My Music


Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Saturday, August 11, 2007

EX's Survey

Let's see if you can get through it. If not, you're too scared about your past...
1. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

Sure if I didn't have to drive so far to kiss him

2. How many girlfriends/ boyfriends have told you they loved you?

Three

3.Have you ever thought that you were going to marry a person?

Yup

4. Do you hate your last boyfriend/girlfriend?

HAHA...this is a funny question that keeps coming up for me. I will take this opportunity to say that I DON'T hate my ex's no matter what has happened. I love each and every one of my ex's as much as I wish I didn't. I CAN say that I don't much LIKE my ex's...thats a big difference. It has something to do with a feeling of disappointment I think.

5. Have you ever liked someone so much that it hurt?

Of course, who hasn't?

6. Have you ever made a boyfriend or girlfriend mad?

No...I am a perfect angel...HELLO! There obviously had to be some anger if they are all my EX'S

7. Are you happier single or in a relationship?

It's funny...I always thought I was more miserable single but looking back, and especially since my last long term relationship I have always been more miserable IN my relationships than out. Maybe it says something about the kind of relationships I have had.

8. Ever dated anyone with an STD?

I hope not...not that they would tell me now or anything :-P

9. Have you ever had your heart broken?

DUH!

10. Have you broken any hearts?

I doubt it...maybe one

11. Think any of your ex's feels the same as you do?Feels the same as me about what?

About our relationship?
I am sure that deep down if they would care to admit it too themselves we both know what went wrong.

12. Do you believe that you are a good boyfriend or girlfriend?

I have my moments

13. Have you dated people who were not good to you?

I think all of the people have been not good to me in one way or another

15. Have you dated someone older than you?

I prefer it

16. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

Second chance? Yes...Beyond that? No

17. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes...but then I sober up :-P

18. Do you want to get married?

Nope...not even in 15 years

19. Does heart break really feel as bad as it’s said to be?

For me it does

20. Would you believe your ex if she/he said they love you?

I wouldn't believe much that my ex said to me. I learn from my mistakes

21. Would you date your best female/male friend?

Sure if we were both into the same sex thing or in the case of my best male friends if THEY were into girls...some would say that I'm holding out for them :-)

22. Have any of your ex's called you by a nickname after the break up?

Does Bitch count? (and thats the nice word :-))

23. Do you regret any of your relationships?

Nope...life's too short to fill it with regret

24. Are you in a relationship at the moment?

I am in many relationships

repost this as "ex's survey"

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Health Care Terror

Health Care Terror
By PAUL KRUGMAN

These days terrorism is the first refuge of scoundrels. So when British authorities announced that a ring of Muslim doctors working for the National Health Service was behind the recent failed bomb plot, we should have known what was coming.
“National healthcare: Breeding ground for terror?” read the on-screen headline, as the Fox News host Neil Cavuto and the commentator Jerry Bowyer solemnly discussed how universal health care promotes terrorism.
While this was crass even by the standards of Bush-era political discourse, Fox was following in a long tradition. For more than 60 years, the medical-industrial complex and its political allies have used scare tactics to prevent America from following its conscience and making access to health care a right for all its citizens.
I say conscience, because the health care issue is, most of all, about morality.
That’s what we learn from the overwhelming response to Michael Moore’s “Sicko.” Health care reformers should, by all means, address the anxieties of middle-class Americans, their growing and justified fear of finding themselves uninsured or having their insurers deny coverage when they need it most. But reformers shouldn’t focus only on self-interest. They should also appeal to Americans’ sense of decency and humanity.
What outrages people who see “Sicko” is the sheer cruelty and injustice of the American health care system — sick people who can’t pay their hospital bills literally dumped on the sidewalk, a child who dies because an emergency room that isn’t a participant in her mother’s health plan won’t treat her, hard-working Americans driven into humiliating poverty by medical bills.
“Sicko” is a powerful call to action — but don’t count the defenders of the status quo out. History shows that they’re very good at fending off reform by finding new ways to scare us.
These scare tactics have often included over-the-top claims about the dangers of government insurance. “Sicko” plays part of a recording Ronald Reagan once made for the American Medical Association, warning that a proposed program of health insurance for the elderly — the program now known as Medicare — would lead to totalitarianism.
Right now, by the way, Medicare — which did enormous good, without leading to a dictatorship — is being undermined by privatization.
Mainly, though, the big-money interests with a stake in the present system want you to believe that universal health care would lead to a crushing tax burden and lousy medical care.
Now, every wealthy country except the United States already has some form of universal care. Citizens of these countries pay extra taxes as a result — but they make up for that through savings on insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs. The overall cost of health care in countries with universal coverage is much lower than it is here.
Meanwhile, every available indicator says that in terms of quality, access to needed care and health outcomes, the U.S. health care system does worse, not better, than other advanced countries — even Britain, which spends only about 40 percent as much per person as we do.
Yes, Canadians wait longer than insured Americans for elective surgery. But over all, the average Canadian’s access to health care is as good as that of the average insured American — and much better than that of uninsured Americans, many of whom never receive needed care at all.
And the French manage to provide arguably the best health care in the world, without significant waiting lists of any kind. There’s a scene in “Sicko” in which expatriate Americans in Paris praise the French system. According to the hard data they’re not romanticizing. It really is that good.
All of which raises the question Mr. Moore asks at the beginning of “Sicko”: who are we?
“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics.” So declared F.D.R. in 1937, in words that apply perfectly to health care today. This isn’t one of those cases where we face painful tradeoffs — here, doing the right thing is also cost-efficient. Universal health care would save thousands of American lives each year, while actually saving money.
So this is a test. The only things standing in the way of universal health care are the fear-mongering and influence-buying of interest groups. If we can’t overcome those forces here, there’s not much hope for America’s future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Being one of the people who is doing the bidding of those getting richer while America gets sicker I feel the need to post the attached article. While it is hard to justify the piddly paycheck I am selling my moral belief I justify it with the belief that the people I speak with everday are just a little bit better off for speaking with me...regardless of the fact that the insurance policy they have has a $3000 deductible of which their employer only contributes $800. I completely understand that it is not necessarily the employers we work for who are at fault for offering these health plans. Shocker of shockers I don't actually feel that it is that actual insurance company's fault either. I mean, sure we are all paying millions of dollars into the system but the cost of health care (especially what is considered the "traditional" health plan) is out of control. I actually feel that some of the new options like the health savings account or flexible spending account are actually great tools we can use to navigate the corporate greed fest that we call the American health care system, however, these have the same sort of effect that a little band-aid would have on a gaping gun shot wound to the chest. WE NEED A CHANGE! We need to stand up for ourselves and our neighbors and say NO MORE to the CEO's and "corporate" doctors that are getting rich off of our misfortune. It is ridiculous that I speak with 10 people a day at least who are running around in circles to make sure that they are going to an "IN NETWORK" doctor. It is ridculous that I have to speak with people who are going through devastating illnesses who are worried about losing their houses or having to declare bankruptcy. I see bills on a daily basis for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's like we are playing with monopoly money people, and it has GOT TO STOP! I wrote a paper once for a government class that was taught by a gentleman who immigrated from the former soviet union. His comment was "it sounds nice on paper but take it from me it doesn't work that way." My response was, NOTHING in the former soviet union worked right. It wasn't even true communism...it was communism corrupted by CAPITALISM! Don't get me wrong, I love all my material things and capitalism is not all bad (truth be told the insurance company isn't the problem either). Just because government based healthcare failed before doesn't mean that it CAN'T work. It's not rocket science people. Ok now I am stepping down off my soap box....

NOW lets talk about alcohol

What alcohol are you??

GREY GOOSE
GREY GOOSE
Goose gets you Loose. Casual partying. You dont party that often but when you do. Goose gets you loose. Drink up!
How do you compare?
Take this test! Tests from Testriffic

Tattoos...and no I don't mean the alcohol

If you have at least one tattoo, do the survey, if you don't then pass it on!

1. Have you ever cried during a tattoo? Not because of the pain....it was a very emotional experience my one tattoo...I cried because of the symbolism behind it.

2. When did you get your first tattoo? 2006

3. What was your first tattoo? My ladybug angel

4. Which tattoo is closest to your heart? My ladybug angel

5. Do you have a matching tattoo with someone? Nope...custom made

6. Do you have a tattoo that someone messed up on? Nope...mine turned out better than I could have imagined

7. Do you have anyone's name tattooed on you? NO! NEVER

8. What was the most painful tattoo you received? Geez...this is a hard one...considering I have a total of ONE tattoo...

9. How many tattoos do you have? One..can't you read? :-P

10. Do you plan on being heavily or moderately tattooed? isn't there another choice...I will go with mildly :-P.

11. Do you have a tattoo that you constantly have to explain? Well if you count a three year old screaming "OH MI GOD YOU HAVE A BUG ON YOUR BACK!"

12. Have you ever gotten an infection from a tattoo? No my tat girlz helped make sure I used the right stuff to prevent infection.

13. What is the longest session you've ever sat straight? a whopping 25 minutes...I almost didn't make it ;-P

14. What is the biggest tattoo that you have and how long did it take? Ok...how many times do I have to tell you I only have one?!?!

15. Did you tell your parents? Yeah they know...my mom got one first...my dad's a wimp and will never get one even though all the rest of us have at least one.

16. Do you regret having gotten any of your tattoos? NOPE! I think a tattoo that tells a story can never be regretted.

17. Would you consider ever getting any of your tattoos removed? NO! What would be the point of that!??!

18. What are you going to get for your next tattoo? I don't know that I will get another one...but if I do it would have to have a special meaning.

19. Do you think members of the opposite sex with a lot of tattoo are hot? Depends...I think it takes a special person to make tattoos look good

20. Are you unfortunate enough to have an arm band tatoo? No...I don't need anything accentuating my arm fat thank you.

21. How many people have tattooed you? ONE! it would be kind of weird to have more than one person since I have one tiny tattoo

22. Do any of your tattoos have color? All of them ;-P

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The voices in my head

"Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas

Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And i don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away some how
But i can not forget
The way i feel right now

In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours, still remain,
Still remain
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These little wonders still remain

"Picture To Burn" by Taylor Swift

State the obvious, I didn't get my perfect fantasy
I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me
So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy
That's fine; I'll tell mine you're gay
And by the way...

[Chorus:]

I hate that stupid old pickup truck
You never let me drive
You're a redneck heartbreak
Who's really bad at lying
So watch me strike a match
On all my wasted time
As far as I'm concerned you're
Just another picture to burn

There's no time for tears,
I'm just sitting here planning my revenge
There's nothing stopping me
From going out with all of your best friends
And if you come around saying sorry to me
My daddy's gonna show you how sorry you'll be

[Repeat Chorus]

If you're missing me,
You'd better keep it to yourself
Cause coming back around here
Would be bad for your health...

[Repeat Chorus]

Burn, burn, burn, baby, burn
You're just another picture to burn
Baby, burn...

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Anyone up for some Tea?

OOLONG TEA..

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of Oolong tea.You will never look at a cup of Oolong the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil.

In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the
third she placed Oolong tea. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the Oolong out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and Oolong tea," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the Oolong. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The Oolong tea was unique, however. After they were in the boiling water , they had changed the water color and taste.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong
tea?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?


Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the Oolong tea? The tea actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot,it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the tea, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.


When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.


May we all be OOLONG TEA !!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For those of you who are like me and didn't know what Oolong Tea is I will include a definition so that you know it wasn't made up

Oolong is a semi-fermented tea which is known for its rich taste and pleasant lasting aftertaste. Oolongs are further classified as Dark or Green with Dark Oolongs baked longer than Green Oolongs. Green Oolongs (which are not related to Green teas in any way) tend to have a stronger fragrance while Dark Oolongs tend to have a stronger aftertaste.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Where be you?



No I have not been abducted by aliens....I'm alive, well, and crazier than ever. Can you tell me how to get home from sesame street?

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Grandma loved the snow

IT'S SNOWING!! I ACTUALLY GOT SNOWED ON TODAY! I can't believe I live in a place where it snows. I have always wanted to. I'm attaching a picture so that you can see what a "blizzard" we had. Keep in mind 10 minutes up the road they are requiring chains :-)

Monday, February 19, 2007

Not Ready to Make Nice

Seems that a lot of people are thinking about the topic of forgiving and forgetting these days. As I recently posted in a comment to a friend time may heal everything but sometimes there just isn't enough time in a lifetime. The only thing we can do at that point to release some of the pain is to let go of the people involved. It is a rare situation that things can get back to how they were....and I can't say that this is always a bad thing. If we are honest with ourselves in looking back at the "good old days" of our lives we would find that the situations we want back didn't necessarily benefit our lives in the first place. If they did it I think it would be a hell of a lot easier to forget the bad stuff. Human beings as a species are scared of change...this is why so many people stay in bad situations long past the time they should have turned and run the opposite direction without looking back...myself included.

The last few weeks I have rediscovered my anger. I have been feeling it bubble just under the surface...and like the Dixie Chicks, I'm not sure I can ever forgive and forget...and I don't know that I would if I could.

The Dixie Chicks actually hit the nail on the head with their new song. The great thing about the song is that even though we all know what the inspiration is the words can actually apply to all of our lives, regardless of how we feel about the people saying them. Don't believe me? Read the lyrics below without thinking of the Dixie Chicks singing them and tell me you have never felt that way before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I know you said
Can’t you just get over it
It turned my whole world around
And I kind of like it

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

Friday, February 02, 2007

Change...is it really inevitable?

Life flies by us in a blur...one day we are playing in our grandparents front yard with our cousins, the next you are doing term papers and surfing the net, then you are getting married or having children or just simply trying to figure out where all the time has gone and what exactly it is you want to do with yourself now that you are "all grown up". During all this people wander through our lives like museum patrons viewing the "art work" that we are creating at that specific moment in time. While it feels like we will have these people around forever the truth is quite the opposite. For me the last 10 years or so feels like just yesterday. I seem to be in the same place I was, yet I look around me and my surroundings and the people surrounding me have changed. Its quite surreal most of the time.

Well I have to get back to my perpetual homework. Hopefully soon I will be inspired to write and share what has been going on in my life. Its been a crazy first month of 2007. I'm still trying to catch my breath both literally & figuratively speaking :-)

Till then, TTFN.....I love you all!

~Shanda


You've Changed 56% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person.

You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.