Okay so help me if they don't stop screwing with the retro shows. They made Scooby Doo and Yogi into live action and they SUCKED and now they are doing smurfs. They have remade so many retro shows and now I find out they are doing it to Thunder Cats? STOP IT! Go to Egypt on an expedition and dig til you find the mysterious and ever elusive "Creativity Bone", I saw elusive because no one can seem to find it anymore! If you really think that the retro shows were that good REPLAY THE ORIGINALS! Don't remake it! It was amazing the first time. Stop.... screwing with it!
And jumping from shows to movies now. They have obviously been remaking tons of remakes of old movies. I will agree a couple needed it (Last House on the Left the original was horrible). However there are some movies that you are not allowed to touch. They are actually going to remake The Crow. Are they stupid? The main audiance for that show has to be Goths correct? And any real Goth has watched and loved that movie forever now! Plus one thing that all have in common is that we all know that the actor died! He died making that film and he was an amazing actor! There for it was incredably sad for anyone watching that movie. Now you want to tap dance on his grave by making a remake? NOT A SINGLE FAN OF THAT SHOW IS GOING TO TOUCH A MOVIE TICKET WHEN THAT COMES OUT!
And this might be old news but I'm going to say it as reinforcement. Rob Zombie... I love you.... your music is oddly amazing, but if you continue to touch the Halloween series there will be problems. YOU ARE NOT MAKING IT BETTER YOU ARE MAKING IT WORSE!
How about the entirety of Hollywood get together and discuss business with someone like Tim Burton who has written almost every movie he has directed and they were all GENIUS! They were all original and they were great (on that note make a remake of Beetlejuice and you will find your self missing some apendages). Every movie that that guy comes out with is gold, BECAUSE HE WROTE IT! And don't say you wrote the remake, you didn't, you adapted it and that is not writing. Writing is sitting down at a keyboard, a typewriter, or grabbing an old fashion pencil and starting from scratch. Sure you have insperation from somewhere but you don't rip it off!
Jumping to my other Hollywood pet peeve. If you are going to make a movie and put the words "Based on (insert book)", do yourself a favor and actually follow the book. The reason people want to see a movie of a book is to see what they read come to life not to see how you wanted the book to go! Prime example.... I Know What You Did Last Summer. Yes it was a book folks by Lois Duncan, my idol. That movie DIDN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT! There was no hook and the preppy chick never died, amongst all the things that weren't in the book. Despite the movie being horrible they did something worse! They made a second and a third! THERE WAS ONLY ONE BOOK AND THEY DIDN'T GET THAT RIGHT! Lois Duncan even said that she didn't like that movie because it was nothing like her book.
So once again Hollywood, purge yourself of the people who apparently have an inability to write. Take the few that have actually held a pencil in their life and had an imagination as a child and send them to Egypt... for that mytical "Creativity Bone" (hell ask Tim Burton where he found it) and leave... my.... shit.... ALONE!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Walmart: General Etiquette And How To Get Out Faster
Okay so I'm going to give you a low down on how to get through Walmart faster and easier! And also let you in on a few reasons to NOT yell at your cashier.
How to Get Out in a Timely Fashion
1) If you are buying clothes do yourself a favor. If you don't want the hangers, take them off while you are picking out the clothes! If nothing else take them off while you are waiting in line instead of just standing there. It will cut a lot of time out of how long it takes you to get out of the check out line. Just hand the hangers to the cashier!
2) If you have more then 20 items don't go through the speedy's. Here is why. It's because of the bagging area. They only have 3 bags at a time so if you have a bunch of stuff it will take forever for you to get out of the line because it takes them forever to bag it. It is seriously easier to just go through a regular line.
3) Be organized when you put the food on the belt! Put all the cold stuff together, all the boxes together, etc. We are trained to bag that way so rather then make us search through the stuff for like objects just have everything together and everything will be bagged faster.
4) Listen carefully (I'm handing you gold)... if you are in a hurry DO NOT GO TO WALMART! Wait and come in later. If you come in when you are in a hurry you are going to jinx yourself and something will go wrong with your card, you won't find what you need, or the lines will be long. Plus then you let your frustration out on the cashier who did nothing to you. It is not our fault that you came in last minute to by your nephews birthday present.
5) If you are not sure if you have enough money to pay for everything you grabbed. Hold back 5-10 items you don't need. Why? Because it is so much faster to never ring up these items then for them to be rung up, find out you don't have enough, then have to dig through your cart for 5 minutes trying to find the stuff to remove. Heck even if you are pretty sure you have enough do this, just in case.
6) When buying big items (such as soda) put them with the barcode up. That way the cashier can just lean over and zap them with the wand like *snap* that. Rather then have to come around the register and turn them all the right way and zap them, or you have to pick them all up to point the barcode at us.
7) If you can remember check things with dangly barcodes to make sure it is there. I know this is hard to remember, but if you think about it while shopping check it that way you don't get all the way up to the register only to have to wait 5-10 minutes while a manger checks the price. Again... if you can remember most the time I don't remember this one.
8) Ad matching....You DO NOT have to bring in the ad. We have ad's from local stores in the building to check him. However... it can take FOREVER sometimes. You may not have to bring the ad in but it is much faster to flip open the one you have and point out the cheaper product to the cashier then to tell the cashier and then them call a manager to go look it up and come back. Again you don't have to bring it, it's just far more time efficient.
9) Okay I'm going to assume this is the same at ever Walmart considering that I have done this at many different ones. If you are in a hurry, you have like 5-10 items that arn't huge, and even the speedies are filled to the middle of the isle with people... go to Electronics. Or the Gardening area! You can even go to Auto I believe or Sporting Goods. They all have cash registers and you can go to them! Only advice is make sure they have a scale for produce. So the next time you're in ask the cashier at any of these areas if they can ring up produce that is sold by weight.
10) Say you are at a speedie and there is one person ahead of you and no one behind you. All of a sudden the light goes off. The cashier tells you that the line is closed and ask you to leave. They plan on taking care of the person ahead of you because they were up to the cashier and were no longer waiting. THEY CAN NOT DO THIS! If you are in a line, any line, prior to the light being turned off, then they have to take care of you. They can not make you go to another line if you had already been waiting when they turned off the light.
11) Coupons coupons coupons. Yes we do take them and we take pretty much all of them. However you might want to make sure they qualify before relying on them for your shopping. First off if it does not say "Manufactor Coupon" somewhere on it we will not take it. The reason is because unless it says that Walmart does not get reimbursed for that money that got taken off your purchase. Second, study your coupon. We have to follow everything it says, if it says anywhere on the coupon that a trial size can't be used then the coupon won't be used if you have a trial size. Also look for quantity limits. Lastly if you have a coupon that is buy one get one free, either A) write in the price of the item to get free or B) hand it to the cashier first off so that when the item shows up the cashier can just write in the price. It is much faster then the cashier finding out at the end that there was a buy one get one free coupon and have to search your order for that item to find out the price. Will cut off a couple of minutes and again help you get out faster.
General Etiquette And Tid-Bits
In other words nice things you can do and the explainations on those little things that make you angry during your visit. Plus some reasons to not yell at your cashier.
1) When ever you are in line and the person ahead of you is taking forever (such as an item didn't have a barcode and there is a price check in progress) don't get irritated. I'll bet $10 that you have been in a similar position and the person behind you was tapping their foot and making you mad. Don't be that person!
2) Once again if you have more than 20 items don't go through the speedy's. Again I'll bet $10 that you have been the person behind the person who has 50 items in the speedy and it pissed you off. It's just plain rude the speedy's are there for people who just came in for a few items not for the people in a hurry.
3) If your card is not working THAT IS NOT OUR FAULT! It is either the machine or your card. It is not because the person at the the register doesn't do it right more than 75% of the time. If our machine is not reading the card AT ALL then there is nothing we can do. Don't get angry at the cashier, get angry at your bank for screwing up something.
4) Carts and baskets... save your cashier a little trouble (if you liked them). Take your cart or basket with you. No matter what you are going through the front door where these things go to. You aren't going out of your way to do this. So if you have a basket or cart, wether you need it once out of the store or not, take it with you. Don't leave it in the middle of the aisle because then it blocks the way for other customers until a cashier has time to take it to the front. I'm not saying do our job, I'm just saying its a common curtousy that doesn't affect you at all.
5) Please please please listen to this one. If you get to the register and realize that you don't want something that you brought up front with you. DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE AISLE! The cashier is not going to be angry with you for not wanting something. Hand the item to the cashier. Here is why it is troublesome when you do the first thing. Occasionally people come by and ask if the cashiers have returns. We throw them in the cart they have and the items are on their way to being put back. We don't get to check our line if there is a customer in it. So the 1-15 items that have been left in that aisle have to wait to be put up. This is a pain because one at a certain point we can no longer give the Service Desk our returns and we have to put them up ourselves. If it is earlier in the day we just have a really cluttered work area. If you just hand us the things you don't want then all of that is avoided. Again trust me, the cashier is not going to be angry if you hand them unwanted items, infact they will appreciate it.
6) Prices... My rule of thumb has always been if you can't change it why complain. And let me let you in on the secret, cashiers... can not change the prices. The only time we can change the price is if it is rung up wrong or if the product is damanged then, with permission, we can take off like 10% (so if item is $10 you get $1 off). On that matter, newspapers, I don't know about all Wally Worlds but mine charges tax on papers. We do not control this, the store itself is told to put tax on it, no matter how much you complain to a manager you are still gonna have to pay tax on it.
7) "There's not enough cashiers!". Walmart does not have the money to pay EVERY cashier to work EVERY day. Therefore it is okay to presume that when you get to Walmart (even though there are 30 lines in the super stores) there will only be 10 cashiers. Usually five on each side of the store including speedies. Managers can pull people from other parts in the store but if those people are busy then they can't do anything. Just because we have enough lines for 30 people does not mean that they will all be open. The only time this happens is around December and the Super Bowl. If you want a really long line go to the DMV.
8) "It's Hot!". Keep in mind loyal customers that the stores do try their best to keep the store cool. My store recently installed fans up front. May not cool the whole store but it does keep you cool while checking out before going out in the heat. No the AC is not broken or on low. We have how ever many doors opening and closing all day up front, plus the back doors of the store (which are huge) are open most of the day for trucks. If you went home and had, say 10 people, going in and out of your house all day your house would be hot too. Think about it, how many times do you yell at your kid to close the door because you aren't paying to cool the woods? Unfortunately Walmart is paying to cool the outdoors and you at the same time. No matter how powerful the AC is with that much hot air coming in you arn't gonna keep this big friggin store as cool as your home is.
9) "Well this is this price at this store!". Yes Walmart price matches. It's an amazing system! See something at a local store for cheaper? Hey we match that price! Unfortunately we do not match other Walmarts prices. The reason for this is because that pillow pet you want that is $10 at that Walmart is probably not popular so the store lowered the price, but the Walmart you are at now has them for $20 because it is popular at that one. For this reason we don't price match other Walmarts. It all depends on supply and demand in that area.
10) "Why are the Grocery doors open but all the cashiers are on the other side?". Okay I don't know about the placement of the tabacco isles in other stores, but in my store it is isle 22. It is of course on the other side of the store and after 11 we shut down the GM side doors. The reason behind this isn't to cause you the pain of having to walk more, I PROMISE you. It's because isle 22 has to always be open, someone always has to be there to make sure no one steals tabacco products. Most cashiers, in my store, that work nights are women. Night time is when all the crazies come in. So in case someone decides to act crazy, then these women have each other to lean on if there is trouble. Power in groups simple as that.
11) Okay this one really isn't for anyone that works at Walmarts convience it is for parents! Do not hand your child something and say "Here play with it" only to take it away before you leave. One reason is because now what ever germs your kid has is all ove that toy and for all you know a 10 month old baby will pick it up next and shove it in their mouth. Walmart is also not a daycare! Do not take you kids to toys and leave them till you are done. During that time period no one is watching your child! During that time period your child could be kidnapped, hurt, or any number of things. Plus who is to say they will stay in toys? They could wander off to another area and give you a heart attack when you can't find them.
12) Checks... okay so occasionally you will run a check and it will ask for your I.D. Don't get angry. The cashier is not at fault for this. It is a random procedure done by the computer to protect you. I know it seems like a waste of time but here is what it is for. When we type in your I.D. number the computer is checking it against your bank to make sure that the number is on your account. If we run an I.D. that is not on your account then the check won't be allowed to go through. Walmart is protecting you against having your check book stolen. They even ask for your current number so that if it ever is stolen and found at one of our stores we can call you and have it returned to you.
For now that's all I can think of, but I will probably add more.
How to Get Out in a Timely Fashion
1) If you are buying clothes do yourself a favor. If you don't want the hangers, take them off while you are picking out the clothes! If nothing else take them off while you are waiting in line instead of just standing there. It will cut a lot of time out of how long it takes you to get out of the check out line. Just hand the hangers to the cashier!
2) If you have more then 20 items don't go through the speedy's. Here is why. It's because of the bagging area. They only have 3 bags at a time so if you have a bunch of stuff it will take forever for you to get out of the line because it takes them forever to bag it. It is seriously easier to just go through a regular line.
3) Be organized when you put the food on the belt! Put all the cold stuff together, all the boxes together, etc. We are trained to bag that way so rather then make us search through the stuff for like objects just have everything together and everything will be bagged faster.
4) Listen carefully (I'm handing you gold)... if you are in a hurry DO NOT GO TO WALMART! Wait and come in later. If you come in when you are in a hurry you are going to jinx yourself and something will go wrong with your card, you won't find what you need, or the lines will be long. Plus then you let your frustration out on the cashier who did nothing to you. It is not our fault that you came in last minute to by your nephews birthday present.
5) If you are not sure if you have enough money to pay for everything you grabbed. Hold back 5-10 items you don't need. Why? Because it is so much faster to never ring up these items then for them to be rung up, find out you don't have enough, then have to dig through your cart for 5 minutes trying to find the stuff to remove. Heck even if you are pretty sure you have enough do this, just in case.
6) When buying big items (such as soda) put them with the barcode up. That way the cashier can just lean over and zap them with the wand like *snap* that. Rather then have to come around the register and turn them all the right way and zap them, or you have to pick them all up to point the barcode at us.
7) If you can remember check things with dangly barcodes to make sure it is there. I know this is hard to remember, but if you think about it while shopping check it that way you don't get all the way up to the register only to have to wait 5-10 minutes while a manger checks the price. Again... if you can remember most the time I don't remember this one.
8) Ad matching....You DO NOT have to bring in the ad. We have ad's from local stores in the building to check him. However... it can take FOREVER sometimes. You may not have to bring the ad in but it is much faster to flip open the one you have and point out the cheaper product to the cashier then to tell the cashier and then them call a manager to go look it up and come back. Again you don't have to bring it, it's just far more time efficient.
9) Okay I'm going to assume this is the same at ever Walmart considering that I have done this at many different ones. If you are in a hurry, you have like 5-10 items that arn't huge, and even the speedies are filled to the middle of the isle with people... go to Electronics. Or the Gardening area! You can even go to Auto I believe or Sporting Goods. They all have cash registers and you can go to them! Only advice is make sure they have a scale for produce. So the next time you're in ask the cashier at any of these areas if they can ring up produce that is sold by weight.
10) Say you are at a speedie and there is one person ahead of you and no one behind you. All of a sudden the light goes off. The cashier tells you that the line is closed and ask you to leave. They plan on taking care of the person ahead of you because they were up to the cashier and were no longer waiting. THEY CAN NOT DO THIS! If you are in a line, any line, prior to the light being turned off, then they have to take care of you. They can not make you go to another line if you had already been waiting when they turned off the light.
11) Coupons coupons coupons. Yes we do take them and we take pretty much all of them. However you might want to make sure they qualify before relying on them for your shopping. First off if it does not say "Manufactor Coupon" somewhere on it we will not take it. The reason is because unless it says that Walmart does not get reimbursed for that money that got taken off your purchase. Second, study your coupon. We have to follow everything it says, if it says anywhere on the coupon that a trial size can't be used then the coupon won't be used if you have a trial size. Also look for quantity limits. Lastly if you have a coupon that is buy one get one free, either A) write in the price of the item to get free or B) hand it to the cashier first off so that when the item shows up the cashier can just write in the price. It is much faster then the cashier finding out at the end that there was a buy one get one free coupon and have to search your order for that item to find out the price. Will cut off a couple of minutes and again help you get out faster.
General Etiquette And Tid-Bits
In other words nice things you can do and the explainations on those little things that make you angry during your visit. Plus some reasons to not yell at your cashier.
1) When ever you are in line and the person ahead of you is taking forever (such as an item didn't have a barcode and there is a price check in progress) don't get irritated. I'll bet $10 that you have been in a similar position and the person behind you was tapping their foot and making you mad. Don't be that person!
2) Once again if you have more than 20 items don't go through the speedy's. Again I'll bet $10 that you have been the person behind the person who has 50 items in the speedy and it pissed you off. It's just plain rude the speedy's are there for people who just came in for a few items not for the people in a hurry.
3) If your card is not working THAT IS NOT OUR FAULT! It is either the machine or your card. It is not because the person at the the register doesn't do it right more than 75% of the time. If our machine is not reading the card AT ALL then there is nothing we can do. Don't get angry at the cashier, get angry at your bank for screwing up something.
4) Carts and baskets... save your cashier a little trouble (if you liked them). Take your cart or basket with you. No matter what you are going through the front door where these things go to. You aren't going out of your way to do this. So if you have a basket or cart, wether you need it once out of the store or not, take it with you. Don't leave it in the middle of the aisle because then it blocks the way for other customers until a cashier has time to take it to the front. I'm not saying do our job, I'm just saying its a common curtousy that doesn't affect you at all.
5) Please please please listen to this one. If you get to the register and realize that you don't want something that you brought up front with you. DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE AISLE! The cashier is not going to be angry with you for not wanting something. Hand the item to the cashier. Here is why it is troublesome when you do the first thing. Occasionally people come by and ask if the cashiers have returns. We throw them in the cart they have and the items are on their way to being put back. We don't get to check our line if there is a customer in it. So the 1-15 items that have been left in that aisle have to wait to be put up. This is a pain because one at a certain point we can no longer give the Service Desk our returns and we have to put them up ourselves. If it is earlier in the day we just have a really cluttered work area. If you just hand us the things you don't want then all of that is avoided. Again trust me, the cashier is not going to be angry if you hand them unwanted items, infact they will appreciate it.
6) Prices... My rule of thumb has always been if you can't change it why complain. And let me let you in on the secret, cashiers... can not change the prices. The only time we can change the price is if it is rung up wrong or if the product is damanged then, with permission, we can take off like 10% (so if item is $10 you get $1 off). On that matter, newspapers, I don't know about all Wally Worlds but mine charges tax on papers. We do not control this, the store itself is told to put tax on it, no matter how much you complain to a manager you are still gonna have to pay tax on it.
7) "There's not enough cashiers!". Walmart does not have the money to pay EVERY cashier to work EVERY day. Therefore it is okay to presume that when you get to Walmart (even though there are 30 lines in the super stores) there will only be 10 cashiers. Usually five on each side of the store including speedies. Managers can pull people from other parts in the store but if those people are busy then they can't do anything. Just because we have enough lines for 30 people does not mean that they will all be open. The only time this happens is around December and the Super Bowl. If you want a really long line go to the DMV.
8) "It's Hot!". Keep in mind loyal customers that the stores do try their best to keep the store cool. My store recently installed fans up front. May not cool the whole store but it does keep you cool while checking out before going out in the heat. No the AC is not broken or on low. We have how ever many doors opening and closing all day up front, plus the back doors of the store (which are huge) are open most of the day for trucks. If you went home and had, say 10 people, going in and out of your house all day your house would be hot too. Think about it, how many times do you yell at your kid to close the door because you aren't paying to cool the woods? Unfortunately Walmart is paying to cool the outdoors and you at the same time. No matter how powerful the AC is with that much hot air coming in you arn't gonna keep this big friggin store as cool as your home is.
9) "Well this is this price at this store!". Yes Walmart price matches. It's an amazing system! See something at a local store for cheaper? Hey we match that price! Unfortunately we do not match other Walmarts prices. The reason for this is because that pillow pet you want that is $10 at that Walmart is probably not popular so the store lowered the price, but the Walmart you are at now has them for $20 because it is popular at that one. For this reason we don't price match other Walmarts. It all depends on supply and demand in that area.
10) "Why are the Grocery doors open but all the cashiers are on the other side?". Okay I don't know about the placement of the tabacco isles in other stores, but in my store it is isle 22. It is of course on the other side of the store and after 11 we shut down the GM side doors. The reason behind this isn't to cause you the pain of having to walk more, I PROMISE you. It's because isle 22 has to always be open, someone always has to be there to make sure no one steals tabacco products. Most cashiers, in my store, that work nights are women. Night time is when all the crazies come in. So in case someone decides to act crazy, then these women have each other to lean on if there is trouble. Power in groups simple as that.
11) Okay this one really isn't for anyone that works at Walmarts convience it is for parents! Do not hand your child something and say "Here play with it" only to take it away before you leave. One reason is because now what ever germs your kid has is all ove that toy and for all you know a 10 month old baby will pick it up next and shove it in their mouth. Walmart is also not a daycare! Do not take you kids to toys and leave them till you are done. During that time period no one is watching your child! During that time period your child could be kidnapped, hurt, or any number of things. Plus who is to say they will stay in toys? They could wander off to another area and give you a heart attack when you can't find them.
12) Checks... okay so occasionally you will run a check and it will ask for your I.D. Don't get angry. The cashier is not at fault for this. It is a random procedure done by the computer to protect you. I know it seems like a waste of time but here is what it is for. When we type in your I.D. number the computer is checking it against your bank to make sure that the number is on your account. If we run an I.D. that is not on your account then the check won't be allowed to go through. Walmart is protecting you against having your check book stolen. They even ask for your current number so that if it ever is stolen and found at one of our stores we can call you and have it returned to you.
For now that's all I can think of, but I will probably add more.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Steps to a Happy Day
Every day at work I hear what others think of my attitude. I either hear "Your attitude is so refreshing! Your a ray of sunshine!" or "Is there vodka in your water bottle?" (or "Are you on something?"). Every day I get up and I wear a smile on my face. Because I am happy.
I am literally happy all the time! I always appreciate it when people let me know that they enjoy my attitude and that they like seeing a happy cashier. It just always bugs me that there are just as many people who are shocked by my happiness. It's shocking that happiness isn't seen as much as it should be. It's really NOT that hard to be happy. Everyone thinks it is but it isn't.
The key to happiness is to believe you can be happy. When you wake up in the morning, greet the dawn with "This is gonna be a great day". The attitude you wake up with is the attitude you have all day.
The second key to happiness is to not let people get you down. It's very true, smile at your enemies... it confuses them. If someone is REALLY pissing you off. Grin at them and give them the response exactly the opposite of what they are wanting you to respond with. Offer a hug! If you are willing to hug someone and let them know that they just don't know how to respond.
The third key is to find an outlet! If someone does piss you off, royaly, do what ever makes you feel better. It has to be something you can do in public though! My thing is to sing or chant! When the world has me down, I'm tired, or just don't feel good, I will starting humming or singing a chant that I know that puts me in a good mood. If you like poetry write a poem on the sketch pad of your mind. If you like to fight pretend like there is a video playing in your head of you kicking the ass of the person pissing you off. If there is a particular movie that you know by heart, start watching it in your head. Meditate if you want! Just find something that eases your mind and do it!
The last step is to think of your life. Compare it to a person who you know is worse off then you. No matter how sucky your day is, I promise it can be worse. It does not matter how bad your day is, as long as it is better then your worst day then it is a good day. One of my fave self qoutes is "You could die any second why die with a frown on your face." And another one is "Today might suck but tomorrow could suck worse so enjoy today while you can."
A day is like a canvas. You paint it all day long, but ultimately at the end of the day you can do one of three things. You can throw the canvas out the window, out of sight out of mind, and start over. You can pull out white paint and paint over it, the old painting is still there and that layer effects the future painting but it does not effect the picture as a whole. Lastly you can keep the painting, and hang it on the wall to stare at day in and day out. If you don't like the painting though then why would you keep it on the wall? If you like flowery pictures why keep a painting of zombies? If you like pictures of death then why keep a painting with figures that look like teletubies?
Follow these and it isn't hard to wear a real smile on your face every day. Some days it is HARD, but it is possible. Sometimes you will get so stressed out that you sit in a corner in cry, but ulitmately it is up to you to get your ass up, wipe away the tears, and face the sun with blurry vision and a smile just as bright as the sun.
I am literally happy all the time! I always appreciate it when people let me know that they enjoy my attitude and that they like seeing a happy cashier. It just always bugs me that there are just as many people who are shocked by my happiness. It's shocking that happiness isn't seen as much as it should be. It's really NOT that hard to be happy. Everyone thinks it is but it isn't.
The key to happiness is to believe you can be happy. When you wake up in the morning, greet the dawn with "This is gonna be a great day". The attitude you wake up with is the attitude you have all day.
The second key to happiness is to not let people get you down. It's very true, smile at your enemies... it confuses them. If someone is REALLY pissing you off. Grin at them and give them the response exactly the opposite of what they are wanting you to respond with. Offer a hug! If you are willing to hug someone and let them know that they just don't know how to respond.
The third key is to find an outlet! If someone does piss you off, royaly, do what ever makes you feel better. It has to be something you can do in public though! My thing is to sing or chant! When the world has me down, I'm tired, or just don't feel good, I will starting humming or singing a chant that I know that puts me in a good mood. If you like poetry write a poem on the sketch pad of your mind. If you like to fight pretend like there is a video playing in your head of you kicking the ass of the person pissing you off. If there is a particular movie that you know by heart, start watching it in your head. Meditate if you want! Just find something that eases your mind and do it!
The last step is to think of your life. Compare it to a person who you know is worse off then you. No matter how sucky your day is, I promise it can be worse. It does not matter how bad your day is, as long as it is better then your worst day then it is a good day. One of my fave self qoutes is "You could die any second why die with a frown on your face." And another one is "Today might suck but tomorrow could suck worse so enjoy today while you can."
A day is like a canvas. You paint it all day long, but ultimately at the end of the day you can do one of three things. You can throw the canvas out the window, out of sight out of mind, and start over. You can pull out white paint and paint over it, the old painting is still there and that layer effects the future painting but it does not effect the picture as a whole. Lastly you can keep the painting, and hang it on the wall to stare at day in and day out. If you don't like the painting though then why would you keep it on the wall? If you like flowery pictures why keep a painting of zombies? If you like pictures of death then why keep a painting with figures that look like teletubies?
Follow these and it isn't hard to wear a real smile on your face every day. Some days it is HARD, but it is possible. Sometimes you will get so stressed out that you sit in a corner in cry, but ulitmately it is up to you to get your ass up, wipe away the tears, and face the sun with blurry vision and a smile just as bright as the sun.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Religion & Parents
Why does every parent assume they did something wrong when the child they have been raised "this way" decides they like the other direction better? Why do they assume that there is something wrong with the kid? Why can't they just be happy when their child is happy?
This weekend I was at my Daddy's. We had a spat about something but I won't go into that. Though I felt... I dunno, reaffirmed (?) in the fact that my Dad is hella awesome. I think he cares that I'm bi... I'm not sure... but whether he does or doesn't he doesn't criticize me for it. He knows I'm Wiccan but he doesn't care. In his words "I think any religion that worships a guy with antlers is weird, but if it makes you happy I will support you all the way."
I don't think my Daddy will ever know just how much it meant to me when he said that. The day he said that to me was the two days after I told my step mom (who might as well just be my second mom, we'll call her TwnTwr) about my wedding. My best friend (we'll call her Crone) let slip I was Wiccan. I did a brief explaination of what it was and took off. I took off cause I was meeting TwnTwr to pick up my brothers for the weekend. The day my Daddy said that to me I was bringing back my brothers. My Daddy apparently spent all weekend looking up my religion. The day he found out I was Wiccan he tried to learn SOMETHING about it. So did TwnTwr. Again... I don't think they will ever know just how much they meant to me.
Then we have the complete contrast. We have my Mom. Don't get me wrong! I absolutely love my Mom, but I am 100% sure she has no idea how much she hurts me. When I came out to her that I was bi, she didn't even believe me. She told me it was just a phase and blah blah, she even said that I couldn't know I was bi because I had never had sex with a girl. I asked her did she have to have sex with a guy to kno she was straight and she had no comment. I don't think my Mom has accepted me as bi till it came up in "How Well Do You Know the Bride" at my bachlorette party. Luckily though she never comments on that. Religion however...
She never says anything directly! She makes "off hand" comments, that I'm betting that she doesn't think I'll ever remember. I do. I have a horrible memory but if you say something that makes a big enough impression on my mind that I will remember it FOREVER. Something being hurtful is something that leaves an impression...
An example would be 4 years ago I was moving in with my husband who was my boyfriend at the time. I had been picking up a few of my Wiccan supplies. Something I was picking up was a Spiral Goddess statue I had made in pottery. For those who don't know a Spiral Goddess is a faceless woman with a spiral on her stomach and her hands above her head in a "hoop". You don't see her hands, it just looks like a loop over her head. Well when I made it the loop never quite attached in the middle and the left arm was not quite attached at the shoulder. I accidently knocked it over and the arm fell off, which I had expected to happen eventually! The first words out of my Mom's mouth? "Well if I were you I would take that as a sign."
I looked at her and said, "Mom if that Jesus statue over there fell over and his praying hands fell off you would not take it as a sign. You would take it as the guys hands popped off cause it fell over."
The other day in the car I was talking about going to a pagan festival, Heartland, I wasn't even discussing anything pagan! I was talking about the camping part of it! What does she say "Well I just don't know how you turned out that way when you were raised differently, but oh well."
My Grandmother does the same thing.... I gave the woman that read the last Harry Potter book in 2 days a book a little over a 100 pages long about Wicca. A year later she hadn't made it 20 pages in... "I had to keep stopping to correct everything that was wrong."
...I don't understand how one half of my family can be so supportive and the other so not! My Mom's side is Mormon, but that is only an excuse for my Grandmother! My Mom has been "Mormon" her whole life but for about half of it she hasn't been practicing! She has committed who knows how many "sins" but she acts like her shit don't stink. She acts like she's done nothing wrong her whole life, just because she's never stopped believing in "God", but I choose a life that makes me happy... truly happy and all I get is criticizim.
I know that others have had it harder. I know that there are people who have been completely cut off from their families and friends due to changing their faith. I realize that.... but it doesn't make it any easier knowing that all though your Mom can be around you... she doesn't accept you. It's painful no matter how little it is, how unextreme it is, any kind of rejection hurts.
I only talk about this because, after being reminded that my other half of my family accepts me, I'm just gonna see my Mom sometime soon and be reminded that she doesn't. That she probably never will, and the pain just starts all over again... Why can't she just take me as I am?
This weekend I was at my Daddy's. We had a spat about something but I won't go into that. Though I felt... I dunno, reaffirmed (?) in the fact that my Dad is hella awesome. I think he cares that I'm bi... I'm not sure... but whether he does or doesn't he doesn't criticize me for it. He knows I'm Wiccan but he doesn't care. In his words "I think any religion that worships a guy with antlers is weird, but if it makes you happy I will support you all the way."
I don't think my Daddy will ever know just how much it meant to me when he said that. The day he said that to me was the two days after I told my step mom (who might as well just be my second mom, we'll call her TwnTwr) about my wedding. My best friend (we'll call her Crone) let slip I was Wiccan. I did a brief explaination of what it was and took off. I took off cause I was meeting TwnTwr to pick up my brothers for the weekend. The day my Daddy said that to me I was bringing back my brothers. My Daddy apparently spent all weekend looking up my religion. The day he found out I was Wiccan he tried to learn SOMETHING about it. So did TwnTwr. Again... I don't think they will ever know just how much they meant to me.
Then we have the complete contrast. We have my Mom. Don't get me wrong! I absolutely love my Mom, but I am 100% sure she has no idea how much she hurts me. When I came out to her that I was bi, she didn't even believe me. She told me it was just a phase and blah blah, she even said that I couldn't know I was bi because I had never had sex with a girl. I asked her did she have to have sex with a guy to kno she was straight and she had no comment. I don't think my Mom has accepted me as bi till it came up in "How Well Do You Know the Bride" at my bachlorette party. Luckily though she never comments on that. Religion however...
She never says anything directly! She makes "off hand" comments, that I'm betting that she doesn't think I'll ever remember. I do. I have a horrible memory but if you say something that makes a big enough impression on my mind that I will remember it FOREVER. Something being hurtful is something that leaves an impression...
An example would be 4 years ago I was moving in with my husband who was my boyfriend at the time. I had been picking up a few of my Wiccan supplies. Something I was picking up was a Spiral Goddess statue I had made in pottery. For those who don't know a Spiral Goddess is a faceless woman with a spiral on her stomach and her hands above her head in a "hoop". You don't see her hands, it just looks like a loop over her head. Well when I made it the loop never quite attached in the middle and the left arm was not quite attached at the shoulder. I accidently knocked it over and the arm fell off, which I had expected to happen eventually! The first words out of my Mom's mouth? "Well if I were you I would take that as a sign."
I looked at her and said, "Mom if that Jesus statue over there fell over and his praying hands fell off you would not take it as a sign. You would take it as the guys hands popped off cause it fell over."
The other day in the car I was talking about going to a pagan festival, Heartland, I wasn't even discussing anything pagan! I was talking about the camping part of it! What does she say "Well I just don't know how you turned out that way when you were raised differently, but oh well."
My Grandmother does the same thing.... I gave the woman that read the last Harry Potter book in 2 days a book a little over a 100 pages long about Wicca. A year later she hadn't made it 20 pages in... "I had to keep stopping to correct everything that was wrong."
...I don't understand how one half of my family can be so supportive and the other so not! My Mom's side is Mormon, but that is only an excuse for my Grandmother! My Mom has been "Mormon" her whole life but for about half of it she hasn't been practicing! She has committed who knows how many "sins" but she acts like her shit don't stink. She acts like she's done nothing wrong her whole life, just because she's never stopped believing in "God", but I choose a life that makes me happy... truly happy and all I get is criticizim.
I know that others have had it harder. I know that there are people who have been completely cut off from their families and friends due to changing their faith. I realize that.... but it doesn't make it any easier knowing that all though your Mom can be around you... she doesn't accept you. It's painful no matter how little it is, how unextreme it is, any kind of rejection hurts.
I only talk about this because, after being reminded that my other half of my family accepts me, I'm just gonna see my Mom sometime soon and be reminded that she doesn't. That she probably never will, and the pain just starts all over again... Why can't she just take me as I am?
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Refelection
"Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside."
Reflection by Christina Aguilera
A great song from the Disney movie Mulan. In this song Mulan is singing about how when she looks in the mirror she doesn't see herself, she sees herself playing a part she wasn't meant to. The song poped in my head yesterday at work, everytime this happens I look in the mirror as soon as I can. The song hasn't poped in my head in forever so I wondered what I would see. I went to the bathroom and took a few seconds to look at myself.
My smile... was real. The happiness in my eyes... was real. I wasn't wearing make up, because frankly I hate it. I didn't try to do up my hair that day, I like it when it lays down. I was covered in my pentacles and my stones. For the first time ever, when I looked in the mirror I saw me. Although not phsyically seen in the mirror... I saw my attitude, my beliefs, my feelings, and all the things that make up me. It was all real. Between being with my husband, all the encouragment my friends give me, going to the Pagan Festival Heartland, and living my life day to day as I wish, I have become me. Regardless of my family, certain friends, and society being against me, I am me.
I don't know if I should be sad or happy that it took almost 21 years to no longer wear the mask. Because how many people who are 50 look in the mirror and can say that what they see is real? It's just so sad that so many people wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and put on the face for the day. It's sad that so many people hide who they are under the facade that others call their personality. It took me 21 years. How long has it taken other people to slowly turn the mask into a reality? How long before the smile is real? How long does it take for a person to display themselves naked, full on, to the world?
Too long. So I encourage you to get up from your computer and go to a mirror. Look at the reflection that you see. Is it real? Or a mask? How many bits and pieces of your personality are in that dusty shoe box in the attic of your mind? Think of what you have to do to make that reflection be you... then go outside, and do it.
Note: This is not today's post, forgot to post last night, will probably have another post later.
Staring straight back at me
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside."
Reflection by Christina Aguilera
A great song from the Disney movie Mulan. In this song Mulan is singing about how when she looks in the mirror she doesn't see herself, she sees herself playing a part she wasn't meant to. The song poped in my head yesterday at work, everytime this happens I look in the mirror as soon as I can. The song hasn't poped in my head in forever so I wondered what I would see. I went to the bathroom and took a few seconds to look at myself.
My smile... was real. The happiness in my eyes... was real. I wasn't wearing make up, because frankly I hate it. I didn't try to do up my hair that day, I like it when it lays down. I was covered in my pentacles and my stones. For the first time ever, when I looked in the mirror I saw me. Although not phsyically seen in the mirror... I saw my attitude, my beliefs, my feelings, and all the things that make up me. It was all real. Between being with my husband, all the encouragment my friends give me, going to the Pagan Festival Heartland, and living my life day to day as I wish, I have become me. Regardless of my family, certain friends, and society being against me, I am me.
I don't know if I should be sad or happy that it took almost 21 years to no longer wear the mask. Because how many people who are 50 look in the mirror and can say that what they see is real? It's just so sad that so many people wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and put on the face for the day. It's sad that so many people hide who they are under the facade that others call their personality. It took me 21 years. How long has it taken other people to slowly turn the mask into a reality? How long before the smile is real? How long does it take for a person to display themselves naked, full on, to the world?
Too long. So I encourage you to get up from your computer and go to a mirror. Look at the reflection that you see. Is it real? Or a mask? How many bits and pieces of your personality are in that dusty shoe box in the attic of your mind? Think of what you have to do to make that reflection be you... then go outside, and do it.
Note: This is not today's post, forgot to post last night, will probably have another post later.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Dress Your Children
So I'm sure that you have all seen this sight. That adorable little girl with the pigtails and the big brown eyes. She's wearing little checkered top and a pair of shorts. However once you think about it... does that little girl look a hell of a lot like Daisy Duke?!
Yes the other day the cutest little girl came through my line, she had to be like 7, and her parents had her in a tie up hooter type shirt and booty shorts. Normally I see little girls wearing a miny skirt and a tube top, and it is a little less obvious that if a pedofile looks at this kid he is gonna see a sexy model whom only needs a little gust to blow by for him to lose it in his pants. This child though you didn't even have to think about it! If she were a few feet taller then anyone that passed her would have thought "HOOKER". However, since she was a kid most people think, "Aw how cute."
Are you idiots? Put some damn clothing on your kids! When you put your kid in pig tails and a skirt you think it's adorable, but take a step back and imagine your girl is a few feet taller. Imagine that your daughter is a teenager and dressed like that, would you let her out of the house? NO! You wouldn't because you would know full and well that when she gets to school a boy with his pants half off is mentally masterbating to her image! It's the same damn thing when your daughter is 4, except it's not a teenager it's a 42 year old man thinking about how much he wants to take your daughter away to molest her! When you dress your kids just think about if you would let them out of the house like that when they are older, if the answer is no, undress her, burn the clothes, and put something more suitable on your kid!
People who dress their kids like that are the reason that the child molestation rate is sky rocketing, and the reason more and more kiddy porn is being produced!!!
Yes the other day the cutest little girl came through my line, she had to be like 7, and her parents had her in a tie up hooter type shirt and booty shorts. Normally I see little girls wearing a miny skirt and a tube top, and it is a little less obvious that if a pedofile looks at this kid he is gonna see a sexy model whom only needs a little gust to blow by for him to lose it in his pants. This child though you didn't even have to think about it! If she were a few feet taller then anyone that passed her would have thought "HOOKER". However, since she was a kid most people think, "Aw how cute."
Are you idiots? Put some damn clothing on your kids! When you put your kid in pig tails and a skirt you think it's adorable, but take a step back and imagine your girl is a few feet taller. Imagine that your daughter is a teenager and dressed like that, would you let her out of the house? NO! You wouldn't because you would know full and well that when she gets to school a boy with his pants half off is mentally masterbating to her image! It's the same damn thing when your daughter is 4, except it's not a teenager it's a 42 year old man thinking about how much he wants to take your daughter away to molest her! When you dress your kids just think about if you would let them out of the house like that when they are older, if the answer is no, undress her, burn the clothes, and put something more suitable on your kid!
People who dress their kids like that are the reason that the child molestation rate is sky rocketing, and the reason more and more kiddy porn is being produced!!!
Friday, July 1, 2011
A Little Controversy
Okay so as the title says we are gonna start this blog out with "a little controversy". Abortion. I am Pro-Choice. I would like to point out to all readers how that is worded. Unlike "anti-abortion", Pro-Choice is just that, pro-CHOICE. NOBODY is Pro-Abortion, but many are Pro-CHOICE. Many are for the fact that abortion is a choice for a woman to make. It is a choice for THAT woman, it is not up to the world to decide what someone should do with their body. Now let's get something straight. I do not support everybody being able to get abortion. If you are the town whore and you have had 10 abortions because you can't afford (or just don't want to use) anti-contriception or condoms, then you should NOT be allowed to get an abortion. You got pregnant because of your own neglagence and you should have to have that baby and either raise it or give it to a good home.
However, if you were raped you should have that option. Many people give birth to their rapists killer, but many women don't have that kind of strength! Some women just can't do this, not to mention that it isn't always a woman. The youngest mother on record was 5 years old (reportedly raped by her father but never confirmed), this was due to her having a rare disease that caused her to hit puberty early. I can not think.... of a single mother that could wake up in the morning, find that their 10 year old was pregnant cause uncle Rick has been raping her, and FORCE her to give birth. I can not think... of a single mother who would basically assist her daughters rapist in stealing that last little bit of her childhood and innocence. Just for a second, all you women who have had children, imagine all the pain of being pregnant! Imagine the cramps, the bloating, the lack of sleep, the pains, the contractions, and the birth and put that into the body of child. No mother would make their daughter go through with that. But again, even a grown woman who has been raped should have that option.
What if you are single woman, you got knocked up by a guy you thought loved you and he runs off leaving you alone. What if you go to the doctor and find out that, indefinately, you will die if you give birth. Leaving your child with no one in the world and having to deal with the foster care system. You should have to the option to say "I want an abortion". I'm not saying you SHOULD I saying you should have the OPTION.
Let's put you in the man's shoes! Say that you are the man in this situation and you wife, the love of your life, is dying because of the baby. What if the doctor comes out and says "We can only save one of them, who do you want us to save?". Who would you pick? The infant you don't know, or the love of your life? Most men would say, "Save my wife!".
"Well that's not abortion!". Actually yes, yes it is. You just caused the death of an unborn baby. It wasn't within the legal time space to have a baby aborted, it was close to being born, but it wasn't. It is an abortion! People can say all they want that if they were told they would die if they had a baby that they would go with it because doctors arn't always right. However if the time comes that it is your life or the baby's, most would save themselves, and if they wouldn't their husbands would. Especially if they already have kids! How many women would let themselves die and leave the children they already have without a mother for the unborn baby?
Whether people want to admit it or not, abortion should be an OPTION. It should not be a free ride you can jump to escape parenthood... but it should be an OPTION!
What do people think will happen if abortion slowly gets abolished? Do they think it will end abortion? These people are foolish!!! Abortion will never go away. Instead what will happen is hundreds of women and young girls will return to THOSE days. The days when women would take dangerous pills, visit crooked doctors, shove WIRE HANGERS in their vaginas, have people punch them in the stomach! To get rid of a baby... That is what will happen. Abolishing LEGAL AND SAFE abortion will not make abortion go away. It will only make it more dangerous. It will just make women and young girls turn to those dangerous forms of illegal abortion that caused so many women to die, to become infertile! Do people really think it's fair to cause a woman to do an illegal abortion to rid herself of a rapists child, and cause herself to never have a child when she wants to in the process?
Never...never should someone elses PERSONAL OPINION cause life to be harder for another person. Never should someone elses PERSONAL OPINION effect the tide of anothers life, and don't you dare say that that is not what it is. Do NOT turn to the bible and say "God says no", relying on what might be the word of God to decide the life of another person is not a reason to do so. It is a personal opinion, nothing more and nothing less. If you don't want an abortion then don't have one, period.
However, if you were raped you should have that option. Many people give birth to their rapists killer, but many women don't have that kind of strength! Some women just can't do this, not to mention that it isn't always a woman. The youngest mother on record was 5 years old (reportedly raped by her father but never confirmed), this was due to her having a rare disease that caused her to hit puberty early. I can not think.... of a single mother that could wake up in the morning, find that their 10 year old was pregnant cause uncle Rick has been raping her, and FORCE her to give birth. I can not think... of a single mother who would basically assist her daughters rapist in stealing that last little bit of her childhood and innocence. Just for a second, all you women who have had children, imagine all the pain of being pregnant! Imagine the cramps, the bloating, the lack of sleep, the pains, the contractions, and the birth and put that into the body of child. No mother would make their daughter go through with that. But again, even a grown woman who has been raped should have that option.
What if you are single woman, you got knocked up by a guy you thought loved you and he runs off leaving you alone. What if you go to the doctor and find out that, indefinately, you will die if you give birth. Leaving your child with no one in the world and having to deal with the foster care system. You should have to the option to say "I want an abortion". I'm not saying you SHOULD I saying you should have the OPTION.
Let's put you in the man's shoes! Say that you are the man in this situation and you wife, the love of your life, is dying because of the baby. What if the doctor comes out and says "We can only save one of them, who do you want us to save?". Who would you pick? The infant you don't know, or the love of your life? Most men would say, "Save my wife!".
"Well that's not abortion!". Actually yes, yes it is. You just caused the death of an unborn baby. It wasn't within the legal time space to have a baby aborted, it was close to being born, but it wasn't. It is an abortion! People can say all they want that if they were told they would die if they had a baby that they would go with it because doctors arn't always right. However if the time comes that it is your life or the baby's, most would save themselves, and if they wouldn't their husbands would. Especially if they already have kids! How many women would let themselves die and leave the children they already have without a mother for the unborn baby?
Whether people want to admit it or not, abortion should be an OPTION. It should not be a free ride you can jump to escape parenthood... but it should be an OPTION!
What do people think will happen if abortion slowly gets abolished? Do they think it will end abortion? These people are foolish!!! Abortion will never go away. Instead what will happen is hundreds of women and young girls will return to THOSE days. The days when women would take dangerous pills, visit crooked doctors, shove WIRE HANGERS in their vaginas, have people punch them in the stomach! To get rid of a baby... That is what will happen. Abolishing LEGAL AND SAFE abortion will not make abortion go away. It will only make it more dangerous. It will just make women and young girls turn to those dangerous forms of illegal abortion that caused so many women to die, to become infertile! Do people really think it's fair to cause a woman to do an illegal abortion to rid herself of a rapists child, and cause herself to never have a child when she wants to in the process?
Never...never should someone elses PERSONAL OPINION cause life to be harder for another person. Never should someone elses PERSONAL OPINION effect the tide of anothers life, and don't you dare say that that is not what it is. Do NOT turn to the bible and say "God says no", relying on what might be the word of God to decide the life of another person is not a reason to do so. It is a personal opinion, nothing more and nothing less. If you don't want an abortion then don't have one, period.
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