I am a news junkie, but I must say I have to search and search for some happy headlines. They are few and far between. While some say there are glimmers of hope, I am seeing more and more despair. I’m having a hard time finding that silver lining, and the pit I feel in my stomach is getting bigger.
For example, in California the state is facing a huge budget deficit after voters rejected $6 billion in funding measures (i.e. tax increases). Arnold is making the “tough decisions” on what to cut, and the cuts are affecting primarily the poor. He is planning to eliminate the CalWorks and Healthy Families programs, which provide cash aid, employment services and health services to the state’s poor. Overnight, California would go from one of the most generous states to one of least generous in aiding the poor. Sure, it would save the state about billion dollars this year, but the result would be hundred of thousands of poor people left out on their ass with nowhere to turn. That is just plain cold and callous to me.
It isn’t like the poor in California have much opportunity, either. In some counties, unemployment is around 25%. It is in the double digits in just about every other county. It’s not like the poor are going to be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make a go of it.
It isn’t just California, though. Currently, 47 states face budget shortfalls. Most of them are making cuts to health care and education to fill the gaps. This means, though, that there are more job losses, which is turning the recession into a bigger one. The really sad thing is, the more job losses there are, the more demand there is for social services like public healthcare. Unfortunately, many desperate people will be turned away the one and only time in their lives they need help the most.
I’m starting to understand what the Great Depression felt like, and why they called it that. It wasn’t just about the economy. It was the feeling, too. That feeling is here today. For those of us out of work, the prospect of finding another job is slim. Once the unemployment runs out, there is nowhere to turn except to the charity of neighbors and friends. Those of us who manage to keep our jobs, are living in fear of losing them with the understanding there might not be another to replace it. We put up with more from our employers and work harder for less money.
It’s starting to feel bleak. We all need a little good news. We need a silver lining.
Today I have a job interview at a law firm in Hurst, Texas. Let’s hope it goes well. This brought to mind a post that I wrote on Sabrina’s Money Matters a long time ago when I started working for the investigative agency, I called it Interview 101 which has some really great tips to help get you prepared for a job interview covering dress code and even questions you may be asked and questions to ask as a prospective employee.
There was an entire week I wrote about jobs. I called it Career Week and here are a few posts from that series:
I recently bought the game you see Beyonce playing on TV, Rhythm Heaven and I’ve gotten past the first test, but not much further, it’s hard!
I preordered a DSi and went and picked it up in the wee hours of my birthday, April 5th. I had to buy it, in June 2007 I won a DS from BobMeetsWorld.com (run by someone else now) for Bob’s 30th birthday he gave his away. “Bob” later went on to start JohnCow.com, a wildly successful domain, playing on a commonly misspelled domain, JohnChow.com.
I found it somewhat funny that the newest generation of the DS was coming out on my 30th birthday, so I preordered it. I’m enjoying it, I bought the black one, and they’ve by far improved it over the previous design, the power button is no longer a slider that can accidentally be flipped during game play. The sound is no longer a slider either, and the screens are bigger.
The Nintendo DSi camera and sound are my favorite parts of the DSi, aside from the games of course. As you can see in the commercials, these are really fun ads to the DSi:
If you have a Wii, you can watch commercials for upcoming things, there are videos there about the DSi that are definitely worth watching showing all the cool things you can do with the sound options that have been added.
When you buy the DSi you receive 1000 Nintendo points to use in the DSi shop. Very cool. I bought two games with my points and now have 100 points left, I’ll have to buy more points to use them since the levels are Free, 200 Points, 500 Points and 800 Points.
You can download the DSi browser for free, it’s fun but I haven’t explored it that much yet. They recently added a game under 500 points that’s from Clubhouse Games, it’s called Card Classics, and I’d recommend it. I didn’t download it but I have the actual DS Clubhouse Games:
It’s a very fun game, by far the best DS game I’ve found so far, and the online play and local game options are a lot of fun if there’s more that one DS in the household. I also have Mario Kart, My Sims and Touchmaster. I got Mario Kart with the Nintendo DS that I won and it’s a great, intense game though a lot of people have cheats.
I never really got into games in my childhood or adolescence so it’s a little funny that I’m into them now, but it was winning that DS two years ago that set these wheels in motion. Now there’s no stopping me, lol.
