I Miss This Kid

Yesterday, you would have been 23. Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of your death.

I still miss you.

You were my brother-cousin.

You were the little boy that used to call my Beffy.

You were easy-going. You were always happy.

You never had a bad thing to say about anyone.

I was the last person in our family to see you alive. I told you to be safe when you left my apartment.

I wish those words would have been stronger. I wish they would have changed the outcome. I'm sorry they did not. 

I will always miss you.

"i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) i am never without it..." - ee cummings

Visit www.johnmichaeldilday.com or visit his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Michael-Dilday/181877425175126?v=wall to learn more about his life and death. Thank you.

On My Soapbox...

That's right folks. Here it is. My newest rant. You can agree. You can disagree. I like to debate. And didn't someone once say that dissent is the highest form of patriotism? I should look that person up.

If you have been paying attention to Facebook statuses, you may have noticed this annoying little post:

"Kentucky just passed the best law ever. To be on food stamps, Medicaid, or Cash Assistance for your Children or yourself You have to pass a DRUG Test. Now every other state should do the same. If you agree re-post. People that work have to take a drug test so should they. Amen....repost if you agree"

I will give you a list of why this is absolutely ridiculous.


1. These reposted statuses drive me nuts. And they are usually wrong. Like this one. Because I looked this up. It is a bill in the Kentucky House of Reps (which according to their calendar found here: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/sch_vist/11RS_calendar.pdf, they have a break right now) titled HB 208. I have looked this up, and I cannot find any evidence that HB 208 has been passed into law. It is not in KY newspapers, and I cannot find it on this KY government site containing all of their laws: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/law.htm. I did however, find it here, as a bill: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/11rs/HB208.htm. Being a bill, it has not been passed into law yet. If you do not know the difference between a bill and a law, then I suggest you look it up. Or watch the Schoolhouse Rock episode about Bills and Laws. Because it's simple. Even children understand the difference.


2. HB 208 states that they would like to create a substance abuse screening program for recipients of public assistance, food stamps, and state medical assistance. Let me just say, drug testing is expensive. And testing EVERYONE receiving assistance would cost A LOT of money. Even if it were random, that would still be A LOT of money, that, in my opinion, would be better spent in the education system.


3. And now, this is where I get incensed. Why would it EVER be a good idea to punish CHILDREN for their parent's mistakes. And this is also where it gets personal. Being the daughter of a drug addict, I can tell you that addicts will almost always choose their addiction over their children. My father did it time and time again, throughout my life and my half-brother's life.


4. For two years, I worked in low-income schools in Little Rock, AR, and I saw kid's come to school hungry, because they did not always get meals the night before or breakfast before school. Let me pose a question. Is it easy to focus when you are hungry? Especially a 6 year old? NO. It is not. Most of the students I saw did get free or reduced lunches, but that does not mean they got to eat a substantial dinner. So folks, let's take away possibly the only way a kid can get food for dinner and on the weekends, and let them starve. Because kids have no rights. Maybe their parents should not be drug addicts. Let's just say that. HOW IS THIS OKAY?

5. And now, possibly my favorite part. How is this not discrimination of the poor? Contrary to this ridiculous FB post, most people I know do not have to get drug tested in the workplace. Some, but not all. For most workplaces, it is either random testing, or testing based on suspected drug use. And honestly, I know A LOT of working/middle class folks who use the occasional recreational drug. OHHHH, but they are okay, because they are contributing members of society. 

6. This bill was penned by Lonnie Rapier (R-Lancaster). If you do not know what that R means in the parentheses, it stands for Republican. Now, I would just like to say that I do not belong to a political party. I almost always vote for candidates. That being said, the candidates I choose are usually Democrats or Green Party. Yes folks, I am what Republicans would call a BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL. And I like it. If you agree with this bill, if you are a Republican, I hope I have not offended you. Like someone once said, "dissent is the highest form of patriotism." I would challenge anyone who agrees with this bill to spend ONE WEEK volunteering in a low income school, preferably in a city, of your choice. And then tell me that you cannot see how a bill like this would affect kids who already have little or no rights, kids that are written off because they are poor or Black or Hispanic, or they are behind in school because they CANNOT FOCUS, due to hunger or learning disabilities, THAT THEIR PARENTS CANNOT AFFORD TO TREAT. After you do this, let me know how you feel then. I would love to hear about your experiences. 

OH WAIT...you don't have time? you could not possibly do that? you are secretly afraid to go to those neighborhoods? THEN STOP PUTTING YOUR IGNORANT POSTS ON FB. You obviously do not know enough about the issue to talk about it. 

I can only hope that Kentucky has enough sense NOT to pass this into law.

Until next time...

Budget Queen

Yep, that's me...the Budget Queen. I'm basically always on a budget, being the poor college student that I am. But, contrary to popular belief, I do not under any circumstances enjoy living off ramen noodles and mac and cheese. This week, I did particularly well with my grocery buying skillz.

The list:
bag of navel oranges: 1.49
bananas: .85
eggs: 1.19
can of tuna: 1.09
apple juice: .92
mushrooms: 1.49
black beans: .55
kidney beans: .55
chili beans: .55
diced tomatoes: .63
bell pepper: .98
onion: .28
jalapeno: .01
chili season mix: .33

Total: 10.36 + tax

And this not only gets me two pieces of fruit a day, it also makes vegetarian chili, which will feed me for the majority of the week.

Oh ya, if you want to know where I get all these low prices...Aldi. Yep, that's right. I'm not ashamed! I love that place.

Back to Reality...

My little hiatus was officially over this morning around 7:40am, as I made my way to my *sigh* 8am class. My winter break was lovely, very restful, although I basically got nothing done that I wanted to, besides work at the library and rearrange my bedroom. And now, I am back to the swing of things. My schedule is packed this semester...I think I have 16 or 17 credit hours, which mostly just makes my head hurt. The upside is I will be one step closer to completing that elusive Bachelors degree that has been 6 or so years in the making.

Some winter break highlights (because I know you're interested):

-Went home twice, once for a friend's graduation, once for Christmas.
-Almost successfully watched EVERY episode of Veronica Mars. (Hey, it was actually a good show!)
-Dog-sat a pug for a week, which I renamed ET, much to the owner's chagrin. Let's just say, Julius was not my friend, but we've made up.
-Finished Under the Dome, one of Stephen King's massive 1,000+ pagers. It was pretty good.

And that's it. I'm officially ready for this semester.

Bring it on.