Justified?

I remember eons ago my sisters old roommate had this very image on their living room wall:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a higher education and you know what?

I’m still fucking poor! 

Granted I’m going back to school, again. Because my current career just doesn’t do it for me like it used to and well the earning potential far surpasses what I currently make.  Or at the very least, it’s supposed to. Even if it doesn’t, I still get to learn something new. So all is not lost, or at least I can hope!  Originally I had wanted to look into graphic design at Inter-Dec college  until I contacted them and found out the cost of tuition.  16,750.00 Nope that’s NOT a typo, that really does say sixteen thousand and seven hundred and fifty dollars.  Which is painfully close to how much I make in a year…  So let’s be real here, who in the fuck can afford that?  Also someone I know went there for their cooking program (well Lasalle specifically but it’s the same deal/school) and not only paid a small fortune in tuition, but paid an arm/leg/toe for books and so forth.  Her two biggest complaints? That her $500.00 text book was used ONCE in class and their teacher didn’t seem all that interested in what they were doing.

That concerns me a great deal. 

Small class sizes, a downtown location and a few other things do have some appeal. I also know several people who graduated from that program and are doing quite well for themselves.  However that huge ass price tag, for ONE YEAR of school scares me.  What if i’m not as fortunate?  There are never any guarantees  that you’ll go somewhere great and do well.  I know countless people with degree’s and they’re doing completely different jobs than the one’s they’re educated for.  Myself included.  Mind you, I *do* have a culinary related education aside from others.

Except I want a change this time!  Concordia university does offer the program I want for design but the admission requirements are huge! I’d get laughed out of admissions I’m sure 🙂  That’s OK though, I have artistic talent although it’s not quite up to par with their standards and that’s totally OK!  Dawson college also offers it, however you also have to take additional courses  (scroll down to the second page) and it’s a three year, full time program.  Let’s be real here, I’m almost 34 with a full time career already and it’s just not feasible for me :/  Although it does seem rather interesting and it’s far more affordable too!

So alas, I might end up at Concordia taking something a little different, yet still interesting to me just the same!

In any case, I really hope it’s worth it!  I’ve already spent close to 20 years in a career that I’ve come close to hating.  It’s time for a change and one shouldn’t have to pay out the ass for the privilege either!

 

 

You didn’t thank me…

for punching you in the face.

I read this article via a friend on FB, who copied it from views from the couch and I’m posting it here.  I feel that this is something that needs to be read.  As someone who works in a daycare I see several incidents of children from both genders acting aggressively.  Regardless of that, there is a valid point in this post.

“On a somewhat serious note today because of a conversation the other day:
I am sure every girl can recall, at least once as a child, coming home and telling their parents, uncle, aunt or grandparent about a boy who had pulled her hair, hit her, teased her, pushed her or committed some other playground crime. I will bet money that most of those, if not all, will tell you that they were told “Oh, that just means he likes you”. I never really thought much about it before having a daughter of my own. I find it appalling that this line of bullshit is still being fed to young children. Look, if you want to tell your child that being verbally and/or physically abused is an acceptable sign of affection, I urge you to rethink your parenting strategy. If you try and feed MY daughter that crap, you better bring protective gear because I am going to shower you with the brand of “affection” you are endorsing.

When the fuck was it decided that we should start teaching our daughters to accept being belittled, disrespected and abused as endearing treatment? And we have the audacity to wonder why women stay in abusive relationships? How did society become so oblivious to the fact that we were conditioning our daughters to endure abusive treatment, much less view it as romantic overtures? Is this where the phrase “hitting on girls” comes from? Well, here is a tip: Save the “it’s so cute when he gets hateful/physical with her because it means he loves her” asshattery for your own kids, not mine. While you’re at it, keep them away from my kids until you decide to teach them respect and boundaries.

My daughter is 10 years old and has come home on more than one occasion recounting an incident at school in which she was teased or harassed by a male classmate. There has been several times when someone that she was retelling the story to responded with the old, “that just means he likes you” line. Wrong. I want my daughter to know that being disrespected is NEVER acceptable. I want my daughter to know that if someone likes her and respects her, much less LOVES her, they don’t hurt her and they don’t put her down. I want my daughter to know that the boy called her ugly or pushed her or pulled her hair didn’t do it because he admires her, it is because he is a little asshole and assholes are an occurrence of society that will have to be dealt with for the rest of her life. I want my daughter to know how to deal with assholes she will encounter throughout her life.

For now, I want my daughter to know that if someone is verbally harassing her, she should tell the teacher and if the teacher does nothing, she should tell me. If someone physically touches her, tell the teacher then, if it continues, to yell, “STOP TOUCHING/PUNCHING/PUSHING ME” in the middle of class or the hallway, then tell me. Last year, one little boy stole her silly bandz from her. He just grabbed her and yanked a handful of them off of her wrist. When I went to the school to address the incident, the teacher smiled and explained it away to her, in front of me, “he probably has a crush on you”. Okay, the boy walked up to my daughter, grabbed and held her by the arm and forcibly removed her bracelets from her as she struggled and you want to convince her that she should be flattered? Fuck off. I am going to punch you in the face but I hope you realize it is just my way of thanking you for the great advice you gave my daughter. If these same advice givers’ sons came home crying because another male classmate was pushing them, pulling their hair, hitting them or calling them names, I would bet dollars to donuts they would tell him to defend themselves and kick the kid’s ass, if necessary. They sure as shit wouldn’t say, “he probably just wants a play date”.

I will teach my daughter to accept nothing less than respect. Anyone who hurts her physically or emotionally doesn’t deserve her respect, friendship or love. I will teach my boys the same thing as well as the fact that hitting on girls doesn’t involve hitting girls. I can’t teach my daughter to respect herself if I am teaching her that no one else has to respect her. I can’t raise sons that respect women, if I teach them that bullying is a valid expression of affection.

The next time that someone offers up that little “secret” to my daughter, I am going to slap the person across the face and yell, “I LOVE YOU”.”

 

 

Brain bleed…

Reality TV. I don’t get it, I don’t watch it and I can’t fathom why it’s so insanely popular.  The other day, I got sucked into watching the bachelor o.O

Yeah I know right?  

Distasteful.  Also? Somewhat sad.  Pitting 12 women against each other in a so called quest for true love and marriage is like tossing some random body part into a pool of vultures.  Women are catty, competitive and let’s not forget basic rules of human nature: You always seem to want what you can’t have.

What floored me is that one woman who got busted for being in love with someone else and came on the show to ‘get over the guy that she’s in love with because he doesn’t want to get married and she does’.

Pathetic. 

So basically she’s putting herself out there on a totally trashy wildly popular show because she’s desperate to have the wedding of her dreams a husband.  WTF is wrong with you?!?  Same goes for the rest of them.  What’s the appeal?  I vaguely recall watching a talk show of sorts eons ago when what’s her name was on the bacholorette and they had two of the rejects on for an interview and they said that they didn’t get to spend all that much time with her.  So please enlighten me as to how you can fall in love with someone in such a short period of time, let alone someone you have to share with a dozen other people?  Than there’s the tears.  Good lord, these woman are always seemingly drinking their faces off or crying.  Sometimes both simultaneously.  Are you really that desperate to be in love with someone?  I’m more inclined to think that they’re more in love with the idea of being in love with someone, anyone.  Perhaps they should check out Tanya Davis’s video How To Be Alone.  Get some personal enlightenment.

You’re welcome.

Also Dave, Bob, Jim or whatever the hell that guys name is?  Crazy!  I’m sure that they’re getting paid a butt load of money to be on this show, and to his credit he seems mostly straight up (from the little bit that I watched) which is a good thing.  I’m not a huge fan of dating overall.  I’m not particularly good at it and the more I like someone, seems the more awkward I seem to get. Also shy.  Yeah I know, hard to believe but it’s true.

Doesn’t help that I have become insanely picky as of late.  Most of the guys I’ve spoken with, I can’t be bothered to meet.  Because they’re total douche-bags who seemingly have a knack for spewing forth drivel that they think I want to hear.  I’ve only been on a few(4) dates in the past 13 months and only one.  Yes ONE guy I’ve actually gone out with twice.  I can’t fathom having to date several men at a time trying to figure out which one I want to marry.  Let alone embarrass myself on national television.  The one thing that is the most challenging about dating? Subtext.  Good lord.  I need a manual, or something.

Just my .65 cents.     

Ignorance is not for the faint of heart.

The one thing I love about the internet? There’s no shortage of absolute bullshit more often then not.  Facebook usually gives me some pretty interesting things to  read. Or in this case, a whole lot of ignorance!

If you’re interested in the modified community at all, or even better if you’re part of it; take a peek over here and read this piece of flimsy ‘news’  or better yet, I’m going to use the magic of copy and paste and just post it here.

This article was reposted in it’s entirety from The Spectrum, the independent publication for the University of Buffalo.

Article by Lisa Khoury

I get it. It’s the 21st century. You’re cool, you’re rebellious, you’re cutting edge, you have a point to prove, and you’re a woman. Awesome.
Ladies, I know you’re at least at the legal age of making your own decisions, but before you decide to get a tattoo, allow me to let you in on a little secret. A secret you may have not fully realized yet thus far in your life. What you must understand is, as women, we are – naturally – beautiful creatures.
Seriously, though. Your body literally has the ability to turn heads. Guys drool over us. We hold some serious power in our hands, because – as corny as this sounds – we hold the world’s beauty.
But something girls seem to forget nowadays, or maybe have not been taught, is that women hold the world’s class and elegance in their hands, as well. So what’s more attractive than a girl with a nice body? I’ll tell you what: a girl with class. Looks may not last, but class does. And so do tattoos.
An elegant woman does not vandalize the temple she has been blessed with as her body. She appreciates it. She flaunts it. She’s not happy with it? She goes to the gym. She dresses it up in lavish, fun, trendy clothes, enjoying trips to the mall with her girlfriends. She accentuates her legs with high heels. She gets her nails done. She enjoys the finer things in life, all with the body she was blessed with.
But marking it up with ink? That’s just not necessary.
I’m not here to say a girl should walk around flaunting her body like it’s her job – that’s just degrading. Instead of getting a tattoo, a more productive use of your time would be improving and appreciating the body you have been given, not permanently engraving it.
Can you get meaning out of a tattoo? Arguably. If you want to insert ink into your skin as a symbol for something greater than yourself, then maybe you are proving a point to yourself or the rest of the world.
But at the end of the day, are you really a happier person? Has this tattoo, for instance, caused you to learn something new about yourself? Has it challenged you? Has it led you to self-growth? Nothing comes out of getting a tattoo. You get a tattoo, and that’s it. You do something productive, though, and you see results. That’s a genuine, satisfying change in life. Not ink.
Invest your time, money, and effort into a gym membership, or yoga classes, or new clothes, or experimenting with different hairstyles if you’re craving something new with your body, not a tattoo.
I promise, it will be a much more rewarding experience, and you won’t find yourself in a rut when your future grandkids ask you what’s up with the angel wings on your upper back as you’re in the middle of giving them a life lesson on the importance of values and morals.
God knows the last thing this world needs is another generation of kids questioning their basic values and morals.

Email: lisa.khoury@ubspectrum.com

The backlash from this was HUGE!  Never in my life have I seen an article from a University go viral in no time at all.  Lisa has since posted a follow up article where she does a fine job of playing the victim and trying to salvage the last vestiges of a poorly written, not to mention opinionated article to begin with.

Now I can respect most people’s opinions, this however takes the proverbial cake.  I could write the little, opinionated and clearly un-educated miss and give her a piece of my mind. I however have since decided against that and thought I would go public instead.  For ME personally, there is no correlation between my body and what I choose to do with it.   I’m down with yoga, but I prefer boxing.  I’m not a fashion plate so I could care less about shopping and as for changing my hair, well I dye it once, maybe twice a year because I feel like it and to even out the color.  Especially in the winter when it’s drab, dreary and just plain awful most of the time.  Also? I hate high heels.

Every body tells a story.  Every scar, stretch mark, freckle, you name it.  It’s there for a reason.  Either you were born with it or somehow ‘obtained’ it through your course of life.  Mine however is illustrated in pictures.  I get tattooed to pay homage to the people that I love dearly and are no longer with me. Some of my tattoos are in fact just for fun, because why not?  Some of my tattoos represent pain, personal suffering and heartache.  Those tattoos are a representation of my survival and give me something beautiful to look at in spite of the pain.  Not one of my tattoos has ANYTHING to do with the way I see myself on a physical level.  Nor my moral conduct or personal beliefs & ethics.

My tattoos are private, they’re personal and every single one of them means something to me.  FAR more than say having the perfect body, a great hair cut or an awesome pair of jeans.  None of which I can take to the grave with me.  My tattoos however are forever etched in my skin.  A milestone.  Living, breathing art that was designed by me and brought to life by some very talented people.  My tattoos don’t make me any less attractive on the inside, they don’t change who I am as a person.  They represent my life story in pictures.  Permanent reminders of times gone by.  They have made me laugh, some make me cry, some have helped me to move on, some have helped me to heal. To grow as a person, to remind myself of where I am now and what it took me to get to this point.  That in and of itself is priceless and far more meaningful than frivolous, material things.  If you’re going to talk smack about a community of people…

Get your damn facts straight first.