Once in awhile, you'll have one of those days...

If you're connected with me on facebook, then you might know about my terrible day. I'm exhausted. All I want to do is crawl into the king size bed and lay next to something warm, furry, and purring while I drift off to sleep.

California Prison System

This is a pretty neat interactive graphics from sacbee.com about California's overcrowded prison system. You can see how the planned capacities for each facilities has changed since it was first built. Take a look at how many inmates California's prison facilities now carry (which is majorly over the limit)! Also, check out the census on the same interactive map (tabbed under "prison system by the numbers") on the racial breakdown. Are they legal or illegal citizens?? hmm... http://www.sacbee.com/1232/rich_media/2124324.html

No ride to call my own.

Ever since I’ve been back from my month long vacation, I’ve been having the hardest time getting around town. My car broke down in early June, right after I had completed my last final at school. It’s amazing how my car knew just when to croak! My car had always given me problems in the past and so much repairs/money has been put into it that I no longer have the patience to take my car to the repair shop again. I mean, why put more money and time into the car only to have it break down again and again further down the road?

There are a couple of problems that I am faced with: letting go of the old and getting a new replacement vehicle. I can’t seem to give up on my car. I’ve loved it since the day I got it back in 2006 from a private party (wrong mistake, I’ve learned my lesson) and I can’t seem to give it up for a new car (new and certified used vehicles from now on). I feel as if I am not yet worthy of getting a new car yet until I am able to afford one on my own. When my car was running, I told myself that once we were out of this economic depression and unemployment lows, I will get a nice, new vehicle to my liking. I always knew my car would die soon, but not that soon!

Considering my past problems with that car, it’s not smart to repair it (unless I want more problems haunting me). It’s now onto looking for a new vehicle. And this is where I’m stuck. I am so lazy about this. I am also stubborn about this. I don’t want any other car but the current broken one that I have. How is that supposed to help me out? I can’t seem to let it go. That’s the only car that I want. The only car that I feel is right for me. It may be the only car that I’ll ever love despite it’s jacked up transmission, dings on the doors, scratches from hoodlums, and it’s missing spare tire cover. So there’s my predicament.

I don’t feel like I should get a totally great car seeing that I will be depressed afterwards due to my low worthiness (I have a lot of issues with myself that needs to be fixed, huh?). So what kind of car should I get? Honestly, it should be a car that can take me from point A to point B. That narrows it. *rolls eyes* It should be nothing too fancy and it should be car that I won’t feel bad about giving up to my siblings later when I land a better job or get promoted in a few years. It should also be a car that no one will be jealous of because I'm not that great to be jealous of. Yes, you read that right. XD

I cannot believe how difficult it is just to shop around for a car. I don’t know which make, model, engine type, color, year, specifications, etc. that I want. Should I get a checklist for this project? I just can’t find one that fits my needs. Well, actually, if it were this 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 I wouldn’t hesitate to mumble an excited YES!

Greetings

I am back from my one month vacation to south Asia where I visited Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I wanted to check out Shanghai, China but there was not enough time. I am heavily jet lagged and it's currently 4:52pm. I woke up around 3:44pm today. I've been in town since August 2nd but kept it quiet since I really needed time to myself. Updates after I get myself together and make several phone calls and try to rid myself of this awful headache.

Frustrations, frustrations, frustrations

A close friend as I were exchanging emails back and forth about upcoming plans for the next few weeks and she used a phrase that just irks me. I've asked her dozens and dozens of times (literally) during the five years of our friendship to refer my significant others as either A. their given first names or B. boyfriends. My requests had always gone ignored. However, today it finally occurred to me that I should explain to her my complicated, emotional reason for why I hated the term "your man" as opposed to "your boyfriend." She said to me in the email "Can your man give me piano lessons today?" After reading the end of that sentence, I went into somewhat of a rage. That term has always bothered me. I take that phrase literally by reasons that it sounds like enslavement or ownership rather than endearment (which was her offense). The way I see this is that human life isn't a commodity. People are people. It's a shame that today, humans are still being used as commodity in horrific ways. Take the Acholi children in Uganda for example who were stolen by the Lord's Resistance Army. Stealing children and using them as rebel soldiers against their own free will is enslavement and ownership. Young girls are used a sex slave due to their gender. These innocent children are the byproduct of political violence. Doesn't that just make your blood boil? My blood is at frying level, bring on the fried chicken! Having to call my significant other as my own personal creature just serves as a reminder of ownership. Just like the situation of human trafficking in Cambodia, Romania, Mexico, etc. Am I wrong to see it that way? If you believe so, then in my offense, the phrase "your man" or "my man" is slang. Sure, there are many variations of the phrase but I tend to see it as "Gurl, yo man be cheatin' on you." Why not step away from slang and use real terminolgy? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that statement, but the phrase is indeed slang. The reason why I take that phrase so literally is that it just serves as a reminder that enslavement still goes continues. This is something that I don't want to associate myself in. Maybe I'm taking it too far, but I tend to over-think things. Just to clarify, I see nothing wrong with everyone else making reference to their significant others as "your man" or "your woman" as long as it has nothing to do with me. I have no problem with people using that phrase and do not condemn those that do. It's their choice and as long as it isn't harming anyone else, I am all for it. I just don't like the term being referred to myself. I am probably taking it a bit too far, but I won't ever change my mind on it. I have given it much thought for the past five years and still have yet to change my decision on the term. After giving her a less condensed explanation of how I felt about the term, she agreed to stop calling my significant others (past, present and future) "my man." We've been friends for five years and she had always ignored my requests for her to stop. She always saw how uncomfortable I looked when she used that phrase. If she were truly my friend and cared so much about my well being, wouldn't she had honored my request five years ago and stop without me having to explain myself? If I say stop, it means stop. Honor it.

haha WHAT?!?!

Is anyone else watching the Senate Informational Hearing: The Policy Considerations of Proposed Agency Consolidations on the California Channel? HAHAA What is up with these presenters?? Well, just one of them. He doesn't seem to grasp the question being asked by Senator Alquist. He also seems pretty annoyed by her question. Yes, question, singular. Here goes the LAO to save his ass by answering his question on the federal financial aid process. Good crisis, yea? I can answer that question! Bulls eye for Ruby and I!