The W Legacy

by rhealitycheck

I don’t believe any other president in history can compete with the legacy that George W. Bush will leave behind. It is absolutely incredible what he has managed to accomplish in his 8 years as president of the United States of America.

Let us take a minute to look at what America was like just as W was taking office. We had a surplus for the first time in many, many years. The economy was booming with new technology on the rise. We were relatively at peace with the rest of the world, at least nothing outstanding or significant to be noted.

So what has our fearless leader managed to accomplish in his 8 years as president, I will list it out as I tend to like lists:
– We have been attacked by terrorists on our own soil numerous times, the most significant being 9/11, which was an unprecedented attack on the mainland. Previously, I believe (and could be wrong since I’m no history buff) the only attack on US soil was Pearl Harbor.
– We are in the middle of a completely unnecessary war and we have a second one that is relatively stagnant due to our resources being diverted to said unnecessary war.
– We have the largest deficit in history due to said unnecessary war and now are looking at an even larger deficit due to our economic crisis.
– We have one of the largest economic crises in history knocking at our front door steps due to changes in regulations and tax structure.
– We have less funding for education, social security and health care.
– We are nowhere close to the environmental regulations that the rest of the first world has been working on for years now. In fact our president still says that global warming doesn’t exist.
– We fund churches that have started “charter” schools but not our average inner-city public schools, in fact we cut their funding due to “low performance” (amazing how that separation of church and state just miraculously disappeared from the constitution, or did I miss the part where the first amendment is no longer valid?)

I’m sure there are other things I’ve forgotten but I’d say the first four are the major points. I’d say it’s one helluva legacy to be leaving behind. Dear President Bush, I hope you are proud of the incredible legacy that will follow you. I’m not sure I envy you on that one.

Starbucks Not-so Perfect Oatmeal

by rhealitycheck

So I was late-ish to work this morning and starving. Normally I’m not terribly hungry so I’ll just pick up a croissant and a latte and be done with it but this morning I thought I’d like a little oatmeal (well, what I actually wanted was grits but the cafeteria at work only takes cash and I don’t have any on me today). So I stopped off at Starbucks for my morning latte (yes I am one of those people, no I am not proud of it) and decided to get the “perfect oatmeal”. Now the photos would have you believe that this is homemade oatmeal, reminiscent of something my mother or aunt would make. But no, this is that lousy insta-oatmeal crap. I mean I could have just picked up a box at the grocery store (probably for the same amount of money) and had a stash here at work. Now why would I want to pay good money for something awful like that?! I mean I’m willing to pay for the over-priced croissants and coffee simply for the convenience (there are 3 Starbucks within 2 blocks from my office, you really can’t find any other food faster). BUT I do not believe in paying for food that I don’t like. Now that, that is just horrifying. Especially when they try to market it as the healthy alternative. You know it would be a lot healthier if you made it the old fashioned way and not with the instant oatmeal packets.

Being an Irate Customer

by rhealitycheck

You know, I’ve never been one to really escalate with customer service very much but I received an Early Termination Fee from Sprint when I decided to switch to AT&T because I just really wanted an iPhone. Now, I think ETFs are stupid but I am a reasonable person and if it is the industry standard I will pay it. The thing is that Sprint started charging me for months in advance before I left. Now if you are going to charge me for a month in advance and I leave the first day that the new month starts, I don’t believe I should be charged for a service I haven’t used.

I mean it’s a little ridiculous to be paying extra charges. And I swear the first two lines of customer support are managed by people who just don’t think. They honestly give you answers without actually thinking about what you are saying. But today, for the first time in my life I actually escalated my issue about 3, maybe 4, times. And at the last place I actually spoke with a person who understood my issue. Did not make me repeat my information and actually knew who I was and what my account looked like. And was reasonable enough to drop the extra charges. It took a lot of effort but I’m very proud of myself for not giving up and just wasting money that I don’t need to waste.

I am also exceptionally proud of myself for taking the time out to manage my finances enough to know that these are erroneous charges and having my accounts all managed and up to date. It has taken me a while to get organized and there is *so* much more that I need to do but I am excited that I am finally getting there. I suppose being an irate customer is one of the first steps. It’s amazing what a little unpleasantness and escalation can do for you. So my advice to anyone who hesitates to escalate when they call with an issue, just keep escalating if they don’t give you what you want. Seriously, what do you have to lose? And from this experience I’m realizing that you have a whole lot to gain and it never hurts to try.

Losing Weight in All the Wrong Places

by rhealitycheck

So I don’t know if this happens to anyone else. But I have this huge problem that whenever I begin exercising regularly and actually losing weight the first place it goes from is right under my bust, which just means that my bras, which I already have a hard enough time finding, don’t fit properly anymore. Not only that, it’s irritating because my bras don’t fit right and then my shirts don’t fit right and honestly, I don’t need any more cleavage. In fact, I’d like to *lose* all that extra cleavage. But no, for the life of me losing some a few inches around the bust is nearly impossible and the stomach takes a nice long time to start to tighten up but just above my waist right under my bust I lose weight like it’s my job. Wtf?! Some days, I just wish you could pick which area you were going to lose weight from. That would be stellar. I think I need to go to a specialty bra store. I should just suck it up because this is massively uncomfortable. Then again, I’d have to find a specialty bra store which is a task in and of itself. Who has time for this crap?

Bush’s Big-Time Bail-out

by rhealitycheck

So just a few days ago my roommate and I were talking about the upcoming bail-out for all those big banks. Now I can’t complain too much because I work at a bank and while I’m IT which makes it a little less tense for us than it is for the real finance folk, it is still a stressful time for all parties here.

[Disclaimer: I am not an economist or in any way shape or form into finance, aside from the bits and pieces I’ve picked up from work. These are simply observations and opinions and I could be way off-base and if so I invite you to respond with your opinion.]

But this whole bailing out the banks. I want to know exactly why this is such a great idea. I mean from my very basic understanding of the market is that when you risk a lot, you stand to lose a lot. So if you are going to invest in something that tanks, well that’s your own blasted loss. So why is it that we now have to “save” all these people. Our beloved fearless leader (or village idiot as I like to call him) is now proposing that we spend about $700 billion in these bail-outs which could increase to $1 trillion. What I’m wondering is where that money is coming from because if I’m correct in my understanding those would be all our tax dollars. All those dollars that couldn’t be used for health-care (God forbid we actually help the poor/middle class in this country), also can’t be used for education (who needs an educated public anyway, you should be able to afford private school and if not well you’re not worth it), oh and let’s not forget social security can’t give too much to those old geezers, they’re gonna kick the bucket soon anyway, let’s just help them along. But we can help those giant investment banks that give their executives millions of dollars in bonuses. We can help those funds for all those people investing serious money in the market. Clearly we need to help the wealthy stay wealthy. Why on earth would we let them actually take a loss? Obviously we shouldn’t just let the market bottom out and then right itself as it should in normal circumstances and let people who took big risks lose their money. What ever happened to accepting the fact that with large risk there can be large losses as well as large gains? I just find it fascinating that we can afford to put this much money to save money for those that already have but it is a really battle to try to get any money invested for regular social services. Just makes me so proud to be an American, clearly trying to get away from the class system was totally overrated.

On a more serious note, it makes me really happy that I can’t afford to save money right now because it is all going to grad school. At least at the end of that I get a degree.

Feminist != Idiot

by rhealitycheck

It seems to me that the Republican party thinks that all feminists are idiots (in case you’re not a geek such as myself the title translates to Feminist “does not equal” Idiot). However, I do believe it is quite the opposite. I know that I have made it perfectly clear in the past that I have been very luke-warm about Obama’s candidacy. Being a Democrat and without any better options I would most likely have voted for him anyway but I wasn’t going to go out canvassing for him or talking about what a great candidate he is. That was until Sarah Palin entered the political arena.

Now, I am not unique, quite a few of my friends have been less than excited since Hillary tragically did not break the last and highest glass ceiling out there but we were complacent with the Obama-Biden ticket. This development with Sarah Palin has sent us screaming at the top of our lungs, just because we are women does not mean we will stand behind a woman who does not share a single value in common with us. If we were luke-warm about Obama before, I know many of us are ready to hit the streets to canvas for him now. It’s amazing the kind of turn-around people can have when struck in the face with a truly frightening candidate.

I mean let’s consider the facts about Sarah Palin:
– She believes in creationism, which is fine by me believe whatever you want at home, but do not put an unproven non-scientific theory into my schools. You are free to not believe in evolution but I do think that it should be taught as it does have a very distinct place in science and without it we, Americans, continue to look like uneducated neanderthals.
– She believes in abstinence-only sex-ex, clearly that’s worked well. I’m sure Bristol Palin was practicing that when she got pregnant.
– She believes that abortion should be banned regardless of cause or implications of pregnancy.
– Her husband belongs to the Alaskan Independence Party that wants to secede from the union and she supports him in that.
– She believes that more drilling will solve the current crisis around oil, regardless of the fact that we *know* that oil is a limited natural resource and we really are just running out.
– She believes that destroying our natural habitat does not have any effect on the planet, global warming is clearly just liberal jargon.
– She went to four different schools (one of them twice) in six years to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism, yet oddly enough no one at any of the schools can seem to remember her.
– She truly believes that the economic crisis can be fixed by focusing on the small business that “drive” America like that belonging to her family in Alaska.
– Her only political experience is in a state that is not even the size of lower Manhattan and she has no experience on an International scale and in fact has even said she has never thought about foreign policy before.

Now I want to know how many feminists who were supporting Hillary really feel that any of those characteristics listed above would be appealing. For one, Hillary Clinton was very prominent in her college and graduate career as a student and while that may not be the only mark of a great person it is a tribute to her intelligence. I find it disturbing that not even a single professor has a remark about Sarah Palin, it doesn’t matter where you went to school or how long it took you to graduate but certainly remarkable people are remembered for their intelligence. And I, for one, would like to have a remarkable person be in charge of running this country (or even being second in command). Secondly, Hillary Clinton is a senator from a very significant state and has had significant experience with International politics, which is critical for the position of Vice President. How can anyone be expected to take Sarah Palin seriously if she cannot think on a global scale? Let’s face it people, being governor of Alaska isn’t exactly the greatest qualifier out there. I mean to put it simply it’s like saying the manager of your local Walgreens should become the CEO overnight because that’s a good idea.

Perhaps I’m biased but I don’t really believe that Sarah Palin believes a lot in thinking too hard and that is not something I find particularly attractive in a highly public political figure. In fact, I find it wildly distressing to think that someone who may have the possibility of becoming president would be like that. She stands for everything that feminists have fought against. Gloria Steinem, Eve Ensler and Tim Wise have all actually made equally valid points about her view points that I happen to agree with and are perhaps more eloquent than myself.

Sometimes this election makes me think that America is one giant high school and we’re trying to elect our prom king and queen. Clearly the beauty queen has been making her mark and it seems there sure are a lot of people that love her but I’d like to point out that this is not a beauty pagent nor is it a popularity contest. We are electing these people to lead our country and we are currently in a phenomenal economic crisis and we have a war that has been going poorly for years and no end in sight for either of those two. I don’t know about you, but I, personally, would like the most intelligent people I can think of to try and navigate us around those two very significant road blocks. Someone who has not shown much thought for either of those things until the last few weeks, such as Sarah Palin, isn’t really someone I want to trust with that future.

Becoming a Biker

by rhealitycheck

So I think I can officially say that I am well on my way to becoming and avid bicyclist. I originally started this biking kick to just start living a healthier lifestyle and I think I can officially say that I’m starting to accomplish this. Being in grad school just kills my motivation to go to the gym or try to fit extra things into my day. I guess partly it’s just that between work and school it’s hard to justify spending hours at the gym when I could be studying which is what I need to spend time doing considering I am paying lots of money for this education.

But what I have discovered is that if I bike places then I take care of the being active and staying fit/healthy while actually getting to my destination. It’s like the greatest thing I’ve ever managed to discover. Not to mention biking around Chicago is just great because the bike paths just off Lake Shore drive are just so pretty and nice to bike on. I have to say sometimes the wind can get a little obnoxious, especially when it’s a head wind but I think I just need to get more used to it. It’s been a little sad for me because I don’t really have the time to read the newspaper as I’m used to but I’m trying to work a way out for me to get up earlier so I can get down to work a little earlier so I can grab breakfast and read the newspaper for half an hour before I actually start working. That way I’ll get my news and I’ll be doing something healthy! At any rate, I think my bike is one of the best investments I’ve made and I absolutely love it. I’m so glad I’ve stuck it out and haven’t quit, which I definitely felt like doing because the ride to/from work is a touch long for a novice cyclist who isn’t used to that much exercise.

Student Discount for New York Times!

by rhealitycheck

So I meant to post this yesterday but since I have been bleeding money to grad school (I just got my tuition bill last month) I decided I should cancel my subscription to the Times. I mean I love reading the paper on the way to work and when I have time on the weekends I also adore it not to mention my roomies happen to benefit from it too – they like the Sunday Times with the Magazine. I happen to be a fan of the Tuesday Science section and the Thurdsay Styles. I also like the one with the dining guide and the recipes. So anyway when I called to cancel the woman told me that they have amazing student discounts. In fact I am now paying $22.10/month for the paper delivered every day. I am so excited about it, especially since I can now afford it!

Hurricane Update from the Family

by rhealitycheck

Well mom is safe and sound and so are all of our family friends from what I can tell. Apparently there is debris all over but no one got hurt and from what I’ve heard none of our circle have had their houses or cars flooded and it has stopped raining. I am very thankful for that piece of news.

On the unfortunate side, from what I’ve heard there is no power in Houston and it probably won’t be coming back for another two weeks. The water is also out for the next 36 hours which sucks but you know when it all comes down to it that’s not so bad. I wish I could be there to help clean up but to be honest I can’t say that I’m sad for missing no a/c in Houston, I can just imagine how miserable that is.

I am so glad to hear that things are ok in Houston. I am also thankful that everything has been so organized in Houston so far.