Hanging in there

Hi all,

Life continues to be interesting, in the way of the proverbial Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times", although somehow it still feels like there are blessings to be found within the curses too. Hubby is job-hunting as I write this, he is working to master the intricacies of online job search sites. They can be great tools once you learn how to use them, but it takes much patience to get all the way up the learning curve.

He is enthusiastic about finding a source of job training, and has been actively pursuing training in the auto repair field. If anyone has suggestions about good programs in the Denver/Boulder area of Colorado I sure would like to hear about them. We found some promising certificate programs available at community colleges, one in particular he really likes. I am much more willing to trust in the quality of eduction from a state-supported community college than I am a private training school like the ones that advertise on late-night TV. Those are simply scary, no guarantee at all that you will come away with anything other than a mountain of debt! He is also working his way through the unemployment system and finding out what services are available to him. So far it seems to have been a positive experience for him, although he says he'll be glad when he either gets a job or gets into some classes, because he's tired of hanging around the house all day.

I, on the other hand, have been so busy I hardly know my own name. Good thing I write this under a nom de plume! Three graduate school classes and working 3/4 time make for a tremendous load. On top of that I've been trying really hard to take care of myself, which includes visiting the gym twice a week for a rigorous workout. This is something I really need to do, both to preserve the weight loss I achieved over the last five months (26 pounds lost, yay for Weight Watchers!) and to keep my stress level in check because these workouts have become critical for my mental health. I feel that I'm asking so much of myself right now that in order to maintain this level of performance I've got to prioritize taking care of myself in some fashion. Five more weeks of this crazy semester, I can keep going, I know I can... It will be sooooooooo nice to carry a lighter class load after this semester and summer session are past.

Too tired to get on much of a rant today, and way too behind on my studies to devote much time or energy to it either. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of things in this world going wrong - human rights abuses, environmental damage, endless political wrangling from the sour-grapes right wing which during the midterm elections will then try to claim that Obama has accomplished nothing - but I laughed myself breathless when I saw a commercial last night about a brand of toilet paper that will always unroll over the roll, ending the "great over or under debate" forever. This is almost symbolic of our society, and certainly indicative of the direction in which we are heading - right down the toilet - unless we WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!!!!!! Or are we one of the last generations of a great but dying society? In its dying days Rome had bread and circuses; will our equivalent be the McDonald's dollar menu and reality TV? Is this how America will be remembered a few centuries from now, as a society that grew so entrenched in its comforts that it could not be bothered to recognize the warning signs leading to its own demise? Nero fiddled while Rome burned; I suppose we as a people will just watch American Idol instead, being passively entertained and anesthetized into oblivion.

Cheery thoughts. I told you I was tired, and when I'm tired I get really negative, but there it is for the world to see. Now that it's out there, what can we do about it? That's a question each and every one of us must face and must answer to our own satisfaction, if we can create the mental headspace between video games, celebrity scandals, and "Survivor". Sigh. I'm about to commit an act which has become revolutionary in our society and may ultimately be considered deviant: I'm going to go read a book. I urge you to do the same.

Peace,
AuntieM