Same Sex Marriage

My boyfriend, Neil, has a habit of yelling at the television, especially when its the news. This morning they were interviewing people who didn't believe in same sex marriages. My boyfriend blurted out....

"If you don't believe in same sex marriage, don't marry someone of the same sex!"

If I were to have a quote of the day, that would be it! I should start a series called "Neil's Quote of the Day"! I've started keeping pen and paper handy!

Poor Bunny Foo Foo

Poor Bunny Foo Foo
Carcass on the road
Tasty rotten morsels
Breakfast for the crows

Poor Bunny Foo Foo
Flapjack on the street
Soaked in bloody syrup
For the scavengers to eat

Poor Bunny Foo Foo
I'm sorry you are dead
But now I need a toothpick
You're stuck between my tread

© 2004

2nd place winner in the 34th Annual Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest in the Humorous category

Swine Flu "Pandemic" or "Unnecessary Panic"?

I was watching "Hardball" with Chris Matthews last night and the UN Health Officials, having placed the threat on a level 4 out of 6, are saying that the virus "cannot be contained" yet there are only about 40 to 50 cases in the U.S. and only one hospitalization according to Robert Bazell, the MSNBC Health correspondent. President Obama is stating that there is no need for panic and I agree with him. There are also "two" vaccinations in our country, possibly used in unison they can kill the virus.

As for Mexico, it was stated that we don't know for sure how many of those deaths are really caused by the flu and since it has been going on for some time now, it could be out of millions that contracted it. In the bigger picture, that sounds containable to me and someone is just unnecessarily causing panic as those statistics probably aren't far off from our normal flu strains that tend to kill the elderly and those with a weakened immune system.

For Further Information and controversy surrounding the Virus visit the ABNetwork

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Finally, someone has a grasp on Reality! Watch the video below from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" and his interview with Dr. Roy Gulick. And thank you Keith and Dr. Gulick for seeing beyond the panic.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Reflections of the Unemployed Week 7

Wow, its been 7 weeks already. There hasn't been much in the way of jobs to apply for this week. I'm thinking it may be time to call in a temp service and I have made an appointment with one next week. In the meantime, I've spent some time on Twitter and have found a wealth of information from other unemployed people as well as sites that are in the market to help with some great advice and tips on job hunting and resume' building. I'm working on composing a list of sites to include on my blogspot side bar.

I seem to have entered a new phase of being unemployed (besides finding more gray hair appearing at an astonishing rate..lol) I feel guilty that I'm not working and worry "am I doing enough around the house"? "Am I pulling my weight"? I don't feel like I am. I know there are things I "should" be doing, like taking care of unpacking what is stored in the basement in bags so I can clean out the storage unit and then have a yard sale. My "Umph" is just not there right now and I know I need to get these things accomplished before I go back to work.

I've gone off my antidepressant for a couple of reasons, I think it was making me even more tired than I already am and I've heard nothing back on my COBRA. I seem to be doing fine without it now that all the drama from moving and being fired is over. However it may come back to haunt me as I've heard there have been further inquiries about my having called in sick that led to my firing. The questions began after the company lost their attempt at denying my unemployment. Its really quite simple, I have my Dr. excuse for the two days I missed. Not my fault they didn't make a copy of it, In fact, they didn't even want to see it.

I spent the afternoon and evening on Wednesday with two "former" employee, consoling one of them because she too was fired. The other was fired in 2007, he had just filed for Intermittent FMLA for Diabetes, Interestingly, the most recent had just filed for FMLA a few weeks ago, the ink wasn't even dry yet on either one of their applications when they were let go. The pattern is getting big enough to be obvious don't you think?

For the sake of posterity, I thought I would share a "fun" photo from work! That's me on Halloween last year. When it was fun, it was very fun!

Peace
Liz

Reflections of the Unemployed Week 6

I finally got my unemployment. I received the first three weeks and took care of some bills, groceries and gave some to Neil. It felt really good to be able to contribute and pull a little of my weight. Today I wanted to pay more bills so I got online to check my accounts, only to find out that they had added another two weeks and I was able to take care of even more bills. I'm sure it amazes the collection agencies when someone calls up an says "I want you to start debiting my account again".

I just found out yesterday, that, once again, President Obama has come through for me and as part of the stimulus package, I get an additional $25.00 per week on my unemployment. It may not seem like a lot, but unemployment only pays about 1/2 of what you make on the job, so that little extra helps tremendously.

The interview I had turned out to be a "title loan" company in a questionable part of town. I got anxieties just being there, running through scenarios in my head that could occur; the "bad" part of town, a bad economy; desperate people do desperate things. I may have had experience dealing with difficult customers in my previous job but that was on the phone!!! The requirement of being able to handle confrontation, face to face, with a disgruntled customer who couldn't make their payment and are losing their car IS NOT an option.

I spent the afternoon, Wednesday, with my son Christian, gathering the necessary paperwork for the scholarship and grant money that President Obama also gets credit for in his stimulus package. College bound kids from low income families are apparently eligible for almost enough to pay for the first two years of a community college. The amount of funding seems to be contingent upon how bad off I have it, which isn't that difficult to prove at this point. I've not had the opportunity to research the details and am relying on the information my son is giving me. GO OBAMA!

There were no new jobs to apply for Friday, so I spent the morning having coffee at my friends house and found new and interesting things to do on the internet, like "tweating" on Twitter. Sometimes being unemployed is boring and I'm far from being a domestic goddess but it passes the time doing dishes, laundry..etc. and my all time favorite task...cooking and then eating it! Oh! and we must not forget "Nap Time"! (is my age showing?)

Until next week
Peace
Liz

Tea Party Tyranny

I laughed my A** off at this one on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart last night. These "protesters" don't really have a grasp on what they are protesting or the facts behind why they are protesting. The ignorant are feeding off the rhetoric and propaganda. If you ask me, I think they all need to go back to school. They also need to open their eyes, what they are protesting has gone on for the last eight years and our president can't fix it "overnight". The average person's taxes are being cut as part of the stimulus. In fact in the last month, because of Obama, I am getting an additional $25.00 a week on my unemployment, a 65% discount on my COBRA and my son is getting funding to go to college!

G.O.P. = Gone Overboard People!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Tea Party Tyranny
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Life is Ironic and Beautiful

I've felt like doing nothing but smiling today. Everything may be "out of sorts" but being "out of sorts" has never been this good; everything is going wrong and right all at the same time.





- Elizabeth A. Hall

On The Road To Success

My son who will be 20 this year, a lost soul much like his Mother for so long, got his GED last year, in less than two weeks, with great scores. I didn't have any doubts he could do it. He started out in school in the gifted program but he was not a competitor and as parents we were not "upper class". He was picked on and singled out, even by his teachers. Yet we were always called upon because of his grades, even though the teacher said he wasn't at the bottom of the class, he was in the middle; "average" in an above average class.

I believe its not always the parents who leave lasting scars on their children. Teachers are the first socialization and entrance into the big wide world. These are our children's first role models outside the home. Some children will remember only teachers that were their favorites and made a positive impact on their lives. Other children will remember only the experiences that were negative and the teachers that caused them.

In high school, my son felt pressured to "figure out" what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. In the end the pressure was too much and he quit high school. He didn't get his drivers license until he was 18 and after much coaxing and tough love, he finally got his GED. Months later he suddenly grew up and had a mature aura about him and he no longer fit in with his crowd. Yesterday, he began the process of applying for college, was accepted for financial aid and grants to become a Psychologist.

One of the tasks he had to preform was to write a letter to his councilor about the benefits of the program at the community college where he participated in the GED program. I was highly impressed. Being trained in Business Communication and a poet, I recognized in him a natural ability to express himself with the written word and I can't say that I could have done better than him and especially at his age. There was a tad bit of jealousy but a whole lot of pride.

I can honestly say now that "I did good" and all the fuss that everyone gave me about my parenting him and not being "tough" enough didn't change my ways and I'm thankful It didn't. I learned a long time ago that this child was "not" going to "conform", no matter what punishments were implemented, his "indifferent" attitude was not going to change. I parented him with an attitude of "he'll have to figure it out on his own", I had faith that as I figured it out, he too eventually would and it worked and he did!

Pine Cones

Neil and I had all three of my Grandsons spend the night on Saturday night. We learned that you really can't plan ahead with three when you don't have a routine already. We were supposed to color Easter eggs and go to the park on Sunday. Certain things took precedence over those activities; like getting them all fed and bathed. I at least managed to get the eggs boiled and they sat on the stove most of the evening.

It took an hour to feed the 1 year old (birthday on April 28th) and I had way too much fun with Joseph and Geffory in the bathtub. I had a great many good photos of them playing in it but because Grandma isn't familiar with her new photo editing program, I deleted all but one of the photos I took of them that night and Easter morning of them digging into their Easter baskets. It doesn't matter weather I look at it as a photographer or just a Grandma, either way it was devastating and I wanted to cry.

Geffory, the two year old, reminds me of my son when he was that age; what a character. Out of all the books I unpacked and put on the bookshelves, the only one we allowed him to look at was the book on trees. You wouldn't think a book on trees would be so entertaining to a two year old. He sat on "Grandpa Neil's" lap with the book, looking at the photos and Neil telling him what the pictures were of. Who'd have thought "pine cones" would be so amusing. Every time the page turned to the pine cones, Geffory would raise his arms and squeal "pine cones" and giggle hysterically. He could have carried on all night.

The two little ones were so wore out by the time I put them to bed, they were out as soon as their little heads hit the pillows. James had been waiting all night for the movie his mom sent with him and we were finally able to relax and watch "Yes Man". By this time it was well past midnight and I pretended to go to bed so I could pack the Easter baskets and set them out. James must have been worn out as well, I wasn't in bed but maybe fifteen minutes and I peeked on him and he was sound asleep on the couch.

At 2:30 AM, I think I made it to bed and amazingly, was up before everyone. Perfectly, they all woke up about the same time and I was ready and waiting with the camera (not that it did much good). We learned Geffory loves jelly beans. According to his Mom, he'd never had them and didn't get candy. As soon as the first jelly bean fell out of the plastic egg and onto the floor, he popped it in his mouth and had and expression of amazement on his little face. I closed the egg and told him "after breakfast you can have more". Of course moments later he found that egg again and in his excitement, he looks like he's having a seizure, he snagged another jelly bean.

Joseph could have cared less about the ordeal. He was having his fun with the packaging that all the little goodies came in. I then made breakfast on a large scale, put Joseph down for a nap and we waited for the weather to warm up so we could take our planned trip to the park, however it only warmed up briefly and by that time, Mom showed up early to pick them up. I think it was a relief as both Neil and I were in desperate need of a nap of our own. We did have an awesome time with the boys and Neil wants to do it every weekend, alternating between my Grand kids and his. When you become Grandparents, what else do you do with a spare bedroom?

Peace
Liz

Reflections of the Unemployed Week 5

I'm finally getting responses to the resume's I've been sending out; letters and emails of rejection. A few calls from recruiters wanting me to sell insurance to the elderly, in my own opinion, I am assuming they want someone who will scam them if they are targeting the elderly. However I did manage to land me a job interview next Tuesday from an employer that was searching resume's on the internet from a consumer loan company, I'm apprehensive of that one too but I'm going to check it out anyway and practice my interviewing skills.

I received a call from AT&T about a position in their Davenport call center. I was asked a series of questions and if I would be willing to make an appointment. I told them yes and then she says "I'm sorry we don't have any appointments available at this time" (then why call?) And then I have to ask myself "do I really want to do this again?" A company that has a referring psychiatrist for the staff, and gives mental health days? A company that sells DSL to the elderly who don't even have computers? Do I really want to work for another morally inept company? According to the unemployment booklet, I don't have to take a job that is offered me if it threatens my morals, so if I choose to, I don't have to take it if I'm offered the job, but at least I'm going to check it out.

Which brings me to GO. At GO we picked up the pieces of the customers who AT&T shattered. We did nothing malicious there, our customer service did not required us to sell. However that brings me to their immoral practices aimed at the employees rather than the customers. I finally received the call, I'm getting my unemployment for the simple reason that they fired me for a medically excused absence. They didn't even photocopy my Dr. excuse the day I was fired. It is illegal to be fired for medical reasons and knowing that, I've saved copies of all my Dr.'s excuses. I even had to have a medical excuse to go to the bathroom for my IBS. My new friend, Fred, said that was the deciding factor in his determining my eligibility to receive unemployment. He was even appalled that I received a point against me for being on FMLA and Fred advised me to hang on to those excuses in case GO decided to appeal the decision and that would be silly on their part. So, my friends who are still at GO, know this; THEY CAN'T DO THAT! IT IS ILLEGAL! Make sure all your medically excused absences are not counted against you when it comes to their point system. That being said, I will be getting my unemployment in 3 to 4 days. It should have been 2 days but I never received the debit card that they are to deposit my funds to (make sure if you changed your address you inform your local DES office), I had to call and request a new one. The wait is minor in comparison to how long I've already had to wait.

More good news regarding COBRA, thanks to President Obama, he has made it more affordable. If you are terminated involuntarily you can get your COBRA at a 65% discount. I was not intending on taking advantage of COBRA because I was already aware of the cost, what a wonderful surprise that was. Under the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" or (ARRA), signed by Obama on February 17, 2009, its also retroactive and if you were terminated after September 1, 2008 through February 16th you still may be eligible, even if you declined COBRA at that time. So, if you think you might be eligible check out the following website:

www.dol.gov/COBRA


Know your rights!
Peace
Liz

Face in the Fire

I was deleting poor photographs from my library of thousands of photos on my hard drive in an effort to "tune up" the computer.

As I was skimming through the photos I came upon this one at one of my daughters bonfires at her old farm house in Milan, IL. There was a belief that it was haunted as the little ones kept seeing people and the adults would hear things. The house is being torn down now and a new one built.

If you look closely at the upper left flame you can make out a face but if you look beneath it, you can almost make out arms, a torso and legs.

(after several people viewed the photo, they commented to me that they saw more than one face)

Peace
Liz

Reflections of the Unemployed Week 4

I'm starting to fall into a routine now. There are very few jobs in the newspapers, it seems employers have all gone Internet. So for one to two hours every morning I check the jobs online (in my p.j.'s, how awesome is that?). I'm saving time and gas and feel more like a homemaker.

I attended a job workshop at the DES on how to apply for government jobs, specifically the Arsenal. I've learned that employers have gone away from the one page resume' due to the economy and the amount of people out there looking for work. They now want more details and a three page resume' is now the norm. No wonder I've not received any responses from my resume' postings. However after staying up all night working on it and re posting it I did get some emails suggesting I apply for jobs selling insurance (at least its something).

You are probably wondering where I am living now that I'm no longer at the river house. My former boyfriend, Neil, offered a place to stay when I had to evacuate from the overflowing Rock, no strings attached. While staying here, we re-kindled our relationship and things have never been better. But as fate would have it, they've begun layoffs at his plant. Today, 17 workers from the Iowa plant, just across the Mississippi, were laid off and beginning Monday his hours will be reduced. Now would be a good time for that unemployment to start rolling in.

In the meantime, between looking for work and being "Suzie homemaker", I'm sorting through bags (we didn't have time to obtain boxes for moving), unpacking and re-packing, mingling my things with Neil's things. I'm finding time now to spend with my kids and Grandsons and am enjoying it to high heavens. Geffory has attached himself, quite fondly, to Neil and began calling him "Grandpa" and they too are enjoying each others company. I think I just might be sad when it all ends and I go back to work.

Needless to say, through the many obstacles and hardships I'm experiencing right now, I'm quite content. A favorite author of mine, Viktor Frankle, who wrote "Man's Search for Meaning", taught me its how we respond and react to our hardships that is important. If we lose everything we have, we at least have control over how we respond. I hope, that in hindsight, these will be the best days of my life.

Peace
Liz