The past few weeks have been crazy yet wonderful. I've been in Dumas, Texas while my fiance, Shannon, is working at a BP gas plant. What have I been doing? School. Everyday. Even weekends. It's nuts.
But there has been some great times. Over labor day weekend, Shannon got a three day weekend. So we left on that Saturday and headed to Taos, New Mexico. I have to say, those mountains were the most beautiful thing from nature I have ever seen in my entire life! Beautiful mountain streams, breathtaking heights...it was just awesome. We even got to go see the Rio Grande Gorge. That thing was huge! While on the bridge, we were over 600 feet above the river. The whole weekend was just amazing, and it gave us a few ideas for places to go on your honeymoon.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you didn't I? I'm engaged! I've been engaged since June 25 to a wonderful man named Shannon Schrank. He treats me like a queen and we are each other's equal in every way. All the way to our stubbornness. We're getting married November 12 in Hamilton surrounded by family and friends, and I'm so excited!
Next weekend is my bridal shower, and I'm excited for that as well. I'm also going dress shopping. Ahhh! That's gonna be my favorite part. It's gonna be so much fun. My mom, my sister, my best friend Kesha, my great aunt Nelda, and my nieces and nephew are coming along. It's gonna be a fun experience.
Went shopping at Maurices today and found the PERFECT outfit for my bridal shower. The store manager, Kristen, was super nice and very helpful in helping me find and decide on the perfect outfit. Then I went to Bealls and got my jewelry. Then I went over to Big R and got me a pair of square-toe Ariat Fatbabys with pink camo on the neck. Yay! I'm a happy cowgirl.
Well, I'm gonna stop my rambling now. I gotta put away laundry, and start getting ready to go out for sushi tonight with Shannon. I know this post is different from my others in that it's more like a diary entry of a super happy teenage girl, but I can't help it. I am happy.
Nikki out!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Don't tell me what I can't do
Well yes even though that's quite a common quote from the show "LOST", this is my blog post on politics. Why? Because I can. And if you don't agree, that's your opinion, and I will respect that. Just as I expect you to respect mine.
After going through a few weeks of classes this semester in Government and Ethics, I've learned a lot of what went on these past 10 years in government that I didn't know in the slightest. Such as, why the economy is the way it is, and why Texas voted for George W. Bush two elections in a row. And I'm going to admit, that as a Texan, I'm ashamed we did the second time around.
Back in the early 2000s, after 9/11 took place, the United States was in a great panic, as to be expected. The problem that ensued was the fault of Bush. Instead of telling the American people to band together and to stay strong in this time of devastation, he instead, told us to go spend. Spend as much money as possible. We're were much like a wounded teenage girl after a terrible break-up, and the only cure was an excessive spending spree.
And spend we did. In a sense, we maxed out our credit cards. The housing market soared. And this is where it became the biggest downfall. The housing market seemed to be the one safe place to invest one's money. Buy a house for a relatively cheap, fix it up, and a few months later, sell it for twice it was sold for and make a profit. Many people were taking out second mortgages on their home plus on the homes that they had recently bought in addition to the one they already lived in. These second mortgages were used for cars, vacations, additional home buying, etc. It was like Uncle Same decided that everybody deserved a generous allowance for a while.
So what's the problem? It's their fault for not knowing how to manage their money. In a sense, that's true. But it's also the faults of the banks, whom at that time, were conducting liar loans. Liar loans? What in the hell are liar loans? Well, I'll tell ya. Liar loans are what happens when let's say Joe Bob fills out a mortgage application, says he works for Double Duty Plumbing, when in reality, he's dead broke and unemployed, and then the bank does not get secondary information and paperwork to confirm that. So the bank ends up giving Mr. Bob a $200,000 loan that he has no intention of paying back. It's this problem that put Fannie Mac, Freddie Mac, and banks into a financial bind. And without them, there would be no way for the American people to buy houses and start their chances at the American dream.
So when Obama was elected president, one of the first things he did, was bail them out. People were outraged because some of those companies did not use the money as they should have. Obama had no control over that. He had no way of knowing that they'd use that money in that fashion. And yet, the American people pointed their fingers at him anyway. Forget about the banks that screwed up. That would be like pointing the finger at the one that feeds you. Point your finger at the bank, and they wouldn't give you money. So Americans did the next best thing. Pointed their finger at the leader of the country that gave them the money. That's like being a child, your grandparents give your parents money to help your family stay a float, and they go spend it on a brand new Mercedes, and maybe a few boxes of Mac&Cheese, and you place the blame on your grandparents.
So what's the point of the history lesson, Nikki? I thought you didn't even like history? Well, I don't. But I do believe in something. I believe in re-electing Obama for another term to continue to give him the chance to clean up the mess that destroyed the American economy BEFORE he was in office. He's trying to come up with ways to reduce the American debt, and yet the Republicans are so proud of their money, they'd rather keep it all to themselves. Forget about the 15% poverty level, or the near 9.1% unemployment rate. We love our money, and it's mine! Who wants someone running the country that doesn't give a rat's ass about the American people when it comes to finances and health care? Not me. I'd rather somebody be there that's trying their damnedest to try and help, then somebody who's going to put us back in another pit fall.
Yes, I've never done a rant like this before. Never gave much thought to politics. But recently, I'm tired of people who have no idea what's going on pointing their fingers at the wrong person. Obama is trying his hardest, and the American people are basically saying that he's not trying hard enough. He's in the process of cutting the national debt, introducing 100,000s of new jobs, finding the proper health care plan, and still somehow find time to read to his kids at night. I have to commend him on the job he's done so far. I'll admit, for the first little while, I was very weary of what he was doing. But at that time, I also didn't know what was going on.
There are still many things that I didn't touch on because I'm not sure on the facts of it all. But this rant is just my opinion backed up by some facts that I've discovered while taking these two classes listed above. I probably won't do something this extensive again, but it was something I just wanted to get off my chest.
Whew!! I feel better now!
After going through a few weeks of classes this semester in Government and Ethics, I've learned a lot of what went on these past 10 years in government that I didn't know in the slightest. Such as, why the economy is the way it is, and why Texas voted for George W. Bush two elections in a row. And I'm going to admit, that as a Texan, I'm ashamed we did the second time around.
Back in the early 2000s, after 9/11 took place, the United States was in a great panic, as to be expected. The problem that ensued was the fault of Bush. Instead of telling the American people to band together and to stay strong in this time of devastation, he instead, told us to go spend. Spend as much money as possible. We're were much like a wounded teenage girl after a terrible break-up, and the only cure was an excessive spending spree.
And spend we did. In a sense, we maxed out our credit cards. The housing market soared. And this is where it became the biggest downfall. The housing market seemed to be the one safe place to invest one's money. Buy a house for a relatively cheap, fix it up, and a few months later, sell it for twice it was sold for and make a profit. Many people were taking out second mortgages on their home plus on the homes that they had recently bought in addition to the one they already lived in. These second mortgages were used for cars, vacations, additional home buying, etc. It was like Uncle Same decided that everybody deserved a generous allowance for a while.
So what's the problem? It's their fault for not knowing how to manage their money. In a sense, that's true. But it's also the faults of the banks, whom at that time, were conducting liar loans. Liar loans? What in the hell are liar loans? Well, I'll tell ya. Liar loans are what happens when let's say Joe Bob fills out a mortgage application, says he works for Double Duty Plumbing, when in reality, he's dead broke and unemployed, and then the bank does not get secondary information and paperwork to confirm that. So the bank ends up giving Mr. Bob a $200,000 loan that he has no intention of paying back. It's this problem that put Fannie Mac, Freddie Mac, and banks into a financial bind. And without them, there would be no way for the American people to buy houses and start their chances at the American dream.
So when Obama was elected president, one of the first things he did, was bail them out. People were outraged because some of those companies did not use the money as they should have. Obama had no control over that. He had no way of knowing that they'd use that money in that fashion. And yet, the American people pointed their fingers at him anyway. Forget about the banks that screwed up. That would be like pointing the finger at the one that feeds you. Point your finger at the bank, and they wouldn't give you money. So Americans did the next best thing. Pointed their finger at the leader of the country that gave them the money. That's like being a child, your grandparents give your parents money to help your family stay a float, and they go spend it on a brand new Mercedes, and maybe a few boxes of Mac&Cheese, and you place the blame on your grandparents.
So what's the point of the history lesson, Nikki? I thought you didn't even like history? Well, I don't. But I do believe in something. I believe in re-electing Obama for another term to continue to give him the chance to clean up the mess that destroyed the American economy BEFORE he was in office. He's trying to come up with ways to reduce the American debt, and yet the Republicans are so proud of their money, they'd rather keep it all to themselves. Forget about the 15% poverty level, or the near 9.1% unemployment rate. We love our money, and it's mine! Who wants someone running the country that doesn't give a rat's ass about the American people when it comes to finances and health care? Not me. I'd rather somebody be there that's trying their damnedest to try and help, then somebody who's going to put us back in another pit fall.
Yes, I've never done a rant like this before. Never gave much thought to politics. But recently, I'm tired of people who have no idea what's going on pointing their fingers at the wrong person. Obama is trying his hardest, and the American people are basically saying that he's not trying hard enough. He's in the process of cutting the national debt, introducing 100,000s of new jobs, finding the proper health care plan, and still somehow find time to read to his kids at night. I have to commend him on the job he's done so far. I'll admit, for the first little while, I was very weary of what he was doing. But at that time, I also didn't know what was going on.
There are still many things that I didn't touch on because I'm not sure on the facts of it all. But this rant is just my opinion backed up by some facts that I've discovered while taking these two classes listed above. I probably won't do something this extensive again, but it was something I just wanted to get off my chest.
Whew!! I feel better now!
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