Pitiful...

My little hiatus from blogging has come to an end. Unfortunately, I was not lounging around on a beach taking it easy for the 3 or so weeks that I have been absent. (Too bad). Typically, my life got real crazy in May, and something had to give (this). So now, the myriad of reasons. In list format. 

1. I started working full-time. This might not seem like a big deal, but I was attempting to successfully finish up the semester, so between that and 6:45am-9:30pm workdays (with a break in between), I WAS BEAT. And I am still trying to get over it. (This is where I give a huge shout-out to all of those working moms out there...because I cannot imagine the life I live with a kid added in. No thank you. Kudos to you:)

2. For any number of reasons, my intermittent migraines have come back with a vengeance. There was at least a whole week thrown in there of migraines. Ick. 

3. THE RACCOONS. The raccoons have been my ongoing drama for awhile now. I do not believe I have shared my raccoon story, which is, quite honestly, two parts soap opera and one part animal planet. In lieu of going into detail (that could take several posts), let's just say this: a mama raccoon climbed up to my roof (I live in the attic, so basically my walls), tore a hole through the shingles, made a nest in my walls, had three babies, and proceeded to torment me. How? My paranoia turned me into a crazy person. I couldn't sleep without thinking that I was going to wake up with a raccoon in my face, my cat dead, my apartment trashed, etc. After a few weeks of this, my landlord put a trap out, which caught two of the babies, and forced the mama raccoon to move her last baby away. (According to my neighbor, who claims he saw the mama and baby come down the fire escape). Moral of the story: I am nearly raccoon free (I hope), and can now sleep in peace.

Photo evidence, because how believable is this story??

I named this one Otis. He hissed at me. 

Actions and Reactions

This will be unpopular. But I feel like I have to speak up. (And I just can't help myself)


It has been almost 12 hours since President Obama's speech announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden. In that timespan, I have seen some of the most vulgar and ridiculous posts on the internet, ever. Yes, thousands of Americans (and others) died at the guidance of this one man. But I never condone more violence. Am I condemning the action of the military? No. What's done is done. But how Americans react is a whole different story. Our culture of death has permeated nearly every corner of this country, and the few people who do not believe it is ever okay to applaud violent death are too afraid to say something, knowing that they will be verbally attacked for their peaceful opinions. Hence, the list:


1. "Violence begets violence." Ultimately, we do not know what the aftershock will be. We have no idea how many more people will die, Americans and otherwise, because of this. History has taught us that nearly everything is cyclical, nations rise and fall, ideas become popular and unpopular, and when violence occurs, it tends to follow a chain reaction. You can say that it started on September 11, 2001, but the reality is that Al-Qaeda and so many nations, groups and people have been in this cycle of violence for decades, if not centuries. 


2. Revenge is just not my thing. When I say this, people tend to say something along the lines of "What if someone murdered someone you loved? Wouldn't you want that person dead?" Actually, I have lost a loved one to violent death. And no, I do not wish the person who did it dead. It is not my place to cast judgment on that person. I only wish that that person will be kept from hurting someone else's family, like mine was hurt. I do not, ever, condone or support capital punishment. Once again, it is a cycle of violence. And it sickens me. (And it will not bring my loved one back, so it is quite useless to have hate in my heart)


3. I never want to see the aftermath of violent death, natural death is difficult enough as it is. I have seen comments where people think he should have been hung, so that President Obama can "prove" he is dead. (Are we in the Jim Crow south? Since when do Americans still hang people?) Isn't it enough to know that he is dead, do we really have to leer over his remains like blood-thirsty vultures? It's disgusting. If that is patriotism, I want NO part of it. 


4. Naysayers. Of course, there are going to be the naysayers, who just can't possible fathom that what President Bush never accomplished, President Obama did in roughly 3 years. So let's just not believe him, or like #3, let's let all Americans "view" Bin Laden's corpse, hanging, with holes in his head. (How many people, before today, could really tell the difference between Osama Bin Laden and any other man of Middle Eastern descent? Few, if any. So why is it so important for you to see his body, already buried at sea, anyway?) 


While I am not sad that a bad man has left this world, never able to hurt innocent people again, I am shocked at how many people that I know personally, are reacting in a way that literally makes me sick. It's vulgar, disgusting, and sad. It shows how blood-thirsty Americans can be, how we only care about us, not the world. (I do not hold that opinion. I believe that people are people everywhere, and an American's life is NOT worth more than an African's, or an Iranians, or an Indian's.)


"Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love..." - DR. MLK JR. (still relevant, even after all these years)