up all our resources it will not matter whether anyone had a proper education because there will be no one here to know but, we could be educating the future to help solve these environmental problems. We choose not to though, that is what amazes me.

Budgeting is tough for every one in these hard times but it is all about priorities. We set priorities at home to determine what we spend our money on and our priorities are our children. I think anyone who has children would agree that we would rather give our children the last bite of food and starve ourselves. Are our legislators blind to this? Are they really acting in our best interests? I really have to wonder.

Okay, what brought this on? I drove my children to school this morning and the teachers at their school who have received pink slips are all lined up in front of the school in pink shirts and the ones that have been spared are wearing black. With my kids in the car it took all I had to not break into an all out bawl. It really choked me up. Our district like all others in California is facing some harsh cuts and it is hard to see that happen.

I think we need to rethink how we spend our money in this new era. Reform in many areas is calling, education being one of them but, not the one receiving the most money. Maybe what we need to do is to have a survey on the next ballot where the people rate the importance of spending in various categories, it might be an eye opening experience for all.

I apologize for the rant, not the importance of the topic, though. Maybe with all of our great minds put together we can come up with some feasible solutions to turn this system around.

Routines and Grand Ideas

Okay, I have been out of practice since the holidays of posting regularly. I'm going to try to post on a more regular schedule now that we have firmly settled into 2009. There is so much going on in our lives that it is sometimes difficult to slow down and think about the steps to take to make it to your goals. I have a few goals for 2009 and one of them is to make blogging more of a priority.

Check back and I'll keep you posted on what I'm up to.

I Joined GoodReads

I joined GoodReads.

I read almost every day on my commute to and from work therefore I am always looking for good books to read. I have relied on the books that my mom passed on to me but those have dried up so I began poking around for something good to read and stumbled upon Good Reads.

I signed up because you can see what other people are reading or read, what they thought of it, and create a list of your own, a queue, if you will, of what books you wish to read. Now, when I am ready for my next book I click over to the website and see what strikes my fancy. I have really enjoyed it and so far I am not at a loss for something to read.

Now, if only there were an easy and inexpensive way to obtain all these new finds...

Shopaholics - No More!

As I was driving into work today I heard on the radio how tough the economic crisis is, it's so tough that even Macy's is closing some of its stores. I guess that should not surprise me but it kind of does. Macy's is one of those stores that seems like it will always exist through the good times and the bad. After all, I work because I shop (but please don't tell my husband!).

So, when I got to work I googled "Macy's store closings" because I had to determine if I would be affected directly. I found an article in the Wall Street Journal that lists all the stores that will be closing and, luckily for me, none of the Macy's stores near me are closing their doors. But for those of you that are curious, here is the list of stores that will be closing soon (and apparently they will start their clearance sales soon, so if these are the stores you shop at least you may be able to get some shopping out of your system before they are no longer):

Ernst & Young Plaza (Citicorp Plaza), Los Angeles
The Citadel, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Westminster Mall, Westminster, Colo.
Palm Beach Mall, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Island of Hawaii
Lafayette Square, Indianapolis
Brookdale Center, Brooklyn Center, Minn.
Crestwood Mall, St. Louis
Natrona Heights Plaza, Natrona Heights, Pa.
Century III Furniture and Clearance, West Mifflin, Pa.
Bellevue Center, Nashville, Tenn.

I hope the economy turns around soon because many more stories like this and I will have to quit working because there will be no incentive to continue!

Recharging Batteries

During the holidays my husband and I had to work so our children went to visit their grandparents for the weekdays, they were home, however, from Christmas Eve through the Sunday after Christmas for some well-needed family time.

But, since the kids were gone and my husband had nothing more than working on our plates for a change, we had a chance to recharge our batteries.

So the first morning that the children were with their grandparents my husband decided to leave for work a little later than usual. Well, he left then came back a few minutes later and explained that his car battery was dead so he would wait for me to get ready and we could take my car. He asked when I would be ready, to which I replied, "About 45 minutes." His jaw dropped onto the floor and he said, "How come so long?" Need he ask? It always takes me longer than him to get ready.

When I emerged from our bedroom ready to go we headed for the garage together. When we got into my car I thought it odd that someone turned off the dome lights. Turns out that my car battery was also dead. What a coincidence that both car batteries could be dead at the same time. I thought it was just that both cars needed their batteries recharged also after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. My husband gave me a sideways look.

We were able to get jumped and off to work but, who wants to start off on a Monday like that?