This is odd. There's nothing in particular that I want to write about (or vent about, as seems to be the case lately), but I feel the need to write. I suppose this is my compromise with procrastination- I'm not working on either novel, or a short story, but I am at least writing. Works for me.
Actually, on the writing front, I'm thinking of dedicating next month's oh-so-copious free time to finishing up the latest draft of Transitions (my vampire novel with the working title that seems more pathetic every time I see it). I've been slacking off on that one lately, and since I've also been slacking on the other novel, I really have no excuse. Besides, Transitions has been pulling me lately. After NaNoWriMo I was so sick of the thing I never wanted to see it again, but we're back on speaking terms. Friendly even.
Other than that, not a whole lot going on. I'm working more right now since they've rolled out a new project, but after wednesday, that'll go back closer to normal. I had my ultrasound this wednesday. It's a girl and she appears to be doing great- everything where it's supposed to be and the right size and shape, yadda yadda. It seems odd to include that after "not a whole lot going on". I mean, I'm growing another human being inside me, but it really is true when you hear that after the first one, pregnancy is no big deal. Each doctor's appointment is neat (always comforting to hear the heart beat and that everythings going along well), but there are a lot of times I don't even think about it. Now that I've got Will, there's not much time to focus on the new one. Then again, I'm only at the halfway point, really. I'm sure once she's really moving around all the time, I'll be paying more attention. Until then, I'll just continue to remember "oh yeah, there's a reason I can't have coffee right now!".
When did it become a political issue to speak the truth? OK, OK, stupid question. There is no truth in politics. Maybe that's why I'm glad Senator Reid called Bush a loser.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."- George Bush (v. 2.0)
And this is the man people are offended was called a loser? At least it was more polite than Cheney's famous "F*ck you" or Bush calling that reporter a "major asshole" over the freaking microphone. But for all that, maybe Reid did lie. It depends- are we counting lies by ommission? Cuz he left out a few other choice adjectives.
What pissed me off about the whole brujaja was that Reid felt the need to appologize afterward (hopefully he only felt the situation was inappropriate, and not that he was wrong), and the Republican National Committee's spokesman's rebutle "a sad development but not surprising from the leader of a party devoid of optimism, ideas or solutions to the issues people care about most.'' Disgusting. I guess they wanted to make sure the politicians got back to lying as soon as possible.
"The promise of democracy is fulfilled by minority rights, and equal justice under the rule of law, and an inclusive society in which every person belongs"- George Bush. Yep, back to politics as usual.
Other than all the attention they've been getting in the media lately, especially since the "Nickel and Dimed" book exploded, about their substandard wages, Wal-Mart is just gross. Maybe the ones in other areas are different, but all of their stores I've been in around here just feel dirty. Lately, my experience has been the newest store in the area, since that's the one on my route for work. It was nice for the first month or so it was open. The floors were clean, the workers were friendly, and the bathrooms sparkled. Now? The only people ruder than the customers (who I have had deliberately shove their carts into me rather than say "excuse me" or anything at all) are the employees (yesterday, I politely asked one a question, and she just ignored me. That is the closest to polite interaction I've seen in months). The floors generally look like they haven't been cleaned since the grand opening, and the bathrooms deserve a citation. Or declared a hazardous waste dump. Aside from the usual unflushed toilets, toilet paper covering more of the floor than not and brown smeared toilet paper stuck to the stall walls, and the lovely smell of urine permeating the air, there are the things that stand out as bad. The automatic faucets (which are in theory a great idea) don't work. I have seen people stand there for literally 5 minutes trying to get any of them to produce water. The toilet in the middle stall (generally the closest to clean, since it's not often used) has come lose from the floor. It moves about 2 inches if you sit on it. Of course, this was the same stall where last week I glanced down at the lunchbox (sanitary napkin disposal, for those unfamiliar with the euphemism) and saw a ruined pair of women's panties and a used condom tossed in. The funniest thing about the mess? According to the checklist on the door, the bathroom has generall been "cleaned" about 15-30 minutes before I get to the store. Either the customers are worse than I thought or the cleaning lady needs fired. Probably both.
I think the saddest part about Wal-Mart is that there are now at least 4 (2 regular, 2 supercenters) within a 15 minute radius from me, and they are all usually busy. People brag about how much money they save, but everything that I buy on a regular basis, I have priced there and found at other area stores for lower sale prices. Hell, one store offers some of them at a regular price that is lower than any Walmart sale price I've noticed. I think, and the Wal-Mart ad campaigns support, that people look once, think "hey, this is a good price" and assume they're getting the best deal on every item, every time they shop there. I know that I do the same thing when I shop, but I'm also in 7-8 stores a week that carry the same items (sometimes more), so I can get a good feel for the current prices. And honestly, to me, getting the best price on something (especially when we're usually only talking by a very few cents) means less than shopping at a store I can feel good about supporting.
I hate Wal-Marts. Since the newest one came in, I've seen 2 of my favorite plant nurseries (1 w/ great prices, the other with a huge selection) go out of business. From what I've heard, there are several other small businesses that have gone out, most blaming declining sales since Wal-Mart came in. I see people almost every week out shopping complaining about the lack of variety in stores around the area. And most of them are shopping at Wal-Mart. Gross.
I've noticed two things today:
1) I miss meditating.
2) Laziness can be a good thing.
This came about as I was clearing out emails, specifically the politcal ones I've signed up for. Opinionated thing that I am, I enjoy participating in email campaigns and signing the petitions I agree with. The trends from our pseudo-elected leaders (I like the "a bunch of idiots got together to vote for the biggest idiot" analogy) have been very disturbing lately. Honestly, I've started to wonder why I bother telling them what I think, but I noticed that 2 of my senators actually changed their position on the arctic drilling in the most recent vote, so it's nice to feel I had a small part in that. Still, overall the idiots seem content to pander to the more extreme right wing fanatics, even when most studies show the country overwhelmingly does not. Some of the issues, I honestly feel strongly enough about that I could see myself causing violence... if I weren't generally lazy. This brought up observation number 2. Laziness is a good thing when it keeps me out of trouble.
Still, not doing anything beyond emailing doesn't change the fact that I do feel very strongly about a lot of political issues. What bothers me sometimes is that there are at least as many people who feel just as strongly for the other sides. Who's right? I know what I believe is right, but sometimes there's just so much insignificant noise that gets dredged up in the arguements, that it's hard to tell. That's why I love meditating.
When I can get into a really good meditation (which happens less and less since the only good time I can is while the kid's asleep, and let's face it, I am too), I can just focus on a topic. After a while, the stuf that doesn't matter just doesn't make sense anymore. Not as in "why would I have ever thought that?", but as in " ". It no longer exists. I've been making a conscious effort to meditate more. Along with writing more. So far, no conclusions on the writing side, but I have been getting more sleep. Something tells me I need to find a time to meditate other than right before bed...