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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday Jumble with a Wee Rant

45º ~ sun trying to beat back gray clouds ~ according to the fortune tellers, the clouds will win and storms will break out later today and all day tomorrow

Not much time to write this morning, as it's been a jumble of a day so far and I've got quite a bit of grading and prep work and online class work to attend to in one hour.

So, here's a list of the jumble, detailing how I spent my poetry time this morning.

~ paying the bills, both household and personal (normally I do this at night so as not to interfere with my poetry time, but a deep exhaustion seems to be setting in these days...Midterm anyone?)

~ reading the blogs and keeping up with the poetry world at large

~ fuming about all the terribleness in the world these days, but most especially what is going on in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio.  Mostly I feel personally attacked every time some politician goes on the air and claims that teachers & public workers are the cause of the deficit.  Here at the house of the Kangaroo, we're a two-teacher family, one of whom belongs to a union that does in fact employ collective bargaining and one of whom teaches in higher education, and guess what?  We're not getting rich anytime soon!  No hot tub, no Lexus, no trips to the south of France.  (Ok, we did go to Jamaica, but that was one vacation in five years and we flew coach.) In fact, we aren't even able to put that much away for savings at the end of every month, and we don't even have children.  So, yeah, we're the problem, not those tax breaks politicians on both sides of the aisle are handing out to big business right and left and not the lobbyists who make those tax breaks inevitable.

~ finally, in desperation, I opened my "In Progress" folder and worked on some revisions and polishing of drafts.  I've resolved to send out some February submissions this weekend.  The VIDA count continues to make its way through the blogs, so I just want to remind all my women writer friends to SUBMIT like a MAN!  (I plan to do so on Saturday.)

And now, it's off to slip into my teacher skin and continue to leech wealth from our economy.

9 comments:

Kathleen said...

A worthy rant indeed! Thank you, and I like the way you collectively bargain. Also, yes, I am submitting like a man these days, and it's working out fine. Hang in there, and have a Tootsie Roll. Or a tootsie pop.

Kristin Berkey-Abbott said...

I share your rant! I know countless teachers and other public workers, all of whom are barely making ends meet, and some of whom are desperately poor. Where are these wealthy public employees? It must have been the generation before mine. If they get rid of pensions, then that's the last straw--that guarantee of a stipend for one's twilight years was the only--ONLY--thing that public service work had going for it--at least in most states, where protection from being laid off has been taken away.

Grr. I shall stop ranting now.

Sandy Longhorn said...

Thanks, Kathleen! Just had a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate. High end! It was a gift.

Thanks, Kristin, the solidarity helps.

Michelle said...

"it's off to slip into my teacher skin and continue to leech wealth from our economy"--perhaps the best end to any blog post I've ever read.

Sandy Longhorn said...

Thanks, Michelle! Just showing off what a liberal arts education will get you in this world...the ability to use figurative language effectively.

Karen J. Weyant said...

Oh yes -- teachers are the problems with everything. We have had to deal with state cuts in our budgets for years -- and last year, did not see any of these "big" raises everyone else is talking about.

I, too, feel attacked, and have been impatient with public view of all these public employees..I don't have any colleagues getting rich-- in fact, most of us are trying to pay back our student loans!

Okay -- I will stop ranting on your blog -- I should do this on mine!

Sandy Longhorn said...

Karen, rant away! This is a free rant zone!!

Molly said...

Not only the best end to any blog post, but perhaps also the funniest title. A wee rant, and worthy, indeed. I am not a teacher, but was raised by teachers and have many to count in my circle of friends and family. They are some of the hardest-working people I know, and are worth more than they're paid. I feel sick when I hear the news from Wisconsin, and elsewhere.

Please keep the SUBMIT like a MAN reminders coming because my bad old habits die hard. :)

Sandy Longhorn said...

Thanks for the support, Molly. My old habits are hanging in there as well. Hope to break them down a bit this weekend!