Blogging

I figured out today what I really enjoy about blogging.

I don't really like the typing and having to think up things to write, rather what I enjoy most is coming back to the blog after blogging and reading the posts. I find the most joy out of reading the praise that other people give me. Keep it up, bring on all the nice things you can say about me I love it. Usually it seems like the comments that are left on a blog are sometimes funnier and nicer than what is left as the blog.

I have been trying to get the kids to a decent hour every night. I don't know why I chose 8:30 pm but that seems like a really good time to me and it still gives me a little bit of time to unwind and get to bed before to late. Or what usually happens is that I sit down on the computer at about 9:30 or 10:00 and find a friend online and chat with them for a very long while way past what is a decent hour and have a great conversation.

Ok i have to mention one thing that I ended up talking with a friend about last night. I am 28 right now and will be 29 in August. My oldest sister is going to be 35(?) this year and I have to let everyone know the funniest thing that happens to us, we thing we are adults, whenever we end up at our parents house. My dad always wanted us to go to bed a respectable hour when we were growing up so that we would get our 8 hours of sleep and succeed in school. Well whenever we are at home on vacation at the parents house he still tells us at 10 or 11 o'clock that it is bedtime. Now I love my dad and I mean him no disrespect it just find it very funny. He will even do the same thing whenever he is up here in Salt Lake. I know his intentions mean well and he just wants to see the eyes with less bags under them. It is just so silly that it makes me laugh hard everytime I think of him telling us it is bedtime. Because if any of you know him intimately you will know that he is the one in the family that has no bedtime and stays up all night watching tv. He actually has this aparatus that is connected to the tv that will transmit the sound to some wireless headphones so that my mother, who is a school teacher can sleep while he watches late night talk shows on tv. These two crack me up so much, I think sometimes she asks him to go and watch tv in another room because even though it doesn't have any sound it still lights up the whole room and she has a real hard time sleeping. That's who I should convince to blog, I would bet that his stories and memories would be the most fun to read.

New mission, next time I go to St. George, show Dad how to blog, it really isn't that hard unless you want to post photos. Since he did get a new computer finally that doesn't take 45 minutes to boot up.

Well that's all today just more ramblings for another day.

Economy!!!

Well I have to say that things have been going rather well for the last few weeks, it has been a long time since I have had the time to post but I hope to get back on the bandwagon again. I was contemplating what to blog about tonight while I was thinking about work, pretty much my favorite past time while I am at home.

Over the last few months we have gone through some personnel changes at work. It is weird I got a new boss about six months ago and either this guy is just a loose cannon or else he really knows what he is doing. In the last six months we have gone through at least 5 RIF (Reduction in Force). He was saying today, at the end of the day when he was just looking worn out and dejected, how over the last six months he has let more than 100 people go. Seems like a lot but then again we were running on a pretty huge amount of unnecessary people. I sort of hate these days because they really give you no advance notice all that you know is that if you get called to the corporate office without any real explanation of why it is probably because you are going to be fired.

We aren't as bad as some companies, my sanitary welders wife was going to have a baby and two weeks before she was due she was laid off. They didn't even pay here any severance or compensate her for any of her vacation, sick or anything (just canned her on the spot). We waited two weeks after an active military personnel got back from Iraq before we let him go. We have to have some heart let them sort of get back into the swing of "normal" life before we let them go.

I was just thinking today how vicious life is getting and how ruthless that humans can be. I don't think we do these sort of things because we are bad people but rather due to the nature of business and the need to make money.

I just go into work everyday and enjoy my job and try to be as productive as possible. I feel that if I am making the company some money maybe that can justify my job for a little bit longer. There really isn't any more time for idleness at work because we have cut so deep into the workforce that everyone has to stay busy all day just to get everything done in an 8 hour shift that needs to get done.

Does it really have to do with the economy though or is that just a good excuse for companies to start performing much more efficiently? Is is sad for those that are let go? But as my boss always says "I might be selfish but I would like to stay employed for as long as possible and I might do everything possible to keep it that way".

News

I was watching Dateline tonight. Ya I know why? I am almost to the point where I am so sick of watching the news. It just seems so negative and unfair but then again has it ever not been that way. They were interviewing the mother of the octuplets, also mother of 6 other children, and trying to get her side of the story for once. Seems like an important side to have instead of just some tv commentator that is very opinionated.

I don't know if I agree fully with the whole idea of a single mother having 14 children but then again I am also pro-choice of letting people do whatever they want to do. This woman, whether rightfully or not, has been accused of many things lately. Some of them very harsh things and are they all true, probably not.

I did see another good interview last night on ESPN, and ya he was clearing up some things that he lied about in the past. Yes he knowingly used steroids and lied about it. Does that make him a better person because he came out 6 years later and admitted to using illegal substances? It might not make the crime right but at least he feels good about himself and makes him feel like he can finally be honest with himself and probably feels really really bad for what he has done but the past is the past live it up for mistakes. How many other professional athletes are hiding and not being up front about what they did? It almost seems like he was committing a crime by making himself look better so he could be traded for more money or recieve a higher pay for playing baseball? To what extent is this sort of thing tolerated?

The governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, is trying to get some legislation passed for civil union couples in the state of Utah, that was also on the news today. Why is this state so opposed to civil union and same sex couples? Do we think that are strong biases and opinions are going to change the whole world? What makes their union any different than a heterosexual marriage? Why should they be denied the rights that couples are given in this state? Are they doing something illegal? Just because you are in favor of civil union rights does not mean you agree with what they are doing. Our Governor is taking a lot of flack from his party about this whole issue but what is really right or wrong? Who is to decide these matters, I for one definitely don't want to be one that decides someone else's rights.

Then we go back to the mother who really just wants to have a large family. What the freak is the big deal? She has been a single mother with six children for how long now, has the state tried to take the kids away from her up to this point for negligence? Is she really on welfare or not who cares? Have you ever been on welfare? It isn't a pretty thing and they can come back and take all of it back, legally, years later if you lied or cheated on any of the forms. Is she trying to cheat the system and get more money by having more kids? Please she already has six healthy kids that seems like enough if you were trying to work the system, why would anyone knowingly want more and 8 if she didn't really want them? This is what's wrong with our society, we always look for the bad in people and never give them the benefit of the doubt. We just assume that people in general are horrible people and turn a batted eye at real criminals.

Oh one other thing I saw on the news today, the state of Utah will probably be allowing 500 inmates out of the Gunnison maximum security prison due to budget cuts and over crowding. To bad we couldn't build that bigger prison and keep some of the real criminals locked up. Good luck with that.

Spies...Killing...and the Movies

I saw this really good movie tonight titled "Taken" I am not the type of guy how goes and ruins the movies for people that haven't seen them yet but this part was in the previews. This was an excellent movie, sort of like a cross between a James Bond and a Jason Bourne? Anyways Liam Neeson is the protaganist and he does an excellent job of acting the part. I think the last movie that I saw him in was that lame first Batman that came out a few years ago his role in that movie was so terrible but this movie "Taken" wow I would say a must see and I do believe it was only rated PG-13 so maybe more acceptable for larger crowds.

The part that I liked the most is the part that was shown on almost all of the previews where he states over the phone after the kidnappers have taken his daughter "if it is money you want I don't have any but what I do have is a very specific set of skills, a set of skills that make a man like me a nightmare for men like you" or pretty much along those lines. That has to be the best line that you could say to someone on the phone that has just kidnapped your daughter, because the following line just made it all that better "I will hunt you down, I will find you and I will kill you". Pretty much without batting an eye, I think it must be every boys fantasy growing up to be a spy, because that is just like the coolest thing ever. It has to be the type of society that we live in that sets us up for these types of hopes and dreams.

I wanted to be spy for a long time maybe not all the killing but rather a preventor, someone who stops bad things from happening. Well if I could recommend a movie to anyone who reads this blog it would be "Taken" very well put together.

What to do

All right I don't know what to do with myself at night. My sister, Sarah the really funny one, decided that Blogging wasn't "the most important thing anymore". She gave these five, what I thought were pretty lame, excuses like her kids were complaining about her amount of blogging. Come on is that really a valid excuse to not blog, hello your blog was like an addiction for some people. My advice kids are going to get embarrassed by their parents all on during life better it be early in life than later. Probably going to be more traumatic for them that you used their lives for one year and then they are going to realize that they are going through withdraws without all the chatter about them. So my advice on this one is just keep up the blogging and then they won't be so traumatized in the future. Another "excuse" she had was that she wanted to watch some network television that was in its prime. Well I have seen those shows, they've got nothing on your blog not even close. They make you laugh or cry for the moment nothing like what some of those memories bring back to us Sarah. By the way, you forgot the only show on Television that is even worth watching "RENO 911" ya if you haven't heard of it or seen it you have to watch a few episodes "lost american idol" come on your giving up blogging for this crap. Your killing me here maybe "the office" is getting close to worthiness of not blogging but those other shows and the French "porn" probably doesn't even get above american idol. Ya you should come back to blogging but you know I guess you get everyone started on something then you just give in the towel, more important things like family, friends, tv, housework, reading while bathing.

Ok you probably have some pretty valid excuses for not blogging it was taking over your life. You would blog when you came out to Utah on vacation. I was pretty appalled at the amount of dedication that you perscribed to your blog. I am so dumb I can't even figure out how post a picture and then put a caption under it so that it doesn't look half retarded. But I do appreciate the last year of blogging that you have given us, it has lightened many otherwise dark days. I do love you Sarah and give those kids and family our love while you are spending more time with them baking them cookies.

Did we expect anything else?

Ok it was all right the first time, but come on two tax evaders? What the H**l, are all democrats like this? Let me think if I was behind $140,000 on my taxes I would probably be dead.

Why is it that our "honest change everything" President is doing the same things that have been done always. I don't think in the less than 2 weeks that he has been in office he has changed anything but rather followed the stereotypes of Washington. IE sworn to change everything and then when he is in power just go back on his word and do the exact things that he said he was willing to change.

Buddy, a simple down to earth suggestion, Change Has to Start with you. Don't expect any change from us peons if you aren't going to change anything yourself because what it looks like is you were just willing to lie in the election to get elected and once there you actually have no intention of following through with what you "promised to do".

Probably a good man but come on how far can the "simple mistakes" really go. Clean it up buddy you are now what some say is the most powerful position given a man on this earth. Do what is right for once and quit being a politician.

Blackmail and squiggly straws

Today I had a very interesting experience. My five year old daughter, Ariana, learned a new life skill which is, if you are only five you might have figured out what blackmail is but you are definitely still to small to make it work on your parents.

Anyone who knows Ariana knows that she by far is the sweetest little kid alive. She might be sweet but that sassy get back at you attitude is starting to kick-in. Today she wanted me to get what she wanted. It started out with her asking me to let her sit in the far back seat of the car. I said no because her car seat was in the middle seat. She proceeded to offer me $100.00 of I would let her sit in the back. I said that's ok I don't really need $100.00 to which she said but "you would be really rich". I couldn't help but give into the richness deal and say I would let her sit in the back. To my advantage she also has a memory that won't last more than 5 minutes, by the time we got back to the car she had forgotten completely that she wanted to sit in the far back all together.

What came about later was the true genius of the blackmail. She really wanted to go to a friends house and play. I was really not in the mood to take her but I didn't tell her that upfront rather I said I would think about it. She then came back at me and said I will do whatever you want if you take me to my friends house and if you don't I won't clean up my room. I said that is fine I will just throw your toys in the garbage. She said well that wouldn't be fair at all you can't just throw my toys away. I said I am only going to throw them away if you won't clean them up after playing with them. She couldn't really comprehend how she had gotten wooped so bad but just kept telling me that wasn't fair at all.

Later, after we had arrived home, Matthew, the two year old, said he wanted to eat some rice so I said go and get a spoon. He went to he kitchen while I was doing something else and came back and said "this?" as he was holding s squiggly straw. I couldn't help laughing out loud at which he proceeded to laugh. He can be so silly sometimes.

So what we have learned today is that if you are five years old the only person that you can blackmail is probably your two year old little brother. But definitely don't try blackmailing your parents because what might happen is you will lose all your toys because your parents aren't going to clean them up.