10 Things "Ain't Nobody Got Time For"

1. Kanye West Do I really have to even explain myself?  No one thinks you are a genius or wants your opinion so please shut your mouth sooner rather than later.  Every time you give him the benefit of the doubt, he proves you wrong and yet again confirms he is a raging asshole.  I mean he is marketing "leather jogging pants" for God sakes?!  Need I say more.   
2. Gender Reveal Parties Let me explain myself before I make all my child bearing friends mad.  I just attended a gender reveal party for one of my best friends. (Sorry, Shea!)  It was fun, and I did anxiously await to find out the gender.  Nevertheless, these parties are still completely unnecessary and a waste of money.  A work friend told me someone in her neighborhood had a gender reveal party that involved a helicopter?! I might eat my words, but if I ever become pregnant and have a gender reveal party, slap me in the face.
3. Save the Date Cards  Since we are talking about a waste of money, stop sending save the date cards to remind me about your wedding.  They already have a "save the date card" it's called an invitation.  You know the thing you send out 4-6 weeks before the wedding?
4. Spoiled Children  I work with children on a daily basis and I am amazed how disrespectful children have become.  When did it become acceptable for children to talk back and tell their parents what they are going to do?  Apparently, now it is OK for a child to slap, kick, hit, spit in my face, etc. and the response to be laughter or "See how he/she does?"  Yes, I see how he or she does because you chose not to parent your child.  If I spat in someone's face as a child, my ass would have been jerked up so fast there would have still been saliva on my face.  Get it together, America.  Teach your children manners.  I don't care how you do it.  And for that matter stop over indulging them; your 6 year old doesn't need an iPhone.
5. Obamacare I mean even if you drink the Obama Kool-Aid you have to admit that Obamacare was and is a hot mess.  But don't worry I'm sure Mr. President will work out all the kinks because everything the government runs works out  fantastically.  Right? :)
6. Sarah Palin  Is she still even relevant?!  Don't you feel foolish America? You almost elected this woman vice president who went on to have a reality television show about living in the wild in Alaska.  I remember Tina Fey once said, "I think she is a little bit smarter than me and that's just not good enough."  Please talk all your colloquialisms back to Alaska for good.
7. Organic Food  "I only eat grass-fed beef.  I can't eat gluten.  I only eat organic vegetables."  Organic food is the new black. Did you know Stanford University actually did a study that confirmed there was actually little health benefits from eating organic foods?  It can be found here .  If you want to pay twice as much for food that doesn't have any more health benefits than conventional foods, go ahead.  I ain't got time for that.
8. Decaffeinated Coffee Unless you are over the age of 60 there is no need for this.  If you don't want to drink caffeine then don't drink coffee.  The caffeine is the best part!
9. People Who Still Think Guns Kill People  If you took all the guns away in the world people are still going to kill people.  People are sick or evil and do horrible things; things that are hard to understand.  However, taking away guns or tighter gun control laws are not the solution.  I mean do you think the inner city gang member that has a semi-automatic weapon purchased it legally at the local  gun store?  If so, I ain't got time for you either.
10. Voicemail  If you leave me a voicemail.  I won't check it.  It will sit in my phone until I decide to do a mass delete in which I probably won't even check it then.  All phones, well almost all phones, have caller ID now.  I see you called and will call you back; no need to leave me a voicemail to "call you when I get a chance". 

Hope everyone has a good long weekend! Happy Memorial Day!

The New Entitlement Generation #SCARY

I read an interesting article in the New York Times recently detailing Appalachia's progression since Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" in the United States which can be found here The article states about 85% of the areas in in the US that have a greater than 20% poverty rate are rural, so not all poor people huddle in the inner city.  The article notes these areas are "clustered in distinct regions: Indian reservations in the West; Hispanic communities in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas; a band across the Deep South and along the Mississippi Delta with a majority black population; and Appalachia, largely white, which has supplied some of America’s iconic imagery of rural poverty"

I currently live in the Deep South in a metropolitan area.  However, I grew up in a very rural area.  You had to "go to town" to get anything which was approximately 15 minutes away.  I lived down a dirt road, but I never experienced poverty or anything close to it as a child.  However, I get to see poverty on a weekly basis at my job now.  I work in a pediatric diagnostic clinic that sees children from all  over the state, rural and urban areas alike, and I see a variety of children; many situations that would break your heart. I see children that are dirty and hungry.  I see foster children; children that have been taken away from their biological parents due to neglect and abuse.  I see children that have drug addicts for parents.  I see children that their parents have signed over their parental rights for reasons as simple as "I need to get my life together".  I see parents that have taken their child to me in hopes there would be "something wrong" with them so that might possibly get "a check".  To sum it up I see poverty;  and quite often I see families that have made a living off "living on the government".

When I first started my current  job this infuriated me.  For example, I would see an able bodied mother supporting her family with a disability check that would come to my clinic with a Michael Kors purse, a brand new iPhone, and a freshly pair of manicured nails.  I can't afford that, and I work 40 hours a week.  Something isn't right here?!  I couldn't understand these parents' actions.  Then one day it dawned on me because that is what they have learned from their parents.  They just do not know any better.  Their parents didn't work to earn a paycheck.  Their mamas and daddies taught them how to live off the government just like my parents taught me I was only entitled to what I earned.  And as I have learned you can get a disability check for quiet a few ailments such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, or back problems, just to name a few.  These people don't realize that other people work so they don't have to.

So do all the Americans receiving assistance really need it? That's the million dollar question.  My personal experience is that some people I encounter do, but a lot of people I see don't.  Government assistance was intended to be a temporary fix to help people get back on their feet not a permanent lifestyle.  Disability was created for people who truly have significant medical, mental, and cognitive deficits that prevent them from working, not high blood pressure for goodness sakes.  My mother taught elementary school for 25 years with high blood pressure!

Government assistance is always a touchy topic.  Usually there are no gray areas when it comes to this issue; it is strictly black and white.  Either you think everyone should be equal (no one should be extremely wealthy) or you don't want to help anybody (you think everyone is lazy).  As I grow older, and less and less fond of politics, I realize my views don't line up with really any political party, so I guess I would be an independent.  I am of the party if it doesn't affect me or my money then I don't have a problem with you.  Social issues are a waste of time to contemplate; people are always going to do what they like.  I might not agree with what you do, but you're still going to do it.  We live in a glass house of political correctness now.  The thing about it is anything that falls under the umbrella of social security or government assistance is messing with my money.  I am not in favor of wealth distribution at all, under no circumstances.  Let me clarify, I am a Christian person so I personally believe to whom much is given, much is expected. I believe you should share your blessings with others, but that is my faith not my government. It is not the government's job to take your money and spread it about as they see fit.  I don't care what "issue" they are using it for because there is a lot of other things the government is using my money for that I don't agree with besides government assistance programs.  Secondly, I don't think the government manages money very well.  Would you give to a charity that you thought was wasting your money?  Of course not.  Lastly, if Millionaire Joe down the street hoards all his money; I agree with you that isn't fair, but guess what life isn't fair.  We can't  all live in a fairy land where everyone is happy and satisfied with their life and their paycheck all the time.  There are always going to be rich people that spend money frivolously, ALWAYS, and I'm not one of them which sucks!  But instead of worrying about the "1 percent", let's worry about ourselves and what we can do to better ourselves.  I wish I made more money too, but I don't expect the government to provide me with an additional paycheck.  I don't expect the government to take money from someone else because they just have "too much".  Entitlement is the absolute worst characteristic, and America is filled to the brim with it; hopefully by the time I reach retirement the government will not have spent my social security.  Maybe I should start saving more now......

Nevertheless, I am grateful I have a job and the capability to work.  I will end with one of favorite quotes from Thomas Edison: Opportunity is often missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.

Hope everyone has a good week!