I absolutely believe no one gets involved in politics until they feel personally imposed upon. The "that won't really affect me" opinion reigns in this country. If you can't see through my computer, I'm raising my hand at that last statement. Yes, it was me. I usually glaze over at the bickering splashed across the TV with the opinion that nothing really changes anyways.
I've cheated myself out of my rights as an American to not pay attention. Now it's real. A debt ceiling in limbo and even closer to my front door, lack of the FAA Reauthorization, means my job is struggling. Over half our regional staff is on furlough, more and more as the days drag on. I went to work each day this week knowing the FAA funding will not be resolved until the debit crisis is resolved. So now it becomes survival of the financial fittest. Who can survive without a paycheck the longest until their job recovers? Luckily, my position buys itself some time and I don't have to realize the yuck of an unpaid vacation just yet.
But my forced involvement in the FAA Reauthorization tumbled me into following the debt crisis...which I would have rather been uneducated to. But now that I'm following, this circus is messed up. If the House can't agree, we'll never get past step one. Nevermind the goliath Senate waiting to turn down anything the House ever manages to agree on. I wish I was hopeful. It really will affect me...and you...and our kids.
"A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have...."
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Waiting Game
US Air Program Shutdown Costs 70,000 Jobs-Contractors
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - A partial shutdown of federal aviation programs has put roughly 70,000 workers in construction and related fields out of work, the Associated General Contractors of America said on Wednesday.
A temporary authorization for aviation spending ended Friday night, cutting off $2.5 billion worth of construction projects at airports across the country. The Federal Aviation Administration has also furloughed nearly 4,000 employees.
According to an analysis the association commissioned from George Washington University, 24,000 construction workers and 11,000 service and supply workers are now unemployed because of the partial shutdown.
As many as 35,000 jobs "will be undermined in the broader economy, from the lunch wagon near the job site to the truck dealership across town," the analysis found.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives last week passed an extension of the temporary authorization that cut $12.5 million from rural airports and reduced subsidies for a handful of underserved airports. The bill met a dead end in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats seeking a straightforward extension with no cuts.
Without an authorization, the federal government cannot collect $200 million a week in taxes that it uses to fund airport capital works projects. Air traffic control and most operations are not affected.
The Obama administration has said nearly 90,000 people stood to lose their jobs during the shuttering.
Those workers, though, will not show up in key government indicators for a while. Even if they filed for unemployment insurance benefits on Monday, those employees would not be counted in the jobless claims report the federal government will release on Thursday.
The contractors' association and labor unions are concerned about the effects of a prolonged shutdown on their sector, which is still suffering from the burst of the housing bubble three years ago. The industry unemployment rate was 15.6 percent in June, according to the association's chief economist, Ken Simonson.
The Laborers' International Union of North America puts job losses due to the shutdown at more than 80,000.
"Congress needs to pass a quick, clean extension that gets these projects going and puts people back to work," the union's General President Terry O'Sullivan said in a statement.
Few in Congress, though, expect an extension to pass before the current fight about the debt ceiling ends, which means that construction workers could be unemployed for weeks.
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - A partial shutdown of federal aviation programs has put roughly 70,000 workers in construction and related fields out of work, the Associated General Contractors of America said on Wednesday.
A temporary authorization for aviation spending ended Friday night, cutting off $2.5 billion worth of construction projects at airports across the country. The Federal Aviation Administration has also furloughed nearly 4,000 employees.
According to an analysis the association commissioned from George Washington University, 24,000 construction workers and 11,000 service and supply workers are now unemployed because of the partial shutdown.
As many as 35,000 jobs "will be undermined in the broader economy, from the lunch wagon near the job site to the truck dealership across town," the analysis found.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives last week passed an extension of the temporary authorization that cut $12.5 million from rural airports and reduced subsidies for a handful of underserved airports. The bill met a dead end in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats seeking a straightforward extension with no cuts.
Without an authorization, the federal government cannot collect $200 million a week in taxes that it uses to fund airport capital works projects. Air traffic control and most operations are not affected.
The Obama administration has said nearly 90,000 people stood to lose their jobs during the shuttering.
Those workers, though, will not show up in key government indicators for a while. Even if they filed for unemployment insurance benefits on Monday, those employees would not be counted in the jobless claims report the federal government will release on Thursday.
The contractors' association and labor unions are concerned about the effects of a prolonged shutdown on their sector, which is still suffering from the burst of the housing bubble three years ago. The industry unemployment rate was 15.6 percent in June, according to the association's chief economist, Ken Simonson.
The Laborers' International Union of North America puts job losses due to the shutdown at more than 80,000.
"Congress needs to pass a quick, clean extension that gets these projects going and puts people back to work," the union's General President Terry O'Sullivan said in a statement.
Few in Congress, though, expect an extension to pass before the current fight about the debt ceiling ends, which means that construction workers could be unemployed for weeks.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Attacking My To-Do List
Let's see...today I...
*Planted some plants
*Changed all of our burned out lightbulbs
*Went grocery shopping
*Put the final coat on my end table project
*Found a lamp for said end table
Oh, and painted the ENTIRE guest bathroom!
Not bad for a Sunday.
*Planted some plants
*Changed all of our burned out lightbulbs
*Went grocery shopping
*Put the final coat on my end table project
*Found a lamp for said end table
Oh, and painted the ENTIRE guest bathroom!
Not bad for a Sunday.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Queen of Unfinished Projects
If you're planning to come visit us, don't judge my house! I have more projects than I can count right now - 4 different colors of paint slapped on the guest bathroom wall, fabric samples taped up to the dining room windows deciding on future drapes, flowers on my back porch waiting to be planted, a few loads on laundry on the floor...and most most complete project, a painted/glazed end table project waiting for a top coat of paint and eventually topped off with a table lamp for our living room. I'm about to pull my hair out at the dyed root!
Oh, and I have to host a bridal shower at my house in four weeks?!
Oh, and I have to host a bridal shower at my house in four weeks?!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Now Boarding..no, wait... NOT Boarding!
I resolved my mobile blogging trouble ticket and iPhone blogging begins. Well, it begins with yesterday's post and continues now from Terminal A of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport because I have not a damn thing to do. I've exhausted Facebook, People.com, Hanging with Friends, Words with Friends, Scramble, oh, and did some work. "Mechanical" delays 20 minutes at a time have caused a 7:15 departure time for my original 3:40 flight back to DFW.
I suppose I sympathize with the AA agents who have customers using this excuse to lash out at them. When in reality, yes, they are inconvenienced, but their real life troubles have made them time bombs and this delay came at a convenient time to release that frustration. I doubt each of these passengers are consistently on time for all appointments or live a life without emergencies. Would you rather fly a potentially unsafe aircraft? I'm not sure where all this compassion is coming from because I'm not particularly thrilled abou arriving home so late. Must be because the guy working the gate was really trying his hardest to help within his means. And I'm really freaking tired.
I suppose I sympathize with the AA agents who have customers using this excuse to lash out at them. When in reality, yes, they are inconvenienced, but their real life troubles have made them time bombs and this delay came at a convenient time to release that frustration. I doubt each of these passengers are consistently on time for all appointments or live a life without emergencies. Would you rather fly a potentially unsafe aircraft? I'm not sure where all this compassion is coming from because I'm not particularly thrilled abou arriving home so late. Must be because the guy working the gate was really trying his hardest to help within his means. And I'm really freaking tired.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Oh, The Places We Will Go
There is nothing more depressing than sitting in DFW's Terminal D, the international terminal, listening to all the flights boarding to exotic locations...Paris, London, Australia...when you are about to board a plane, regional jet I might add, to Bentonville, Arkansas. Seriously, come on.
I sat in Bennigans across from my gate watching passengers board Air France to Amsterdam. I could use Amsterdam. But today will be Arkansas.
Let me depart from B Terminal so I feel a little more pride going to Walmart USA. They did, after all, revolutionize the low price, American bargain shopping experience. Yes, Bentonville would seem much more glamorous if the gate next to me was headed to Topeka, Kansas or Midland, Texas.
I sat in Bennigans across from my gate watching passengers board Air France to Amsterdam. I could use Amsterdam. But today will be Arkansas.
Let me depart from B Terminal so I feel a little more pride going to Walmart USA. They did, after all, revolutionize the low price, American bargain shopping experience. Yes, Bentonville would seem much more glamorous if the gate next to me was headed to Topeka, Kansas or Midland, Texas.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
I Am Old.
This is how you know you are turning an old age leaf - your alumni sticker looks like mine did.
Old, faded, wrinkled.
When did I age?
Old, faded, wrinkled.
When did I age?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
*Insert Witty Title*
It's difficult to log onto Facebook when you're going through a tough time. It's so and so's birthday, someone has awesome travel plans, a concert was fantastic, fancy shoes were bought, anniversaries are being celebrated...everyone thoroughly enjoyed their fourth of July weekends with grilled foods and water sports.
I forget to remember my blessings and strength waiting on the other side of the pain. I prefer to crawl into a hole. When does it get better?
I forget to remember my blessings and strength waiting on the other side of the pain. I prefer to crawl into a hole. When does it get better?
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
I Now Relate
I've been fortunate to not have many close family or friends pass away. My grandpa passed away when I was a teenager, but in my adult life, none until my grandma. Therefore, I've never dealt with the five stages of grief or been able to relate to anyone who has. I always share my condolences and do truly feel sorry for people experiencing the loss, but I'm sad to say I was the "I'm so sorry to hear that" person. I'm not that person anymore.
The loss of someone close is very emotional, regardless of your relationship with them. It's the removal of someone familiar. A loneliness. A void.
I must say if you are ever to lose someone close to you (and I certainly hope you don't) and you share that loss with me, I will truly know how you feel and have a deeper appreciation and understanding for the grief you're dealing with. The support of friends and their concern and companionship make those hours, days, minutes of uncertainty easier to conquer. I guarantee it.
The loss of someone close is very emotional, regardless of your relationship with them. It's the removal of someone familiar. A loneliness. A void.
I must say if you are ever to lose someone close to you (and I certainly hope you don't) and you share that loss with me, I will truly know how you feel and have a deeper appreciation and understanding for the grief you're dealing with. The support of friends and their concern and companionship make those hours, days, minutes of uncertainty easier to conquer. I guarantee it.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Grandma Ellen
Grandma went to be with Grandpa last night. We sat in the lobby while they removed the ventilator from her throat. She took a few breaths and left this world, with her family by her side. She left the pain and illness that had uninvitedly consumed her body.
While we sitting at the hospital as our grandma memories were being shared, I remembered a story from maybe 12 or so years ago. My cousin Amanda and I had gone to Grandma's for a visit. I had taken a liking to the Snicker's ice cream bars and Grandma told me I could have as many as I wanted. Being a kid, unable to restrain myself, I ate the whole box - a good 4 or 5 candy bars. Needless to say, that night I saw all 4 or 5 of those candy bars again and had to wake Grandma up at the middle of the night to tell her I had thrown up in the bathroom.
Not long after Grandma passed away, Bo and I left the hospital to head home. He stopped on the way home to get gas and to my surprise, came home with Snicker's ice cream bars. I couldn't think of a better way to remember Grandma than to sit on our back porch at 1AM and toast ice cream candy bars in her honor.
I'm thankful for my time with her and will see her again one day. Until then, Roll Tide Grandma!
While we sitting at the hospital as our grandma memories were being shared, I remembered a story from maybe 12 or so years ago. My cousin Amanda and I had gone to Grandma's for a visit. I had taken a liking to the Snicker's ice cream bars and Grandma told me I could have as many as I wanted. Being a kid, unable to restrain myself, I ate the whole box - a good 4 or 5 candy bars. Needless to say, that night I saw all 4 or 5 of those candy bars again and had to wake Grandma up at the middle of the night to tell her I had thrown up in the bathroom.
Not long after Grandma passed away, Bo and I left the hospital to head home. He stopped on the way home to get gas and to my surprise, came home with Snicker's ice cream bars. I couldn't think of a better way to remember Grandma than to sit on our back porch at 1AM and toast ice cream candy bars in her honor.
I'm thankful for my time with her and will see her again one day. Until then, Roll Tide Grandma!
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