It's been a while since I've been here at CT. That's what I hate about being a grownup. Work, work, work then come home and work some more. I sort of miss the days where I'd basically sleep all day, then party all night. I say "sort of" because most of the time, I'd have a hangover and that's no fun. Or I'd be broke. I'm still broke a lot now but the bills are paid. Somewhat. I actually like my job so it's not so bad. But I like not going to my job so much more. I think my boyfriend may be getting closer to proposing. He bought us a couch. For those that don't see the connection, allow me to explain. When a girl wants to get serious, she either comes right out and says it or she just does what she can to be closer to the dude. When a guy wants to get serious and you're already living together, he'll usually do things to show the girl that he can nest properly. Some may call me sexist but girls are ruled mostly by emotion and guys by practicality. I haven't seen that much to make me change my mind. Plus, my man bought a new computer, printer, desk, etc. So either he's really become a girl or he's nesting. And he's looking more seriously at houses. He's always said he wants to buy us a house before we got married. As long as there's a yard for me to get a dog or two, I don't care. I just want a cute little house with a decent yard. No McMansions for this simple redneck. All these omens are good because I've been planning my wedding since I was 5. All girls do. Any woman who denies it is lying. All I know is that I'm wearing purple and a tiara. If I can't go barefoot, I'm wearing boots. I wish my dad was still alive to walk me down the aisle but my uncle will instead. My sisters have saved me the trouble of having to choose between them for maid of honor. Since Kate is married, she'll be my Matron of Honor. Nora's single, so she's my Maid of Honor. Ha! The only thing that's going to be hard as hell is the fact that I'm a Lutheran and he's an athiest. I'm ok with not marrying in the church or by the church because my pastor is a family friend who'll at least say a few things. But my boyfriend doesn't want an outdoor wedding and I refuse to get married in the mayor's office. In the mayor's office, you can only have like 2-4 attendants. If you do it in court or another venue, than you can have up to 20. I waited all these years for my wedding day and I'll be damned if I'm not going to be seen. I have no idea WHERE to have a wedding, since it won't be outside and it won't be in church. Hmm.... In less than 2 weeks is WRESTLEMANIA!!! Only the Superbowl of wrestling! I loooooooooove Batista but I'll be extremely pissed if he breaks Undertaker's streak. I absolutely refuse to watch "American Idol" ever again. Sanjaya is NOT better than Sundance! Who the hell is voting for this kid? I'm going to find out and then I'm going to kick your ass. And who the hell kept Antonella on as long as she was? She sucked! Pretty only goes so far, people. It's rots and dies. At least if she could sing, she could pay her bills. But she can't sing. Is it just me or does this season totally, 100 % suck? It's absolutely awful. My personal favorites (culled from when I was watching) are: Chris Sligh, Lakisha, Stephanie, Blake, the dude that everyone says looks like Justin Timberlake but really doesn't. The rest of them pretty much suck.

I had posted this blog elsewhere on the Net and like it so much, I thought I'd post it here. All of a sudden, there are babies everywhere. Perhaps they were there all along and I failed to notice. All I know is that suddenly, it seems every woman I know has become a walking incubator. I find it rather frightening. Don't get me wrong, babies are cute. Blah, blah, blah--insert your own pro-baby phrase here. I don't want one. I don't think I have the right things to base motherhood on. That same spark of "maternal love" thing I get? I get that when I look at one of my cats. Or a squirrel in the tree outside. Or the cute dog down the street that I really, really, really want but can't have because that would be stealing and I'm too cute for prison. The point is I can't be a mom if the feeling I get that's supposed to be strictly for kids is the feeling I get when I see an animal. Or the absolutely gorgeous teal leather handbag my boyfriend got me for my birthday next Friday that I swear I never peeked at. It really pisses me off how, just because I'm female and thus, have those essential female parts, I'm expected to breed. Does any woman ever actually just step back for a minute and really try to seek out WHY she wants a child? I'm not saying don't have kids. I'm just saying, QUESTION why! Are you popping them out because you're "supposed to" or because you really want to? I don't think enough women do that. I think they refuse to let their minds really dissect that question and focus instead on the child that they focus all their love and secret legacies to. I don't really know of any woman who actually took the time to ask herself if she wanted the child because she wanted to bring a unique and special soul into the world or if she did it because she was a woman and that's what women do. I'm not even sure women will even be honest with themselves about that. Not in this day and age of being feminist. They don't want to admit that they are doing what their "oppressed foremothers" have done. I honestly feel this is a tragedy. I think the fear is that if women step back to really examine WHY they want kids, that maybe population rates will actually reduce. That could be agood thing. We have quite enough as it is. And there's always adoption. I love kids, don't get me wrong. There are a lot of times when I imagine having one of my own. Especially now, in this time of baby showers and baptisms that I've become a part of. But the thought of the labor scares the fuck out of me. An experience that's supposed to be so painful and traumatic that the body will kill itself to forget does not sound like something I can wear a party hat to. And I like a good party hat. I also think of the way the world is going and I really would not want a child of mine brought into it. Most people are pretty cool when I tell them I don't plan on having kids. I get the occasional "You're young, blah blah blah". People, I'm going to be 31 in 6 days. Yes, that's young. But the biological clock? It's winding down! And for all the kids I don't have, that's all the more cats and dogs and ferrets and hamsters that I can have. If I ever get the Mommy urge and it won't go away, there's always fostering or even adoption. I've been there so I would make an excellent fosterer. For the record, I would make a fantastic mother. I know this. But I think the fact that I can step back and say that one of the main reasons I don't want a kid is because I'm lazy and selfish and I like being lazy and selfish is an indicator at how good a mom I would be. Maybe I'm a woman but I'm also a citizen of the planet, not a breeder. Not a hen popping out eggs. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a coworker, a neice, a cousin, a girlfriend, a neighbor. I'm a writer, a cashier, a reader, an artist, an animal lover, a scholar. I can be everything and I can be nothing. That makes me a little more complicated than just a set of genitals.

My mom had to put her cat down today. Georgie was almost 15. She got him from the neighbor when I was in my senior year of high school. Until then, we'd had everything BUT cats and I was decidedly not a cat person. But damn, this cat looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooved my mom. While I am sad that Georgie died, I'm even more upset because my mom is upset. I hate when she's upset. Part of the reason she's upset is because she feels that she keeps having to have things put to sleep. 3 years ago, she had no choice but to turn my dad's machines off in the hospital and let him go. Now she had to put the cat, who was essentially her son, to sleep. It doesn't much matter that these things were necessary, that the suffering would have been worse otherwise. She knows this. But it's still sad. And if Mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy.

"Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms is a song dear to myself and my sisters. It's one of the few songs that totally define us or as we used to be. In parenthesis, I'll explain as best I can why) HEY JEALOUSY Tell me do you think itd be all right If I could just crash here tonight You can see Im in no shape for driving And anyway Ive got no place to go (We were so screwed up that we felt there was no place for us. We often slept at everyone's home except our own. Sometimes because we were fucked up and other times because we were fucking around) And you know it might not be that bad You were the best Id ever had (There's no one in this world that's better than my sisters.) If I hadnt blown the whole thing years ago I might not be alone (We, especially I, fucked A LOT of things up back then. If we knew what we know now, it would've saved everyone some heartache.) Tomorrow we can drive around this town And let the cops chase us around (Pretty self-explanatory. We'd always take off on impromptu road trips or just drive around for the fuck of it all. And quite often, cops did chase us around. Mainly because our stereo was on so loud that we never heard the siren until we finally got "manoevered" to the side.) The past is gone but something might be found To take its place...hey jealousy (Like it says, the past is gone and that's 99% awesome. But every now and then, we wish we could be a little crazy like we were back then.) And you can trust me not to think And not to sleep around If you dont expect too much from me You might not be let down Cause all I really want is to be with you Feeling like I matter too (We may have cheated on boyfriends [actually, I never did] but never on girlfriends and never with each other. We knew none of us had a lot to offer so we accepted what we got, no matter how little that might have been. Whatever we did was just to feel a little less empty for just a little while.) If I hadnt blown the whole thing years ago I might be here with you Tomorrow we can drive around this town And let the cops chase us around The past is gone but something might be found To take its place...hey jealousy She took my heart Theres only one thing I couldnt start (My sisters took my heart in pain with all the misery we had no choice but to live through and they take my heart again everytime they live some more. Without them, I have no heart.) Everyone goes through painful times but a huge portion of our lives was nothing but pain. We had no one to rely on besides ourselves and I know, without a doubt, that I would have been dead a long time ago if I didn't have my sisters. Life is great now and still, it's majorly because of them.

Women will agree with me on this: Girly crushes are NOT the same as regular crushes. When a girl has a girly crush, it means we've come across a fellow woman that sticks in our mind for some reason. It could be that we think she's pretty or dresses cool, it could be that she cracks us up. Maybe she whooped someone deserving. It could be anything and it's not a romantic or sexual crush. That said, I was at work today when my friend and coworker (the bitch had off today while I toiled!) stopped by to visit. She, Megan, had her friend Jess with her. Jess is the cutest little thing ever! She is not conventional cute. She is tattooed and pierced and has purple hair, all of which is exactly what birthed the girly crush. Plus, she's sweet. Very open to my multitude of questions about where in NJ is actually decent to get body mod done and why in the blue hell did she willingly undergo surgery to implant little metal plates in her cheekbones (So she could screw in sparkly little gems...I don't get it either.). I want to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING so a willingness to withstand my barrages of questions in the spirit it's intended is easily a way to my heart. I've been told I can get quite annoying. Jess was a doll. We even giggled at the grandmas that eyeballed her like she was the spawn of Satan. Plus, she works in my favorite store ever: KMart. I love meeting people. I don't care if they are different or look different from me. In fact, that's actually major criteria for me when seeking friends and acquaintances. If I don't understand something or someone, I have no problem going up to them and asking them stuff. I'll even admit that I probably come across like an asshole but most of the time, they realize that I really am just curious. I'm the weirdest person I know so I look for varying degrees of that in others. As a closing note, I have a constant girly crush on the writer Laurie Notaro. Seriously, read her. She's awesome beyond belief. I wish I lived in Oregon so I could meet her and hang out with her. These are her books that y'all need to buy: 1)The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club 2)Autobiography of a Fat Bride 3)I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies) 4)We Thought You Would Be Prettier (True Tales of The Dorkiest Girl Alive) And if you do get your hands on any of her books and wonder, "Does this shit actually happen to anyone?!" I don't even need to know what event led you to ask. Instead, I offer myself up to you as proof that yes, it most certainly does.

I'm beginning to be greatly annoyed by work. Not at my job; I love that. Just the whole getting-up-and-going part. I have a tendency to get comfortable at home and not want to leave my house. My mom says that's laziness but she doesn't know what she's talking about. She thinks she does and I let her think that. She gets too sad if she thinks she's wrong about something. I'm all about building up, not tearing down. That's how I roll. I just got in touch again with an old friend! I'm so happy! This guy is an awesome writer and an excellent artist. I'm really happy he's back in my and my sister's life. I don't really have an excuse for why John and I fell out of contact. I usually have a reason for doing that. I had a friend (a little more than a friend; I was engaged to him at one point) named K. When my dad died, I e-mailed K to let him know. I expected sympathy from this guy. He sends me back an e-mail that simply says: I'M NOT GOOD WITH DEATH. Neither am I, dickhead!!! That's why I e-mailed who I thought was a friend! Needless to say, that was the last communication I had with him. I'm still pissed about that, obviously. I have to work tonight and then I get 2 days off! Every time I plan stuff for my day off, shit happens and I never get to it. So yes, I have a plan. But I'm not saying it out loud. That way, God won't know and I might actually get to do it! I sent my friend John the link to my CT page. I told him I get presents if he signs up through me. So be nice to him. He's mine but I'll share. (He's a cutie too!)

I don't even know what to write but I want to write. I'm so tired, worked today. Everyone thinks the department where I work is the best and easiest. It is, don't get me wrong. But the only time I'm working there WITH someone is one morning a week. The rest of the time, it's just me. I cover the employee breakroom in a supermarket and it's a nice one. But when it's just me, I have to stock everything, clean everything, get everything, do all the paperwork, and ring everyone up. BY MYSELF. When you're all by yourself, that's a lot to do. Especially when you get into a flow and then you have to break the flow to ring people up. Then you try to get the flow back, only to have to ring someone else up. And because most people think it's the easiest job around, they have no idea that every week, I get a new list of what I can or can not provide down there, as well as new forms and new rules about how to fill everything out. So the point is: Yes, it's an easy job. But it's also a difficult job to do by yourself. Especially with a degenerative spinal condition that constantly leaves you in pain that you have to ignore because no one's going to help you bring all the shit down to stock. I'm actually not complaining, even though it's coming across as such. I actually love my job a lot. All the friends I have here, all the people that I cherish, I made by working where I work. These people, whatever department they may be in, are good, decent people. They work their asses off for little pay and often even less respect. These are people that have families, bills, whatever and they work hard to have a decent life. Yes, there are assholes. You'll find them anywhere. But the majority of my coworkers are good, solid, decent people and I love them. To me, it's an honor to be part of them. I'll take the annoying, twitty kids that don't understand shit, the cleaning up after everyone, the shifting rules, the constantly changing allowances, and the back pain for a while longer. Whatever I feel when I go home is nothing compared to the majority of them. The next time you go to a supermarket or a convenience store or whatever place employs people for not much money, try to understand them a little through me. Whatever policies frustrate you, however long the lines may be or however high the prices, it's not us. We don't have any sort of power when it comes to that and Corporate doesn't much give a hoot what we think. We're just following the rules and regulations like you do in your fancy jobs. The difference is that we do what supports your fancy jobs for a hell of a lot less pay. We're just muddling along, trying to make the most of our various situations, trying to stretch out our paychecks and support our families. Is it really going to cost you that much to bite your tongue when a cashier is training or to give a smile to a person collecting the shopping carts that you're too lazy to put in their proper places? No. And the joy and gratitude that we feel when you do treat us like a normal human will stretch a lot farther. Because circumstances can shift in the blink of an eye. One day, you may end up in my shoes. You say no but you don't know. And when that happens, you'll wish you had some good karma banked. We're all human and we deserve to be treated as such. Who cares what our job is? At least we have one. At least we're being productive. And if we all went on strike, I guarantee you that you'd feel it.

A 200 Qs of You
first name:	Joy
nickname:	Tana
month you were born:	September
weight:	None of your business
height:	5'3"
zodiac sign:	Libra
chinese sign:	Hare
shoe size:	9
pants size:	Small
hair color:	Dark Auburn
is it dyed:	Yes
eye color:	Hazel
glasses, contacts, or none:	Both but not tinted contacts
piercings:	Yes
how many and where:	Right now, ears; getting nose, tongue, labret, and navel
tattoos:	Yes
how many and where:	1; getting tons more
if so, what are they of:	Pentacle bracelet
siblings:	Yes
how many:	2 sisters, Nora and Kate
parents still together:	They were until my dad died
bed time:	Whenever the hell I feel like it
been out of the country:	Yes
if so, which country(s):	Germany, Canada, Nova Scotia, France, Holland, Denmark
do you have a bf/gf:	Yes
if so, name:	Patrick
what do you think about sex before marriage:	Yes, please
are you a virgin:	Hardly
do you smoke:	Yes
do you drink:	Sometimes
do you write:	All the time
do you act:	No
do you sing:	In my car
do you read alot, a little, never:	Yes, lots
whats your heritage:	Irish, Dutch, Native American (Lakota Sioux, Choctaw, Cherokee), and German
does it have any affect on you:	Proud as hell of being Native and German
Some Favorites...
color:	Purple but like black, turquoise, teal too
food:	The edible kind
non-alcoholic drink:	Diet Coke with Lime
alcoholic drink:	Rum and Coke
dessert:	Ice Cream
chip:	Rippled
cookie:	Sugar
cake:	Lots of icing or my mom's hazelnut
pie:	Apple
ice cream:	Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, Cookie Dough, Edy's Ice Cream Sandwich, Dulce de Leche
meat:	Cheeseburgers
fruit:	Blueberries
vegetable:	Corn
fast food restuarant:	All of them
restaurant:	Diners
ethnic restaurant:	Um...the diner's run by Greek people
TV Show:	Lost, Miami Ink, America's Most Wanted, WWE, Law & Order
cartoon show:	Spongebob, Looney Tunes, Family Guy, Tom & Jerry
old movie:	Casablanca
movie:	The Crow
actor:	Brandon Lee (RIP), Johnny Depp, Vin Diesel, Jason Statham
actress:	Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Jennifer Aniston
book:	The Bible, Lost Souls, Shantaram
book series:	The Faerie series by Laurel K. Hamilton; The Agent Pendergast series by Childs and Preston; The Prey series by John Sanford; Kathy Reichs
author:	Kathy Reichs, Childs/Preston, Dean Koontz
poem:	Mine
poet:	Me
song:	Lots
singer:	Tori Amos, Tobey Lightman, Joan Osbourne
band/group:	Nine Inch Nails, Nickleback, Staind, System of a Down, Disturbed, countless others
music genre:	Alternative, metal, country
movie genre:	Comedy
book genre:	Thriller
cd:	The musical kind
sport:	Wrestling
major sporting event:	Wrestling
country singer:	Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood
country song:	Lots
wild land animal:	Wildcats, Polar bears, Panda bears, Giraffes
wild sea animal:	Dolphins, killer whales, whales
farm animal:	Horse
kind of pet:	All of them
vehicle:	Toyota Corolla is what I have; would like a pick up or small SUV or even my own Harley
flower:	Carnations, Lilies, Jasmine, Orchids
tree:	Any tree
cheese:	Provolone, mozzarella, Swiss, Brie
pizza:	Yes
pizza topping:	Extra cheese, garlic, black olives, mushrooms, and hot sauce
movie snack:	Popcorn with lots of butter
state (if in US):	NY, Maine or NJ
country:	America, baby!
vacation place:	Hamlin State park in upstate NY, Maine
holiday:	Looooove Christmas
month:	September
season:	Fall and spring
day of the week:	Sunday
TV series:	Lost, Law & Order, Miami Ink, AMW
movie series:	Pirates, Lord of the Rings
time of day:	Whenever I'm home from work
mythical creature:	Faeries! Love them all though.
number:	714
letter:	I kind of like them all
quote and by who:	"Some things you don't leave until they leave you"
saying:	"Someone has to be the first drop of rain"
year in your life:	Every year
time period:	Now is good
influenctial person in history:	My parents; they're influential to me
school subject:	English and art
super hero:	None really
thing in the sky:	Stars
disney movie:	All of them
warner brother movie:	Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
paramount movie:	No idea
horror movie:	Halloween series
romance movie:	The Crow
drama movie:	The Crow
action movie:	The Crow
humor movie:	Elf, Pirates
chick flick movie:	Steel Magnolias
jewlery:	Silver rings
accessory:	My bag
candy:	Twix
weather:	sunny
clothing store:	Hot Topic, KMart
clothing brand:	Don't care
store for anything else:	KMart
shoe brand:	Skechers and whoever makes decent boots
jeans brand:	Don't care
pop/soda:	Diet Coke
tv channel:	All of them
radio channel:	101.1
room in the house:	Living Room
hour:	Don't care
athlete:	Wrestlers
video game:	None
board game:	Lots; probably Monopoly
computer game:	None
land feature (ie. mountains, hills, beaches ect...):	Woods, seashore
building structure (kind of buildings):	Cottages
insect:	Ew
bird:	All
dog breed:	Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labs, Rhodesian Ridgebacks
part of your body:	My eyes
part of the opposite sex's body:	Depends
website:	Divas-Heaven.com, Cherrytap.com
fruit juice:	Fruit Punch
search engine:	Google
girls name:	Rayne
old fashioned girls name:	Anna
boys name:	Dakotah
old fashined boys name:	Joshua
gem:	Sapphire
rock:	The kind you can throw
college/university:	None
scent of anything (not perfume):	my cats, woodsmoke, burning leaves, fresh baked bread
perfume:	Elizabeth Arden Green Tea
football team:	Ravens
baseball team:	Ew
soccer team:	Ew
other team?:	Wrestling
magazine:	Guideposts, Cosmo, Marie Claire, Glamour, Weird NJ, craft magazines
newspaper:	none in particular
make-up item:	Liquid Eyeliner
office/school supply:	Notebooks, Pilot pens
art supply:	Drawing pads
painter:	Lots
work of art:	Photography
shape:	Star
late night host/show:	None
This or That
sprite or Mt dew:	Sprite
coke or pepsi:	Diet Coke
cake or pie:	Pie
ice cream or serbert:	Ice cream
beef or chicken:	Chicken
history or english:	English
beatles or rolling stones:	Neither
kiss or hug:	Hug
stars or hearts:	Stars
summer or winter:	Summer
fall or spring:	Both
reading or writing:	Both
hot or cold:	Hot with air conditioning
veggies or meat:	Meat
fruit or veggies:	Fruit
picnics or cookouts/bonfires:	Both
pizza or cheeseburger:	Pizza
cheeseburger or hotdog:	Cheesburgers
Other
have you ever skydived:	No
if no, do you want to:	Yes
bungee jumped:	No
no? do you want to:	I don't know
what winter activities do you do or would like to do:	I want to snowboard
same Q but summer:	Swimming
what turns you on about opposite sex or what do you like them to have:	Eyes, intelligence, sense of humor
turn offs? dont like?:	Hate rudeness, cruelty (especially to animals), poor hygeine, bad attitude
have you ever had alcohol:	Yes
ever tried drugs:	Yes
tried to smoke:	Yes
scuba dived:	No
if no, you want to?:	Not sure
like hiking:	Yes
like to dance:	No
like the beach better than the mountains:	Mountains
like to go shopping:	Yes
ever surfed or boogie boarded:	No
if no, want to?:	Not sure
like traveling:	Yes
have any pets:	2
how many and what are they:	Cats
live in city or country:	Country
do you like it would you rather switch:	Love it
ever been in a plane or helicopter:	Plane
like dancing in the rain:	Yes
playing in the snow:	Yes
like horses or have one:	Want one
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First off, I want to welcome the newest addition to my weird little family. For privacy's sake, I'll only list first and middle name and will NOT post pics until/if I know it's ok. Welcome to Bellamaria Darling, born at 7:20 PM, on Friday, January 5, 2007. She weighed 8 lbs., 3 oz. and is 21 inches! She's got blue eyes and brown hair and is adorable! She is the daughter of one of my dearest friends and her fiance. I nicknamed her Angelbells! It was supposed to be a Christmas baby, therefore, her nickname would have been JingleBella! If she had been early, like Thanksgiving, I would have called her Gizzard. Why not? My dad used to call me Little Turkey! I just got home from visiting my Mom and going to church. And yes, the church IS still standing, after my appearance. It's Epiphany, the month that celebrates mission work and for some reason that I've forgotten, we have King Cake. Many cultures have many versions but ours followed closely the Mardi Gras tradition that I've read about. Whoever gets the piece of cake with the little plastic Baby Jesus in it wins a crown and is King/Queen for the day. Guess who won?! Except my mom insisted she's the Queen and I must defer to her. But, as I've been telling her for years, I AM the Princess. I have a pic with my crown but it's on my phone and I just ran out my time card taking baby shots so I can't download it until I add more money. That's not going to happen until I get paid on Friday but it's cute! I should probably explain that I collect crowns and tiaras. Paper, cardboard, plastic, etc. Love them all!

On my profile on a wrestling forum that I'm proud to be a member of--Divas-Heaven.com--I have a little part in my sig that lists dislikes. One of my dislikes is "hippies". I want to clarify what I mean by this. When I say I don't like hippies, I don't mean the granola-munching, tree-hugging, pot-smoking hippies. I like granolas, I've been known to hug trees myself (If it's good enough for Shel Silverstein, it's good enough for me), and I don't think smoking pot is all that bad. I think more people should take an interest in saving nature and loving animals. What I mean by "hippie" is the flag-burning, attack-everyone-for-calling-women-chicks-or-what-have-you, whine -about-how-war-is-bad, it-takes-a-village-to-raise-my-child hippie. You want to burn our flag, be my guest. Unfortunately, because of you whiny little babies, you have that right. I think you're an idiot if you do it but you fought the law and apparently, the law did not win here. Stay the hell away from my flag and don't you dare touch my I'support-the-troops bumper stickers. Oh, and just so y'all know: It's because of those very soldiers that you're disrespecting by burning the flag that gave you the right to do so in the first place. So shut up. I don't much give a shit what you call me. I've heard it all before. If it's new, I'll even write it down. I like to learn. Ladies, a lot of the time when men call us "chicks", "babes", "sweetie", etc,, it's not always an insult or the man keeping you down. A lot of the time, it's their little way of expressing affection for you. And face it, the very ones that bitch about the man holding them down are the ones that like a man holding them down. War is bad. That's why it IS a war. Nothing's changed that much since the beginning of time. So suck it up. There are millions of men and women at the front lines so you don't have to be. Don't you even realize that in most other countries, joining the service is mandatory? You HAVE to go. Here, in America, you get a choice. If you don't want to go, that's fine. I don't have the balls to go either. But I 100 % support the ones that do. It's not up to me to decide if where they are is the right place for them to be. It's not up to me to care all that much that they did this or that. I'm not the one wearing the combat boots (actually, yes I am). I'm not the one who's putting my life on the line for all of you. I don't have to see what they see or do what they do. That's just the way it is. And if war was pretty or soft or cutesy, it wouldn't be called war. So do me a favor and shut the hell up about it. The day you're on the front lines, facing imminent death, come talk to me. And finally. It does NOT take a damn village to raise a child. I am so sick of this and I hate Hilary for bringing this idealism to the forefront of the American mindset. I don't have kids. I don't want kids. Therefore, I don't have to do shit to help you with yours. I don't care how cute your kid is. It's not mine. And if it was, you can bet your ass that I would be the one taking care of it. Not everyone else. YOU are not the greatest person in the world because you've bred. I for one don't care that you did. It's a biological function that may or may not produce fruit. And you know, half the kids out there ARE fruits. I love kids. I have 3 nephews and 3 nieces. I adore them. They're awesome. But their moms raise them, not me. And that's the way it should be. I don't have kids for a reason. (Actually a bunch of reasons). If I don't have my own, there's nothing wrong with me. In fact, more people should get a clue. But the whole point is that if you bring it into this world, it's yours. No one else's and you have no right to expect anything from anyone regarding it. That's my rant for today. These are some of the multitude of things that piss me off. You're not patriotic? I think you're on crack but whatever. As disgusting as it is, you have that right. I also have the right to whoop your ass if you do burn that flag.