Oh my Gosh!

For months I have be trying to get into this damn thing. Last week I created a new blog and in trying to get into it, I've gotten back into this one. Craziness. I now have two blogs. I'll have to try and separate the content of them to try and make them each unique. TTFN!!

Unlucky for Some

"Unlucky for Some" by Jill McGowan.

This is an English who-dunnit. It was an alright novel, but I had a hard time finishing it. It didn't really leaving me wanting more. The lingo was hard to decipher. For example, the characters kept refering to the SOCO people who it was explained half way through the 468 page novel as 'scene of crime officer's'. Otherwise known here on this side of the pond as Crime Scene Investigators.

I didn't get attached to any of the characters. Near the end I figured out who the bad guy was, but it still didn't effect me. When I finished the book, all I felt was relief that I had gotten through it at all.

"The Bad Mother's Handbook"

The Bad Mother's Handbook by Kate Long

This book 'is the story of a year in the lives of a grandmother, mother and daughter living under one roof in a working-class town in Northern England. The story unfolds in the women's three very different voices as they react to the news that seventeen-year-old Charlotte is pregnant - ruining her chances for a life beyond their small village and repeating the same mistake her own mother made when she was Charlotte's age.'

This book is sometimes serious, sometimes funny, and poignant throughout. Sometimes it is difficult to figure out who is speaking as all three women speak in first person, but with lines such as "dipped his wick elsewhere" (translated into he's had sex with another) It did make me laugh outloud on more than one instance. 351 pages. I finished it in 5 days.

Book Journal

I'm going to start recording all the books I've read. I've been asked several times how many I read in a year, and frankly, I'm not sure. I think it's about fifty a year but I've never kept track before.
So I'm starting now. I won't give away any endings, but will briefly describe plots.
Right now, I'm reading Echo Burning by Lee Child. It is a Jack Reacher novel. For those who don't know. Jack Reacher is an ex-military cop who travels around the US helping people. He's a wanderer with no fixed address but a strong sense of right/wrong and has no problem killing people if they need it. In this book, he's picked up in Texas by a woman who promptly asks him to kill her husband because he beats her.
So far, I'm having trouble getting into this one. It hasn't "caught" me as quickly as some of the other Jack Reacher books.

Harmony Hope

Harmony Hope
Wow! I haven't been here in a while. I will start posting more often as it does make me feel better.
I'm not really loving the job at the moment. Inventory is fast approaching, and with me being the Inventory Control Specialist - it will be kind of like a report card of how I'm doing. It is a scary prospect, however, being responsible for over a million dollars of merchandise!!
You know how they tell you to find something that you love to do and figure out how to turn it into a career? I need to figure out how to get paid and stay home and read!! Do you think that I could post it on Monster or Workopolis? "Will read for cash".
It really is hard to be a "working Mom". I know that that is an oxymoron, but meaning working outside of the home and then coming home and working as a Mom. I work outside of the house by necessity, not by choice. I would love it if we could maintain our present "lifestyle" on only my husband's income. We can't however, so I work. I don't get paid enough for what I do (who does, really?), but my efforts are appreciated by my bosses who affectionately refer to me as "Girl Friday". I have some managers who come to me, when they aren't sure of how to do something - which is gratifying.
What I don't like about working outside of the house is the fact that it's not the balancing act that I was hoping for when I had kids. It becomes a hassle when one of the boys is sick and the school calls. Yes, I go to get them, because that's my job as a parent, but then I have to stay late at work to make up for the time missed and to do the tasks that didn't get done.
I have been searching for jobs that could be done at home. I've been into Quixtar, Herbalife, Melaleauca and some other companies that are basically a big scam - forcing you to fork out hundreds of dollars before you see $10 back. I don't want to be my own boss - I want to do work for someone else and get paid for it - preferably from my own home. I don't think that I'm asking too much (read: SARCASM). Obviously, I haven't found what I'm looking for yet, as day after day, I put on that tacky red shirt. I want to look forward to getting up every morning, not have to drag my sorry ass out of bed. I want to be excited about my life, and I'm not right now. I have a lot of things in my life that others don't, and I don't want you to think that I'm not grateful for all of it because I am - but it's still not the life I want for myself or my children.

Air Crash Survivors

Harmony Hope
Can you believe it? What is this world coming to? "Victims" of the Air France crash in Toronto last week are filing law suits! They want money for their pain and suffering, 'emotional anguish', etc. Give me a f%#king break. YOU'RE ALIVE!! YOU'RE WELCOME. Hello Second chance! Why can't they just appreciate the fact that they are still alive? Why can't they say thank you to the pilot and crew that got them out alive? I think that they have completely missed the perfect opportunity to re-examine their lives; what's important to them; who's important to them; what their future holds in store for them. That's what I'd be doing, for sure. I would be so grateful that I didn't die.
I mean, come on, the staff of the flight were there too. I'm sure that they were scared. I'm sure their thoughts were running along similar lines. I don't see them suing their bosses for 'emotional trauma.'
I've heard that it's possible that there was a lightening strike and that's why the plane burst into flames. If that's true are they going to try to sue God? Like to see you win that case.
I've suffered emotional trauma in my life. I suffered a miscarriage. Who do I get to sue? God? My husband? The doctor? The hospital? My therapist?
No wonder society is in such a mesh.
Who should we sue for that?

Air Crash Survivors

Harmony Hope

Crazy Lives...

I don't get it, really. I guess over in France they only work a 35 hour work week, get paid $27000 a year and get 5 weeks paid vacation time!!! I think I need to move! I bust my butt for 40 hours a week to make $20000 a year and I only get two weeks vacation.

Society here in North America would really benefit from a more laid back culture. Stress levels would go down, repetitive injuries would be down, people would be generally happier - more leisure time, more time with our children would be a huge bonus; MORE TIME TO ACTUALLY LIVE. Really, if you had to work less and made more money, wouldn't you be happier? I know I would. I'd actually get to be there for my kids. I'd be able to pursue the things that I would like to. I'd like to know my friends' kids' a little better, but who has the time?

If we could lose the competetive edge a bit - take it down a notch. I mean, everyone has to have a more expensive house, a more expensive car, more leisure toys (jet-ski's, boats, cottages, motorcycles, computers, game systems, cell phones, big screen TV's, etc.).

I lead a quiet life, but I would like to travel some day - it's a big world and I'd like to see some of it before my time's up. But honestly, I doubt if I'm ever going to be able to afford it. My husband and I have been married for ten years and we are still going from paycheque to paycheque with virtually no money in our savings account. We have a few RRSP's and RESP's for our kids, but nothing tucked away for our use- to enjoy life. We always have repair bills popping up that get us further and further into debt. We don't have any real toys. We have a computer and like I said, we just got StarChoice satellite. We are caught up on all our bill payments, BUTthere are others out there looming above our heads. My eldest son needs to go the the dentist. I need an eye exam and probably new glasses. I need to get a CPAP machine to help me breathe at night. All these things are going to cost money. Money I don't really have!!

I just wish that I could work less and make more money. I need to simplify my life!!!

Remembering Past Crushes

We recently subscribed to StarChoice satellite TV - which is a good thing because our local cable company sucks. I was happy to start getting the Space channel to watch all of my favourite sci-fi shows. Image my surprise when I discovered they were airing SeaQuest DSV which originally aired '92 - '95. The first two seasons were awesome, a real science show. The third season went into a military type sci-fi mode and quickly lost viewers. I had a real crush on Jonathan Brandis who played Lucas on the show. He had done a couple of movies that I really liked prior to that. He was so cute! Blue eyes to die for and a killer smile. I always imagined him playing the lead character when they made my favourite Dean Koontz book into a movie (which they never did).
I was stunned back in '03 when that I had heard that Jonathan had committed suicide. Considering that I had experience with a family suicide, I was shocked. I mean, I don't pretend to have known Jonathan, but it really made me think, you know? He had plenty of work after SeaQuest was cancelled and I know that I cannot have been the only loyal fan that he had. What had brought the poor man to that point in his life that he couldn't see any other way out of it? I could understand a little better if I knew that he suffered from depression - been there, done that - wouldn't wish it on anyone.
It really makes you think, though. It's kind of reassuring in a way to know that even those that we think lead "the glamourous life", struggle through life, just like the unglamourous - it's not all just movie premiers and photo shoots.
I guess just watching the show over the past few days has really brought this all to the surface.