In Which Amy Says It Again... (Myspace Blog)

Did I mention that I have the best friends in the world?

I think I did, but I'll say it again....

I have the best friends in the whole world!

Muuuah!

I love you guys!

In Which Amy is Not Weawy Gone... just werry werry qwiet... (Myspace Blog)

I have the bestest friends in the whole wide world.

I know that it has been forever since I last posted... and every day I tell myself that I need to post for all of you today. And it doesn't happen - what with all the day to day life stuff.

Of which there is a lot lately... wanna hear, you say? OK! I'll spill...

When we last left our hero-ess...
she was ranting about the horrors of capital punishment and talking about her response to the death of Sadaam Hussein. She was gearing up for school, but had not started...

Well...

My old job called me out of the blue one day. This would be the old job that I tried very hard to get them to work around my schedule, even going so far as to ask them to split my position so that I could keep my job and still go to school. Needless to say, the answer was NO! So they call me... and here is the conversation:

Them: Um... hi Amy.... um... could you come in and meet with us?

Me: Huh?

Them: (wail) We can't keep a teacher in your classroom and we have gone through three and can you please just come in and meet with us?!

Me: (thinking) This should be fun... bet it is just going to be the same old same old...

Me: Well... ok.

Meeting went as follows: I walk in, sit down.

Them: (handing me a notepad and a pen) Write down the 4 things we need to do to get you to say yes. *YES!!! that WAS an exact quote!*

Me: huh?!

scribble scribble scribble

Moral of the story: I got three of the four. A significant raise... part time.... responsible for only 1 session of a two session split. The only thing I asked for and they could not give me was benefits.

So I am working again. Hard. About 25 hours a week. Trying to make up for not being there for a semester. And school. 16 hours. Calculus, 2 histories, geology, and an honours English class (Arthurian legend - yee haw! I love it!). I'm so busy that I gave up Yoga just to keep my head above water. Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, as my daddy would say.

But that's ok.... because I am NOT replaceable. That is the highlight of this. They /regretted/ letting me go. I am not replaceable. HaHa! I am awesome!

To Stephie and Paula... thanks for loving me... for checking up on me... and for pushing me to post. My kids rock. Jim and Erin got married... and neither of them is spilling on how to get at the wedding pics so I can post some of me and the kids on here. The world is a blissful place and I love learning. Plus I am adored and kept, and it feels tremendous.

Oh, and I have a spare cat... a large orange tabby that gives hugs and kisses (seriously) and is the sweetest boy I have ever met... and he really needs a home. Hijo has decided to name him Chanco... and can't understand why we can't keep him. My house is just too small. He needs to be neutered, and he has a very loud voice... but so so sweet. Someone take him before he worms his way into my heart and I cannot let him go.

Ok, enough babble....
I'm not promising more... but I'm going to try.

Oh! Speaking of no more babble... did you all notice The Dead One called me goddess? (check out my comments... it's there) I'm totally digging that... I should be referred to as such more often!

In Which Amy Takes a Stand... (Read this...) (Myspace Blog)

I know this post will be controversial. I know you may not agree with me at all. And that is ok. I love the fact that you and I can have separate opinions and share them... and agree to disagree. I also love the fact that I finally get an opportunity to show hija, and all the other children to whom I have said 'Back your shit up', exactly what it looks like to do so. (Note: some link names have been shortened... so if you copy the address, make sure you follow the link and copy the actual address)

A very big thing has happened in this world of ours... a turning of a page, perhaps. Saddam Hussein. Hanged. And the world watched it on YouTube... and laughed.

I have to preempt any sort of speculation right away - I am adamantly in disagreement with the Death Penalty. I do not agree with Capital Punishment. I do not believe that we have any more right to take away a life than anyone else does. I actually think the Death Penalty is barbaric... and inhumane. I accept that there are many who disagree with me... I am not seeking someone to change my mind, nor am I trying to change yours.

This particular execution is extremely chilling to me. There are so many reasons why. First, because of the facts that point to an injust trial: including only 4 days between loss of appeal and execution, that there was another, ongoing trial for crimes of far more sevarity, and the many flaws in the trial in which Hussein was sentenced to die.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36028
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/12/30/iraq14950.htm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1885354,00050004.htm

Second, because this potential misuse of the budding Iraqi judicial system was APPLAUDED by our government's highest representative as a "fair trial", even while other government officials questioned the speed at which the sentence was carried out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world

Third, for the fact that Saddam Hussein was hanged, which has the potential to be a very inhumane way to be executed if done improperly. To be fair, part of this is based on the fact that I do not, in any circumstance, support the death penalty. I believe that it is inhumane in its inherence.

http://deathpenaltyinfo.msu.edu/c/about/methods/hanging.htm

Fourth, and I think this may be the most chilling to me, for the truth of the human response to this act. It is so chilling to me, that I cannot even find words to express it. The facts speak for themselves.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/30/AR2006123000743.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/middleeast/
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woiraq0101,0,3647273.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

We live in a country which glorifies violence in response to violence, even while condemning it. It is the way. However, there is a worldwide movement expressing concern over the Death Penalty... and I agree. Governments, nor people, have the right, ever, to take the life of a person in response to their crimes.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3346225,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/30/world/europe/30cnd-react.html

I strongly believe in the sanctity of human rights, to which I add the banishment of the Death Penalty. I feel that I must end this blog post with the UN recognized "Universal Statement of Human Rights". Granted, it does not speak out against Capital Punishment... but I believe that it should.

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

In Which Amy Talks about Traveling for the Holiday... (Part 2) (Myspace Blog)

02 Jan 2007 00:19

In Which Amy Talks about Traveling for the Holiday... (Part 2) (Myspace Blog)

This is the continuation of a previous post... so if you haven't read (Part 1) you should do so... Christmas morning. My mother wakes Beth and I up screeching at 7 am... (that is 5 am my time, just in case you were wondering!...) "Girls!!!" (screech) "Get up girls!" (screech) "We have to hurry and eat breakfast and go so hurry up!" (screech). Not that I mind... ok. I'm lying. I minded. The kids could wait an extra hour to open presents... /I/ was tired. So breakfast, shower, lots of Earl Grey (Thank God for emergency shopping trips, even if they /are/ to Walmart, which I hate and refuse to shop at based on their lack of affordable benefits for their employees and their aggressive anti-union stance...) and an hour later, we are on our way. And the entirety of the Holen family estrogen squad meets at Marianne's house. Chaos. Beautiful, loving chaos. Kids running, screaming in delight over stocking and in anticipation of presents... Bustle in the kitchen baking crescent rolls and breakfast dishes... Cameras flashing, rustles of paper, sharp cries of 'Don't you open that yet!' Chaos. Pat and Nick are excited to not have to play Santa, and the job is delegated to the next generation of nephews... James and Nathan get a turn. Of course, they lose interest quickly, and, not knowing any of us, give me Bethy's gift and have no idea who Lizzie is, and Pat and Nick end up taking over again. It was wonderful. Lovely. Perfect. And passed far too quickly. The next day is Monday, traveling day. But first, family pictures. It is a rare thing for all the girls to be home for the holidays together, so pictures it is. (You can see some of them on my pictures' page...) Then a quick pack trip, a quick email to every family member with a nah-ne nah-ne to the boys that missed out, and into the car we go. I am the first to drive, being daylight and all. I experience my first round-about (apparantly these are very big in New England and Great Britain...) and lots of back roads to get onto I-20. I drive until dusk, when we stop for dinner at a Cracker Barrel somewhere in Mississippi or Louisiana, I think. This is important, so I'll say it again... Cracker Barrel. Thus beigns the nightmare portion of the trip. Dark, cant sleep, toss and turn. Anna and I try Serenity again... and if I cup my hands around my eyes just right, then I can't see the movement of the lights outside. This time, I actually manage to finish the movie with only a headache. But I toss and turn... and Beth is driving. I hope I talked about Beth driving in (Part 1)... I get a headache and my stomach rolls just thinking about talking about Beth driving... AND I got sent to the very back of the car beause it was dark and I hadn't taken my turn. Needless to say, the feeling good thing was out the window. 2 am we arrive in Dallas to drop Beth off, and noone listens when I say that Jim and Erin were expecting us to stop by... and I don't care enough to say it again. I half sleep my way through the night, and finally it is morning and I am tired and grumpy and achey and we are in Abilene... and /everyone/ is tired and grumpy and achey and Mom says "I want Cracker Barrel for breakfast." The groans and sighs abound. Pat makes a comment and the flag is thrown, it is official - the battle begins. We don't find a Cracker Barrel, and ended up eating at McDonalds (yet another place that I refuse to frequent based upon their treatment of employees and militant anti-union stance...). Funny how my morals go out the window... I don't say a word against their choice of meal at all. The rest of the trip is Pat making comments at Mom and Mom making comments at Pat and everyone else and I am texting Stephen saying "Only 300 more miles...." and trying to sleep and it is all a blur. BUT - The clear spot in the blur is Mom saying "Amy, when we get home you are going to sleep before you drive the rest of the way to your house, right?" and me saying "No, I'm going right home" and thinking "I cannot be around these people for another minute without exploding into little tiny bits hell no I'm not staying another night!" Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my family.... just consider the circumstances. So home to Mom's... pack my car, then home to my house. Bed. I want bed. I feel like I haven't slept in a week (sleeping on the floor and not sleeping in a car will do that, I guess...) and I just want my bed. It takes me some time to recover... but I do. So, a wonderful, well worth it trip, and only 28 hours in the car this time. Would I do it again? Absolutely. And that jumps me to New Years. On which I did nothing. I love the fact that I am allowed to avoid acknowledging the holidays in my own house.