Politics are the devil

Today has been particularly rough on the internet, for pretty much everyone. We all feel like we're getting stomped on. I hate to think that some of my friends really see me as a leech on society, all because I want to be able to go to the doctor when I need to. It blows my fucking mind that healthcare is a privilege and not a right. Did any of us ask to be born? Do any of us ask to get sick? It's not like, "Can't afford car insurance? Don't drive." Can't afford health insurance? Don't get sick. Seriously?

I'm sad. Really really sad.

OMFG I can't take it anymore

I really didn't mean for this to become a blog mostly about how I secretly hate one of my friends. I hate LOTS of things and would like to focus on some of those sometimes. But this is fucking killing me.

P Here's one way the Democrats want to pay for health care. You tell me if this seems right. Hint: if you think this is right, you're wrong.

about an hour ago · Comment ·

P

Currently, the Medicare payroll tax is 2.9% on all wages -- with the worker and his employer each paying 1.45%.

The reconciliation bill, like the Senate bill, would raise the percentage paid by high-income individuals by 0.9 percentage points, so an individual would pay 2.35% on his wages.

The reconciliation bill, however, also would subject the investment income of high-income households, such as dividends, interest and rent, to a 3.8% Medicare tax.

about an hour ago

P

In other words, for those of you in la-la land; those who don't need Medicare will pay for those who do. There's you some incentive to be successful and become wealthy. That's right! Work hard, provide for your family a good life and get robbed by the federal government to pay for someone else what they should pay themself.

59 minutes ago

A

Fabulous! I already love it that you pay that much for Medicare, which neither you nor your dependents use. I will love it even more when your more of your hard earned money is taken away from you and your dependents. Success will only be punished in the US of A.

Guess what, fuckfaces! The people who need Medicare CANNOT pay for it! That's kind of the whole point! In this country, like it or not (if you don't like it you can get out! Isn't that what the Bush-lovers [hee!] used to say to us when we complained?), there are services you may not use that you have to help pay for. It's called living in a fucking civilized society. I've never ever had to call a firetruck. Maybe only people who have fires should pay for a fire station! I've never called the cops either, so all you police-needing people can pay for that! What is so bad about helping someone who is less fortunate? Seriously, what? Does that not-even-1% really make a huge dent in your income? Are you REALLY that much of a selfish prick that the thought of helping someone who can't help themselves pisses you off?

I just don't get it. I really don't.

Dumb

One of my friends is so getting dumped. Coincidentally, it's the same friend who said that daylight savings is MUCH WORSE for parents. We've been friends for years but when we met, she was a lesbian. She is now a conservative, heterosexually-married parent. When we're together we have a fine enough time, but our politics are SO different. Different to the point that just reading anything she says on Facebook gets me worked up for the rest of the day.

Last week, she posted a link to an article on the ACLU website about sheriff Joe Arpaio denying inmates the right to have an abortion. She said she doesn't remember anywhere in the constitution where it says you have a right to an abortion. The comments section devolved into name-calling and insults between the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers. I am sad to say I was compelled to contribute and things got pretty heated. I get that nowhere in the Constitution does it grant abortion rights. But I also understand that due to Roe v. Wade we now are legally allowed to have an abortion if we want/need to. I also think that being pregnant and in prison is not a good way to live, nor is it good for a baby to be born to an imprisoned mother.

Today she posted an article about a woman who is currently in the 600-lb range and would like to get up to 1000. My friend's comment was, "If the healthcare bill passes, we will all be paying for this woman's medical treatment." Yes, and if it passes, SHE will also be paying for YOUR healthcare. Not to mention she could already be on Medicare, so we're already paying for it. Why should I pay for other people's healthcare and get nothing out of it? I'd like some too, please. The weirdest part is, my friend has NEVER taken her baby to a doctor. She had the kid at home in her living room, overseen by a midwife. For the first three months of the child's life, the midwife checked up on the baby. But now that he's the better part of a year old, the midwife is no longer coming to visit since you know, the baby is already born. I don't know for sure if she is avoiding the doctor for insurance purposes or just on the principle (what principle that would be, I don't know), but...isn't that a form of child neglect? I mean, the baby is alive and appears to be healthy and normal, but I think it'd be great if say, a LICENSED PROFESSIONAL made that diagnosis. Call me crazy!

She has also posted another article about how universal healthcare goes against the Constitution. I did read the article but it doesn't appear to contain any supportive evidence for its opinion. Granted, I am not the most politically savvy person. This is probably a dumb question, and if I thought I could get it answered without getting into an argument I would probably ask her. But WHAT IS SO BAD ABOUT EVERYONE BEING ABLE TO GO TO THE DOCTOR?

I broke my ankle a few years ago, and I was (and continue to be) uninsured. The ambulance ride was $700. Yep, just for a ride to the hospital! I couldn't drive myself since I drive a manual transmission and you need both feet for that. The emergency room visit was another $800, for them to do an X-ray and confirm what I already knew (yes, you can hear it when a bone breaks, not to mention FEEL it). I cried the whole time, not just from the pain, but from thinking, "I can't afford this!" On my way out, in a wheelchair, I was asked for money. While I was still crying. The surgery to repair my bone and ligaments was almost $4,000. I didn't have that kind of money, and had my parents not been able to spot me I would still have a jacked-up ankle to this day. Even though you need treatment for a break (in my case a 6-inch steel plate and 8 screws), it is still considered an elective surgery. I guess because theoretically your bone would heal with no intervention? Again, I am LUCKY because my parents had the money. Had I not had them, I would have been refused treatment and be on crutches or worse to this day.

How can anyone think that's a good way to do things? How can you say we're one of the greatest countries in the world, while this is the way our healthcare is being run? I guess I can understand that some people do not want to pay for other people's mistakes. But being born and then subsequently injuring yourself or falling ill isn't a mistake. It's life. If we had healthcare for everyone, part of my income could help pay for this friend's baby to see an actual doctor. It could have saved my parents thousands of dollars out-of-pocket. From my understanding, the Libertarian way of thinking is, basically, "It's my money, I'll spend it how I want." And while at first glance that seems acceptable, it becomes incredibly short-sighted and selfish the more you think about it. Do you use roads? Did you ever attend a public school? Stop at a traffic light? Call the cops for help? THAT IS YOUR MONEY BEING WASTED! OH NO!

Living in a civilized society means the government gets some of your money. They need it to do those things I listed and MANY MANY more. Believe me, I'd love a little less government intervention in my life. I'd love to be able to smoke pot without worrying about getting arrested. I'd like to drive faster than 55 on the highway. I'd like to keep my entire paycheck that I earned. But, I also want to live in America. Where we have clean water and somewhat clean air and plenty of food to eat. Part of being privileged enough to live here is helping to pay for it. Part of being a good citizen is being kind to other people. I personally think being a good American means making sure that not only do we have that clean water to drink, but also making sure we are doing all we can to have a healthy nation. Why should going to the doctor be a privilege and not a right? Why should people have to worry when they get sick, about anything more than their health? Do you really want people to be terrified to go to the doctor because they can't pay for it, so they avoid going, so they get worse, and possibly spread it to you? Is it really so angering that a poor person or a Mexican or even a double-whammy poor Mexican be able to go to the doctor and not pay money? Let's be honest, we already pay for other people's healthcare and well-being. Have you heard of Social Security? Welfare? Medicare/Medicaid? Guess what! You're helping other people already. Why not keep up with your selfish beliefs and get a little something for yourself too?

I really don't get it. I wish I did, so I could stop being pissed off at a formerly-good friend.

Memories...

My high school boyfriend was a sweet boy. I met him when I was on the staff for the literary magazine and he seemed to like me. He wasn't really my type, though I guess in retrospect he kind of was since all of my boyfriends, at first glance, seem gay. He was a very large half-Arab and I didn't think he was particularly cute, but I figured when you're 15 you need a boyfriend, so why the hell not. He would pick me up in his mom's Toyota and we'd go out for ice cream or dinner, or to a movie because I worked at the movie theater and we could get in for free. A year or so into the relationship, the dates were mostly driving around until we found somewhere to park and then boning in the car, but I digress.

J was quite into movies, and had maybe seen too many of them. Or maybe read his sister's Cosmo or something. But he was really into being a Good Boyfriend. He always had flowers for me, or teddy bears, or love letters. He would write me poems, draw pictures of me, and was unfailingly kind and devoted. And I hated it. It embarrassed me, probably in part because I thought of him as my practice boyfriend. I wasn't popular in school or anything, but J was definitely not one of the 57 boys I had a crush on, and I had never even seen him around until we had those meetings together. I was happy to have a boyfriend, I just...wasn't that into him, I guess.

J had a friend Paul, whose father had died and left Paul a bunch of money. I think his dad probably wanted the money to go towards school, but instead Paul spent it on a bunch of shit for his computer and continued to live at home well into his 20s, and possibly even does to this day. For Valentine's Day, J wrote me a song and then he and Paul recorded it with the fancy computer shit and made me a cd. It had backing vocals and samples and all sorts of ridiculous keyboarding and effects. J was so proud of it and when he presented it to me I think he was expecting me to sob with gratitude. Or maybe just beej him with gratitude. When you're 18, either is okay. I think I looked at it with a smirk on my face and said something like, "Oh cool. I'll um, listen to this later. When I'm alone." I did listen to it later, once. Ever. Even though I was alone in my room, I blushed and fidgeted. He was soulfully singing to me, his "precious pearl." I remember one of the lines was, "...and you look real hot."

I know it was supposed to be sweet. Most girls were jealous; not so much of J himself, but that he was soooo into me. I know I should have been swooning and grateful, but instead it just embarrassed the piss out of me. I guess I didn't feel worthy of such affection given how I mainly just wanted him to remove that pesky virginity before I hit college. Or maybe things that seem sweet in movies are actually kind of creepy in real life? I don't know.

None of my other boyfriends have been quite so demonstrative with their love. E told me he loved me on our first date, which I think was actually his First Date. I guess that should have been a gigantic red, flashing flag but nope! After J I assumed every relationship was intense. Whoops. Now 3 years in with Zach, I couldn't tell you the last time he bought me flowers, and he definitely never wrote me a song. But sometimes when he goes to the Market he brings me back cookies, and whenever he goes to Canada he brings me some Kinder Eggs. I much prefer romantic gestures that are edible, I think is the lesson here.

Drinking on the job

Yeah, I couldn't take it anymore. There was some Ketel One burning a hole in the fridge so I'm drankin' it and dealing with my customers. I keep waiting for scheduling to IM me and say, "Hey kid, hit the road! We don't needja today!" but so far, so bad. I haven't upsold a single thing nor have I been particularly nice to people. I'll save the long explanation of Why My Company Sucks and sum it up thusly: My company likes to make the customer the enemy, I don't know why, and it works! The end.

Tell me this, though. Why do people call me and say, "I'm on your website and I'd like to place an order"? If you are on the website, go ahead and place the order! I know I'm awesome to talk to, but you can seriously do it yourself. Why are you on the website if not to place an order? I guess it's a foreign concept to me because while I do answer the phone for a living, I actually hate talking on the damn thing. The internet was the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't even call Pizza Hut; I order that shit online. It's just...if you call me and say you found a thing on the internet that you like, I'm obligated to offer you more things. Chances are, you only want the one thing you're calling about. You'll keep saying no to the things I'm offering, and then I'll have an order that I didn't sell anything on, bringing my stats down. So if you ever call a place to order something and wonder why the rep starts out nice and then hates you? Thank the company!

Well that Ketel One is talking to a nigga. I gots to piss. Yes, again. Shut it.

Workin' it or jerkin' it?

So, I hate my job. That should come as no surprise. How many people can you name that are all, "Oh man! I love my job!"? I only ever love my LAST job. You know, the one that I left because it sucked so bad, but then the current job sucks MORE so the last one seems awesome by comparison. Currently I do customer service for a big company, but I work from my house. The working from my house part is pretty cool, don't get me wrong. I like being able to smoke while I work, and poop in my own bathroom. I don't have to put on clothes or cover up tattoos/piercings (I am not a very tattooed or pierced person but even what little I have comes under scrutiny in most offices), and I can visit whatever websites I want without worrying about getting in trouble.

The work itself is no bueno, though. I actually enjoy the serving customers part of Customer Service. The problem is that a lot of the job involves selling and doing shady things, and I'm not really fond of that stuff. It feels awkward when someone calls me and says that we messed up their order and I'm supposed to go, "That's too bad, but we have a special on jeans today!" We don't get many breaks, and last week I got in trouble for using the bathroom during my shift. I have to pee RIGHT NOW and I can't go unless I'm willing to take a hit on my stats. And the stats, they are many. We are graded on how long the call takes, how many things we sell, how many things they buy without us selling them, and the quality of the call (and quality doesn't mean how well we helped the customer, it means if we remembered to say "Thank you Mrs. Smith for calling Big Company, have a nice day!", which I usually forget, so have gotten bad quality scores.). For every one thing a customer wants to buy, I have to offer two other things. If I don't offer them, I get in trouble. If I offer them but forget the 5 elements of a sale, I get in trouble. If I offer them, the customer says no, and I don't make a rebuttal, I get in trouble.

So sometimes, like today, when I'm working and it's Sunday and my boyfriend is home and I am home but I can't actually be around him, my job suuuuucccckkkssss. It makes me long for the days of waiting tables and making cash money. I make way, way less money doing this and I get treated about as badly. But I don't smell like Fryolator and syrup, and I am not resentful of black people and old people anymore, since I don't rely on their tips (non-existant). So I guess it's a wash?

I need to get a shenis or a bucket or something, I seriously have to pee.

Check

Pubes gone, head hair red, pits deodorized, thong giving me a wedgie. Sounds like it's about time for the Boy to get here!

Except, of course, I have to work from 2-5. I think I spend more time dreading going to work than I spend time actually working. I wonder if that counts as overtime?

Let me just get this off my chest: I think I hate children. I didn't used to. I used to be like, "Maybe someday I'll have some kids!" Then it was like, "Eh, I don't really want to make my body any worse than it is or spend money on other people so probably no kids for me, but hey! Yours are cute and awesome!" And now it's like, "Could you please remove that...thing from my vicinity? Mucho appreciato." Believe me, I'm just as disgusted with myself as you are. I mean, I was a child myself! My parents had children and I don't look down on them! If not for children the whole human race would crumble! Er, I don't know if I would even care about that really, since I wouldn't be here anyway. I don't MEAN to get all judgey about children. I swear. It's just, every time my common-law nephew comes over I start heading for the butcher knife and thinking of ways to mess up my anatomy and render it useless. The child-havers among you will probably say, "Oh when it's your kid it's different!" And that's what scares me the most, man. If I ever turn into one of those people who doesn't even notice their kid has ruined the entire restaurant's evening KILL ME. Seriously.

And I know this is not a new thing, but for me it is, and I want to just get it said and be done with it. I know YOU think your 7-month old is cool as shit and he totally changed your life. But I don't care about him that much. I care about YOU. When I say daylight savings time blows because we lose an hour, I don't give a shit that it's soooo muuuuch harder for parents. I get it! When you have a baby you have to get up early! They change your life! OMGGGG. I get it! That's why I DO NOT HAVE ONE OF THOSE. Also you had him on purpose, so I'm pretty sure you saw this one coming. It's like hearing those people who climb Mt Everest bitching about how hard it is. Um yeah, it probably is. Why the fuck did you sign up to do it if not to experience how hard it is? Believe me, I'd be the complainingest motherfucker on that mountain if I were climbing it. But that's exactly why I'm not signing up for that shit. God.

Oh and neat! It's raining again! I was hoping I would get to mop the dirt and leaf particles off the floor five more times this weekend, so...WISH GRANTED. Thanks nature!

No, I know. It's time to smoke a bowl. I'm going now.

No, really, EVERYTHING

I'm dying (dye-ing? I still don't know) my hair and my head's all itchy and bright red. The timer just went off so I guess I should go rinse this shit and give the ol' cooter a run-through with a razor since the Boy comes home today. BBL, y'all.