Technology: How it affects my life.

This is the second draft that I am writing. The blog I wrote last night about how technology plays a role in my life was erased by my computer. So I guess my first thought would be that if I had written down the information on a piece of paper instead of putting it in a computer, I wouldn't have lost all my information. That is my gripe about technology for the day. Yes, all these gadgets and things can make your life easier, but they can be an incredible pain as well.
I am probably not as techno savvy as a great deal of my peers and counterparts. It took forever for us to get a computer when we did get one, and when we did everyone else was onto the next bigger, better model. When that dinosaur of a computer did die, we were unable to fix it because they didn't make parts for that model anymore and we were told it was outdated. We did go without for several years and then our oldest son entered high school. He told us he absolutely had to have a computer to do his homework. So we purchased a computer and were back in the 21st century. He took that off to college with him and again we were without a computer in the house. Then, two Christmases ago, my husband bought me a laptop. I was incredibly surprised and at that point we really did need one. It sits on my desk being more of a computer and less of a portable laptop. I think this is where the technology has left me behind as well. I don't need to take my laptop everywhere. I will check email when I get home from work or in the evening. I do some shopping on amazon.com (I love that site). I also enjoy looking at craigslist at the pets section. Not that I need another pet (I have three cats and a dog), but you never know when somebody might really need you and be a perfect match for you. In the scheme of things, my computer doesn't affect my life that much unless it erases a blog or essay I have just written. Then I just get mad and wish it had never been invented.
The other piece of technology I use fairly regularly is my cell phone. I only got it a couple of years ago and we got one for my youngest son as well. We live up in the mountains and wanted a way for him to be able to communicate with us and vice versa. I try not to talk on the phone when I am driving. If it rings when I'm behind the wheel, I'll glance to see who it is. If it is my son or husband I will answer it. If not, they will leave me a message and I'll call them back. That is one thing I really love about cell phones. The ability for people to get ahold of you via messaging without you really having to be there. I have one of my kids that does text me when he wants to talk to me. Talking to him via text message is really the majority of the time I text anyone. I definitely don't do it in class or when something else is going on. Cell phones have enabled me to stay in touch with my family when I'm away from them.
I can't speak to all the new gaming systems because we don't have any in our house. Those would affect my sons behavior if they could only get to the next level. We borrowed one once or twice and that is exactly what happened. I didn't want distant or disobedient children, so the systems went away. My youngest spends more time outdoors or playing games that are more interactive as a result of not having a thumb exerciser in the house. Overall, technology has had an impact on my life, but not to the extent that it has taken over.

If I won the Lottery

Winning the lottery is something I can't even fathom. We're talking the big super-duper grand prize jackpot here, not just a few bucks or a few thousand. I don't buy tickets since I know I won't win the prize, so I haven't spent much time dreaming about it. But if I did buy tickets and I did win, this is what I would do. First off, I would let all of that money just sit there in the bank (no stock market, just plain old savings passbook), and I would think about it and make a plan. I've heard it said that those who fail to plan, plan to fail and that could happen if out of control spending were to happen. Taking a deep breath would definitely be in order. Then taking the plunge and doing a little bit of spending.
Bills, cars, and housing would be my first order of business. I don't have alot of outstanding debt, but what I do have I would pay off. Next would be new vehicles for both my husband and myself. Mine would be either a new Subaru or a hybrid (Prius) or a Smart car (they're kind of cool looking). I'm not sure what my husband would get but it would have to be able to tow any of his trailers that carry motorcycles, snowmobiles or whatever. Housing would be next in line. We rent right now because of my husbands job, but we did just buy a house for a few years down the road. Not sure what we would do with that house, but I think we would get a piece of land in Idledale and build what we want (something very reasonable). That is what I would want to do anyway.
Then I would want to help my two adult sons out financially. School loans, some medical bills and reasonable housing for both of them and their ladies. Next in line would be my parents who live in California. I would do this for my dad and not necessarily for my mom even though she would benefit from my largesse. She is a spendthrift which is why I would give anything to dad so he could pay their bills and house off. If I gave it to her, nothing would get paid off and they would still be in trouble. A significant portion would go to my church. They would be able to do so much with some money for remodeling the buildings and bathroom (singular).
Those are the primary desires of my heart. Pretty basic stuff all the way around. Some new furniture and a bit of traveling. No lifestyles of the rich and famous though. Just normal folk being able to live a nice life. That is what I would do if I won the Lottery!

My argument

My claim is that all the advertising out there is geared to make women feel perfection is the only way to be. That the most important thing about who we are is how we look. We have this ideal to live up to and if we don't, we fail and don't make the grade. If I were texting this I think I would put it something like this. Wow, I can't believe all the ads I was bombarded with just this morning. Can't believe it girlfriend. Like I can live up to the standard I see there. Right lol. No way, no how I could ever fit into what they're selling. Geesh! I feel so fat and ugly after that I should just flush myself away. Later. Jo (the not so perfect one).
I would blog it with more verbage and arguments to back up my claim. Such as: I can hardly believe it. I went to the doctors office this morning for an appointment and picked up a magazine on "health". Every single picture from cover to cover depicted women that I am not and will never be. Am I such a failure for not being that "perfect model"? It bothered me so I picked up another magazine to see what I would find. Lo and behold, I discovered the same thing as I was flipping through the pages. Images of women that I could never aspire to be. It made me think about how all this contributes to how women feel about themselves and how eating disorders have become so prevalent in our society as a direct result of that. It should be a crime to devalue women so much just to sell products.
Billboard: I would post a picture of a woman in a bikini on the beach being approached by a good looking man carrying roses and jewelry to her. Sitting maybe six feet away is a more normal looking woman looking expectantly towards the man approaching with the flowers. She wonders if he could be heading towards her. A look of expectancy on her face. The caption would read "Do you have what it takes to get this guy". That would be an example of how women are exploited in the advertising business.
The print medium can play with the message however they like. They can touch up photos, put their ideals out in the public view and post the pictures however they like.

What kind of books I like!

I haven't been able to read any of the books I have on my bookshelves and all over my house in quite awhile because all I am reading are textbooks! I have somewhat eclectic tastes in reading material. What I really enjoy sitting down with in a big comfy armchair and something nice to drink at my side is a historical romance novel. That is a particular favorite genre of mine. Bertrice Small is my favorite author of that type of reading material. I have everything she has ever written. She has historical topics, a good romance (or two) and alot of smut thrown in. My favorite book she has ever written is "Skye O'Malley". The book she wrote about this character spun off into over a dozen others related to Skye in some way. Most of them were riveting and kept me pretty glued to wherever I was sitting at the time. The way she can develop a character really amazes me as I am not what I consider a writer. When she writes about the English court of Queen Elizabeth in the late 1400's, early 1500's, it almost feels like you are there. When one of the characters died of the plague, you almost feel like you are in the room with all the people there. She has a new novel out on the shelves now that I have to get. All of those books are being saved for when I am either out of school or on a school break. Another type of book I like reading are self-help books. Almost to a nauseating level since they sit on my bookshelf staring accusingly at me. I have these great intentions of trying to fix some (or all) the things I feel are wrong in my life. You do have to open the book cover and look inside to get some of that information out. But I do find it interesting. Books on how to get your children to mind you (ha, that one doesn't work), how to lose weight (in a variety of ways), how to have the perfect marriage, be the perfect Mom, etc. Well, they continue to stare at me and I continue to not have any time for extra-curricular reading right now. I am hopeful that soon I will be able to enjoy reading the extensive collection I have one lovely book at a time.

Brainstorming for Argument Essay

As I try to kick my brain in gear to brainstorm for this argument essay, I feel a little lost with all the topics I could choose from. I'm not into Myspace or Facebook so I can't really do those. Not interested enough in hip-hop to go there. I'm thinking maybe talking about how advertising really does a number on women with its portrayal of perfectionism. Or talking about how gaming systems (Xbox, PS2) cause isolationism in children and young people or older people for that matter. Since this isn't my essay yet, I haven't decided. I want to be focused and clear on my stance for whatever I decide. Will I have enough information to make an argument for either of the above topics?
First, I think the advertising of womens products has been a huge factor in why anorexia and related eating disorders are on the rise and continue to be so. The standards that are set by the media and advertisers set a standard that most normal women cannot achieve. That's why you get starvation dieting, purging and bingeing. Persons of the female persuasion are bombarded with images of stick figures and told through advertising that that is where they want to be. I don't think women should be set up for failure on a daily basis. The average size for the American woman is size fourteen. Whoever heard of fitting into a size zero! Crazy. Anyway, there is one idea.
Next I was thinking about the gaming systems that you play on television. Whether it is an Xbox, Nintendo, PS2 or some other new and improved gadget that is out for sale. My argument for that topic would be that they encourage isolationism in children. From their parents, their favorite sports, or any outdoor activities; all they want to do is "get to the next level". We had some sort of Nintendo system in the house for awhile. My sons behaviors all changed dramatically. You would call them to do something and get ignored. The phone would ring for them and they wouldn't care. Dinners would be ready and all you hear is "I'm not hungry". Like coming to the table was or is an option. Homework assignments wind up not getting done because you would hear "But Mom, I'm almost at the next level". I would be thinking, "What about the next level in school?" So the secondhand system that the kids had gotten from a friends cast-offs (as said friend graduated up to the next, bigger, newer system that was out there) was thrown rather gleefully into the trash.
So, I think one of those two topics will be the one I will choose.

Blogging about my new house

So, I am so excited about having closed on the first home we have ever owned, that I decided that is what I wanted to blog about. Having rented the house we are in now from the county for the past sixteen years, and renting a condo for the twelve years prior to that, we now own our very own home. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a loft where the master bedroom is and a basement that we have all kinds of ideas about finishing. My son Thomas has decided when we do move into our new home, the basement is his. The perfect place for a teenager to get away from Mom and Dad. There is no garage on this wonderful little hideaway, but I have ideas on how we can file variances about that to make that happen. There are cute little planter boxes on the front windows that have a variety of little growing things in them. I guess I better learn what they are and how to take care of them! Our house is in a little town just below Evergreen called Kittredge. Our best friends live only four miles down the canyon in Idledale so we are looking forward to seeing them more often.
The sad part for me though is that we cannot move into our little gingerbread house yet. My husband still works for the county and the position he is in requires an onsite ranger since we have campgrounds here. But with the housing market where it is, and when we found this house, we knew it was our time to buy. I know everyone is worrying over the state of the economy and housing but not me. We have worked hard for years (two and three jobs), and saved our money so we would have the down payment we needed. It worked. Except we can't move in yet. Needless to say my youngest son is not very happy about this turn of events. Although he does enjoy being able to ride his motorcycle up here where we are at now. So both of my older boys and their girlfriends either need a place to live now or have leases expiring within the next couple of months. We came to a decision on how to solve our dilemna. Our kids will rent the house from us, it will be an all in the family kind of deal. We are hopeful they will take care of the place like they had a vested interest in it. If not, I don't know what we will do. It has given me high hope for the future of my little family. Keeping working hard and living the dream.

Blogging about my new house