Here is an article about a metal shop owner who gets revenge on some thieves by shooting out their tires and radiator when they decided to come back in broad daylight to rob him again. Considering that this guy lost $3,000 worth of stuff in the first robbery, they ought to be glad he didn't shoot the robbers. I applaud the guy for his restraint, and I'm glad they did get caught.
No, I'm not advocating violence...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thank You, IR Freakin' S
We finally got our economic stimulus check today but, unfortunately, we only got $266 because we owed taxes this year and the government took out its chunk first. I had a feeling they were going to do this, but we really needed that money to pay our rent and the letter they sent to us informing us of the check that we were to receive made no statement whatsoever that the owed taxes would come out of the stimulus check.
So now we are most likely going to bounce our check and even if we don't, we are going to be in a hole that we won't be able to dig ourselves out of because of the fees that we will get if they do cash the check.
Why couldn't they just say "Oh, by the way, we're going to take our 900-some-odd dollars out of your economic stimulus check"? I'm not even asking for them to give me a chance to tell them "no", I just would've like to have known so that we may have either held off on turning in our rent check (and incur the $20 late fee for being a day late) or we would've tried harder to make other arrangements. God damn it, I'm tired of this. We're never going to get the money back that we spent on my grandmother's funeral (which was, roughly, eleven grand), and I can't pick up more hours at work because of the limits placed on the Research Assistant position, so other than having my husband work more hours (and if he had worked his full shift, the pittance from the government would've been enough to help us squeak by), I don't know what we can do. I'm a little furious that he refuses to ask his family for money when his parents aren't in financial hell, but he's more than willing to constantly bring up trying to get the money back from my family despite the fact that my mother doesn't have a job and my uncle's savings is what is paying the bills right now.
I'm really tired. I just can't keep going like this. We'll have to conserve as much as we can because we'll have no money by Wednesday (assuming the check gets cashed), and we only had enough gas to get me to work today. I'm still convinced he's doing something stupid with the car to waste gas when he only has 4 miles to go to get to work but uses more gas than I do going 20 miles to my office. $10 can only get you so far, and there is no bus that I can take to work (this town's transit system needs a lot of work) or I would do that instead of drive which pisses me off anyway.
I'm going to bed. I was going to call the IRS to bitch about this, but there's no point in yelling at someone who had nothing to do with this. I don't see why they would care. I don't see why anybody would, so...whatever.
So now we are most likely going to bounce our check and even if we don't, we are going to be in a hole that we won't be able to dig ourselves out of because of the fees that we will get if they do cash the check.
Why couldn't they just say "Oh, by the way, we're going to take our 900-some-odd dollars out of your economic stimulus check"? I'm not even asking for them to give me a chance to tell them "no", I just would've like to have known so that we may have either held off on turning in our rent check (and incur the $20 late fee for being a day late) or we would've tried harder to make other arrangements. God damn it, I'm tired of this. We're never going to get the money back that we spent on my grandmother's funeral (which was, roughly, eleven grand), and I can't pick up more hours at work because of the limits placed on the Research Assistant position, so other than having my husband work more hours (and if he had worked his full shift, the pittance from the government would've been enough to help us squeak by), I don't know what we can do. I'm a little furious that he refuses to ask his family for money when his parents aren't in financial hell, but he's more than willing to constantly bring up trying to get the money back from my family despite the fact that my mother doesn't have a job and my uncle's savings is what is paying the bills right now.
I'm really tired. I just can't keep going like this. We'll have to conserve as much as we can because we'll have no money by Wednesday (assuming the check gets cashed), and we only had enough gas to get me to work today. I'm still convinced he's doing something stupid with the car to waste gas when he only has 4 miles to go to get to work but uses more gas than I do going 20 miles to my office. $10 can only get you so far, and there is no bus that I can take to work (this town's transit system needs a lot of work) or I would do that instead of drive which pisses me off anyway.
I'm going to bed. I was going to call the IRS to bitch about this, but there's no point in yelling at someone who had nothing to do with this. I don't see why they would care. I don't see why anybody would, so...whatever.
Hmm...on second thought
I did come up with a give-and-take scenario that I guess would be applicable to the situation in the previous article. I made my husband go with me to see "Girl, Interrupted" because it was the first movie I ever got really excited about when I saw the preview. I had read the book back in high school, so I even knew some of the lines, so I went to see it opening night. He, in turn, dragged me to see "Fight Club" a few weeks later. Here was the gender ratio at both movies -- 7:1. The larger number is the gender you expect to see at the film (naturally). The "Girl, Interrupted" showing had a questionnaire about mental health that we had to fill out afterwards, which I thought was interesting. My husband cried at the end of my movie (but to this day he fervently denies it with every fiber of his being), and I was so angry at the end of his movie that I wanted to get in a fight just to get out my aggression.
That was very rare, and was spurred on my a literary desire (because I would've seen "Fight Club" anyway because I didn't know I was going to hate it so much), but I still don't agree that there is a give-and-take when it comes to movies. People see what they like and if they are willing to get pigeon-holed, then that's their problem.
By the way, Winona Ryder was robbed of the Oscar that year. They rewarded Angelina Jolie for acting crazy? Do you remember how she was back then, with the kissing of her brother and all that jazz? Crazy wasn't a stretch then. And I'm still pissed at Ebert for not liking the film because you don't find out what happens to the other characters at the end. It's called read a book, damnit! It was about the one character, not the whole nut-house.
Sigh.
I'll cut him some slack; he is sick and all.
Where was I? Oh yeah; I'm trying to see the balance that is mentioned in my previous posting (that whole give-and-take on men and women and films), but since I can't sit through chick flicks, and the male equivalent (which I had a name for, but the blog that it's on seems to have disappeared) is just as grating, maybe I'm just not meant to understand this concept. Oh well...
That was very rare, and was spurred on my a literary desire (because I would've seen "Fight Club" anyway because I didn't know I was going to hate it so much), but I still don't agree that there is a give-and-take when it comes to movies. People see what they like and if they are willing to get pigeon-holed, then that's their problem.
By the way, Winona Ryder was robbed of the Oscar that year. They rewarded Angelina Jolie for acting crazy? Do you remember how she was back then, with the kissing of her brother and all that jazz? Crazy wasn't a stretch then. And I'm still pissed at Ebert for not liking the film because you don't find out what happens to the other characters at the end. It's called read a book, damnit! It was about the one character, not the whole nut-house.
Sigh.
I'll cut him some slack; he is sick and all.
Where was I? Oh yeah; I'm trying to see the balance that is mentioned in my previous posting (that whole give-and-take on men and women and films), but since I can't sit through chick flicks, and the male equivalent (which I had a name for, but the blog that it's on seems to have disappeared) is just as grating, maybe I'm just not meant to understand this concept. Oh well...
Sex and the City: A Review of An Article About It
I have to be the first one to say it: I am not a SATC fan. I had to double-check another article just to spell the name of the show correctly. Why am I one of those women who just didn't get into the show? There were many reasons. First off, I don't have HBO money. Hell, I don't have History channel money so there was no way I was going to see this in its first run. Secondly, I was a bit turned off by a group of women who sat around talking about sex the way that they think men carry on about it. I've always hung out with guys; the guys who were willing to talk about sex in front of me (back in high school when just about everyone wants to "get some", even when 95% aren't getting any) were the unattached ones who were not exactly experienced. We exemplified the adage of "The more you talk about it, the less you've done," so I don't buy this need to talk about it with others...I've outgrown that. And it did get annoying when the few girlfriends I do have would talk about which character I was, because I had no idea what the hell they were talking about! I mean, I called Kim Cattrall "The Old One" because I couldn't remember her name for the life of me.
Well, to get to my point, I read an article written by a guy who was forced to go see the movie for his job. It's an article about the men who actually wanted to see this movie, but were embarrassed to admit it. One guy made a laughable claim: "You understand women better watching `Sex and the City.'" Really? Seriously? You understand women better after watching a show about four women who epitomize various vain women stereotypes? Yeah, whatever. I'm a woman who hates shopping [Especially for clothes because I'm just at that plus-size where most stores still carry items in my size but they're ugly, and for shoes because I wear a size 12, and Payless is all I can afford. DSW can suck it.], and I've not had a Cosmopolitan in my life. I (used to) drink whatever anyone gave me, and I am wary of any "named" old drinks after my introduction to the Manhattan, which is turpentine with a cherry in it (I had four of them; it was in honor of my late Grandfather-in-law).
Anyway, I move on to the latter part of the article:
Wrong. I liked Iron Man. I've seen it twice and would like to see it one more time before it leaves the theaters, and I liked it because it was a good movie. It wasn't just a good "superhero" film, but a good movie with a strong script that stayed away from the cheesiness that other films in its genre have succumbed to of late. What are women gaining from SATC? Seriously, I need a fan of this show to explain it to me because I don't get it at all. I caught an episode on Saturday and it was when Carrie was dumped by Mr. Big and her friends recommended therapy, and John Mellencamp was another patient (I think), but I got so tired of it that I changed the channel to some old movie on Turner Classic Movies instead just to get away from the chatter.
Maybe I don't get it because I don't have girlfriends that I hang out with like they do. All of my girlfriends live in Cleveland, and I don't get to see them when I'm visiting family...but I don't miss their companionship all that much. It's fun when we get together, but I'm just as happy to sit at home and do my own thing on Friday nights. I don't feel like I missed something by not watching the show (and my DVD money goes towards anime, so I'm not buying the show's DVDs), but I am curious to see why anybody likes it. Is it the fashion? The fact that Kim Cattrall is, once again, playing the sex pot (considering one of her first movie roles was as "Lassie" in Porky's)? Is it the chatter? Oh God please don't let it be the chatter, because I'll want to get a suspension on my "lady license" right now until my gender can get that crap under control. They're not as bad as the Gabmore Girls (I went to a private school of the same name as the show, but as the name was spelled differently, I'll go with the parody name instead), but sometimes I just want them to shut up. These women get on my nerves, and I love to talk, so they've got to be completely out of control.
So, for all the SATC fans out there who may read this blog, help a sister out! Explain the phenomenon so that I may at least understand the show, if not like it.
Well, to get to my point, I read an article written by a guy who was forced to go see the movie for his job. It's an article about the men who actually wanted to see this movie, but were embarrassed to admit it. One guy made a laughable claim: "You understand women better watching `Sex and the City.'" Really? Seriously? You understand women better after watching a show about four women who epitomize various vain women stereotypes? Yeah, whatever. I'm a woman who hates shopping [Especially for clothes because I'm just at that plus-size where most stores still carry items in my size but they're ugly, and for shoes because I wear a size 12, and Payless is all I can afford. DSW can suck it.], and I've not had a Cosmopolitan in my life. I (used to) drink whatever anyone gave me, and I am wary of any "named" old drinks after my introduction to the Manhattan, which is turpentine with a cherry in it (I had four of them; it was in honor of my late Grandfather-in-law).
Anyway, I move on to the latter part of the article:
"Sex and the City" is one of the few summer blockbusters targeting women. Most of the comic-book adaptations and R-rated comedies are aimed squarely at male teenagers. To [a 22 year old woman in attendance], guys having to go see "Sex and the City" helps balance the gender scales.
"What are women gaining when they go to `Iron Man'?" she wondered. "A lot of my friends were dragged to that. There's a give-and-take in movies, right?"
Wrong. I liked Iron Man. I've seen it twice and would like to see it one more time before it leaves the theaters, and I liked it because it was a good movie. It wasn't just a good "superhero" film, but a good movie with a strong script that stayed away from the cheesiness that other films in its genre have succumbed to of late. What are women gaining from SATC? Seriously, I need a fan of this show to explain it to me because I don't get it at all. I caught an episode on Saturday and it was when Carrie was dumped by Mr. Big and her friends recommended therapy, and John Mellencamp was another patient (I think), but I got so tired of it that I changed the channel to some old movie on Turner Classic Movies instead just to get away from the chatter.
Maybe I don't get it because I don't have girlfriends that I hang out with like they do. All of my girlfriends live in Cleveland, and I don't get to see them when I'm visiting family...but I don't miss their companionship all that much. It's fun when we get together, but I'm just as happy to sit at home and do my own thing on Friday nights. I don't feel like I missed something by not watching the show (and my DVD money goes towards anime, so I'm not buying the show's DVDs), but I am curious to see why anybody likes it. Is it the fashion? The fact that Kim Cattrall is, once again, playing the sex pot (considering one of her first movie roles was as "Lassie" in Porky's)? Is it the chatter? Oh God please don't let it be the chatter, because I'll want to get a suspension on my "lady license" right now until my gender can get that crap under control. They're not as bad as the Gabmore Girls (I went to a private school of the same name as the show, but as the name was spelled differently, I'll go with the parody name instead), but sometimes I just want them to shut up. These women get on my nerves, and I love to talk, so they've got to be completely out of control.
So, for all the SATC fans out there who may read this blog, help a sister out! Explain the phenomenon so that I may at least understand the show, if not like it.
...and now to the funny.
I couldn't help but to post this one. It seems that there were some "Mensa" members (read: morons) who decided to rob a convienent store while wearing thongs on their heads! Okay, I've busted on a man in town who robbed a bank and didn't put on his disguise until after he demanded the money, but at least his disguise was a traditional bandanna that would've been more effective if put on before commencing the crime. These nuts were very identifiable even with their green and blue "disguises". What would posses someone to see their girlfriend's underwear and think "Hey, that would be a great disguise for a robbery"?
I just hope they were new, because, otherwise, that would just be nasty.
And, in other news, cops nab a drug dealer because his name came up as weed man on another assailant's caller i.d. This one is great; here they are, arresting a guy for driving with a suspended license when his phone rings and his drug dealer calls. They ask him if there was supposed to be a drug deal tonight and, of course, the guy says "no". Well, they call the dealer back anyway and confirm the location of the buy and arrest the drug dealer on the spot. See, kiddies, don't list your drug dealer as your drug dealer on your cell phone. It can come back to haunt you.
This one's not as funny, but it gets points for honesty. A person pays off a 21-year-old parking ticket, which amounted to a fine of $6. Funny enough, the original ticket was for $3, but it doubled when it wasn't paid on time. Hey, at least it got paid.
I just hope they were new, because, otherwise, that would just be nasty.
And, in other news, cops nab a drug dealer because his name came up as weed man on another assailant's caller i.d. This one is great; here they are, arresting a guy for driving with a suspended license when his phone rings and his drug dealer calls. They ask him if there was supposed to be a drug deal tonight and, of course, the guy says "no". Well, they call the dealer back anyway and confirm the location of the buy and arrest the drug dealer on the spot. See, kiddies, don't list your drug dealer as your drug dealer on your cell phone. It can come back to haunt you.
This one's not as funny, but it gets points for honesty. A person pays off a 21-year-old parking ticket, which amounted to a fine of $6. Funny enough, the original ticket was for $3, but it doubled when it wasn't paid on time. Hey, at least it got paid.
What is going on!?!
First, it was Harvey Korman, and then it was Yves Saint Laurent, and now Bo Diddley? I'm taking these passings way too hard, but I'm afraid to read my RSS feeds because I don't know who else is going to show up on the In Memoriam list. Isn't there any good news going on today?
I remember Bo Diddley from the "Bo knows" commercials that used to run all the time. He had the best line when he said "Bo, you don't know diddley!" Now the world is without him, and it sucks.
We've lost humor, a sense of style, and music. What next? I don't want to hazard a guess; I'm not going to be responsible for putting someone else six-feet under.
I remember Bo Diddley from the "Bo knows" commercials that used to run all the time. He had the best line when he said "Bo, you don't know diddley!" Now the world is without him, and it sucks.
We've lost humor, a sense of style, and music. What next? I don't want to hazard a guess; I'm not going to be responsible for putting someone else six-feet under.
Unhinged
There are some articles that I wanted to post today, but I feel like I'm falling apart today. The culmination of not having anywhere near enough money to pay rent coupled with an inability to focus on work for more than five minutes and just generally feeling like crap has taken its toll. I'd go home if we didn't desperately need the money, so I'm stuck here until I get off work to go home and spend time with someone I'm pissed off with [He gave me milk that expired today when I'm so sensitive that I can't drink milk that's more than a week old. His reasoning? "It hadn't expired, yet."] and I have a friend from church who just lost her mother a few days ago that I'm going to try to call...but how do I console someone in their time of need when my typical sayings no longer mean anything to me (i.e. "Everything happens for a reason")? I'm going to call her and, hopefully, be a good listener, because I'm going to be useless in any other capacity.
Useless. That's an interesting word.
The music I'm listening to right now is not really depressing, but it's upsetting me anyway (which would make you think I'd stop listening to it, but the songs that really get to me are coming up, and I'm trying to avoid them right now). So I mess with my own head when I'm already unbalanced. Yeah, I do that sometimes.
I think I'm going to take a break in our "nap" room (we actually have one of those along with a lactation room because, let's face it, we have a lot of women who work here). I think I need some time to crash a little so that I can put myself back together without people asking me if anything's wrong. I really don't need that right now (so I'm posting instead because...?).
Besides, I really want to post about the idiots who robbed a bank with thongs on their faces. As depressed as I am today, I still find that funny (but since I don't know if I'll laugh or cry, I'm going for my break).
Useless. That's an interesting word.
The music I'm listening to right now is not really depressing, but it's upsetting me anyway (which would make you think I'd stop listening to it, but the songs that really get to me are coming up, and I'm trying to avoid them right now). So I mess with my own head when I'm already unbalanced. Yeah, I do that sometimes.
I think I'm going to take a break in our "nap" room (we actually have one of those along with a lactation room because, let's face it, we have a lot of women who work here). I think I need some time to crash a little so that I can put myself back together without people asking me if anything's wrong. I really don't need that right now (so I'm posting instead because...?).
Besides, I really want to post about the idiots who robbed a bank with thongs on their faces. As depressed as I am today, I still find that funny (but since I don't know if I'll laugh or cry, I'm going for my break).
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