All Of The Other Stuff | Redhead Ranting

Dear God

Filed under All of the Other Stuff by Jen on December 2, 2011 at 1:55 pm {21 comments}

Dear God,

Please help me get through this holiday season without losing it. And by ‘losing it’ I mean abandoning my vehicle on I-94 in the middle of rush hour traffic and yelling at anyone who will listen as I scream “the holidays suck”.

I’m trying to be positive about the holiday season but they started earlier this year and already I am wiped out from pretending that I wish it would all just go away.

Please help me to not smack the next happy couple I see shopping at the mall. You know the ones, they are young, have no children with them and are holding hands. I suspect they have just met. They also tend to stop in the middle of the mall, disrupting traffic, and either take a picture or kiss. These people are morons, they are way too happy and please don’t let them procreate. Wait, strike that, let them have kids and then they can join the rest of us in hell.

I want to thank you for teaching me humility, I think I got it now. I’ve been trying to dig out of the financial disaster that was my first marriage for 18 years now and every time I get close to crawling out of the hole you knock me back down. Thank you, I would hate to think what I would be like if I actually had some success that lasted more than a week. Having the underwire on my last comfortable bra break was a nice touch.

Please make sure there is enough chocolate. I’m having a hard time emotionally since I quit the Zoloft (thanks for those extra 20lbs-more humility!) and so far there is no law that says I can’t drive and eat chocolate at the same time.

Thank you for wine. Thank you even more for 3 Buck Chuck. Once you get used to it it’s not so bad.

I know that it’s not about wanting more but about wanting what I have. I get that. I just really never thought that keeping my phone on and paying for the internet fell under ‘wanting more’. I don’t want for much but I would really love to have 48 hours of feeling good. Not great, but good. I’d love to have 48 hours where I didn’t feel like shit because I can’t take my kid to see the new Muppet movie and get popcorn, where I could go to sleep and not worry about if I will have enough to buy the needed groceries for the week. I’d like to have two days where I felt safe and secure. That feeling I had once or twice when I was married. You know, that feeling you get when someone puts their arms around you and tells you everything will be okay? That feeling you automatically get when someone has your back, when you know you aren’t alone. I’d like to feel that again for a little while, I remember it was pretty awesome.

Please help me from telling the bill collectors to go fuck themselves. I know it isn’t their fault, it’s mine that they are calling, and they are just doing their job. I appreciate that and do apologize after my outbursts. Let them know that I tell them to fuck off because it is the only way I can stop myself from crying while on the phone with them and I am too polite to hang up on them. I don’t mean to be mean but having them threaten me and say I am a bad person isn’t going to make me shit money out of my ass. If I had it I would pay it. You could get the word out there about my business. Sending me more clients would really help.

Please help me control myself when I see those Christmas commercials for jewelry stores. I’m waiting for the lawsuit that claims the defendant robbed the bank, torched the store or did some other horrible act because she had seen these stupid commercials one too many times. Talk about false advertising, there are no men like the ones in the jewelry commercial, at least not any that are interested in women.

Same goes for the car commercials. Before I die I want to meet someone who gave a car to someone else as a gift. Any car, even a Yugo. It doesn’t happen!

Help me from ruining this holiday season for my daughter. She knows I don’t like the holidays and has been asking why. I’m having a hard time coming up with an answer that doesn’t ruin the holiday for her. She doesn’t need to know that I have sold my jewelry for her brother’s and her gift this year. She doesn’t have to know that because her dad didn’t pay support again I got slammed with overdrafts and other fees which will take presents out from under the tree as well as food off the table. She doesn’t have to know that I don’t trust people anymore and have become so cynical it even scares me. She shouldn’t have to worry about getting the Hello Kitty doll she wants. She isn’t asking for much, I should be able to handle that. At the very least please have her stop asking me why Christmas makes me sad.

I know you can’t show me the true meaning of Christmas, I know there isn’t going to be any “It’s a Wonderful Life” dream sequences and there won’t be any ghosts walking around rattling chains. It isn’t that my heart is too small it’s that my bank account is. Tell me what I need to do and I will do it. I don’t think I can work much longer or harder than I already am but I can certainly work smarter and would be happy to listen to any guidance you have.

Thanks for listening,

Jen

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Cyber Monday

Filed under All of the Other Stuff by Jen on November 28, 2011 at 10:25 am {4 comments}

: Image by ultracase via Flickr

If you survived Black Friday without getting trampled on, shot at, hand cuffed or pepper sprayed you probably don’t feel like shopping anymore. However, if you haven’t gotten going on your holiday shopping yet, and need to score some gifts at rock bottom priced then today is the day.

Cyber Monday is the Monday following Black Friday where you can find all kinds of deals at online retailers. I’m not going to give you a list of the best places online to shop, your email in box if filled with offers so anything I say will only be redundant. But if you are looking to find great deals there are many to be easily found by heading out to the big box stores such as Target, Best Buy and Walmart. And of course, let’s not forget Amazon, the daddy of online shopping.

I don’t know about you but I’m already sick of shopping and I haven’t even started. I do know that I can’t wait for the holidays to be over so I can start thinking about the Mardi Gras party supplies from PartyMart. What could Mardi Gras have to do with Cyber Monday, you ask?

Absolutely nothing.

I’m just looking forward to a holiday or celebration that isn’t over commercialized.

Apparently Cyber Monday has been extended to last the entire week. Now it is Cyber Week and no longer just about one day.

I call BS on this one. We all know that there will be deals until the absolute last minute so there is no real need to jump on the bandwagon this week.

No, I suggest forgetting about Cyber Monday and instead put a little jazz on your iTunes and start thinking about Mardi Gras.

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Who is a Homophobe in the Ward 2 Race for City Council?

Filed under All of the Other Stuff by Jen on November 7, 2011 at 3:05 pm {3 comments}

There has been a bit of a kerfluffle in the last year about homophobia in the Ward 2 race for City Council. Last May an email was sent from Thune’s assistant Barb Benson, who referred to Bill Hosko as ‘the gay guy that always runs [against] Dave for City Council,’. There was also a Gag.Barf thrown into the email but I’m not quite clear if that was in reference to Bill Hosko or Bill Bowell. You can read a report taken from the original Pioneer Press story on The Advocate, however, the original story is only available if you have a subscription to the Pioneer Press.

Hosko said the e-mail reflects an attitude of prejudice in Thune’s office.

“Why would she identify me as ‘that gay guy’? That is derogatory,” he said, according to the Pioneer Press. “What if she had said ‘the black guy’? That would have been derogatory.” He added, “‘The gay guy’ — what does that have to do with anything?”

The gay guy has nothing to do with it at all. It was rude, childish and stupid of Ms. Benson to refer to Bill Hosko in such a foolish manner, however, I can’t see where the leap can be made that her words mean that Dave Thune is a homophobe.

Bill Hosko’s sexual orientation is his own business and really had no place in the campaign until he went on record about it. When I worked for Bill Hosko he was open about his sexuality, to me, and made it clear he didn’t want it known that he was gay during the campaign. He was concerned it might alienate potential financial contributors and he was probably correct in that assumption.

I was disappointed that he didn’t have plans to make his sexuality known but that is because I had grown up hiding my parent’s sexuality and I didn’t want to have to cover for someone again. I also believed that it wouldn’t have made a difference if he had disclosed it (I was a bit naïve). Ultimately the choice was his.

Accusing Dave Thune of prejudice seemed rather hypocritical in my book. Dave Thune has been a great supporter of LGBT causes. Now if Bill had been openly gay and openly supportive of LGBT issues in the city we could compare the two, however, that hasn’t really been the case. If anyone has been a homophobe it has been Mr. Hosko rather than Mr. Thune.

Sexuality of any kind has no place in a political campaign. It has nothing to do with the issues at hand. Discussing it all was petty.

Bill Hosko isn’t a bad guy but he isn’t qualified to have any kind of leadership in this city. There are many qualities he has that I admire. He loves St. Paul, of that I am sure. His penchant for speaking of himself in the third person is annoying and a bit unnerving but it’s probably harmless. The problem with Bill is that he isn’t part of the team, something he prides himself on. He is an individual who has a difficult time following the rules and working with other people, characteristics that are necessary to participate in the governing of this city. Bill has some great ideas, he wants to make this city look good. The problem is, as far as I can tell, he has no idea how to accomplish any of his ideas.

Statues are nice but they cost money. Beautifying the city is a great idea, and one I am not opposed to, but I don’t want the government taking anymore of my hard earned money to pay for it. There is a lot wrong with our government, at all levels, let’s fix that before we start spending more money.

Remember to vote tomorrow.