Repainting the sailboat.....

What a process!! I have spent 4 hours total in scraping paint off of this boat! Ryan has spent many, many more hours than that scraping and sanding to get all of the old paint off of the bottom. It's not that it's hard to do, it's just a HUGE pain in the butt...next time, I think we'll just bite the bullet and pay someone else to do it for us. Who knows? Maybe by the time we have to paint it again, we'll have forgotten what a pain it was and do it all over again...I really hope not! In case you're thinking of taking the paint off of your sailboat yourself, here's a few photos of our progress over the past few weeks:

I like this too!

September 16, 2008

We share 99.99% of genes/molecular makeup with the rest of the human species. Meaning: We are only 100th of 1 percent different from any other person on the planet. Instead of focusing on our differences, we should realize how similar we all are. One human family

Another old post

So I guess you could say I'm reminiscing :)

September 17, 2008

The presidential election is like PerezHilton news all of a sudden. It's like, so and so makes so much money, oh yeah, well so and so's wife is worth a katrilliion dollars.....oh yeah? Well Palin shot a moose! This is ridiculous!! This is why we have so many problems! Too much negativity and "I'm right, you're wrong" mentality.
Instead of "hating" a candidate, realize that deep down, all of us are doing the best that we can. If the candidate you didn't vote for wins this election, don't be a sore loser! Support the person who is leading our country, whomever it may be. They may make a few bad decisions, but they are probably doing what they think is best. I have never been under the sort of pressure and sense of responsibility that the President has, so I can say with confidence that I have no idea if I could do any better!
Sure, it's easy for me to say, "Well if I ruled the world and it was called "Brandyland", we would use energy more efficiently and not be in wars and I definitely wouldn't screw up the economy" but the fact is: I would have to face each problem as it is handed to me and do the best that I can, it might turn out to be the worst decision of all time, but I'm only human and I expect myself to make mistakes. Why can't we be that forgiving of everyone?
Basically, what I'm saying is this: have a lil frickn compassion and empathy for people. Whether they're government officials, Britney Spears, or your methhead uncle Bob who can't keep a job. Also, vote and be passionate about who you vote for....but that doesn't mean you should belittle or disrespect another persons views just because they doesn't match up with your own.

Another perspective

I found this on an old blog of mine that refers to a chain email that was going around about the dangers of giving too many freebies to the poor in our country and the immigrants...I am really proud to be married to such a compassionate man :)

October 30, 2008
My fiance wrote this in response to the worries of an email that is circulating. The email warns of the perils of giving too many freebies to people in our country. I think it's very interesting, hopefully you do too:

You know, we should feel really blessed that we have the health and prosperity that we do have in our lives. I understand that it might be upsetting that some of our hard earned money goes to help those less fortunate, especially when we do not get to choose who it goes to, and what they actually spend it on. I also understand how frustrating it can be to hear many of those people seemingly "squack" and "peck" at many of us tax paying individuals. However, it is not commonly by choice that many of these less fortunate people find themselves in the situations that they are in. Furthermore, we must also remember that a lot of the money that we see taken from our paychecks goes to the infrastructure that we all depend on for our current mode of civilized survival, i.e. water, sewage, fire, waste disposal, and the list goes on and on.

Our economic situation is much more complicated than many people would have you believe. Much of it is due to poor choices and near sightedness of government officials.

Perhaps instead of getting upset we should see it as a form of charity and be happy that we can help those less fortunate. Maybe instead of "wanting," which is what this argument is really all about, we should remember that "we shall not want," and that we, especially, have so much, even so much more than we need. Let us remember to feel blessed and count those blessings every day. Let us remember that maybe it is good that we, who are so fortunate, can help those who are less fortunate.

In regard to the issue of immigrants, I commonly find it so interesting how soon we forget about our past. Now, I think it is a good thing to remain present, but there is also that saying that "If we do not learn from the past, then we are doomed to repeat it." Do not take this as a criticism, but I cannot understand how nearsighted and forgetful many, many of us can be that our country is, IN FACT, founded by immigrants, and, IN FACT, the majority of Americans are actually not composed of the natural ancestor of this land. Furthermore, many of these immigrants work in jobs that "Americans" are not even willing to do and therefore provide for our survival as well.

On the opposite side of the argument, perhaps we should be appalled that many of these individuals are actually being underpaid and economically "raped" for the work that they provide.