Dear Car Insurance Lady,
Thank you for contacting me regarding my inquiry about insurance quotes from nearly two months ago. Since that time I have decided on a policy with another provider, because otherwise this Great State would not have allowed me to register my car here.
Also, even if I were to reconsider my decision, as per your suggestion in your most recent email, I would not go to you. Usually, if you are making a business contact for the first time, it is customary NOT to begin the email with "Hey Jenski". Just so you know.
Sincerely,
Jenski
29 January 2010
28 January 2010
Untitled
I really had no idea how to title this. It's about politics. I will be the first to admit I do not understand how politics are the way they are. Maybe I will just make a list. Some points may seem more philosophical than anything. [Disclaimers for which I am wholeheartedly apologizing for in advance: I did not watch the State of the Union address last night. I have listened to NPR several times today and heard clips and analyses from both sides.]
* Why do both (we will leave independents out of this) sides insist that they are not being difficult and that their "opponent" is the unreasonable one? Why would one refer to the other party as an "opponent" once you are elected?At that point aren't you supposed to be improving the lives of all Americans?
* Is affordable health care something people should be voting on or something that should be important to ensure all citizens have? If you claim your vocal constituency does not want other people to have health care, what about those who do not know how to voice their opinion or have the resources to do so? Also, if you receive government funding for unemployment or job training or whatever other kinds of government money a citizen may receive, are you required to have health insurance? I know of people who were receiving unemployment and did not have health insurance, so my guess is no. Is this something that is in the reform policies? Wouldn't required people to use their unemployment to also pay for basic affordable health care be a good policy?
* When people are talking about Scott Brown (the new MA senator in case you have been under a rock...also, he is a member of the Republican party) getting elected and how this will kill a healthcare bill, do people forget that Massachusetts already has implimented health care reform? How does this affect how a representative from MA approaches a national health care reform bill?
* I would really appreciate the government, not political analysts or political scientists or graduate students, to have a task force on what the role of the government and purpose should be. This is meant in a philosophical sense, not "big" versus "not big" government. When or how do you decide if something is important for the good of your country
* Is it truly reasonable to think a new president can solve the economic problems, create jobs for all the unemployed, successfully end any military involvement, improve international opinion of our country, reform healthcare, and any other gigantic task you can think of in one year?
So the thought about requiring those who are on unemployment to pay for health insurance was one of the lightbulbs that went off in my head today. They other was that I can see why people who know they should vote, don't vote. What the heck is the point sometimes? People are unhappy, so they vote for the "opposite". And you end up with people who may not vote for someone in whom they believe, but rather is just different.
Anyway, I am going to go have one more Tim Tam and go to bed.
[Pepperidge Farms has graced the U.S. with Tim Tams, a.k.a. "Australia's favorite cookie", only to be found at Target. Treat yourself next time you're at Target - you won't be disappointed.]
* Why do both (we will leave independents out of this) sides insist that they are not being difficult and that their "opponent" is the unreasonable one? Why would one refer to the other party as an "opponent" once you are elected?At that point aren't you supposed to be improving the lives of all Americans?
* Is affordable health care something people should be voting on or something that should be important to ensure all citizens have? If you claim your vocal constituency does not want other people to have health care, what about those who do not know how to voice their opinion or have the resources to do so? Also, if you receive government funding for unemployment or job training or whatever other kinds of government money a citizen may receive, are you required to have health insurance? I know of people who were receiving unemployment and did not have health insurance, so my guess is no. Is this something that is in the reform policies? Wouldn't required people to use their unemployment to also pay for basic affordable health care be a good policy?
* When people are talking about Scott Brown (the new MA senator in case you have been under a rock...also, he is a member of the Republican party) getting elected and how this will kill a healthcare bill, do people forget that Massachusetts already has implimented health care reform? How does this affect how a representative from MA approaches a national health care reform bill?
* I would really appreciate the government, not political analysts or political scientists or graduate students, to have a task force on what the role of the government and purpose should be. This is meant in a philosophical sense, not "big" versus "not big" government. When or how do you decide if something is important for the good of your country
* Is it truly reasonable to think a new president can solve the economic problems, create jobs for all the unemployed, successfully end any military involvement, improve international opinion of our country, reform healthcare, and any other gigantic task you can think of in one year?
So the thought about requiring those who are on unemployment to pay for health insurance was one of the lightbulbs that went off in my head today. They other was that I can see why people who know they should vote, don't vote. What the heck is the point sometimes? People are unhappy, so they vote for the "opposite". And you end up with people who may not vote for someone in whom they believe, but rather is just different.
Anyway, I am going to go have one more Tim Tam and go to bed.
[Pepperidge Farms has graced the U.S. with Tim Tams, a.k.a. "Australia's favorite cookie", only to be found at Target. Treat yourself next time you're at Target - you won't be disappointed.]
26 January 2010
Lyrics and life
Two song-related stories that themselves are totally unrelated.
1. A friend I made studying abroad TEN YEARS AGO in Australia called last night to remind me today is Australia Day. So Happy Australia Day!
I have lots of good memories (and lack there of) from semester there. PLUS I got a scanner/printer/copier for Christmas and scanned a few photos in last night to share.
Masters of the obvious, those Australians.
Me feeding a kangaroo!!!
While on the phone with that friend, I mentioned some lyrics from "Land Down Under":
1. A friend I made studying abroad TEN YEARS AGO in Australia called last night to remind me today is Australia Day. So Happy Australia Day!
I have lots of good memories (and lack there of) from semester there. PLUS I got a scanner/printer/copier for Christmas and scanned a few photos in last night to share.Sunrise on an island on the Great Barrier Reef
Masters of the obvious, those Australians.
Me feeding a kangaroo!!!
While on the phone with that friend, I mentioned some lyrics from "Land Down Under":
I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
He did not realize these were some of the lyrics, nor did he know "chunder" means "vomit". You learn something new every day!
2. Second unrelated but lyric-related story is that I think I have gotten more emotional in my old age in the sense that I am touched by things easily. Take this song I heard in the car this morning - it made me teary! I am pretty sure it is a dad singing it to his child after a divorce. The refrain is:
2. Second unrelated but lyric-related story is that I think I have gotten more emotional in my old age in the sense that I am touched by things easily. Take this song I heard in the car this morning - it made me teary! I am pretty sure it is a dad singing it to his child after a divorce. The refrain is:
So I'll drive
And I'll think about my life
And wonder why, I'll slowly die inside
Everytime I turn that truck around, right at the Georgia line and I count the days and the miles back home to you on that Highway 20 ride
25 January 2010
Not so vegan
Are pancakes my new thing? They are easy to make a batch to last a few mornings for breakfast.
I tried this recipe from Victoria's site. I replaced the soy milk with regular milk and the was nervous about how liquidy the batter was and added a couple tablespoons of ground flax. Pretty good! I think I will have them with yogurt in the morning, thus making them even less vegan (not because I don't like vegan food, but because this is what I've got in the house).
I tried this recipe from Victoria's site. I replaced the soy milk with regular milk and the was nervous about how liquidy the batter was and added a couple tablespoons of ground flax. Pretty good! I think I will have them with yogurt in the morning, thus making them even less vegan (not because I don't like vegan food, but because this is what I've got in the house).
17 January 2010
In the kitchen
I made the blueberry-banana bread. I cannot find the recipe on cooks dot com now, but that's okay. I halved a recipe and it took 20 minutes longer to cook than the recipe said and it is a little soggy in the middle. So, if I had oats, I would have done this recipe. The one I made still tasted good though.
CF came over for most of the weekend, which was nice because I did stuff around the house instead of me wasting time online at his place...like bake and make a casserole for dinner. :-) Got curtains up, the last of the things hung on the wall, picked up, put up a bird feeder, had my first bird (blue jay), but it flew away before I could get a picture, and now am having a beer while watching the Jets vs. Chargers game, and then CF and I are supposed to go to the gym. He and the cat are currently taking up most of the couch napping.
CF came over for most of the weekend, which was nice because I did stuff around the house instead of me wasting time online at his place...like bake and make a casserole for dinner. :-) Got curtains up, the last of the things hung on the wall, picked up, put up a bird feeder, had my first bird (blue jay), but it flew away before I could get a picture, and now am having a beer while watching the Jets vs. Chargers game, and then CF and I are supposed to go to the gym. He and the cat are currently taking up most of the couch napping.
15 January 2010
Projects!
Thanks to Victoria Winters (soon to be at her new site), I browsed through Holly's blog, and have been re-inspired to refinish my bedroom furniture...this summer. My new place has a patio and a small shed out back, and I have a wood bed frame and two wood dressers that are blah - the dresser/bed set has stain that is all marked from getting wet or being rubbed, and the other dresser has that fake shiny finish. Previously living in a city, there was no good place to attempt this. Now I will be able to take the furniture out of the apartment to avoid too much stink. If any beginners have attempted this before and have advice, do let me know. Stay tuned!
[And just like the day I pierced my nose over 9 years ago, now that I have told so many people I am going to do it, I will have to!]
[And just like the day I pierced my nose over 9 years ago, now that I have told so many people I am going to do it, I will have to!]
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