Fact or just complaining?

Today at work someone was stating something and I said it was a fact. Another worker said it was complaining. I then said there is a difference from stating facts or complaining. He said in his mind they are one in the same. He is somewhat right. Both can be one in the same and I will explain as this blog goes on.

First I will describe what facts are in the way I see them. It is a fact if you tell someone the time or the temperature. It is also a fact if you let people know how many hours you have to work or how much your gas bill is. When you state something that can not be denied , it is a fact.

Now here is where the two can merge together. If you state a fact with a sour look on your face and whine about a fact, then it can be taken as a complaint. Instead of just saying it is 6:30 P.M. with no off kilter body language or a different pitched voice, it’s a fact. But if you act like you are about to cry or yell that it’s only 6:30 P.M. and throw in some cuss words, then yes that fact will sound like you are complaining. Remember , it’s how you say something and the way you act when you say it. You can turn a fact into a complaint.

Now here is where a complaint is a complaint no matter how you say it. If you use words or phrases like ; Why me? How come I…? Why the F… are you looking at me? Damit , I only have a quarter!!! Throwing in expletives and the why’s,how come’s, and the you are always …., type of quotes. Those will always sound bad and will always be looked at as complaining, no matter how big of a grin you have on your face and how nice your voice is when you say them.

Opinions can be looked at as complaining. If you say that it is hot or cold out, others may say ” stop you whining”. When in fact you just stated your opinion. It’s all in your tone of voice and your body language.

Remember how to keep facts as facts, so the outside people looking in do not think you are complaining. It’s your tone of voice, your body language, and the words you use and the order in how you use them.

P.S. Complaining behind closed doors every now and then is good so that you don’t get stressed out. It’s called venting, just do not do it in public or when you want to state a true fact.

Running to clear my mind or feel the pain.

Today on my day off from my part-time job I went for a nice 3 mile “run”. It was the first time running in 4-5 months and I can tell. I am going to get back in the swing of things so I get back in shape for the summer road races ( I love the atmosphere of the road races ).

While I was jogging a lot of thoughts was running in my head. Like the encounter I had with a person who has been at the job longer then me and what he said. Every time I start to show my real abilities at a job, those above me start to feel threatened because they see that I am much smarter than they are and a harder worker. That is why most of the time I dumb down my abilities so that I will not get harassed by people with more pull.

This is what happened ( I will not give full details because I can’t). I was following the SOP and It was making this person work harder than they wanted to. He later tried to tell me not to follow the SOP. I will not do that because I almost feel as though I am being set up by this person.

Also I was looking at my paycheck and It boggles my mind that I get  paid less working then when I was on unemployment. If you listen to the news and the politicians, everything is getting better and employment is improving. Just look at the facts and numbers they say. The facts have a lot of hidden messages that they are unwilling to talk about and quite frankly, those not hurting do not want to hear the truth.

Yes the numbers are going down. Why are they going down? Well people are falling off of the books because the jobs are not out there. Those who find work , end up finding work like me. There are just part-time jobs that pay $300.00 a week or less.  I am part of the reason the numbers look better now than in the past. Washington and the media will make you think people like me are making over $30,000 a year and living nicely. The part they leave out is how much I bring home and it is under $300.00 per week , and I drive 80 miles a day for this job and pay close to $4.00 a gallon of gas.

I am not whining or complaining. I am stating facts. I am always seeing the bright side of things. I have my health, the ability to say what I want to say , have the type of friends and family I enjoy, and run in pain because I am out of shape.

This country has a very long way to go to get back in shape. Maybe the corporations and politicians need to go on some runs with me so they can think, or feel my pain. They sure in the heck are not seeing the truth behind the blurred facts or listening to the underemployed or unemployed.

Everyone get out and run so you can think freely like I do. Everyone needs to pull their pants up and fix what is wrong with this country.

Pay it Forward.

Today is the start of a new challenge for everyone. How about getting out of your comfort zone and try new things. Get away from your computer, your ” smart phone” , the T.V. and see what the out doors looks and smells like. Join a fitness club, jog in the park , enter in road races. Too many people sit around and talk about the ” good old days” , instead of still living the good old days. The days of the past everyone was out doors talking to people face to face , running around playing sports or having fun at parks or fitness centers. Talk is very cheap ( look at our elected officials).

Go outside and talk to someone you know you have nothing in common with. By the end of the conversation you may have done something, like make a new friend or learn something from that person. We as a country need to stop being sheltered up physically and mentally. One thing we all can agree on is that these Tea Party and Occupy movements has people talking . Now instead of just talking ( text or chat rooms) get outside and see what other humans look and act like. Let us all be kind to each other and not argue over petty crap. A great talker is an even better listener.

So while you are at the gym getting your workout on or at a park, turn to another human and talk to them. When you are in that road race you are going to join, talk to the other runners and listen to how they think about subjects. We are the ones that will change this country , not the politicians or the corporations. Do not count on them to make this a better place, they are only concerned about their inner circle. Todays better tomorrow starts with your attitude and get outside and have fun and meet new people.

Pay it forward by making life better for those around you.

Why is Our Government Turning on us? (Patriot Act , NDAA , SOPA)

Hello, it has been a while since I last did a blog post. But I decided to give it another whirl. I got to thinking about some of the laws that our government has passed and some that they want to pass. Let’s start with the Patriot Act. To me that is unlawful for the government to have the ability to listen into our phone calls or come into our home with the home owner not knowing about it. Why do they want to micro-manage us? It does not have anything to do with safety. We already have organisations in place for the crazy wackos in this world, and if anyone of us see anything going on we call the cops. What is the government afraid of?

Now the NDAA that was passed in the dead of night and all of Washington passed without a fight. Why did Washington deem AMERICA a battle ground and give them the authority to label anyone of us a threat? What is our government afraid of? The NDAA in years past use to be just for the Defence budget, but they added in extra ” goodies”. 99.99% of us that live in this lovely country are good people, and if someone is up to no good there are agencies in place already to get the bad ones. What is our government afraid of? We hear the excuse about terrorists, yes they are sick and evil. There are agencies in place already, but why all these secret laws that has such an open-ended way of classifying people in place? Why did all of Washington agree on these bills but always fight over the ones that help America?

How about the bill that Washington is about to pass into law called SOPA? It is a law that will make it illegal to post anything on the internet with a copyright on it. It has the ability to punish the people who do this by putting them into prison for up to 5-10 years. So if you like a song or video and post it on you tube, Facebook, or google+ and the government finds out, they can put you in prison. What is the government afraid of? Posting things you like from news articles or music you like is not a crime , unless you are trying to cash in on it. But that’s already a law, so why SOPA? If you jus post something and not cash in on it, how is that a crime?

People of this great country we need to wake up and get educated and not be overjoyed when we get a new gadget. Remove your life from the material goods life, don’t be a zombie. That is part of the occupy movement, it’s not about free handouts it’s about freedoms and rights ( among other good ides). Love your country and yourself get educated and wake up, PLEASE.

QUOTE OF THE DAY; Love yourself, because some days that’s all you have. Once you know how to love yourself , you can love anyone. ( me )

99% VS. 1%

With this occupy movement going on, you hear people talking about the 1% VS. the 99%. What really is the 1% or 99% anyway ? So many people relate these terms just to money wealth alone. I would add another angle to the terms. To me the term 1% has at least two elements involved, money and the right connections.

If you have X amount of money and can influence a government (local or federal) to pass any kind of law to fit your needs or your companies needs, then you’re in the 1%. If you have X amount of money yet you do not have any connections to have laws passed, then you are not in the 1%. Look at the entertainment and athletic industries for instance. You take the actors/actresses and musicians and athletes. Do they make a good amount of money ? Yes they do. Can they have laws passed to help their own gains ? I think not.

Now let’s take the movie executives and the owners of sports teams. They have great wealth and have connections to have laws passed to help their own gain. They have local governments give them tax breaks to build new facilities when they can pay for it themselves. They have all kinds of tax exempt laws in their favor, or they also get revenue sharing and so on. This also goes for big corporations. They get tax breaks to build in towns or cities, yet they make enough money to pay for it themselves.

Do you get tax breaks to build your home in cities ? No you end up paying more or covering their (1%) tax cuts. Personal wealth does not alone make you the 1%. It’s almost like the ones who do fall into the 1% act like the mafia. They are little chickens who have others do their dirty work. The 1% hitmen are the government officials who pass laws to help them out.

When someone who is in the 1% says , ” don’t blame wall street , blame Washington”. They are right to say that to a point. It was Wall street who puts the pressure on their buddies to pass the laws. It is the spineless people in Washington who cave and have the laws passed. These laws only help Wall street, that is why we are ion the mess we are in. The laws are to discourage competition , because the top brass are punks and are afraid of the mom and pop stores.

All of this in this blog post is my opinion, these are not facts. I promote personal wealth, we all need to live and have chances . The 1% have made both almost impossible any more with the laws .

QUOTE OF THE DAY ; Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. ( Benjamin Disraeli ).

14,000,000 X 20 = 280,000,000 Affected . The Kevin Bacon Theory.

When 1 person gets laid off, in my opinion it affects more than just that person. I think some people tend to think it only has an impact on the unemployed. When someone is unemployed it affects at least 20 people in at least 2 ways. Those ways are emotionally and financially.

Let’s start with the emotionally way first. The unemployed person is so stressed out it affects the family and friends because those close to that person worry about his or hers future. Some of those worries may turn into arguments due to displaced anger. The worries can lead to building huge walls around that person due to fear. They may need to go talk to a professional if their worries gets too deep, and they have no money to pay.

The money issue is another aspect of hurting at least 20 people around the unemployed. When you collect unemployment, you have to make cutbacks. The cutbacks you make affect those people because they are getting less money, like the utility companies, the gas stations , the restaurants, the grocery stores, and so on . Then you cut back on money for your children, they can not go to the movies or go to hardly any activities at the school that cost money. Then you have family or friends who may help you out at times, that takes money out of their pockets and they spend less at places they patronized. This is a huge domino effect.

So the only people it may not affect are the rich (1%) because they have no feelings for the unemployed ( they are the ones who decide to lay off), and we do not shop at the same stores as they do. So next time you see someone asking for change on the corner or know of someone unemployed remember the number 280,000,000 . That number is the bare minimum that is affected right now. We can do better !!!

If you think the occupy is shrinking in numbers because of the weather, and of the number of people at the sites, think again. This is about getting the United States fixed and strong like it once was before a lot of the jobs have been disbursed due to greed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY ; Sometimes you just have to trust your intuition . (William Gates, Microsoft )

From A Land Of Makers And Providers To A Land Of Consumers And Beggars.

From watching the occupy on the internet and from listening to what people have to say, something has donned on me. There are so many problems in this country, and so many different points of views. I keep hearing how do we fix the issues ? To me the big issue has been that America use to be a land of makers and givers ( self-reliant also ), now we are a land of consumers and beggars ( because most of us are unemployed or underemployed).

Now people ask how do we fix this? The wealthy and those who have not fallen off of the employment wagon say there is no problem. Those that say that either have no heart or do not care about fellow humans or are undereducated.  This how I would fix it.  I would tax or charge corporations fees for sending jobs to other countries, instead of giving tax beaks for shipping jobs overseas like they are getting now. I would also make it a law that the C.E.O.’s can not own stock, that way they do not make decisions for their own gains. Instead of bonuses for the management I would implement a law that would only allow profit-sharing for all the workers, from the janitor to the president. Do not think this is wealth distribution, heck it’s the people under management who make the companies the goods to sell for profit.

The decisions made by the upper management are not because they “answer” to the share holders. They could care less about anyone who owns less than 15% of the shares. They only answer to themselves and the board of directors. If they were concerned about you or me, they would not give them such huge paychecks after they lay off 20% of the workers. They would not stop on the dividends , they would raise them and cut their own paychecks.

You hear some C.E.O.’s say they have to export jobs to compete with other countries. I find that a lame excuse . Does China export their manufacturing jobs to other countries? Think about it, they are taking all of the manufacturing jobs and keeping them in their country. People say that anyone can become a C.E.O. of a company. I say that they are off base on that one also. Now low-end jobs are either shipped to other countries or they are eliminated all together, so moving up the chain is not there any more.

Once the jobs come back home, we as a country will be a land of providers , makers , and givers. That is the dream I would like to have, not the nightmare we are all living now.

QUOTE OF THE DAY ; Keep changing, because when you’re through changing – you’re through. (Bert-Olaf Svanholm).

Burnt Boiled Eggs

A while back I was hungry for boiled eggs. So I put the eggs in the pot and went on about my business. About 1.5 hours later I smelt this funny smell and heard the popping noise. I then remembered I had eggs in the pot. I got to the stove and the water was gone . When I took the shells off to eat the eggs, I had burnt them. I had no other choice but to eat them, being unemployed and hungry I have to eat to live.

I think a lot of people are forgetting parts of their lives like I forgot my eggs. Look at all the people who have money in big banks and have left their money there. Those eggs are getting burnt by the powers that be by outrageous charges. Time to move your eggs to a better stove people. Look at the people who forgot to pay attention to their investments and left them alone and lost their money. We all need to watch our eggs or they will get burnt.

If you forget to take your dog out to use the bathroom, he will leave a pile on the carpet ( the dog just gave you brunt eggs). If your child forgets to do their homework, they will get a bunch of burnt eggs for grades (F). If you forget to put gas in the car or change the oil , you will look like a burnt egg on the side of the road. Don’t forget about family and friends, or you will have a bunch of burnt eggs ( upset people).

Washington and the very wealthy have forgotten the majority of us. Now we are their burnt eggs (we are fed up with being ignored). Those upper class snobs need to take care of their eggs ( in their case it’s caviar ) or they will have burnt eggs ( an angry bunch of people).

Every person in this world needs to be observant of their eggs in all parts of their lives so they don’t have to eat burnt eggs ( have a messed up situation).

QUOTE OD THE DAY ; Dreams whet your appetite, but goals make you hungry. ( Josie Bissett ).

Have To Say My Piece About The Global Revolution & Occupy .

I have been watching the Global Revolution and Occupy Wall Street for the last few weeks. What I have noticed on LIVE stream and what the T.V. stations are reporting are two polar opposites. What I have learned first hand is the stations on T.V. will out-and-out lie and not even blink twice about it. That to me says they do that so much they think they tell the truth the whole time.

Now on to what I have been thinking about. I hear all of these stories how C.E.O.’s are so smart and know how to run things, yet they seem to have a problem with living off of 1 million a year, so they lay off 20% of the workers to make 3 million a year. If the C.E.O.’s of America are so smart, how come they can not live off of $10.00 an hour like 40% of the work force?

Why is it when America needs to “sacrifice” the C.E.O.’s make cuts on the $10.oo an hour workers and give themselves bonuses ? Yet when we the working poor ( I’m currently a jobless parent ) make a suggestion that they take a pay cut or pay a little more in taxes, we are starting a class warfare ? Or we are engaging in wealth distribution ? Are these ” smart” C.E.O.’s who lay people off so they get bonuses practicing wealth distribution by taking the money that would go to the $10.00 an hour worker and giving it to themselves?

I say this the smartest people and the hardest workers are the ones who make $10.00 an hour, not the top few percent ( you have to know how to survive off of next to nothing). They “claim” to work hard, but most got to the top by who they knew not how hard they worked. They are part of the good ol boys network.

If $10.00 an hour is good enough for the people below the top percent, then it should be good enough for everyone. If a person can not live off of $60,000 a year, then they are not that smart. And like Herman Cain said ” now I don’t have the facts to back this up” but I think 40% of Americans make less than $60,000 a year ( I am mocking Herman Cain).

QOUTE OF THE DAY ; Progress comes from caring more about what needs to be done then about who gets the credit. (Dorothy Height).

 

Some Roller Coaster Rides Are Not Worth Riding.

How many of you have been on a roller coaster ride? You have all sorts of emotions in your stomach because of the up and down movement and the speed of the ride. How many of you have been in a part of your life that you have never been in before and had the same feeling ? Yet all you are doing is sitting on the couch.

Sometimes life is very much like a roller coaster ride. Try being laid off and not knowing if you will be able to pay your bills or even eat for that day. Some roller coaster rides you will have friends ride with you. Other rides the same friend will not ride with you. Then there are people who will ride with you and you would not even know they will be next to you until the ride comes up.

I have had talks with people who are in my shoes ( jobless and worried), and they are going on the same ride. They have noticed that “friends” that were around when we had a job are now gone and not found. Then there are family and friends who are even closer to you now than ever before. They now know we need that co-pilot now more than when we had a job and money.

Some people only want to be with you all for status reasons. If you ever fall into my roller coaster ride you will find out the hard way. It is a ride you will not like at all. You never will know who will ride with you until you stand in line for that one roller coaster ride. I know I am not the only one , but I am the only one who will post such thoughts.

Everyone needs to sit back and rethink about how they act during certain rides in life. This is a very scary ride to be on. All I hear from people is well I wish I could help. You will find out real fast, it’s not what you know but who you know in life. And sometimes the ones you do know are not worth knowing after all. Then there are those who are the best one to have around for the ride.

QOUTE OF THE DAY ; Decide to love and do what you like. (St. Augustine).