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| Steve got jumped last night sometime around eight on Grant Street.
The guy tried to sell him drugs, and when Steve said no, he ran up and tried going into his pockets. So Steve punched him, the guy hit back, and Steve hit him a couple more times. Then some other guy ran up out of nowhere and hit Steve really hard across the face with a two by four. Then Steve fell and banged up his knee really badly and the two guys ran away.
Jesus fucking H.
His face is all banged up; he's got a really bad gash along his chin and upper lip. The rest of it is swollen and a little cut, but not cut badly.
They didn't take his wallet, or anything else.
For the most part, I love our neighborhood.
Then shit like this happens and sometimes it makes me wish there were more money around these parts. Then maybe people wouldn't resort to violent means of income. | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment   |
| Yay antibiotics!
And yes, the strongest they could have probably given me: 800mg apiece.
Sweet. And I got all the yearly-uncomfortable-exam part out of the way to boot.
And they gave me a referral to talk to another gyn about Essure. And colorfully packaged play things. And Plan B for free.
I <3 PP so much.
I always leave feeling comforted. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Sick right now. Actually, I've been sick in the first way for a while now. Another damn UTI which had to be put off because of lack of insurance. Thank goodness for Medicaid; I have an appointment in a couple of hours and hopefully they give me the strongest keflex they can to knock this out of my kidneys.
The other way is the oncoming head cold. Or something. Snuffly and stuffed up with an itchy sore throat.
I am a whiny little bitch when I get sick.
Yay for Steve. :) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| False alarm.
Life doesn't suck; its actually quite beautiful.
Even when things seem really down. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| A couple of things:
1) Got denied Unemployment. Not entirely surprising, not entirely disappointed.
2) Got approved for Medicaid. Very exciting.
3) Found out that Medicaid covers Essure. Not entirely sure this is the exact route we're going, but both of us are going to get a consult and see which options suit us best. I'm leaning towards this because it would be cheaper if insurance will cover it. Not looking forward to the pain involved, but I'll live. Also, it would be really nice to have that type of control over my own body for keeps.
4) Yesterday was my 25th birthday. This isn't exactly where I pictured myself at 25, but since I honestly didn't see myself making it past 21, it beats the alternative. I have met two adult goals; I did not meet my little-kid-big-dream goals, but thats alright. There's still time.
5) Had a mini-life-crisis yesterday. The drama is all in my head, which is fine, so long as it stays there safely contained.
6) Don't know what I'm going to do in the coming weeks, but this depression shit is for the birds. Maybe I'll be able to get myself motivated to do something...anything. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Okay, I realize that I'm probably lame for this, but...
I don't have a television. Actually, I haven't had a television in four years, and before that I think I had rabbit ears for a year.
Well, we do have one, in the attic, unplugged, not active. So if I want to watch television shows, there's Hulu and Fancast. Usually, this consists of cartoons.
Now, I've become like totally obsessed with Desperate Housewives. Lame, I know.
But it is soo good for a million reasons.
I must be getting old.
Tomorrow I'm turning 25.
Damn quarter of a century. How'd ya sneak up like that? | | comments: Leave a comment |
|
I lol'd long and hard at this one.
Watched Mel Brooks' History of the World last night.
It was quite fantastic. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I really really oughtn't read triggering blogs while I'm feeling like this.
Or maybe they're making me feel like this.
Damn. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Last night Steve and I watched The People Versus Larry Flynt. It was the first time I'd seen it.
Gotta say, it was really great. Apparently, much of the script was taken from actual court transcripts. If thats the case, I am *damn* impressed.
I really liked the one point where his lawyer appeals his suit to the Supreme Court. Outside of the courthouse, a bunch of press people were asking him why this case was so important and the etcetera.
He said something to the effect of: "We have the First Amendment for a reason. If it protects me, then it means it will protect all of you, too, because I'm the worst."
I don't know enough about the true story, but I'm pretty sure that these court proceedings set major precedent. Like porn or hate porn, like Hustler or hate it, the movie (and Larry Flynt as a person) made a pretty damn important point.
Back in the day, famous people were brought up on obscenity charges a number of times. Allen Ginsberg was brought up for his poem Howl, which is nothing compared to porn, but the point remains; it was considered obscene and was attempted to be censored.
South Park, my long standing favorite show of all time (which is the only show I watch, coincidentally) made this point even more recently in their double episode, Cartoon Wars. Apparently, Comedy Central censored them from showing the image of Muhammad in an episode, so in response they made these episodes. The basic message was, "Either all of its okay, or none of its okay. If you censor one thing, where does it end?"
This, completely.
Its like what Evelyn Hall said so many years ago: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
This is why as terrible as hate speech may be, its still a person's right to express this opinion (verbally, literarily). And it is equally the right of another person to disagree. I'm no fan of a lot of different things that are said, but so long as they are not said in a way that is legislative or otherwise infringes on a person's fundamental rights (this includes "to knowledge", in my book), then a person has a right to express their opinion, however stupid or misinformed it may be. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Milk Thistle, by Conor Oberst is officially my favorite song of the moment.
That and Sadie, by Joanna Newsom and Walking at Night in Key West, by Allen Ginsberg.
And also, Be Kind, by Devendra Banhart.
Their lyrics all make me happy.
Obsessively getting songs stuck in my head.
(and also Moab by Conor Oberst) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| The things what parents say which mean to be scathing:
Mom: "I couldn't live how you live. I don't understand how you do it. You must like being poor."
While cleaning the stove and doing the dishes this morning, this kinda kept playing over in my head. How exactly do I live that's so terribly unbearable to her?
When I lived at Megahertz, yeah, that could have been classified as squalor. But at that point in time, its not like I could have afforded to live on my own. Right before that, I'd tried to live on my own, and got evicted because I couldn't afford to pay rent (and 99 cents of every dollar went in a shoe box til rent was due, and it still wasn't enough). So its not like there was much of a choice at that point.
The times I'd wanted to move out, I had to constantly remind myself that in the long run, this was probably going to be the best short term option.
"I couldn't live how you live."
Which is how, exactly?
You know, this shit hadn't really gotten to me until about a month ago.
It was when my friend Todd, the person who taught Steve and I plumbing, came up to me at the coffee shop to talk about the house. He looked me square in the eyes, big old grin on his face and said, "I'm so proud of you."
My parents haven't said this to me. My mother hasn't said this to me. My dad acts proud, but he hasn't said those exact words.
"I couldn't live how you live."
This is what she says.
I'm kinda upset about this somehow. Its like, damn, when I was a kid it was my mom who I was close to. Now its my dad, and its all sorts of weird. Sometimes I think this upsets her more than anything else; her and my brother gang up on him, but he and I have gotten tight. I think it bothers her that I don't think my dad's a complete asshole anymore, or that we can talk politics (and scream, but not take it personally) and talk shop. | | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Traveling is off until my ankle feels better. Its been hurting quite a bit. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I love my parents, really.
But jeezus H. some of the stuff that comes out of their mouths...
We just end up arguing the same shit over and over.
What really pisses me off is that they've been in the same damn wagon as most of the other people in this country who are facing problems: laid off from work, can't find work, debating whether paying the mortgage, the electric bill or buying groceries is more important, receiving social service benefits, having a lack of education and less opportunities because of it.
And now that they're not struggling, they get all high and mighty about taxes for public schools and public welfare.
Mom: "Why should I have to pay for people who are lazy? Why should I have to pay school taxes when my kids aren't in school anymore?" It goes on. "My insurance rates go up because of Medicaid. My co-workers say the same thing, and we've got good jobs, why can't they go and get a good job?"
Dad: "Its lack of ambition, thats what it is."
*headdesk*
I forget the exact numbers, but I think like 7,000 or so jobs are lost a day in this country. Buffalo doesn't exactly have the greatest employment base for the educated and uneducated alike. Our poverty levels are debilitating.
Mom: "So why don't they just move where there's jobs?"
*double headdesk*
Repeat: 7,000 or so jobs are lost a day in this country. Not everyone has the education necessary to get a good job to begin with. Our neighborhoods look like they do because a couple decades ago people did start leaving to find work. And they're still leaving. Ambition doesn't necessarily create that magical job thats going to pull you out of debt and guarantee success. People struggle for a myriad of reasons, and while there is something to be said for personal accountability, there is a whole lot more to be said about being consistently, systematically screwed up the asshole.
Cool. Go and get an education in hopes to grow up to be president or a marine biologist or whatever the fuck you want to learn about in hopes that the degree that you have will be useful in some vein or another. Great. You can go to school for whatever you want to. If you want to get a degree in studying the mating habits of the African honey bee, thats wonderful, fantastic (see now thats ambition). But a lot of degrees earned because of an interesting subject, or a specialized really obscure subject, probably aren't going to get you a job. Oh, and then you'll be in debt for the rest of your life. Awesome! The Amerikan dream revisited.
And not everyone wants to grow up to be a computer systems analyst. Not everyone wants to grow up to be *current greatest hiring base which could end up obsolete in fifteen years anyway*. And still, if people follow current trends in hiring practices to determine what kind of education they're going to get, soon the market will be flooded with graduates, and many of those ambitious degree holding people are still going to be out of work. Like whats happening to recent graduates of Buff State who hold a degree in education; markets so flooded they're lucky if they get a substitute teaching position, and even then there's a waiting list.
So you can have all of the ambition in the world, go to school, attempt to make something of yourself, end up in debt, and not have a paying job to show for it. Or you might have to move, pick up house and home and go to some other part of the country to find that job. There are no guarantees in the employment industry.
So lets totally rail on the poor people in Buffalo right now because they're so totally not ambitious enough to create that magical-rest-of-their-life-dream-job on their own ambitions and merit. Its so their fault. And its their fault that they have to choose between such petty options as the mortgage, or taxes, or hospital bills, or feeding themselves, or ya know, painting the exterior of their house so it looks pretty (mom: really, how much does a can of paint cost?)
And lets totally rail on these same poor people because our neighborhoods look like they do. Its totally their fault. Lets stop finger pointing the victims at city hall with their suits and ties, because they totally have nothing to do with mismanaging millions of dollars, and absolutely have no say whatsoever in what to do with 10,000 or so city owned properties.
People just don't have any ambition these days. Thats whats wrong with Amerika. Thats totally it. If people just had enough ambition, all their problems would be solved. The country could return to the splendor of Leave it to Beaver, and all will be right with the world.
Don't forget to duck and cover when you hear the alarm sounding class. It might save your life. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| Stayed up all night writing.
At 8,000+ words now and seem to have hit a block.
Every time I check word count, I get kinda happy. Like if I can repeat this process 5 more times, I think I'll have a book. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Random thought:
I really like that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have a majority of guests that are authors. They're really popular and reach a really wide audience of people between the ages of like 15-60, and they constantly promote reading.
I just think thats great.
Oh yeah:
7,789 words 18 pages and counting. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Today, I had my appointment to apply for Medicaid. I qualify and all that, I just need to do two things for it to go through. The first is getting bank statements; the second is filing for unemployment.
So I asked about the unemployment part, cause I quit, and didn't think I was eligible. They told me it was a formality. But then, I went to talk to my old boss about it, cause I wanted to give her a heads up and let her know to ignore the letter or whatever they send out to inform them. She says legally she can't ignore it, and quite literally, they could make her pay me unemployment. This will in turn make her insurance go up and blah blah. I felt really bad about it, and told her that it wasn't my intention, and that I think its just as screwed up as she does (cause it kinda is; i voluntarily left the job and have no ill will towards her or anything, so its really not fair for me to be like, "pay up.")
On the other hand...unemployment would be kinda cool. | | comments: 6 comments or Leave a comment |
| My cousin's status update on FB:
Cow got out in the old guy next door's yard and I'm the one he takes it out on!!!! It's not like I told the cow to go over walk all over it and then poop on it!!!! I'm sorry Harold we'll try not to let it happen again!
It made me lol. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| A year ago today, blindly and with all the dumb courage we could muster, Steve and I walked out of the convention center with a piece of paper; a piece of paper that would nullify our need to rent from slumlords forever forth.
And thus, today marks the one year anniversary of our house.
And lo, it was good. | | comments: Leave a comment |
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