Outsource America, what a bad concept.

Do you know the value of "a day"? Obviously not. The war on terrorism may have started in the wrong place. It should have started here in America, the moment outsourceing jobs was mentioned by any political idiot. We simply should have told them to get back under their desks until they had a better idea, worthy of the country. I work in an office suite that contains several businesses, one of the newly developing lines of business is a company that helps jobs be outsourced to India. They write manuals for companies products here in the States, and then they ship these manuals to India so India can do the work cheaper than Americans would work for. As was explained to me.....they don't mean to skirt your problem....but they must stick to the manual, and thus the endless hours on the phone for a dell technical problem, I myself spent 5 hours on the phone with them two weeks ago, and another 8.5 hours on the phone with them yesterday trying to get a computer re-programmed. I had the bad luck of having three different tech people from India make me repeat the same processes I had already completed with another tech earlier in the day, they don't even read or comprehend their own notes taken previously on the same case #. It was fascinating and I used every bit of self control and grace that I had in my body.......remembering that they have to go off of the maual....it is their bible for the product, to hell with common sense, and definitely to hell with computer logic 101. Americans are out of work in big numbers, and our country has set up and allowed for our own jobs to be given to people who will never pay taxes here, never live in neighborhoods here, never understand another American here. One of these techs was so tired or bored that he kept dozing off on the phone and I have to talk loudly to jolt him back into my repeated question. Sorry, this American is not interested in seeing anymore jobs outsourced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The lights in the fire

Do you know the value of "a day"? Some weeks we work harder than others. Some weeks beat us up a bit more than others. I escaped from work last night, and went to my new part time office to meet some old friends who welcomed me back to a place I was 23 years ago, that was wonderful. Of course I had many new faces to meet and that was at night, the day shift would be more complicated, yet I picked the night to ease my first steps back into this real estate office. Got the needed paperwork eliminated, and got things in motion for the future which remains unshaped. I came home, it was approaching twilight, and I was by myself, so I supplied and stacked the firepit...a new item to me, I started the fire with some newspaper, and she came to life, and I sat out there as twilight turned to black and I did so enjoy that fire, some music going in the background. I cooked dinner on the grill for an imaginary family who took no part in it once it was done, but I didn't care this time around as I was so enjoying the fire. Friday phone calls came in, and I had my ear piece in to free my hands, and still sat there. My time spent watching the beautiful flames, smelling the wonderful smelled the woods give off, stars easier to see overhead, and I relaxed from the week, and daydreamed a bit, shoes off connected to the earth and the elements a bit more than usual in this shoed world. It was good, it has a healing to it. I was back down into myself as that is all I can be.

She was forgotten

Do you know the value of "a day"? Once upon a time there was a beautiful young bride, her eyes shown with happiness, she married a handsome young man who had a son from a previous relationship. This proud young bride embraced all. The beauty of the wedding, ice sculptures She thought it would be wonderful, she thought they'd stay happy, she made a home for them, and tried to make it work, although new to so many aspects of home and family. She welcomed us all. So much love to lavish, her soul as pretty as she, the eyes mirroring her happy days.  She seemed to do well with the little boy, he needed so much tending and mending from his own first chapter, she tried to bring happiness and stability to their home, no doubt disciplines she may have had in her own home in her growing years.  I can't say when the tables turned, if it was her new man being out of work in a seasonal trade, or if it was too much alcohol, turned to other items from days of old, but her situation diminished, and due to the pride and a lot of optimisms she didn't see it coming.... Arguments ensued, betrayals mounted, the home became a battered ground, her family was affected as her own brother was now involved in way too many of the same avenues as her spouse, hard to walk away from. When she made the man leave, she was several years into this married life, the boy was the hardest part for her as she had loved him for along time, but the boy did travel back with his father to their original home.  And at that point in time or shortly after, somehow caught up in our own lives, we lost track of her.
She found her charge cards maxed, unbeknownst to her, she found loans taken out unbeknownst to her, she had worked hard always, and she lost it all....she would spend light years paying down debts she hadn't incurred just to save her own good name, it would take ions before she would trust again. She would loose her condo, as she ended up getting laid off from the mighty corporation she had worked for, she would start over in a very strange line of work....strange for her, and this place is where we found her some 18 years later., well one found her sooner, and kept the secret well. We have missed our sister of old, we see her initial pain upon meeting us all again, we vow to hide her name...face... and revised life from the man, as she can still not want to see him, she wants no part of him, and yet she still embraces us all. She is happy, she started over again 2 years ago, she is risking a lot by trying to have a family again so late in her life, but she did win in many ways, ever in spite of the extreme loss. Oddly enough, we are not the ones who rescued, we should have but we saw the wrong side of the coin and got tunneled by it. She was lucky that one friend she had made in the old life, old apartment, stayed friends and held true, and got her the support to make it through till the light shined again. And we are so happy for her, and all of the sisters keep this same secret. We protect her future, her peace of mind, most likely because we didn't protect her when she sunk, we let her slip through the cracks, and she should have been tended someway. It is amazing she is so forgiving and full of love. We all change to some degree, but we all have damages we've inflicted knowingly or unknowingly. May she walk in light for her endeavors.