Take my money please
Mood:  down
Now Playing: TAXES
My mother is now a retiree at the relatively young age of 62. My mom worked for the government until she retired and will have a regular retirement check as long as she is alive.
Mom also applied for her social security, something she is entitled to, she meets the age requirement and more importantly paid into this fund for over 40 years.
Good old Uncle Sam has decided that for every three dollars mom gets from her retirement she will get only one dollar of her social security.
The big picture? The benefit my mom receives for being a good, honest tax paying citizen is a loss of benefits. Instead of 100% of her entitlement she gets only a third of that amount.
Is that fair? I don't think so. Do you?

Your Only Human
Mood:  sharp
Today while at Borders I saw a very large man eating a dessert. The first thought that popped into my head was "the last thing that man needs is a piece of cake" and I was immediately ashamed. What did I know of this man; it was his business what he ate, where do I come off judging someone else.
It is a human response, groomed as we are to see everything superficially.
What makes you and me a better person is our ability to learn not to judge people.
I once had a dear friend tell me that he didn't introduce his overweight 'friend' to people because he was worried that his friends would wonder what was wrong with him. It was a difficult thing to hear because I thought more of that man and because I had been that 'friend'. That man is only human and has his own issues and insecurites as we all do. Without realizing it my friend had shared his lack of self confidence by his deep concern for the way I reflected on his 'ability' to attract an acceptable woman.
I would like to think that I have evolved enough not to project onto others but I am human after all. My quick and automatic thought about the man eating the cake is proof positive that I have a long way to go. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that I was ashamed as soon as I had the thought. Evolution can be a slow and tedious process.

It's just not that easy
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: That's the way it goes.
Eat less and move more and you too can be slim and trim and live the life of the beautiful people. What a load of crap. If you have 10 or 20 pounds to loose than yes that advice may work for you. The rest of the fatty's have far bigger fish to fry. Once you have become obese you have, in my opinion changed the way your body works. What works for the average person with 20 or 30 to loose will not work for the person with 80 or 100 to loose. I am not saying it cannot be done I just think it needs to be done differently. An obese person who does not exercise should not go into the gym and start a major routine. Most trainers don't seem to understand the concept. Faster and harder is the only way to go. The trainers are idiots and the obese are at great risk for injury and at high risk for health problems. So what do you do ???????????