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Life is a circle.  We are here to make a difference.  A difference in what?  Our lives?  Society?  The economic endeavors of others?  What is it exactly that we are here to do?  Does it matter?  In the end, when you have completed YOUR circle and have become one with the earth, what is it that you leave behind?  A legacy?  The words and wisdom that you have instilled into others that you had taken on responsibility for? No matter what our age, there comes responsibility.  As a child we have a responsibility to learn.  To take in what is going on around us and apply what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste into our lives accordingly.  As we grow, our we gain more responsibilities.  We become responsible for our messes and choices through our childhood and at some point, we become responsible for the life of another being.  And that responsibility is of the utmost importance.  As we ourselves take all the ...

Last night in my sleep, I went back in time.  I went back to the place that I call home.  I went back to my grandmothers.  I spent time going through all the rooms of her house.  I saw them in a time lapse from when I was little up to the last time I saw the house on the inside. The house had many changes throughout the years.  Interior and Exterior.  Paint, flooring, an added room.  It was my safe haven.  No matter where I physically lived as a child (as we moved around a lot), grandma's house was my home. I remember I used to crawl out on the roof and sit up there at night and just dream.  There was an old tv antenna that I used to climb up.  My grandmother used to yell at me for climbing it, as it wasn't very sturdy.  But it never let me down.  It was like Jack and the Beanstalk, that antenna was my beanstalk. Over the years, the house took on different faces.  It changed as I grew, yet, still remained the same. ...

So, spending most of my life emotionally inept... I find myself at a very unfamiliar place lately.  I feel the need, or urge, to cry.  I don't cry, not often at least.  And definitely not in front of people.  That reaction was beaten out of me at a very early age. I don't always understand the feelings at the deepest part of my being.  I have spent so much of my life in a numb state of existence, than when I feel something, I am unsure of what it is, or why. Sometimes a song will take me somewhere that I long to go from time to time.  If the song brings out emotion that I wish I could feel, I actually feel it, but only for the duration of that song.  When the song is over, so is the feeling.  It does not linger... it just fades with the melody of the song. Sometimes I long to feel love.  Not just any love.  The everlasting, never going anywhere, strong enough to weather any storm, kind of love.  I have never had that.  I ...

Sometimes I feel that I am alone in the world.  And as awful as that may seem to a normal individual, at times, I relish it.  But then, there are times, like now, where solitude can be a slap in the face of what too often I try to ignore.  That this world is a very cruel place. My entire world is governed.  By people and elements beyond my control.  Has bee since birth.  Overbearing guardians, demanding children, limits on finances due to being a single mom raising 2 children, one special needs, on my own. When does my life become mine?  When do I get to call the shots and live it the way I want to? Relationships are pointless when you have a child with special needs.  There are more factors to consider and more complications.  The world itself is more difficult altogether.  My child is an adult now, but still the deciding factor of my day to day life.  The system sucks and there are fewer options now that she is an adult. S...

As I look around and view the world, it deems itself to be a horrible place.  Not because the world iteself is ugly, but the people within it.  The way we treat each other is killing humanity.  But, who is to blame?  Over the course of my lifetime, I have brushed off most of what does not directly affect me, and kept going on with life.  Only in the recent years have I stopped to take a really good look around me.  And as I ponder the sights I see, I realize why it took me so long to look.  People do stupid things, make stupid decisions, suffer the consequences and blame everyone else for their own stupidity.   If I CHOSE, because MY life is just that... MY choice, to not go to work and get fired for my poor attendance, that would be MY fault, therefore, I would have to right to take that out on someone else.  So, how is it right for someone else to have a bad day, because we all have them, and vent our frustrations in irreversable f...

     As a former retail manager, the most important asset other than your customers, are your employees.  Unless you have no life and want to work 24/7, you have to have good workers.  Your employees are the drivetrain to your engine.  However, to have a good staff, you, the manager, need to BE a good manager.      I have spent my share of hours working under the direction of managers who did not know the first thing about being a good manager.  They knew their job well, but did not know how to manage their people.  Managing people is an entirely different animal all it's own.      To manage people, you have to listen to each person as an individual, as well as listen and watch each person as they interact with others.  Not every person is right for every job.  You can't throw a cook out to wait tables.  No person should ever be fired who has potential, unless they are stealing or taking adv...

Fast food is just that... fast, especially in the morning.  I, myself, am a fast food junkie!  I love McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King and Wendy's.  It amazes me at just HOW different two of the same can be.  I am going to pick on McDonalds here, because I frequent them most.  WHY?  They have the most AMAZING breakfast sandwiches!  Say it with me.... McMUFFIN! I commute to work daily, and travel some, so fast food and I are pretty good friends.  Just within my commute to work, there are a total of 6 McDonalds that I could hop in the drive thru and grab my grub and go.  AND, I have used them all, ONLY to discover that there is ONE out of the 6 that exceeds all the others. I work in a small Pennsylvania burb called Carlisle.  They have 2 McDonalds that are quick stops on my way through, 1 is a bit more out of my way than the other, but totally worth it!  I have to say that I have never seen a more organized, accurate, food is goo...

So, I decided to venture into an area that I personally hate.... car shopping!  I set my sights on buying a first generation Dodge Durango!  I have been in love with these since they first came off the assembly line.  I also like the first generation because I think they look sportier than their newer models.  So, I venture out in search of a Durango.  My criteria consisted of No carpayment As low of mileage as possible for the generation chosen Had to be within a certain $$ amount, as would be expected. OK, so, I had a 1991 Jeep that I sold in order to have cash in hand for a Durango.  Yes, I know that I am moving up to something much newer, but jeeps hold their value rather well, and I know that a Durango can be bargained against their gas guzzling and other not-so popular assets!  I on the other hand, could care less about them, I just love them. My adventure began scouting Craigslist, along with other resources, I was looking for something...