To stick up or not stick up for yourself.

What a conundrum I am in. I never know how I should react in a situation. There is always "don't say anything, it's not worth it." But then there is the "you should stick up for yourself" reasoning too.

Growing up, sometimes I would get picked on and then tell my Mom later about it. She would tell me to just ignore it and eventually they would give up. This was true, but now as an adult, should I have stood up for myself? What gives people the right to say anything to you? I was, by no means, "the perfect, innocent little child". I said things sometimes too, but I wasn't very clever and usually the kid was being a brat themselves.

I remember in elementary school there was a girl who me and some other girls had said stuff to. I can't remember all the details, but I do remember that we didn't get into any trouble because she was a part of the problem. I guess she could dish it out but couldn't handle it. My point is, sometimes kids can make a mountain out of a mole hill and the truth does come out eventually. She wanted to play the victim but she was just as much to blame.

Where am I going with this? I don't think I really know at this point... I had a thought process and it got shot to hell when I got distracted.

If you stand up for yourself, people tend to back off. But then sometimes, it's more energy to say something then to just ignore it.

I am just beginning to find my backbone.. sadly in my 20's. There were plenty of times that I needed one and I just let people walk all over me.

When and where is the right time as well? At work, school and home? Sometimes I think you have to grin and bare it and others I think you need to speak your mind.

What being Canadian really means

This was forwarded to me in an email from my Grandfather:

Congratulations to our fellow Canadians in Quebec who had the courage and conviction to exhibit their common sense in officially banning the hi-jab for certain transactions where identity is mandatory .... It's a start. It's a privilege to be allowed to immigrate and to live in this country....not a right. When this hit the e-news a few weeks ago, there was overwhelming support by the readers who AGREED with Quebec 's action.



The letter below says it all...keep it going.


A Letter to the Editor (excellent letter)

So many letter writers have explained how this land is made up of immigrants. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people why today's Canadian is not willing to accept the new kind of immigrant any longer.

Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to Canada , people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in Halifax and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new Canadian households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labour laws to protect them. All they had were the skills, craftsmanship and desire they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out.Canadians fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France, Japan, China, Czechoslovakia, Russia,Sweden,Poland and so many other places. None of these first generation Canadians ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Canadians fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the Freedom as one people. When we liberated France , no one in those villages was looking for the Ukrainian-Canadian or the German-Canadian or the Irish-Canadian.The people of France saw only Canadians.

And we carried one flag that represented our country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be a Canadian. They stirred the melting pot into one red and white bowl.

And here we are in 2010 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes a Canadian passport and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being a Canadian is all about. Canadians have been very openhearted and open-minded regarding immigrants, whether they were fleeing poverty, dictatorship, persecution, or whatever else makes us think of those aforementioned immigrants who truly did ADOPT our country, and our flag and our morals and our customs, and left their wars, hatred, and divisions behind. I believe that the immigrants who landed in Canada in the early 1900¹s deserve better than that for the toil, hard work and sacrifice those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags, fighting foreign battles on our soil, making Canadians change to suit their religions and cultures, and wanting to change our country's fabric by claiming discrimination when we do not give in to their demands.

Its about time we get real and stand up for our forefathers rights, we are CANADIAN. Lest we forget it I am a Native of this Country & proud of it!

NO MORE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

NO MORE not saying CHRISTMAS in stores and our schools!
I Want my Canada of birth BACK


P.S. -- Please pass this on to everyone you know!!!

KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!!

Hope this letter is read by millions of people all across Canada !!

Nicely said. We need to take back this country, it is ours. We need to stop conforming to other peoples cultures.

What does Canada stand for anymore? Let's just bow down to everyone who shows up in a boat and wants help.

What about the people who are already living here? We pay taxes, we have jobs, and we are happy to be here. We need to fight for the people who already here and stop allowing everyone for "their" better life. What about a better life for us? Lower taxes, lower cost of transit, make living here more affordable for *us*.

Yes, there was a time where people appreciated the opportunity they got and didn't dare question the people who let them in. In all these years, when and why did we become conformists?

It seems like Canada just wants to bend over and take it up the a** with no regard to its citizens.

the new Melrose Place

So, I watched the latest episode last night. I think that, for the most part, it is an entertaining show. But there are certain elements that need to be fixed or eliminated.

I already got my way with Ashlee Simpson being fired from the show. The girl could not act her way out of a wet paper bag. Does she really have to do everything her sister does? Just because you are related girls, doesn't mean you can both do the same things and be good at it. She has the one face she always makes, whether she is happy, sad, angry, whatever. She tilts her chin and kind of squints her eyes and her voice changes. This does not acting make! She's gone.

Now, please do something with Jonah and Riley. Boring! They always argue and make up. If I wanted to see that, I would just film me and my fiance. It's a nighttime soap opera, give the people what they want, DRAMA!

Heather Locklear is on the last leg of her career. She probably just needs the job so she can get more plastic surgery. We get it, she's evil, she's conniving. She is going to get all of you one way or another. Kill her too, please.

I like the way that 90210 integrates the old cast with the new. Its not in your face. Melrose Place is forcing all the old characters on us and not allowing the new cast to grow on its own.

David and his father, also a lame plot. Dr.Mancini is an ass, he doesn't want anything to do with his son. Back and forth every episode. Why don't we just discover that David isn't his son and call it a day?

Auggie is a very attractive man. Keep him for eye candy.

I do like the Lauren being a prostitute story because I have personally never seen a show that has done that before. But since her and David are hooking up, maybe that has been put on hold indefinitely?

Ella is a great character. She can be a manipulative little bitch but she also has a heart. They should hook her up with something.

I think I may download the original now.

Tipping

Oh my, this has been on my brain for a while. I really hate tipping. I especially hate tipping based on the cost of food. That makes no sense to me. Just because one meal cost a lot more than another doesn't mean that the service is less adequate at the less expensive one.

I was on mentalfloss.com a few weeks ago and I found this article http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20091119_College_students
_arrested_for_not_paying_tip.html?viewAll=Y&text=#comments

I am sure that the pub is regretting pulling that stunt. No doubt, people are not going to want to patronize their pub anytime soon. And really, who could blame them? Calling the cops was a weak pussy move. Obviously, the manager was a dumbass and couldn't handle the situation. I think the cops were stupid too. Arrest over $16? Why don't you go find the real criminals here. I don't know what happened, if they had the charges dropped or not, but I hope they did.

Seriously? They were arrested for not paying a tip. By the sounds of the article, the people did not get decent service, so why should they have to pay a "mandatory" gratuity? What is a mandatory gratuity anyway? That's an oxymoron. It should be everyone's choice whether or not to tip. But even so, why are we tipping at all? So you have a party of 8 or more, they reason that they may not get a great tip from all those people. But in a lot of cases, those people may pay more if they aren't forced to pay that 18%. Anytime I am forced to pay that mandatory gratuity I never give any extra. And I also have been to places where the service was sub par. Some people may argue that I should go speak to the manager if the service was so bad. But see, my problem with that is, that I want to go for a nice meal out. I figure if I don't leave a good tip, they will get the picture. If not, I just won't go back to that place.

This is more of a North American thing than anywhere else. Could it be, because we are greedier than other countries? Or perhaps we don't want to properly compensate our employees and thus expect the public to do so instead? Whatever the reason, it has me mad. I know that in the US they have server wages which are around $2.15 an hour, which I think is total crap on its own merit. What if you had a slow week? No one in Canada or the US could live on those wages, unless they worked 24/7 and never stopped.

But, I suppose I have to be realistic here. Tipping is obviously here to stay. But no one is getting 20% of the check from my money unless they go above an beyond. Floss my teeth, cut my food, maybe even chew it a little. You get the picture.

Lame gossip

Tiger Woods had an affair. Really? Is anyone surprised? I'm not. He has more money than he knows what to do with and is in the public eye. I am sure that he it overwhelmed by all of it. That being said, I don't think what he did was okay.

Being famous has it's perks, obviously, but does anyone really think about the downside? The only thing that people think about is the money. There is a lot more to it then that. When you become famous, everybody knows who you are, everyone knows about your life. I would hate to walk into Starbucks and have people asking me personal questions. Most people who talk to a famous person are usually just harmless fans. But then there are the crazy stalkers.

I don't know if I would want to trade my private life for money. It sounds good on paper but in end you may regret it.

Mondays...actually not raining.

Vancouver is know for its rainy weather, so really every year at the same time, its inevitable that it is going to rain non stop. Today, however, its actually sunny. It was raining it the morning and then cleared up. Which brings me to.. umbrellas.

Seriously, those damn things are more annoying than helpful. What about the rain that comes at you from an angle. Does the umbrella save you from the unavoidable puddles? The answer of course is no. So why, in 2009, is the umbrella, the only "savior" from the rain? Maybe we should create some hamster wheel that we could walk around in and never get wet.

There must be a better solution...
I have racked my brain for a while as to what we could do to improve it. And I come up with..an umbrella drier. After you have used your umbrella and no longer need it and have to carry it around, like at the shopping mall, you don't want water to drip everywhere. So maybe, you could stick it in a cup like holder that dries your umbrella kind of like a hair dryer, BAM, instantly dry.

Or, the whole earth could just be covered in one giant umbrella. Case closed.

Family Guy

I love this show. Huge fan. I enjoy the type of shows that cause controversy. I think its because TV shows are all fake (even the reality ones ). I think that the TV networks spend so much time trying to not offend anyone, that the shows lose their potential audience.

My favorite episode is "He's too sexy for his fat". Peter Griffin has to be the most offensive character on TV.

On the other hand, I don't really like "The Cleveland Show". Its just a copycat and not as funny. I am sure it won't have the same following as Family Guy. I own almost all the seasons of Family Guy on DVD but I won't be buying the new show on DVD.