Recession proof

As I mentioned in my profile I have a journalism degree. I would love nothing more than to be doing Entertainment Journalism, I feel it is my calling. Radio, TV, print- whatever medium never really mattered to me but it is where I thought I would be at 24. I am, however, fortunate enough to have a job that I love. No, cleaning up baby poop or vomit isn’t what I would dream about after long hours earning my degree, but I work for a wonderful family, who are honestly the nicest people I have ever met and the baby is an angel. I am blessed to have this when most people have a job they hate or no job at all.

That being said, a thought came to me while I was in the bath (one day I will write about this strange phenomenon, I promise but for now go with it): My job is sort of recession proof. I mean look around, there are children everywhere and there seems to be no end of this trend in sight. Somebody has to take care of these children and almost no parents do the job 24/7.

It wasn’t something I thought about when I started babysitting, good lord, 11 years ago because what 13 year old would think of this but, I was building skills (and slowly but surely a resume) that would always provide me work if I looked hard enough. And it is a job where I have never had to answer an ad or post a looking for work sign. Everybody I have ever babysat for was a friend of someone I knew or someone I had already babysat for. That is an oddity and young people should really think about that when looking for part time and summer jobs. Stores and restaurants close, even chains, and there is a lot of competition for jobs but babysitting never seems to. As long as there are children, you will be needed.

Other benefits:

*You make your own hours- you can tell parents that you can only work on certain days, or only nights. Most times they will work around your schedule. When I go on vacation, my families just don’t go out without the kids. In fact, before they plan things they usually ask if I can work before solidifying plans.

*Working nights is an easy shift- children go to bed earlier than other humans. Once they are situated you are basically paid to eat, watch TV, and hang out. Most times when I work I do it as a babysitting team which means, basically a night chilling with a friend, sometimes ordering a movie.

*Job appreciation- Parents love to get away from their children. It’s not that they don’t love them but many people employ a babysitter so they can go do something for themselves. People are happier when they’ve had a good time so when mom and dad get home from date or mom returns from a relaxing day at the spa they are not only happy to pay you, and book you again on the spot, but they sing your praises to everyone they can.

Now that I’ve got you hooked on what sounds like the greatest job in the world, I should tell you there is a downside. Full discloser right? Some people are not great with children. I happen to be wonderful with them which is how so many people have used me and why all of the above exists. Children are the single greatest possession that people have so you must treat them with care. They can get another car or house but there will never be another Meghan or Grace.

So a few things to keep in mind before embarking on this adventure:

*You are in charge- you are the one who has to make sure the kids don’t break bones, puncture themselves, burn anything, ect

*The parents aren’t there- This seems simple enough but sometimes the little ones don’t understand the concept that they will come back. You will have to patiently explain this over and over and over. Side effects include screaming like they are being taken away by child welfare, hunger strikes, and possible physical assault of you. Once they understand you are a friend (and forget why they are sad) everything is okay.

*Children are not difficult- if they are too young to go to school they are babies. When they yell and cry it is because the world as they know it is coming to an end.

*bed time can be a war zone- remember how they forgot mommy left, now they remember: Crying, whining, and kicking. Sometimes you have to lie down with them and sometimes you have to ignore it.

For all of these being loving but not a push over works and in time these problems lessen and sometimes go away. After a while it all becomes second nature and you can tell on tear number one if it’s BS or real.

Life's a beach and then you fry

Its Memorial Day weekend which means the beaches are opened. I love beaches, pools, swimming and anything summer really so needless to say, my family and I made our first trip of the season. Also needless to say, my cheap Irish skin turned pink. However, it is a brownish pink so I’ll take it. To celebrate the unofficial start to summer here are some beach shots that I’ve taken.

This is my friend, April. She is lucky enough
to live at the Jersey Shore a block away from the beach!

I love the dunes, sky, and water- looks like a painting

September 2008, running in and out of the waves
my hair was so short because i did a cut for cancer

August 2009

You’ll never guess what I heard!

Did you ever feel like nobody in the world can keep a secret? It seems like the common denominator. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, sexual orientation, occupation, or fiscal status a person falls into- we all gossip.

Everyone has heard the Ben Franklins quote, "Three may keep a secret if Two of them are dead" and it really does seem to be true. I don’t think there is one thing in this world that only I know. I think I’m good at keeping secrets provided I know that someone else knows it too. Logical- no but it’s what I live by.

Good news,maybe it’s not our fault.

Author Robin Dunbar equates the human need to gossip to an animalistic instinct. She explains that our evolutionary ancestors, like monkeys and apes, spend their lives in close physical contact, endless grooming each other.

“They think nothing of spending hours leafing through each other’s fur, combing, picking, parting the hairs….We are social beings, and our world- no less than that of the monkeys and apes- is cocooned in the interests and minutiae of everyday social life. They fascinate us beyond measure.” [1]

She goes on to explain that if the reader were to listen to the conversations of others, whether it be at a bar or restaurant, or a university common room or the lounge at a multinational company; no more than a quarter of the conversation would deal with any intellectual weight. The rest, she explains, will be the socially important, “who is doing what with whom. And whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing; who is in and who is out, and why; how to deal with a difficult social situation involving a lover, child or colleague.”[2]

---

[1] Robin Dunbar, Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language, ( United States of America 1996) 4

[2] Dunbar, 5

Analyzing Music: MWK’s Vera

Have a listen

Read the Lyrics


First of all, if Vera is an actual person, I believe it is a love song. Not a happy one but a love song nonetheless, kind of like HATE ME by Blue October (he loves her so much he knows that the best thing for her is to hate him.) I feel this because there is a lot of “If you want me to…” as if to say the narrator (writer Neal Tiemann or who ever he is portraying in the song) will do anything for her, or would have done anything for her regardless of what would have happen to him.


I’ve always thought that maybe “Vera” is in an insane asylum or trapped somewhere else. If you take it at face value she has left so suicide is possible (Lauren thinks that) but I feel like maybe she died after some sort of entrapment weather it be physically (in a prison or asylum for arson) or in a metaphorical sense of mental or physical illness.

If you want me to wait
I'll wait
If you want me to break whatever needs to break
Line up your chains
If you want me to hear
I'll listen
To every word you say…

If you want me to stay
I'll stay
If you want me to take you from this life you hate
I'll face the pain
If you want me to steer displaced
Hand me both your reins





These verses say to me that he would break her out of whatever she felt trapped by, as far as he would even help her die. I suppose that could be an allusion to assisted suicide or simply that he would’ve helped her but she never let him in enough to help her escape, which explains the
You left us all and I can't help to feel a bit betrayed
Your wounds are singing and I distain.


I have always found it interesting that VERA is written completely in the past tense, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard another song that is written that way. I guess it was meant to portray that “Vera” is dead and therefore her life exists only in memory but I always wonder if it is also partially the narrator feeling lost and unable to see a future without her. The only time future tense is used is in the end when he repeats



All the nights you used to fear
All the song you'll never hear
Since the day
All the days becoming clear
All the life you'll never be here


Maybe it’s over analyzing but I read this part as Vera is free but now I’m trapped. Even the fact that he constantly repeats “3 years since the day” it is as if his life restarted when she died and now he lives in a prison of guilt or grief.


So I guess the thing I wonder most about this song, and hopefully one day Neal Tiemann will answer me on this but I doubt it, is who is Vera or what is she representing?

America's Newest Idol

As I stated yesterday, last night was the season 9 finale of American Idol but truth be told, I had no intention of writing about it.

I still haven’t made up my mind on if I will be returning as a viewer next season. That’ll probably be determined after they announce who will be replacing Simon, assuming they actually replace him and not just go back to a three judge panel.

The performances were good, not great, as were the tributes to Simon, though I refuse to go into details of anything because I refuse to get into the discussion of who should have been there that wasn’t or who didn’t belong. The one exception I will make on this lack of review is to say that it was good to see Bret Michaels come out strumming and singing, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” with contestant Casey James. After all the medical drama he has endured in the last few weeks it makes this 80s baby smile to see the rocker turned man-whore for pay, reality show punch line back in good health and remembrance by America as the icon that he is.

So what changed my mind about not writing about the show? Well I felt I should give Lee DeWyze what Fox didn’t, his shining moment. For years the Finale broadcast has been famous for running over time and this season was no difference. However, unlike previous seasons the stations cut off the winner’s song instead of pushing back the following programming by a few minutes. Even though Lee’s single will be a cover (and of U2 none the less) it deserves the same respect as every other coronation song.

Kelly Clarkson had “A Moment Like This,” Ruben Studderd had “Flying Without Wings,” Fantasia had “Believe,” Carrie Underwood had “Inside Your Heaven,” Taylor Hcks had “Do I Make You Proud,” Jordin Sparks had “This Is My Now,” David Cook had Magic Rainbow I mean “Time of my Life,” Kris Allen had “No Boundaries,” and now I present to you American Idol Season 9 Champion Lee DeWyze with U2’s Beautiful Day.:”

American Idol Finale: it all comes down to this

That is most likely how Ryan Seacrest will start the show tonight. For Crystal and Lee 15 weeks of performing will have ended in one of them being crowned champion and, if the past two seasons are any indication, the other will have a recording contract by the end of summer. For them it isn't an ending, it is only the begining. For me and other longtime fans, however, it is the end of an era. Tonight is Simon Cowell's last show as head judge. Depending on if the show can redeam itself, it may also be my last show. As i've mentioned before, the past two seasons can't live up to 7 and frankly, i don't even care who wins tonight. I can look past bad contestants but if they don't wow me when they can bring in anyone they choose to perform, i'm leaving with simon

MOM AND DAD

TODAY IS MY PARENTS' 25TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Anyone should be proud of making silver but this is specifically an accomplishment
for my mother having done it with my father, lol.

As you can see i got my playful side from them!

Doesn’t everyone love a good internet survey?

I get a ton of those “Get to know your friends” surveys but I figured since, if I have reader that I don’t know about, it would be interesting to post this here so people can get to know a bit about the person who’s view they are reading about.

Explain what triggered your last kiss?
Guilt about the imposing dumping that I was going to do to my boyfriend (i think)


Have you ever looked someone straight in the eyes and told them a lie?
Probably in my youth


When was the last time you cried?
Watching Grey's Anotomy last week/ really lost it crying, Race for Hope

Who was the last person to text you?
Nicole (my boss the baby is throwing up)


What are some things that make you mad?
intolerance, hitting woman, unfaithfulness


If you could have anyone you want, who would it be?
A guy who loves me and will treat me like i’m the only woman in the world worth loving

Have you ever liked someone so much, it hurt?
Yes

Would you pay someone to kill the last person who hurt you most?
I’d like to believe I can’t actually kill or have someone kill a person for me. Furthermore nobody has ever hurt me so bad I would consider that.


What color are your eyes?
Blue

Who was your crush in 5th grade?
Fifth was actually a really bad year for me so I wasn’t really paying attention to boys


About how many hours of sleep did you get last night?
10

Is your hair naturally straight?
Very wavy!

Who was the last person to make you genuinely smile?
Most days I would say GiGi but today it would be Meghan Grace, she’s three and even though she screams like a banshee her wonderment of the world just makes me smile on the inside.


Is there something you want to say to someone but can't/won't?
There was a person who I wanted to say so much to, I wanted so bad to tell her off but she is dead now and the urge to verbally beat her is too.


What was going through your mind during your last kiss?
I can’t even remember that far back


Is there anyone who understands your relationship status?
Single is rather understandable but I’m choosy and don’t get to meet a lot of great guys at this point in my life.


Who was the last person you took a picture with?
I think the last pictures I was in were Washington so I assume it was Lauren

Do you want to fix anything with anyone?
Nope


Are you a jealous person?
I can be but most of the time i’m not. It’s definitely not my worst vice


Have you ever been bitten by a horse?
No. Also never been thrown though I was out with a group and I was the only one who wasn’t thrown.

Have you ever had a boy best friend?
No but I was a boy’s best friend once a long time ago


Have you ever slept in the same bed as the same sex?
Sure, cousins and friends. What girl hasn’t at sleepovers?

What book did you last read?
Time Travelers Wife. Currently reading Mr Ed: Dead

Are you sarcastic?
yes

How many cell phones have you had?
Four. My last one was my favorite phone but I love my newest because it is a Blackberry. Love the constant internet access.


What do you think about when you are falling asleep?
Nothing really, but if I can’t fall asleep I either sing to myself or prey.


Will this weekend be a good one?
It was for the most part

What is your favorite color?
Lilac, pink, and red


Do you curse a lot?
Probably more than I should but I’m working on it


Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to?
No.


When is the last time you had butterflies?
With all the musicians I’ve met in the last two years, you would think it would’ve been more recent but the only person to ever make my stupid and awed was Anderson Cooper, I don’t know why maybe it’s because he’s almost more than human in my book. Probably Finals in my senior year of college; Finals always got me queasy, so two years ago.


Ever taken a picture kissing somebody?
I feel like I have but don’t know where they are


Are you someone who is an ass because you're so honest?
I don’t think so but I guess that’s not for me to decide


What's your opinion on "no sex before marriage"?
I go back and forth on it to be honest. That being said, so far its still possibility and in the end will probably depend on the person.


Do you think making out is slutty?
No- public groping is


How often do you give out second chances?
Depends on the severity of the crime


Be honest, ever listened to Aaron Carter?
In my defense I worked for Radio Disney but I’ve never done it on my own free will.


What about, "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson?
Great song to dance and scream away the blues to


Ever had your heart broken?
Yup.


We all change right?
I think we all want to believe that we can change the bad but I’m not sure that anyone really changes in the big areas and when people do change, sometimes it is for the worse



Where did you get the shirt you're wearing?
My mom bought it for me last christmas


Is your MySpace/Facebook headline from a song?
It almost always is

Have you ever run over an animal?
There is debate over whether I ran it over. Technically there was a bird that was on the highway and i drove over it and heard a bump and when I looked back there were feathers everywhere. But i think that it might have actually bumped it’s head on the bottom of the car and gotten hit by the driver behind me

What are you afraid of?
Not living which is different than death for the record.



How's your life lately?
Hectic but mostly happy


Do you tell people the truth even if it will hurt them?
Depends on the person and what the truth is


Did your night suck last night ?
It was fun, I babysat but I made a ton of cash and had fun.


Would you say you're an understanding person?
yes




Do you hate the last guy/girl you had a thing with?
No, I thought I hated him but I think now I’m just like “whatever I learned from it”


Who was the last person you cried in front of?
Mom and Lauren


What's your relationship with the person you last texted?
I work for her


Do you cry a lot? Have you recently?
I am a mush pot!!



Have you ever thought about getting your lip pierced?
No. I have never had a piercing

Have a best friend?
lauren

Have you had more than 3 boyfriends at the same time?
No, not even more then 2.





Are you on medication for anything?
Nope.



What was the worst mistake of your life?
I’m so young so while I hope I’ve already made the biggest mistake of my life, it’s too soon to tell



Who is the last person that called you?
mom?



Do you have good relationship with your parents?
Yes. I love my parents to the moon and back but I think over the years I’ve become much closer to my mother.



Do you get annoyed when you see someone you don't like?
Yes.


Do you miss anyone right now?
So many people really. Poppy, Eileen, and as always my uncle Bo


If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Manhattan
Disney Castle-lol




Have you changed this year?
I think maybe I’ve continued to grow and evolve as a person



Has anyone ever sang to you?
Well my parents as a baby
But yes actually Matt used to sing to me with his guitar


Ever felt like you're not good enough?
Yes.


Do you think anyone has feelings for you?
i hope so



Do you believe in true love?
Yes. Damn you Disney


How many kids do you want to have?
i’d be happy with one but I think I’d be good with a house full


Where would you like to live?
Manhattan.


If someone liked you right now, would you want them to tell you?
Yes .


Are you an emotional person?
very much so





Do you believe in forever?
Yes, there is an infinite something out there b/c otherwise what’s the point


Do you say sorry first?
if i was wrong maybe


Has someone ever made you a promise & broke it?
YES.


Are you alone?
No but according to Anodyne we all dye alone, hoping that’s not true

What's your favorite commercial?
The American Idol/ Light On commercial from the winter of 08-09

Have you ever been punched in the face?
Yes but to be fair it wasn’t on purpose, my face got in the way of Lauren’s hand. Oh and yearbook pics were the next day

AND NOW 25 RANDOM FACTS

1. I was born red headed

2. I really can't stand being alone (not like single I mean like not around anyone else) it drives me nuts.

3. I once busted a lip riding a smurf

4. There is a part of me that is almost cripplingly shy and it acts up at odd and inconvenient times.

5. Call it clingy, or slightly co-dependent or maybe a subconscious abandonment issue but there are people in this world (family mostly) that I think I would die without and when/ if I lose them I don't think I’ll be the same person ever again.

6. I'm a sucker for a man who cries.

7. When my grandfather died I couldn't dry for three days and then was hysterical for an hour straight.

8. I feel incomplete without a dog.

9. I'm not a morning person and that will never change.


10. I still cry every time I leave Disney World

11. Sometimes I don't understand how strongly I feel about something until it comes out of my mouth

12. I don't think I’m pretty. I’m not fishing its just true

13. I once swallowed a penny.

14. I hung out with the Jonas Brothers at Great Adventure before they became the huge stars they are now.


15. I've met Anderson Cooper and David Cook and I can truly understand what they mean in their writings

16. I also made Cook and his mother cry once

17. If I had a dollar for every great story/ book idea I’ve never finished, I would never have to work again

18. I have problems with forgiving people who've hurt me really badly.

19. I don't like cats.

20. I truly do fear for my future husband (s?). I'm selfish and bitchy at times and always get my way and if that doesn't do him in I might love him to death.

21. I can taste food coloring, I know you all don't believe me but I do

22. I’m the biggest hypochondriac I know.

23. I don't handle emotions well.

24. Watching puppies play really can make me feel 10x better almost any time i feel bad.

25. I love with my whole heart so completely not just in romantic love but in friendship, ect so the only time I’ve had my heart truly broken wasn't from a boyfriend at all but someone who I thought was a best friend. FYI: it wasn't Lauren since all of you know of her