As a full time college student with a full time job, it is difficult to balance work, school and general day to day life. All the school work is frustrating. I have to tell myself that it will all be worth it. I have three classes this term. Two of the three have material about critical thinking. It is not just a small amount about critical thinking but chapters and assignments pertaining to. This is in addition to the Critical thinking class that I had to take. I get it. Critical thinking is necessary. I would just like to take the courses that pertain to my degree. I have 9 classes left after this term. I just have to keep at the classes to get the degree. I am tired of science and writing. I am tired of trying to figure out what the instructors want. They are all different. They all grade a different way. I need this to be over. I have so much left to do and so little patience to do it.
I have too much to do to rant for any length of time.
Now back to my regularly scheduled unnecessary class.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
My thoughts on Higher Minimum wage.
Over the last few months I have heard many thoughts and opinions on the issue of raising minimum wage to $15 an hour. I have several opinions on this subject. First off, I do not have an issue with people earning more money. It is not a bad thing to want to earn more money. There are several issues that I do have. Seattle is one of the first areas that has raised their minimum wage.
One of the effects of this is the debate over tipping servers. Here is a little bit of what is being reported on this issue. http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/seattle/2015/07/13/seattle-minimum-wage-increase-ignites-tipping-debate/30113825/.
In New York a paramedic posted something in support of the increase. In that the paramedic made a point that businesses want us to fight and argue about a wage increase in hopes that it wouldn't happen. http://www.someecards.com/news/politics/paramedic-minimum-wage-fast-food-workers/.
Do I believe people should be able to make a decent living? Yes. I do not believe that a kid that is working at McDonalds in high school needs to make $15 an hour to ask me if I would like to get my order as a combo.
There are so many of these workers that absolutely have no clue what they are doing. You don't have a clue when you start working. People fresh out of college a lot of times only know what they have learned in their course of study. It has taken several years of experience AND a college degree to get where I am today.
I understand that it is impossible to live on the minimum wage of today without assistance. I get it but raising the minimum wage to $15 and hour is not going to make it any better. There are aspects of it that will be worse. If you know anyone that is in management in a fast food restaurant you may know that even they do not make the wages that workers are claiming they deserve.
I am only barely above the requested minimum wage amount and I have a degree. People don't realize that in the event the wages are mandated to be increased, business will raise prices and/or employ fewer people. Corporations are not going to give up their profits to pay people. Most corporate goals are to make as much money possible with the least amount of money. Seattle raised their minimum wage to $11 and it has already had an impact on their job market. There are fewer jobs available because restaurants are not able to pay more money without cutting labor costs. Here is an article that shows some of the effects of the increase. Read through more than the first few paragraphs. Restaurants are closing and that is just one of the effects.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/03/16/we-are-seeing-the-effects-of-seattles-15-an-hour-minimum-wage/
I know this isn't going to change the mindset that all these people deserve more money. I am sure that many of them do deserve it. Make an effort to better your life though. Don't just expect it to be handed to you. People that deserve more money are more than likely not people that cant understand what to do when your order comes to $4.76 and you hand them $5.01 that you get a quarter back. sometimes you can see the distress on employees faces when presented with this type of situation.
You don't have to have a college degree in order to make a decent living but you might have to be willing to take a job that is less than glamorous. I have worked in extreme conditions as well as disgusting, stressful jobs. At this point I have a great job in a field that I am very happy with. I was not satisfied many jobs before this one. I didn't make enough money to cover expenses. I received assistance for food and lived in metropolitan housing. I used the assistance while I was educating myself. That is a whole other story that I may go into another time.
For now, I have exhausted the thoughts that have been floating around in my head over this. I don't know how many will see this, but if you do, think about the whole picture. A lot of the response to the subject is based on emotion. Decisions based on emotions often do not have good results.
One of the effects of this is the debate over tipping servers. Here is a little bit of what is being reported on this issue. http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/seattle/2015/07/13/seattle-minimum-wage-increase-ignites-tipping-debate/30113825/.
In New York a paramedic posted something in support of the increase. In that the paramedic made a point that businesses want us to fight and argue about a wage increase in hopes that it wouldn't happen. http://www.someecards.com/news/politics/paramedic-minimum-wage-fast-food-workers/.
Do I believe people should be able to make a decent living? Yes. I do not believe that a kid that is working at McDonalds in high school needs to make $15 an hour to ask me if I would like to get my order as a combo.
There are so many of these workers that absolutely have no clue what they are doing. You don't have a clue when you start working. People fresh out of college a lot of times only know what they have learned in their course of study. It has taken several years of experience AND a college degree to get where I am today.
I understand that it is impossible to live on the minimum wage of today without assistance. I get it but raising the minimum wage to $15 and hour is not going to make it any better. There are aspects of it that will be worse. If you know anyone that is in management in a fast food restaurant you may know that even they do not make the wages that workers are claiming they deserve.
I am only barely above the requested minimum wage amount and I have a degree. People don't realize that in the event the wages are mandated to be increased, business will raise prices and/or employ fewer people. Corporations are not going to give up their profits to pay people. Most corporate goals are to make as much money possible with the least amount of money. Seattle raised their minimum wage to $11 and it has already had an impact on their job market. There are fewer jobs available because restaurants are not able to pay more money without cutting labor costs. Here is an article that shows some of the effects of the increase. Read through more than the first few paragraphs. Restaurants are closing and that is just one of the effects.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/03/16/we-are-seeing-the-effects-of-seattles-15-an-hour-minimum-wage/
I know this isn't going to change the mindset that all these people deserve more money. I am sure that many of them do deserve it. Make an effort to better your life though. Don't just expect it to be handed to you. People that deserve more money are more than likely not people that cant understand what to do when your order comes to $4.76 and you hand them $5.01 that you get a quarter back. sometimes you can see the distress on employees faces when presented with this type of situation.
You don't have to have a college degree in order to make a decent living but you might have to be willing to take a job that is less than glamorous. I have worked in extreme conditions as well as disgusting, stressful jobs. At this point I have a great job in a field that I am very happy with. I was not satisfied many jobs before this one. I didn't make enough money to cover expenses. I received assistance for food and lived in metropolitan housing. I used the assistance while I was educating myself. That is a whole other story that I may go into another time.
For now, I have exhausted the thoughts that have been floating around in my head over this. I don't know how many will see this, but if you do, think about the whole picture. A lot of the response to the subject is based on emotion. Decisions based on emotions often do not have good results.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
It been a while
It has been longer than I would have thought since my last post. I believe I had just started a position that was remotely close to the degree that I had acquired in 2011. I have since moved on to 2 different employers from that point. Each job has been a step in the right direction for me. I now have a job that I worked 3 years to get. I am not disappointed in the transition. I believe my wife is also on her 3rd position since graduating from massage school and getting her license. Unfortunately for her, she may be transitioning to something else within the next few months. She will continue to work as a massage therapist in the same capacity that she is now. She loves helping people and is very good at her profession. As an LMT she is licensed by the state medical board and follows their regulations. We both have worked very hard to get to where we are. Our work is not done though. She only has 2 classes left to get an associate degree and hopefully will be able to get those completed by the end of the year. I however have been back working on a bachelor's degree since the January of 2014. I should be able to finish in the spring of 2017. The last year has been kind of a whirlwind. We were able to move into a bigger place in a nicer neighborhood. My middle child graduated high school and is leaving for school at the end of August. We lost her dad and my step dad in this last year. My dad had a horrible car accident in February that he is still having issues as a result. There have been many ups and downs over the last year.
Of course the people that are close to us already know most of our life events. We still work at the Ohio Renaissance Festival, which we will be starting rehearsal for this years run in the next week. I guess they figure we aren't leaving there anytime soon so we were placed in long term roles. We are also involved with Chillicothe Civic Theater and I played my first on-stage role ever. I had a lot of fun and look forward to when I am able to do it again. It will be a while though with school and everything. I am sure it will seem like no time with everything I seem to be involved in. Sometimes you don't realize it until it is put in writing.
Anyway, I may try and keep up with this a little better than I have been lately(in the last 4 years I guess). I cant guarantee but I will try. Until later.
Of course the people that are close to us already know most of our life events. We still work at the Ohio Renaissance Festival, which we will be starting rehearsal for this years run in the next week. I guess they figure we aren't leaving there anytime soon so we were placed in long term roles. We are also involved with Chillicothe Civic Theater and I played my first on-stage role ever. I had a lot of fun and look forward to when I am able to do it again. It will be a while though with school and everything. I am sure it will seem like no time with everything I seem to be involved in. Sometimes you don't realize it until it is put in writing.
Anyway, I may try and keep up with this a little better than I have been lately(in the last 4 years I guess). I cant guarantee but I will try. Until later.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
A title escapes me
Sometimes there are people in your life that no matter what your actions are, believe something completely different. I am finally coming to a point in my life where I wont be struggling to make ends meet. It has been a long road. There have been ups and downs for sure. Making the best of what you have has been a way of life of late. I am very proud of my Son who graduated high school as a Valedictorian. I am proud of my wife for graduating from school to be a licensed massage therapist. She has the state board to pass but I have faith in her. I will be graduating with a degree within a few weeks. So it IS good right now. What I havent said is the things that have happened that arent so great. I am not going to get into that part though. Just know this. People that are not happy with their life or situations tend to try to make other people not happy. I really dont care what people think about me. My life is mine to control how I can. Of course you cant control everything and the only person you can control is yourself. Get a grip on your own life before you start trying to tell others what is wrong with theirs. Dont go getting yourself all wound up if you read this. I am not talking about anybody in particular. Dont flatter yourself. I am not all into talking about people. Sometimes I just smile and nod when people talk about other people. Just know that I dont want to be in the middle of it. If you tell me something in confidence, know that I am not going to tell anybody. If you tell me something to get me to say something about somebody else dont bother telling me. Drama is not my priority or desire. Dont try to make me a part of it. Now that I have that out of the way, I am looking forward to finishing my degree in the next couple of weeks. The next task is finding a real job. I am hoping to be back at the Renaissance Festival full time this year. There are so many things that are in line for the rest of this year, I am sure I will be busy. Keep watching for more
Friday, November 26, 2010
The season that goes on forever!!
I used to really like the Christmas season. I have come to not like it so much in the last couple of years. It comes from working in an environment that begins the season in the middle of the summer. By the time it actually rolls around I have already seen some of it for at least 4 months. I spent fifteen minutes today with a person that was on the phone with her son and he was getting an attitude about $2.50. If you have that big of a problem go somewhere else. My time is worth more than that.
Sure I would like to stay home and not work, but that is not an option. People that think we owe them the world make it more difficult to go to work. Don't send someone else to do what you are too lazy to do. Don't have your wife call and ask for information when you are in the living room watching a football game. When I ask a question that she has to ask you for the answer, don't get mad because she doesn't know how to relay the message. Do it yourself!!! Okay, so I guess sometimes when I go into a mild rant I get a little off course. Unfortunately the season has prompted this mild outburst. Until next time
Sure I would like to stay home and not work, but that is not an option. People that think we owe them the world make it more difficult to go to work. Don't send someone else to do what you are too lazy to do. Don't have your wife call and ask for information when you are in the living room watching a football game. When I ask a question that she has to ask you for the answer, don't get mad because she doesn't know how to relay the message. Do it yourself!!! Okay, so I guess sometimes when I go into a mild rant I get a little off course. Unfortunately the season has prompted this mild outburst. Until next time
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Parental Frustration
Being a parent is not easy. Attempting to be a good parent is even harder. When you think you have part of it figured out, it goes completely in another direction. Children are great most of the time. It doesn't matter if you are the best parent in the world, you will be the worst parent to them at some point. You do what you think is in their best interest. I have recently had a couple of moments that make me want to find a brick wall to bang my head on. I have intelligent children but sometimes I have to ask them if they are actually using the brain that is in their head. For example: about 4 weeks into the school year I got a call from a teacher telling me that my child was not turning in assignments. When asked about it the child did not know why the assignments weren't getting turned in. A grounding was in order, taking away phones, computer access unless for schoolwork, TV time, and a couple others. According to the child he had learned his lesson. Then yesterday, I got a call from the same teacher. She was still having the same issue with assignments not being turned in. When asked why he said he didn't know what the problem was. It is very frustrating to see this happen when I know how intelligent he is.
He can still turn in the assignments. We just have to print them off at home so they can be done. We did that and then he did some of them. He left for school this morning and left the assignments on the kitchen table.
AAAHHHHHH!!!!! So frustrating. I am not sure where to go from here. Wheres my Brick Wall??????
He can still turn in the assignments. We just have to print them off at home so they can be done. We did that and then he did some of them. He left for school this morning and left the assignments on the kitchen table.
AAAHHHHHH!!!!! So frustrating. I am not sure where to go from here. Wheres my Brick Wall??????
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Its never too late to start
Hi I am Shane. I am new to the blog thing. Its not anything I have ever though about doing before. I am very close to finishing my degree in Computer Science Technology. I have been told several times over the past few years that I need to write. I have written a few poems over the years but none recently. So here I am. A friend started a blog and it just hit me that maybe this is how I am supposed to write.
I have done many things so far in my 38 years. I still have not done everything that I want to do. I don't think I see this as a problem though because I still have a lot of life to live. It seems like there have been a lot of setbacks in the last 10 years but then I look back and see that they may have been beginning points instead of setbacks. If it were not for getting divorced for the second time before I was thirty I would not have met my wife. It works the same for a lot of those times in my life. I would not have moved to the current town I live in if I hadn't had to move out of the place I was living due to bankruptcy. Now comes the point in my life where I went back for a college education. I was a car salesman and got laid off when after the big Stock Market crisis in 08 caused the car business to come to a screeching halt. I found myself unemployed and evicted. I decided it would be a good time to go back to school and started working in a retail store. I started classes the fall of 09. That was just over a year ago and I only have 5 classes that I have to get through to get my degree. It has gone so fast. It is to the point in my life where there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I can see the end.
I have also come to realize that I am really looking forward to not working retail anymore. I sometimes am a little scrooge like when Christmas stuff comes out before Halloween. I am ok with it after Thanksgiving. In retail they begin to bring out all the Christmas stuff in September. This along with "Black Friday" and the grouchy customers that come in 2 days before Christmas and are surprised when what they want is all gone makes me look forward to not working in retail. I think I will end with that.
Until the next time.
I have done many things so far in my 38 years. I still have not done everything that I want to do. I don't think I see this as a problem though because I still have a lot of life to live. It seems like there have been a lot of setbacks in the last 10 years but then I look back and see that they may have been beginning points instead of setbacks. If it were not for getting divorced for the second time before I was thirty I would not have met my wife. It works the same for a lot of those times in my life. I would not have moved to the current town I live in if I hadn't had to move out of the place I was living due to bankruptcy. Now comes the point in my life where I went back for a college education. I was a car salesman and got laid off when after the big Stock Market crisis in 08 caused the car business to come to a screeching halt. I found myself unemployed and evicted. I decided it would be a good time to go back to school and started working in a retail store. I started classes the fall of 09. That was just over a year ago and I only have 5 classes that I have to get through to get my degree. It has gone so fast. It is to the point in my life where there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I can see the end.
I have also come to realize that I am really looking forward to not working retail anymore. I sometimes am a little scrooge like when Christmas stuff comes out before Halloween. I am ok with it after Thanksgiving. In retail they begin to bring out all the Christmas stuff in September. This along with "Black Friday" and the grouchy customers that come in 2 days before Christmas and are surprised when what they want is all gone makes me look forward to not working in retail. I think I will end with that.
Until the next time.
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