I was wandering around the Democratic Underground forums earlier. Why? I honestly dunno. Lack of sleep + morbid curiosity? Anyway, the thread had become a bitch fest about obesity in America, and how the evil corporations are trying to keep the working poor in a state of failure, when I came across this little gem.

Have you ever worked an 80 hour week?
I have. I remember coming home from 16 hour shifts (which were really 18 hour shifts when you added commuting time) and being too tired to watch television. I would stare at the wall until I fell asleep. And I didn't have children. I did laundry recreationally. As I said before, the nearest grocery store was a forty minute walk each way. Factor in shopping time and each trip to the store was four hours. When you're getting four or five hours sleep a night, that's four hours that ain't gonna happen week after week after week. And the food at that store was filthy. I found spiders and caterpillars in the vegetables. I picked up a package of fish once and my hand touched a cockroach. I picked up a jar of peanut butter and saw, perfectly defined in the dust on the lid, a trail of rat tracks. Who is going to put up with that shit when they can get a hoagie from the deli or a $7 pizza? It's bully for you that you're in a situation where you can buy reasonably sanitary produce and get it home. Not everybody is in that situation. And a little more humility would be a lot more flattering on you.

The poor poor working poor.
I mean, even though he was working 80 hours... and at minimum wage, that translates to about 22k a year (assuming he works two 40 hour jobs, 27k if it's just one job)

Sheeeit. Once again, this is the myth of the "Working Poor"... the people who have it so bad because they have to take two jobs and live from paycheck to paycheck and boo-hoo.

Ugh. Cry me a damn river. I make 17k a year, max. I work at a convenience store. I have rent, insurance, CAR PAYMENT, electricity bill, and so on and so forth. I have absolutely no problem paying these off... at 5k less a year than this other guy is making. But, for the sake of argument, let's play the numbers game.

Minimum wage job, 40hr's a week -- About 10.9k yearly.
Rent for a single room efficiency. 400/month, 4800/yr.
Utilities (assuming they're not paid for by the rent). 150/month, 1800/yr.
Food. Let's say you splurge a little... 150$ / month, 1800/yr.
Car payment. Long loan, cheap car... 100/month, 1200/yr.

What are we up to now? 9600$.
Which leaves you a cool $1300 to pay your medicair and socail security taxes on, with enough left over to go get sloshed at the bar.

Bah, I'm tired of people bitching about how bad they have it.

Alright. Let's see if I can actually take the time out of my busy schedule to update this with any form of regularity. I've been busy. Busy studying up on all the crap they're gonna test me on on being an assistant manager. Going through my managers rigorous training course of extra hours, odd hours, and double shifts (even though he'll deny anything about a 'training regiment' to the ends of the earth). I've been reading up on local and business tax laws, securing funds, and laying the groundwork for opening up my own small business. And to top it off, I spend alot of time laying on the couch and veging.

Now, I'm sure you've all heard at this point about the muslim arab terrorists planning to blow up some flights to the United States from the UK, and the subsequent arrests. Well, here's a nice little story from a British newspaper.

So, let's talk about profiling.

At what point, exactly, does profiling become wrong? Lets look at it from a practical point of view, here. I work at a convenience store. It's a pretty small place, and business is pretty good during the day. But at night business drops sharply, and only one person is working at this time. At nights, the person working needs to balance getting work done with preventing theft. Which means we need to pick and choose the people we pay attention to closely, and the people we let wander around the store while we clean counters and stock things.

Do I watch little old ladies who are comming in to browse the things they might want to buy for their grandchildren, who are in town over the weekend? Yeah, I watch em, but I don't stare at em and watch em like a hawk. But when a young male walks in, wearing baggy pants, a beanie, and a hooded sweater in the middle of a texas summer you can bet your ass I'm standing behind the counter and staring dead at em. I don't watch the black guy that comes in, buys a pack of cigaretts and a cup of ice. But I DO watch the three white kids that come in, wander around for fifteen minutes, and constantly shoot looks at me to see if I'm watching them or not.

And I really don't see why that can't transfer to airline security. How many airlines in history have been hijacked and/or blown up by little old ladies? By highly sucessful business men? By government employees? By middleastern muslim extremists between the ages of 18 and 35?

Just something to chew on the next time you bitch about how profiling tramples your rights.

Rock and a Hard Place

My assistant managers friend often spends hours on end up at the store. She has two children that she brings up, one off which is ADHD. Well, tonight she had left her children at home and I stayed at the store fours hours longer than I shoulda, talking to this woman. After awhile, the conversation turned towards the assistant manager and her pregnant daughter.

The conversation itself left me with some interesting thoughts.

What is it like to grow up without any stability? What must it be like to grow up with parents who have no controll over their own lifes, much less over yours? What happens if your parents never teach you dependability? What if they're never around and never show you any kind of sacrifice?

Most everyone in their lives has "A Rock". This is someone that you can rely on. You know they're gonna be there for you no matter what. Well, what happens when this rock disappears? Parents die, friends and rrelatives move away, spouses get divorced. What happens when the single solid object in a sea of quicksand starts to sink?

My rock is inside. I don't need to rely on anyone else, because I know that if everyone in my life dissapeared tonight, I would pull through just fine. It's a calming feeling. And it's comforting to know that when it's time for my parents to go, I'll only be missing them, and not their money or their advice or their anything else.

Though don't get me wrong, mom and dad. I really do appreciate the help in life. And if it weren't for the fact that you raises me so gosh darn well, I wouldn't be where I am. And I have absolutely no desire to take on a second job to make ends meet. But I can is the point. If you two disappeared overnight, I wouldn't lie awake at night wondering if I was gonna be kicked out in the morning.

Now. What is your rock?

This is an entry over at Elusively Yours. It was so good I wanted to share it.

Just for the fun of it and because I'm hoping to finally start a real discussion, I'm going to ask a question where I want you to imagine that you are starting all over again and discuss how you would handle such a dilemma. Besides, it seems like it's been ages since I've asked one of those Meaning of Life questions.

What would you do if you fell for two different people and decided you were ready to settle down?

The first one is the love you have been waiting for all of your life. He is your soulmate. Your skin tingles when he looks at you. You have never known such excitement before and are certain you will never feel this way again. You can't believe he loves you. He is so good-looking that you wonder if he has ever graced the cover of a Harlequin.

His voice is so sexy that you melt when he says your name. He always seems to know the perfect thing to say to make you feel beautiful. Such romance you have never known before and thought it only happened in the movies. His kiss is to die for and he seems to know instinctively what pleases you.

On the other hand, if you were to look up the word tumultuous in the dictionary, there would be a picture of the two of you. One minute you are getting along as if you were made for each other, the next you are fighting like Tony Snow and Helen Thomas. While you love the make-ups, you never know what kind of weekend you are going to have this time. It seems your heart has been broken so many times, you don't know how much more it can take.

Then there's the nice one . . . Mr. Dependable. Yep, you know what the weekends are going to be like with him. He doesn't exactly make your skin tingle. Of course, your family likes him as does your best friend. They never stop telling you how much. Shoot, even your cat likes him and she doesn't like anyone.

Yet, he never takes you for granted and is always so considerate of how anything that he does might affect you. There was the time when you got stuck at work because of a sudden snow storm in the middle of the day and who would be the one to call you and make sure you were okay? Him. Who was it that left work early just so he could come pick you up and make sure you got home safely? Him, naturally.

And while he might not be the King of Romance, every time you turn around, he is doing something for you that is so thoughtful that your heart flutters with tenderness at the mere thought of him. He leaves you little love notes and has even written a song just for you. Sometimes when you catch him looking at you, the look in his eyes is indescribable.

He even laughs at your jokes. You even have certain words that either of you can say and the other will burst out laughing because it reminds them of a past joke you two shared.

He has never lied to you and you know you can trust him no matter what. His views on God and children is so in line with your own that sometimes you don't know where he ends and you begin.

And before you men think I'm letting you off the hook, let me give you your options. You too are starting all over again and have found yourself in love with two different women. You have come to the point in your life where you are ready to settle down. What would you do?

The first one is so beautiful that she takes your breath away. Her body is to die for and she has this way of moving that her touch gives you chill bumps. When she talks, the sound of her voice reminds you of a cat purring. And the stories she has to tell are so exotic and interesting that you find yourself rapt with attention at her every word.

Anytime you go somewhere together, all the men turn around and look at her and you know they are wondering how in the world you ended up with someone so stunning. You find yourself thinking about her at the most unusual times and have never felt the way you feel about her about anyone. You have never wanted to be loved by someone the way you do her. Your times together are the ultimate in excitement and exhilaration.

On the other hand, you two have a very tumultuous relationship. Your arguments have gotten so loud that you've been afraid one of your neighbors might call the police anytime now. You've lost count of how many times she has walked away saying she never wants to see you again. You've noticed that when you two are broken up that she is unreachable and her car is very rarely at her place when you've just happened to drive by.

Then there's the sweet one . . . Miss Tender-heart. She is not nearly as beautiful as the other one. Her figure is okay but nothing to write home about. Your heart does not flutter when she walks in the room. She doesn't even wear make-up that often and obviously doesn't spend much money on the latest styles of clothing. Sometimes it gets on your nerves how little she splurges on herself, almost acting like a martyr in the way she gives most of her extra income to pet causes or charities.

Yet, the conversations you two have are quite stimulating. She can hold her own in any discussion about current events that interest you. You love to call her because you know that whatever you talk about, at the end of the conversation you are going to be left pondering some new idea that you have never considered before.

Your dog gets so excited when she comes over that he often has an accident in the house just waiting on you to open the door. She has a wonderful sense of humor and makes you laugh every time you are together. She loves listening to your jokes and even thinks they are funny.

Even without the make-up and fine clothes, she has this fresh, down-to-earth look that makes you want to know how she would look just waking up. She is always interested in the things that you find important and has this way of making you feel like you are the most brilliant man around. She respects you and anticipates your needs and desires. She totally gets you and you have never met anyone as kind as her. While you two do have your differences, you share the same views on the most important things in life. No matter what, she is always there for you when you need someone.

Okay now it's your turn. Who would you choose and why? Anyone?

Elusively yours,
ilja