Dragging Myself Across the Finish Line

I hate this time of the semester and I feel as if I am dragging myself across the finish line. Finals week always seems to stress me out; it never fails. These past few weeks have been especially difficult for me. The optimist in me knows that I should be happy that my classes are coming to an end and I have a month long break ahead of me. I can’t, however, allow myself to focus on the positive because I am so overwhelmed with everything that I am juggling in my life- working at my rigid corporate job, caring for my sick elderly grandmother, and staying afloat in my classes. Caring for my grandmother- who I love dearly- is itself enough to make a sane person mad. To care for her in addition to the myriad of other things I need to do for myself can just be difficult, to say the least. Such is life, I suppose.

I hate to complain about the things going on in my life because I know someone, somewhere, has it a million times worse off. Or better yet, what seems to be going bad for me know, could be a lot more horrible. I am nonetheless human, so I can’t help but to indulge myself in venting. Besides, it makes me feel better.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday’s Thanksgiving was the first time I’ve contributed to a Holiday meal. I planned to make sweet potatoes with my own special twist. Initially, I was very excited about taking on this task. It wasn’t until I found out that my grandmother planned to make the same dish as me, in case my performance was not up to par, that I lost my motivation. I was very annoyed once I became aware of my grandmother’s plans. I’m not sure if it was the complete lack of faith my family had in my cooking abilities or the fact that I didn’t need to cook because someone else was preparing the same dish as me.

Cooking and contributing to the Thanksgiving meal was not my idea. I was quite content with following my annual routine and showing up to dinner bringing my big appetite and positive energy. The women of my family, however, insisted that I not only contribute a dish but that I prepare the dish myself.

I know how to cook and I usually cook very well. My performance was impaired on Thanksgiving and I am convinced that it was due to the fact that I knew my dish would be in competition with my grandmother’s. That pressure overwhelmed me. My sweet potatoes came out horrible to say the least. I got stirring happy and ruined the consistency of the potatoes. Instead of them having a thick and chunky texture, my sweet potatoes turned out thin and mushy. I was so disappointed. My family seemed to get a big kick out of my failure. Everyone laughed at my expense.

I’m going to cook again for Christmas’ dinner. I’ve learned my lesson for the next Holiday and know not to share my plans with anyone. My Christmas dish will be a surprise.

I Hate the Airport!!!

This past weekend, on my way to Chicago, I was reminded of just how much I hate going to the airport. The airport security measures are so bogus.

I got to the airport a little late which was apparently past the point to check in baggage. Luckily my luggage was small enough to carry on the plane; which meant all of my toiletries had to go in the trash. My lotion, deodorant, body wash all had to be disposed of. This was completely uncalled for, if you ask me.

What pissed me off the most about my airport experience was a report I heard this morning. Apparently, undercover officials were able to smuggle all of the major components to put together a bomb, through nineteen airports.

Are you kidding me?

This is ridiculous. Not only did I have to throw away my precious toiletries for no reason, but the tedious security measures I had to undergo protected me from nothing.
Great!

Why is Impeachment Off the Table????

Several months ago Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, declared impeachment proceedings against the President and Vice President were off the table. As far as I knew, it was not up to her to make such decisions. Sure, she is speaker of the House and apart of the Democratic leadership. The fact still remains, however, that she is to represent the American people. According to a July poll performed by the American Research Group, fifty-four percent of Americans support beginning impeachment proceedings against Vice President Cheney. Seventy-four percent of Democrats were in favor. Nancy Pelosi’s views apparently do not fall in line with what the American people, she is supposed to represent, want. Last I heard we were living in a democratic society.

Despite efforts from Nancy Pelosi and other members of the Democratic leadership's failure to address this issue, on Tuesday, congress member Dennis Kucinich introduced a measure calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. Kucinich’s measure received fierce opposition from, not the Republicans but the Democratic leaders. Truly unbelievable!

The leaders of the Democratic Party have accommodated themselves to the Bush and Cheney agenda. You would think that they were a part of the same administration. Impeachment is an issue that should be raised all over the country whether the efforts succeed or fail. This current administration is out of control. They have committed many impeachable offenses that seem to keep being brushed under the rug. For goodness sake what more do these people need to do before action is taken to remove them from power. They have dragged the country into a war in Iraq, by deliberately manipulating intelligence and plan to do it again in Iran. The Iraq war has completely drained the American economy. They have infringed upon the American people’s constitutional right to privacy through illegal wire tapping. Not to mention the other countless web of lies and deceitful actions.

I am not sure why impeachment would be off the table. I applaud Kucinich’s efforts to hold this current administration accountable for its atrocious actions.

Kucinich for President!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s my Birthday. I am officially old.

It’s crazy how the years come and go so quickly. There was a point in my life when I couldn’t wait to be an adult. I imagined my adult life would be filled with fun, excitement, and most of all freedom. Now that the time is here, I’ve realized being an adult is over-rated. I never took into account the fact that adulthood comes with so many responsibilities which put a huge damper on the experience. For instance there’s: having to uphold a level of maturity (which can sometimes be a chore), paying bills, and maintaining a career.

I often find myself overwhelmed with nostalgia, longing for the days when life was simple.

Napoleon Complex

No, means no! Apparently some men do not understand this concept.

A girlfriend and I went to a nightclub last weekend. Just as we were leaving the club to walk towards our car, I was approached by a guy. This man was not my type, to say the least. He was rude, unattractive, and shorter than I in stature. For some reason that is completely beyond my understanding, men who have the least desirable qualities always seem to have the most confidence.

People can be crazy after a night of drinking, so I was cordial. When he greeted me, I responded with a quick wave. He took my wave as an invitation to walk alongside of me as I proceeded towards the car. I made it very clear through my body language, that I was not interested and that his presence was not wanted. He didn’t seem to get the point and remained persistent. He followed my friend and I all the way to the parking garage, at which point he asked for my phone number. I tell him, “no”!

My “no”, clearly did not register. He prompted his phone to input my number anyway. I didn’t want for him to follow us all the way to our car and saw that he was quite prepared to do so. I put on my sternest voice and said, “Look, I’m not interested! I’m tired and I don’t feel like being bothered by you anymore. Have a good night.”

As if what I said weren’t clear enough, he proceeded to invade my personal space and gave me a firm bear hug. My girlfriend tried to come to my rescue and attempted to push the guy off of me. The strength of her push must have caught him by surprise because he responded by slapping her in the face. Immediately afterwards, he took off running.

After this incident I’ve decided that I am not going out to a night club for a long while. It never fails… I always attract the craziest guys that a club has to offer.

Columbus Day in 2007?

On October 8, 2007 the country celebrated Columbus Day. Granted I do always appreciate a day off from work, I nonetheless felt uncomfortable acknowledging this particular federal holiday. Call me crazy but a holiday celebrating a man for “discovering” land that had been inhabited by millions of people is demented. I really do not understand how, in the year 2007, we can justify this holiday. The world knows that Columbus did not truly discover America or Hispaniola for that matter. Why then are we celebrating this fallacy? It’s as if through the celebration of Columbus Day, America wipes its slate clean and erases from history the mass genocide committed against the people this land was stolen from.

I, of course, have no qualms with having a federally mandated holiday that will allot me a day off from my normal routine. In fact, I say, we keep the day off. I believe it would instead be more appropriate to rename the holiday as Indigenous People Day. The least the U.S. can do is pay tribute to the peoples, whose lives were largely eradicated for the founding of this nation, through a day of recognition.

If we’re going to celebrate, we should do so with dignity.