Going Postal

I have never been an advocate for what us cyber folk lovingly call "snail mail" I remember back in elementary school when there was still the Pen Pal craze...I would write one letter than never even come close to completing a reply. I hated the time it took to write, stamp, address, mail...then wait and wait for it to GET there...then wait even LONGER for the return response. Yes, I am impatient. Surprise Surprise. My brothers both served two year missions for our church. I think I wrote them each...one letter. And oh boy! When EMAIL was invented..I was alllll over that one! Instant send, instant response HURRAY!

In all actuality though, snail mail is a great thing. It shows more care. More attention. Just the fact that someone went though ALL that "trouble" to send you a simple letter. As much as I might hate it, I never lack in pure happiness when I see a letter in the mail for me that doesn't contain "junk mail" or, more often, bills. The US Postal Service was founded by good old Benjamin Franklin back in 1775. Dont bother doing the math...I already have. That means that for 234 years, letters have been traveling all over this country, waiting to be torn open and read over and over.

Back in 1885 it cost about 2 cents to send a one ounce letter. And it took NINETY YEARS to go up to 10 cents in 1975. That's some time! Now get this. Just for us younguns, in our parent's lives (since most were born at or near '75 if not before...) the cost of one stamp has risen 34 cents! It took ninety years to rise 8 cents. And only 34 to rise...what do you know! 34 cents! That is one cent a year.

Now now, I understand the "need" for price changes. They say it costs more to print the same designs on the same pieces of paper they have always used. But really. We are paying SO much in taxes, in gas, soon no doubt will have to pay for the very air we breath. And 44 cents seems like such a trivial thing to complain about. But here I am, ranting. Not so much about the fact that we are closer and closer to paying 50 cents...then a dollar...to send a one ounce letter. Its just the fact that you would think at least ONE thing could stay at least somewhat...reliable? Dependable? Cheap? I am sending about one letter a week to a friend now. And today I sit down to stamp the envelope and see I only have one forty-ONE cent stamp left. Goodness. So now I cant even mail it off until I can find time to drive over to the post office, hope they are open, buy MORE stamps... And the sucky thing is stocking up on stamps seems almost pointless, since next year they will go up in price again.

You would think the greed could stop somewhere. "Dear Pony Express, Im sorry we failed. I would send you this letter, but I dont have a stamp. Sincerely, Me." They care more about getting those few extra cents out of every letter-sender than they do... oh say...in keeping people in touch with those we love. You shake your head and go "Well jeez! Why is she complaining! Email is free!" For now... Just you wait. I will not be surprised by anything now. We are over $2 trillion dollars in debt. America is bankrupt. Im waiting to hear the next "charges" we will all "owe" in order to "save" the economy.

So for now, I am sitting here, looking at the stupid 41 cent stamp in front of me and muttering my apologizes to Ben Franklin. Things never stay the same. Cant even depend on a dang sticky stamp anymore.

Can you tell I am going postal today? Rant...over.

Sleep Deprivation

I am so tired. Like, really. Really Really.

I cant remember the last time I actually slept through the night. And amazingly so, its not because of baby. My little boy started sleeping all of the way through the night when he hit 3 months old. I love him. No...for some other reason, I just dont sleep. I cant find a comfortable position at all. My RLS kicks in. I wake up almost every hour or so. Tossing and turn has nothing on me!

Some people say it could be stress. I sit back and go "Hmmm...yup! Could be that!" Talk about stress in life! Bills. I hate bills. And Shane not being paid enough, not getting his raises when he was supposed to. Insurance taking out about $300 or so a month then not even helping much to pay for my son's injury. My closest friend aside from Shane being accused of something he didnt do and is now sitting in jail (wow...thats a WHOLE rant of its own!) Come on stress...I dare you! Wait! No no please... (Haha please mr killer no)

Do you have any idea how much I would LOVE to just lay down, snuggle in my blankets and up to Shane, and just doze off into a good few hours of solid sleep? Mmm sounds delightful. The only way I can maybe sleep for a few hours straight is to force myself to stay up until at least 2AM...

Oh yes. And when I DO sleep...my dreams try to keep me awake. Honestly subconsciense mind, why do you hate me so??

Really this is a pointless rant. Not even a rant. A complaint. Almost certaintly pointless to read. If you have gotten this far, I am sorry. I owe you all a better rant. Now I just have to find something to talk about other than how TIRED I am right now.

YAWN

Assumptions

So I am sitting here, thinking about how much I do hate stupid people. Ah yes, just a point blank sentence don't you think? I am not talking about those who have learning impediments or are just not educated yet. I am talking about the people who know what is going on...then choose to make the DUMB move instead.

What triggered this thought? Well of course there are a number of things. I am a woman. At any given second I have at least 500 completely varying and opposing thoughts running through my head. Dominantly it was just from some movies I happened to watch last night. The first was Valkyrie. The second..My Bloody Valentine. Wow I KNOW...completely different movies in almost every sense possible. But there is one thing they both had in stark common: stupid people.

Valkyrie is a movie about the uprising against Hitler and the attempted assasination, which of course failed. Note, I love stories from this time. I am a very big reader on holocaust survival and the war. But for one: this was a Tom Cruise movie. There is something about that actor that I just DO NOT like. So sue me. But also...it shows the true human nature of people. Here they are, men and women who have realized that Hitler's mission is wrong and needs to be stopped. So they devise this plan to enforce martial law and finalyl do away from the Fuhrur. Of course it doesnt go to plan.

But what makes the stupid people come forward? Could it be one of the lead men chickening out and waiting THREE HOURS to enact the next part of the plan? If he hadnt waited...the results could have been so much different! From that point everybody starts to back out. Tuck their tails between their legs and run! It comes to a point in life when you do need to think about what you do truly believe in and want...then STAND for it. Instead...they laid back and gave up. I dont know. I just dont know. I know it was a scary time. But really...you doomed yourself anyway when you started the plan into action. Why not at least show what your made of and finish? Mega sigh

Now for My Bloody Valentine. Oh my LAME. Yes, it was cool how it started different than the usual "teenagers at party and man comes to butcher them" start of most scary thrillers. You knew the basis of the story from the start. But no worries loyal movie goers...about 10 minutes into and you find yourself right there at the prerequisite party as they all get hacked into with a pickaxe. The movie didnt lack gore at all. Super cheesey fake looking gore...but blood and guts all the same. You would think after YEARS of experience now in the thriller field, Hollywood could at least make it somewhat...less..."here comes the killer! let me run down the halls screaming then trip and fall!" I swear...the people in that movie had NO blanace at all. Yes, it kept you wondering exactly who the murderer was. Yet at the same time you sit there wondering "Really...small towns imbreed wayy too much!" I dont get these movies. In all reality...as soon as a madman starts butchering people on Valentines Day and giving their hearts in candy boxes...I wouldnt sit around and go ho hum. I WOULD MOVE.

So the question is...why do people do this? Here they are, facing life. There are two paths in front of them. One is rough, but you can still see the pavement underneath. And the other? Oh, a broken rope bridge over a gaping chasm full of frenzied sharks. And which one do they choose you ask? "Oh look...a rope bridge! FUN!" I dont get it. I know life isnt easy. And we all make stupid stupid mistakes. But if you see a man running at you with a pickaxe in hand, dont throw your arms up and run in circles, then trip and go "please mr killer no!" I say...find a place to hide, then call the cops, creep away, pack your stuff and get to a different town PRONTO. Or when you make a decision you know is right in all regards, a decision you believe in and cannot back away from...dont, at the last second, go "me so scared" and stop mid-sentence. Finish through. Know what you are doing. And if you think there is a chance you wont like it, dont START IT.

Its called thinking my friends. I know, its scary and foreign and not taught well in todays public institution. But I have faith in you. Go ahead, give it a try. Lets try to do away with these stupid people assumptions yes?

Thats my rant for today. Signing out