Pet Peeve (at least one of mine)

So, lately I have noticed that people put down those that are on the welfare programs. I guess I take offense to this because I am on the program right now. I don't know what bothers me more, the put downs or the fact that if you have never been on the program then you don't know.

Here are some questions that I have for people that put others down:

1. Do you think that I like not having a job?
2. Do you think that I like feeling that I can't take care of my family on my own?
3. Do you think that I like feeling that I am taking more than my share of welfare money because the job market is so bad that I can't get a job?
4. Do you think that I like having to borrow money off of my family to pay my bills because what my husband makes doesn't quite pay the bills?

I'm sure that I can think of other questions if I wanted to sit here all day and ponder on them and jot them all down.

My point is, there are some out there that use and abuse the system yes. I think that the system should be able to pop in on families that are on welfare to see how they are living. I also think that, as I saw on facebook today, that drug testing should be mandatory in order to stay on the program.

However, as I have learned in my Sociology class this past semester: You cannot stereotype a whole group based on a few from that group.

So, before you judge someone that is on the welfare programs maybe you should stop and think about their situation and ask yourself how you would feel if someone was judging you about your misfortunes.

"People fear what they do not understand and hate what they cannot conquer." ~Andrew Smith

Does anyone else question things?

So, I'm taking a critical thinking class for my humanities credits and it has me thinking about some things and questioning things.

How do we know that the sky is blue? The sun is yellow? The clouds are white? The grass is green? Do we know this because this is what we are taught? According to my text, we all have our own truths so technically if I said that the sky is green I wouldn't be wrong because I believe that it is true. What I want to know is why were these colors chosen for these examples that I provided?

Here is another example. Religion. When we are young we are taught that God is in Heaven and Satan is in Hell and Jesus Christ is the son of God and he died on the cross. Why are we taught this? Is this because this is what has been passed down from generation to generation? Is it because it is written in a book? Who wrote that book? How many people had a hand in writing this book? However, if I believe that these things do not exist then technically I am not wrong because it is my own truth and the same goes for those who do believe that they exist because it is their own truth.

Does anyone else question what we are told to be true? Or is this just me?

Something that has been bothering me...

Why is it when I express my opinion someone always has to put me down? I will not be naming any names or even giving hints about who I am speaking of because I don't need the drama. I am all for a debate between two people about their opinions on a topic but when you belittle someone's opinion you are belittling them.

I am a very open person and very opinionated and I love to hear other people's perspective on subjects but I do not, in not so many words, say their opinion is wrong or stupid. Maybe I am a little sensitive but still.

As my mother says, "Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one!"

Disappointing Justice System

I am seriously disappointed in this country's justice system. I was just watching E Investigates and two teenagers were kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Their kidnappers only received 5, 6 1/2 and 8 years in prison. HOW???? It is so frustrating to know that if someone kidnaps my child, cross state lines AND force them into prostitution and be out in less than 10 years. Again, I say....HOW???? Do these children have to be murdered before true justice is served? There is something seriously wrong with this country's justice system's priorities! Most, if not all of the time, a rapist can be back in society in less than 10 years. A peeper can get a slap on the wrist. Ya, there's a great idea. Slap a peeper on the wrist so then they can be back on the streets peeping and then eventually escalate into rape and possibly even rape/murder. Isn't it the people of this country's job to keep each other safe from these monsters? Shouldn't the people of this country try their hardest to change the punishments of criminals? Do we really need to wait until someone gets killed before we decide to take action?

Someday I hope to be able to make a difference in this society. I cannot stand the fact that criminals get a slap on the wrist. Why should victims of these monsters have to live in fear their entire lives because their predators are allowed back on the streets after 2, 3, 5, or 10 years? The victims have done nothing wrong. Why are the victims being punished? That is what this justice system does, punishes the victims!

Does anyone else feel completely disgusted too? What can we do as law abiding citizens to help the victims?

Making some changes...

I have decided to make some changes.

Step 1: Leave my past in the past...meaning, I deleted a bunch of people off of my facebook that I used to be friends with in high school and some people from my old job in Maine.

Reasoning: It's not like they talk to me now so I have kept only those that speak to me. I cannot stand it when I send someone a message and they don't dignify it with even an ok or I'm fine. When someone sends me a "how have you been?" message, I take the time to at least say "fine, and you?"

Step 2: Lose some weight and get a new hair-do.

Reasoning: I'm starting to not like the way that I look anymore. My hair is always in a pony tail and is the drabbest dark brown ever! I want to get my hair cut, colored and highlighted. Maybe it will make me feel better too. The weight has needed to come off for some time now and I am getting to the point where I want to do something about it. If I didn't want to do anything about it, I wouldn't.

Step 3: Make some new friends in my new city.

Reasoning: I have been in this new city since March 15th. This is now July 27th. I have not met anyone, done anything fun or just vegged out. I want to make some friends so when I can go out I have someone to go with. I love being able to go out with my husband and my sister but I need some friends. I am starting to feel the way I did in high school when I didn't have any friends.

I haven't thought of any other steps as of yet but I'm sure I will think of some more. I am just getting sick of the way things are right now. So it is time for a change...............

Finally have time!

If there is one thing that bothers me it would have to be people that don't own up to their own mistakes and then try to blame it on others. Let me explain. So in my substance abuse treatment class, we were assigned partners to work with on intake interviews. One person was to be the counselor and the other, the client. Ok, so I was assigned to someone and tried to contact them since this past Tuesday because the assignment was due Sunday. Another student was unable to get in touch with her partner so she and I decided to work together on it so we would get proper credit. So then the morning the assignment is due we both get emails from our original partners saying that they have tried contacting us all week. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? I don't think so!!!!!!!!!! So, because I have been burned before with this whole group work and partner thing, I saved every email that I sent which is time and day stamped and I saved every email from my professor that I received back. It still irritates the crap out of me that my original partner tried to say that she tried contacting me and that I never got back to her. Why is it that people think I am stupid? Needless to say, my new partner and I got our assignment done properly and on time. If it had not been for a proactive approach, we most likely would still be waiting...

I never realized how much work school would be. I think it is because my classes are not 16 weeks like a campus school. They are 8 weeks, though technically 7 1/2 weeks. It seems like as soon as I get my homework done and turned in I have to start another assignment, and then another and another and so on. I need a vacation!

At least I have the blog as an outlet. My husband got a new phone so I really haven't seen him since. He keeps playing with the phone and he doesn't listen. When he does want to talk it is usually about the stupid phone. Like right now he is standing next to me telling me about ring tones... Hopefully, eventually this will blow over.

I think I need to just relax. Time to call it a night, I think. More later.

Interesting Life!

Just moved to South Carolina in March, husband is now working, oldest is out of school for the summer, and I have no job, two kids to take care of and school work to attend to. I don't know how my mother used to do it with two kids and working and taking care of the household. She would shuffle us back and forth to different activities when we were younger and still had time to sleep. I find that so very interesting.

This week is it for this semester of school. Research methods and Industrial/Organizational Psychology will be over with. Tough 8 weeks this has been. However, I am quite enjoying writing my research methods paper. I am "conducting" a study to find a relationship between exposure to violence during childhood and adolescence and antisocial personality and behavior during adulthood. I will be looking at aspects such as demographics, income, IQ of the children, IQ of the parents, reviewing what the teachers say about behavior in school, reviewing what the parents say about behavior at home and anything else I might feel is relevant. I won't actually be conducting the study because I'm only getting my B.A. in Criminal Psychology. I am just supposed to learn how the research methods work and not actually do the study. Shame though, I think that conducting the study would be so cool.

I also have a ton of things to do for my sister's wedding coming up in October. I started working on my lists of things to get and things to do today. Supposed to be doing homework but I have so much to do for the shower and wedding. I cannot wait for that though. I will get to see all of the family again and get to have a nice time. I just can't believe that my sister is going to be getting married soon. I'm starting to get a complex. :)

I suppose I should get the kiddies dinner and get to my homework.