driving mr hayden

yesterday...in the car. driving with mimi, (my mom) and hayden.

hayden: (randomly) "there are deer around here"
mimi: "well, there are a lot of trees around here"
(silence....waiting for hayden to reply. no reply.)
mimi: "do you think there are deer around here because of all of the trees?"
hayden: "no. there was a sign"

driving mr hayden. holiday version

last night. driving home. me, dan and hayden. looking at all the lights.

hayden: "i love all the lights. i want lights on our house"
dan: "were jewish, hayden. we dont put lights on our house"
hayden: "but i like lights"
me: (to dan) "theyre only lights. theyre pretty! i like lights. we can do blue and white ones. its not like the lights have anything to do with religion anyway."
dan: "no lights. were not having lights"
(pause of silence in the car)
hayden: (kind of wimpering and sad voice) "but thats what holidays are for"

dan and i start to crack up

dan: (still laughing) "okay...we can have lights!"

lost. but with a GPS.

last night at dinner, our conversation turned to a family friend, who my dad said, (and has always said), is "lost and "going nowhere." i understand where my dad is coming from. this person has never really had a set path in life, and it certainly isnt the "normal" lifestyle, of working, marriage and family. but i have to question..."where are we supposed to be going?" and why hasnt my dad considered that maybe this friend isnt, or doesnt want to go to the same place, as someone like my dad wants to go? and if we were all going to the same place, wouldnt the traffic be really awful? and why does my dad think that where hes going is a better place than where this family friend wants to go?

many times, (like, at least a million times in a day), i envision my family and i on a secluded island, living on the beach in a hut. kind of like "the blue lagoon"....only family style, and with a few more people around us. and maybe wed even sell shell necklaces to tourists on the beach. simple....with no pressures. spending our days doing yoga and meditation... relaxing on the beach...and just filled with enjoyment.

of course i see flaws in this plan. first of all....id probably go crazy shacked up, (literally!)...with my family. id probably want to escape to the other side of the island to get away. and as everyone who has seen "the blue lagoon" knows, there is evil on the other side of the island. and if were going to survive, wed have to spear fish to eat. dan doesnt eat fish. and i dont see myself throwing sharp objects at living creatures. then there is the issue of the loincloths. i laugh at the idea of dan wearing a loincloth every day. but i think willoughby, sammy and zelda would look adorable in little loincloth outfits! and me? i envision a little two piece loincloth, with all of my fat rolls hanging out and my saggy boobs hanging on the sand. then i would be all consumed with liposuction and body part lifts. and where would i find a plastic surgeon on a remote island? and a good surgeon at that! and seriously....who am i kidding? if im living on a beach selling seashells to tourists; id most likely want to be doing what the tourists are doing! and if im selling seashells...i wouldnt be able to afford the spa treatments at the ritz carlton where the tourists are staying. and dont even get me started on the wireless internet issue. there are many flaws i find in this scenario, so ill have to work out the kinks in this plan before i seek out a realtor to locate my perfect hut on a remote beach. (of course one with a good a school district for hayden. duh! did you think i didnt consider him in this whole scenario?)

so i ask, my dear readers... just where is it that we are "supposed" to be going? and why are we in such a hurry to get there? our family friend is definitely a bit "off". but nonetheless, a pretty happy and content person. so...whats wrong with this? really! is it weird that this person doesnt feel the need to be able to afford a mercedes or fancy home; but is still HAPPY? in the end, isnt happinesss and contentment the basic core of what we all strive for in life? so whats the problem?

bailout 2008-part 2-the pissed off version

some people are just plain stupid. today i was talking about the bailout meetings with my dad. i didnt realize that all 3 ceos of the car companies took each of their corporate jets to DC for the meetings. seriously? if these people are soooo bright that they "deserve" these ridiculous salaries, dontcha think theyd be smart enough to think this strategy out better?

if i were planning on going to cry and plead to the government and try to explain why i need 28 million dollars, i dont think id do it my private jet. id want to look more desperate. like...isnt flying commercial sufficient for this? its what?...a couple of hours flight???? maybe they could suffer in first class for this particular endeavor? i dunno...maybe LOOK more the part of the desperate ceo trying to get his business back in control. my dad even said something funnier. he said, "at the very least, couldnt they 'jetpool' to DC?" i thought that was very funny. anyway...its insane. and i know the money spent on these private jets doesnt make a dent in the debt we owe, and its pretty insignificant. but really... hello? principles? brains? logic? strategy? what the hell are these morons thinking? ugh. it makes me so angry. just out of principle...they should have known better. im not even sure why i think a bunch of idiots have the brains to actually know better.

then i heard that they each had to take their own jet, because their insurance wouldnt cover a flight with all 3 ceos on board. puuhleeeze! i remember hearing that prince charles, prince william and prince harry couldnt fly on the same plane. and i would understand if the president and vice president couldnt either. but the 3 car ceos? gimme a break! why? because if something happened to them, then the car industry would be in danger? uh...yeah.

so....not only are they crooks...but theyre stupid crooks. i honestly dont know how they sleep at night, knowing that their co-workers, employees, shareholders, and basically the entire state of michigan is suffering. oh wait! of course i know how they sleep at night!!!!! while they were standing before the government "crying poor", their wives were probably out shopping for new frette or porthault sheets for the bed. how can you not sleep well on $2,000 600 thread count egyptian cotton?

bailout 2008

its so simple, really. dont spend more money than you have. i know its easier said than done. most of america lives on credit. for as long as i can remember, my father has been telling me, "dont spend more money than you have". i didnt really listen. i mean...im sure i urgently needed those white fringe boots to wear with my mini skirts in college in arizona. (should i add that they were adorned with little metal coins all over them? ugh!) many times, i found myself spending more money than i had. it wasnt hard, because i never made any money! but i was (and still am!) lucky. my parents bailed me out of problematic financial situations too many times to count. but i was a stupid and naive girl. and i didnt overspend by 28 billion dollars! not even close! and really....28 billion???? c'mon, give me a break!

this economy sucks. and michigan more so than other places. and we need help. but why should the car companies be bailed out? didnt they realize at the first...i dunno....10 billion dollars, that they were spending more money than they had? i dont claim to be a genius. especially a financial genius. but even i can see that there are morons running these companies. and before you start to yell at me....let me also explain that i DO know that there is more to the situation, and its not as clear cut as im making it out to be. 

i am fortunate, and therefore thankful and happy that this country isnt about socialism. on the other hand...im also very humanitarian, and believe in helping and supporting our fellow americans. these corporate bigwigs are making so much money, and getting excessive bonuses. im not really opposed to this. i mean...thats what makes america a free country. but lets say im in charge of one of the car companies. and i pull up to my 30,000 foot mansion on the lake in grosse pointe. at what point do i realize that something is terribly wrong? is it when i decide to take my luxurious yacht out for a spin? or when i hop on my gulfstream to have dinner in another city? does it even cross my mind that there are thousands of my employees who are losing their house, cant feed their families or afford health insurance? how could i enjoy my yacht or jet; knowing this? i dont blame these people. after all....if someone gave me a 10 million dollar bonus; id be pretty happy and have a hard time not accepting it. and i dont know these people. they could very well be charitable people who DO help out with various causes. i really dont know. and it doesnt really matter...because its not these peoples fault.

here is my issue. are these bigwigs soooo amazing at their job, that they deserve all of this money, and sooo much in bonuses?? is there nobody else who could do as good of a job, or a better job, with less of a salary requirement? if they were sooo great at their job...why are they in such dire financial crises? i could probably run a car company. and id accept 10 million bucks less. i dont know much about cars. or business for that matter. but could i do any worse than whats already being done? i know its not all of the corporate car companies fault. i understand that we need to buy american cars to support the michigan economy. im guilty. ive never owned an american car. my family is discussing how we should be buying american. is it possible..that if american cars were made better and designed as well as foreign cars, that wed be more apt to buy them? ok...now i digress.

so....back to my point. does the car industry deserve to be bailed out? umm...probably not. should the car industry be bailed out? DUH! YES!!!!! there is too much at stake and too many factors to take in to account. everyone screws up and deserves some help once in a while. my dad bailed me out when i needed my white fringe boots. granted...they werent 28 million dollar boots. i suppose its all relative. im scared for the people who have lost so much, and those who will lose more if we dont get this bailout. and how bout all the money we give to other countries? dontcha think we should help our own first? and how bout those selfish people who dont believe in the bailout, because it doesnt directly affect them? for example...someone in california who made a comment about not supporting the bailout. um...hello? how many times has the government come to the state of californias rescue??? earthquakes, fires, rock and mud slides???? remember those, dumbass?

after i started writing this, i watched on tv, part of the hearings on the bailout. interesting to watch. but what i found particularly interesting, is how the ceo of general motors handled answering a simple question. "how much money would the company need to get back on track and survive?" he hemmed and hawed. couldnt answer the simple question. i found this humorous, as i remember having the same conversation with my father. he would just ask simply, "how much do you need?" i can relate to the ceo who was attempting to answer the bailout question. i too, could never come up with a number. i was always too scared to tell how much i really needed. now, if i would have known that someone else needed 28 billion dollars, id probably be more comfortable with the amount i was in debt.