Reader be warned, but I must rant about an article I read today on MSN’s career/employment page about the benefits of working weekends in addition to your regular work week.  This article was so lame and so supportive of corporate america that I honestly thought I was going to vomit.  Basically, the article said working workends would allow you to be more productive and undisturbed by normal work week activities like phone calls, meetings, answering emails, etc.  The article also went on to say how you could be more ”creative and innovative” by working additional time on weekends which only adds to your skills and marketability to a potential employer.  This sounds like corporate slavery to me.  Of course, they listed the negatives, less time to rest and relax as well as spend time with your family and friends.  I don’t know about you but I don’t have enough time to rest and relax as it is.  And I don’t spend nearly enough time with my husband and family.  This article was honestly such a load of cow pie because it supported the need to get ahead in corporate america which really doesn’t pay off or make you any happier.  Several years ago I worked in an investor relations department for one of the top banks in the U.S.  Initially, I was a naive little employee brainwashed by corporate america to go above and beyond, to give 110%, and even earned a crappy employee of the month award.  They gave me a nice little certificate signed by the vice president that hung in my cubicle next to my snowboarding pictures while I slaved away.  Then once I realized that all my hard work got me was a certificate I would just daydream about becoming a snowboard bum and never looking at cheesy “Employee of the Month” certificates again.                  

Last Saturday morning my older sister was driving in a nearby town and was struck by a train.  She walked away from the accident without a single scratch or bruise, just some mild soreness and a totaled car.  The red lights at the cross bucks were not working and a house on the corner blocked her view of the oncoming train.  My sister says she’s not sure what made her look to her right as she approached the tracks.  She slammed on her brakes but the train clipped the front end of her car, spun her around, and then hit her in the rear.  Somehow she was able to avoid a direct hit.  No one wants to think about the inevitable, but close calls like the one my sister had are very real and can happen to anyone.  It makes you think about how prepared you and your family are if the unspeakable happens.  Is your life insurance policy enough?  Should you get mortgage life insurance?  Do you have enough money saved?  How much debt would your spouse be left with?  Thankfully, my sister was being watched by her guardian angels that day but we just never know when its our time.    

I swear we should buy stock in pet supplies.  Our english bulldog newman still stinks even after we’ve given him a bath.  He has problems with itchy skin, dry eye, allergies to grass, and the fastest growing toenails I’ve ever seen in my life.  Even though he is a little high maintenence he has the best personality and would never make a good guard dog because he loves everyone.  Newman has never met a person or animal he didn’t like or want to play with.  The funniest thing is when I ask him a question, he always turns his head sideways and opens his mouth with a sigh as if he’s trying to answer.  Sometimes I really think he wishes he could talk back to me. 

I am totally intimidated by home improvement projects.  My husband and I, we are not do-it-yourselfers.  I have so many great ideas for the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen but the task just seems so daunting.  I guess the room I would want to do first is the kitchen.  I would love a Tuscan theme with fancy cabinet pulls, a faux finish for the walls, and some roman shades for the windows.  For the bedroom a new cherry headboard and a fresh coat a paint in the bathroom would be fantastic.  I guess the best thing to do is start with one room and go from there.       

Recently I had a client in the clinic who cursed without regard to those around her.  Everyone in the clinic, therapists included, were a bit…what’s the word I’m looking for…judgmental.  One day she walked past an elderly man who was glancing at his pocket watch when she exclaimed, “holy sh*t!”  “There’s nothing holy about that,”  he replied.  And then the conversation went further south.  Anyways, I dreaded seeing her name on my schedule because of her behavior.  I tried to keep her away from others so our elderly clients would not be offended by her language.  It was a few weeks later that she told me of her physically and emotionally abusive father, and how he blamed her for the death of one of her siblings.  I then saw her in a completely different light and remembered a lesson I had learned from my parents.  Don’t judge others until you’ve walked a day in their shoes.  You don’t know what they’ve been through or what they go home to every night.     

Many of us younger folks realize that Social Security will probably be bankrupt by the time we are age 65.  So, now more than ever, its important to invest for the future.  One of the best ways to invest for retirement is to open a Roth IRA through either an independent investment company or by doing loads of research on your own if you trust your knowlege about mutual funds.  However, if your willing to take on more risk there are so many other ways to invest like hedge funds, forex, options and futures.  If you are new to trading options, forex, and futures then its a good idea to have commodity brokers.  Even if you are a veteran its still not a bad idea to have a broker to work with since these are generally high risk investments.

I’ve always believed that no matter what’s happening in your life its so important to stay positive and to never give up hope when things are going bad.  Even though I work in physical rehabilitation I do end up hearing what’s going on (good, bad, and ugly) in the lives of my clients.  I have one client whose grandson is singing at the Oscar’s and another client whose lost a spouse and is suffering from depression.  Of course its easy to stay positive when things are going great, its when things aren’t going so great that staying positive is a challenge.  When in despair don’t dwell on it…shifting your thoughts to other things often helps.  Enjoy a guilty pleasure like a small piece of chocolate or think about something completely irrelevant like coffee makers, shopping for a new outfit, or go for a walk to ease troubling thoughts.  Everyday bliss doesn’t happen automatically, it takes effort, it takes practice, and it takes patience with yourself.  If you can grab on to just one small blissful moment each day then you’ve made it.       

I guess you could say Illinois basketball fans were a little upset with Eric Gordon when he and the Hoosiers visited Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill on Thursday night.  The profanity from the fans, “(expletive) you, Gordon!” and the shove by Illinois guard Chester Frazier were totally inappropriate and classless.  Even ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said the Big Ten should investigate the actions of the fans and players for the hostility and behavior they demonstrated toward Eric Gordon.  I guess the Orange Crush engineering students should go back to studying fiber optic cables  or whatever it is there doing at the University of Illinois because obviously they don’t know how to act in public. 

Last nights Superbowl was the 2nd best I’ve ever seen (The first being last years win by the Colts).  The Giants started the season 0-2 and looked absolutely terrible at times but somehow came up Superbowl winners.  The New England Patriots are a great football team, there’s no question about that, but no one except Patriot fans wanted to see them win another Superbowl.  I can’t believe that Bill Belichick and the players remained so arrogant after they were caught cheating during the New York Jets game.  Anyways, I’d like to send Tom Brady, Teddy Bruschi, and Bill Belichick personalized pens with the Giants logo that says:  “The Best Team Won Superbowl XLII.”   

Finally, President Bush has done something about our struggling U.S. economy.  What in the world took so long?  He has been far too preoccupied with Iraq and many U.S. citizens feel completely abandoned by the president.  I think cutting interest rates and the tax rebate will help but its not nearly enough to offset the rising cost of energy and food.  I can’t help but wonder why the economy was allowed to get so bad and why he didn’t do anything sooner?  Many middle-class Americans aren’t out buying luxury cars or luxury watches on credit cards but do use credit to buy gas and food.  Money just doesn’t go as far as it used too.