No One's Going to Take Away Your Guns, So Calm the Fuck Down

I don't usually get political on my blog - this is supposed to be a place for introspection with some comic relief thrown in, but this topic has been weighing on my mind for the past few days.
I am SO sick of hearing people bitch about the state of this country, lay the blame on the president, and whine and cry assuming that, because of new gun law proposals, the government is going to take their guns away by creating a countrywide ban.  Guess what people - it's not.  And if all you're going to do is sit on your ass and complain via Facebook, why not be more proactive and start contacting your state representatives and legislators?  Bet yet, get educated?
On a personal note, as far as the issues of mental health and gun control - I don't even know what to think.  I've never been a fan of guns, and more or less ambivalent when it comes to a person's right to own them.  The fact that my ex kept guns in the house solely for hunting purposes used to scare the shit out of me because sometimes it doesn't matter how safety conscious one is when it comes to handling them.
I've been following this whole clusterfuck closely and making sure my points are valid.  I watched President Obama state that no one is planning on taking away the rights of law-abiding, gun-owning citizens as I huffed and puffed away on the elliptical machine at the gym on January 14th.  However, as of today, he has signed 23 executive orders meant to tighten the reigns and curb gun violence, and I agree with them 100%.
If people did their research, maybe they would stop crying.  If people are law-abiding citizens, maybe they would calm the fuck down.  I am shocked at the outpouring of rage in regards to this topic coming from people I thought I knew.

I never knew you hunted with assault weapons.
I didn't think you had any reason to be concerned about having a background check run on you if you go to purchase a new firearm.
I'm surprised you managed to graduate high school without a full understanding of our country's Constitution and Bill of Rights, because your rants make it abundantly clear that you do not have one.
Because, let's face it, the chances of one being forced to protect their home, family, and livelihood while wielding a firearm, at least in Delaware, are slim.  Unless you live on 4th street or in Brookside, I don't want to hear it.  (The people I hear doing most of the complaining?  No, they do not live in crime- or drug- ridden areas of this state.  And to be honest, I felt safer in my own home than I ever did at my ex's, with his cache of firearms and hunting rifles.)
This is my opinion.  I do not demand that anyone agree with me.  This is my blog, and I write what I feel passionately about.  No one has to read it.  I do not shove my thoughts on gun control down anyone's throat.  I will, however, discuss it with people who feel the same way I do.  Unfortunately, I do not feel compelled to discuss it with those who think differently, because I have better things to do - like decide how or whether or not I am going to start writing letters to my state representatives and legislators inquiring as to why my paycheck has shrunk - rather than become a little dumber by listening to uneducated and uninformed people berate me with misinformation.

Most Of Us Really Are Living On the Edge

I'm living in a world where every one gets a trophy just for showing up.
I never got a trophy when I played baseball because I wasn't good at it, and that was okay with me.  I got my trophies singing my heart out all throughout my school career, from dedicating much of my time to practicing, rehearsing and performing.  When I got a varsity letter my freshman year for being on the swim team, I felt it was entirely undeserved, but the swim team is considered all around varsity.  
We spend an absurd amount of money on fancy, gourmet birthday cakes for babies while teaching them it's okay to verbally assault people over the internet.
Seriously, what are they going to think when they find out one day that daddy consistently called mommy a whore or that mommy trashed daddy for not paying child support?
Because, let's face it, we're living in a world where having a baby is not a big deal anymore.  The next generation might as well be called the "Oops Generation."
Which is one of the main reasons I make it a point to take my birth control and practice safe sex.  And when it comes down to it, I don't sleep with people I wouldn't at least consider having a child with.
I'm living in a world where, if asked whether or not I believe in God and all I say is yes, my response is immediately taken as a threat and I'm bashed for even having faith.
On the flip side, I'm living in a world where evangelists and right wing maniacs have distorted faith and religion so much that they now carry a nasty stain.
In my world, I go to work every day.  I pay my car insurance.  I pay my health insurance.  I make about $100 too much to qualify for government assistance.  But I still work, and I still pay my bills, with little or no money left over to put into my savings.
It must be nice to sit on your ass all day and know the government will take care of you.  I bought my iPhone with money from the same checking account I pay my bills out of.  You know, the one my paycheck is deposited into.
I'm living in a world where Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber are considered "talent."
Enough said.  Where's the noose?
We are living in a world where young people demand respect from their elders without giving it first.
Remember the phrase "You have to earn respect before receiving it?"  Yeah, that's been lost in translation.

I'm tired of seeing the same status updates on Facebook, down to the most unimportant detail of someone's day.
I don't care what side of the bed you woke up on.  Unless it was in the middle of street in downtown Wilmington and you seemed to have lost your pants, I'm not interested.

I don't care what you're making for every meal of every day, either.
We are living in a world where shit like that has become the basis for our entertainment.
I'm stuck in this world where fact-checking has gone down the drain and people immediately believe what they see or read without looking into it first.
In today's world making the commute to work is enough to drive one insane.  We seem to have forgotten common courtesy and the fact that we will all get to our destination one way or the other.  You're not going to be late if you let even just one car merge in front of you.
We are all racing to the red light.
I'm living in a world where if I were to play Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London, it would be mistaken for that Kid Rock song.
I'm shaking my head.
In my world, asking someone to sit up straight is like asking them to shove bamboo shoots  under their fingernails.
Doesn't your back hurt from being slumped over all day?  Oh, and by the way, close your mouth.  You look like you're missing a chromosome.
I'm living in a world where it is expensive to eat healthy and cheap to just not care anymore.
I've been over this before.
I'm living in a world where the word judgmental has become a common adjective to describe someone's character.
Maybe if we stopped and put ourselves in someone else's shoes for a second, we'd think twice.  Maybe if we got to know our neighbors the world would be a nicer place.  Maybe if we weren't so quick to shove our beliefs down someone else's throat they would be willingly to listen to what we have to say.
We are living in a world where children are abducted and found murdered over car parts, or they are abused by someone they trust at a day camp.  You can't send your kids to school, vacation bible school, or sports camp without worrying whether or not they will be returned to you mentally intact or intact at all.
What is provoking this sickness that is rearing its ugly head in our society?  We are destroying our children, one by one, leaving them to grow up jaded and desensitized with no faith in humanity at all.
I am living in a world where evil is overshadowing good.  Drug cartels have taken over Mexico and leaving severed heads in front of elementary schools as a threat to teachers if half of their wages are not paid to cartels.
Excuse me, but what the fuck.  That makes the shit hole schools in run down neighborhoods I sometimes work in look like first class private academies.
The bottom line is that we're living on the edge.  Everyone is on the edge.  I feel it too.  Some days I want to flip out on the person in front of me in line at the store because they're paying for their goods with $20 in change.  But I don't.  Because I don't know what their situation is.  Maybe they scrounged up all they had left to buy a gallon of milk for their kids.
It's easier to be a dick than to be nice.  It's easier to keep walking instead of hold the door open for the person behind you struggling with an armload of stuff.  It's easier to cut the old person off to pull into the parking spot they were waiting for.  It's easier to discriminate rather than open our minds to something we're not familiar with.  We're all guilty of it; it's how we handle it.  Let's face it - we're living on the edge, but Steven Tyler says it better than I can.

Why I Shouldn't Log Into Facebook During Election Time

I personally think Facebook is overrated and overused.  But I've been sucked into the world of social networking just like the rest of you.  I usually log in while I'm drinking my morning coffee and do a quick scroll to see whose birthday it is and to catch any important updates.  Note that I said the word "important." I don't care what your plans are for the day unless they include me.  And I don't work with even 1/8th of you.
I haven't seen too many status updates pertaining to the upcoming presidential elections aside from the torrent of nonsense put out every time there was a debate, but the ones I do see have me second-guess "friendships" I have with those who post about it.  I've decided who I am going to vote for, but it's my business and no one else's.  The only people I've discussed it with are my mother and one of my closest friends.  If you want to know, you can ask me.  I don't need to announce it to all of my friends, anyone I meet, or the Facebook nation, and I'm not going to.  I think we can all agree that this year's election is personal.  For me it all boils down to the social issues plaguing our nation - Medicare, home interest mortgage deductions, immigration, equal pay and funding for Planned Parenthood.
The other morning I read a well written status by a guy I used to go to school with -
"I have finally 100% made up my mind who I am going to vote for for President of the United States. I have spent the past year watching tons of Republican Primary Debates, both conventions, all three Presidential debates, and the Vice Presidential debate. I have taken care to get my news from a variety of sources- talk radio, Fox News, Cnn- the whole political gambit. And I have a million reasons for my decision I'd be happy to discuss with any of you. I endorse President Barak Obama."  (This was quoted with permission.)
As you can see, he didn't attack either candidate or ramble on about why he is choosing to vote for President Obama.  He did what I believe most people on my timeline don't - took the time to get his information from both sides of the spectrum and based his decision on who he thinks is the best person for the job.  Whether it's right or wrong is no one else's call to make, and whether or not I agree with him is irrelevant.  (I do, by the way.)  But my favorite part of this status update is "...I have a million reasons for my decision I'd be happy to discuss with any of you."  Note he didn't feel the need to clog his friends' timeline with his reasons.
I was tempted to respond to a post someone made bashing the President and expressing support of the Republican candidate, but I figured my opinion was better left unsaid.  The person has every right to voice their opinion, but the way it was done and their choice of words is what made me shake my head.  I wanted to respond with something along the lines of - "If he does get elected, I hope you are blessed with a daughter shortly there after...then you might rethink how you feel," but I held my tongue.  I don't have the time or energy getting into "Facebook wars."  I save my comments for nice pictures, celebratory statuses and birthdays.
This is all relevant to a previous post I made, No, You Cannot Come Into the Voting Booth With Me.  I could go on and on about the dumb shit I see posted on Facebook every day.  Why do I keep logging onto it you might ask?  Because sometimes the dirty laundry people air for all the world to see makes me feel better about my own life.

My Style Is Mine, Not Your's (But If We Share A Common Taste, Cool.)

-Installment Number Two-
So I like to poof my hair up as high as possible.  I don't fucking care that Snooki made it popular.  I was doing it before she was born.  I like it.  I think my hair looks pretty damn good when I get it just right.  And as lame as it sounds, I get a little pissy when I hear criticism for it.  I do it for me, and no one else.  Did I point out to a girl at the bar the other night that her fishtail looked like hell because her hair was too short to have it all swept on one side?  No, because I bet she thought it looked fantastic.  As well she should have.
Trust me, there's plenty of style trends I think are utterly ridiculous - I mean, who told women that short shorts and boots looks good?  I don't care who you are - shorts with boots in 80 degree weather, or any weather, is not flattering.  And what is with the pajama pants & Uggs combination being acceptable in public?  I get embarrassed for the girls I seeing sporting those "trends."  And that is my opinion.  But you see, I would expect a friend or relative to tell me, "Oh girl, no."  Or "Pull up your pants, you've got a bit of muffin top going on."  I'm not going to be offended, I'm going to be thankful that someone cared enough to prevent me from going out in public a hot mess.
I love my red skinny Dickies, my black leather cowboy boots with the 38 special bullet harnesses, my ripped up leggings and my fitted band tee shirts.  I didn't spend 10 years playing with makeup to finally get it perfect just for shits and giggles.  I fucking love makeup.  I love experimenting with it, I love wearing it.  I remember one night I went over Tommy's in yoga pants, a tank top and no makeup except for a some mascara.  He commented, saying "Wow, you look really pretty."  "Really?  I'm not wearing any makeup."  "Maybe that's why."  Now was that a really nice compliment?  Yes.  But it still irked me a bit.  I don't know why.  Call me crazy, but before I die I'm going to have to teach someone to do my makeup the way I do it so I don't look like a train wreck laid out in the casket.  And I better be wearing leather pants.

No One Needs A Sprinkle of Pretentiousness In Their Morning Coffee

I'm sitting here nursing a hangover with sea salt and olive oil crackers and a can of Coke, wasting the morning away scrolling through Tumblr.  I kind of wish I had never discovered it.  Things I see and read are insane.  If there's a social blogging forum that wins the award for pretentiousness, Tumblr is it.  Mine has mostly become a place for me to post my own stuff, music I like, fashion I'm into, makeup tips or Instagram shots.  I rarely re-blog anything anymore because I never come across anything worthy of putting on my own Tumblr.  (Haha, who's pretentious now?)  But this also goes for real life too.  I'm sick of the media, social networking and/or people in general telling me how I should eat, dress, vote, decisions I make regarding my body or what I should or shouldn't do about my faith.  If you can present opinions to me in a calm, peaceful manner, of course I'll listen, but it seems people have lost track of how to do that.  Please fact-check what you read before you accept it as truth, no matter how much it coincides with your own personal views or how good it may sound.  I'm capable of gathering my own research in order to make an informed decision.  But for right now, let me just exercise my freedom of speech.  I understand I'm not the only one entitled to that, but damn, there's no need to be belligerent about your opinions.  I always thought I was a pretty judgmental person until I heard second-hand that one thing my sister in law loves about me is that I don't judge people.  I sat back and chewed on that for a bit, and determined, "You know what?  I think that's true.  Never once has someone confided in me and my response been judgmental."  When my friends come to me with dilemmas or confessions of any nature, I don't attack or berate them, I listen to the situation at hand and if they're asking for advice, I'll say my piece and do my best to help them either solve their problem in the most logical way possible, whether I personally agree or not, or just be a listening ear.  My famous line is "Who am I to judge?  Chances are I've said or done it, twice."  I look for the positives and point out the negatives in a constructive way.  You can ask them.  This is one of the reasons the pretentiousness of society makes me utterly sick.

I'm splitting this post into smaller, more digestible pieces because it became one long soap box opera and I do try to keep anyone bored enough to read my blog in mind.  I love you all.  So please read on to see if you have some common ground with me.  You may be surprised.